As you’re reading this I (Mike) will just be getting off a plane after spending a few days in London soaking in the thrills and attending the big 40th anniversary bash. How was it? I don’t know, I’m writing this before even leaving! But rest assured that we’ll have plenty of coverage for you soon!
This week’s Prog returns us to Downloade as “Sinister Dexter” reenters the fold. There’s also plenty of action awaiting us in “Judge Dredd,” “Kingmaker” and “The Order.” Plus, The Hackman makes acquaintances with a catman over in “Kingdom.” Strap in!
I. THIS WEEK IN 2000 AD
NOW ARRIVING
Sinister Dexter: One-Hit Wonder, Part 1
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Steve Yeowell (art), Abigail Bulmer (color), Simon Bowland (letters)
Ryan Perry: Dan Abnett writes a script here that is fairly exposition heavy and trying too hard to be funny. Throughout the story, you see him inventing words for the dialogue to make the story seem more other-worldly, but it comes off as annoying and confusing. It doesn’t help that he has to tell the reader what every new word means. You don’t learn much more about the main characters than their names and the fact that they’re hit men; the one character that does get a lot of characterization is the story’s antagonist. However, all that work is in vain as it’s meant to set up a punchline at the end that just isn’t that funny. The story itself is cookie cutter and every turn it takes is predictable. Even the one thing in the story that seemingly comes out of nowhere seems like something you’ve seen a thousand times.
Steve Yeowell caries the most weight in this issue. He delivers a simple, cartoony style with bright colors that lends itself to the outlandish story. Simple, bold shapes pervade throughout, from the depiction of environments to character designs. Each character has a strikingly unique design with their own set of colors. A simple panel structure is used throughout, which lends an extra impact to the times when the art bursts into the negative space. Yeowell easily displays emotion without any expression seeming too out of place.
Abigail Bulmer makes great use of the art’s simple style, including lots of subdued colors throughout as character and background details while allowing bright colors to denote and characterize the action of the story.
CONTINUING IN PROG 2018
Judge Dredd: Deep in the Heart, Part 7
Credits: Michael Carroll (script), Henry Flint (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Mike Romeo: Where last week’s strip struck me most with its subtle characterization, this week we approach things in a different way: with action! Henry Flint’s art continues to astonish me, as he’s not only able to render a ton of kinetic energy, but he’s also able to do it in an interestingly laid out manner. Everything about Flint’s work is idiosyncratic, from his linework and color all the way to his page composition. He stacks and overlaps panels in a really interesting way, altering their size to control the pace of reading, almost like he’s piling near-simultaneous moments one on top of the other in order to carry the reader between moments. Take the image above as an example: eleven tightly packed images that, as context shows us, take place over a matter of seconds. It’s fast-paced storytelling that sits nicely between larger panels that intentionally slow the action down. This is something Flint does exceedingly well, and this week’s strip is packed with examples of it.
Post-action we get a little bit on Carroll’s larger narrative, as Dredd once again brings up Gideon Dallas. I won’t get spoiler this week, so let’s just say he does so in the context of his mission, which leaves us with a pretty big cliffhanger. Are things what they seem? Could be, though Carroll’s proven himself to be pretty good with the double-twists.
Kingmaker, Part 8
Credits: Ian Edginton (script), Leigh Gallagher (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
MR: Ugh, I’d forgotten how ugly the world outside of the glamor is. I’d gotten so comfortable in the fantasy side of this world that I lost sight of the dystopian sci-fi awaiting our protagonists.
Continued belowI know I’d said it before, but Leigh Gallagher deserves a lot of credit for his handling of this strip. There’s plenty for him to juggle every week, and he’s nailing it. The seamless blending of seemingly disparate genre influences is a feat that I don’t think too many would have been able to pull off in quite this way. All of the fantasy elements feel so toothy and earthy, while the science fiction is clean and cold, creating a dissonance that heartily reenforces Edginton’s narrative. This is a clash of civilizations, and we can understand that before even reading a word of it.
The Order: Wyrm War, Part 8
Credits: Kek-W (script), John Burns (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Liam Sunner: From its ‘Great Escape’ styled opening, this week’s strip is more action pieces than the quieter moments of the last strip. That is not to say Kek-W took it easy, but rather the dialogue is sharper due to the breakneck pace set by the opening panel. With no room to allow beats linger, each speech bubble contains just enough to get the point across before something else grabs both the readers’ and the characters’ attention. Kek-W continues to make great use of the time stream/ time travelling elements he had used in previous strips but now they take a more active plot point. Allowing both future developments of the revelation but also for it to appear organic and not a MacGuffin.
John Burns makes interesting use of panelling and colour through the strip. Rather that evenly size and divided panels, Burns uses clever angels and panel sizing to convey the urgency and the chaos of the wrym attack. From the breakneck pace of the first panel, to the rallying response, the panelling doesn’t let the reader rest. This is enhanced with the clarity Burns retains of characters during the melee and disorder. You can tell who everything and what they are doing, rather than becoming a serious of identical body mass. As with previous strips, Burns makes great use of monocolour characters in background, contrasted with more vibrant and fully coloured characters in the foreground. This works well, showing who the important characters of a panel are but also showing the presence of others without mitigating them to a voice or off panel reference. Parkhouse again rounds out the package with clarity of speech bubble placements, especially during the more hectic moments early in the strip.
Kingdom: As it is in Heaven, Part 8
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Richard Elson (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Bobby D.: In this installment we get a new character, Pause, introduced, and Richard Ellson gives him a design that instantly sets him apart from the rest of the characters. He’s given a far busier design than every other character in the series so far; with his slim feline features, cache of weaponry and colorful attire, he makes for an interesting contrast for Gene’s more muscular canine appearance and gray bodysuit. There’s a really good panel that shows the full contrast of both of their figures where Pause and Gene turn to face a possible threat – the reader is given a full view of Gene’s broad figure and heavily defined musculature next to Pause’s slimmer, yet far more animal like, physique.
Ellson breaks from the more traditional layout of the majority of the issue in the final few panels, where a skewed panel is used to convey the urgency of Gene’s words to Pause as the threat draws near.
Dan Abnett gives the two characters clear and very distinct personalities. Gene’s motivations and decisions being based on loyalty and intuition, whereas Pause shows a higher intellect and seems to base his choices in stratagem. Throughout the strip, Pause attempts to ask Gene for help defeating the human masters.This decision shows that despite Pause’s cunning, arsenal and intelligence, he’s self aware enough to realize that he’ll need someone like Gene who has survived directed confrontation with their mutual enemy more than once.
That’s gonna do it for us this week! “2000 AD” is sale today and available digitally worldwide via:
- The 2000AD app for Apple iOS, Continued below
- The 2000AD app for Android devices,
- The 2000AD app for Windows Mobile
- 2000ADonline.com in DRM-free PDF and CBZ formats.
They are available in print today from:
- 2000ADonline.com and
- Finer UK comic shops throughout the UK.
“2000AD” and “Judge Dredd Megazine” are available in print in North America one month after UK release from your local comic shop.
So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”
