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! It’s a double-header this week, as we’ve got both a new Prog and a new Judge Dredd Megazine, so let’s get right to it!
This week’s cover is by Ben Willsher.
I. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1877
Judge Dredd: Mega-City Confidential, Part 4
Man, this strip! High tension, beautiful art, and a sprinkling of humor come together in this second-to-last installment of Mega-City Confidential!
***What the heck, let’s get spoilery! Hop down to Outlier if you’re not into that!***
So last week we saw that Erika, who’s now in the hands of the Judges, somehow slipped Max a data slug with all that sensitive information she wanted released to the public. So what’s he to do with that kind of knowledge? Go to the Judges? They’d lock him up just for possessing something like that, regardless of whether he viewed it or not! Overcome by memories of being a real journalist, Max Blixen decides that he needs to blow the whole thing wide open. After calling in a few favors and nearly getting pinched for running (not from the law, just physically running), Max is on his way out of The Meg with that data slug.
While all that unfolds, we see Dredd’s side of things. He’s working with Judge Styler, the head of Section 7, to determine if Erika had somehow gotten all that info out into the world. Once Justice catches on to the fact that Blixen may be in possession of it, and that he’s fled The Meg, things get tense. Styler is not happy, and tries to convince Dredd to rise an international incident to retrieve the copy of the data slug. Things get interesting when Dredd flat out refuses to have any part in an operation like that. Is it because he won’t violate international law, or is it something more? Is whatever Section 7 is doing so heinous that he’d prefer to see it made public? I mean, he’s had issues with the Public Surveillance Unit before, right? But would he really drag his feet to hurt an investigation?
Credits: John Wagner (script), Colin MacNeil (art), Chris Blythe (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Outlier, Part 4
Eglington’s done a neat little thing with this strip that I didn’t expect. He’s made the mystery of the piece come together a lot faster than I would have thought. Not completely; there are still unanswered questions to keep us interested. But he decided that revealing more earlier would help the reader invest more in the killer instead of Carcer, who would be the usual point of identification in a strip like this. But we still got that information through Carcer, keeping him involved but not the emotional center. So while the killer is three & four targets into his revenge, we know enough of his backstory to really want him to succeed, considering their treatment of him. More so than the earlier targets, I think. Which is good because they aren’t going down without a fight. It seems they used their Hurde-jackpot payout to buy an arsenal that puts using an elephant gun to kill a gnat to shame. Things look pretty bleak for the killer at the end, but he seems like he’s got one more adaptation to use in his defense: the truth.
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Karl Richardson (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Slaine: A Simple Killing, Part 4
Just in case you were starting to wonder where the killing was, you can wonder no more. It’s here, as you can see Slaine’s axe cleaving a creature’s head in two. Not meekly or barely, but with enough force that the two halves fly apart from the force of the blow. And there’s more to it than what you see above, although Simon Davis keeps the bloodletting consistently heart-pounding.
Continued belowNot a whole lot of forward progress this week, but is it really a sacrifice to get a couple of extra pages watching a barbarian warrior and his new-found traveling companion rip into a pack of Gloops under the war cry “Your bones shall pollute the sea”? (And that’s not even the best war cry in the strip!) Not when this team brings it to you it isn’t.
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Simon Davis (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Sinister Dexter: Gun Shy, Part 4
The betrayer is revealed! Someone in D-Fibb’s camp has been feeding The Pastor information, and it turns out to be C-Bomb. While he’s getting some just desserts, Tracy and Pier take the opportunity to try and save Sinister and Dexter. Posing as gun runners, the two of them try to convince The Pastor to hand over their prisoners in exchange for a trunk-load of arms. Thinking that the ladies are after some sort of revenge against Sinister and Dexter, The Pastor agrees. All seems to be going smoothly, that is until D-Fibb’s gang comes roaring over the hill!
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Smudge (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Jaegir: Strigoi, Part 4
This week’s installment seems to be the calm before the storm. Jaegir and her team are on the hunt for Strigoi as they meet the family of one of the infected. There’s a fair bit of backstory presented this week, as we see not only a bit of the history Jaegir has with the man they are hunting, but we also learn a bit about her childhood and father.
After seeing that last page, I can say that I am more than excited for next week’s strip. I certainly didn’t expect to see anything like that, especially as the cap to such a quiet chapter. I wonder if Jaegir has any idea what’s in store for her?
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Simon Coleby (art), Len O’Grady (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
II. THIS WEEK IN JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE 347
This week’s cover is by Steve Yeowell.
