Synopsis & review by Adam Crabtree
2nd Opinion by Stephen Watson

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

Regime Change - Part 2

Dredd sets his boundaries...

Synopsis: The fun continues in Cuidad Baranquilla as a Sino-Cit force heads for the city. Hershey patches Dredd into the communications system, and he sends the Sinos a message saying that if it comes to a fight over the Cuidad, MC-1 will not back down. This is sufficient for the Sino brass, who promptly turn tail.

Meanwhile Dredd and company search for the bodies of MC-1 cits amongst the mass graves of “The Black Orchard”, where the Baranquilla administration buried the executed. Tek Division Judge Corson unleashes a swarm of robotic insects that individually scan each victim for DNA. Lasalle voices concern over the lack of commitment to properly documenting Sangrenegra’s crimes against.

Presently, Barranquillan rebels start causing trouble nearby and, with some help from Brit Cit Judges, they are put to rest.

Later, Dredd comes across some MC-1 Judges hung in the streets, the latest in a series of surprisingly sophisticated attacks, and comes to the conclusion that somebody is benefactoring the rebels with aid and equipment, the likely candidate being Sangrenegra.

An encounter with an East Meg Two Judge, Kolsin, gives Dredd pause. The Easterners are keeping a close eye on the MC-1 peacekeepers, and Kolsin himself is wanted by Justice Watch International.

Corson later calls in the discovery of an MC-1 cit’s corpse in the Orchard; Dredd demands a full autopsy… and and states another twelve must be found before a move can be made.

AC: The Dredd epic; is it a lost art? The way I hear it, even recent ten to twelve parters like Mandroid and Blood Trails in the weekly pale in comparison to old school thrills like the Cursed Earth, and I’ve never heard of a similar feat attempted in the Megazine. In a time when markets are of the niche variety, leaping spryly from one new potential resource to the next with the speed of an antelope with a Catherine Wheel up its backside, even the thrills of 2000AD become smaller and smaller in length.

I mention it because Regime Change makes for suitably expansive fodder for an epic, juggling a very broad number of perspectives with ease and space for each facet of the story to grow, from Hershey at home in MC-1 to Dredd tearing around Cuidad Baranquilla on his Lawmaster, putting even flame reared mammals of the Serengeti to shame.

In just two instalments Rennie shows an astounding flair for complex storyline(s), and even manages to more than fulfil the requisite for action at the same time. You wouldn’t think amongst all this tight plotting that we would have time for the rumble with the Cartels and the Brit Cit Judges, but apparently we do and more! Plus, see last month’s review to find out just how much I enjoy the divinely cinematic art from Miranda and Cruz.

SW: After a few lacklustre Megazine outings it’s good to see Dredd getting an
adventure befitting his status as the headline act in the magazine. Too often the Meg has been the strip graveyard, where the second rate adventures are quietly buried. ‘Regime Change’ addresses this and ups the ante. What we have is a ground shift in Dredd’s world, with the city walls no longer the extent of the Judges’ interest.

As always Dredd’s world runs parallel to ours, and the events depicted are clearly satirising current world affairs. These sort of stories can come across as preachy or heavy handed, but what we get here is all out action and a bit of social commentary thrown in for good measure. Of course Dredd is a fascist and his regime is brutal but compared to the alternatives it’s easy to see why the Judges were re-elected by their citizens.

I always enjoy the expansion of Dredd’s world, and past tales like ‘Our man in Hondo’ and ‘Oz’ added greatly to the back story and the richness of the future world. In this outing Sino-cit, Banana City and Sov judges all take a turn at creating a dangerous and believable situation.

The Mega City Judges’ motivation has yet to be fully explained, although I doubt Dredd is in it for the Nobel prize. The missing bodies are clearly going to be the crux of the tale and I loved the bit of tech thrown in to find them.

The story is fast paced and exciting and I’m a real fan of Inaki Miranda’s art. I think I recognise his/her style from the Metro Dredd’s and although some have complained at it being ‘cartoony’ I think it’s excellent with cracking machines and an excellent colour palette from Eva De La Cruz.

Stalingrad - Part 3

Richter questioned his dentist's methods...

