Meg 207 - 29 July 2003
Cover by Simon Coleby & Chris Blythe

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

Synopses and reviews contain spoilers for this issue

GH: A pretty good cover by Simon Coleby (whose work always looks better in colour - more on that later) and covers which tell a story in themselves are always welcome.

LS: Well the cover is better than Coleby's interior art this issue, with a strong if not particularly relevant image. Colours are a bit dull once again, though - has an executive decision been made to tone down the covers?

Shakedown - Part 2 (Final episode)

Synopsis: As the shakedown continues, Dredd ascends in the elevator with Homer & Oola Blint. He recognises Homer and asks what they're doing there. Oola says they're distributing religious tracts and wants to say more, but they reach level 99 and Dredd leaves. Outside, the democrats drop a high ex pack and take out most of the judges, while downstairs the kidnappers hide out in the emergency ward. Dredd tends to the wounded on level 99 as back-up arrives, and then he heads after the democrats.

One of the democrats dies and the remaining two find the storeroom of the block skysurf club. Meanwhile, the stoners decide to look at what the old couple gave them, and discover it's a corpse. Back on the upper levels, the democrats head off on the hoverboards with Dredd shooting after them. One of them, Turkey is afraid of heights, but manages to get the hang of it. The other, Reb is shot and almost falls, as Turkey finally gets blown to pieces. Reb tries to make a run for it, but is shot by Dredd, and crashes through the glass roof of the block exit on level one, where Homer and Oola are trying to get out and where the youngest member of the democrats was also trying to escape. He runs to the body and admits he's a member of the fringe, as Oola and Homer take the opportunity to escape.

Upstairs, the judges discover bodies in an apartment and realise the Euthanasia Killer has been at work. Also, the stoners are trying to return the body to the Grimleys, as judges come upon them. They drop the body but the judges think they are going for guns and kill them. The Grimleys come out to see what the commotion is, but the judges tell them to go back inside, and decide not to search their apartment. Back in the Medbay, judges finally arrest the kidnappers posing as doctors. Dredd investigates the Euthanasia Killer's work, and realises that Homer and Oola are the ones he's looking for. Homer and Oola are already in a jet, heading for Oz.

At the end of the night, there have been 2919 arrests, 2 fatalities, and 10,000 cautions. The Grimleys, who were collecting the welfare of the body they were keeping, sit back and add some more "sweetener" to their tea...

GH: It's the end of Shakedown and while this has been very entertaining, with the emphasis on farce, it's really not been anything that we haven't seen before. These "crime-blitz" stories must be gifts to John Wagner, as it seems he's able to turn in a pretty entertaining story without having to worry about character or plot development. Ok - we may see the Blints again, but I wouldn't expect to see more of any of the other characters of the strip in the near future. So this registers as being "OK" as far as I am concerned. Pretty entertaining but really, you've seen it all before.

Manley's art is improving, certainly, and he has moments of inspiration, but it's clear that he needs to develop more, especially in the area of creating distinct characters. There's an air of stiffness about his characters that he needs to eliminate, and as Leigh said last month, he needs to work on his women. That said, Reb's death is suitably gruesome, and with a bit of work Manley is very possibly a name to watch for the future.

LS: Unfortunately, the story hasn't improved and has more than confirmed my negative thoughts about both the strip and art. Contrivance of plot is one thing - these sort of strips are the Dredd World equivalent of a farce, so we know unlikely things are going to happen. However this takes things a step too far by having all the storylines tie themselves up a little too neatly, all independently of one another. If, for example, the hippies had walked into the crossfire of the battle between the Dems and the Judges, it would have been a darn sight more believable than the frankly appalling "trigger happy" judges denouement we actually saw. That said, the final panel raised a smile, but why such a tortuous and unwieldy route to get there?

What with John Burns cardboard box Lawmaster in the weekly and Manley's Lego H-Wagons here, are Justice Dept running low on funds? The perspective seems a little shot too - see the scene where the body of Reb is hanging above the Judges, but appears to be twice the size of the chap below her.

True Romance
Synopsis: Bato Loco (last seen in Meg 202) is being attacked by his girlfriend Catalonia, a professional killer who he agreed to marry a year ago. Bato says he's saving up for a ring, and in response Catalonia shoots his foot, and says he's got a week to get it. Later, with only 3 days left, he visits his friends for inspiration and help with getting the cash for a ring. They suggest he skips town, but Catalonia would come after him. Next they suggest he deals with the Slyrrm aliens in Alientown...

At the end of the week, Bato has the cash for the ring, as the Slyrrm start coming after him. He sold them raw munce instead of the human Pituitary gland extract narcotic they were after, and now they want revenge. He runs to Catalonia, who says she won't help him unless she has a ring on her finger. He asks her to marry him, gives her the ring, so Catalonia takes out the aliens and tells Bato to take her out for dinner. Bato begins to see this as a good thing - "especially after I break it off with the four or five other broads I am also engaged to at this particular time."

