Meg 206 - 6 May 2003
Cover by Colin MacNeil

Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly
2nd Opinion by Leigh Shepherd

Synopses and reviews contain spoilers for this issue

GH: A very good cover indeed. The frame helps to make the image more striking, and Waugh's pose, surrounded by the vampire hands is an instant classic. Just what you need to grab newsagents' browser's attention. One comment - "They don't like it up 'em"? What on earth does that mean? Has Waugh got another somewhat unconventional way of dealing with vampires up his sleeve...?

LS: The cover doesn’t work for me, despite being by one of my all time favourites. It’s all too monotone and out of focus, and the border seems too large and bright, outshining an already subdued central image. Not a bad cover by any means, but a little underwhelming.

Monkey on My Back - Part 3 (Final Episode)
Synopsis: Dredd and Chambers don their rad gear as disguises and head back into the city. Chambers says that they'll probably have to kill judges, but Dredd says it'll be necessary to save the city. More mutants pour into the city, as Goodman, controlled by the monkey, tells the judges to stop searches and just let them all in. The monkey says it was born in the "atomic hell" and it'll enjoy turning "your city into hell and ruling as its king".

Dredd and Chambers successfully sneak in after the searches are stopped, as chaos erupts in the city, and judges plead with Goodman to shut the gates. Dredd and Chambers come across a group of Mutants attacking a judge. Chambers, despite Dredd's orders, guns down the mutants but the saved judge reports their whereabouts to control. Dredd shoots him in the head - to Chambers shock. Goodman, meanwhile, orders the two of them killed, but Cal says nothing will get past his SJS squad.

Chambers accuses Dredd of murder - but Dredd says he has to save the city - "Anyone who gets in my way dies. No exceptions". They are suddenly attacked by a "Gunbird" ship, but Dredd shoots a pilot and orders the other to land the craft. Back at the Hall of Justice, senior judges are advising Cal to take over, as the SJS is loyal to him and no-one would stand in his way. But just as Cal prepares to make Goodman stand down, Dredd's Gunbird crashes into the Hall of Justice.

Goodman opens fire, catching Chambers, while Dredd's shots go through the monkey. Chambers throws the red dust on the creature, which solidifies, but starts going for her as a new host. It starts to ghost out again, but Chambers orders Dredd to burn it, as she's ready to die to protect the city. Dredd fires an incendiary and kills Chambers and the monkey in a ball of flame. Cal tries to arrest Dredd but Goodman, back in control, stops him.

The mutants are ordered out. Those that don't leave are exterminated. The funerals of the 57 judges who died are held the next day - "But Judge Dredd only went to one". He lays Chambers' badge on her monument.

GH: The last episode of Ennis' latest attempt at Dredd is over, and in retrospect has been one of his most successful takes on the judge. Away from standard continuity, Ennis has placed far more importance on plot and character development that was seen, for instance, in this last major effort, Helter Skelter. It's certainly a testament to his writing that we actually care for an effectively minor character like Chambers after only 3 issues, and that we truly don't want her to die in the way that she does. While I'm not so sure about the Monkey itself - it's reasoning behind its actions seem rather simplistic and vague - the character of the stricken chief judge was also particularly well handled. My only complaint is that Dredd's execution of a fellow judge with no compassion is very out of character for him. but overall, a pretty enjoyable Dredd series, so perhaps we should see more of these "legends of Dredd" style stories in the megazine in future?

Higgins continues to excel in the artwork duties on this issue - and his heavy use of shadows and moody computer colouring suit the story particularly well. He's also well able to handle the shock moments such as the judge's execution, or the sudden ferocity of the monkey towards the end of the episode. It's been great to see him back on 2000AD, and I look forward to seeing what he does with Faces for 2000AD in the near future.

LS: The first two parts of this were entertaining, so why did this fall so flat for me? Firstly, the resolution was very by the numbers, with the end being too rushed and simplistic. Secondly, Ennis once again shows his inability to get over his Dredd worship. To my mind the Dredd we see here acts completely out of character, killing a fellow Judge in cold blood for no reason. This seems especially uncharacteristic given this is the ‘younger’ Dredd who has complete faith in the system. This is not the same Judge who allowed himself to be framed by Cal, or wouldn’t arrest bank robbers until he was properly sworn in as a Mega City Judge. Dredd would go to absurd lengths not to break the law AND complete his mission - that is one of the great strengths of the character, opening up both dramatic and comic potential.

Here, Dredd is just another John Wayne style ‘hero’ doing the ‘right’ thing. This is rammed home by the ‘weak’ Chambers, who only at the last minute realises just how right Dredd is to be so darn tough and nobly sacrifices herself. This is almost exactly the same ending as Helter Skelter, where Darius McKenzie starts off arguing that Dredd shouldn’t destroy her research, only to realise how "right" he is and blow it up herself. It’s a shame that Ennis can’t seem to get over this need to portray Dredd as such a stand up guy and just tell an interesting story.

