Welcome, citizens, to this week’s installment of Multiver-City One! Every Wednesday we examine the latest offerings from Tharg and the droids over at 2000 AD, the galaxy’s leading producers of Thrill-Power entertainment! Between the weekly “2000 AD” itself, the monthly “Judge Dredd Megazine”, an extensive library of graphic novel collections, and new US-format one-shots and mini-series, they have decades of zarjaz comics for you to enjoy.
We’ve got a brand-new Prog AND Megazine this week, so we’ll jump right in after a quick public service announcement!
I. AN EARTHLET’S GUIDE TO 2000 AD
We understand that having such a large selection of comics to choose from can make knowing where to start with 2000 AD seem daunting. What do they publish? Where can I get it? What’s up with Judge Dredd? Can I still read “2000 AD” if I don’t like Judge Dredd?
So to help new & potential readers, we’ve put together An Earthlet’s Guide to 2000 AD. A regularly updated FAQ, The Guide will collect everything you need to make your initial foray into the 2000 AD Thrill-verse as simple as possible.
II. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1935
NOW ARRIVING
Outlier: Dark Symmetries, Part 1
‘Outlier’ returns to the pages of “2000 AD” this week with PI Jared Carcer in an Alliance treatment facility following his run-in with Caul, a man/alien hybrid intent on killing the surviving crew of his old ship that abandoned him while investigate a craft from those very same aliens. Carcer was not a member of that crew, but had had an encounter with those aliens as a child, in an incident that cost him his parents but gained him Hurde-built eyes.
As with the territory this story finds itself in, the Alliance discovers another ship and wants to get Carcer and his special eyes in on the investigation. Considering Carcer was, for a large part, a supporting character in this own story back in the earlier series, Eglington does a neat bit here to flip things back to his favor. It’s not quite as powerful as Caul’s motive from the earlier series, but it’s better than just another case or paycheck job for Carcer.
I didn’t think we’d get a sequel, but I’m looking forward to seeing where this one goes!
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Karl Richarson (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Judge Dredd: Blood of Emeralds, Part 2
Someone in the world paid upwards of ten million creds to assassinate a Mega-City One Street Judge and recover a package he’d received. The thing is, the hit was on one Judge Fintan Joyce, an average Judge with a family history of law enforcement, and the package seemed to only contain some personal photos and family records. So what’s going on here? Judge Dredd intends to find out!
This week’s strip takes us across the Black Atlantic to Murphyville, which is the Mega-City of The Emerald Island (modern-day Ireland). Things get a bit stickier once Dredd arrives in Joyce’s hometown, though. There’s some ominous mention of Joyce’s father, a Murphyville Judge, as well as the mystery of who or what ‘Douglas’ could be. This is on top of Dredd’s presence in Murphyville feeling a little…unwelcome? I mean, everyone has been polite enough, but it must be quite unsettling to have The Big Meg sending their top cop to sniff around, right?
If you missed me gushing about Colin MacNeil’s art last week, it’s all right here. Everything I said last week still stands. The guy’s way too good at this whole comics thing.
Credits: Michael Carroll (script), Colin MacNeil (art), Chris Blythe (colors), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Helium, Part 2
Exposition time!
Usually that would be the kiss of death in a week’s strip, but D’Israeli & Edgington pull it off with style here. Professor Bloom plays the part of confessor here, and I poured over every bit of narration spoken and every line of flashback drawn.
The team doesn’t waste time giving us a lot of glimpses of life below the Poison Belt. From a reader standpoint, this is pure eye candy; but is it reliable? Sure, Bloom looks and acts like a reliable narrator, all polite and outgoing, but it could all be a smokescreen. Since this is only week 2, I’m laying odds that at least part of the story he tells is as much hot air as cold fact.
