Cover: Karl Richardson	2000AD Prog 1457 - 21 September 2005
	Judge Dredd (Wagner / Walker) Savage (Mills / Adlard) Leatherjack (Smith / Marshall) Future Shocks (Moore/Macleod/Robinson) Breathing Space (Williams / Campbell/ Townsend/ Doherty) Synopsis and 1st opinion by Alex Frith 2nd Opinion by Adam Crabtree Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

AF: A striking, dynamic image and it's good to see a new artist given a slot - a shame it’s not a more iconic character, really. ‘Blonde chappie on bike’ just doesn’t have the same impact as the classic ‘Dredd on bike’.

Perhaps I’m too keen on my Sci-Fi elements. On the plus side, it’s a fantastic first panel for the Breathing Space strip inside.

AC: OK, so we've got sci-fi, we've got action and we've got atmosphere, as rogue judge Trent tears up the cover of prog 1457 on a souped up, uber-tech chopper. This is a good indicator to newcomers for what to expect from the mag when it performs, and the comfortably mainstream photo realism is more of a draw than the technically accomplished but rather unattractive Langley cover of last week and the "Smoking Keels!" debacle of the week before that. I can't help thinking the logo would be better off in red; at my local newsies 2000AD is on a shelf behind another shelf of magazines, and one can only see the top of it, which this week is rather murky and unappealing (viewed on its own) and the logo isn't so clear.

I'm of two minds about all this commercially minded reviewing we seem to do; on the one hand it's pretty cool that we're thinking about these technical details, and in some cases we can apply these insights in the real world. On the other hand, should we as fans not be taking it easy while the marketing droids do all the work? Ah frag, I'll do the commercial thing anyway as covers rarely stir me that much!

Mandroid - part 5

Slaughterhouse snaps

Synopsis: Slaughterhouse returns home to find that his son Tommy has been brutally murdered. Dredd is at the scene, and promises to do all he can to find and punish the killers - while warning Slaughterhouse not to take any action himself. He has even arrested Schultz, the mastermind behind the murder, although there is no evidence against him to keep him locked up for long.

Dredd’s team find a witness and some forensic evidence as to who killed Tommy, but Slaughterhouse has little faith that it will help. He resigns himself to the fact that his son is dead, and almost certainly his wife too, and he did nothing to stop it. After a sombre funeral at Resyk, Slaughterhouse walks the streets, seething with hatred for Mega City 1. He is mugged by a gang of three, and his rage boils over. As he dispatches the last of them, his eyes glow red…

AF: It’s the big payoff this episode, as the Mandroid is finally goaded into action. Even without the previous episodes of build-up, this sequence is impressively powerful. Walker’s dark, dank backgrounds capture the mood perfectly. When the rage comes, Wagner sets it up neatly with some classic Eastwood-style one-liners. Only thing is, now that the Mandroid is loose, is there anything left to this tale beyond a hunt?

AC: Things just got serious in this outstanding slow burner from Judge Wagner; I'd never really considered the possibility that Slaughterhouse's family would truly suffer. I'd expected perhaps, some kind of ransom situation after the ending of part four, where Nate's son is lured from the safe-house by Shultz's forces, but for Tommy to be dead by the beginning of part five... that's harsh.

See, these are the benefits of restraint! When the body-count is as relatively low as it is in this Dredd tale, the readers are lured into false sense of security, and the elements of surprise, shock and even loss persevere.

Wagner spends a lot of time building up a picture of Slaughterhouse as a character, from the highs of determination seen in the last prog, the lows of self pity from earlier on in the story, and the murky grey of his violent actions in this prog. Violence in Judge Dredd is certainly not uncommon… but the examination of its causes? Questioning whether or not it is ever acceptable? These things are rarer game for Mega City One's top lawman.

Dredd himself is a much more of a character in this story, as opposed to the cipher, metaphor or tool of the story he often is. Is this right? Some say that as a strip, Judge Dredd is at its best when it acts as a satire; a skewed eye through which to view our own changing relationships with authority, such as the recent, brilliant "Caught in the Act". I got to thinking about this again when I read this week's letter from Todd Butler (London) about the Dredd "family" and how Dredd was becoming a more sympathetic character.

I think the best thing about Judge Dredd is the variety; the themes it tackles and the stories it tells, and most importantly the entertainment it provides. Consistency is not so important with Dredd (which I'm amazed to be saying, 'cause I like consistency in my creative media) because each writer has their own Dredd, who doesn't necessarily exist in the same Mega City One as the others. I'm happy with this Mandroid incarnation, who's more prone to think about what he's doing, and show a little more sympathy and empathy and various other pathies. Telepathy's a good one. As is Goromanomomapathy (look it up).

