Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our monthly look at the “Judge Dredd Megazine!” Let’s get right to it.
Judge Dredd: Q-Topia
Credits: Arthur Wyatt (Script), Ian Richardson (Art), Gary Caldwell (Colors), Annie Parkhouse (Letters)
Christopher Egan: This has to be one of the most, I believe intentionally, disjointed narratives I’ve ever come across in a “Judge Dredd” strip. Opening with a sequence at the ape-run casino island, ‘Koko Cabana,’ we get a trio of Judges, including an ape, discussing a re-zoning plan that makes the casino illegal as it now lays within tye borders of Mega City One. A plan that was purposefully (and unjustly?) put into effect to put the casino out of business, a stepping stone in taking down all of The Red Queen’s assets.
This plot is somehow tied to the events at Atlantis, which is unclear as to whether that is a previous story or the story that unfolds within this issue. Because it is set in the underwater settlement, you’re never sure if the other Judges plan is retaliation for something prior, or what we are about to see here. So unfortunately, while this opening chapter is decently written and looks nice, it gets knocked down a few pegs for not clarifying its timeline. The rest of the issue focuses on Judge Dredd and a team of various law enforcers heading to Atlantis. The settlement has technological and psychic barriers in place to keep out intruders. While this causes some issues for Dredd and Co, they are able to quickly get around these defenses and make their way inside.
From here the strip plays out like a sort of sci-fi/horror film with team members getting picked off in a creepy atmosphere and horrifying sights. When the story is played simply in that regard it works just fine, but simplifying when and why things are happening is where it loses favor and my interest. That said the horror side of things works well and the final moments of Judge Dredd unsure of how to proceed as all seems lost did bring me back in wanting to know what happens next.
I wish this was a stronger opening overall, but the hope and possibilities for all sorts of nautical horror greatness has me intrigued.
Death Cap, Part 6
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Boo Cook (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Greg Lincoln: The month after the chapter that finally made this story click, we get this amazing, weird, experimental piece of storytelling. I guess we did have to go through the usual vengeance hunt to get here. This chapter is engaging and intriguing, taking the story to a whole new level. Boo Cook’s art does much of the heavy lifting. This is one issue that really suffers if you have to read it digitally, this art just begs to be seen as an endless scroll. Cook treats us to a Technicolor vista, a transformed desert and a transformed people changed by the mushrooms. The art implies transformation and the storytelling and is a big departure from the chapters that preceded it. There is almost a hint that there is something positive to come out of all this pain and suffering.
T.C. Eglinton, through Cook’s art, does remind us at the outset of the missile that the Death Cap gang took last chapter. He may be taking us on a journey to somewhere different as Goya undergoes some transformational bonding experience, but there is still the hint of the ominous in this story. Eglinton leaves us with a sense of wonder as to where we are heading with all this. He implies that time is passing in a different way here and that Goya may be about to learn something. I have to wonder at this, because it still cannot offset the violence that has gone before and brought us here. This chapter has made this a must read story.
Diamond Dogs: Book III, Part 6
Credits: James Peaty (script), Warren Pleece (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: James Peaty and Warren Pleece turn in a workmanlike strip as “Diamond Dogs” enter the endgame. Without the need for subterfuge anymore Peaty and Pleece turn in a cross cutting heavy script as Armitage deals with Judge Harding and Nia rescues her friends. Part 6 of the third book of “Diamond Dogs” wraps up most of these threads with one left dangling to be dealt with in the next strip. While this strip isn’t some formally amazing exercise in sequential art the sheer functional quality and overall solid choreography make this one of the better strips in this batch.
Continued belowTwo little moments in the larger action arc of this strip stand out and both hinge on the creation of sudden movements. Nia Jones holds the triad at gunpoint before she hits the deck and Harding surprises by throwing a glass of scotch at Armitage. Both moments happen at the bottom of the page and both rely on a sudden shift in perspective, going from a tight close up to a pulled out high/low angle view of the action to emphasize the energy of the movement. The glass shot in particular was very effective.
