2000AD Prog 1579 - 26 March 08

Cover by Karl Richardson

Gavin Hanly: Karl Richardson seems to only show up on covers these days, but unfortunately that's not always a good thing. I have to admit that I find this to be a rather ugly cover - mainly because of the bizarrely proportioned Fargos. I know the chins are supposed to be oversized, but the scale on the kids is all over the place. Just a rather awkward picture, I'm afraid. But I do like the "judge" mask that one of the kids is wearing...

Hugh Platt: Karl Richardson has done a superb job of bringing out the mutant Family Fargo. To me they seem like the flip-side of the Cursed Earth coin that has the Angel Gang on the other. It’s just a shame that the cheeky little touches like the judge mask can’t fully compensate for the absolutely ghastly lettering that’s been slapped over the Richardson’s work. Urgh. 

...Regrets - Part 3 Script: John Wagner Art: Nick Dyer Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Roffman loves his job...

Synopsis: The judges find what appears to be a dumped child, but turns out to be a dummy with the hair of the kidnapped child. Dredd pulls in Roffman to work the case from a PSU angle and he manages to identify the person who drops off the dummy as Mini Smitts. She's working with Barratt Zimms and another woman - although she's labouring under the false hope that they'll give back the child...

Meanwhile after a day in the city, the Fargos feel that the boys are being corrupted and want to cut the visit short. They visit Vienna, where Dredd finally meets them too. There, he's introduced to "Wildy" Fargo, who is supposed to be able to track anything. They give him some of the boy's clothing and Wildy chases after a scent...

GH: Nick Dyer's art is certainly impressive, even if it doesn't quite fit the tone of the story. Dyer would have been far better off starting out on a more lighthearted strip as the cartoony approach here - especially with the rather squat Judge Dredd - often seems at odds with the dark script. That said, he's certainly got a better handle of the Fargos than Richardson and is certainly a talent to watch.

As with his preceding Dredd strip, Wagner's new thing seems to be to juggle two separate story strands - giving us a hell of a lot of plotting for our money. However, unlike Emphatically Evil, it's much more satisfying to see the two threads actually coming together as the Fargos join the hunt for the boy.

However, I can't see this ending without a casualty or two...

HP: Three weeks in, and I can see why for some people Nick Dyer’s “cutesy” art could jar with the gritty Total War story – but for me something about this just ‘clicked’ this week. Perhaps it is the big closing splash of Wildy bounding off after the scent of the hostage child. Or perhaps it’s because I keep seeing shades of Cam Kennedy in there. I think Tharg made the right call in pairing writer and artist up on this one. I just love the look the elder pair of Total War Operatives give each other when Mini Smitts talks about letting the kid go…if anything, the cartoonishness of the art makes the script seem even gruffer in comparison. 

And what about Wagner’s scrip – jeez, this is dense. There isn’t a single inch of space over the six pages that’s wasted, but at no point does it feel like a chore to read, or I’m being spoon-fed clumsy exposition.  

I was pleased to see the return of Roffman. Whenever he turns up, he always provides a real sense of an investigation going on in the strip. All too often, policing in Mega-City 1 seems to consist of kicking down doors and shouting “HI EX!”, so it’s good to see PSU turn up now and again to show how far the many arms of the Justice Department can reach. 

The Guv'nor - Part 3 Script: Pat Mills Art: Patrick Goddard Letters: Ellie De Ville

Bill's briefings were to the point...

Synopsis: As soon as one of the attackers calls Noddy a "motherf-" he gets mad and guns them all down. They dump them in the foundations around King's Cross. Later, Savage sets up a plan to steal an SS "Garbage Truck" - to get into the Barracks and kill "Steak Knife" - the SS's chief hitman. Later, they get ready to take down a train laden with "T90"s.

GH: There was certainly some cause for concern when it was announced that Adlard wouldn't be returning for the latest Savage strip - but it turns out that Goddard is a more than worthy replacement. Goddard has been good on previous occasions - notably Chopper - but here seems ideally suited to black and white artwork. His work retains the gritty feel that Adlard established, while allowing Goddard to stamp his own look on it too.

However, the story so far isn't entertaining me quite as much as the previous outings. A little too much seems to have happened "off camera" resulting in a over-exposition in the early episodes. For a strip which has already had 3 outings, there's a little too much confusion at this stage when we should have been able to get straight to the action. Mills appears to have deliberately made things difficult for himself by missing so much important detail.

Unfortunately, the one part of the script that really could have done with some explanatory dialogue, the scene with the "garbage" trucks (why not "rubbish" or something a little less American?), doesn't get any. Were those people tossed in the back killed? Or just captured? Alas, it's just not made clear.

Still, I've enjoyed Savage before, and I'm willing to give this one a little more time...

HP: There’s something clumsy about this series of Savage – and it’s not the art. Patrick Goddard is a solid replacement for Charlie Adlard. Goddard’s depiction of Bill Savage’s war against the Volgans is fussier, more claustrophobic than the bolder, more stylised work of Adlard. Now the atmosphere of the strip has turned away from full on action to a moodier tale of a British population living in fear under occupation, the grimier London Goddard shows suits better. 

So I guess its Pat Mills’ script causing the clumsiness. As usual, Mills takes no prisoners insofar as explaining what’s gone on since Savage was last in the prog. Is it too much to hope for some kind of explanation at some point as to why London is back under occupation? Probably. 

Part 3 Script: John Smith Art: Lee Carter Letters: Simon Bowland

But we still need someone to explain the plot...