Mutopia - Part 2
Synopsis: A mutant hunting drone is malfunctioning, and hovering towards Argyll. Meanwhile, Middenface is being shown around Harris, a safe haven for mutants due to its treaty with Finmark and Swedeway. He is introduced to Charlie's father, who is upset that his son is an outlaw. They are treated to a meal, but "Supermac" is still in shock and just plays his game.

After the meal, Middenface is put to work for his upkeep, but is distracted by a group of boys looking to steal seagle eggs. He gets his nose nipped by the seagle for his trouble. After work, Middenface and the others are taught how to fight - "'Yin day. They'll be ally's Tartan Army!" Sunday comes and they are outside singing hymns around a cross when the drifting drone finds them - it's the drone that Charlie fired upon last in the raid - which is why it's damaged. The minister says the drone will not harm them, but Middenface isn't buying it and leaps at the drone, sending it and him crashing towards the sea...

GH: The gentler pace of Young Middenface helps it to stand out against the other more hard-hitting stories in the Megazine. While this is certainly in its favour it is, for me, lacking something indefinable at the moment - which may be related to my missing the earlier series. At only 3 episodes long, this series doesn't look like it's going to cover much ground - so perhaps we could get something a little longer next time around?

It's still John Ridgway's art which is the main selling point of this story. Ridgeway shows a great attention to detail and characterisation that can often be missed from comics. He seems absolutely ideally suited for the slightly naive Middenface and manages to carry off every of nuances with ease, from his "lost at sea" looks to his more cheekier moments. Ridgeway is certainly someone who we need to see more of in 2000AD.

LS: Alan Grant continues to entertain with this very old school story - its style is almost more Victor than 2000AD, but none the worse for it. Ridgeway's art is well suited, and does nothing to dispel the illusion (though the swearwords might not have made it into a DC Thompson comic!) There’s huge potential to explore the rise of the Tartan Army and McNulty’s transformation into the Tartan Terror, and it would be good to see a longer story exploring this in the future.

There’s also the developing theme of McNulty’s anti-religion feelings and anger that fate has made him and his friends outcasts from society (which we first saw in the previous McNulty story). Grant should be commended for adding this depth to a character whose previous outings were mainly played for laughs.

Bad Karma - Part 5
Synopsis: The homeless man fondles Rita as requested, and is given £50. The others want to go next, at which point Rak goes into a rage, and offers them all to Kali, and her "Rakshsas" - demons who proceed to eat the homeless men.

Elsewhere, Rohan is still being followed by a stray dog, and it turns out that it used to be Eddie, a friend of his from university. He tells him that they'll bring him back as a dog in his next life like him, unless he agrees to be the Siddha. Rohan refuses to be blackmailed, as Lakshmi returns to persuade him further. Then the Black Siddha appears, and drags Rohan off to the top of a crane for a talk. Rohan asks him how he knows so much about him, to which the Siddha replies that his siddhis let him see through time and space, "through everything." He knows about Lakshmi's past as a temple dancer, when she put a black magic spell on her best friend Rani, because of a fight over a handsome gardener. Rohan again tells them to leave him alone, and get a life. "We have. Yours."

GH: Ah Black Siddha. What the hell is all this about, then? I'm beginning to get very tired indeed of Rohan's wimpy "but I don'twant to be a superhero" meanderings, and if I were the Siddha or Lakshmi, I would have already given up on this simpering idiot by now. And I think that's my main concern with Black Siddha - it's taking just so bloody long to get moving.

Another concern, as I've mentioned before, is the constant use of terms and words which the reader simply does not understand. Yes, yes, it shows that Mr Mills has really done his homework while writing this episode, but do you think he'd let us crib from his notes once in a while? Even a short glossary at the beginning of the episode (didn't Sláine start that way?) would be much appreciated. Instead we're left feeling like uneducated imbeciles, trying to keep up.

Only 2 more episodes to go, and if Rohan's not the Siddha by next month, I'm giving up on him..

LS: The appearance of Black Siddha adds some fun to this story, which has yet to ignite but still entertains with a blend of humour, silliness and interesting possibilities. It’s not perfect, and this episode features more than a few pages of (often clunky) exposition over plot, similar to Mills current ABC Warriors tale. Like the ABC Warriors, Mills has largely replaced preaching with humour and interesting concepts, so although he has yet to do anything mind-blowing with the ideas, the potential hangs there tantalizingly.

It would seem an almost impossible task given the long decline in my interest in Pat’s stories, but if he can come up trumps both here and over in 2000AD, then I would be more than delighted. Hopefully, I’am not just blinding myself to the faults of these stories in my desire to believe that Pat can still hack it with the best.

Part 6
Synopsis: Italia and Kurt are in a bar. Kurt asks her help in shutting down the family. She refuses, and runs away, using her powers to vault over a building. Kurt rushes outside too late, and as he does, Silver blows up the bar behind him. He tells Kurt to be at the docks with recording equipment at "midnight tomorrow" - but Italia overhears this.

