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 this week, so we’ll jump right in after this 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 1916
Judge Dredd: Dark Justice, Part 6
We’re smack in the middle of the story and this is by far the darkest installment we’ve gotten! It’s been near two weeks since The Dark Judges revealed themselves to the inhabitants of The Mayflower, and with Dredd and company just now arriving… well, let’s just say things are bad. I really want to talk details this week so let’s try something new: there’ll be a black bar over all the spoilers from here on out. If you want to see them, just mouse over the bar. If you want to be spared, well, don’t do the mouse thing. Got it? Let’s go!
Things feel like they’re going to happen pretty quickly from here on out. Wagner moved all of the pieces into place the first few weeks of ‘Dark Justice’, and now he’s knocking them down. Between last week’s cliffhanger and this issue’s heartbreaking appearance of [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]Judges Fire and Fear[/spoiler], it seems as if catastrophe is waiting around every corner. There is a small bit of hope served up, as [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]a small group of survivors[/spoiler] is discovered, but that hope is short-lived and I started to think I’d almost feel better if [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]no one had lived[/spoiler]. Seeing [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]them all think that there’s a ship[/spoiler] that’ll [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]carry them to safety[/spoiler]? It’s tough to take. Not nearly as tough as [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]seeing Judge Fear kill a kid on panel[/spoiler], though.
Let’s jump back to the beginning of this week’s strip. Anderson put all of the pieces together and realized [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]this whole thing is a trap[/spoiler], which adds a new dimension to the story. Of course [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]this is a trap[/spoiler]! How could I have not seen this coming either? It makes perfect sense that Judge Death [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]would have an ax to grind with Dredd and Anderson[/spoiler], and that he’d take things this far.
And now for your weekly Greg Staples praise: that panel where [spoiler title=”ooh spoiler”]Judge Fear makes his appearance[/spoiler]? It’s probably the most frightening single panel I’ve ever seen in a comic.
Credits: John Wagner (script), Greg Staples (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Savage (Book 9): Grinders, Part 6
The secret origin of Jack Savage is revealed this week, and it is NOT what I was expecting.
Like I mentioned last week, I’m catching up with this series via Wikipedia and what I can glean from other sources. From what I gathered there, Jack (one of protagonist Bill’s brothers) was a bar owner who was killed in the Volgan nuclear first strike when the invasion first started. Bill later had plastic surgery while in the US to take his brother’s identity and play into a scheme to convince the Volgans that Bill had been killed in a retaliatory strike. So from the beginning of the series through last Prog, Bill thought Jack was dead. Erroneously, as it turns out.
Continued belowBut in filling in the huge gap this Prog, they drop some info that I wasn’t prepared for. Like, Jack being a bank robber before the war, for example. And I’m extra curious about this because there was a soft reboot of the series from its first incarnation as ‘Invasion!’ and its relaunch as ‘Savage’, and I’m wondering if Jack originally was just a barkeep in the first series, and has been fleshed out in the second. If that’s the case, then bravo. This is an improvement.
Big info dump this Prog, but handled extremely well by Mills & Goddard.
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Patrick Goddard (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
The Order, Part 6
As I write this, I’ve got the new John Carpenter album playing in the background. Titled “Lost Themes”, it’s billed as a collection of songs from films the director/composer never made. Even though that’s not true, it should be. And as I’m reading ‘The Order’, I can totally see it as a late 80’s Carpenter masterpiece with one of these compositions as the main theme. Actually, I’m not sure there’s an 80’s Carpenter film I’d replace, so this could bump one of the 90’s ones; Memoirs of an Invisible Man, probably.
Am I wrong? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t want to see a medieval action movie by Carpenter with that awesome Dean Cundey slightly-soft-focus cinematography. He’s already brought ancient China into the modern age with Big Trouble. I would kill to see him plop some modern sensibilities smack-dab into medieval Europe with ‘The Order’. Tough guys, martial arts, explosions, science fiction, attitude; someone needs to make this happen ASAP.
(Can Kurt Russell do a German accent?)
As for this week’s installment, more things going from bad to worse. Not only are we having extradimensional incursions from wurms, but said incursions might also be jacking up the timestream something fierce. Good thing our heroes have technology far beyond the possibilities of even modern devices, like the shotgunne and… uh-oh.
Credits: Kek-W (script), John Burns (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Ulysses Sweet, Maniac For Hire: Psycho Therapist, Part 6
As if snapping back from the darker undertones of last week’s installment, the latest Ulysses Sweet strip is an exercise in being bananas. The Governor has gone Full Metal Jacket, Sweet is a paparazzi darling, and for some reason his agent is in the crowd to give an on-camera interview. Oh, and I almost forgot, Sweet catches a rocket with his bare hand. That’s ‘hand’ in its singular form. You see, he only had one free hand on account of being in the middle of climbing up the side of a building.
