2000AD Prog 1570 - 23 January 08

Cover by Richard Elson

Steven Denton: Richard Elson’s cover image may not be original, using the old "circle behind figure rising above a pile of antagonists" composition, but it’s dynamic and eye-catching. It sticks to his strong points and it has a good fighting 2000AD feel.  

Emphatically Evil - Part 2 Script: John Wagner Art: Colin Macneil Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Joe plays politics...

Synopsis: Investigating the murder of Purvis, the judges find out that he wasn't a mutant after all, possibly just the victim of rumours. Beeny wonders if the crime could be a PJ Maybe copycat - given the new biography that's just been published. They find the DNA of Byron Ambrose at the scene (actually the real PJ Maybe, unbeknownst to them) and pay him a visit.

Purvis was a PR man at Ambrose's grandfather's business. Ambrose had paid him a visit while suffering from a cold - and believes the DNA could have been taken from a discarded tissue. They ask Ambrose to write "mutie". He's unable to spell it correctly, but the writing and spelling doesn't match what they found at the murder scene...

SD: Just when you think PJ Maybe is all played out John Wagner finds a way to prove he isn’t. It’s that old child actor thing. ‘What I did in Necropolis’ saw the start of the drink and drug phase or the wilderness years, where every so often he would dry out to star in a b-movie hardly worth picking out of the barging bin. Before eventually coming back as a serious actor, unrecognisable from his childhood beginnings. 

Part 2 of Emphatically Evil is extremely dialog heavy but it doesn’t matter - it works well. I didn’t even notice how many balloons there were on each page or how the whole episode consisted of people standing about until I when back over it to write this review. All in all another good part of what is shaping up to be an outstanding Dredd arc (or 2 arcs if you count the mutant and Maybe stories separately).

The Defiant - Part 5 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Henry Flint Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Eva gets some home truths...

Synopsis: Eva Procopio confronts Shakara as the rest of her team flee. He tells her that her mother killed the Shakara - but she refuses to believe - eventually asking him to kill her too. Shakara pauses, and watches a ship appear out of the void and destroy Eva's ship and crew. The ship lands and the Teknosaurs attack...

SD: This is what I mean by a fighting 2000AD story. I like Henry Flint's art and Shakara is basically a showcase for him to cut loose his considerable talent. Robbie Morrison has managed to keep what could easily have been a dull and repetitive format ticking over quite nicely and has been as inventive as Flint when it comes to creating new lifeforms for the skinny Goth avenger to slice apart.  

The Promised Land - Part 5 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Richard Elson Letters: Simon Bowland

Gene gets nosey...

Synopsis: Gene helps out around the compound, talking to his urgings - wondering what is keeping Them from attacking more often. He also wonders where the meat is coming from and is told that it's from the Culture Shed - but that the shed is restricted access as it needs to be kept sterile. Later, he wonders about the shed when another attack starts...

SD: Kingdom is another fighting 2000AD story. The artwork, like Shakara, is very nice although Richard Elson seems to have even more trouble with depicting humans then Henry Flint does. Visually, Kingdom is incredibly rewarding and in my opinion Elson’s best work to date. The script is just right for such a story, letting the action move from episode to episode without getting to repetitive and giving the artist enough food to be getting on with.  

England's Glory - Part 5 Script: Ian Edginton Art: D'israeli Letters: Ellie De Ville

An old acquaintance returns...

Synopsis: Stickleback visits the Temple of Mithras and its curator Dr Orlando Doyle (both last seen in The Red Seas). Doyle tells Stickleback about the Jewel of the Seven Stars was originally stolen by army officer Carew (later found eviscerated by an unknown beast). The jewel was given to Queen Victoria - but she quickly realised that is was cursed and locked it away in the Tower of London.

Doyle says that the jewel is a dragon's egg - creatures who act as a defence against dark realms. If the jewel is destroyed so is their defence. He also tells Stickleback that the bullet he retrieved from the curse was from a resurrection gun - and that those he is fighting are not to be underestimated.

SD: I had high hopes for Ian Edginton after reading Leviathan and Kingdom of the Wicked but, like most hopes, they were doomed to be dashed upon the rocks of mediocrity. Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman have done all this before, only a lot better. Edginton really doesn’t have an ear for dialogue and his relentless shoe horning in of lists of names and places we are supposed to recognise is wearing Stickleback threadbare. The inclusion of the Brotherhood of the Book has made England’s Glory feel like a Red Seas plot where the arch criminal has been directly transposed in the place of Captain Dancer.

The art is really nice, however, and there are some good ideas around. It’s far from being another Detonator X but Edginton set the bar so high that I had expected better. 

The Glum Affair - Part 5 Script: John Wagner Art: Carlos Ezquerra Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Alpha uncovered...

Synopsis: Alpha plays against Groule and wins, only for Groule to attack - knocking off the glasses that were hiding his mutant powers. The authorities take back the winnings that he took from them - leaving them with only 170K - and a warning that there is a 450K price in their heads. They are allowed to stay on the station and Alpha realises that they'll have to go back to work. They buy a shuttle with their remaining money and then head to the bar where they stage a fight...

SD: The Glum affair is bit meandering and familiar. Back when I started to read 2000AD, I liked Johnny Alpha over Judge Dredd as many young readers did. Even after his death, the old Strontium Dog stories held a special place in my comic book filled heart. Carlos Ezquerra was never better then when he was depicting everybody’s favourite mutant bounty hunter.

Yes it is familiar, but it’s familiar like an old friend. It’s meandering like a walk around the town you grew up in and at the moment I would still forgive it anything. I may not be that excited by this particular Strontium Dog story but I’m always excited to see it back.  

SD: I’m enjoying this run of strips, even Stickleback, I know it didn’t sound like I was but I am. Even the worst story in the prog is ok.

Best Story: Judge Dredd