2000AD Prog 1583 - 23 April 08

Cover by Simon Davis

Gavin Hanly: While I remain unconvinced by Dead Eyes in general, Simon Davis can usually be relied on to produce a striking cover - and he doesn't let us down here. We have a dynamically rendered Unther - who admittedly seems far more active than his counterpart within the pages - and the stark white background helps to frame the image. Mind you, the caption writers do appear to be seeing how much wordplay they can fill that white space with, which is something of a shame.

Charles Ellis: What’s that even supposed to be a cover of? Definitely would put me off buying if I wasn’t already a reader.

Road Stop - part 2 Script: Gordon Rennie Art: Dave Taylor Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Dredd gets restless...

Synopsis: To keep himself busy, Dredd starts with some random body searches. He's particularly interested in one man - who we know is a hit man - but can't get anything on him. Meanwhile, the eldsters who run the place lure one of the unsuspecting citizens to their secret room and kill him, ready to be fed to whatever it is they have locked up. Dredd starts looking for the missing cit when he gets an alert from his lawmaster - perps are attacking the building...

GH: Rennie seems to have been away from Dredd for a while - as far as multiparters go - so it's good to see him get his teeth into the character. This is a set-up that seems uniquely suited to Dredd - get a load of citizens with dark pasts locked up together and chaos is sure to ensue. Rennie's doing a good job of balancing the multiple character strands too, revealing just enough to make us fascinated in the main protagonists without telegraphing the plot unnecessarily. As usual, he's got the character of Dredd down well (although this is something that both Robbie Morrison and Simon Spurrier are becoming adept at too), particularly with Dredd's barely concealed contempt for the citizens.

But the real star here is Dave Taylor. Since he returned to the Megazine, he's clearly demonstrated himself to be one of the top artists working for Tharg today. As with all the greats, he brings a unique style to his comic art that is unmistakably his - kind of a european sensibility mixed with the depravity that only 2000AD can sometimes reach. The odd group of attackers alone are comprised of such bizarre looking creations that they could almost populate a strip of their own. An excellent artist and one we should be thankful is working for the comic today.

CE: An army of freaks trying to get in, two murderers hiding among the cits, the shelter itself has a thing in the basement, and all with everyone cut off and only Dredd on defence? As long as Rennie keeps control of all the separate plots – and he’s showing every sign of it – then this could be a really fun multi-parter. The nice old couple and their genteel murdering are great, and Dredd’s pragmatic body searching of everyone is a nice character touch. Backing all this up, Dave Taylor has some brilliant art – just look at the freaks on page 2! Looking forward to more of this. 

The Guv'nor - Part 7 Script: Pat Mills Art: Patrick Goddard Letters: Ellie De Ville

Savage's methods of dispatching guards were rather controversial...

Synopsis: Savage and his crew attempt to find Steak Knife, but he's already left. One who is left behind holds Savage at gunpoint and warns him that if he doesn't stop Steak Knife - then the Americans will never get involved.

Later, back at the bar, the general and Savage watch news footage of a tower block that was allegedly destroyed by terrorists - as the bodies of Strangeways and Hanson were discovered inside. The General tells "Bill" that unless Savage orders a cease-fire - they'll blow up something bigger...

GH: It pains me to say this, but I'm becoming less impressed with Savage every week. Now, I loved the recent Mills/Adlard run. Despite initial reservations with regards to the language, it eventually came across as a tightly scripted action piece and Pat's politics weren't allowed to overpower the narrative. But things have gone sharply downhill with this series.

Firstly, let's approach the "re-occupation" of London. Fair enough if it happened off camera, but the lack of clear expository dialogue has meant that 7 episodes down, we're still confused about the state of affairs and how the reoccupation was allowed to happen. It's a missed opportunity and any efforts to shoe-horn in an explanation at this stage will seem belated and unwelcome.

Next up - the story itself. In the earlier series, while Savage's modus operandi was to simply cause trouble for the invaders, it was always clear what his objective was. In this series, I find myself not knowing what on earth's going on all the time. Why are they after Steak Knife? Who's the man who held Savage at gunpoint? What on Earth is that building they're infiltrating anyway? Oh, and when they all dress alike - it's too bloody hard to tell who the good guys and bad guys are. Perhaps there are some visual clues, but I find myself not knowing who's shooting who half the time.

So - a wasted opportunity so far. Maybe Mills can pull it together in the next few episodes. If not, let's hope that for the next series he realises that the readers are not his enemy, and a bit of hand-holding can occasionally go a long way.

CE: I’m really quite enjoying this, now I’m over the “why didn’t we see the re-invasion of 2006?” (which still irks me a bit). The little touches – rubbish trucks as prisoner transporters, the guys running them being British collaborators, the political stand-up comic, the Reconciliation Line – all help build up the atmosphere. The Steak Knife plot, on the other hand, is a bit generic. 

The General’s scene at the end, now that elevates the strip. It now seems really obvious he knows who Bill is (though for some reason can’t or won’t just arrest/shoot him – he probably saw how well that worked every other time) and Bill knows he knows. And so you’ve got this guy calmly walking into his enemy’s base and just as calmly showing he can, has & will capture and kill Bill’s friend, and he’ll murder hundreds of civilians while making Bill looking like he did it. And Bill can’t stop him. It’s a very subtle, very nasty, very well played scene. 