Book 2 - Out of Order - Part 7

Savage gets down to business

Synopsis: Bill Savage has disguised himself as his brother Tom, and infiltrates the dinner party held in honour of Volgan President Vashkov. Vashkov displays his true colours – as a tyrant who rules only by fear, and his not above humiliating his ministers. He seems to recognise Savage, but only as he sees the wisdom of retaining a propagandist who's brother used to be a rebel leader.

After dinner, Savage slips out of the dinner party, , and makes his way up to the roof of the building taking out a guard along the way. He pauses to shave his beard off and hides himself in Sarah's husband's secret room. While he waits, he watches as Vashkov forces Sarah into his bedroom. Savage finally reveals himself, with his shotgun in hand, earlier stored in the room.

AF: It’s a fun sequence, if a little lazily scripted. We get to enjoy a classic Mills tyrant being tyrannical, and see a dirty hero knifing his way through some underlings. That said, the ease with which Savage navigates the building and dispatches the guards is too convenient.

On the other hand, the article on Vashkov is well written, giving us further insight into the idea of corrupt superpowers. This whole series has been much more entertaining in its exploration of government and the reasons for terrorism/freedom fighting than it is for its action sequences, which are merely thrilling.

AC: Political allegory abounds in this week's fix of the man they call Bill/Jack/Tom. Someone once said that if it were not for Versailles, and later Wall Street, Hitler would have lived out his days as a bore in a bar. I underestimated this title somewhat; I've been enjoying it immensely on a number of levels, as there's so much going on (action, humour, relationships, study of occupation) but this week's rather frightening insights about Vlad the Mad show a greater degree of understanding than I'd previously expected.

"What "Vlad the Mad" says doesn't have to make sense. In fact it's better if it doesn't. He says aloud everyone's secret, irrational fears,prejudices and crazy ideas and turns them into reality." The way I see it, this is key to us as an audience understanding the role of Savage and co. as terrorists; how do you combat irrationality through democratic methods? When your foe isn't interested in reasonable discussion, when your foe is in fact little more than a pigheaded bully who doesn't want to understand your concerns, how do you fight that?

This is further demonstrated at the dinner, with Vashkov intimidating, embarrassing and even assaulting the assembly. Vashkov is an exaggeration of power in the wrong hands, but hell, before WWII nobody thought the Final Solution was plausible. The action takes a back seat this week as Bill covertly infiltrates Vashkov's quarters (how does he avoid detection by the way? You'd think that Vashkov's aide would be informed of any secret chambers before checking the room. The answer is probably in the picture but I can't see). He's got my good wishes.

Chapter 7

Leatherjack breaks out...

Synopsis: Leatherjack is trapped in the ice-fields of Earth, pursued by the Expurgato. In a desperate lunge, he bursts out of the ground, wielding some kind of techno-saw, which dispatches the first fiend. He learns from the second that the Book he holds is some kind of sentient being – “You don’t read it, it reads you”, says the Expurgato, before Leatherjack kills him with his own weapon.

Meanwhile, the ArkHive world has exploded, but the Arkhive has teleported to safety. Lord Qwish continues to be apoplectic that he doesn’t have the book yet, and is convinced that Leatherjack is double-crossing him. He calls for a full kill-klan of Bonemasons, and intends to get help from Whipcord and his were-hare to capture Leatherjack and retrieve the book.

Back on Earth, Leatherjack is cajoled by the Book into doing a little reading of his own.

AF: That John Smith. He’s so full of ideas for badass beasties that it hurts. But then they have to go and be not quite as badass as all that. The Expurgato looked and sounded so cool, and then ‘Jack just plain ambushes them. It’s wrong. Let’s hope the next lot of baddies have more to offer. Bring on the were-hare!

Meanwhile, this story is moving along nicely enough, but I’m not really caring. Sure, I want to know what’s in the book, but Leatherjack himself has not captured my heart. I want more of the Ants and the giant Library – that was a sweet setup.

AC: An odd sort of lethargy has afflicted this story for the past couple of weeks, with several story threads not really going anywhere. It shakes itself awake a bit this week as Leatherjack dispenses with the Expurgato and the plotline with the book takes a step forward. Khmer comes off as an unreasonable fool, with his refusal to believe anything but the worst (though with Leatherjack, that's typically a safe bet, so I may let him off). Nice to see the truly fascinating Shibboleth plotline has not died just yet (my word processor recognizes the word Shibboleth! What does it mean?).

