Cover by Boo Cook

RC: A busy looking piece with almost nothing happening. Dredd and some bystanders look up at… some lettering. If they didn’t know they were in The Megazine this month, they do now.

JM: It’s a good, dramatic cover that’ll stand out on the shelf.  Explosions, spaceships, Judge Dredd with a gun – all lovely things we like.  The incidental characters (including, if I’m not mistaken, the fat guy from Lost) are brilliantly drawn and show just why Boo Cook should get a regular comedy series other than the flawed Harry Kipling, which with its insistence on buggering about with very big Gods just doesn’t play to his strengths.  Great use of colour, too, as usual from this artist. 

However, it’s not a great cover.  The spaceship is completely indeterminate, and Dredd seems to have a nasty case of scoliosis.  Also, to indulge a personal peeve, I don’t like it when artists put stubble on Dredd’s chin: this is completely contrary to the character’s ethos and a bad hangover from Simon Bisley days. 

Shadowkill - Part 1 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Lee Garbett Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Even CSI: Mega City 1 has problems with this...

Synopsis: An air cruiser crashes into Mega City One. It's pilot is Adam Troy of Troy Industries. He says an experiment on a satellite into Dark Matter energy went wrong and devoured the ship - he only just managed to escape. He promises to pay back the damage, the latest in a long line of scandals to hit him after his wife decided to take him to the cleaners in a messy divorce. In addition, the board of his company is threatening to relieve him of his position as CEO. Troy looks in the mirror and sees that his eyes have turned black and something seems to be seeping out of them - as he hears a voice in his head.

Across town, a black liquid attacks his wife and disintegrates here completely from the inside out. Dredd thinks Troy is a suspect, but he passes the lie detector test. Later troy discovers that he appears to have been possessed by a dark matter being - bringing out the worst of his qualities...

RC: This was reasonably entertaining but it can be hard to remember Megazine stories from month to the next and I pretty much forgot “Shadowkill” while I was reading it. The trouble is the basic premise is pretty ordinary. Energy monster thingy takes over scientist and brings out his evil self. Wasn’t that in Dr Who? Or Star Trek? Probably both. It’s certainly the kind of science fiction staple that creates the impression of filler, even when the story is well done. As is the case here, with a brisk pace and an engaging victim, the nice-but-dim Troy.

Garbett’s artwork has too many thick black lines for my liking but the monster itself is suitably menacing.

JM: I’ll try hard to be fair about this.  After all, it’s not easy for anyone to write a stunning Dredd script when Origins and Cadet are fresh in the readers’ memories.  Robbie Morrison has also had a tough ride for his early Dredd’s, with their rather cackhanded insistence on showing the character’s more human side. 

Nonetheless, two weeks after having first read it I genuinely couldn’t remember a thing about the plot.  And on re-reading the strip it seems to me that there are still multiple elements that demonstrate Morrison still doesn’t really have a handle on the Big Meg.  The name “Vonnegut” is far too mainstream science-fiction to suit the crazy laws of Wagner’s world.  Dredd leaving a perp to die unnecessarily takes us right back to Mark Millar’s (rubbish) days on scripting duties.  The Judges inexplicably let the lead character go.  And “dark matter” seems to be a common feature of crap Dredd scripts.  Garbett’s art seems to have its admirers, but just seems deeply bland to me. 

So, being as fair as I can, I’d have to say that this Dredd, so far, is mince. 

Meet the Jetsams Script: Dan Abnett Art: Steve Roberts Letters: Simon Bowland

Gimlet invests in heavy duty eye drops...

Synopsis: "Email" thinks he is being attacked by a sea monster, but it turns out to be "The Scuttlefish" that Mermansk and the captain summoned (and it appear the captain has some empathetic link to sea life). Teach learns that Gizzard, a black market racketeer is operating in the area again, and that they have to close him down for good. Later email runs into Gimlet, who appears to have a mutation of the eyes, but refuses to accept that he is a mutant - strange when the captain supports their rights. Later, email snoops around and finds a judge's badge and lawgiver in the captain's cabin - but before he can react is attracted by shouts outside. Gizzard has got reinforcements and is bearing down on them...