The action in this strip was just well staged and basic. The most surprising moment is Harding being impaled by the not so innocuously placed statue with a bayonet. The overall most of the art on that page is clearly pushing and leading to that moment but its also such a moment of violence it was kind of a surprise.
Nia might have saved her friends but they sure aren’t happy being used as bait for her informant gig. There has been a consistency to the character work in this strip across the books that I like. It’s not over done or all that subtle but the creative team are attuned to the emotional ramifications for these actions. Her friends leaving her is the kind of thing that wouldn’t happen in another version of this strip, instead they would be willing to forgive her on the spot. The opposite occurs in this strip. Which leaves her the one loose thread dangling as she is informed that Armitage says she is “finished” or something like that.
Lawless Ballots over Badrock: 06
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Phil Winslade (art), Jim Campbell (letters)
Matthew Blair: In the post mayoral election haze we see all of the various factions at play either pressing their advantage, making the most out of their situation, or in the case of the former Chief Judge Lawson drowning their sorrows in booze. Fortunately for Lawson, she has a collection of friends willing to look out for her and to make sure she doesn’t drown herself in the bottle and certain events are taking place that make it look like Badrock is going to need an honest law man pretty soon.
Dan Abnett continues to craft a great little story in “Lawless: Ballots over Badrock Part 6” and does a fantastic job of finding a balance between setting up the emotional state of his characters and giving the audience a glimpse at the bigger picture. It’s fun to see the new mayor of Badrock become rapidly overwhelmed and a bit suspicious of all the people around him asking for favors, and at the same time it’s fun to see Marshall Lawson get dragged up out of the emotional gutters by her best friend and placed on the the path that will see her fix Badrock, even if it means working outside the law.
While the artwork of “Lawless Ballots over Badrock Part 6” continues to be excellent, it does showcase some of the limitations of Phil Winslade’s art. To be absolutely clear, Winslade is a fantastic artist and his pages are a joy to look at (it’s a minor detail but the way he draws coats is just fantastic) but the high level of detail, coupled with the choice to go with black and white artwork, can make some of the pages difficult to read, especially if there is a high panel count. It’s not a bad thing, it just forces the reader to be a bit more careful when reading the story.
“Lawless: Ballots over Badrock Part 6” shows its main character at their lowest point, but the good thing about hitting rock bottom is that there is almost nowhere to go but up, and it looks like Badrock is about to face some good old fashioned vigilante justice.
Surfer: 6
Credits: John Wagner (script), Colin MacNeil (art), Chris Blythe (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Brian Salvatore: The ‘first book’ of “Surfer” wraps up here, and while it certainly comes to a logical conclusion, it may not be the ending that readers want. A few pieces are put into place for the next batch of stories, but this story ends with Zane in Judge custody. However, before he is, he makes a connection with Snarky, the ‘legitimate businessman’ who his father owed money to and set him off on this whole journey. Snarky is a Kingpin-esque gangster, guarded by giant robots, and Zane is trying to cut a deal with him. However, the other shoe drops for Zane, when he realizes that he wasn’t actually paid for his holo appearance.
While Zane was trying to get his pop out of hock, it seems like the vicious cycle has dragged him into the Snarky orbit. Snarky is going to provide Zane with some ‘jobs’ to help get his dad out of debt, but we all know how those arrangements usually go, right? Colin MacNeil has created a friendly, but imposing Snarky, who is bathed in shadow and fine threads, showing both his darkness and his wealth. It’s a really masterful set up of this new character. MacNeil also gets to draw a few pages of chases, as Zane attempts to get back to his home sector.
John Wagner’s script doesn’t exactly spoil the ending, but it seems clear from the get-go that Zane is going to be caught. But Wagner offers enough potential exit points that there are ways he could get out, but that seems unlikely. When he’s eventually nabbed, it seems like the inevitable has finally happened. I’m excited to see where the strip goes when it returns, and I hope that, due to the capture and the general illegality of the activity, we don’t lose the actual surfing scenes. Visually, it is one of the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of any Megazine or 2000 AD story.
