2000AD Prog 1611 - 5 November 08

Cover by Clint Langley

Stan Bastion: I always seem to be asked to review Progs with Clint Langley covers and, to be honest, I'm running out of superlatives!

The last one I wrote about (1601) was printed a little dark, and it looked like detail had gone missing, but all seems to be well here. My only criticism is that initially I didn't think it was very well designed. Until, that is, I noticed that it was a wraparound cover and that there was an awesome cityscape on the back cover. In fact I'd go as far as to say that it's suitably visually interesting, atmospheric and sophisticated to possibly spark interest in a virgin reader as he/she/it passes the magazine rack in a local newsagent.

William Scotland: Another amazing Clint Langley cover. The front was good enough, but turn it over to and there’s an amazing cityscape. At a glance you can get a feel for the city, but the detail is amazing – you can even spot the place where Zippo finds Kroll in ABC Warriors. It’s the cover that keeps on giving. 

Mutopia Part 1 Script: Al Ewing Art: Simon Fraser Colours: Gary Caldwell Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Oldham is saved a lesson...

Synopsis: A group of mutants attacks a hottie parlour, taking hostages. Dredd and Giant are called to the scene. As the leader preaches about mutant rights, Dredd recognises the voice of the leader as a pro mutant lecturer he locked up once. It seems that he and his seminar group have transformed themselves into mutants...

SB: Al Ewing picks up Wagner's mutant plot batton and does an admirable job. But it's still not Wagner, is it? A nice opening, but unfortunately I guessed the twist about half way through. I liked the 'My mutant brain will detect treachery' line, but wasn't so sure about the large chunk of exposition in the middle. I have high hopes for this though, even though as a first episode it didn't set me on fire.

The art is great – I've been a Simon Fraser fan since Dante first appeared, and thankfully his occasional unwillingness to draw backgrounds seems to have left him for the moment. Fingers crossed it stays that way, because when he's 'on game' he's a very good comic artist. Although… Is it me or do the eagles on the Judge uniforms look a bit odd in some panels?

WS: Dredd was great this Prog. So far I haven’t seen anything from Al Ewing that hasn’t been brilliant – I loved Tempest and Dead Signal, and Tales from the Black Museum was a real treat.

This case gets off to a flying start. Simon Fraser’s art is excellent as usual, but reviewing this what stands out is just how much gets packed into only six pages. We get introduced to the situation, an insight into how Dredd views the situation, a nice monologue, an amusing flashback and finally some good old fashioned deduction from Dredd. Not a panel goes to waste, and by the time it’s ended all questions about who the mutants are have been answered, leaving Dredd holding all the cards for next week. For me this really is Dredd at its best. 

The Lie Script: David Baillie Art: Nick Dyer Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Waiting too long...

Synopsis: A man leaves his wife to bring his child into a futuristic London, Xtian City, overseen by a dictatorship that believed in freezing evolution. However, the man's daughter mentioned Darwin in class, and the police came for them. He escapes to the wall with his daughter who turns out to be a sleeper robot - armed with a bomb. She blows the wall to the city open...

SB: I had to read this twice to fully understand what was going on, but I'm glad I did as it was great seeing all the pieces fall into place and the story play out. I could have done with more dialogue and less captions, but I suppose it's tough to tell a complete story in five pages. If anything, I wouldn't have minded this being a two or three parter.

The art is delicious – Nick Dyer is the cartoon offspring of Cam Kennedy and oldskool Mike McMahon, and every panel looks great. I hope this effort goes a long way in silencing the critics who weren't keen on his Dredd story earlier in the year, although non-realistic artists have always been crowd splitters, haven't they? My only niggle is that some of the art seems a bit blurry – but that might just be my copy.

WS: This one had a good idea, and the twist was great. As someone said on this site a while back, the point of a good twist is that it should be obvious in hindsight. The man didn’t seem to have a proper reason for wanting to raise his daughter in the city, but it all made sense in the end. The only problem is that it feels far too short.

It’s also the return of Nick Dyer. Although I didn’t like his style on Dredd, I’m enjoying it a lot more on these black and white Future Shocks, and I’d like to see more from him. Hopefully he’ll get a run on a series soon. 

Part 11 Script: Tony Lee Art: Jon Davis-Hunt Letters: Ellie De Ville

Holland 's evening show...

Synopsis: Holland is brought to the pit and spends the night hallucinating. He tells the inmates about the rescue ship but they don't believe him. The next day, he's dragged out, just as the ship tracks them down and appears above...

