2000AD 1553 - 5 September 07

Cover by Simon Davis

Gavin Hanly: You can certainly count on Simon Davis to make his covers stick out - this being one of the few 2000AD's in recent times that I've seen almost instantly on the shelves of the local WH Smith's. I'm somewhat surprised that no-one complained about such a graphic image - but it certainly grabs the attention - no mistake. One of Simon Davis' better efforts, in my opinion.

Oliver English: I think this is an awful cover, maybe even too horrible to be on the shelf. It's not that it’s bloody or gory, but maybe just a little too disturbing. Also, I think the colours are not very easy on the eye and It also looks like someone started to weave "whatever that is" through the logo, only to have given up halfway through the job, with the strands disappearing mid-way through the first zero.  

As has always been the case for me I like some of Davis' work - the bottom of the page, & the character's chin & teeth in this example - but the rest of it just appears rushed & messy. The caption “The door to another world opens in Stone Island” looks very much like an afterthought, too. This would certainly would get my vote of one of the poorer covers of the year. 

Trial by Dury - Part 2 Script: Gordon Rennie Art: Paul Marshall Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Wollen bites off more than he can chew...

Synopsis: The trial of the bite-clubber continues, as Dredd starts to home in on the signal of the broadcast - with the help of the Justice Dept. However, Wollen manages to escape from his bonds and kills or maims most of the "jury" before Dredd arrives, finally killing Wollen.

GH: A rare mis-fire from Rennie, I feel. This entire episode is made redundant by Dredd's "he's going to escape and kill them all" utterance at the end of the last part. Lo and behold, Wollen does... just... that. With no real twist to add to the interest, this comes across as a one parter stretched too far. It's not terrible - but rather feels a bit lazy to me.

OE: I really disliked the look and feel of this story from the very first panel last week. Paul Marshall can do better and , while I’ve enjoyed some of his work on Dredd in the past, I think we’ve either seen the biter character (Wolfman Wollen) before or it’s just a very unoriginal story with uninspired & unoriginal art & characters.

This has the feel of 90’s Dredd when we had a long run of one bad Dredd story after another. Maybe we’ve been spoilt lately with a much higher general standard of Dredd? Perhaps sometimes Tharg could take a risk & rest Dredd for a week, here or there? As this one feels like it could have been wrapped up in one prog. Better luck to Rennie and Marshall next time. 

Ashes - Part 3 Script: Gordon Rennie Art: Dom Reardon Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Magister makes some new friends...

Synopsis: The Caballistics arrive in Glasgow to confront Magister. Magister says that he wants revenge against those who locked him up. He says he was locked up to hide the secret of the "other thing" that the government had. However, Magister detects that the group has something hidden in their minds, but before he can unravel them, Ravne (able to sneak up because he doesn't have a soul) shoots Magister in the head. Magister is still alive - and Ravne plans to discover what he was hiding...

GH: By some leagues, Caballistics is the best thing in the comic at the moment, and proof of what Rennie can achieve when not coasting, as on this week's Dredd. While I'm not convinced that Magister's actions were explained fully enough - it has all worked well to bring forward the imminent confrontation with Kostabi - with Ness glowering in the background. Highly entertaining stuff, with Reardon providing, as usual, excellent art to accompany it all.

OE: Rennie & Reardon, they sound like they could be a magic act. Indeed this is a beautiful story. From this, I can see why so many people have gone on about Caballistics for so long. (*cough* I’ll go and er, read what I've far missed). I love the black & whiteness & simplicity of Reardon's style here - I can’t praise this enough and I'll have to track down what else Reardon has done. Roll on next week - I want to read more of this and the sooner the better.  

The Volgan War - Vol 2, Ep 4 Script: Pat Mills Art: Clint Langley Letters: Simon Bowland

Blackblood needs an upgrade...

Synopsis: Lara's parents wait for her to return, but are interrupted by Blackblood. He waits with them and tells them to do what they would normally do while waiting for Lara - so they start singing. Lara is thus alerted to Blackblood's presence and runs off. Blackblood realises their treachery and kills the parents. he chases after Lara, but she catches him in a huge metal trap..

GH: Ok - the "General Public" joke was amusing for the first time, but clearly Mills likes to milk a joke as much as he can... Despite this jarring moment, things are going well in this latest run of the Warriors. While it may be missing some of the more lunatic moments of the recent Shadow Warriors run, it's still entertaining in its own fashion. However, I can't help but wonder how much of that is down to the astounding work of Clint Langley. While things get a but murky later on, Langley's still creating an art masterpiece here - and so far it seems to be enough to paper over the dodgier aspects of the script.