Continued belowBe that as it may, Edginton could reveal that he was lying through his tweet and I’m not sure I’d care because D’Israeli really renders the hell out of Bloom’s tale. I’m sure this is going to be a running theme in this column, but for all that I love his work on ‘Stickleback,’ I’ve missed the added dimension and texture we get when he brings in color to his work. The best way to show a separation between two different settings, even before location and physical design, is by choosing two or more distinct and separate color palettes for the different places, and D’Israeli does that here. The neon BINGO sign may not work anymore, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t colors that just pop off the page (or screen) at play here.
Credits: Ian Edginton (script), D’Israeli (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Absalom: Under A False Flag, Part 2
Boy oh boy, Harry Absalom is one difficult guy to like! He’s prickly, offensive, and hard-set in his ways, all of which is secondary to the fact that he’s really good at his job. That’s why he can crack wise on veganism or make terribly offensive remarks at the expense of Japanese tourists; because at the end of the day he will get done the things that need doing. Or, at least, that’s how it seems.
This week’s strip opens with Absalom standing next to a second pile of ash where a corpse should be. The scene is just like we saw last week, down to the strange and ornate knife found alongside the victim. He’ll need to call on a number of his resources to get this one figured out, so it’s off to do some real police work with him. First stop, a psychic painter!
I’m kinda enjoying our first real exposure to “Absalom.” It’s got a rough-around-the-edges quality to it, but manages to maintain a sense of light-heartedness. As unlovable as the series’ titular character can be, he’s still an interesting lens through which we can explore a fantastic world. And, of course, Trevallion’s art is a real delight. He’s got a knack for the grotesque, and it’s on display here without ever having to draw a monster. Each character in this story, particularly Absalom, has a world-weary quality to them shown through the wrinkles and divots in their faces and clothes. Even before a word is spoken, it’s clear just how worn-down Absalom and his associates are.
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Tiernen Trevallion (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Sláine: Primordial, Part 12
This strip has been like a (no pun intended) primordial drum beat for Sláine’s journey into some kind of dark heart. Simon Davis continues to visualize the action in a way that suggests more than shows but still pays off at the same time, but Mills has consistent set Sláine on a path that brings him face-to-face with humans who are that in name only. As someone whose own link to humanity can be warped at times, how much different is he from them? You can’t keep seeing as much as Mills keeps throwing at Sláine without constantly having to ask yourself that question. Sláine can take the swords & arrows and not think them to many, but this psychological attack Lord Weird (and Mills) throws at Sláine takes its toll.
Not to say that it’s all head games at this point, although heads certainly roll this week. We FINALLY get to see the titular Primordial this week, and it both surprises and confirms suspicions. Sláine has fought big opponents and survived. He has fought hordes of opponents and survived. So why is Lord Weird throwing a single human-sized adversary at Sláine? Because that adversary is…something I’m not going to spoil. But damn Sláine has his work cut out for him.
From the existential to the immediate, Davis makes you feel every blow, the weight of every weapon, and the impending doom with every one of Sláine’s steps just as Sláine does. I can’t think of a better illustrated fantasy comic on the stands now.
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Simon Davis (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Continued below
III. THIS MONTH IN JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE 361
Judge Dredd: El Maldito, Part 1
With Mega-City One still reeling from the devastation of Chaos Day, they’ve turned to the Cursed Earth for help in keeping their population alive. In the case of ‘El Maldito’, that means tasking the Dysson corporation with providing additional foodstuffs for the city. Dysson sets up processing plants in the Cursed Earth run by a surprisingly non-mutant population that they exploit for maximum profit.
It seems someone named ‘El Maldito’ has decided Dysson has crossed a line with their crackdowns and gas started cracking back. Dysson puts in a call to the Meg for help, and Dredd gets to do a little sight-seeing. He’s as happy with that as one would expect.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Ezquerra is a big fan of Westerns and the Western iconography. The man certainly does not pass up an opportunity to draw a dude with a gun in a duster, that’s for sure. But Rennie makes sure to give him an opportunity to draw action from both sides of the proverbial border, and Ezquerra completely sells whichever side were looking at in any given panel.
