Cover by Lee Garbett

DL: I've always liked covers that feature my favorite characters and this is no exception. Finnigan Sinister holding a gun at what appears to be fire (see reflection in glasses). I like it.

JS: A decent effort from Garbett with nice aspect and colouring.  It’s a shame that the piece has been cropped to lose part of the gun as this detracts a bit, but altogether it’s a decent if not amazing effort.  It’s also nice to see a cover not drawn by one of the artists on the strip; I’ve always felt that the cover should be a place that different interpretations can be shown.

The Biographer Script: Rob Williams Art: Boo Cook Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Man of many words...

Synopsis: Amis Barnes announces that he is to do the definitive biography of Dredd - although everyone around him thinks that this is an impossible task. He visits the Justice Department to get interviews but no one talks; he visits perps that Dredd has put away and the Cursed Earth but still can't seem to get the spark that he needs to write the book. He visits a sex bar where he's mugged while asking one of the dancers what Dredd was like when he arrested someone in the bar. He eventually despairs that he doesn't know how to write a good book about a man who appears to have no feelings. Eventually he snaps and hits his wife in frustration. Barnes reports his crime, hoping that Dredd might arrive to arrest him - "but of course...he does not come"

DL: I really don't like this story. After Origins and 50 Year Man, this seems like a pointless story written by Rob Williams. And a cameo by Dredd himself with his back towards us and drawn ENTIRELY in black, what a waste. All it makes me want to do is flick through it. Let's hope the upcoming story "Mutants in Mega City One" will be any better.

JS: I can’t really make up my mind on this, on one hand it’s an interesting story about a citizen’s life being altered by contact with the legend of judge Dredd; on the other hand it’s rather serious and considerably more emotional than a lot of the one-offs we see.  I think Williams might have missed the balance between good writing and enjoyment, probably not helped by Cook’s light-hearted style clashing with the serious strip (though he does a fine job with some nice touches).  I can’t make my mind up on this one.  I think it's good but I don’t like it. 

Script/ Art: Bob Byrne

Exam Wars...

Synopsis: A student enters his exams and is given a rigorous examination to remove all cheating devices, having being marked out as a serial cheater. After careful monitoring, he completes the test and the paper is sent away to be marked - with a "priority" note stapled to it.

Later, the student sends out tiny microscopic tanks hidden in the paperclip that he has left on his paper - each tank filled with ink. He guides them to write the correct answers. But as he does, the examiner also sends out her fleet of tanks, hidden in the staple. These destroy the student's tanks and deface his paper - giving him an F.

DL: Mr Amperduke was cool. Last weeks tale was alright. This is much better. Who would of thought that teachers would have their own "defences" to combat cheating pupils. The only disadvantage is the fact that there are no words. Other than that, I am looking forward to the next Twisted Tale.

JS: Another good offering from Byrne, although I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as last week’s. It's good to see he’s doing a variety of styles for the series and as is demanded by the silent script his visual storytelling is spot on.  However I’m realising how much of a bastard these are to review individually.  Overall I think it’s a bold move to include such stylised work in the prog, particularly with no script.  Hopefully it’s a gamble that will be remembered as one of the highpoints of Matt Smith’s editorship. 

Part 4 Script: Ian Edginton Art: Steve Yeowell Art: Chris Blythe Letters: Ellie De Ville

Detonator X strides into the battlezone...

Synopsis: Dr Chung and Jared Mackay head to Mars to help fight back the invading monsters. They discover that the monsters have started binding together to form a large "blastula" above the rift that they came through. Chung and Mackay head out to investigate in the Detonator X - which at this stage is completely unarmed. As they get close to retrieve samples - one of the monsters awakes...

DL: After the horrible Stickleback and Stone Island, it's nice to get much better stories from Edginton such as this little gem. Certain users don't seem to like this, but I have to disagree. The art is fantastic, the story's nice and overall the characters are interesting. Both Dr Chung and Jared McKenzie Mackay have gotten all the best quotes. I really can't wait for the conclusion to this and any other future installments.