OE: Clint Langley is continuing to do a fantastic job on The ABC Warriors. I think, if I have one gripe it would be that his humans are so realistic that it looks part photo- story. As they appear so photo-realistic, they make the robots look somewhat less real – despite that they themselves are so well done. This week, it looks like Matthew Broderick gets shot in the head, & that’s just not very nice.... So for my liking, I’d have kept the people more abstract. Blackblood does seem like such a complete bastard, though. After he killed ‘Broderick’ it all gets very dark, like someone turned a light off.

Despite all this, I can’t wait to read more next week  

The Harrowers - Part 3 Script: Ian Edginton Art: Simon Davis Letters: Ellie De Ville

Harry has a tender moment...

Synopsis: The plan is to use Sorrel (who's now brain dead) to access the TDI's land and drop in a Bio weapon in the other dimension - sealing all the gates. The team heads in, but Carmody is instantly killed as her body explodes - the other are left to carry out the mission...

GH: I'm trying to like this, I really am. The art's pretty decent enough, with Carmody's surprising end being pleasingly nasty. But the main difficulty I have with the strip is that I have no sympathy whatsoever for the fairly bland main characters. There just doesn't appear to be enough motivation behind Sara's actions in particular. It all leaves me with an overwhelming feeling of "meh" (for lack of a better word) and so far I can't quite see why the series was given a second chance.

Still, the pictures are pretty...

OE: As I’ve already touched on, I like some of Simon Davis's art. The odd panel, or part of one. His work here is no exception and I’ve not read Stone Island before for this reason, silly as that might be. The Harry character, who for some reason is hideously distorted, looks like he might have just stepped out of “Beetle Juice” having pulled some silly face like Adam & Barbara did when they were trying to scare the new owners from their home. Reading Stone Island I am for some reason expecting to hear “Jump in the Line (Shake Señora)”. The story seems to be interesting, so for the moment I think I’ll stick with this. I’d just be happier if someone else was taking care of the artwork.

The Hitman's Daughter - Part 3 Script: John Wagner Art: Frazer Irving Colours: Fiona Staples Letters: Ellie De Ville

He'll turn up soon enough...

Synopsis: Adele visits her nan after her run-in with Mr Minton. She managed to best Minton in his workshop and got all the details of the other hitmen who killed her father, including Harry Ex. He tells her that they're all dead. He also tells her that her father was a hitman and reveals details about "The Game" where hitmen faced off against each other in a contest managed by "the voices". She initially lets Minton go, but kills him when he tries to kill her...

GH: Obviously, the news of a Button Man series without Arthur Ranson (who was unable to do this one) was something of a shock, but learning that Frazer irving was to replace Ranson on art duties certainly softened the blow. Easily one of 2000AD's best artists of recent years, Irving continues to best his own work and does so again here - continually framing the story from odd and inventive angles that keep everything particularly cinematic. He's an excellent choice for this strip which is really starting to find its feet now.

This week, Wagner has found a way of subtly re-inrtoducing us to the idea of "The Game" - important after such a long sabbatical - without breaking the tension. After all - if you need some exposition, an interrogation scene will work wonders!

Excellent, and let's hope the forthcoming film matches this quality.

OE: Irving. Sure, he’s not Ranson, but he’s brought his own lovely style to this strip. Irving's art reminds me of something from Crisis – though I can’t think what.

I’ve been waiting for this story for a very long time and it’s really picking up the pace now. Clearly we’re going to see her seeking revenge for her dead father Ronnie. The one weakness to the story so far as I see it, is that her father knowing how the game worked was very foolish to not put up a fight. He would have known that potentially they would have killed his daughter. Maybe there will be a flash back to flesh out his story - I hope so. Nice work lads.  

GH: Despite a rather dull Dredd starting things out and the oddity that is Stone Island, the comic is holding together much more than the relaunch issue of 1550. With Mandroid 2 in the offing in a couple of weeks, things should only be getting better from here...

Best Story: Caballistics Inc. 

OE: This is one of the better progs that I’ve seen for some time. I’d like to have seen a decent Dredd story, as I think that is the only really weak story in this week's prog. Best story? Too close to call. But for me, Caballistics, Button Man & the “Matthew Broderick” killing A.B.C Warriors, in that order.

Best Story: Caballistics Inc.