SB: I'm really sorry but I'm still not enjoying this. The art is okay, but hands and arms are still wonky and every now and again a character will go cross-eyed, and I'm left wondering if that's part of the story or just a slip of the brush. I did really like the panel with the transparent baddy in front of the moon though.

The story is at least going places, but far too slowly for my liking and the dialogue grates.

I would like to say though that I'm sure Mr Lee and Mr Hunt are both very pleasant people and, regardless of what anyone thinks of Stalag 666, don't deserve the high profile criticism that was posted to them a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully that sort of thing will never happen again.

WS: Not much to say on this. I like the series. I’d had some problems with it in the past, but this week it’s really improved.

Stalag is really just five pages of a man in a hole talking to himself and waiting for a spaceship, but Lee still manages to keep things interesting. Conversations with various hallucinations, especially the old man, give the story a little more depth but most of it is down to what happened last week.

Since the death of Keester I’d had trouble with the series as it left only one character that I really cared about at all. Last week removed everyone except Holland from the equation through death, cowardice and treachery, so he got to carry the Prog on his own.

My only real problem is that after five days in the pit Holland won’t be in any state to take part in the fighting I reckon is coming next week. 

The Volgan War - Vol 3 Part 7 Script: Pat Mills Art: Clint Langley Letters: Simon Bowland

Zippo signs his work...

Synopsis: Zippo continues his work of scrawling all over Mekana, as inspired by his Mentor Kroll. Krioll is a human scrawler who appears to have been driven mad by the city. Meanwhile, Detektiv Sturn is vowing to bring Zippo to justice after his latest work depicting him caught in an embrace with Doktor Grobari...

SB: The return of the ABC Warriors leaves me a little cold, even though I'm a fan of the characters and creators. I do like the ideas present – the 'no talking zone', the Banksy robot… Erm – that's it I suppose. I just wish we wouldn't be whisked off on tangential sub plots so often. I can't really remember what the Warriors were assembled to do now, it seems so long ago. Maybe this would be better read in a collection?

The art is, of course, awesome. Clint Langley could draw a shopping list and I'd read it. But I hope I never meet the real life model for Kroll – he looks very mean.

WS: The art is fantastic, I love Zippo spraying his name on his enemies in fire, the no-talking zone is a great idea, but at the same time it’s pretty annoying.

The problem I have with this is that it the whole thing feels like a waste of time. It’s been a whole ten weeks since the ABC Warriors said they were going to rescue Zippo, and instead of that we’ve had Steelhorn’s backstory and now Zippo’s. With any luck they might finally get down to business next week and at least start to rescue him. 

Vile Bodies - Part 1 Script: Ian Edginton Art: Simon Davis Letters: Ellie De Ville

Lady Wykes makes her point...

Synopsis: Ampney Crucis wakes from a nightmare about a monster in the Somme, during the war, to be told by his butler Cromwell that he has a case. A friend of his, Lady Wykes, has killed her husband who, unbeknownst to Crucis, appeared to have turned into a monstrous bee...

SB: Even though I didn't much enjoy Stone Island, which came courtesy of the same creators, this is a good start to a new story. The main character feels like a new take on classic character Bix Barton, and that can only be a good thing.

The story seems to be taking place in 1928, which is cool because I like period pieces, and the artist is getting to paint big slimy monsters, which is also cool because he's good at it. I would have liked a double helping of this to get the story started, but being left wanting more can't be a bad thing.

WS: I loved Stone Island and Leviathan, and for me Sinister Dexter is never better than when Simon Davis paints it, so I was looking forward to this.

It didn’t disappoint. What I like is the way it brings together horror and comedy without letting you down on either. The first double page is hilarious, the second should be horrifying, but the sound effect on the man being skinned softens it slightly. The short conversation between Crucis and his valet is not only funny, but tells you everything you need to know about the two of them in a single page. Right now it’s looking to be Jeeves and Wooster with a twist, but there’s nothing wrong with that. 

SB: Not a fantastic prog, but a decent one. I certainly feel like I got my money's worth this week, which is better than recent weeks. The new lineup is looking decent and Dante's back next week, so fans should be happy.

Best Story: Future Shock/Ampney Crucis

WS: Good Prog. Everything works, even if ABC Warriors seems to be just treading water at the moment. The new line-up works, and with the return of Dante next week things can only get better. 

Best Story: Judge Dredd/Ampney Crucis