Back at GIGO's, Al tells him that Cane wants to talk, down on the docks at midnight tomorrow. GIGO agrees. But after Al leaves, Italia comes in through the window - "I have some information for you." Al calls Cane to tell him that Gio's coming from a phonebox - it soinds like a double cross - but Silver is hovering in the shadows. At Gio's again, Talia has told Gio about what she overheard, and Gio realises it was Silver. Gio also realises that Cane is setting him up, which is confirmed as we see cane meeting with Silver to tell him it's all done. "Cool! I think it's time we finished this, don't you?"

GH: Family still suffers from a confusing array of main characters. Sure, most of them have been killed off by now, but despite that, the amount of double-crossing that appears to be going on here is taking some effort to follow. It's becoming a little clearer, and as mentioned before, having to pore over it closely for the synopses above does help clear matters up a little for me. With only one more episode to go after this, there's quite a lot to clear up. Perhaps my main problem is the total lack of compassion I have for any of the characters. Even Kurt, who could have been the emotional centre of the story seems to be a little too self centred to care about. At this rate, if they all blow themselves to kingdom come next issue, I'm not actually going to care that much. Which is a shame, as the story shows promise, and the talent on show here isn't exactly bargain basement.

Simon Fraser continues to be a great artist - although after this series, I must confess to preferring his colour work on Dante and Dredd. Rob Williams too has promise, as the writing on show here is good - but something is missing to hold it all together.

LS: There’s not much more to be said about my feelings about this strip that I haven’t already said in previous reviews. Kurt finally becomes more embroiled in things, and it has certainly had a lot more plot than Rob's previous story, Asylum. Still, ideas seem to come and go almost randomly (unless I‘m missing something, which could be a distinct possibility given the concentration required to keep track of this month to month). For instance, Kurt’s request to Talia for help in bringing down the Family - an interesting development, but where did it come from, what did he have in mind, and will we really see anything of it given Silver's intervention? Next month's finale should give us a chance to reread and properly assess whether this tale's weaknesses were highlighted in a crueler light than the story deserved by seeing only 6 pages a month.

Red Tide: Part 5
Synopsis: The boat lies a wreck on the shore. One of the vampires goes for Darrel Thorson, but Waugh kills it first, comforting the boy afterwards. Helsing is OK, but Tyler needs medical assistance. Lilith is unharmed. Then Landis appears out of the water. (Quick recap - Landis was the original vampire prisoner, a bloodsire, from the previous Aquatraz who began the vampire infection there. Devlin almost killed him last time, but Landis managed to escape).

Landis is carrying the other Thorson child, Connor, telling him he has 30 seconds to give him the daywalker or he rips open the boys throat. 30 seconds pass, and Landis does as he promised. Helsing fires a flaregun, and the vampires scatter, as Landis shapeshifts into a wolf. But Waugh's fingers are burned too: "I shall never crochet again". They escape inside, where bodies are strewn everywhere. Helsing ties to get them to the museum annexe where they can patch Tyler's wounds, but has trouble with the lock. The vampires start descending again, so Helsing has no choice - he unlocks Lilith's handcuffs: "All right. Who's first. I'll rip you freaks like tickertape!"

GH: Again - by far the best thing in the Megazine. It should be noted that this month's Megazine Incoming tells us how long each series is going to be, something which is very helpful in writing these reviews. So it come as a pleasant surprise to learn that this is an 11 (12 inc. the prologue?) part series, and will be one to cherish until the end of the year.

It's by far the best Waugh story we've seen so far, and livened up by a decent supporting cast, each with something to help further the plot in a different manner. The artwork continues to be the best MacNeil's done in years, and it is his sense of pacing that keeps the strip the most exciting in the megazine. And it's placed very well at the end of the comic, letting you keep the very best till last. If I only have one complaint - it's that I didn't realise until this issue that there were two Thorson boys - so I was a mite confused about who Landis was supposed to be killing there...

LS: Certainly the monthly schedule is starting to wear me down slightly with this tale - it’s still great stuff, and rather here than nowhere, but after 5 months, we still haven’t progressed much beyond Devlin’s flight from the vampires. Landis return is handled well enough, but to be honest, I was more impressed by the deep sea vampires last month than Landis, even with his shape shifting . The release of Lilith should set some sparks going, but there are still 6 more parts of this - not that I’m complaining about too much Devlin, but I’ll be a year older before this story ends!

Miscellaneous Material inc.

• Slaine: Time Killer
• Hall of Heroes: Rogue Trooper
• Darkie’s Mob
• Judge Dredd Text Story: Everything must go
• Apocalypse Soon

GH: The loss of Thrill Power Overload is sorely felt here. A decent text article is clearly needed to fill the gap - and the promised history of war comics will be warmly received when it arrives. And no interview either, which is a shame too. Instead we get a Dredd text story. Now I won't beat about the bush. I hate these text stories. I like to keep my books and my comics separate, and have no interest in reading a short Dredd fiction piece. There must me loads more inventive pieces that could have filled this space, so I hope this is not gong to be a regular feature of the Megazine.

As ever, Darkie's Mob and Sláine prove to be quality reprints - and i still have no idea what the hell Apocalypse Soon is all about...