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Multiver-City One: 2000 AD Prog 1883, Sci-Fi Special 2014, and Brass Sun #1

By and | May 28th, 2014
Posted in Columns | % Comments

MVC1 TItle

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! We’ve got a lot to talk about today, including the 2014 Sci-Fi Special, so let’s get right to it!

This week’s cover is by Nick Percival.

I. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1883

Judge Dredd: Traumatown, Part 1

It’s just another day in Mega-City One as the city’s top cop Judge Dredd takes to the streets to dispense justice. After a stabbing, Dredd and his partner Joyce head into a decimated area of the city after their perp. As quick as the Judges were to respond, the accused got away, despite being clipped by a round from Dredd’s Lawgiver. Upon returning to the Sector House, Dredd and Joyce discover that the perp is in custody, having never gotten more than a block from the scene and has no sort of bullet wound. So the question is: is Judge Dredd cracking up?

It seems that Carroll may be harkening back to some elements introduced a few months ago in Rob Williams and Henry Flint’s Titan run. While up on the prison planet Titan, Dredd sustained a fair bit of head trauma while repeatedly having his mind wiped. Upon his return home, Chief Judge Hershey has SJS Judge Gerhart trail him to see if the torture he endured is affecting his performance. What Gerhart finds is a Judge Dredd who shot a teenager from behind and seems to not remember the best routes for traveling around the city.

We’ve spent a lot of time here speculating on how much longer Dredd could be on the streets. Is Carroll sowing seeds Williams left behind? Or is this setting up something entirely new? A quick shake of my magic eight-ball tells me it’s too soon to tell, so we’ll just have to keep reading. Which isn’t a bad thing at all, especially when you consider the wonderful, painterly art Nick Percival is doing here!

Credits: Michael Carroll (script), Nick Percival (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)

 

Indigo Prime: Perfect Day, Part 4

You guys going to that Arcade Fire show? The one in reality 2157/163? Yeah, Transhumanfest, that’s the one! Oh man, it’s gonna be good; I hope they do that Lou Reed cover.

And while your there, keep an eye out for a wrinkly old Nazi and his clone daughter. They’ll stick out as the only two not enjoying themselves, as Transhumanfest was decidedly not on his gonna-die-to-do-list.

Credits: John Davis (script), Lee Carter (art), Simon Bowland (letters)

 

Tharg’s 3rillers: In Seconds Flat, Part 1

Some guys want nothing more than to test how hard they can push before space/time collapses in on itself. I mean, I’m assuming that that’s what Scott’s doing, what with all the alternate versions of himself living all in one place.

This is a fun set-up, and it’ll be interesting to see how the next two chapters play out. I’m really enjoying Andrew Currie’s art here, especially how the characters are ‘acting’. His use of posture and motion is pretty gestural and expressive.

Credits: Eddie Robson (script), Andrew Currie (art), Abigail Ryder (colors), Ellie De Ville (letters)

 

Outlier, Part 10

Yep, this series is ending with a bang. And not just the one you see above. Caul’s rampage comes to a close, as the real reason for his escape from the Hurde is revealed. And I have to say, it makes perfect sense. Eglington and Richardson tie up the loose ends with a nice little bow of explosions, carnage, and cavalry. Find out who manages to walk, limp, or crawl away in one piece, and if there’s any room for a return to the story of Carcer and the Hurde.

Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Karl Richardson (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)

 

Slaine: A Simple Killing, Part 10

Continued below

Couple of things going on in this week’s strip:

* Yes, Slaine made it out of his encounter from last issue in one piece, which is more than you can say for his opponent. But trust me when I say that he’s not out of those woods yet, either literally or figuratively.

* Sinead is still alive after being turned into a mermaid for capture and transport back to Slough Gododin, who is not the one who wears the Salmon of Knowledge nor the one who prefers turning water into wine. Her future as a broodmare for unspeakable evil seems pretty likely if Slaine doesn’t get his act together.

* Simon Davis. Just when you think you’ve got someone pegged, they throw a curve at you. I’ve mentioned it here a few times before but you can see from any of the previews we’ve shown of Davis’ work that the man can portray the nuances of the human form in a way few others are doing in comics today, on either side of the Atlantic. But there are a few panels in this Prog where he goes completely Kevin O’Neill on someone; showing a grotesque exaggeration with just enough of that Davis grounding to keep you from discounting it as unrealistic. It doesn’t break character artistically, but shows an act that is absolutely breaking to one of the characters. Sorry to be vague, but I was completely unprepared for this hard-right turn, and kudos to Davis and Mills for putting it in there to sell what could have been a somewhat ambiguous story point.

Credits: Pat Mills (script), Simon Davis (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)

 

II. 2000 AD SCI-FI SPECIAL

As we mentioned last week in our Megazine write-up, the late, lamented 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special is making a comeback after almost twenty years! The Special is a way for up-&-coming droids to get a crack at some of your 2000 AD favorites. But don’t let that new-robot smell fool you; this crop has been vetted by Tharg himself, so you better believe there is some serious thrillpower on display in this issue. Each strip is self-contained, making this issue another great place to begin reading 2000 AD. Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect:

Cover by James Biggie.