Synopsis: 1942, and Constantin slaughrers a child before his troops to spur them to victory in Stalingrad. He does this by savaging her neck with his teeth, prompting Richter to cut off her head and prevent her rising again, a decision he must defend to the Russian translator in 1943. He details the special mission Constanta set prior to Stalingrad; the men were taken behind enemy lines and given an hour until dawn and certain death. As the men make their way back towards their own camp, Constantin betrays them by launching a flare in their direction, making the survivors’ victory all the more hard won. Constantine details the special mission as the taking of the Mamayev Kurgan fortress in Stalingrad.

AC: Ok, I’ll make a deal with David Bishop… when the story starts, I’ll start reviewing it. Seem fair?

Alright no, that’s too cruel, but seriously, three months just to get to the central conceit? And with whispers of this having two more parts to go, I wonder if anything will be achieved at all by the time this draws to a close. The scripting is highly proficient, and Colin Macneil’s art is quite exquisite, lending a deathly, ghostly atmosphere to the proceedings, but can we please stop faffing around?

SW: This slow burning tale starts to take off this episode with the survivor’s tale now moving into juicer territory. Having recently re-read the original strip I have to say this has met and exceeded the challenges thrown down by the earlier outing.

It must have been difficult for Colin MacNeil to take over the art chores after Carlos Ezquerra’s iconic depiction of the second world war vampires, but to his credit he has produced some cracking work. His style is well suited to black and white, as is the grim tale.

There isn’t too much going on, and at the end of part three we are only just a bit more informed than we were when the ‘confession’ began. This pacing is in keeping with the first series and the tension that is rising makes the wait worthwhile. It probably wouldn’t have been my choice for a resurrection from the archives, but you can’t keep a good vampire down!

Not detailed or complex, but genuinely sinister and a joy to look at.

Return of the Jester - Part 3

The Jester strikes...

Synopsis: The Siddah disappears using the Ishita Siddhi, reflecting on the Lords of Karma granting him a second chance. He mounts a second assault on the gangsters, resolving not to kill anyone. Across town, Jester and a fellow thug are putting the squeeze on a theatre paying protection money to the gang’s rivals, the Somosas, getting interrupted by said rivals’ representatives showing up.

Trash talking threats are followed by a pitched gun fight, which is disrupted by Black Siddha. Rohan, eager to get even with his father’s killer (Jester), neglects the subtler points of his training and tosses a van onto Jester… who seems somewhat unfazed by this development.

AC: I find myself being more interested in the bad guys in this piece than in the actual hero. Now, I guess this is nothing new; the bad boys get all the attention in a lot of franchises in the creative media, whether they be villains or anti-heroes. But young Rohan’s presence actually distracts you from the proceedings with all the obscure references to the powers that gifted him his abilities, and to events of past strips.

The scenes with Jester and his fellow mob enforcer is one of the best in this month’s edition of the Megazine, and the rapport they have, whether they’re torturing and killing hapless theatre owners feeling the squeeze of protection racketeering gangsters, or facing off with an assortment of gringos whose minds are on other things (“I’ll pick up some flowers from the garage on the way home, that usually keeps them happy…”) is engaging.

Simon Davis does lend this week’s violent gangland proceedings a distinctly Sinister Dexter feel, with the somewhat perplexing whirlwind of bullets effect transported from that strip to this, scuffing up the page. The art is probably at its most sophisticated when depicting the Siddha and the related magical whatnots, with the textures being very rich and the detail being fiendishly delicate.

SW: This strip once again retains the mantle of ‘most mental’ and is none the worse for that. I’m never 100% sure about what’s going on and how much should be taken with a pinch of salt, but it is an enjoyable ride with some cracking earthy dialogue. “Her indoors is expecting a bottle of wine and shag” says one matter of factly, “Me too” says his friend. I just hope the first guy has the energy!

The characters are pretty funny with the ‘I’m not short’ gangster steering just shy of the Watchmen - tall order!

Simon Davis’ art mirrors the funny script with the knocked out gangster having dotty eyes and a squiggle above his head and, although his style is always married to Sinister/Dexter for me, it fit’s the script well.

Can’t say that I love it or fully follow it but I’m glad it’s there, doing whatever it’s doing well.

Burn!

3 simple rules...

