2000AD Prog 1636 - 20 May 2009

Cover by Henry Flint

Robert Frazer: This is a stock cover - but that by no means translates to "bad".

The design is made in a similar vein to Robinson's cover lastyear, when we just saw Dredd's boot as a thug threatened a hostage(it's recalled here, even to the Lawgiver in a shin-holster). It hasthe same sense of dynamism infusing it - we get a real sense of theartwork as frozen time, not just a set pose.

The Performer - Part 2 Script: Al Ewing Art: Paul Marshall Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Dredd takes a hand...

Synopsis: The World Sex Championships are getting underway and Dredd is trying to control the crowds protesting against the inclusion of a mutant contender. Dredd sees that a priest has been let in and realises that he's an assassin, taking him down in a gunfight while Beaker and his partner win the "mixed pairs" event. Dredd discovers that Harry Dix's son gave his pass to the priest, and takes him way for conspiracy to murder.

RF: While it's probably refreshing for any football fan - exasperatedwith brittle metatarsals and Italians taking a dive every time afeather lightly brushes the air within ten feet of them - to introducesportsmen to the concept of real suffering, it's nonetheless strikingjust how brutally violent future sport is. From the Trans-ContinentalDeath Race to Brockian Ultra Cricket, it seems that our children justwon't be able to lift themselves up from the stands unless a game'sabout half as bloody as the typical Millwall match. Even safe andsaccharine Star Trek has lethal sport in Parisses Squares andTsunkatse! Now, don't get me wrong, I love blood'n'guts as much as thenext man... but when a game of piggy in the middle needs a hundredparamedics in attendance it can get rather absurd.

The Dreddverse, then, while certainly not wanting for violence inother respects, stands out for making its future sport actual sport.Whether its pinballing about with Boing, the Miracle Plastic, orchowing down in eating competitions ("The Bazooka" is one of myall-time favourite Dredd Thrills), Mega-City sport emphasises thecompetition more than the calamity. The Sex Olympics are anotherexample of this, and it emphasises just what a topsy-turvy world thatpeople of the Big Meg inhabit. Exhibitionism is now something for dry,technical commentary rather than titillation, and rebellion is found inprudery rather than license - Ewing's done a sterling job in depictingsomething so off-kilter.

This thrill is stuffed to bursting with great scenes - Dreddinterrupting the news; the difference between Dredd's partner beingdisgusted with the whole affair while Dredd himself is completelyunfazed by all the debauchery (it's all above board, after all); andstanding out in particular is the smooth and flowing interlacing ofthe commentary, performance and gunfight at the strip's climax.

Good to see that Gonzo wasn't forgotten, as well!  

My only real complaint with the substance of this thrill is thevillain himself - with murder in mind, would he really have strolled upwith his dog collar on display? While his outfit makes him easy to spotand so saves on several panels of Dredd finding him in a six-pagescript, this could perhaps have been done by noticing a tell-talebulge, which would have been more fitting given the subject matter too("Oh, so it really was a gun in your pocket, then"). It doesn't spoilthe strip but, for me, it is a noticeable flaw.

I also feel that this Thrill would have benefited from running before "Backlash". Whilethe fact that mutants are still active in the city can be explained bysaying that the handover to Francisco won't occur until he's completedhis convalescence, you wonder if they'd invest so much in a mutantcontestant if he's just going to be booted out in a few weeks' time(well, they got one competition out of him at least). That's aneditorial concern, though, and not a fault of the creators.   

I was expecting "The Performer" to last longer than two parts -it's been an entertaining romp and I'm... dissatisfied... to see it endso soon. Now that it's over, though, I'm left hankering after thatDredd-DeMarco scene that I know's hiding in Tharg's drawers somewhere..

The Gong Beater- Part 2 Script: Pat Mills Art: Clint Langley Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Slaine takes down another wannabe...

Synopsis: Slaine defeats Gardar by hacking away at the chinks in his armour. Talking to Sabrina, he learns that she tried to warn the new owner of the tower that the demons will return. She beat him up to help change his mind - but he only seemed to like that. Slaine soon finds out why, when he learns that Ukko is the new owner who isconverting the tower into luxury apartments. He uses the gong to summon his workers from town, and cajoles Slaine into beating it, telling him that he's not strong enough to...

RF: It's here that I have to show my relative newbie status again,unfortunately - while Slaine is one of the pillars of 2000AD, beforethe beginning of "The Gong Beater" last week I'd only ever read onesingle installment of a Slaine story - while I'm aware of Slaine as acharacter, this is my first real and proper experience of him in aThrill.

The dialogue seems curiously... blunt. Both Slaine and Sabrinatalk in a very slow and deliberate way - I assume that this is astylistic decision, making these characters uncomplicated but honest(Ukko is the only one to use apostrophes, and he is wormy, deviousimp). I'm not quite sure what to make of it, really - itgives the Thrill an unusual cadence, and it could be a hintof classical epic poetry or it could equally become ponderous and dull.I'll have to absorb more of this over the coming weeks to make a finaldecision. 

