Reviewer: Will Cooling
Editor: Matt Smith
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Story Title: Love Hurts
Written by: Alan Grant
Art by: David Roach
Coloured by: Dylan Teague
Lettered by: Tom Frame
In this satiric six-pager Alan Grant depicts the unlikely union between blind six-month pop sensation Kyly and her husband Justin. You see Justin isn’t like other men as he’s an alien; more specifically he’s a Klegg a mercenary reptilian species that are paid in raw meat. Their manager brings the two together as means to revive her flagging career and launch his and it causes them to storm up the charts. However, all does not end well for the Meg’s own Geri and Chris Evans.
Alan Grant has thankfully recovered the touch and style that had so painfully deserted him the last time he wrote Dredd for 2000AD. He gives this ridiculous concept a breezy, light and funny spin around. The characterisation is of course wafer thin but that’s intentional with much of the story giving away to a fake cheesy pop song with gloriously naff lines.
The art of David Roach is excellent as well with much of the work resembling Steve Yeowell’s excellent work on The Invisibles whilst Dredd is pleasingly old school/generic Bolland (that is in the five panels we get to see him).
An excellent comedy one-parter with some nice satiric touches aimed at pop music (which being a bit of a pop nut I completely disagree with).
Savage
Story Title: Book 1 ~ Taking Liberties: Pt. 2
Written by: Pat Mills
Art by: Charlie Adlard
Lettered by: Ellie De Ville
Last week, whilst I was on holiday, 2000AD launched its Spring Attack line up with this revival of one of its founder strips being the first up. We saw Savage fake his own death when a comrade pretends to be him on a Homicide Bomber mission. For those that don’t know him Bill Savage became the leading fighting force in the British resistance against their Volgan conquerors after said conquerors killed his family (sound familiar?). His original series Invasion is rightly a fondly remembered story with some choice (if slightly silly) elements. With this revival Mills attempts to bring the story bang up to date with last week establishing a realistic tone with Savage being depicted with cunning and a willingness to sacrifice others in addition to his usual recklessness. Mills also introduced an interesting supporting cast member of Bill’s brother Jack who unlike his brother is trying to get by working for the gas board. It’s with him and his more earnest collaborator that we start our story as Mills cleverly uses them to flesh out the back-story not only to Savage’s resistance campaign, but also to the invasion and what the heck is a Volgan?
It’s at this point, I should note that Mills is not a disinterested hack/fan but he wrote the first two episodes of the original series and was editor of the comic at the time. Now the original series was toned down quite a bit by management with certain scenes of violence cut, the politics cut and the villains changed from their original Russians to the generic Volgans. Mills, showing that only those of Irish blood can properly hold a grudge still remembers these slights and so uses this part to subtly (and I do actually mean that) put things right. Firstly there is explaining that yes the Volgans are indeed Russian, they are a Russian Nazi-style party that ceased power from Gorbachev in 1991. I must admit Mills delivers big time here delivering a fascinating back story for our villains with a particularly effective scene the traumatising effect of De-Stalinization (Volgograd is the current name for Stalingrad) on one young fan of Uncle Joe, although he may take this a tad too far I enjoyed it. Mills then effectively develops this showing how the rise of the far left in Britain resulted in America being ordered to leave Britain and the resulting isolationism of America and the resulting Russian invasion (which is a shockingly Tory point for this self-conscious radical to make) which is again logical and interesting despite some asinine little details. All of which is done in a shockingly terse and concise way that leaves room for a brief recap of Savage’s guerrilla campaign (including a scene that was cut first time around) and then time for our chance to see the Volgans playing a little roughhouse (where unfortunately Mills’ seemingly constant homophobia comes to the fore again) in their quest to ascertain whether Savage is actually dead. All is written with an apt sense of claustrophobia and tension brilliantly brought out by Charlie Adlard’s black and white artwork.
A.H.A.B
Story Title: Untitled: Pt.2
Written by: Nigel Kitching
Art by: Richard Elson
Lettered by: Annie Parkhouse
Last week, we were told how human society is on its last legs as a deadly virus that has nothing whatsoever to do with AIDS wrecks havoc killing millions and forcing the governments to lock victims in concentration camps. The governments decide to get their finger out and send a crew to find a cure, which for some reason, is centred with the Kohenyll. However, they take a detour and find a human spaceship with all its human crew dead and only a sole alien left.
