Cover by Clint Langley

JA: A beautiful cover by Clint Langley that is one of the best portrayals of Hammerstein I have ever seen. It has so much detail on the body and on the top of the page I had a real good look at the cover just to wallow in its beauty.

This is the kind of cover you want as a huge poster on your wall.

AF: Another standout cover from Langley, which boggles the mind in the whole 'how does he do it' stakes. Sadly, it still feels a little static, and in print it looks a lot murkier than it does on screen. Love the glowering Stalin-bot in the background, though. 

Origins - Part 16 - Declaration of Independence Script: John Wagner Art: Carlos Ezquerra Letters: Annie Parkhouse

The Dredds in "happier" days

Synopsis: The judges call for Booth to resign and announce that they are taking over control of Mega City One, calling for the support of the military. The footage of Booth's gerrymandering is released to the public, as are assertions that Booth had Benedict killed. A mob descends on the White House but they are gunned down by the guards. Inside, Booth receives word from "an insider" at the Justice Department that Fargo is still alive. He believes that if he reveals this to the people, it will mean that the Justice Department will lose their support. He orders his men to bring in Fargo alive.

Later, back at the med facility, Dredd and Rico share a quiet moment while Fargo is put back into sedation to recover. Suddenly, the army launches a massive attack on them...

JA: As a “Day 1” reader I’ve seen the mega epics come and go, some have been good, some mediocre, some utterly defining. I’ve longed for another Dredd epic that made me read an episode anything else, before speaking to anyone or doing anything. Not since Necropolis has this happened. Well, the wait is over...

Despite its slow start Origins has really delivered the goods. Ezquerra’s flawless art and John Wagner's script delivers action, narrative and political intrigue in six pages and leaves me yearning for more. With Booth’s machinations out in the open and the Judges taking over MC-1 the action stakes are well and truly being cranked up. The penultimate panel with armed troops out to get Fargo sets this up nicely for next week's episode.

My only fear is that this whole story will have a rushed conclusion - please don’t. If we’re going to have another 20 episodes of this kind of quality then so be it.

Quite simply Dredd at his best, with the bar being raised once again.

AF: Another cracking episode, chock full of Dreddworld history as well as political intrigue, personal moments and hard action. I haven't looked forward to Dredd episodes this much since Necropolis (or maybe Total War). It's pleasing to see that now that young Dredd is a major player in the story, we don't need those present-day scenes with Dredd in the cave doing his somewhat out of character story-telling bit. 

Part 3 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Richard Elson Letters: Ellie De Ville

Gene gets stuck in...

Synopsis: The pack is once again attacked by "them", a group of insectoid monsters. The pack is united in the "scrap" apart from Old Man Gary who is sniffing the ground. Gary tells the rest of them to help him roll over a rock - and when they do part of the mountain collapses, taking "them" with it.

There is a moment of peace until Gene sees a light in the distance...

JA: Ok, I don’t get it.

I’ve reread it three times and still don’t get it.

Though it’s not up there with the real “stink out” stories such as Space Girls, it still has a kind of blandness about it. It has little intrigue and plot development as I see it. Also, it looks like every other Abnett /Elson series in the Atavar Ahab mould. It’s not bad it just isn’t doesn’t move anywhere. It was another 4 pages of the pack hacking “Them” into little pieces. Didn’t that happen last week?

Maybe something will happen to change my mind next week or is it going to be more of the same?

AF: I'm loving Richard Elson's smooth artwork and in particular his facial expressions. Abnett's script, on the other hand, is not doing it for me. The story flows well enough from panel to panel, but I feel like this series is just waiting to explain what is going on, rather than giving us something to enjoy for its own sake. And I'm still not sure about the whole celebrity namecheck thing, or maybe it's just bugging me that I can't work out who 'Jack so Wild' is meant to be a riff on. 

The Volgan War - Vol 1, Part 3 Script: Pat Mills Art: Clint Langley Letters: Simon Bowland

Hammerstein saddles up

Synopsis: The massive Stalin Robots attack, dwarfing the Hammersteins, while Volkhan preaches to the battlefield, saying that he wasn't to save his country's oil from the invaders, even though Hammerstein asserts that his country started the war.

The Stalins walk all over the Hammersteins as the "floppies" won't give them the independent control to get out of the way. Hammerstein's own legs are frozen up, so he rides a genetically modified horse into battle and leads Zippo to the closest Stalin. Zippo sprays an experimental foam into the Stalin's treads which causes it to topple over. It transpires that the Zippo is a special forces robot and he leaves Hammerstein.

Meanwhile, Volkhan vows revenge for this latest setback...

JA: I loved the original ABC Warriors in the midst of the late 70s and 80’s. The episode where Steelhorn walks through the wall of flame and splatters the Volgan leader still brings a smile to my mind. Its one of those endearing images of my “2000AD” youth. Thankfully, Pat Mills has taken us back to the roots of the ABC Warriors; the Volgan War. Also, one of my favourite artists Clint Langley has come along for the ride and bought the warriors back to life with a bang. I loved his work on Slaine and his style really suits the subject matter. If you can show me a better centrefold with the Uncle Joe Stalins towering over the ABC Robots then I'd love to see it...