As to who the mysterious ‘El Maldito’ could be? I have a couple of theories, one so whacked out I’ll wait until next month to spring it on everyone…
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Carlos Ezquerra (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Demon Nic, Part 1
Paul Grist is back, and he’s bringing a hell of a strip with him!
There’s been an uneasy truce between demons and man for over a thousand years, installed after the last ‘war to end all wars’ between the two camps shortly before that. The Church tries to keep one side from upsetting the balance between it and the other, and Nic (or Nicodemus to his non-friends) is the demon with the soul who helps keep that balance balanced. But, as you can probably guess, someone is looking to throw off that balance and kickstart the Apocalypse using Nic as ‘the ball’.
I’ll go ahead and say that doesn’t sound like the most original premise. One part Angel, a splash of “Hellboy”, plus some other ingredients. What makes it not just work but really fun is Grist. The man has made a name for himself by taking concepts you are already familiar with, if not already bored with, and presents them in his own idiosyncratic way. No matter what the subject matter, Grist can’t help but do fun comics. Which is not to say that he can’t do serious comics, because he certainly handles drama and tense situations better than most other creators, but there’s no way to look at any Paul Grist comic and not think that he’s having a blast telling this story.
Maybe that contributes to his…erratic…scheduling; the fact that he can’t just crank these things out. There are no rote Grist comics. It takes longer than I’d like to get them, but now that we’re locked in to ‘Demon Nic’ for the next set of Megazines, I’m ecstatic to jump into whatever new world Grist is showing us now.
Credits: Paul Grist (script/art/letters), Phil Elliot (colors)
Storm Warning: The Relic, Part 1
Exorcist rounds? That’s bad ass!
This tale takes place across the Black Atlantic in Brit-Cit, the United Kingdom’s largest Mega-City, and introduces readers to Judge Lillian Storm for the first time. Judge Storm is a member of Brit-Cit’s Psi-Division and seems to have a bit of a reputation around her Sector House. Why exactly she’s described as ‘spooky,’ or what her problem is with partners, remains to be explained, but it may have something to do with what seems to be the circumstances of her origin. From this week’s installment, it seems that Storm may have come into Judicial custody twenty years ago under some grizzly circumstances. Those details are still unclear, so take this as you may, but I suspect Judge Storm’s abilities may have their roots in the dark arts.
Continued belowLeah Moore and John Reppion make their return to “2000 AD” with this tale, and are off to a hell of a start with this one. Maybe I’m a sucker for Psi-Div stories, but I am all in on this one. The strip opens with a team made up primarily of Psi Judges with one helmeted Street Judge in tow, as they intrude on a gentleman set upon summoning a demon. That story beat alone would be enough to have my interest, but then they went and put Tom Foster on art.
Foster won the 2000 AD Thought Bubble portfolio completion back in 2013, and this is his second appearance in one of Tharg’s mighty comics. While his first at-bat was a solid example of what he is capable of, it pales in comparison to what he commits to paper for this story. Good Golly, is it impressive! His bold use of hatching here struck me the most; he uses a heavy line to describe shape and contour, and does so in a way that feels almost like etchings at times. Aided by Kristy Swan’s colors, this strip has dramatic, baroque qualities that give it a real moodiness. Foster has grown by leaps and bounds since the last time we saw him.
I cannot wait to see where things are going from here. An interesting backstory and intriguing case for Judge Storm, combined with fantastic art and the promise of abundant Psi-Div action makes for a promising comic. The only downside is that we’ll have to wait a month between installments!
Credits: Leah Moore & John Reppion (script), Tom Foster (art), Kirsty Swan (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Lawless: Between Bad Rock & A Hard Place, Part 1
Abnett and Winslade left so much on the plate when we saw the words ‘Lawless returns next year’ back in Megazine 354. The seemingly endless conflict between the different factions all trying to carve out a life on Badrock, the Pinkertons who’ve come to town, the mystery around Colonel Marshal Lawson’s predecessor, the cryptic accusations said-predecessor slings at Lawson; there was a lot going on. Hell, Abnett even threw in a conversation about spinning plates to drive the point home. Well, after long last, ‘Lawless’ is back!