 

Judge Dredd: Jinxed

Between Beeby’s writing and Coveney’s art, this strip reads like a love letter to the Judge Dredd of the late Seventies. In the face of total insanity and irreverence, Dredd remains as rigid as the golden eagle on his shoulder. It’s like he’s the only one not in on the juke, and that makes for some classic-feeling Dredd!

Credits: Emma Beeby (script), Eoin Coveney (art), John-Paul Bove (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters) 

 

Robo-Hunter: The Bodj Job

In the pages of 2000 AD nothing is sacred, including minimal-yet-functional home furnishings! Sam Slade, Robo Hunter, has been tasked with tracking down robots in an Ikea-like place. He’ll assemble furniture, say weird names, and save the day, all while going for laughs. This is a great introduction to Robo-Hunter.

Credits: Alec Worley (script), Mark Simmons (art), Ellie De Ville (letters) 

 

Future Shock: The Expose

While this story contains no 2000 AD staple characters, this type of strip is a regular occurrence in the magazine. Creators come in and tell a tale with a twist ending in all of four or five pages, which is not easy to do.

 Credits: Jody LeHeup (script), Jefte Palo (art), Simon Bowland (letters) 

 

Durham Red: The Calling

Durham Red is stone cold. Partly because she’s a vampire, but mostly because she’ll take your bounty and leave you for dead. She’s been popping up over the last few months; before this she was featured in one of the reprint graphic novels that comes packed with issues of Judge Dredd Megazine. Don’t be surprised it you see a new Durham Red strip pop up in an upcoming Prog some time in the next few months.

Credits: Robert Murphy (script), Duane Redhead (art), Kirsty Swan (colors), Ellie De Ville (letters) 

 

Orlok: Agent of East-Meg-One

This is an espionage story set in Brit-Cit, a city in Dredd’s world that I am not all too familiar with. Readers are treated to a cat-and-mouse game as a spy from the Sov-Block tries to smuggle state secrets out of Britain’s Mega-City. Wyatt is, as usual, a fantastic storyteller in this short strip. Along with Lynch (who’s art we hope to see more of in the near future) this strip is something that could surely be teased out over a number of chapters. We’d like to read that, please.

Continued below

Credits: Arthur Wyatt (script), Jake Lynch (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters) 

 

Rogue Trooper: Dregs of War

Darren Douglas’ art in this strip is fantastic. Coupled with the dialogue of Rogue’s gear, this is one great Rogue Trooper strip. When Guy Adams wrapped up writing on his last 2000 AD strip, we wondered how’d he approach a story that wasn’t so anchored in humor, and now we have our answer. A new Rogue Trooper strip from this team of creators would be sure to turn some heads, including ours!

 Credits: Guy Adams (script), Darren Douglas (art), Simon Bowland (letters) 

 

III. BRASS SUN

Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard’s Brass Sun has been running off and on in the pages of 2000 AD since its debut in Prog 1800. Edgington had this to say about the series when we spoke to him last October at New York Comic Con:

[audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/robotsfromtomorrow/Brass_Sun_Edginton.mp3]

(Here’s the direct download)

A young woman traveling through a clockwork solar system to find the key to help restart the dying sun? Sold. And if you need any further encouragement, please check out these reminders of what Culbard is bringing to the table:

“But I’m living in the United States,” you say. “How can I start reading this from the beginning? In normal comic format?” Well, humes, Tharg has heard your pleas and come up with a most elegant solution.

Just as they did with the Dredd: Underbelly, the comic sequel to the 2013 film, 2000 AD is releasing Brass Sun to US comic shops in a six-issue mini-series of US-formatted comic books. The mini-series will not only collect the two parts that have already seen print in the weekly mag, so you can read about Wren and her adventures from the beginning with issue #1, but it will also collect the third part, which will start running soon. So talk to your LCS about getting your copy today!

 

That’s gonna do it for us this week! Prog 1883, the 2000 AD Summer Sci-Fi Special, and Brass Sun #1 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!”


//TAGS | Multiver-City One

Greg Matiasevich

Greg Matiasevich has read enough author bios that he should be better at coming up with one for himself, yet surprisingly isn't. However, the years of comic reading his parents said would never pay off obviously have, so we'll cut him some slack on that. He lives in Baltimore, co-hosts (with Mike Romeo) the Robots From Tomorrow podcast, writes Multiversity's monthly Shelf Bound column dedicated to comics binding, and can be followed on Twitter at @GregMatiasevich.

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Mike Romeo

Mike Romeo started reading comics when splash pages were king and the proper proportions of a human being meant nothing. Part of him will always feel that way. Now he is one of the voices on Robots From Tomorrow. He lives in Philadelphia with two cats. Follow him on Instagram at @YeahMikeRomeo!

EMAIL | ARTICLES


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