Part 7 Script: John Smith Art: Lee Carter Letters: Simon Bowland

Rudely awakened...

Synopsis: Danny wakes up Geoff and they head off with Unther - led to a secret world underground. Meanwhile, the army is on their tail, led by Kellett. He's clearly seen one of Unther's people before, and wants to destroy them all...

GH: After Savage, this is unfortunately another completely bewildering strip. Normally, I'd be expecting this from Smith and would be happy with the action interspersing the high-brow mumbo-jumbo, which would keep me entertained while I tried to fathom out the rest.

Unfortunately, Dead-Eyes seems to be all-plot and no story. Characters spend all the time talking about what they're doing, why they're doing it, who they are, who the bad guy's are etc. - but no-one ever appears to actually do anything. Moving into the underworld and the arrival of Kellett promises to spice things up a bit, but it's all coming far too late. in the day for me, and I'm not sure I can find the attention span to stay involved in the story.

The art is impressive - but as with much painted art in 2000AD, way too dark. I just don't like squinting while i try to work out what's happening, and I find myself doing this far too much with Dead Eyes.

CE: This is annoying. I generally have liked John Smith’s weirdness, and there have been nice moments in this strip and some of the concepts are very interesting. As a whole, the strip falls flat for me though – I’m not getting the impression there’s any real jeopardy or threat to the leads, it all seems a bit unfocused, and it generally is a bit blah. A disappointment. Lee Carter’s art, however, is outstanding.

Make Believe - Part 5 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Shaun Thomas Letters: Ellie De Ville

Making friends...

Synopsis: While the vampire cult sets up a base in Pennsylvania and set to building an army, Kane, Malloy and Harris set out of the city via the sewers. They are confronted by Arachne who is about to kill Harris, when Malloy finds an abandoned air hanger and uses a jet against Arachne...

GH: Here's another strip which is also failing to live up to its predecessor. Never mind the quick change in artists (which must have been responsible for the interminable delay in publishing), as Shaun Thomas has a style which seems to work well in 2000AD (even if the missile explosion was the weediest I've ever seen). It's just that it's been so long since the original series that I'm having trouble remembering the character traits, and indeed the characters, that were so well built up in the first series. It feels too much liked we're starting from scratch again. Tharg should have a rule - if a character/plot-led series has been away for more than a year, the first episode has to have a full page recap. Something like that would have gone a long way to giving ten Seconders a decent chance.

There have been some good moments, however. Williams, as he proved in Low Life, possibly has the best ear for comedy in any writer currently working for the comic at the moment and a few funny lines go a long way to retaining interest.

So, in all, a strip with potential, but another good example where 2000AD can occasionally just be too confusing for its own good.

CE: After a few problems with the first two parts, it’s all go for me here and I’m enjoying it. The desperate, grab-and-use-anything approach to God-fighting has always made the battles in this strip worth seeing – a stationary USAF jet VS Arachne should prove interesting. Characterisation’s a bit light this part (though we did just get a whole bunch with Malloy last prog) and I don’t remember Harris being this chatty last time round, but it’s alright. The main standout bit is Holland and Cormac at the start – a very nasty, very bleak scene that has me going “arrrg!” over Cormac folding. It’s a lot like the scene with the General and Bill. 

While I miss Mark Harrison’s artwork, Shaun Thomas makes a nice substitute – he draws a nightmarish Arachne, the sewer & hanger are suitably gloomy, and the red sky’s contrast with the stark black-and-white Holland is a great visual. I wish we’d get more from Thomas. 

Part 2 Script: Al Ewing Art: PJ Holden Colours: Eva De La Cruz Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Kolnikov gets confused...

Synopsis:Kolnikov wonders where the Debtcopter has disappeared to when it suddenly appears again. He runs when he's grabbed by the man he thought he killed. It all disappears again, and he starts to smell a rat. He visits Virgil, the man how supplies him with his equipment and tells him he thinks that Virgil has messed with his goggles...

GH: Now, here's another episode fraught with confusion, but at least this time it's part of the plot. Only three episodes in, and I'm really starting to enjoy Dead Signal which is already starting to show signs of Al Ewing's utter madness. As a writer, Ewing also seems to be really embracing the episodic nature of writing for the weekly, creating a tense story, filling in the background details effortlessly, and most of all remembering that a comic like 2000AD needs to have a strong emphasis on action. Coupled with PJ Holden, who really seems capable of turning his hand to anything Tharg throws at him, and we have a highly entertaining story to end things on - which goes some way to helping the prog recover from its poor middle.

CE: I’m not entirely sure if that last panel is meant to be symbolic or if the three spectral Oden King’s are really there. Aside from that (and feeling that not much has happened compared to Part 1 and 2), this is pretty good stuff and nice work by Ewing. We’re getting world-building on the go while the plot & weirdness builds up, complimented by some very good art by PJ Holden. It’s a fun ride. 

GH: Two great stories surround three that really should be better than they are (although ten Seconders at least has potential). Not a classic issue by any means, I'm afraid, but at least things are rescued by an excellent Dredd tale.

Best Story: Judge Dredd

CE: One dud and four good ‘uns, with all the strips have different tones, plots and art styles – that level of quality and variation is definitely worth my £1.90. That Judda poster at the end is nice too, though brought down by Judd looking oddly like Gene the Hackman…

Best Story: Savage