It looks as if Phil Winslade took the time away from monthly publication to figure out how to put even more lines on the page. By the time the first ‘Lawless’ strip wrapped up he seemed to be on a real roll. A lot of artists can lose steam over the course of a story, particularly when what they’re putting on page is as laborious as this seems to be. But not Winslade. If anything, his art only got better with each passing month. But now, after seven months without a ‘Lawless’ strip, it looks like he’s making up for lost time. These pages are dense and intricate, while somehow maintaining a cleanness in the line and storytelling. ‘Lawless’ is the work of a master storyteller doing some of the best work of his career. And when you pair that kind of art with a writer like Dan Abnett? Well, that’s just gold standard comics.
‘Lawless’ was truly one of my favorite comics last year, and I’m thrilled to see it back!
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Phil Winslade (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
IV. MEGAZINE FEATURES
Interrogation: Alex Ronald by Matthew Badham
“Action, not violence” was the mantra on artist Alex Ronald’s first professional work: “Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future.” If that title doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because it was a tie-in to the 1995 Stallone-starring Judge Dredd film aimed as a way to hook 12-year-old boys into the marketing pull of the clearly-going-to-be-a-smash-hit movie. As you can imagine, that explosion of Dredd in the summer of 1995 turned into a feeling of dread for years to follow, but Ronald has been able to work in both comics and/or animation ever since. Read this interrogation to find out about his time with the Lawman, just what “Vampire Vixens” is about (I’m guessing needlepoint!), whether a good cover is more important than good stories, and more!
Continued belowFiction: Judge Anderson – Too Much Information by Alec Worley
This really is a psi-heavy issue of the Megazine, isn’t it?
This prose tale sets Judge Anderson against a man with incredible psychic powers and an encyclopedic knowledge of, well, almost everything. Kicking off with the ‘and it was my day off’ trope, writer Alec Worley wastes little time setting Anderson on her way. He does this in a really clever way, in fact. You see, just like the comics that inhabit these pages, the prose stories have limited space with which to tell a story. So, in what I’m assuming is an effort to save on the word count, Worley begins the story with Anderson on the tail end of her first contact with the problem she’s faced with. And it doesn’t feel like there’s been a shortcut taken. In fact, I didn’t even pick up on this little trick until my second read-through. It was really neat to see, actually. We’re all so familiar with the space-saving measure utilized in these comics that it’s almost novel to pick up on it in the prose section.
This story takes on the idea of information and literature in Mega-City One. What happens when thought-provoking material is loosed upon a population living under fascism? What happens when works of literature thought to be long lost are uploaded to unsuspecting human minds? Worley uses Anderson as a lens through which to explore a type of oppression so deep that people don’t even realize it’s there anymore.
V. MEGAZINE REPRINT
Every month, Tharg finds a little something from the back catalog to include with the Megazine. This month it’s the second book of “Finn”, by Pat Mills, Tony Skinner, Jim Elston, and Kevin Wicks!
Originally printed in the pages of the comics anthology “Crisis,” Mills, Skinner, Elston and Wicks would soon find a home for the series in the pages of “2000 AD.” The story focuses on one Paul Finn, a 21st century eco-terrorist who also happens to be a warlock. Finn turns his angst towards gods and corporations while sporting quite the mask/helmet/chainmail ensemble.
That’s gonna do it for us this week! “2000 AD” Prog 1935 and “Judge Dredd Megazine” 361 are on sale today and available from:
- The 2000 AD Newsstand app for iPad and iPhone,
- The 2000 AD app for Android devices,
- 2000ADonline.com in print or DRM-free PDF and CBZ formats,
- Select US newsstands, and
- Finer comic shops everywhere
So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”
