Cover: Paul Marshall & Chris Blythe	2000AD Prog 1462 - 26 October 2005
	Judge Dredd (Wagner / Walker) The Red Seas (Edginton / Yeowell) Leatherjack (Smith / Marshall) Sinister Dexter (Abnett / Davis) Rogue Trooper (Rennie / Coleby) Synopsis by Gavin Hanly 1st opinion by Paul Ingram 2nd opinion by Marcus Nyahoe Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

PI: Now this, in my opinion of course, is what you call a perfect 'practical' cover. While it may not be my cover of the year it still ticks all the right boxes, and will linger on in my memory for a long time afterwards.

So, what are these ticked boxes, you ask? For a start, it actually relates quite well to the story inside. This isn't just a stock pose of a character leering at you with his gun/axe/sword/proton blaster 5000 or whatever; it links directly to what is
going on in the prog. It's also very eye-catching compared to other covers in the past. When I was in Smiths recently, just a quick glance of the racks and
I could see it there, instantly. It stood out from the crowd, unlike some past covers that have just blended into the background. It's colourful, different and
quite unnerving to look at. This is, and I'm sorry for flogging this dead horse again, obviously helped by the fact that the logo is clear. Much like the cover it's self, it doesn't blend into the image, it stands out. It screams '2000AD' at you, and there is no mistaking it for anything else on the racks. So over all, from a practical point of view, this cover is a complete success.

On the non-practical side, I still think it's a lovely image. I'm not too keen on the black in the background, just because it seems like the desk has suddenly ended and the blood is running on in thin air. But that's just a minor niggle.

MN: At first glance, looking at the style of the pistol that graces the cover, I thought this was related to Red Seas. Of course, following the line of the pistol I came to the message about "Leatherjack's Shocking Secret Past...", which was intriguing enough to make me turn to that strip first. Overall I liked the cover. It was nicely designed and did it's job on this reader by enticing further investigation of the strip in question.

The only quibble I have is that the representation of blood is poor. It may be that the choice of colour is dictated by technology, or by what WH Smiths will allow on their stands, or maybe it's just a bad choice by Chris Blythe (although this is unlikely given his generally effective use of colour). Whatever the reason, the blood looks more like a pretty pattern than a sinister sign.

Mandroid - part 10

Slaughterhouse retreats into fantasy...

Synopsis: Boss Shultz flees to Canadia to avoid the wrath of Slaughterhouse – but word of this is leaked to the media by the judges – so they can draw Slaughterhouse out. He is going for the bait, even though he knows it’s a trap. Lefty gives him a war suit to even up the odds and plans his attack. He gets transported to Canadia, hidden in a load of scrap – and starts heading to wards Shultz…

Meanwhile, Shultz is meeting with an associate, Chilly, who has brought him something to ease his troubles. One of his companions removes her helmet and reveals herself as Katherine, Slaughterhouse’s wife – but she appears to have an implant controlling her…

PI: Alright, so Nate gets some serious hardware! This prog marks the curveball that people have been expecting from Wagner since this story started, taking it off the predictable path that many people believed it was going to follow, making us
unsure what will happen next. Kev Walker on art is still a joy, although I can't help feeling that his big stompy robot looks more like a carbon copy of a Dreadnaught. Still, extra marks for a big, stompy robot! Perhaps we should christen this metal monstrosity the Dreddnaught?

While other people have been floored by the final revelation, I'm more interesting in what happens next. How Kitty got there? Whether Boss Shultz is going to use her against Nate when he comes battering down the door with his napalm infused Dreddnaught? Will Nate just lose all sense of reason and brutally gun her down too? I really can't wait to find out.

It's also worth mentioned that the ghost of Kitty encouraging Nate to gun down the boss, and Dredd's frank admission that 'whatever happens, happens. It's out of our hands now' were some of the most chilling moments in the prog.

MN: Ten weeks into the latest Dredd epic and Wagner's mastery of pacing has ensured that this story has never flagged or bored. He just effortlessly keeps the plot rolling along, revealing just enough, at just the right time, to keep the reader coming back for more.

This issue Wagner reveals the biggest shock so far as Slaughterhouse's wife, Kitty, turns up in the last panel. It's nicely set up by the writer as he reminds the reader of the missing wife mid way through the strip.

Kevin Walker's art continues to impress, although having displayed his Mignola influences earlier on, he appears to be allowing a sense of Carl Critchlow to creep into this issue's work.

Underworld - Part 3

Revealing the enemy?

