Cover: Richard Elson	2000AD Prog 1464 - 9 November 2005
	Judge Dredd (Wagner / Walker) The Red Seas (Edginton / Yeowell) Leatherjack (Smith / Marshall) Sinister Dexter (Abnett / Davis) Rogue Trooper (Rennie / Coleby) Synopsis by David Knight 1st opinion by Adam Crabtree 2nd opinion by John Amans Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

AC: There's been some controversy on the board about why the Boy in Blue would be ferociously charging AWAY from the Souther battlesuits. Personally, I tend to feel empathise with him, and I'm pretty sure my reaction would be much the same (if you'd replace the fierce roar with a particularly fierce scream).

The logo's keeping it a bit discrete this prog, being smaller than usual and slightly obscured (the fewer people who know what the magazine is called the better, it is a secret after all!). Would anybody really miss the corner of that battlesuit's shoulder if the logo covered it? Why do they do this at all? Anyway, Richard Elson does a good job with nice contrast of colours, and it's certainly not a passive cover. The computer textures are a tad dodgy, but you'd only notice if you were dissecting it for a popular review site.

JA: An OK Rogue Trooper cover that rather belies the tedious story that it’s advertising. There is a nice use of colour, though, and it is quite striking.

Mandroid - part 12

Dredd regrets the baked beans he ate earlier...

Synopsis: At the Canadian border hunting lodge where crime boss Denzo Schultz has fled the vengeance of vigilante ‘mandroid’ war veteran Nate Slaughterhouse, judges pick their way through the wreckage left by Nate’s exploding battlesuit. Ahead of them, Nate corners his prey, but before he can make Schultz pay for his crimes, he is set upon by Schultz’s robot bodyguard, which he destroys easily.

Schultz’s last line of defence is Kitty, Nate’s wife, turned into a combat drone via a cybernetic control implant. Nate is caught off guard and shot 4 times by his former wife before he kills Schultz with his projectile right hand, leaving Kitty without instructions.

The judges arrest and disarm Nate Slaughterhouse and sentence him to imprisonment. Nothing can be done for Kitty, very little of whose brain is left intact by the slave implant surgery.

AC: 8:00pm on Wednesday evening, and I'm settling down with 12 issues of 2000AD, the most recent of which I haven't read. I'm just about to spend an hour or so reading the latest Wagnerian Judge Dredd epic, as illustrated by the similarly genius Kev Walker. The former has brought forth probably the best Dredd story of the year, nay, possibly the best thrill of the year, with a script that is sensitive as well as unrelenting (in terms of violence and harrowing human drama) and exciting. The latter has augmented that script with gorgeous, distinctive visuals; you can have fun just looking at the pictures, and coming from someone who doesn't typically appreciate the aesthetic side as much as the story, that is praise indeed.

Now, before I start sounding like a complete wankwright ("start?"), we'll take a look at the final instalment. We're heading back down to Earth after the shot of adrenaline that was part 11, with the most action offered being the little fight between Nate and Robo-Stooge Moe, and from that point on its all one-way cruelty. I flinched with Nate as his reprogrammed wife Kitty shoots him all to Hell, and pumped my fist when Shultz met his end ("This is how it ends!"). It would have been nice to have him meet a death he would be more aware of before it happened though.

From there we deal with the aftermath, an Wagner keeps it real with Nate hitting the cubes and Kitty facing life as a drone. The shot of Nate without limbs is affecting; the strip has been all about dealing with feelings of inadequacy and it'd be nice to think Nate has done this sufficiently, so as not to feel so crippled anymore. I will say that Medi-Wilson deserves his own strip though ("Now he's armless!"), Life on a H-Wagon or some such thing. Also deserving of a mention is Dredd's personal journey, as demonstrated by this marvellous quote.

"No excusing what he did. He's got to pay the price. But he's still entitled to a little understanding."