JS: Edginton and Yeowell are both names that get me excited about a new strip.  Detonator X hasn’t quite set me on fire yet, mostly because after 25 pages we have yet to actually hit the main storyline.  This week felt a bit of a step back from the crackling dialogue of last week, particularly as the suit driver’s rather annoying speech patterns got centre stage.  Hopefully this will start to move along soon now the titular Detonator has come face to face with the dinosaur thingies.

Yeowell’s art is as good as ever and I’d like to mention how good a job Chris Blythe is doing of the colouring, the subdued tones being used give it the sort of retro feel that I expect Edginton and Yeowell were looking for and asked for.

The Doctor is In - Part 3 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Simon Coleby Colours: Len O'Grady Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Sinister to the rescue

Synopsis: Ronko's boys start their attack as the surgery to help Dexter gets underway - under gunpoint from Sinister. Sinister tells Billy to hide, but one of Ronko's boys manages to track him down - just as Sinister arrives to shoot him and save Billy. At that point, the surgery is nearing completion and everything seems to have gone well, until Ronko arrives at the surgery, gun in hand...

DL: I've always been a fan of Sinister Dexter, particularly enjoying it since Christmas 2005. The prison saga was okay especially the last part, but the only nagging doubt that I have is the fact that Dan (Abnett) revealed to us that Ramone is not actually quadriplegic. That has potentially ruined it for me. Hopefully, he will rectify the problem somehow in future installments.

JS: This continues its merry way.  I’m really hoping the story will open out again soon - while the current events need to happen, they’re still very linear.  Still, their being handled well by writer and artist, Coleby seems to really have a feel for the two leads at least and O’Grady’s colouring job is pretty good (although I’m not convinced by Sinister’s hairline).  I’m not sure whether I should feel guilty about hoping that Dexter gets a bullet while still on the operating table, killing or properly paralysing him, or whether I would actually be pleased if it happened. 

The Dissenter Script: Robbie Morrison Art: John Burns Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Dante and Jena, happy as ever...

Synopsis: Jena visits Dante to ask for help. She takes him to Loenid Tarasov, her favoured old arts tutor, who has become critical of the Tsar. His writings caused controversy on the Imperial Net, so the Tsar has ordered that Tarasov be arrested and conditioned. At their visit, Jena tells him that the Tsar will drop the charges if he retracts the statements and pleads allegiance to the Tsar. Tarasov says he cannot do that, while Dante's Crest reveals to Dante that Tarasov's body is riddled with cancer. As they take him in, Dante tells Tarasov that if he ran, Dante would have to shoot him. Tarasov understands, runs and is gunned down by Dante, but keeping his cause alive. Jena is heartbroken, but begins to understand what Dante has done for her - and they kiss....

DL: This is another one of my favorites with the last two stories have been my all time greats. Now I can add this my the all time greats as well, if only because of the ending. The kiss at the end was a return to the stories of old and this is no different. But the guy dying of cancer? Worst idea ever and Robbie Morrison should have came up with a better excuse than that. Other than that, I am looking forward to next weeks story.

JS: Ah perfection, or pretty close.  A lovely little story to bring Jena and Nikolai back together.  It explains both their characters for the newer reader and puts them back together without a lot of fuss.  I can happily ignore how quickly Jena gets over her old teacher being shot, not quite so easily John Burns’s insistence on painting her hair as candyfloss pink, I’m sure it was red in the Romanov empire.  Otherwise Burns puts in an excellent effort, which he usually does when the story is up to scratch. 

DL: A Good prog this week even though Sinister Dexter and Nikolai Dante are on weak form. Other than that I am looking forward to the next issue.

Best Story: Detonator X

JS: Overall the quality was fairly high this week, though not very high.  I feel it would be good to get on with Dredd doing something more important - after Origins and 50 year man this was a bit of a lull.  Personally, I also like it when the prog runs new strips and both Dante and Sin/Dex have had near constant presence for a while, still both are moving along and good quality so I shouldn’t really complain.  Also nice to have droid life and a letters page, even if the letters themselves were rather dull.

Best Story: Nikolai Dante