One thing that's clear right away, though, is that this script waswritten a fair while ago - Mills missed the boat if he wanted toinclude a spot of commentary, because with all that's gone on in theeconomy lately, property's not exactly a safe investment any more!Also, I'm not sure what's so luxurious about the tower'sappointments... but eh, I don't know. Maybe Gigantist Goth is in thisyear.

Langley was one of the highlights of 2008 with his work on ABCWarriors, so it's a pleasure to see him return - but a question stillhangs over him, though.ABC Warriors did highlight that Langley'sstyle suits machines more than it does men, so the more organic fantasyworld of Slaine is going to be a test of his abilities. So far, itseems that he's handling himself well.

The strip is telegraphing its intentions rather obviously - ofcourse the Cyth are coming back - and Ukko's goading of Slaine in thefinal panel seems rather lame (the strength remark is fair enough,but what's heroic about beating a gong?). However,everything is stillrolling on steadily and I'm still interested in seeing how thingsdevelop.

Part 4 Script: John Smith Art: Edmund Bagwell Letters: Ellie De Ville

Callum gets drawn in...

Synopsis: After ditching the car, Shane and Callum hid out at Ted and Mary's when they realise they've run over "Skully's kid". Callum complains at the smell, but Shane calms him down. He's called back to his mum's to sort out the birth of his dog's pups and leaves Callum there. Callum becomes more overwhelmed by the smell in the apartment and opens a closed room in the house - shocked at what he sees. He's called in and told "it's time for your feed..."

RF: Everyone's holding their breath over "Cradegrave" (incidentally, agood pun on "cradle to grave" state welfare, seeing as the action isset on a council estate), waiting for when the supernatural twist isgoing to send us all into a spin. Smith has been playing coy so far,though, giving hints of a long hot summer of rioting in the swelteringheat on the one hand, and cryptic remarks in dreams and Mary'strembling dialogue on the other. Perhaps Mary herself is representativeof a dying community... but regardless of whether the demise ofthe Ravenglade estate is going to come from being swallowed up by aninterdimensional pit or rather be more mundane disorder, everything isnonetheless close and congested and we can feel the heat and pressurebuilding up. 

The captioned monologues are well-written - they succeed inevoking filthy, foetid images, and my fingers feel dirtied just byhandling the pages. Related to that is the writing in general:Cradlegrave has so far been very off-beat - this strip is literallynothing but dialogue - but Bagwell keeps the camera roving and so stopsit being stale talking heads. Callum is written very well - you get asense of what an evil little toerag he is when he so cooly slips backinto swaggering mode the second that the heat's off, while Shane'sworry makes it look as though the blame is sliding off Callum and ontohim (I wonder if that's how Callum has escaped problems up to now).

In earlier parts of the story the backgrounds looked a little tooobviously photo-manipulated - it's good to see them being properly drawnhere. There are a few standout details as well, such as light dirtyingthe night sky - this place truly is rancid. The subtle point of havingall of the indoor scenes be stained a shade of brown, and particularlyin how the fruit bowl is more reminiscent of liver spots and shrivelledold flesh.

1984 - Part 5 Script: Pat Mills Art: Patrick Goddard Letters: Simon Bowland

Savage lets one off...

Synopsis: Savage is saved by militia disguised as homeless men in the station. They don't reveal who they are, only that they were on "active service" but may be special forces. He tries to warn Cath, but she's already been taken by the Volgans. He thinks he might have been set up, and calls his friend Ronald Tyler to get him out. But while they're on the road, the Police pick them up on security cameras...

RF: Mills sparks with strong dialogue in this installment -the embattled "we're working on it!" has just the right tone of blackhumour growled through gritted teeth as the action heats up. The "bincollectors" line is a good joke, as is Tyler's doggedly determinedsales pitch and the understated dialogue - perfectly understandable,even though it's in code - between Bill and Cathy as they say theirfarewells is heartbreaking.  

The Beast of the Blackout has featured prominently in the story upto now so I'm curious about there not being so much of a hint of it inthis episode - I would have thought that the darkened subways wouldhave been ideal for a spot of stalking. The pages are full enoughalready, though, so I don't feel shortchanged by its absence and it'sinteresting to wonder if it's going to meddle with the interception inthe next prog.  

Goddard continues to put in sterling work, demonstrating that he'sa more than worthy successor to Adlard. Adlard's main trick was thegimmicky practice of dressing up the Volgans in G.I. kit - his squaddySavage looked too cartoonish, and leaving us with the crack of hisbuilder's bum hanging out in a graveyard at the end of book four wasn'texactly the best image to leave us with. Goddard's simply better -superior with his construction, shading, expression and composition,and the Thrill hasn't failed to impress as long as he's been on it. Onecomplaint that I have to raise is that the detectives chasing Savageare a little too obviously channeling Gene Hunt in their design, butthat's only a quibble.

RF: Each Thrill is a little different this week, showing the anthologyformat at its burnished best. 2000AD's summer season is shaping up tobe a stonker.

Best Story: Dredd/ Savage