JA: So Mandroid comes to an end, and what an end. Everything about this has been quality, the art, the plot and more importantly the pacing. Wagner has pulled this off mainly because it was allowed to develop; it unfolded slowly and kept you gripped. Nate Slaughterhouse didn’t suddenly turn into some one man wreaking machine in two rushed and hurried episodes. Though he had a bad attitude from the first episode his disillusionment with MC-1 has been cultivated and grown with a sharp and imaginary script and some imagery that made me think about the society around us. The last two episodes have been a gun/robot death fest, and rightly so. We’ve had the set-up and now it was time for the resolution.

And this was possibly the best bit. Rather than have some contrived ending with a lame happy twist we got a well deserved less than happy ending that didn’t ruin the good work of the previous 11 weeks. Again, as I’ve mentioned before, some the best Dredd stories of the last 5 years have been where Dredd himself is not the central character. He sometimes works best on the fringes being part of the greater tapestry of the story. Admittedly, he always gets the last say, and this story was no exception, but what he says sums up the best bits of this excellent compelling series.

Underworld - Part 5

Mother/son bonding

Synopsis: In London, pirate captain Jack Dancer is told by his brother Alexander that his father had fed him a pack of lies. Jack’s mother had supported his mutiny against his navy captain, whereas his father had told him news of the mutiny contributed to her death. Alexander leads Jack back down to the catacombs to show him more.

Meanwhile, Jim has met his mother who abandoned him and his father Tommy twenty years before. When he snubs her with a token ha’penny and walks away, she calls her burly boyfriend Reggie to avenge the insult. Bill nobbles Reggie by crushing his genitals in his hand, and Dancer’s crew walk off into the night.

Back at the Temple of Mithras beneath London, lizardmen from the Eighth Sea looking for Jack Dancer attack while Erebus and Sir Isaac Newton are playing cards.

AC: This is probably one of the strongest character pieces in the magazine at the moment (at least now Mandroid's out of the picture). It's nice to see some of the barbed but essentially warm hearted exchanges between Jack and Alexander, and Jim and his Dad. Jim also shows a bit of backbone as well, resulting in a funny scene with Bill and Big Reggie. Middenface McNulty from Strontium Dog, Ness from Caballistics Inc… Aren't Scottish people handy to have around in the worlds of 2000AD?

Yeowell's black and white art continues to serve well, though the expressions aren't terribly… expressive. Everything is clear though, and the last page is pretty sumptuous to look upon as the evil pig-lizard-bastards rise out of the water and attack Issac and Erebus (the finest comic creation in the entire strip, by the way). My main criticism of this thrill is that the characters haven't progressed through the story much in the last three progs; I hope that it's a suitably long run. I do enjoy these character moments and think they should become more commonplace within the magazine.

JA: This story must go down as the most improved. It is not down to the artwork; Steve Yeowell’s art since his Zenith days has been peerless. No, what this is down to Ian Edington’s script. The first series of the Red Seas was a sort of Pirates of the Caribbean meets Sinbad to give it a more fantasy element. The first two series were good and more importantly its characters were allowed to grow. This is something that the editorial staff of 2000AD must be credited for. Give some characters time and a bit of space to settle in. Ok, it doesn’t work all of the time but occasionally you do get something that will stick and be worth keeping in, like the Red Seas

What is good about this now is that the characters are established and new elements can be added without upsetting the basic structure and feel that has been built up. So our crew back in London and this looks like it will be the last “build-up” episode before we get stuck into the main stuff.

If a story leaves me wanting more, then I know its working, and this left me wanting more!

Roll on next week.

Chapter 15

Leatherjack's sordid past...

Synopsis: Following the recovery of the suppressed memory of being brutalised as a child and raised as a killer, Leatherjack refuses to admit he could be anything like Mr. Whipcord, who murdered his family. Whipcord tearfully tells of his own brutal childhood raised in a warzone until given to Lord Qwish and the Khmer Noir at the age of 9. Qwish farms assassins from infancy by the thousand, and the Khmer Noir wage global warfare to cause the emotional trauma that creates useful raw material for their assassin programmes.

