Judge Dredd Megazine 266 - 8 Jan 08

Cover by Cliff Robinson

Gavin Hanly: A passable "Dredd pointing a gun at/past the reader" image by the ever-reliable, but rarely boundary-breaking Robinson. It does its job of highlighting the 3 new stories kicking off this week, but little else besides. Robinson is capable of better and should steer away from these stock shots. Forgettable.

What I Did for Christmas Script: John Wagner Art: Simon Fraser Colours: Gary Caldwell Letters:Annie Parkhouse

Maybe gets into the Christmas spirit...

Synopsis: The New Mayor Ambrose (PJ Maybe) is poisoned at a dinner and is also almost killed by a crash when coming out of the hospital. He's convinced that someone is trying to kill him and that it has to be his deputy Mayor - Nixon. Maybe kills him, but someone still tries to shoot him later on - meaning that Nixon wasn't the killer.

Maybe makes a list of all those who had something against him and spends Christmas Eve on a killing spree getting rid of them all - all with the judges believing that Ambrose had spent the night in his apartment. Maybe's Sex Droid them reveals that she was the one trying to kill him - as she thought he was getting into the job of Mayor a little too much - and she wanted the psychopathic Maybe back. He forgives her, as she's shown him the light...

GH: One of the best things about the Megazine, while it's been dragging its heels for the last couple of years, has been the PJ Maybe saga. With Maybe revived as a purely Megazine villain, the recurring tales of the unstoppable serial killer have been an undoubted highlight (backed up by comments in our recent yearly review). Wagner seems to take an almost childish joy in creating the mayhem that surrounds Maybe while making him practically untouchable by the judges. Even Dredd's singing his praises in Prog 2008!

Because of this enthusiasm behind the writing, Wagner has created a perfectly black comic story, where the reader finds themselves in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the bad guy while he rapidly makes his way around the Meg, offing his supposed enemies. Wagner also steers away from the overtly farcical approach eventually taken with the Judge Death stories. Here, it's very clear that Maybe is a very bad person indeed, and no fool. So when he manages to avoid the judges with such aplomb, the reader can't help be carried away with it all.

There's always a possibility that Maybe will be caught - and I'd be surprised if Wagner hasn't got an idea or two up his sleeve if he ever gets bored with him - but in the meantime, here's hoping Mayor Maybe is running rings around the judges for a good few years to come.

All this is without covering the excellent art from Simon Fraser, better known for Nikolai Dante. It's often apparent that artists can respond to excellent scripts to create similarly excellent artwork, and that's the case here. Maybe/Ambrose's delight is evident in every scene, and Fraser doesn't shy away from depicting some of his more gruesome efforts.

Easily one of the best Dredds of 2007.

Dumb Blond - Part 1 Script: Dave Stone Art: John Cooper Letters: Ellie De Ville

Trying... not to write... a "lending a hand" pun......

Synopsis: Armitage and Steel are sent to a shanty town where a judicial crackdown is in progress. The crackdown started when a crime was reported - and soon they discover the cause - a pit full of naked bodies. Steel is furious at the crackdown and Armitage is concerned about her reaction - telling her she needs to take it easy. She returns home to her wife - only to find her in bed with another woman...

GH: I'm not quite sure what to think of Armitage. From one aspect, I rather like the fact that the Megazine is attempting to depict British judges in what is essentially a British comic. However, I've never managed to find myself particularly empathetic with the two lead characters, Armitage and Treasure Steel, and this month's tale didn't really do anything to change that. We see that Steel has a temper on her - but I don't really understand what the roots of that are, as the crackdown appears to be more of a catalyst. Is this something we've yet to find out, or something from the last series (Armitage has been away for so long I can barely remember him)? Armitage himself doesn't manage to connect with the reader, either. I find myself remembering him as something of a Morse knock-off, but without a compelling back-story.

That's not to say that the story is particularly bad - just that the premise and characters don't really have any impact with me. Mind you - I still don't get why the judges decided to attack the shanty town and cause a riot. Perhaps a way to keep things moving over the exposition - not normally a bad thing, but it does seem a little forced here.

Despite all this, I'm willing to see how this one pans out over the next few months and see if Stone and Cooper can engage me. And that brings me to the strip's main selling point - John Cooper on art. Clearly showing some of the youngsters a thing or two, Cooper's still an excellent artist, and he helps to paper over any of the cracks in the script.

Here Comes Trouble - part 1 Script: Al Ewing Art: Jon Davis-Hunt Letters: Simon Bowland

Dredd wishes Satanus used breath mints...

Synopsis: Johnny Kierkegaard is a conman, stealing 27 billion creds. He does it by pretending to be one of mobster Nicky Scandalous' crew and stealing his money by distracting the clerk and running a viral invasion program - little realising that something, apparently robotic, in the undercity is watching this. He leaves the bank only to see Nicky Scandalous on the way in. Afraid he's been spotted, he heads for the Undercity only to be cut off by the locals, who want to eat him. Suddenly a judge with a two bladed sword jumps down at them all...

GH: So we come to the main new addition to the Megazine - a brand new story with a brand new type of judge. Normally, I'd be very suspicious about the need for such a character, but not when we're in the hands of Al Ewing. On the few scripts that he's produced for the weekly, and the odd Tale of the Black Museum, Ewing has marked himself out as someone to watch. With the Megazine blighted by months of Mills running riot with Satanus, it's certainly time to bring in some new blood.

Here, Ewing is mainly in set up mode and takes the bulk of the episode to show Kierkegaard pulling off the master heist, managing to steal millions by exploiting the robotic bank's weak spot - the human employee. It's very well depicted, and even more so when Kierkegaard screws it all up just at the last minute. If anything the only thing that seems slightly out of whack is his reasoning for going into the Undercity - it all seems a bit sudden. Still, I can let him off that one, as he's clearly got me hooked from episode one, and I really want to know what that robot looking thing was.

In addition to the script, another major bonus of Tempest is the art by Davis Hunt. There are visible Quitely references, especially in the colouring style, but that's no bad thing. It remains to see how he'll handle the promised action of next issue, but it's an accomplished first outing for the new art droid.

Bob The Galactic Bum
New Comics
Alan Grant Interview
New Comics
New Movies

GH: I'm going to skip over most of this - as I haven't yet read the Alan Grant interview, which is the main attraction (although I'm happy to see it's been done by Bishop). I'll catch up on that when I also have part two in my hands. In general, however, the articles seem to be more relevant than usual, and with the main Grant article taking up so much space, there's little room for filler.

However, I have to say that I'm not overly enamoured by the arrival of Bob the Galactic Bum and seeing as we're going to have 6-8 months of this, that's not a particularly good sign. I can see the reasoning behind having a revamped Grant/Wagner/Ezquerra strip in the Megazine - but I just with they'd instead decided to revive something long unseen from the archives of British comics. The Megazine was at its best when plundering old war comics, and it's a shame that more of the gems from that era aren't being exploited.

GH: Seemingly, this is the first issue where Matt Smith really gets to make his mark on the Megazine, with strips he has commissioned himself - and it would be churlish not to admit that there's been a marked improvement between 265 and 266.

The longer pages for each story certainly suit the monthly Megazine - but I still can't help feel a little short-changed with only 3 new strips for my £2.99. A 2-3 page tales of the Black Museum to give the impression of more new than old would be really welcome.

In the meantime - we'll all be keeping a close eye on the Meg - and hope that it can halt the slide of the past couple of years. It's certainly off to a promising start.

Best story: Judge Dredd