The big spread where the ArkHive is birthed is quite impressive, save for some rather ugly, blocky digital effects. I think these big spreads are justified when there's plenty of text to go with it; I'm not much for just looking at pictures meself. I do particularly like these text boxes, with outlandish and vaguely exciting references to Prayer Drives and seething insect roars. I knew they'd be back. Long live the ArkHive indeed.

Black Jack's Revenge

Black Jack comes calling...

Synopsis: Black Jack and his pirate gang have been robbing space freight trucks for weeks, and Dyer of Terrastar Inc isn’t happy about it. He complains to his boss that someone should be protecting their ships, since the space patrol clearly aren’t.

(Steve Moore Twist 1) The boss of the company is in charge of the pirate gang. It’s just an elaborate insurance scam. Dyer responds by suggesting that they move from mere robbery to kidnapping. They can get insurance and ransom money. His boss agrees, and Dyer is placed aboard the next freighter ship, which is duly highjacked by ‘Black Jack’.

For a change, the space patrol turn up to help. Dyer and his cohorts surrender: “Look – we’re honest traders, not pirates!”

(Steve Moore Twist 2:) “That’s okay. We’re honest pirates, not patrolmen.” The space patrol hadn’t been helping because real pirates had attacked them and taken over. Now they can rob easily. Dyer and his crew are ejected into space. [!]

AF: The story is classic Steve Moore, what with a complete lack of nobility all round, and two twists for the price of one, which is pretty much the essence of 2000 A.D. It’s a reasonable enough tale, and the nature of the ending is hidden well enough, but it didn’t grab me as a classic.

New artist Ben Macleod is probably quite good, but it’s hard to tell here. It just seems like he didn’t have time to finish his drawing before the deadline (backgrounds? Hello??), so Cliff stepped in to help out. And Cliff’s a fine inker.

As with many Future Shocks, it’s worthy as it gives newcomers a chance, but there’s not much to it except the last panel. You can never have enough decompression pictures.

AC: This twisted tale comes to us courtesy of Steve Moore, whose pirate dialogue gets a bit wearing, but manages to tell a complete story of intrigue and crime among the stars succinctly and with a jet black streak of humour. I enjoyed Ben Macleod's art, which initially reminded me of Jamie Hewlett's work (Tank Girl, Gorillaz, Heligan's Haircut) with its twisting, angular hairstyles and fascinatingly ugly faces. What else can I say; this was a chortle-worthy diversion with a clever, funny plot, and the potential of the format to impart big ideas in a short amount of time and showcase new talent should be encouraged.

Part 6

Bartram gets a flash...

Synopsis: On top of an H-Wagon, in a blinding storm, good Judges King and Julias hang on for sheer life. Evil Judge Trent flies through the air on his bike, but rather doing any damage to the two judges, manages to decapitate himself while his bike does some serious damage to the H Wagon. The H Wagon crashes, but King and Julias survive intact, after some acrobatic high-jinks.

That evening, Businessman Ellesmere is the last surviving target of the Earth Murderer. Judge King sets him up as bait, whilst remaining nearby to protect him. He receives yet another taunt via email - indicating that Ellesmere is the last target. While he watches and broods, Julias watches over the Rinkens and Psi Judge Bartram is recovering in hospital. The Earth rises, a stalker with a knife appears at someone’s door, and Bartram wakes up, screaming that he knows who the murderer is.

AF: Once again, it’s art over story for Breathing Space. Some great visuals all the way, although the whole bike thing was kinda confusing. Who hits who? Where does the bike land, and why is the H Wagon exploding? This story needs sound effects. Perhaps if I re-read previous episodes, I’d be following it all a little better. Nice idea, but more expository dialogue, please!

AC: Action becomes more of a presence as the hunt for the Earth Murderer continues and a confrontation with rogue Judge Trent results in some blistering vertical shenanigans. The dark, cyberpunk feel of this strip (the trailing lights on the uber-bikes are a nice nod to Akira) and noirish story and script make for a very slick tale of murder on the moon. The panels on the first page could do with being a bit more clear; I'm not sure just what happens. The bike hits something, somebody I can't identify is decapitated, the bike explodes (why?), then the ship is on fire?

There's some beautiful work done on the second page with colours and shading; the light of the fire against the smoky blue of the Luna-1 night sky are gorgeous, and the semi-lit silhouettes of King and Julias bring ice cool atmosphere to what might have been a big dumb action sequence.

The little riffs on love, lust and loneliness give Breathing Space some soul, which it sometimes doesn't have enough of. The cold and clinical mood is broken up by some nice moments with the Ellesmeres, whose love throws King's isolation and inner churnings into relief. A nerve jangling ending this week as the Killer prepares to strike again. That shadow… can it be there's a Fight Club vibe to this tale?