Welcome, citizens, to this week’s installment of Multiver-City One! Each and every Wednesday we will be examining the latest Prog from Tharg and the droids over at 2000 AD, and giving you all the pertinent information you’ll need headed into this week’s Thrill-Zine!
This week’s cover is by Karl Richardson.
I. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1875
Judge Dredd: Mega-City Confidential, Part 2
Mega-City Confidential is a call-in radio show where citizens can share their gossip and grievances with Max Blixen and all of his listeners. So when Erika, on the run from the Judges with dirt about their snooping on citizens, needs to unload some info, that’s where she turns. (Quick backstory: Erika Easterhouse works for the top-secret Section 7, a division of the Judicial system. Apparently, she’s deeply troubled by what exactly it is that Section 7 does and how they go about doing it. It’s strongly suggested that spying on regular people is part of it, but we’re not given the whole picture yet.)
Now, this Blixen guy… I don’t know about him. In a city so completely controlled by the Judges, how can he get away with exposing the corruption and wrongdoing of The Meg’s most powerful people? I have a theory; let’s explore it!
**SPOILER TIME! THE FAINT OF HEART SHOULD HOP DOWN TO OUR OUTLIER REVIEW!**
Page one shows Blixen sitting in his control room, live on the air. He’s got Erika on the line and is telling her that what she’s got to say is about to land her in a bit of hot water. His shirt got me thinking, since it’s so prominently displayed for all of us to see. That little blue ghost with a single word, ‘BOO’. Then it dawned on me.
Max Blixen is a spook! A company man! An asset! He’s in bed with the Judges, man!
At least, I think he is. I mean, doing what he does? He’s got to be making enemies left and right. So it’d make sense for him to have struck up a deal: the Judges let him have his show, and in exchange they get some primo information. Informants in places with such a totalitarian system of governance as Mega-City One are nothing new. Someone like Blixen sure would be helpful, huh?
Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong. Either way, this strip has been highly enjoyable so far!
Credits: John Wagner (script), Colin MacNeil (art), Chris Blythe (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Outlier, Part 2
Being a crew member on a scavenger spaceship seems to be a quick way to the good life. Over the past two Progs, we’ve seen at least three members of The Outlier and they have all been either insanely wealthy, loaded enough to buy smart drugs (which make your body grow more neural receptors to make each high that much better) and throw parties to show them off at, or rich enough to hire someone like Carcer to find out what happened to the first two guys. Which brings us to the downside of Outlier membership: the short life-span. Someone is killing the crew of that scavenger vessel, and Carcer is tasked with finding out why.
And I’m going to ahead and spoil the fact that the strip doesn’t end with the panels you see above.
So Carcer’s got his work cut out for him. Even though we know he shares some kind of connection with the killer, will it be enough for him to do what needs to be done?
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Karl Richardson (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Slaine: A Simple Killing, Part 2
First off, nice trick by Ellie De Ville to have the squigglies in the word balloons to show Slaine not really paying attention to what’s being said to him. I’ve seen this handled in a few different ways (translucent word balloons, small text, Slaine’s captions literally overlapping and blocking out the other balloons), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done like this. Kudos. But why is Slaine off in his own world, plotting bloody mayhem?
Continued belowBecause this man stole relics from a temple to Slaine’s patron goddess, Danu. And for that? Slaine gets medieval on your ass. Literally.
Kark the walking corpse would have to have a pretty good reason to convince Slaine to grant him a pardon from Brainbiter’s fury. Does he have one, or does Slaine get to see if he can exercise divine retribution without bringing the house down?
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Simon Davis (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Sinister Dexter: Gun Shy, Part 2
D-Fibb and his crew find our guys with a trunkload of guns. Sinister and Dexter tell D-Fibb they are for “personal use.” D-Fibb thinks they’re working for The Pastor, a cult leader whose crew his chapter has been having escalating run-ins with, and he does not like that. Not one bit. Sinister and Dexter keep pleading innocence, but no one really wants to hear that. So, a deal is struck. They’ll prove that they aren’t running guns for this Pastor guy by going and killing him. Seems like a solution to everyone’s problem, right?
It could be, just so long as no one snitches…
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Smudge (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Jaegir: Strigoi, Part 2
Rennie is doing an interesting thing here. He’s introduced, to a people striving for genetic purity, a disease that affects its victims on a genetic level. It’s called The Strigoi Curse, and it was meant to enhance soldiers and give them an edge in the war on Nu Earth. Instead, it only creates deformed monsters. In just a few pages we learn of the shame it brings to those affected, and the taboo that is discussing it openly. Now that the Strigoi has developed in someone Jaegir owes her life to, it it deemed her duty to do what must be done.
It should go without saying how good Coleby’s art is in this, but I’m going to say it anyway. Between his execution of lighting choices through spotting blacks and just overall page layout, this is a moody and gorgeous strip to read. O’Grady’s color picks complement this really well. Like his use of desaturated tones to help keep background elements Coleby’s drawn the hell out of visible but not overpowering the foreground action? That’s the kind of teamwork that makes the whole thing nearly flawless in execution.
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Simon Coleby (art), Len O’Grady (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
II. OF INTEREST
Each week we scour the world wide web to find some interesting bits that relate back to The Galaxy’s Greatest Magazine.
First up is the 2000 AD panel at Emerald City Comicon. “But, fellas!” you say. “I wasn’t able to go to the panel. Why bring up the fact I was unable to see Jock, Arthur Wyatt, Douglas Wolk, and PR droid Michael Molcher in person?” Because through the power of the internet, you can gaze into the past and watch the whole proceedings go down as if you were, in fact, in Room 301 on March 28, 2014. I give you… A Dredd-ful Panel With 2000 AD! From the program guide:
The legendary comic book 2000 AD makes its ECCC debut with a panel destined to be pretty DREDD-ful! Appearing alongside 2000 AD “marketing maestro” Michael Molcher will be superstar artist Jock and Seattle-based Arthur Wyatt, the writer behind the DREDD comic book sequel! Expect announcements, insights, laughs, giveaways and possibly even some futuristic swearing!
Feel the Thrill-Power!
Also last week, James Harren posted this warm-up drawing he did to his Twitter feed.
Most people know James from his BPRD work. This isn’t his first time putting Dredd to paper. Last year he drew a Rob Williams-penned strip. And it was (no surprise) awesome! We can’t wait for him to take another crack at our favorite lawman.
And finally, we don’t usually pull from the magazine itself for this section, but this next item is just too exciting not to mention.
Boo Cook! It’s been almost a year since Cook has shown up in 2000 AD. Last May he helped tell one of Tharg’s 3rillers, and before that he did a couple of Judge Anderson stories in the Megazine, but it looks like he hasn’t told a full-on Dredd tale in a few years, so this is pretty exciting! Judge Dredd Megazine 347 is on sale in two weeks.
Continued belowIII. FUTURE PERP FILES
ATTN: ALL CITIZENS OF THE MEG! Be aware that there is always a Judge watching you. Each sector is equipped with millions of HD-CCTV and bioID units. They are there for your protection. If your intent is upright citizenry, then you have no qualm with our surveillance. And remember: if you see something, you are now an accessory to a crime. That’s six months in an Iso-Cube, creep! Random CPU algorithms has selected this citizen for immediate surveillance and assessment…
That’s gonna do it for us this week! Prog 1875 is on sale today and is available from finer comic shops everywhere, from 2000ADonline.com, and via the 2000 AD Newsstand app for iPad and iPhone. So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”