Reunited with their traumatic memories by The Book, and free to make their own choices, Whipcord and Leatherjack travel to the Temple of Borobudur on the former island of Java, with Leatherjack suitably attired from Whipcord’s wardrobe. They fully expect a showdown with the Khmer Noir at the Temple; and sure enough, bulk teleporters are waiting to transport Khmer Noir troops to Earth.

AC: "My. Don't you look fetching?" Who else is really uncomfortable with this latest development? Yes, Whipcord was a slave; he wasn't in control of his faculties. Yes, Leatherjack presumably wasn't any better during his tenure with Qwish. But still, for Whipcord to be picked up as a hero so quickly, especially when we've spent the last few progs watching him torture Leatherjack (past and present) is a bit unnerving. I wish less time had been spent traipsing around in the snow and more time spent on Whipcord's backstory.

Indeed, I hope this isn't the last we hear of Qwish's recruiting policies, 'cause I don't really get it. Does Qwish travel back and forth in time to get his agents? If so, why not utilise this technology in the Klash with the Spinsters? Or, is the Leatherjack universe taking place in the present day, as we of Earth see it? Is it all just very far away; they can reach us with their technology but not vice versa?

Anyway, exciting progressions made this issue. Paul Marshall's art probably has its finest hour so far with a massive variety of colours and textures. The Borobudur spread is excellent, but like I said, there are things in this strip more deserving of attention. Leatherjack's new outfit is cool, and the setup for a confrontation of galactic proportions is very exciting.

JA: After reading the first couple of episodes of Leatherjack I thought “is this another John Smith tale that comes up to the benchmark of Firekind?” After 2 episodes I thought “nope, this isn’t one of them.”

However after 15 episodes (which seem to have flown by) I am reassessing my opinion. I went back and reread the first 10 parts and then looked at it again. Ok, it’s not up there with his best work, but it’s a lot better than some of his more recent tales. It’s always a bit a heavy experience reading his work, but also a little rewarding. It’s not an easy read, but then it’s good to have something on the meatier side. It’s all wonderfully amoral. You can’t really like Leatherjack, maybe feel a little sorry for him. This seems to be a piece where the reader is neutral and cheers for no one. It’s nice to have that choice every so often. I also think the best is still to come and Mr Smith has a few surprises up his sleeve.

The fact that I reread this tale straight away tells you a lot. It’s demanding, it’s tough, but it’s also a cracking story.

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

Charon's considered opinion of Sinister and Dexter...

Synopsis: After finding themselves working for a rival employer to their former protégé Kal Cutter, gunsharks Sinister and Dexter are planning their getaway from Downlode and contract killing. Ramone Dexter meets his girlfriend, police officer Tuesday Weld, and informs her that his employer Don Apellido is a clone of former crime boss Moses Tanenbaum, and is therefore arrestable for Tanenbaum’s crimes.

Kal Cutter, who shot but failed to kill his new partner, the cab-driving hired killer, Charon, walks through the city clutching a CD containing data which are doubtless of interest to the new underworld crime lord known as the Mover. Charon’s survival is bad news for Kal as well as for Sinister and Dexter.

Officer Weld tells Ramone that Billi Octavo is working for the D.C.P.D. as an undercover agent within Apellido’s organisation. She has automatically been apprised of Ramone’s new information. This may cause her to act rashly, as she is armed and harbours a grudge against Tanenbaum, the gene-source of the clone Apellido. Ramone warns Finnigan Sinister, who is visiting Don Apellido in person when Billi hears the facts she’d be better off not knowing.

AC: Simon Davis goes to town with the opening shots of Downlode. Reminds me of Necropolis era Judge Dredd, where Mega City One would resemble a matte painting. I notice for the first time the detail he puts into his cars as well. I'm debating with myself about the chances of Dan Abnett putting the supreme Gun Sharks/Bullet Monkeys to rest in some sort of munitions related animals wild life reserve.