Synopsis: Danny and the scientist Geoff escape the compound by kidnapping the government minister and using his car. He is told that he was exposed to a covert chemical drug and his survival made him the perfect person to test the latest version of the drug. The weird lights/UFOs appear to be following them and Danny thinks that they're connected with the drug. They drop off the minister and Danny heads to a phone where he calls home and discovers that the army have been looking for him there. He gets some money out, unaware that he's being caught on CCTV....

GH: After the really rather good Leatherjack, I was looking forward to the return of Smith to the weekly. However, this strip hasn't started out well. From the over-the-top "squaddie" language in the first episode to what seems like reams of dialogue without anything happening, this strip has certainly taken a false start. Things may improve, but as it stands at the moment, I'm not engaged by this at all.

The art, meanwhile, is rather good - even if it does harken back to the "muddy" painted artwork that used to be 2000AD's thing in the 90s. Printing techniques certainly make this easier to read these days - but dark artwork depicting some people having a chat in the back of a car doesn't exactly scream Thrill Power...

HP: It’s hard for me to feel anything other than vague feelings of apathy towards Dead Eyes. Lee Carter’s murky brown palate, mixed with the machinations of some Masonic plot throw up ugly (and somewhat undeserved) memories of Finn. 

“But it’s John Smith! He’s meant to be strange and weird!” But so strange that it’s taken 3 weeks before it becomes evident as to what’s going on? The only positive spin I can think of is that a least with a Smith script, we’re not likely to get a by-the-numbers chase-movie conspiracy plot, which this week’s episode seems all to eager to imply we’re going to get, in an effort to make the divergence from our expectations in the coming weeks all the more unexpected. 

Make Believe - Part 2 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Dom Reardon Letters: Ellie De Ville

Left out for dinner...

Synopsis: Malloy and Harris arrive at a firefight between a god and some mechanised infantry. The god glows and seems to detonate in a nuclear explosion.

Meanwhile. the Scientist meets with the head of the vampire cult who tells him that he wants to find the Ten Seconders, to find out how they can kill gods. An explosion behind them shows someone hanging in the air - the Scientist says that it's one of the Ten Seconders (almost certainly Jen, who the Scientist was going to make into a god). He tells the cult where to find the others - in the mid-west...

GH: It was mentioned last week, but the return of the Ten Seconders definitely - as with any 2000AD series back after a long break - needed a full page recap last week. It's just too confusing to be dropped back into the story with only the vague memory of what happened before, and only serves to undermine the chance of success the strip has. Still, if you need a reminder, here's one we made earlier...

So - apart from some fantastic Dom Reardon art, I don't know what to say about this one, as the new characters are still being developed. I loved the first series - so this deserves a good chance based on that.

HP: No matter how hard I try, this story just isn’t connecting with me on any level. Stripped of Mark Harrison’s hyper-detail, the story is left to hang itself on the sheer brevity of its script. It’s been so long since this story has been in the prog, I had to dig out the first series from 2006 to even barely understand what was going on. And that only made me remember I didn’t much care for these characters that much to begin with. So they’re part of a resistance movement trying to save the remnants of the human race? So why do I feel so unsympathetic to any of them? 

It pains me to say it, but Dom Reardon’s art is not helping. His action scenes seem so…static. The sense of humans desperately struggling against all-powerful Gods just isn’t there. 

The Tsar's Daughter - Part 2 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: John Burns Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Turns out the Tsar was always a bastard...

Synopsis: We learn that Jena's mother, Kassandra, was barred from seeing her daughters. She once tried to take them away from the palace, but was stopped by the Tsar himself.

In the present day, Jena reads through this account of her mother and wants to learn more. Kerensky tells her that her mother was killed and that he can prove it - if only Jena arranges for his safe passage. She agrees, unaware that Arkady is spying on them...

GH: As we've mentioned before, bringing Dante back into the Russian court has made the series far more interesting. Coupling that with its far more frequent showings makes it easily the best thing in 2000AD outside of Dredd. We've been told for a while that Dante is moving towards the End Game - and this tale of Jena's past does seem to be laying the groundwork well. Will she finally turn against her father once she finds out the truth...?

While I have to admit to preferring Simon Fraser's take on the Russian Rogue, Burns seems far more comfortable with the court intrigue than he did with the seafaring adventures. As a result, he makes for a perfect match on this delving into Jena's past.

HP: It’s interesting to see a story developing without the Russian rogue himself bounding in and demanding centre stage. I actually hope he manages to stay out of this tale completely, if only to allow Arkady and the others some more page-time to themselves. The huge cull of his supporting cast during Tsar Wars was both Dante’s greatest and most crippling moment as a strip - it injected drama and danger into the strip, but in doing so robbed Dante of a developed cast that he could be bounced off. Hopefully this is a step on the way to re-building that. 

While I usually prefer Simon Fraser’s crisper art to the fully painted works of John Burns, something about the shadowy intrigues of this particular tale suit his skills better.

GH: A strong Dredd and Dante pick up an otherwise average issue. The remaining stories do have potential, however. It remains to be seen if future episodes realise it.

Best Story: Nikolai Dante

HP: There’s a strong feeling of potential in this prog. While Dredd is thundering on as only Wagner can, all the other stories feel like they could go either way from me. Dante and Savage are getting slightly more goodwill only because of past glories, but if they later disappoint then it will be all the more bitter. 

Best Story: Judge Dredd