This week they establish contact as we learn who “he†is and establish vague details about what killed the crew. So far so good, in an old fashioned generic sense, this delivers space sci-fi thrills wrapped in an uncomplicated espionage plot. That said, the characters are naturally rather thin, with the human ones being interchangeable but its early days and Kitching establishes the character of A.HA.B (the alien) very well and makes the focus on it sensible.
The art is in a similar vein to the writing with Elson doing some of his best work ever. The linework is technically proficient but deathly generic; it’s brought to life by some curiously effective colouring.
All in all enjoyable but nothing earth shattering.
Low Life
Story Title: Paranoia: Pt. 2
Written by: Rob Williams
Art by: Henry Flint
Lettered by: Ellie De Ville
In last week’s debut part we saw the investigation of long-term undercover (Wally Squad) Judge, Amy Nixon, blown by a squad of over eager street Judges.
This week, we see her called to meet with her handler/boss amid growing concerns that she’s going native. Man oh man, do I ever love this, the Wally Squad has been an area ripe for exploration and Rob Williams delivers big time here. Whilst, in many ways, he’s going over the usual Wally Squad Judge clichés-no respect for authority, very close relationships with criminals, the need to commit crime so as not to blow cover-he delivers these old, familiar notes with a power and gusto that they barely deserve. His characterisation is great as well with Amy Nixon perfectly showing the grey area between Judge and Perp that is the Wally Street Judge. With the showing of flashbacks to her violent childhood we see how having been forced to live outside the superficial ritual of the law she has been forced to adopt a cocksure attitude and degenerate lifestyle to give her the comfort that the law gave her in the Academy.
Of course it wouldn’t be fair not to mention the amazing art of Henry Flint who has (somehow) excelled himself with his black and white art perfectly capturing the edgy harshness of the script whilst the flashbacks appear to be some mixture of Frank Miller and Eddie Campbell.
A great story that seems to be a lot more mature than your average 2000AD story.
Chopper
Story Title: The Big Meg: Pt. 2
Written by: John Wagner
Pencilled by: Patrick Goodard
Inked by: Dylan Teague
Coloured by: Chris Blythe
Lettered by: Tom Frame
Last week, in Wagner’s big return to a character that he hasn’t written in nearly fifteen years, we see perhaps the purest antithesis of Judge Dredd make his return to the Big Meg. Chopper (or Marlon Shakespeare to his mama and daddy) was the most talented, the most famous, and the most loved skysurfer and was a former Supersurf champion. However, skysurfering is illegal and that coupled with the (then) kid’s easy going, devil may care attitude has earned him the unceasing hatred of one Judge Dredd, who has slapped a 25 year jail sentence on his head should he ever return. This has led to him living a life of exile in Oz (Australia) along with his good friend Jug Mackenzie. However, the alcoholic, cancer stricken Jug has committed suicide and Chopper has attempted to use his identity to return to the Big Meg only for him to rumble with Dredd and co waiting. We left Chopper as he attempted to make good his escape on a skyboard with the help of an infant hostage. This week, we see said escape continue as Dredd wonders why Chopper has returned, with answers hinted at towards the end.
This isn’t bad, with some enjoyable, no thrills action frolics as Chopper makes his escape with Wagner squeezing an ungodly amount of action in a short space with plenty of ducking and diving. We also, once more, see glimpses of Dredd’s hatred and contempt for Chopper and his desperation to shine this free spirit. What we see less of is what made Chopper such a great character to begin with, that sense of freedom and devil may care attitude. Today’s Chopper is an older, chastened man and maybe that’s realistic but such a Chopper robs the dynamic between him and Dredd of its Yin-Yang dimension that always made it so readable.
In addition, while Goodard doesn’t do a bad job with the art, producing his usual mix of Authority Bryan Hitch expressiveness and Bolland detail it in places lacks the bigness that always brought out the best in his art. This is by no means a bad story, it’s highly readable but it seems to be lacking something. Whether it’s in the art or the writing I don’t know but it seems strangely subdued. Hopefully it’ll pick up soon.