Ramone breaks the sharking code in one of the less glamorous ways it can be done; by telling. Sinister heads up to Appelido's place to rescue Billi (who has been tipped off about Appelido's gene source) and is accosted by multiple individuals. This run is actually turning out far more tension and characterisation than we're used to. I'm actually fearing for the characters' welfare where before I'd have merely assumed they'd shoot their way out in a ridiculously simple resolution (said before they shoot their way out in a ridiculously simple resolution in the next instalment). Some more of the pathos present in this run wouldn't go amiss either.

While we're on this, my little brother doesn't like Sinister Dexter, as he finds it hard to keep track of the characters. He knows who Sinister is, and who Dexter is, but not much beyond that. Myself, I only know this stuff from reading the graphic novel collection, Slay Per View recently. Sheesh, first it gets schtick for lack of depth, now it's getting it for too much of it!

JA: I won’t lie: I think that Sinister & Dexter have been treading water for the last year. The introduction of Kal, though not a disaster has not totally rejuvenated the series as best it could. But, I have seen a definite change with this story. For an established series, with it best and most distinctive artist at the helm, it has to deliver and this is. When S&D dispenses with some of the schoolboy humour and adds a little bit of grit it improves beyond measure.

I prefer our gunsharks when not everything goes to plan and some of the other characters are put into the mix. It’s also nice to see one of them get shot! Let’s have some realism back in Download.

Rather than go “ho-hum, another dull S&D tale, I’ll read this last”, this will be the fist story I turn to next week.

Please though, no cop-out endings.

Condor 6 down- part 3

Rogue strikes his best pose...

Synopsis: In a radioactive hot zone on Nu-Earth, Nort and Souther forces converge on a crashed Souther orbital craft. The Nort troopers are armoured Krusaders. The Southers, who reach the objective first, are unarmoured infantry dressed only in chem-suits, aided by the Rogue Trooper. Aboard the ruined spacecraft is a prototype strategic computer imaginatively named Prometheus, which both sides want to retrieve.

Rogue takes out one Krusader with an electrical energy weapon. Bagman covers one approach to the Souther position with micro-mines. Rogue plans to use the ship’s ElectroMagnetic Pulse generator against the Nort armour and sets Helm to work on it. The Krusaders burst in just as the EMP is triggered, and Rogue throws a gamma grenade at one. The Krusaders and Prometheus are shorted out by the EMP, and Rogue leaves the surviving Souther infantry be picked up by a rescue unit.

AC: Condor Six Down comes to an unexpected end, and we're left wondering what exactly the point of the exercise was. This instalment is better than the last two, displaying some good action sequences, and it is to the credit of artist Simon Coleby that the frames are so densely packed with incident and action, yet never seems cluttered. It's a joy to behold as well, with the myriad shadings and textures making it seem like a sophisticated live action piece.

Gordon Rennie's script is serviceable; the opening captions explaining the plot make me think that perhaps this instalment could have done just as well on its own, without the other two parts. Of course, in that instance, we wouldn't have had that rather cool dogfight in space that was the highlight of the first part… but then that fight had bugger all to do with the story apart from a rather redundant cameo in part two, so you see the dilemma.

This is one of the most exciting and action packed singular episodes I've seen since I started collecting 2000AD, but essentially it's a hollow affair.

JA: I still wonder why Rogue Trooper is kept around. I always thought that this once great series had been ruined by “The Hit” and its ghastly ending. I don’t even want to mention the 1990s Friday incarnation!

This is no different and this still begs the question of what is the point of trotting out Rogue Trooper stories that are going no where? Haven’t we seen this kind of story been done (and much better) about 20 years ago?

The artwork is ok but for me Rogue was terminally ruined a long time ago. Please give it a rest and don’t destroy what little dignity this once great story has left.

In a nutshell, a 5 page “filler” of the worst and cheapest kind.