Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our monthly look at the “Judge Dredd Megazine!” Let’s get right to it.
Judge Dredd: Project Providence, Part 1
Credits: Rory McConville (Script), Staz Johnson (Art), Pippa Bowland (Colours), Annie Parkhouse (Letters)
Christopher Egan: The first chapter in this latest Megazine “Judge Dredd” strip is a bit of a hodge-podge of ideas. It deals with time travel, bureaucratic committee meetings of the Judges, corruption within the Justice Department, giant squid monsters, street level crime fighting, and more. Of all these subjects it is time travel and what to do with government organized time travel in terms of stopping crime, monitoring the planet, advancements in technology and so forth.
Unsurprisingly, Dredd isn’t a fan of time travel and while Judge Grant believes it is because it makes him and the other street level Judges feel like they are becoming obsolete, it’s clearly more about the dangers that time travel imposes. He believes it is only a matter of time before a rogue Judge decides to take matters into their own hands while jumping ahead in time. McConville’s script poses some interesting ideas and situations throughout and it uses the most basic movie-like version of time travel. No alternate realities or overly heady concepts. Just teams jumping through time in a linear fashion. Overall, it’s a good read that feels more like a crime drama than your typical Dredd story, but the giant squid creature is cool. That sequence has some fun action and gross out moments as a fun intermission between committee talk.
The art team of Staz Johnson and Pippa Bowland masterfully tell this story the way it was meant to be. The illustrations are classic “Judge Dredd” and the palatte choices to differentiate when a particular part of the story is taking place really comes through. The use of a muted color scheme and more stoic figure posing is used for the opening of the chapter set four months in the past and when it makes the jump to present day the illustrations go full action with a blast of color that tracks through the rest of the chapter. It is really beautiful in both settings.
There is a lot of material crammed into this opener and at 10 pages it feels both a little long for a chapter in a multi-issue strip, and maybe a little too over-stuffed, but it is compelling and intriguing straight through. It is a good outing altogether and sets up some interesting stuff to come.
Devlin Waugh: The Reckoning Part 2
Credits: Aleš Kot (script), Mike Dowling (art), Quinton Winter (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Brian Salvatore: Only in a Devlin Waugh story can a demon-inhabited dildo deliver a strip-long monologue with ‘tears’ in his eyes.
“The Reckoning Part 2” is almost entirely a monologue, with a little bit of Devlin thrown in for good measure. Aleš Kot gives Titivillus the dildo a mouthful to say, and there are times that the strip suffers from the utter lack of action. That said, Kot’s dialogue manages to be both playful and full of sorrow, giving the reader a far more dramatic reading experience than the plot would suggest. But a lot of the dialogue also feels like rehashing what we’ve already seen before. It obviously makes sense to add some drama to this exorcism, but it drags in a way that a Waugh story just shouldn’t.
The format also somewhat handcuffs Mike Dowling’s art, as he’s limited to, essentially, just (pardon the pun, but also appreciate it) head shots of Titivillus pleading his case to Devlin. While Dowling does as much as he can, this is essentially the pornographic version of The Brady Bunch opening, with panel after square panel of Titivillus. That said, when the script allows him to cut loose a bit, it is extra effective.
Overall, “The Reckoning” continues the Titivillus/Devlin story in fun ways, but here’s hoping that the final page’s twist allows the next installments to be less wordy and show some more action.
Diamond Dogs II: Part 3
Credits: James Peaty(script), Warren Pleese (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Matthew Blair: Pieces are moving into place and the group is starting to worm their way into the halls of power. However, all seems to not be well with the people in charge of the mission, and there are some personal background details that appear to be rearing their ugly head at the most inopportune moment.
James Peaty delivers quite a bit of emotional baggage in “Diamond Dogs II: Part 3” while moving the plot forwards at a very quick pace. The action of the story is secondary to revealing bits of the main character’s backstory, continuing to build relationships between the members of the gang, and setting the stage for future intrigue. It’s a solid bit of storytelling that feels like it could have been shorter, but page space in these stories is a luxury and Peaty seems determined to use every bit of it.
Warren Pleese’s artwork continues to be serviceable in “Diamond Dogs II: Part 3”. The emotion is there, the action is clear and easy to understand, but there’s still something that feels like it’s missing. Pleese’s biggest weakness is probably the lack of attention paid to the environments, which are barely there when it comes time for the character close ups and the whole setting seems ordinary and present day instead of zany and futuristic. Maybe it’s just how things look in Brit Cit, but it still feels like there could be more to the book.
