2000AD Prog 1598 - 6 August 08

Cover by Ben Oliver

Martin Charlton: While the image itself is fairly generic, the tag-line bears some scrutiny. The placing of Automatic in a larger font, while needed to make the REM reference obvious pushes the ‘semi’ out of the reader’s line of sight, and without that one little word I couldn’t help but wonder why the tagline ‘Automatic for the people’ was appropriate to this story. A good idea, badly laid out.  

Sue Doyle: A good front cover from Ben Oliver. I do like the way he lights up the skin tone as if there is an internal glow. The tag line raised a smile too.

Blindside - Part 3 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Richard Elson Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Kerrigan gets a change of clothes...

Synopsis: Kerrigan and Dredd are under fire from Trask and his men and Trask has remembered about Dredd's bionic implants. Dredd orders Kerrigan to make a run for it while Trask takes Dredd prisoner. Kerrigan manages to overpower Trask's female goon, and takes her uniform - which has a mask for their rendezvous on the roof. Trask is engaged in a blackmail deal, and as they are nearly ready for their escape, he decides to have a little fun beating Dredd up on the roof...

MC: This is clearly an end of run Dredd. A four part Dredd, not written by John Wagner which trucks along nicely and may one day grace ‘Judge Dredd: The Richard Elson collection volume 2’, given away free with the Megazine in about four years. There’s nothing wrong with it at all and it is the sort of stuff we lap up in the Case Files. However, as long time readers we know what Tharg considers filler when we see it. 

SD: Dredd’s blind as a bat but the Cadet is wiping the floor with the baddies. I do like to see a woman kicking ass. This has been a good story, not a plot builder or a complicated whodunnit but a straight forward Dredd story. He’s down but not out and is still fighting tough. This type of strip is the bread and butter of 2000AD and none the worse for it. Good story, good art, good stuff.

Brethren of the Night - Part 10 Script: Pat Mills Art: Leigh Gallagher Letters: Ellie De Ville

La Voisin fully revealed...

Synopsis: Servitor tells Defoe that Jones tracked La Voisin, AKA Prussian Blue to Ipswich. However, she drugged him and once he awake, he was surrounded by her special super-powered zombies. She herself took off her skin and transformed into the Queen of Zombies, then let him go so they could chase him down. Defoe decides to join up with Servitor to bring down the Queen of Zombies...

MC: So unlike Pat Mills to end a story with an issue remaining in a run. Surely that’s a missed opportunity for some money to be made? While this is certainly the best thing he’s written in about ten years, it simply can’t follow Dante, not this time. The dialogue is still full of Mills traits, and the book ends on a bit of a non event, really. Again, a sterner editorial hand is needed, and unlikely to be given any time soon. 

SD: This has been one of the clearer installments of Defoe. In the past, I have found that I had to reread and even refer back to earlier editions to make sure I understand where the plot is heading. Sometimes it can chop and change, but not this time. The art is dark and brooding and the story of the downfall of Servitor Jones’s brother is straight-forward storytelling to bring you carefully to the last episode. Everything is being played out to be a face-off with the zombie queen and the spy within their midst.

I’m hoping that, once the whole story is laid out, by going back and rereading it all things will be clearer.

Bitter Reflections Script: Nicholas Jean Art: Yann Valeani Letters: Simon Bowland

The mirror added more than a few pounds...

Synopsis: "Al" hits his head on the way home from work and starts seeing the reflections of people as they will be when they die. Most of the people he sees are going to dies of old age, including his family, but he sees one person in a bathroom with a terrible injury in his refection. He stops him from being killed by a car and the man's reflection turns to an old man.

He starts to warn people how to avoid their deaths and warns a friend that a serial killer might be after her when he sees her bloody reflection. But once he reaches home, he sees that his own reflection and his familiy's is now covered in blood. The man he saved from the car was a serial killer and has decided to kill him and his family after he warned his friend...

MC: A good terror tale, with the story itself being more disturbing than the end. The art has a Cam Smith feel to it, and I imagine with the right colourist, Yann Valeani could be one to look out for, with an art style befitting a light hearted Sin/Dex. 

SD: I’ve enjoyed the Terror Tales over the last few weeks. This one in particular was excellent - the artwork was detailed and works well without colour. The idea of being able to see how people die in their reflection and then acting on what you can see is really creepy, without being too over the top and the story finished well without feeling rushed which, in one installment, is a real skill.

The Importance of Fleecing Ernest - Part 3 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Anthony Williams Letters: Ellie De Ville

Sinister gets ready to smile for the camera...

Synopsis: Sinister and Dexter finally realise that Moses is bringing in doppelgangers and confront Ernest - who has taken Picchu and Trish hostage. Ernest's goons hold Sinister and Dexter at gunpoint while he pleads ignorance - but Sinister sets off some flashbulbs as a distraction...

MC: If you’re the sort of person who likes Sin/Dex, this will have been right up your street. If not, this will have done little to convince you. Although I imagine the same could be said for Dante or Defoe. The characters are having some development here, and while it’s like watching continental drift, it’s nice to be reminded that not every 2000AD story has to hurtle along at break-neck pace to fit the 5/6 page limit every week. Of course, we’ve all made our minds up where we stand, haven’t we? 

SD: As this edition of S&D comes to an end it seems that what on earth has been going on might finally be explained. Who is from the parallel universe and what on earth is wrong with Dexter, who usually doesn’t miss anything. It’s not been my favourite series of these guys. It’s got the dialogue, the artwork is of the standard you get from Anthony Williams but the script seems to stop and start. Mind you, this strip has surprised in the past so the jury is out until I read the last installment.

Amerika - Part 9 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Simon Fraser & Gary Caldwell Letters: Ellie De Ville

The Tsar reveals his true nature...

Synopsis: Dante and the insurgents fight back against the White Army and the tide is turned. Dante attacks Futura himself and kills him, but the Tsar is unimpressed. He has decided that the White Army must be eradicated whatever the cost. Jena warns Nikolai, who tells the Major - the Tsar is going to destroy Manhattan...

MC: They say you can ‘judge’ the quality of a prog by its Dredd story. Well if that is the case, this needs pulling immediately and holding back till Wagner writes his last Dredd, a 45 part epic tying together all the loose ends perfectly. Anything else would be doing this masterwork a disservice. It’s almost hard to believe they’re by the same author, but how many times have we heard that about Morrison when he writes Dredd and one of his own properties in a prog? Seminal art too. 

SD: This is truly a team effort. The script is detailed, gives just the right amount of information to draw you in and along with the story. The art is detailed that and that first panel is full of detail and a real sense of movement. The colouring sets off the action and gives real verve to the strip and the lettering is carefully placed and discreet where is needs to be.

This all adds up to, as Tharg would say, a scrotnig strip. It’s been action-packed installment giving a sense of urgency and passion that is Dante at his best. This is the main reason I’ve been opening 2000AD in recent weeks and I hope that it won’t be long before Dante is back.

MC: A spritely run up to prog 1600, with three out of four ongoing series heading into satisfying endgames, and a pleasing Terror Tale, from both narrative and new creator perspectives. It’s almost a shame to have runs like this end.  

Best Story: Nikolai Dante

SD: I'm really enjoying 2000AD at the moment.  With a solid Judge Dredd story, Dante coming to it's climax, Defoe actually making sense and a Terror Tale to reflect on it's a good outing.  I'll miss Dante but I'm looking forward to a clearing of the boards for a whole range of new stories in 1600 - bring em on!

Best Story: Nikolai Dante