Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our monthly look at the “Judge Dredd Megazine!” Let’s get right to it.
Judge Dredd: One Eyed Jacks 02
Credits: Ken Neimand (script) Ian Richardson (art) Quinton Winter (colors) Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair: Now that we’ve established the main characters and themes of the story it’s time for “Judge Dredd: One Eyed Jacks 02” to set up the conflict and the villain that our heroes have to face. What follows is a typically strange and fascinating introduction to weird cults, psychic warfare, and power hungry leaders who see humanity, and the systems they have built to protect themselves, as little more than insects worth stepping on.
Fortunately for us, humanity has Jack McBane and Dredd on its side, so evil had better watch out.
Ken Neimand’s writing has some interesting thematic and mechanical elements in “Judge Dredd: One Eyed Jacks 02”. For starters, while there is an ocean of time, technology, and cultural shifts between the two eras, Niemand makes it very clear that crime and violence are still very much the same. Both sets of law enforcement officials have to deal with constant violence, powerful enemies, strung out and brainwashed lackeys, and a desperate search for information so they can figure out who and/or what they’re dealing with. The only difference is that the 70’s get their information through old school detective work while Mega City One has Psi Division to help them. It’s a fascinating deep dive into two cultures that are remarkably different, yet incredibly similar.
Ian Richardson’s artwork for “Judge Dredd: One Eyed Jacks 02” is solid and functional, which is to say it’s more concerned with making everything clear and focusing on the story instead of experimenting or doing something unique. While there is definitely nothing wrong with that, it feels like there could be more of an effort to separate the two time periods with different art styles. Granted, this is being done a bit through different color schemes and costume design, but it feels like there could be more.
“Judge Dredd: One Eyed Jacks 02” is a great set up for the future of this story and plunges the reader into a world that is bizarre, yet incredibly familiar. How will the two cops from two different worlds react when they come together? You’ll have to read on to find out.
Storm Warning: Dead and Gone Part 5
Credits: John Reppion (script), Clint Langley (art), Jim Campbell (letters)
Greg Lincoln: Clint Langley’s moody, atmospheric, painterly art is an excellent match for the over the top gothic horror story John Reppion is telling. Though his panels may be a little static, they communicate emotion clearly. There is certainly no love lost between Lilian and the new de-facto boss as the story opens. Open distain is clear even beyond her words as she seems to will herself to death. Langley’s depictions of both the real world and the afterworld have a very Warhammer 40,000 tone to them, particularly in the way he depicts the Brit-Cit Judge uniforms. His most effective panels and pages are the quieter ones, bathed in the blue tones of the ghosts, overseeing Lilian’s Body or witnessing her life flashback.
Reppion takes on some very heavy metal tones with the art, which is a treat even if you have to take a moment to appreciate and decode the art at times. Langley’s use of cold tones in Brit-Cit and warm tones in the afterworld create and very definite feeling. He creates a distant, ominous coldness to the real world scenes making both the medical facility in the opening as unsettling if not more than the cemetery in the final panels. At least when we reach the scene in the Campbell tomb, many of the metal colors are replaced by warmer stone. The presence of Lilian’s ghost companions make the lonely graveyard not a lonely place, as there is someone there to witness her tears.
Devlin Waugh: Karma Police, Part 5
Credits: Ales Kot (script), Rob Richardson (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Brian Salvatore: As has been a theme of “Karma Police” thus far, Devlin Waugh continues to be on his heels. This entire story is a series of Devlin being discombobulated, tricked, deceived, and punished, and for as smooth an operator as Waugh, that’s really unusual. I know that this point keeps being brought up in these monthly reviews, but it really is the defining feature of this story thus far.
Continued belowThat’s not to say it is the only part of the story, however, and this chapter gives Rob Richardson his most strenuous workout yet, as he half the story take place in a black void where the only things to draw are faces: one familiar, and one a funhouse version of the familiar. Richardson handles this section with aplomb, and makes the faux-Waugh both scary and gross. As the story goes on, and Devlin’s body is stolen from him, Richardson gets to double down on the body horror and show weird transformations, skin melting, and a general destruction of Devlin’s physical presence.
