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Multiver-City One: 2000 AD Prog 1880

By and | May 8th, 2014
Posted in Columns | % Comments

MVC1 TItle

Welcome, citizens, to this week’s installment of Multiver-City One! Each and every Wednesday we will be examining the latest Prog from Tharg and the droids over at 2000 AD, and giving you all the pertinent information you’ll need headed into this week’s Thrill-Zine! We’ve got a lot to talk about today, including last week’s Free Comic Book Day offering, so let’s get right to it!

This week’s cover is by Simon Davis.

I. NOW ARRIVING

Indigo Prime: Perfect Day, Part 1

Here is a list of things from this strip, in order of appearance:

– A weeping Cro-magnon (Agent Unthur Dak)

– Jesus Christ (crucified)

– A secret headquarters (located at the hyperdimensional axis of the universe)

– Confetti vomit (presumably not cake)

– A horrible-looking monster (purple)

– A black-tie affair (for nazis)

– Queen Elizabeth (taxidermied)

– Prince Charles (also taxidermied)

– Dogs (blood-red eyes)

– An uneasy feeling (in the reader)

Credits: John Davis (script), Lee Carter (art), Simon Bowland (letters)

 

Tharg’s 3rillers: Colony, Part 1

After what seems to have been a long and difficult journey, a group of ragged travelers and their uniformed (and gun-toting) Soviet escorts have arrived. Arrived where? Why, the middle of the frozen Siberian tundra. Why are they there? For the Vostok space capsule and the accompanying despondent cosmonaut, one would assume.

(Historical note: the real Gherman Titov was the second Russian to orbit the earth and the fourth overall. He was also the first human to puke in space, which may be why he’s bummed out here. But his mission was in 1961 and this story is set in 1957, so there’s probably not any real connection between the two. Still though…space puke)

But now that the capsule and possible-cosmo-vomiter Titov are back at the camp, strange things are happening. Strange, violent, secret things. As if being a political prisoner consigned to the ass-end of communist Russia for the rest of your life wasn’t bad enough for our protagonist…

Credits: Kek-W (script), Vince Locke (art), Adam Brown (colors), Ellie De Ville (letters)

II. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1880

Judge Dredd: Shooter’s Night, Part 2

The circle widens. We learn that Zipper may have acted alone, but that doesn’t mean he was alone. And the date that seemed to be missed last Prog now carries a lot more weight with it now.

Wagner keeps the procedural ball rolling in this issue but keeps it a cut above the norm by seeding little bits of background business for McCrea to pick up, as well as more nods to the fallout of Day of Chaos without any of them being obtrusive or jarring. Zipper’s appointments with his shrink were stopped because there was too much demand for more pressing psychological help in the wake of millions of people dying in Meg-wide devastation. Just a line Wagner throws in, but one that does double-duty as both plot point and texture-setter. He knows what buttons to push and when to push them.

Credits: John Wagner (script), John McCrea (art), Chris Blythe (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)

 

Outlier, Part 7

The final stage has been set. All the pieces are in place. Caul’s targets are stashed in Ramona Fardon’s headquarters, in addition to Falcorp reinforcements. Carcer is there as well, still trying to piece things together even as Caul shows up. Only the big questions are left unanswered: how did Caul escape the Hurde, and will any of the Outlier’s crew escape Caul’s revenge?

Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Karl Richardson (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)

 

Slaine: A Simple Killing, Part 7

“What are things that go together?”

Absolutely right.

In this Prog, Slaine makes it to the causeway. Someone decides Slaine is not going to make it across the causeway. Slaine decides to tell him the error of his ways. Slaine then decides to SHOW him the error of his ways. Slaine then makes his way across the causeway.

Continued below

Mills isn’t exactly unspooling a labyrinthine plot for this strip; in fact, I think ‘straightforward’ might be an understatement. But A Simple Killing is straightforward like an axe to the head is straightforward; it does what needs doing. The real treat here is the axe itself; i.e. Simon Davis’ art. This isn’t a hatchet or a fireman’s axe. Davis brings the full weight of a two-handed battle axe swung full-speed and brought down with all the force a slab of a man like Slaine can muster.

From his compositions to the art texture to the frequent portraits we get of Slaine’s painted face; Davis is swinging not for the fences, but for the kill.

Credits: Pat Mills (script), Simon Davis (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)

 

III. FCBD 2014 SPECIAL

One of our favorite parts of Free Comic Book Day this year was, of course, the magazine-sized, extra-length issue of 2000 AD comics shops were giving away. Tharg pulled out all the stops on this one, as you can probably see by the cover. The issue is a nice mix of classic and brand-new strips, a perfect blend of flavors that’s sure to attract the attention of any discerning comics reader! Here’s a brief rundown of what the issue contained:

Cover by Henry Flint.