Admittedly, the story is pretty inconsequential, but it looks a million dollars and delivers what it says on the tin, so to speak. If you want to slag it off and say Mills has lost his touch, blah blah blah, then just don’t read it! After all, it’s a load of war robots shooting the crap out of each other after all. Citizen Kane it isn’t, but who really cares?

AF: This latest series continues to be spectacular but frustrating. Langley and Mills both show flashes of genius, but the art is too often mired in darkness, and the story defies logic. I feel the need to understand why some robots are hurt by bullets but not others, and why Hammerstein was built to have a measure of compassion, but there is no equivalent Volgan droid. But, Mills is still the king of reminding us that War is hell, but a hell filled with moments of glory.

Mother London - Part 3 Script: Ian Edginton Art: D'israeli Letters: Ellie De Ville

Stickleback revealed ...

Synopsis: Detective Bey awakes to find himself in the lair of Stickleback. Stickleback tells Bey that he houses all those who are like him and shunned by society. He "plays the villain" but does it so that there is still peace on the streets. However, Stickleback says that a group called the "City Fathers" has been taking out underground gangs. Bey is unmoved, but Stickleback warns him that the City Fathers want to take over the whole of London, not just the underworld. Stickleback sees Bey as an outsider too and hence decided to go to him for help. He brings in one of his accomplices, Peepers and Lug (the siamese twin from episode one, which is comprised of one with great hearing and the other with special glasses) and shows Bey evidence that Chief Constable Lime is one of the City Fathers. He lets Bey go to digest the information...

JA: Unlike Kingdom this story has something going on some plot development to speak of. I’m a little baffled by what’s going on and where it all ties together but at least it has a sense of genuine mystery about it.

It also doesn’t look like anything else we’ve seen before. In fact, D’Israeli’s unconventional art suits the story, the characters and the whole atmosphere of the piece. It looks a bit odd and kooky and thankfully D’Israeli doesn’t rehash his art and make it look like Leviathan.

After this weeks episode, perhaps things will be a little clearer as the tale develops.

AF: This has definitely kicked into gear now. Stickleback himself is presented, and he's already bought himself a ticket into the pantheon of classic 2000 AD characters. Hero Valentine is holding his own valiantly, and it'll be fun to see how he reconciles himself to the truth that Stickleback's villains might be less evil than his corrupt police colleagues. Cracking atmosphere from D'Israeli, too. More weirdos, please! 

Deadlier than the Male - Part 2 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: John Burns Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Dante makes an impression...

Synopsis: Dante runs from the attacking Amazons while the Romanovs watch the action from the Imperial palace - hoping to turn it into a successful movie once complete. Dante manages to evade death from a group of female wrestlers in the baths and lands amid the men on the streets. However, they are no match for the Amazons and run away despite Dante asking them to join the fight.

Dante decides to play his last card, challenging their best warrior to a one-on-one battle. However, once in the arena, the warrior he's to fight is revealed as a fifty foot tall woman...

JA: After its undisputed comeback at the tail end of 2006, I fear that Nikolai Dante is slipping back into some bad habits. John Burn’s artwork is as immaculate as ever, it’s more the story that bothers me. Dante has always been at his best when it has a bit of grit and substance to it, when it has a dark edge. The reason that the story stalled around the whole “Pacifica” arc was that it lacked any substance and just meandered along without any of the drama that made it such a good story in the first place.

Dante going to a society of ultra feminists is a bit of a cop out, like we couldn’t see that coming? I know we need a little bit of comic interlude every-so-often but this isn’t that funny, it smacks of creative laziness.

Remember the scene in the movie “Big” where man/boy Tom Hanks comments on the toy in the marketing meeting; “what's fun with playing with a building?” In this case it's: Misogynist womaniser Dante goes to a society of man hating Amazons. What’s fun about that?

AF: To my mind, John Burns is the perfect artist for this essentially silly story. His naked ladies are pretty much perfect in the sense that they are naked but not pornographic, and the whole thing feels like a good scene form a Carry-On film when he's on board. Sure, he's not as expressive or as funny as Fraser, but his lush paints add to the feel of Dante as a classic strip of our time. Yes, I'd like to see more of the political intrigue in the Tsar's court, but really, this kind of story is what makes Dante a fun read. Lovely excuse for stretching the strip onto the back cover, too. We don't get Star Scans anymore, which is a shame, but if this is the alternative then more power to Tharg. 

JA: Another quality issue that has two standout stories, two average and one that, though not a filler, is left lacking a little. To be honest, Dredd is worth my subscription fee alone.

2007 has started very well indeed. If Kingdom can liven up a little and Dante get a little serious then we will be very satisfied readers indeed.

Best Story: Judge Dredd  

AF: 2000 AD is still in high gear, no doubt revving up even further for the 30th birthday soon to come. I'd have to give 5/5 for the artists on every strip at the moment, with only Mills and Abnett falling slightly short on the writing. 

Best Story: Nikolai Dante