Review by Alex Frith

The first volume of Bad Company feels like a perfectly self-contained collection. There's a great opening story with a mystery resolved in the final episode, shortly before an explosive and intelligent ending. And then another two stores that beautifully continue the saga of Kano and Danny Franks.

So what, you may wonder, is the point of Bad Company: Volume 2? The answer is that Milligan has more to say about war, and above all more to say about his favourite man-monster, Kano. What happens to someone built by a war when that war is over? find out in the opening story here, which is simply titled 'Kano'.

We catch up with Kano and his new family on the unnamed 'good planet'. A planet where the dead appear as comforting solid 'ghosts' for a time, and a planet where time runs backwards at noon for an hour every day. Which two quirks allow for Milligan to a) bring back old favourites Thrax, Malcolm and others, and b) encourages him to indulge in some writerly trickery of the kind he excels at. Added to this, Milligan harks back to one great success from the first story. There's a small mystery to ponder - is Kano a murderer?

There are some very interesting ideas in Bad Company: Kano, but let's be honest, it's no masterpiece. Where the original run of stories came across as a mix of action and future-shockery with a bit of private angst and philosophy thrown in, this series is the other way around - angst and philosophy abound, with a bit of action thrown in for good measure. Apart from one exciting backwards chase sequence, the action in this story is merely a background to the thoughts in Kano's head - something for Ewins and McCarthy to draw while Milligan explores the mind of his protagonist.
A word on the art - it's not great, frankly. Ewins seems to be aiming for something highly stylised - lots of stretched figures and stock poses. If you're into Kano's face (and it is a remarkable face), then you'll love this series. But there's not much else. It lacks the fizzing energy of the Ararat-set story, and the design of the monstrous 'Frankenstein corps' is all too bland. One expects more from the man who came up with Gargarax! The colour on the art is rather striking, though, and sets the mood very well - lots of dusky atmosphere and a sense of dread, longing and lack of understanding of what this crazy world is all about, anyway.

I think one of the most intellectually ambitious 2000 AD strips since Halo Jones, 'Kano' is pretentious in a way that some will like, and it has an engaging if disjointed story - but it's not amazing.

And then, there's more. 'Down among the Dead' is essentially a prequel to the final story, 'Bad Company 2002'. Back to black and white for these, and compared to Kano, very much back to basics. However, once again although we're treated to non-stop action (this time of the killing krool variety), it's all in the background.  The original Bad Company was a fantastic action series, but simply throwing in a lot of in your face shooting doesn't recapture that magic. Of course, Milligan surely wasn't trying to rewrite his first masterpiece, but at times it feels like a pointless retread. On the surface, 'Bad Company 2002' involves Kano and a new crew travelling to the Krool Heart to take on Danny Franks. Which could have been exciting if in a straightforward, uncerebral Rogue Trooper-ish sort of way. But really the story is all about Kano's continued battle with who he is, why he fights, and what the meaning of it all might possibly be.

Unfortunately for Milligan, and even worse, for the reader, it seems that there is no meaning to it all. Kano is doomed to repeat all his thoughts, all his actions, all his violence in a way that might be making some grand anti-existentialist point, but it isn't half dull to read. Kano is a fantastic character. Bad Company was a genius story. But going back to it just doesn't work - especially when, once again, the art is not to the same high standard it was for the original series. There are a couple of interesting new character designs in Romeo and Jigsaw, but the manic energy which Ewins and McCarthy seem desperate to recapture is somehow beyond their reach. Of course, it's still great art, it just doesn't add anything not seen in the first, essential Bad Company collection. The best art in this book is on the front and back covers, where young turk Rufus injects some much needed passion.

'Kano' is, I think, worth reading for fans of the original series, as long as you're expecting something really quite different. 'Bad Company 2002', on the other, isn't worth the purchase price. Certainly don't hold out for any exciting extra features. There are six pages of (admittedly decent) sketches, which amount to nothing but yet more pictures of Kano, and the two covers - which advertised 'Kano' first time around - both showcase the worst of Ewins. At least there's the curiosity value on his 'scream blue murder' cover that in his mind there's a link between Kano and 80s icon Grace Jones...

Buy this book

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