In the back half of the story, Ales Kot’s script blows out the scope a bit and shows not just Devlin’s past, but also scenes from his ancestors’s lives. When the chapter ends on a beautiful beach, it is almost jarring. How the path from falling through an infinite abyss turned into an idyllic shoreline is one that has to be experienced and not described. This chapter has finally elevated the story into something truly new for Waugh, and it can truly go anywhere from here.
Dark Judges: Death Metal Planet Part Five
Credits: David Hines (script), Nick Percival (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Chris Egan: It is getting more and more unclear as to whether or not we are quckly or slowing working our way to the end of this story. It seemingly all comes down to DeathFest, but It is not clear yet as to whether this has been the true endgame or if something even bigger is on the horizon. All of the characters come together this month to plan a head to forge the path ahead. There is very little that is new here, either as it seems to be homaging countless characters and set dressing.
What could have been a solid and interesting quick bite of no more than 2-3 chapters, the we are still chugging along in the fifth chapter with no sense of where this is ultimately going. I am sorry to say that it is hard to keep intersting something that low its steam after about two weeks. Some cool imagery from the great Nick Percival. He has captured the nightmarish landscape and creatures in every chapter and he is the true standout of this series. Hine is a fine writer, but the script just keeps getting continuously dragged out. It is difficult to naviagate what it is trying to say amongst all of the homages, references, and pastiches. It’s somewhat fun, mindless read, but dont go into expecting some great horror narrative, or even a great horror/action story like what we typically get when these monsters invade Mega City One. Maybe I’m looking for it to be more than it is and that’s on me, but at the same time it isn’t even that fun of a time killer.
Surfer: Book Two, Part 5
Credits John Wagner (script) Colin MacNeil(art) Chris Blythe(colours) Simon Bowland(letters)
Michael Mazzacane: A truly surprising moment happens in between all the sneaking in the fifth entry of “Surfer”, a human moment of compassion and recognition. After catching a few strays Zane is left with some of an ear and at least one missing toe. Wounded, he hobbles through Mega City One looking for safe passage, and he finds it in the most surprising place: the cab of a fellow citizen. So often in these kinds of stories, in this story world, that would have been a major red flag. You don’t just trust someone willing to help you out, even if you are paying them. When the anonymous trucker speaks to Zane about how not to worry, he “knows” who the bad guys are, in the bottom panel I was almost certain this would lead into a digression of attempted kidnapping. But my expectations were not met, Zane gets dropped off where he needs to be no worse for wear. Even got a hat out of it. This is a small moment but a necessary one both to remind readers of the more settings of the story and what can exist within the Dreddverse in general. So often, Dreddverse stories hang on dark comedy and mocking sentimentality as part of the critique of fascisim that the world is based on. It can get kind of one note. If anything can happen in a City Block, that means small acts of kindness can too and that should be recognized from time to time.
That small moment of kidness also sets up the reveal at the end of the strip. It isn’t all that surprising or shocking when Zane discovers his father purposely overdosed on drugs or poisoned, depending on your point of view. John Wagner and Colin MacNeil don’t really play the moment for shock value or melodrama, it’s relatively subdued approaching numbness. But not totally numb as it becomes the fuel for Zane to enter the next stage of the story and plans to destroy Snarky! Maybe that’ll lead to making some interesting allies along the way.
Colin MacNeil’s art continues to carry this book. It isn’t as showy in this particular strip but the fifth page deserves mention for how he and letterer Simon Bowland use the shadows of the city to house Wagners narration. It’s just plain and effective stuff. That sort of effective craftsmanship is to this book’s credit it has just enough aesthetic edge without getting in its own way. The book is fundamentally a crime story, just one with some gloss and style to it given the setting.