RC: I’m not sure what to make of this one. Is it funny? Is it thrilling? Do I like it? Well, no not really but I’m prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt. For now. Although Abnett’s missed the chance to make a strong first impression (and you only get one, don’t you know) I think there will be enough here to make it work. At the moment it’s stuck in a sluggish introduction to the characters.

And our hero’s an idiot. I hate that. Steve Roberts’ artwork goes with the story well but shouldn’t it be in colour? I can’t say it gains a lot from the black and white.

JM: Well, that’s more like it!  Muties in denial, some patented Dan Abnett puns, and lovely twisty-turny Steve Roberts art.   

OK, so the “undercover judge” angle now seems to be rather overplayed (it’d be more surprising to see a new Dreddverse strip that didn’t feature one).  And these six pages are almost 100% exposition.  But then again, it can’t be easy to have to create an entire world in just three parts, and this seems a world well worth exploring.  “Jeremy Gizzard” is worth the price of admission in itself. 

Innocence & Experience - Part 2 Script: John Smith Art: Peter Doherty Letters: Peter Doherty

Waugh's weedkiller ...

Synopsis: While the attackers outside are being slowly whittled down by a number of nasty defenses in the garden, Waugh decides to tell his background to Keene after his mother retires to bed.

in his childhood, Waugh was sent to Eton, an escape for Devlin as his father had become obsessed with the occult while his mother continued to have affairs. Once at Eton, Devlin had his own infatuations, starting with Conrad who was in the year above him. Devlin also set up the Caliban Club, which experimented in magick. Eventually, he had his first success by masturbating a homunculus into existence - a demon lover...

RC: I’ve always liked the character of Devlin Waugh more than his adventures, which have alternated between entertaining vampire romps and tedious supernatural epics. (“Fetish” is one of my all time least favourite Dredd stories.) This is mostly because he’s had no character arc to speak of.

By giving his splendidly bitchy mother the juiciest lines, Smith takes the pressure off Devlin himself. (Although allowing him one outrageous double entendre.) Waugh has also ditched (nearly) all the Dredd-world trimmings. In my opinion, this works to his advantage. Waugh’s reminiscences could have easily been set in our own “real” recent past and seem easier to accept. Giving him the “Origins” treatment didn’t seem the best idea at first but it‘s started well.

Meanwhile, the overt action is provided by a gang of comedy ninjas who are defeated by savage guard-jellyfish. Just what they’re doing is a mystery.

The artwork is nicely atmospheric without being distinctive.

JM: Nobody combines outlandish elements like John Smith.  In this case, a clear dash of William S. Burroughs (the jacking-off monster is almost directly taken from Burroughs’ The Place of Dead Roads), a soupcon of Evelyn Waugh, a pinch of classic Dredd lore (Grubb’s disease) combined with an almost Amisian loathing of humanity.  Smith seems to be restraining his usual linguistic pyrotechnics here, having faith that the story is interesting enough without an overbearing narrative voice. 

Ever since it was announced that Peter Doherty would be doing the art on this installment I knew that this would be a successful series visually: Doherty’s the sort of painstaking craftsman that actually does best with a John Smith script (think Paul Marshall’s elegant Firekind).  What’s been a surprise is his equal skill as a letterer – “mmMilky milky” is worthy of Gaspar Saladino.   

God knows where all the action outside the villa is going.  If Smith is repeating a trick from one of the early Waugh text stories, it’s entirely possible that the attack squad will all be dead before our hero even has to lift a finger.

No Body, No How - Part 2 Script: Simon Spurrier Art: Frazer Irving Letters: Ellie De Ville

Jack Point, ever the gentleman...

Synopsis: Jack Point is being beaten up for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of Roth's wife (who happens to be dead in his room) until Miss Anne Thrope comes to his rescue.

Retiring to a bar, she says that he's been seen around town with a woman in red (Roth's wife). Point starts to remember that after the incident in the warehouse, he met up with the wife to fond out why she let him go - he found out nothing other than she seemed to know who he was. Back in the present, Thrope offers Point a job in her team of mercs (all ex-judges) but he has to quit or get fired first. Point turns it down by throwing a drink in her face.

He heads home and prepares to dispose of the body by cutting it up, but notices something odd about the body. Before he can investigate, the SJS investigating officer who is his liaison at the department arrives, angry that he has missed his appointment with her. She demands to have the meeting at his apartment...