Judge Dredd: Rad To The Bone, Part 1
Somebody’s killing Judges, which seems to happen a lot in The Meg now that I think about it. But this one is gunning for Dredd and taking his time getting there. And when you read the title of this story, it’s less ‘Rad’ as in Eighties street bike glory and more like ‘Rad’ in the Cursed Earth suntan variety. And I’m. Of sure if there’s a strict continuity about these things or more of a general progression, but given everything Dredd’s had done to him in “Titan” back over in 2000 AD and his general aging, is radiation really something he should be messing with? I’d go so far as to tell him “No.” Well, not to his face. You think I want to end up in the Cubes?
I’ve been seeing Eglington picking up more and more work in the Progs recently, but Cook is an unknown to me prior to this issue. In the interest of making sure I can pass along correct info to you, the reader, I went to the Interwebs to find out more about him. Turns out he’s been doing a bunch of work for 2000 AD (no surprise), as well as some covers for Peter David’s X-Factor run and Richard Starking’s Elephantmen. His work here feels very pencil-heavy in a similar general area as Simon Davis on Slaine a few paragraphs up, but moving in a less Glenn Fabry direction and a little more Cam Kennedy. Exaggeration at times, to be sure, but without losing impact. A fine line to walk (or draw, in this case).
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Boo Cook (art), Annie Parkhouse (Letters)
DeMarco, P.I.: The Whisper, Part 5
DeMarco puts all the pieces together but does she do it in time to save Kessler from the Whisper? Who loses half a leg in the process? What about Claude? And why does it turn out that getting a good apartment in Mega-City Two can be a real killer?
Continued belowCredits: Michael Carroll (script), Steve Yeowell (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Tales From Mega-City One: The Irrational Lottery
First things first: bravo Gary Caldwell! The colors in this strip make Davis-Hunt’s version of Mega-City One a vibrant, glowing metropolis. On top of that, the panels featuring Jack Pott are almost fluorescent. Calwell brought Davis-Hunt’s linework to life.
This is a short story about kids growing up in the poorest sector in The Meg. So when the Irrational Lottery comes along, they cling to it. What’s the Irrational Lottery, you ask? Basically, it’s a lotto show that gives citizens the opportunity to win millions of creds. The irrational part? Well, that’s easy! You see, even when you lose, you win!
Lotto losers who draw a certain number have to do some silly things the following day. Dressing as a Simp, faking seizures in public, that sort of thing. The kids drawn to this lottery begin to find a solidarity with their fellow losers, making the whole thing less about winning money and more about solidarity and fun. I think we can all understand escapism, can’t we? Now, of course, Jack Pott has some less than noble motivation to run this lottery, and the Judges want to get to the bottom of it. What happens when the law steps in to rain on this good time?
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Jon Davis-Hunt (art), Gary Caldwell (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Anderson, PSI Division: Dead End, Part 5
Anderson’s been speed-healed and is ready to get to the bottom of things! Now that she’s believed to be dead, whoever’s been infiltrating her mind has released their grip. This leaves Anderson finally able to figure out who would be able to manipulate her mind without her finding out. And beyond that, if this person is able to affect her like this, who else in the Psi-Division is under this influence?
After some neat little cameos, Anderson finds her answer: Algol Rey. I, like Dredd, had never heard of Algol before this, but that’s ok. Grant gives the reader everything they need to know about him. And that’s when things turn ugly.
Alan Grant has been holding no punches with this story. It explores some dark themes, but never compromises or changes who Anderson is. Coupled with Dowling’s fine linework and soft color choices, Dead End has been an incredible story thus far.
Credits: Alan Grant (script), Michael Dowling (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
III. MEGAZINE FEATURES
Besides scheduling, there’s a big difference between a Prog and a Megazine. While each weekly 2000 AD Prog acts as a comics anthology, Judge Dredd Megazine is more of a, well, magazine. In addition to all the comics (new and reprints), a variety of contributors write articles focusing on topics that, while usually related to the Dredd-verse in some way, spread the scope of the Megazine beyond the obvious cast of characters and into topics, both Meg-centric and real world, that would be of interest to the readership as a whole.
Screen Story: Godzilla by Calum Waddell
In just a few short weeks, a brand-new Godzilla film will be hitting theaters, and we couldn’t be more excited! As it turns out, the folks over at 2000 AD are pretty jazzed about it as well, and are celebrating the release with a well-timed feature article. The piece is an interesting one, as it touches on not only each of Godzilla’s theatrical releases, but the other media ventures the iconic Kaiju has explored.