Synopsis: Millions of years ago, a meteor struck the Earth creating a huge crater in the sea. Gradually, the Earth moved and covered up the crater – so the eighth sea is hidden somewhere underground – along with its own array of fauna.

Jack’s men are sceptical until Newton reveals a dead lizardman in a large jar – which asked for Jack before it dies. On its neck was a cylinder with a letter from Jack’s father requesting that Jack & his crew come to his aid. Alexander and Jack argue about who was heir father’s favourite while the crew vote on whether to go. The vote is a tie, so Jack says they need to discuss it among themselves.

Meanwhile, the lizard men are getting closer to London…

PI: I missed the first tales of Red Seas, dropping in on 'Meantime' in my early prog-buying days. Initially I really disliked the aforementioned story, but having read part one of Underworld a few weeks back, I instantly dug it out and reread it. Red
Seas seems to have this appeal to it that draws you in and makes you smile. It's light-hearted, yet still has plenty of meat on its bones. Yet there's still an element of realism to it. I think this works because most of the humour itself comes from Jack Dancer and his lads, as opposed to the world around them. If you replaced Dancer with another more stern faced, serious crew, then no doubt the story would take a
much darker tone.

The strip is also bursting with good ideas, but it doesn't overwhelm you with them. They work with the story, to create something that is ultimately enjoyable to read. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this develops in the future, but for now
don't have much to say on this particular instalment. I think it's one of those 'wait and see' strips, but whatever happens, good or bad, it's bound to be a good
laugh.

MN: This is shaping up to be the best Red Seas story yet. Maybe Ian Edginton has come to the point where he feels comfortable with the characters. In just one page here, he manages to effectively fill us in on how the Eighth Sea was lost. It was nice, as well, to see Dancer's crew making up their own minds about the mission, some contradicting their leader. This gives some character development that is much needed, and helps stop the supporting cast being mere ciphers. We've also got a good inkling now of who these lizard people are.

Steve Yeowell's black and white art appears to have improved tremendously on this run. Previously his colour stuff has been great, His black and white work on Red Seas though, whilst displaying all his undoubted storytelling skills, has tended to lack depth. It was sometimes a struggle to decipher what was happening on a page. Happily this seems to be a thing of the past, and some of the panels were simply gorgeous to look at. Somewhat surprisingly, I'm really looking forward to how this story pans out for Jack and the lads.

Chapter 13

Yet more bad guys?

Synopsis: As Whipcord extols about the greatness of his torture devices, Leatherjack sees a gun, which sparks off a flashback.

While Whipcord and Hartley start to convulse, he remembers something from his childhood, when his school was invaded by a vicious group of criminals. They kill what could have been his friend or brother, Caleb, and proceed to rape his teacher while forcing the young “Leatherjack” to watch. He manages to writhe loose and runs home, but someone had already got there first. Whipcord, in shock, replies “I was already there waiting…”

PI: Interestingly, the last time I reviewed the prog, I actually reviewed the first part of this. And my, what a long way it's come since. The greatest feat of Leatherjack is that John Smith has managed to turn a cold, heartless figure, who initially destroyed
a world of well-loved, literate insects, and changed him into somebody we can really feel for and sympathise with. Now personally, I've really been feeling for 'Jack ever since the book started to warp his body and mind alike, taking him on a fractured,
emotional plight that I personally thought was wonderfully executed by both Smith and Marshall. Here, though, is where he starts to become a fully formed character in his own right.

In this prog we basically take a trip down memory lane, into Leatherjack's traumatic past. Now, this could have just been a bog-standard flashback sequence, and that would have been fine and dandy, but some clever little touches from the creative droids make it oh so much more. First of all, the first page of the flashback, that is laid out very much like a shattered mirror, is the most breathtaking piece of part in the prog. It sets the scene so perfectly, and is the first of many clever panel layouts contained within. Take page five of the story, with the wavy reaction shots of the resulting carnage these bandits are bringing to the school, or the last page that cuts
between Whipcord and young 'Jack. In fact, using Whipcord as a narrator towards the end was a stroke of genius. That, and the reactions of himself and his assorted minions to Leatherjack's memories, really hammered home the drama of it all. It reinforces this idea that it's not all happening in Leatherjack's head, it's shaking his tormentors to the core as well.

I really can't praise this instalment enough. It's been a long time coming, but definitely worth the slow build up. If it continues at this pace from now on, to
the end of it's eighteen episode run (woo-hoo!) then it certainly deserves it's place as a classic slice of 2000AD madness.