RC: In contrast to Smith and Devlin Waugh, Spurrier has embraced an obscure and unlikely part of Mega City One’s rich continuity, swiped a peripheral character and crafted the bizarre world within a world of Angel Town.

One day I’ll be reading “The Simping Detective” and think, “hey, this is silly – I hate silly stories." It hasn’t happened yet for the simple reason that Jack Point’s adventures punch all the right buttons for me, especially the noirish dialogue. Spurrier’s distinctive first-person style is perfect for the Raymond Chandler stuff and keep the strip
consistently entertaining even when the story itself isn’t going any further than the corpse in Jack’s bed. Speaking of which, our hero’s willingness to chop up his late girlfriend is a disturbing moment hidden away in the snappy one-liners. There’s a little too much of Angel Town getting into our hero. Very Nietzsche.

Irving’s artwork continues to be superb. Distinctive and perfectly matched to the material.

I realise I’ve reviewed the strip in general, rather than this month’s episode but that’s because it’s simply service as usual. A class act all round.

The only thing that worries me is the Miss Anne Thrope element.  It looks as though this is going to be an ongoing thread that eventually results in a big storyline: very last year’s Doctor Who.  But with this character and this creative team, sometimes you have to ask, why worry?  What’s the Point? 

Judge Dredd reprint: Freefall
Dan Abnett Interview
Small Press - Sancho
Dredd Files
New Movies

RC: Freefall - One of those times Wagner seems to despair of his creation, resulting in a striking mood piece. A good choice of reprint material.

Small press – File under: JNGE (Just Not Good Enough.)

None of the features; an un-illuminating Dan Abnett interview, The Dredd Files or “New” Films, told me anything I didn’t already know.

JM: Dan Abnett interview  A good solid interview with a good, solid professional.  Abnett comes across as a nice guy, a hard worker, and a reliable scriptwriter with few demons in his closet: this may not make for the flashiest of interview pieces, but it does explain why he gets so much work and why it’s mostly so enjoyable.  

Judge Dredd: Freefall  Jim Vicker’s take on Dredd and his world was nicely subtle, and it’s nice to see this strip again.  Not the strongest Wagner script by a long shot, which is a pity because when you’re aiming for “bleak”, if your script isn’t that great then there’s not a lot else that can liven things up.  A good choice of reprint, yet again. 

Small Press  Matthew Badham can do little wrong in any case, and this article once again made me go and seek out the cartoonist in question.  Peter Beare’s not much to my taste, but the infectious enthusiasm of Badham always helps one understand why a small presser is liked, even if you don’t necessarily share his opinion. 

Small Press: Sancho  I’m not hugely fond of the art, which feels like it’s straining for effect in a very early-90’s kind of way.  The ending works well and the sidekick is both well-characterised and fun.  Pity the script seems a bit unsure of the lead character’s voice, which wavers from strength to weakness, ignorance to knowledge, without much definition. 

The Dredd Files  Not a lot to say, but I do like the Dredd files and am glad they’ve been reinstated following widespread reader protest (erm, 2 letters, one of which I wrote). 

New Films: Jive Tolkein  To judge by the editor’s letter, these columns are here to stay.  I don’t see what Smith sees in Alec Worley’s voice that’s so distinctive, nor where this column’s so funny, but it’s inoffensive and at least there are pretty pictures alongside it. 

RC:I’ve always put the boot into the ‘zine when I’ve thought it deserved it so I will give credit where it’s due. With Devlin Waugh as the de facto non-Dredd strip, an established classic and a promising noobie, the story mix is about right. The quality of the strips has increased considerably in the last couple of months. Unfortunately, as a package, it still seems desperately padded and, to be blunt, poor value for money.

Oops, there I go with the boot again. Maybe next time.

Best story: The Simping Detective

JM: Thank the Lord, it looks as though a steadying hand has been applied to the Big Meg’s tiller, with a definite upsurge in quality from every section of the title.  Although still very much a curate’s egg, and not quite competing with the old Alan Barnes-edited product, it’s good to be able to welcome the Megazine as it moves from Intensive Care to Recovery and Recuperation.

Best story: The Simping Detective