I think Adams and Marshall are standing on the edge of true comic book enlightenment.
Credits: Guy Adams (script), Paul Marshall (art), Chris Blythe (tones), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Orlok, Agent of East-Meg One: Eurozoned, Part 5
Oh man, I did not see that coming!
Wyatt finally reveals what Orlok has really been up to in Euro City, but unfortunately for our protagonist, it seems as if everyone may not be up-to-date on who’s playing for what team. Or maybe this is more of an opportunistic turn of events? I guess we’ll find out next week, because that’s somehow going to be the end of this story.
I’ve gushed a few times about Lynch’s art already, so can we talk about Arthur Wyatt for a minute? That guy can tell a hell of a spy story! He’s able to weave between James Bond and Metal Gear Solid, borrowing from each end of the spectrum without ever letting any story element feel out of place. He’s able to suggest the passage of time when he needs to, expertly using the seven days between issues to leap ahead in the narrative. In what was just a week for us, Wyatt hints at Orlok’s time in Euro City building a reputation and making connections. And keep in mind that he’s doing all of this in five-page chunks. That means that the entirety of this story could have taken place in a single issue of your average Marvel or DC comic. I don’t think I can be accused of hyperbole when I say that this is masterful comic book storytelling.
Continued belowCredits: Arthur Wyatt (script), Jake Lynch (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
III. ON THE HORIZON
It’s easy to think that 2000 AD is just the Progs and Megazines, but that is certainly not the case! So, in the interest of fully disclosing when and where your next Thrill-powered lightning bolt will strike, here’s what Tharg and the droids have lined up for us North American humes for the near future, courtesy of PR droid Molch-R:
February 11th
Based in the world of the cult hit movie DREDD, this collection continues the story of Judges Dredd and Anderson in the dark post-apocalyptic city of Mega-City One. Includes both full-length DREDD stories by Arthur Wyatt (“Underbelly” by Henry Flint and “Uprise” by Paul Davidson), as well as the official DREDD prequel story, “Top of the World Ma-Ma!”, by Matt Smith and Henry Flint.
Grant Morrison & Steve Yeowell’s breakthrough work continues! The Lloigor have returned and once again threaten to destroy all reality. In order to stop them, Maximan of alternative Earth 23 has assembled an army of superheroes, including Zenith and ex-members of Cloud 9. They are tasked with travelling to “occupied” Earths and destroying them, in the hope of stopping others from falling. Despite the danger Zenith decides to tag along. After all, with his musical career and popularity on the wane, he really has nothing better to do.
February 25th
An incredible series from Rob Williams (“The Royals: Masters of War”) and Dom Reardon (“The Ten-Seconders”). An tale of vengeance and redemption in the afterlife as the deadliest, meanest outlaw the Old West ever spat out is murdered – but that is just the beginning of his journey into the underworld as he desperately tries to return to the land of the living, and his true love Zoe.
March 25th
He was one of the rebellious gladiator-slaves crucified by the Romans for being part of Spartacus’ uprising, and in his final moments he cried out to the gods for vengeance. Something heard him, and brought him back from the dead in exchange for his soul. He is Aquila, and he is now the unstoppable instrument of Ammit the Devourer who hungers for the souls of men – and Aquila will keep feeding her until the debt is paid!
IV. RECOGNIZE THE LAW
It’s no secret that there are a great many flavors of Judges from a great deal of Mega-Cities, so we’re aiming to use this space as a way of exploring as many types of Judges as we can. Did you know that in Mega-City One there are Accounting Judges? And Exorcist Judges?
Of course, every Judge needs to start somewhere. If you’re looking to dispense justice on the streets of Mega-City One, that somewhere is the Academy of Law! Most of the Judges you see in The Big Meg were recruited at a young age and have spent the majority of their lives studying the law and enduring grueling physical training. Through out the publishing history of Judge Dredd, the cadet’s uniform has gone through a number of changes. This week, we examine an early iteration of a cadet’s uniform.
Elements of a Mega-City One Cadet’s uniform (circa 1985)
- Round, white motorcycle-style helmet with eagle, no visor
- High-collar synthi-leather Judge’s jumper
- Half-size shoulder pads, two
- Elbow pads w/ rigid plastic shell
- Cadet-issued chest shield
- Gloves w/ pockets and knuckle reenforcement
- Utility belt with daystick
- High-impact knee pads
- Heavy-duty boots with holster for Lawgiver (right) and sheath for utility knife (left)
Cadets are only issued a Lawgiver and utility knife when engaging in weapons training and on supervised patrol.
That’s gonna do it for us this week! “2000 AD” Prog 1916 is 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, Continued below
- Select US newsstands, and
- Finer comic shops everywhere
So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”