One of the most interesting bits from the piece is the comparison between the Japanese and English releases of the original 1954 movie. In its native language, Gojira the film wrestled with the idea of atomic warfare, going so far as to tie the awakening of the ancient creature to the massive bombs being dropped at the end of World War II. Now contrast that against the American translation, Godzilla, where Godzilla’s origin is basically that he’s a mutated lizard. Waddell’s article is comprehensive and well-assembled, definitely worth the read for anyone with even a passing interest in the big, scaly monster. Plus: Calum assembled a list of his ten favorite movies from the franchise, and his picks are pretty solid!
Continued below
Interrogation: Mike Dowling by Matthew Badham
Mike Dowling has spent the last few months delivering a fantastic-looking Judge Anderson strip, so it’s heartening to see his work being spotlighted like this. The piece covers his entry into comics and really examines some of his early influences. I found his view on influence to be interesting and insightful, as he says, “You shouldn’t become a slave to your influences, but, inevitably, you are going to look to them and pick up some of their qualities. Then, when you show your portfolio to editors, they will make associations. Early on I’d hear, ‘This is like Mignola’ or ‘This is like Jock’. But there already is a Mignola and a Jock, so they don’t need another one of either, especially if you aren’t very good yet. It’s a process that every artist has to go through. I knew I’d finally made some progress on the day my art was compared to someone whose work I didn’t know!”
Interrogation: Declan Shalvey by Karl Stock
No lie; we here at Multiver-City One (and Multiversity Comics as a whole) are big fans of Declan Shalvey. From 28 Days Later for BOOM Studios to his work on Thunderbolts with Jeff Parker and his Moon Knight with Warren Ellis (see above), the guy is poised to be HUGE in 2014. Want to impress your friends with a ton of Shalvey factoids while their drooling over his pages? Then this article is your ticket to Coolsville.
Did you know Shalvey is one of the few UK creators who never did at least a small stint on 2000 AD? His only appearance is a reprint of a small press story he did that showed up in the back of a Megazine. And did you know he was not the original choice for 28 Days Later? And did you know you can learn a bunch more about him from this article?
Fiction: One-Way Ticket, Part 1 by Johnathan Green
That imposing figure above is the only artwork for this story, as it’s a two-page prose piece. But just because it doesn’t have pictures doesn’t mean it’s any less of a slice of Dredd and The Meg as what you’ll find in 2000 AD or the Megazine. And like most of the good stories, Dredd is more of a support character, leaving the focus on Judge Thomas Arnold. It seems Judge Arnold has taken as much of the punishment Mega-City One dishes out as he can take. So what’s his other option? A one-way ticket out, of course! Simple, right? When has that ever been the case…
IV. MEGAZINE REPRINT
Every month, the droids at 2000 AD find a little something from the back catalog to include with the Megazine. This month is a look at another Psi-Judge: Janus, by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Maggie Knight, and Paul Johnson.
Judge Janus is an interesting character. She’s got, like, this totally Valley Girl way of talking, but is also, like, a wholly competent Judge or whatever. She’s stationed at the Mega-City Academy of Law to help the young Psi-Cadets and protect their raw psyches from various disturbances and other outside intrusions. When we first meet her, we see a bizarre dream/vision she’s experiencing. The whole first story is super psychedelic and exactly what you’d expect from this creative team at this point in their careers.
Published in the mid-90s, Janus looks kinda like Tank Girl in a Judge’s uniform. She comes across as sort of ditzy, but I read that as at least partly a facade. She wouldn’t be in the position she’s in if she were incapable, right?
Johnson’s art is incredible and compliments what Morrison and Millar wrote perfectly. He creates a fine line between realist and psychedelic, balancing each panel carefully between the two. He uses an obviously thorough understanding of anatomy to exaggerate motion and posture, making the characters carry action from panel to panel. And his color choices are fantastic. These stories have an eeriness to them that comes from odd color accents and dramatic lighting.
Continued belowThis collection was highly enjoyable, and is the first of two volumes. The second will be in next month’s Megazine!
V. OF INTEREST
This week we struck internet gold over at the 2000 AD tumblr. No, not bitcoin. The other day they posted a series of Judge Dredd pin-ups by prominent American artists. They dubbed it The US Invasion.
Now, as regular readers of the column will know, it is far from uncommon to see a non-British artist’s take on the stone-jawed lawman. I mean, we post them here all the time. That said, it’s pretty neat to see this many high-caliber artists’ renditions in one place!
2000 AD’s tumblr is a wealth of pro-level fan art. You should really check it out!
That’s gonna do it for us this week! Both Prog 1877 and Judge Dredd Megazine 347 are on sale today and 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!”