Synopsis: Henry Dubble introduces another tale of woe from Mega City One, centred on two skulls locked together in what appears to be a kiss. The story begins at a firebombed Euthanasium, the latest in what one Judge suspects to be a spree by one perp. An observing crowd, part of a tour of the city, reflects on what it must be like for those inside. Tour guide Lyle Spalding seems a little jittery…

The tour bus sets off to see the goriest curios in the city, with a single mother tourist taking a shine to Lyle, while the Tek Judges succeed in linking the Euthanasium fire to two similar incidents. They’ve also found material from a popular carrisack that they believe held all three firebombs (which were easily constructed T9 Cartridges).

The next day, Lyle diverts the tour to plant a firebomb in a public building, taking time to clear the blast zone and leave his carrisack in position. Outside he is dismayed to find out the single mother, Londra, has gone in to use the bathroom. She comes back out again, and chastises Lyle for leaving his carrisack behind so carelessly, which she produces winningly…

The resulting explosion fuses together the skulls of Lyle and Londra in a freakish semblance of a passionate clinch. Even love, it seems, can kill in Mega City One...

AC: One of the most exciting new commodities in the Megazine continues with another short story set within MC-1. First the good; the art is in black and white as usual, and the authors in this series have risen to the challenge and poured atmosphere into every frame like so much Ambient Treacle™. This month’s artist is no different, with an appealingly fresh look to his work; the slick, angular and somewhat cartoonish visuals are to Burn’s credit.

John Smith indulges his dark side, in doing so proving that he does not in fact have a light side; the central motif of two skulls fused together in a kiss is representative not only of the twisted gothic humour of the Black Museum, but also that Smith is not quite right in the Mind Tank (and good thing too). However, this is a comparatively pedestrian effort, with the sci-fi element taking a back seat, the story being overly simple, and it lacks the genuine creepiness and the punch of earlier efforts in this series.

SW: This new anthology style strip has promised a lot more than it delivered, with this proving to be another poor outing for the series. The previous episode with the ‘magic bullet’ was poor but it was aces compared to ‘BURN!’

Effectively what we get is a firebug who is undone when a good Samaritan returns his bag seconds before it goes off. That set-up is as old as Methuselah’s grandpa and even if you accept that, what is so ‘Black Museum’ about it at all? Fused skull? Hardly Judge Death’s underpants is it?!

I’m also a bit cool on the art with more square jaws on show than a Dan Dare look-alike contest.

I can only assume the editor scrawled ‘Burn’ on the script and somehow it got published!

I hope the series continues, but with a more mystical and dangerous bent. With all that goes on in Mega City surely better artifacts can be unearthed? Must try harder!

Miscellaneous Material inc.

• Ian Edginton interview
• Classic Dredd
• Mr Amperduke
• Top 20 Graphic Novels
• X-men 3 Film review

AC: Like a fine wine, vintage John Wagner Dredd (at least I assume it’s him, working under one of his many pseudonyms) will only get better with age. It will also destroy your kidneys; Fact! The colouring is a bit of an improvement from last week and Mike McMahon’s art is bursting with antiquated yet undeniable charm, with the towering buildings of MC-1 evoked in a scribblesome yet loving fashion. The far future look being devised by pioneers like McMahon is truly distinctive, with the general shape of the Mega City emerging as a middle ground between the spaced out curvature of 50’s and 60’s sci-fi, combined with the municipal grimness and grittiness that would become the vogue in the late eighties and nineties… and this is 1980 we’re talking about here!

The Ian Edington interview is a typically fascinating one for one who is not quite so immersed in comics’ culture as some. I especially enjoyed reading up on Scarlet Traces, Edington’s unique take on Wellsian science fiction, and on his other assorted collaborations with D’Israeli, most recently seen in the Dredd sequel about a Victorian time traveller in MC-1 (with this and the similarly themed Leviathan, I think maybe I’m sensing something of a theme… probably nothing). Badham’s analysis on Edington’s work as fusing darkness with domesticity is also intriguing.

The film review from Simon Spurrier was alright; I guess anything the text gives you a good ten minutes extra reading time to chew over at any rate. One senses though, with his diatribe on X Men 3: The Last Stand that he is perhaps too close to the subject, though his writing is typically elegant.

Rob William’s chart of the top twenty graphic novels to own is of course nothing more than a list, in a world where lists are easy to put out there and you can depend on readers to pore over them, with some taking the selections more to heart than others. Myself, I was content to take a look at some of the insights and personal perspectives of a fellow fan of the medium and was pleased to note a couple of my own favourites on there.