“Diamond Dogs II: Part 3” reveals more intrigue, character work, and backstory for the characters and continues to be a well told character piece and is only let down by a setting and background that appears to be a bit bland and boring.
The Returners: Amazonia Part 2
Credits: Si Spencer (script) Nicolo Assirelli(art) Eva De La Cruz(colours) Jim Campbell (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: The reserved struggle for survival in the jungle gives way to a bad psychedelic trip as our band of misfits try to survive the environment and each other. The second entry in ‘Amazonia’ technically pushes the plot forward, in that the reader now knows what it is they’ll be searching for and there are some decent character beats – and some potentially awkward ones. At the same time the altered state humor isn’t particularly engaging even if Nicolo Assirelli and Eva De La Cruz art is effective. This results in a strip that just reads like it’s there.
Spencer and Assirelli do a good job of efficiently showing the group dynamics now that ex-Judge Hernandez has entered the fray. The art team’s decision to render the jungle environment as minimalist and impressionist, leaning more on De La Cruz’ coloring to create a tone for a given panel is a smart decision. Hernandez isn’t exactly happy to see them either, she was given the Long Walk for getting them out in the previous “Returners.” Things begin to cool off a bit once they start fulfilling their Maslow Hierarchy of Needs over dinner. De La Cruz’s warm red oranges is this wonderful punch of color among the purples and ink black. Dinner included everything a body needs and some wild mushrooms which slowly causes the comic page to melt and mix to wonderful effect. The psychedelic gags aren’t exactly new but Assirelli’s cartooning for the expression makes it all work. The art team also do a quasi-double page spread to further cement the perceptual breakdown.
There is one moment in the strip that reads awkward. During the commotion between Correia and Hernandez, Chavez acquires the latters Lawgiver. This ends the first page on the spot with a delightful description of it as “the magic shooty phallic symbol” to attempt to take control of the situation. The awkwardness comes in the next page as Hernandez asks Barrancourt “Do you want to tell it?” The ‘it’ in question is muddled due to the association with the previous panel. Is Hernandez referring to Chavez, the gun, or something else. What is it? If they’re using that to refer to Chavez that would be some transphobic crap, as she is a transwoman. This being Si Spencer I’d highly doubt that’s what was going on. And it isn’t, as the page progresses Barrancourt explains the biometric safety’s on every Lawgiver. Assirelli’s cartooning for Chavez at this realization is the right amount of pouty fear. It’s just a moment of awkward phrasing. Maybe “Do you want to tell it?” is a British thing, but you’d think “do you want to say it?” would have read clearer.
Continued belowThis entry in “Returners” doesn’t move like other Megazine strips. That difference is interesting to think about, but it also shows the utility of near constant progress other series exhibit. This strip isn’t bad but it isn’t really memorable either.
The Dark Judges: Deliverance, Part Ten
Credits: David Hine (script), Nick Percival (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Rowan Grover: The ten-month long “Deliverance” saga comes to a close in this magazine in an interesting manner. The opening suggests all the gruesome climax that we might have expected from everything leading up to this point, with the extra dramatic reveal of Kalula’s robotic nature being intriguing and fun but ultimately pointless to the plot overall. But the arrival of Um, Whisper and the Wild Kids actually weaves in some cleverly built up plot points. Whisper’s arc comes full circle as Um channels the former Judge’s powers to keep the Dark Judges in an eternal, hypnotic battle with each other. It’s a surprising but kind of well earned capstone to a character I didn’t expect to get one, which made for a decent resolution to the story.
Percival brings a swathe of fun painted textures and techniques in this final issue, going out swinging one last time. The Dark Judges themselves are as dynamic as always, with Judge Fire serving as a great focal point to grab readers at the start of the story, and Mortis also having striking, insectoid facial features that continue the intrigue along to the left. I love Percival’s ability to fade the colour and shading technique into a much softer and gentler texture once Um and Whisper arrive on the scene, fading aggressive reds into more passive greens. The next few pages are a great contrast of striking speed lines and spiky character designs with a much more muted and gradient-blurred outer-space background, which effectively conveys the struggle on the page. Percival’s character work in the waning pages is a little blocky and stilted, but all the environment and colors in the rest of the final scenes are stunning and emotive.
“Deliverance” finishes it’s final story with a surprising but well earned twist, with art that is as beautifully twisted as it always has been. Come check out the ending if you’ve been hanging out for this long.
