Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Editor: Matt Smith
Publisher: Rebellion
It was a long convoluted series of events that finally brought me to subscribe to Great Britain’s most famous comic publication, 2000AD. I have enjoyed the few Judge Dredd stories that I have read over the years and could not help but notice the myriad list of fantastic talents that contributed to the magazine before, during, and after working on American comics. Names like: Garth Ennis, Alan Grant, Carlos Ezquerra, Steve Dillon, Andy Diggle, John Wagner, Brian Bolland, Kevin O’Neill, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Dave Gibbons and many, many, many more have all plied their trade on 2000AD.
Over the past few months, as an Editor with 411Mania, I have had the pleasure of editing most of my colleague William Cooling’s reviews of 2000AD. His reviews served to give me a clearer picture of what exactly this title offered. Eventually I couldn’t resist any longer. You can order 2000AD through Previews (although it is a number of weeks behind), but I chose to go with the subscription option direct from the publisher, Rebellion. My copy arrives within a day of the newest issue hitting the stands in Great Britain, and the cost ended up being quite cheap when you consider the issue is traveling across continent.
This week’s issue is the fourth that I have received, and already I’m a junkie for this comic! The quality that I have experienced thus far has surpassed most of the comics that I read on a monthly basis and is certainly of equivalent quality to those I consider my favorites. The best part is that 2000AD shows up on my doorstep every week!
I don’t want this to become rambling, nonsense, so let’s get to the meat of the review.
Judge Dredd
Title: Terror: Pt. 3
Written by: John Wagner
Art by: Colin MacNeil
Lettered by: Tom Frame
John Wagner has written some of my favorite Batman stories, and his work on Judge Dredd is just as good. Wagner’s tale of Dredd fighting against a terrorist organization named Total War is tightly paced with strong dialogue, and although the book takes place in 2126, there’s plenty of wry political commentary of contemporary value. Judge Dredd has been a character that I’ve enjoyed sparsely and mostly from afar for a long time, but now John Wagner has made my first weekly dose exceed all expectations.
Art wise I can’t say enough about Colin MacNeil’s work. He captures the “Fascist State†of Mega-City One perfectly. The world is cold and unappealing, Judge Dredd is the definition of power. Page five features a memorable collage of images that is among the best single pages of comic art this year. Here we see Judge Dredd explaining the different types of people in a terrorist group, and giving an interesting note to his potential end. MacNeil brings Wagner’s words to life with such authority it was difficult not to shudder at the imagery.
Dredd was one of the main reasons that I started reading 2000AD, and this story is shaping up to be a classic!
Savage
Title: Book 1 ~ Taking Liberties: Pt. 8
Written by: Pat Mills
Art by: Charlie Adlard
Lettered by: Ellie De Ville
The toughest part of reading 2000AD is picking up the intricacies of some of the stories that began before my subscription started. A handy synopsis of the story background is included on the table of contents page, but that gives me just the bare bones. Savage along with A.H.A.B. are the stories that are giving me the most trouble of really getting into them. That’s not to say either is bad, they’re just a little tougher to sort everything out.
This issue features a strong action set piece involving Bill Savage taking down a helicopter and escaping the building that he and other insurgents stormed previously. Pat Mills takes time after the altercation to build up the relationship between Noddy and Bill and give us some wonderful dialogue on the potential for a mother to stick her nose into the marriage of her daughter. We seem to be moving towards a Volgan departure from England, until the final page, which shows that the Volgan’s still have a trump to play.
Charlie Adlard is an artist that I am growing to appreciate more each passing month. Until recently his work on the less than stunning Green Lantern and Green Arrow crossover “Black Circle: Urban Knights†was all I had seen of him. That’s until his strong art on The Walking Dead and of course this action-packed story in 2000AD. I can safely say that Mr. Adlard is one of the finer artists in the industry at translating tense, dramatic sequences—especially when he works in black and white.
A.H.A.B
Title: Untitled: Pt. 8
Written by: Nigel Kitching
Art by: Richard Elson
Lettered by: Annie Parkhouse
This is the other story that has been a bit confusing for me, thus far. The easiest way that I can describe A.H.A.B. is as a sci-fi takeoff of Moby Dick with a bit of The Hot Zone thrown in for good measure. This week, A.H.A.B. has nearly reached his destination of destroying the Kohenyu that he blames for his original death. Queequeg comes to Ishmael’s aid and we are faced with the big confrontation which will determine the fate of the human race, which is suffering from an outbreak of Ebola.
The pacing by Nigel Kitching has been very solid. Part of the reason for my difficulties in following along was the speedy nature of the storytelling. Still, like any good movie that you come in after the start, if the characterization and plotting are good, the main themes and character evolution is clear and you eventually feel like you haven’t missed a thing. That’s where I am now, and I’m loving every minute.
As far as the art goes, Richard Elson’s work is amazing! The character designs are some of the most wonderfully imaginative that I’ve seen in some time. The coloring—since it’s uncredited my assumption is that it is also by Elson—is absolutely breathtaking. The entire story occurs outside of the confines of a spaceship. Elson’s work on the backgrounds is stunning, thus lending the scenery a depth that made me gawk longer than I normally would.
All told this is a wonderful story that I fear is rapidly approaching its stunning climax. I really hope that we will see more with these characters down the line!
Low Life
Title: Paranoia: Pt. 8
Written by: Rob Williams
Art by: Henry Flint
Lettered by: Ellie De Ville
Judge Aimee Nixon of Wally Squad (Judge’s who go deep undercover to battle criminals) has been setup to take the fall for whacking major crime figures. This week she finds out who is behind the situation and why. The revelations are well scripted and make complete sense in the storyline. Rob Williams has put together an interesting story about what can happen in the worst part of town and how some people sink to the level of those they are fighting to in an attempt to win the battle. Much like Wagner’s current Judge Dredd tale, there is a lot of contemporary relevance in Low Life.
With the help of Henry Flint’s moody art, Rob Williams has written a truly A-Class crime story!
Chopper
Title: Big Meg: Pt. 8
Written by: John Wagner
Penciled by: Patrick Goodard
Inked by: Dylan Teague
Colored by: Chris Blythe
Lettered by: Tom Frame
Chopper’s an absolute hoot of a character to follow. He has a complete disdain for authority, he’s the prototypical rebel. While the storyline is more like a “Popcorn Flick†than the rest of the more politically wry pieces in 2000AD, I’ve totally fallen in love with the character of Chopper. He’s an action hero through and through. He pulls the screw job reversal for the ages at the end of the tale and rides off into the sunset. Hopefully he won’t be gone for too long, because, even though the story has been mostly fluff, John Wagner, Patrick Goodard and Dylan Teague have turned in absolutely top-notch fluff!