The small press offering, Mr Amperduke, is a lovingly rendered and highly introspective piece, which communicates a story with love, tragedy and a truly affecting look at the human condition (just the central image of this character, Amperduke, the essence of the collector and the nurturer is an achingly potent one). The allegory for discrimination and the irrational fear of what’s different is depicted on its rawest, most primal level.

The art is also the most sophisticated seen in the small press section since its first appearance in the Megazine. I’ve been one of the people who’ve actually come away feeling pretty damn impressed with that which has been offered to us by this irritatingly benevolent (cost cutting) feature, and this is certainly the most professional and affecting effort showcased thus far. A true original and I hope the brass at the offices at the Galxy’s Greatest will be taking notice.

SW: INTERVIEW : IAN EDGINTON

There was a great outcry, not least from myself, when the Megazine slimmed down. Now after a few issues in it’s fair to say that only the fat has been trimmed. OK there is a small amount of reprint, but when original features like this are included it’s fair to say never mind the width - look at the quality!

I am a bit prejudiced of course as Ian Edginton was my pick for ‘Best Writer’ in last year’s poll. It is of course hard not to be a fan with credits like ‘The Red Seas’ and ‘Leviathan’, but that said he could still be a horrible person. Such thoughts were quickly dispelled by this excellent interview by Matthew Badham.

Covering seven pages it may be argued that it rambles on a bit and takes up a disproportionately high amount of the magazine. That would be fair comment right up to the point you start to read it. Even if his work isn’t your favourite you have to appreciate the effort that goes into researching and creating the series and indeed the interview itself.

The piece is amply illustrated and sometimes (the Brian Bolland for one) the pictures are simply a cheap way of filling space. Not so here, with the illustrations demonstrating Edginton’s wide range of characters and theatres of interest as well as the genesis of the characters, seen through the preliminary sketches.

I like the narrative form the interview takes, which encourages a through reading, rather than the tradition Q&A where we can skip the questions we don’t fancy! Ian Edginton comes across as an open and honest subject who must have more hours in a day than the rest of us to keep up such a prolific work rate. The juicy titbits about the upcoming 2000ad stories had me slavering although someone should mention dinosaurs and cowboys have been done before!

JUDGE DREDD : COMPULSORY PURCHASE

If reprints are needed I’m glad old annual stories such as this one are being chosen. It’s always welcome to see the work of Mike McMahon, especially in a fat paced and funny story like this. The story telling is excellent and harks back to the days when a great story was told in seven pages, not seven parts.

SMALL PRESS

The small press features have been a welcome addition to the new look Megazine offering a distinctly different slice of the medium each issue.

Bob Byrne's ‘Mr Amperduke’ is by any definition ‘different’. It’s a wordless tale of a man who populates his Lego town with shop bought miniature people whom he dresses in rigid suits. Problems arise when the suit supplier lets him down leaving a developing situation between the suited and non suited inhabitants of Toytown. I’m not totally sure what transpired at the end but it didn’t go well for the non-suits. Whether there’s a point being made about prejudice or acceptance I don’t know, but it was a petty fun ride!

My only concern would be over the length and the lack of dialogue - that’s six pages done in two minutes! That said I had to read it a few times to sort out what was going on, and then look for any subtext so I probably spent longer on it than anything else, thus negating my earlier argument!

I could see this more as a web comic but it was nicely done and I’m sure it’ll send plenty of traffic over to the website listed.

REVIEW & TOP 20

Not content with writing half of the weekly prog Simon Spurrier turns his hand to reviewing the last X-Men movie - I won’t say the NEW X-Men movie as I saw it a month ago, and I’m sure most of the readership has too. Still he can’t be blamed for the scheduling and does offer a few fun nuggets on a film that’s been pretty much pecked to death by one and all. He concedes he does ramble, and offers little in the way of insight. A so-so review for a so-so movie? Seems appropriate!

The top twenty feature has been branded ‘filler’ by one and all and this weeks outing does nothing to redress the balance. Top 20 graphic novels? At first I though it was an advert for Forbidden Planet!

The titles chose were mostly predictable although kudos to Rob for mentioning one of my favourites - the Justice League International - poor old Blue Beetle! Of the rest I’d take Daredevil :Born Again over Man Without Fear and where is V for Vendetta?

I won’t say anymore in case justification for this poor feature is given as ‘Well it encourages debate!’