Judge Dredd: The Badge, Matt Smith (script) and Chris Burnham (art)

Chris Burnham’s Dredd is a thing I never knew I was in dire need of. This is a solid Judge Dredd strip that would make a perfect introduction for any new reader. Action, humor, weird criminals, and Dredd as an unstoppable force.

 

Slaine: Lord of the Beasts, Pat Mills (script) and Rafael Garres (art)

Glancing at these pages, it’s be easy to get an idea of what you think Slaine is. Whatever that idea is, it’s probably inaccurate. Take the above panels for example.

 

Rogue Trooper, Gerry Finley-Day (script) and Dave Gibbons (art)

A mutant solider travels an irradiated landscape. His only companions are his gun, his helmet, and his bag. That sentence sounds overly dramatic, but then you realize that these items really are his companions. They talk! And then Dave Gibbons draws the whole thing. If this doesn’t make you want to read this story, I don’t know what will.

 

Anderson, PSI Division: Golem, Alan Grant (script) and Romero (art)

The art in this strip is so awesome. This reprint from the 2000 AD 1987 Annual is an early example of Grant’s approach to Judge Anderson, a character he’s writing to this day!

 

Absalom: Noblesse Oblige, Gordon Rennie (script) and Tiernen Trevallion (art)

An old guy who gets into bar fights and travels with a pair of homunculi is a character I want to read about.

 

Durham Red: Running Out of Patients, Leah Moore & John Reppion (script) and Jan Duursema (art)

This is a story that spins out of Strontium Dog and focuses on a vampire bounty hunter by the name of Durham Red. She doesn’t seem like the best person to sidekick for.

 

Tharg’s Future Shock: It’s a Dog Eat Dog Universe, Barry Hammersmith (script) and Henry Flint (art)

It’s obvious that Henry Flint is going to be a superstar, right? I hope that this strip is him announcing that he’d like a go at the Fantastic Four, because that’d be amazing.

 

Judge Dredd: Unhappy Returns, John Wagner and Alan Grant (script), Ron Smith (art)

There’s a collection of the Dredd daily strips in the works, and we’re pretty excited about that!

 

Tharg’s Alien Invasions: Rain, Henry Flint (script & art)

Flint’s third contribution is a moody, serious piece. With a heavy ending that’ll really make you think. No toilet humor here. None at all.

 

IV. OF (SELF) INTEREST

It has been a BUSY week here at Multiver-City One! Between this week’s Prog and the special FCBD issue we’ve got plenty to talk about. But this is a special week. You see, it’s Multiversity Comics’ fifth anniversary, so we wanted to do something special. A few somethings, actually! Here’s the run-down, in case you missed any of our extra content this week.

Continued below

We spoke with 2000 AD EIC Matt Smith about his upcoming IDW mini-series “Anderson Psi-Division”

Ian Edginton told us all about “Brass Sun” in a video interview

The Robots From Tomorrow podcast chatted it up with Douglas Wolk and Ulises Farinas about their “Mega-City Two” mini-series

We took a peek into the future of 2000 AD’s publishing schedule, with all sorts of exclusive previews

And that, dear reader, is a lot of content. We hope you enjoyed the glut of thrill-power we beamed your way this week!

V. FUTURE PERP FILES

dredd cpu

ATTN: ALL CITIZENS OF THE MEG! Be aware that there is always a Judge watching you. Each sector is equipped with millions of HD-CCTV and bioID units. They are there for your protection. If your intent is upright citizenry, then you have no qualm with our surveillance. And remember: if you see something, you are now an accessory to a crime. That’s six months in an Iso-Cube, creep! Random CPU algorithms has selected this citizen for immediate surveillance and assessment…

 

That’s gonna do it for us this week! Prog 1880 is on sale today and available from finer comic shops everywhere, from 2000ADonline.com, and via the 2000 AD Newsstand app for iPad and iPhone. So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”


//TAGS | Multiver-City One

Greg Matiasevich

Greg Matiasevich has read enough author bios that he should be better at coming up with one for himself, yet surprisingly isn't. However, the years of comic reading his parents said would never pay off obviously have, so we'll cut him some slack on that. He lives in Baltimore, co-hosts (with Mike Romeo) the Robots From Tomorrow podcast, writes Multiversity's monthly Shelf Bound column dedicated to comics binding, and can be followed on Twitter at @GregMatiasevich.

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Mike Romeo

Mike Romeo started reading comics when splash pages were king and the proper proportions of a human being meant nothing. Part of him will always feel that way. Now he is one of the voices on Robots From Tomorrow. He lives in Philadelphia with two cats. Follow him on Instagram at @YeahMikeRomeo!

EMAIL | ARTICLES


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