GH: I wasn't particularly impressed by the character of Bato Loco last time around, as he didn't really seem to fit well into Dredd's world. However, in his own strip, there is a little more room for him to maneuver so there's hope for the character yet. This story is entertaining in a take-it-or-leave it style - i.e. throwaway entertainment. It's fun while it lasts, but nothing you'd particularly be bothered about reading again. So maybe if the character ever returns, it'll be in a longer arc so we can understand a little bit more about what makes him tick.

However, this episode does have that rather irritating plot device of practically ignoring stories that went before it. What happened to the jewels that Bato took from Resyck, why is he so hard up for cash, and why is he able to stroll down the street only a week after Catalonia blew a huge hole in his foot? Small irritations, I'll admit, but enough to distract from the story.

As for the art, Coleby's an incredibly talented artist, but as I've said before, his art can be very confusing in black and white. The grey shading technique he used in Prog 2003 worked very well on his black and white art, and it was a shame that this wasn't re-used here. However, it's good to see that he's being associated with the character that he co-created, and certainly has the artistic flair needed to carry off a larger than life character like Bato Loco.

LS: More comedy capers here, though fortunately not as contrived as in the Dredd tale. It's all a bit lightweight, but with some nice touches here and there, even if Carlito's double-cross is poor and happens off screen. Coleby's art seems to me a step backwards to his old style, which is a bit disappointing for me, given I hated his earlier work, but had been quite surprised by how much better his art had got since his recent return. He's still not my favourite, but his art had become a bit more comprehensible and thought through. This however has some oddly twisted people and confusing layouts - is that alien supposed to be staggering away from the wreckage alive, or being "blammed"? It’s particularly a shame to see the artist slip back into old ways, because there’s a face he draws in the third panel that seems to be photo sourced, and looks very good (but unfortunately out of place!).

Bad Karma - Part 7 (final part)
Synopsis: Rohan and Mirabai are attacked by the Hindu gods. Lord Kalki prepares to destroy him by knocking a building on top of him, as Mirabai starts to remember about her previous life. To save her, Rohan finally decides to become the Black Siddha, and flies Mirabai out of harms way. Once out of harms way, Mirabai remembers the Black Siddha from before. He gets ready to take her home, but is stopped by the Gods as he turns back into Rohan. They tell Rohan that he and Mirabai must pay for their past lives, unless Rohan is willing to take on Rak. Rohan agrees to take on the mantle of Black Siddha and fight Rak, on the condition that they don't hurt Mirabai. They agree - but warn him not to change his mind, as they can find him anywhere. However, they think his father would be very proud of him...

GH: So Black Siddha ends, and what's the verdict? In its favour was the fantastic art by Simon Davis, who has proved himself to be a diverse artist when taken away from his usual haunt of Sinister and Dexter. He's clearly put a great deal of work into the designs and research for this strip, and without a doubt, he's made this strip worth leafing through each week.

Also in its favour is the lighthearted approach that Pat Mills has taken with the story. As many readers know, Mills has the tendency to get a bit preachy at times, something which has plagued his latest Sláine work. But this had a few good jokes, and didn't take itself very seriously at all, which was a breath of fresh air.

However - there are a number of things that work against the strip. Rohan's flippant attitude helped to gradually make him a very unlikable character. That it's taken him so long to become the Siddha has become a source of extreme irritation. In fact there are no main characters that are particularly sympathetic, which is a considerable drawback. In addition, the confusing amount of mythological characters used with little explanation has also been something of a stumbling block, as there's a nagging feeling that you're missing something by not being up on Hindu mythology.

That said, I tentatively wouldn't mind seeing another series, just to see if the plot decides to go anywhere. I'm sure there's one coming, so lets see if Mills can make it more compelling next time around.

LS: The strip finally finishes, and while it was stretched out a little too far, it's worth considering that the strip was only 7 parts and …. Pages long. There are shades of the Nemesis/Purity relationship between Rohan and Mirabai, with her not being able to remember the past they shared. Still, I stand by this story for it’s humour and warmth, and cautiously look forward to it’s return.

While Davis' art has suited the talking heads nature of this introductory strip, it remains to be seen if he can handle the kind of action that I presume will follow on from this. Even so, the art has been nothing but attractive and complimentary to the strip so far.

The Worst Job in the Galaxy
Synopsis: At the Stargateway Hotel, the robot bell-hop is having trouble with a complaining guest alien. Another guest, sex droid Miss Holly, asks him to get her hat from the hatbox in her penthouse. He goes inside, past the two guards and finds the box - with a robot head inside, which attaches itself to the bellhops hand. The alien causing trouble from downstairs bursts in and calls the guards, just as two morphing aliens burst through the window, with morphing weapons, and demand the head. A gunfight ensues, as Miss Holly calls the bell-hop from the door and he escapes.

