2000AD Prog 1475 - 15 February 2005
	Judge Dredd (Wagner / Goddard) Synnamon (Clayton/ Dows/ Roach) Slaine (Mills / Langley) Future Shocks (Wilkinson / Roberts) The Ten-Seconders (Williams / Harrison) Cover: Clint Langley

Synopsis by Gavin Hanly
Review by Paul Ingram
2nd opinion by JoOhn Amans

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

Cover Review

PI: As always, a solid effort from Clint Langley. But really, it's almost getting to the 'seen one, seen them all' stage. It is a very striking image, and there really is nothing wrong with it. Perhaps it's even a very nice lure for new readers. But for my part, I can't help thinking 'Haven't we seen you before?'.

Good an artist as Clint is, I sometimes wish that Tharg would at least let somebody else draw the Slaine covers from time to time - A little variety certainly wouldn't go amiss, especially where Slaine is concerned.

JA: What you see is what you get with Clint Langley Slaine covers over the last few years. It’s wonderfully drawn and coloured and has atmosphere and successfully gives the good/bad news that this is the end of Slaine (for the moment).

We have had better, but I have seen worse.

Time and Again

Dredd decides to act all contrary...

Synopsis: (Follows on from Tempus Fugitive)

Herbert George Sewell is about to be released on parole when Dredd bursts into the hearing and accuses him of wearing "Happy teeth" which lets him fool lie detectors. Sewell is about to be brought back to an iso cube when a future version of him bursts through a time portal to take revenge in a high tech robo-suit. Dredd disables the robo-suit and destroys the time device just as another version of Sewell arrives. He is now an even more advanced robot as only Sewell's brain remains inside an seemingly impregnable shell. But Dredd uses one of the weapons he took from the other future Sewell to destroy the machine.

Dredd decides to finish this once and for all - and goes back to the 1800's to get the original Sewell before be even sets off for Mega City One for the first time. He knocks him out and puts him in a cube along with the other three...

PI: It's Ian Edginton and D'Israeli, revisiting an hilarious one off from a couple of years ago - How can it not be anything but genius? D'israeli's art is, as always, nothing but spectacular! With the various versions of Sewell, from battered and bruised perp
to... Well, a battered and bruised perp's brain in a giant, killing machine, are all wonderful to look at. The only complaint I'd raise with an otherwise flawless performance is that it's very easy to miss Dredd picking up Cyborg-Sewell's gun, but re-reading it, I'm sorely tempted to put that down to my own stupidity. As it seems to obvious, with several panels dedicated to it now. The inclusion of a Massimo
Bellardinelli block was a really nice touch as well.

The writing is just as good, of course! The inclusion of 'Happy Teeth' is a nice addition, and the various versions of Sewell never outstay their welcome - and the ways in which Dredd takes them on is perfectly logical. The only thing that bothered me was why Dredd would go back in time and arrest Victorian Sewell, but it was certainly worth it for that very last panel - So all is forgiven!

I can just hope this isn't the last we see of the Sewell four!

JA: Dredd “filler” stories are either good or fail miserably.

Time and Again works for two reasons. One reason is that it is not too simple nor does it try to do too much. In fact, its both funny and has enough action and twist and turns to make it worth reading again.

The second is that D’Israeli’s art actually suits these shorter one episode Dredd stories rather than the longer one. Why do I always think of Leviathan every time I see that man’s art? I can’t remember seeing a duff page, whether colour or black and white ever coming from his hand.

Once I finished reading the prog, I went straight back and reread this as I enjoyed it as much second time around as the first.

Arc of Light - Part 3

Cromwell gives some helpful advice...

Synopsis: Synnamon leaves the stricken Arc of Light and returns to her ship. She fights back against the attackers and just when it looks like all is lost, the attackers retreat - Cromwell and his fleet have arrived. However, Cromwell orders Synnamon to get out of the ship and leave the crew to their fate. Synnamon tries to get Wetherall to go with them and some of the ships start to separate from the main structure, causing the major explosions. Wetherall is badly wounded by one of these and Synnamon tries to get him to safety while Cromwell refuses to intervene. There is another hugh explosion and it looks like the ship is destroyed...

PI: I came to review this prog - And something of a revelation came over me, I haven't actually read this yet. I'm not sure what it is about Synnamon that
can't even grasp my interest, let alone keep it, but I just find it a chore to read, and really, rather dull to look at. Not that the art is at fault, no! The art looks lovely! Flying through space aside, Synnamon herself is lovely to look at (even though if you've seen one red-headed bint in a jump suit, you've seen them all) and there are plenty of good explosions and even a strange, beautifully rendered cybertronic man in the mix - But the story is just unengaging.

The first part we had a few rather erratic scene changes that completely threw me out, the week before we had about three pages of exposition - And this week... I'm
just not sure if I can bring myself to care anymore. So yes, apologies to everyone reading this - I just hope somebody else out there is enjoying this.

JA: I really didn’t get the first Synnamon series, the second was ok. This doesn’t do much for me, not that it’s bad, it’s just so underwhelmingly average. The only good thing about this is the Cromwell character. I love this guy with his back hanging out in what seems a green fishtank, plus he’s a total git.

Apart from that, it’s just a little insipid and dull and doesn’t actually do much.

It’s disappointing rather than bad.

Carnival - Part 8

Slaine backs off...

Synopsis: Skathan starts to turn into a Shoggy Beast and prepares to kill Estella. She almost succeeds before Slaine arrives and throws her to the side. He is about to kill her, but pauses and decides to put her on trial by the Carny instead.