MN: Thirteen chapters in and, happily, Tharg revealed in the letters page that this has eighteen chapters in total. Leatherjack has completely challenged all my initial ideas about the strip. Far from being about the clash between the Khmer Noir and the Spinsters, with Leatherjack as a potent weapon, it now seems, from recent chapters, that this is a mere backdrop to the exploration of Leatherjack himself. This is reminiscent of Alan Moore, taking well worn plot ideas and turning them on their head.

In this chapter not only do we get a chilling glimpse into some of the suffering Leatherjack has gone through since he was a child, we also get to see just how powerful he can be. Paul Marshall pulls out all the stops to dramatically communicate the script. Particularly effective are the closing in on the gun that triggers Leatherjack's memories, and the splintered effect of these memories coming back, with the unmistakable image of lynched bodies behind the memories.

Great stuff and definitely vying for a best strip of 2005 award (if one existed).

And Death shall have no dumb minions... (Part 4)

Dex gets a wake up call...

Synopsis: Sinister tries to warn Billi about Appellido, but she just replies that she goes where the work is. Later Sin and Dex worry what will happen if she finds out that Appellido is the clone of Holy Moses, who had her mother killed. Dex also refuses to give any info on Appellido to his girlfriend Tracy, head of the task force that’s after him.

Elsewhere Kal and Ron are trying to track down who’s been stealing from the mover – they lost a lot of info after someone killed Mal Folio, who was fencing for The Mover at the time (this was actually Kal’s first hit). They get to the site and find Sin and Dex there already – Charon opens fire…

PI: Gorgeous Simon Davis art is about the only interesting thing in this little slice of
Downlode, I'm afraid. Though, to be fair, it is all build up at this point, so I'm not going to be too harsh. I didn't really need to see the boys chewing the fat (quite literally) in a cafe, nor did I really need to see Ramone's pillow talk (lovely as the art on it was), but I'm not objecting.

The last few pages set up the next part wonderfully though, and I'm quite looking forward to the eventual confrontation between the gunsharks and Kal. Shame the Ferryman is going to be whacked, I quite liked him.

MN: There's been comments on the message boards here that Sin Dex is simply retreading old ground with this current storyline. While I can agree to a certain extent, there appears to be more to be uncovered yet. Dan Abnett appears to be getting a little under the skin of the two main protagonists. The constant emphasis on not letting the Shark Code looks like being tested to the max. Kal is going to have to be taken out, and it looks like this will almost certainly cause some introspection for Downlode's finest gun sharks.

The usual stand up job from Simon Davis again, with the panel depicting Tracy Weld kneeling naked in bed particularly welcome for the fact that it shows a science fiction comic book woman being drawn in much the way real world woman look. Is this a first?

Condor Six Down- part 1

Rafe in action...

Synopsis: Rafella Blue, AKA Rafe, is fighting Nort aircraft above Nu Earth. Before she can destroy the attacker, the Norts mange to shoot down a MilliCom orbital installation, Condor 6. They have no data on the craft – but Rafe is ordered to head down and report on the crash site. Her ship, powered by a bio chip, Gabe, tracks Condor 6, but says that nothing will survive the crash – “at least nothing human”.

Elsewhere, a group of Souther soldiers also heads out for the crash site, while Rogue Trooper decides to check it out too.

Meanwhile, the Norts have sent out warsuited soldiers after it too…

PI: I honestly found this all but impenetrable, and I'm not sure why. I read it. I
reread it. And I still have no idea what is going on. I know the basics, but I have no idea why they all connect. I'm going to be bold here, and put this down to the art. Don't get me wrong, each panel is absolutely gorgeous, but I think this is a case of
style over substance. It's like there's so much gloss on each panel, that you end up dazzled and can't concentrate on the story it's self. Basically, I think it's poor story-telling. It seems such a jerky read, that it really does feel like your reading it while
operating a pneumatic drill. Ok, so I'm exaggerating, but I'm not writing of poor old Rogue just yet. I'd like to see where this goes, but I'd just wish the art style had been simplified.

Although, extra points for the big, stompy robots at the end! With the added bonus of not looking like Dreadnaughts.

MN: Oh dear! Just as it was going so well too. Confession time - in my opinion Rogue Trooper should have been put to bed years ago. It has its roots in the sort of old time war comic strip that sold well in Britain right up to the early eighties. There's nothing to the character, no substance that allows him to function in today's comic book market.

There's really nothing to say about this script-wise. It would seem from the title that it's going to be a take on Black Hawk Down, but even if it isn't, who cares? Rogue will meet some people, kill some people and then walk off alone with just three biochip comrades. Surely if they need filler, it would be better to try out some new creators on Future Shocks or whatever.

Nice art though.