After a kiss, she tries to remove the head and says that it's Salem McNee, wanted for anti robot genocide, previously human but had his memory transferred to the head. Holly gets rid of her disguise and changes into a male robot. They escape as he tells the bell-hop that they're after the head to repossess it, as Miss Holly didn't keep up the payments. As they escape, he tells the bell-hop that he's got a new career as a Repo-Mek, the worst job in the galaxy.

GH: What on Earth is this? This seems so out of place in the Megazine, that as I read it again, I'm still surprised it ever got in. Smelling rather strongly of filler material (four all-new stories start next month), this doesn't work at all. Raynor's art certainly doesn't work me, and the whole thing feels like one of the strips that used to appear in 2000AD in the bad-old-days. Perhaps if this was handled by a more experienced writer like Rennie, this could have been OK, but the whole thing seemed dreadfully amateurish.

Now, after reading this, I was intrigued as to who this "James Stevens" was. Looking on the official site's writer profiles, I couldn't see his name. I instead went to the Meg info section, where it says that, in fact, David Bishop wrote this story. It also helpfully reminds us that Bishop created the Spacegirls and B.L.A.I.R.1. Now it all starts to make sense. Bishop should stick to non-fiction, where his true talents clearly lie.

The end of the strip reads: "to be continued...?". Please don't.

LS: Another comedy strip? Three (four?) in a row is perhaps bad or unlucky scheduling - it doesn’t help that the story is a bit of a let down for me in terms of both art and story. Story wise, its all a little confusing, with the strip jumping around and trying too hard to create a wild and wacky feel - lots of characters turn up for no discernable reason - (the Mercury Twins and the rather superfluous nature of the talking head). As with the Dredd strip, events happen because they have to to get the story to where the writer wants to be, rather than because they flow naturally from the situations - for example, why does the bell-droid now become part of Repo-Mex, just because the hand attached itself to him and the Repo-Droid had to bring him along? Wouldn’t they more likely have to return him, or just dump him?

The art is also a let down, and probably adds to the confusion in the story telling, with some difficult to decipher locations and action sequences. The designs are all very bland and unoriginal - maybe Gibson would have been a better choice? Hmmm, I seem to recall suggesting Gibson for the Dredd last month…I promise I’m not his agent!

Red Tide: Part 7
Synopsis: The doctors in the facility watch Devlin's crew coming on a vid screen. Lilith tells Tyler that the blood from his wound is going to draw the vampires straight to them. One of the bodies on the ground stirs, and Lilith senses that the rest of them were all taken down in a group attack and are about to turn. They all start to wake, and the group are forced to defend themselves. The doctor's in the institute can't understand why Lilith is free.

Tyler says they should cut across the swamps to get to the facility, while elsewhere Landis is rallying the troops, telling them how getting Lilith is their primary objective, as being able to walk in daylight is the next step in their evolution.

Devlin's group cuts through the dinosaur hall as Helsing hears the sound of his assistant Bobby Sinai hanging from the roof. Tyler forces some of the vampires around Sinai back with a UV light, but another immediately kills Sinai. But now Devlin's had enough of all of this nonsense and drawing his samurai blade, he prepares for a good fight...

GH: As Devlin's mob wanders across the dinosaur hall, I'm reminded that this whole strip feels very much like a 18 rated horror version of Jurassic Park, directed by a slightly insane Stephen Spielberg. It has true cinematic qualities, and could quite easily be converted into a feature film (like that'll ever happen). I'm still not sure who that woman is in the institute, but I assume it's Helsing's daughter, and the plot could do with a good revelation about now but it's still one of the best strips in either the weekly or the Meg in recent times. The collected edition could be a must-have (especially if it's on better paper) as it'll work far better as a fast paced read. Other than that, not much happens again apart from the usual action this week and while that doesn't bother me too much, I'd like a decent twist right about now, if possible.

Oh, and cutting "across the swamps" doesn't sound like a very good idea at all...

LS: The most damning thing about this is I cant think of anything new to say about it this month - the same things that have happened in previous episodes happen again in slightly different ways, and the art remains lovely but a bit green. The only real positive is in the characterisation of Devlin, in particular a fine end panel with a great little speech that sums up how I feel about the story - "this beastly charade has gone on long enough" - get to the point already!

Miscellaneous Material inc.

• Judge Dredd
• Hall of Heroes: Bad Company
• Darkie’s Mob
• Big Finish Article
• Apocalypse Soon

GH: An improvement this week with a good sized article looking into the recent audio adventures from Big Finish productions. It's good to see some classic Dredd stories, but I do feel as if I've read these several times now. I still have absolutely no idea what Apocalypse Soon is all about and I'm beginning to only skim through Darkie's Mob. I do miss the "coming soon" section - as it's a real shame that was gotten rid of. Please bring that back?