The next morning, she is tied to a stake while the others ponder her fate. Skathan sneers at them, saying that they have secrets of their own and none of them has the right to take her life. But the Bog Mummy steps up the the task, to Skathan's horror, and strangles her.

Slaine decides that it's time to leave the carny and says goodbye to Ukko, who is still cheating his staff. Kai and Estellla also decide to leave after Estella slept the night and didn't become a Shoggy.

They go their separate ways as Slaine leaves to track down Crom Dubh...

PI: Slaine ties up loose ends. Well, mostly. I'm still not sure how the Shoggy woman ended up being Estella's mother, considering they are the same age. Or how Slaine managed to even solve this mystery in the first place, but I have to admit... It's been fun.

As nerve grating as the main story arch has been, there have actually been quite a few interesting and fun little asides. It's obvious that both Mills and Langley have had a lot of fun with the various carnival freaks, and just looking at the last page but
one you can see these little asides in action. Ukko verbally berating his little undead bands, the two little freaks bursting into tears - These are the things that separate it from the doldrum world of Synnamon. It's still barely readable at times, mind - but at least it is readable.

Some really lovely art from Langley in this final part as well - Including the gorgeous centre spread! I cannot express just how impressed I am with those two pages, from the line up of the Carnival freaks on top to the slow, ponderous actions of the bog-mummy. It's also nice to see Phil Jupitus back in the prog as well. Another stand out is the very last page - Not least because it promises the end! So yeah, it's been
a fun little journey... But please, don't hurry back...

JA: Oh dear, poor Slaine

Unlike some I loved the Books of Invasions - the battles, the artwork, the same old routine of Slaine hacking demons and their ilk to bits with copious amounts of blood and gore.

But this is like one of those bandwagon jumping boy bands. It looks great, sounds ok, but beneath the exterior it’s hollow and re-treading the worst bits of Slaine over the last 20 odd years or so. It’s too wordy and has not enough of what Slaine ticks: in this case mindless violence.

A disappointing end, it’s more like a church fete than a carnival!

Going, Going, Gone

Not based on a real site. Oh no...

Synopsis: Michael McSway is urged one day by his parents to get rid of his junk, and after attempts elsewhere, finally manages to get rid of it all on "I-Sell". After seeing how easy this was, he gets addicted, selling everything he can, getting stock from skips, and graduating to importing stock to sell and even killing his friend to get his collection. He gradually becomes a multi-millionaire until finally he had nothing else to sell.

Then one day, a leaflet comes through the door filled with toys he'd never seen before. He orders them all and sells them around the world only to find out that the toys were alive and are an invasion force, which he'd just distributed around the globe.

Now Earth was put on I-Sell...

PI: I'd heard rumblings of this Future Shock after the pitchfest - And was quite sorry I'd missed it, to be honest. It sounded fun, and different. And it certainly delivered on both parts! While other people have had trouble with the rhyme scheme, I found
it quite easy to follow for the most part - Maybe because I already knew it was supposed to rhyme.

Fantastic art by Steve Roberts, with the story being a change of pace from the usual fare. And it's always nice to see a boarder in the prog, congratulations Gary!

JA: Ok, we have 5 pages spare….what do will fill it with….

Well, let’s have an ebay pastiche with aliens thrown in at the end. It’s utterly forgettable and not that witty or entertaining. I would have reprinted the Alan Moore’s “The Time Machine”. Now that was how to do a short comic story.

The American Dream - Part 8

Damage gets chastised...

Synopsis: Damage prepares to kill the Scientist, until the Scientist slaps him and tells him to go to "the naughty seat". Damage sits down while Malloy pulls a gun and asks the Scientist what he wants. He replies that he wants the Gods dead and will show Malloy where they came from - but will not reveal his own agenda. Jennifer tells him to back off while The Scientist tells damage to walk to the bottom of the ocean and find something of the Scientist's to bring back to him - a ruse to get him out of the way.

They head into New York and down into the subways - until they reach a doorway. There's a grid of lasers that the Scientist created - and he slips through them to deactivate them. Suddenly he's shot in the back by gun weilding New Yorkers...

PI: Ten Seconders is one of those stories I'm not entirely sure of. Some weeks it has
all the hallmarks of a classic in the making, and some weeks it's quite dull. A rather hit and miss story that I'll have to read through at the end to evaluate properly.

But as for this weeks instalment, I can safely say that this is one of those times it's
hit the mark! Speaking of Marks, how gorgeous is Mark Harrison's art at the moment? Compare this to the rather cartoony style of the opening episodes, and the difference is starling. This seems to have become darker and darker as the weeks have progressed, with Jen, especially, under going quite a change. The plane flight certainly seems to have aged her a fair few years!

What else is there to say, other than poor Damage! First put on the naughty seat, and then sent on a thankless errand - Some father the Scientist is! Still, nice to see that Karma got him in the end. A really great story to match some really fantastic art, and for the first time since this story started, I'm looking forward to the next part!

JA: At first glance this series seemed to remind of Zenith. That happened to be one of my favourite stories of all time.

But after a couple of episodes I started to see this for itself. I must say that this is consistently the best strip in the prog for the last couple of weeks. It has great, moody artwork by Mark Harrison which suits the strip down to the ground. This has enough twists and turns in the story to make it worth reading first every week. Ok, I’d like a bit more back story but this is being given out bit by bit and enough to keep you just hungry enough for more.

This is worth the subscription on its own.