Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our “2000 AD” weekly review column! Every Wednesday we examine the latest offerings from Tharg and the droids over at Rebellion/2000 AD, the galaxy’s leading producers of Thrill-Power entertainment. Let’s get right to it!
THIS WEEK IN 2000AD
Judge Dredd: Jingle All the Way
Credits: T.C. Eglington (script), Boo Cook (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Kent Falkenberg: T.C. Eglington and Boo Cook celebrate the season with bit of mind-controlling nastiness. ‘Jingle All the Way’ features the horror of an endless holiday, the festive spirit enforced with ruthless vengeance, and our old friend Joe Dredd coming face to face with his own ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. In other words, Happy Drokkin’ Holidays!
Eglington’s script nominally takes place in the Gareth Hule block of Mega-City One. But the mind-scape created by Mr. Jingles to trap the residents and any Judges unlucky enough to wind up there offers Cook the chance to lean into warping psychedelia. The round, bubbling quality of his art gives this tale an uneasy atmosphere that straddles the line between whimsy and madness. It’s a clever statement on just how easily people can succumb to seasonal insanity.
Design-wise, Mr. Jingles is Cook’s take on a menacingly demented Mxyzptlk. But the real treat here is the splash page calling back to Dicken’s Christmas classic. A shocked Dredd stares down the sight of his own past, present and future, while Eglington’s script deftly intones, “No friends… No family… Just the law.”
In ‘Jingle All the Way,’ Eglington and Cook sing the type of bloody, bleakly humorous Christmas carol that could only be found in Mega-City One. Someone may or may not get murdered by having an X-mas tree stabbed through their temple. But I’ll leave that present for you to unwrap. Merry Dreddmas!
The Fall Of Deadworld: Running Scared
Credits: Kek-W (script), Dave Kendall (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Rowan Grover: In “Running Scared”, we get an insider look at one of the smaller characters of the resistance, Harvey Roman, or Spike. Interestingly enough, Kek-W has always characterized Spike as someone pretty detestable in the past, with no particularly sympathetic traits aside for being cowardly, but we see a lot of that rationalized here as flashbacks are made to when Spike was abused by his neglectful parents. Kek-W really hails down upon poor Spike here, having him bear the brunt of the Deadworld universe as corrupt judges raid his home, he’s unable to find medical attention for his mother, he’s drafted in the army as a criminal and shot in the line of duty. However, we do see a more redeeming quality to Spike in the present as he starts to take care of the terrified Patti, promising her everything will be okay even in the face of Judge Fear. It’s heavy stuff but is paced well between the present and flashbacks, leading to a lot of humanizing of a previously despicable character.
Dave Kendall provides some tight and wonderful art here that evokes his best work in the previous series. We get a lot of interesting aesthetic blends throughout that seem to work seamlessly, going from the somewhat redneck, southern setting that Spike grew up in and throwing in futuristic, corrupt cyber-cops. Kendall also draws some particularly creepy “neuro-degenerative prion” victims, with wide, gaping eye sockets filled with blazing red pupils that strike an uncomfortable note into the most stoic of hearts. The color palette of the flashbacks is the final flourish on Kendall’s part, however. The powerful combination of greys and reds evoke a weighty fear in Spike and the reader, from when Spike’s parent’s eyes flash with a red glow to witnessing the red blood splatters as the army goes to war with the robots.
“Running Scared” is a great deep dive into an otherwise unpleasant character in the Deadworld universe. Kek-W provides a great rationale for Spike’s actions and even shows some redeeming qualities, while Kendall provides excellent worldbuilding through culture clashing and beautiful red/grey color contrasts in flashbacks.
Skip Tracer: Louder than Bombs, Part 1
Credits: James Peaty (script), Paul Marshall (art), Dylan Teague (colors), Ellie De Ville (letters).
Tom Shapira: I haven’t read the first serial of “Skip Tracer” so I’m coming to this one fresh. It appears to be a variation on the future-cop genre, with our protagonist serving a role akin to a bail bondsman on a crowded space station / habitat. All of that is provided in the indicia on page one – the actual story is a bit light on details; in fact, it is rather light on everything. I don’t get much of a sense of the characters or world from this chapter, which is a bit of a problem seeing as how this is a new number one. Finishing this one made me ask – “what is the hook here?” no answer was given.
It is not to say that this is a bad strip, the climax is certainly attention seeking, and it is some decent art from 2000AD mainstay Paul Marshall, with nice color-work by Dylan Teague. Together they give us solid crowd scenes (though I don’t get the sense of overcrowded existence that the story seems to be aiming for), a good chase scene and some nice character designs. It’s a story that might develop into something interesting in the future, but what we have here right now is rather generic for 2000AD – a future cop in rather dystopic setting. “Skip Tracer” needs to find an extra edge.
Slaine: The Bogatyr
Credits Pat Mills(scrip) Chris Weston (art) Ellie De Ville (letters)
Mike Mazzacane: “Slaine: The Bogatyr” is an all around fun little one shot strip from Pat Mills, Chris Weston and Ellie De Ville. Mills script is efficient while Chris Weston’s tries to use every inch of page space to fill everything in. Normally with black and white strips this density leads to a bit of confusion or an overall muddy macro image, but Weston lack of a gray wash and plenty of open white space makes it a smooth read for most of the strip. In particular I’m struck by his expressive facial designs, which look excellent when viewed up close and still read fine pulled out.
After Ukko runs into an old mark, and old mercenary, he inevitably finds himself in trouble and in need of Slaine’s help. This being a “Slaine” comic things inevitably turn violent, however, the interplay between everyone due to Weston’s figure work is actually more enjoyable than the pages of violence. There’s something to how Weston drew Slaine as he pieces together what it is Ukko stole from this man and the traditions at play, and the subtle shifts in demeanor that make me wonder what a strip where “Slaine” talks it out would be like.
The requisite action pieces are solid, if a bit muddy. The mercenary takes on a monstrous visage with a lot of texture to it. Weston keeps panels large enough that everything in the panel is clear but they made for less enticing pages as a whole, but they got the job done.
Brink: High Society Part 12
Credits Dan Abnett (scrip) Inj Culbard (art) Simon Bowland (letters)
Mike Mazzacane: ‘High Society’ has dropped the pretense, although that doesn’t stop them from using euphemisms like “intercepted” when they mean killed. This lack of pretense, or perhaps just a new kind, as everyone tries to get each other to spill the beans gives the strip a surprising sense of life and energy. “2000 AD” strips move fast but Davias cover is already blown, again, by the second page as she and Tillerson play a game of “help us out and we won’t kill you.”
Dropping the game leads to a change in art by Culbard, it isn’t a radical departure but is a bit more free flowing. The tiled background helps give every panel an extra bit of energy as everyone stands around chatting with one another. The framing is a bit tighter or wider than it used to be, the effect works wonders for selling the somewhat maniacal nature of Tillerson. His lines haven’t meaningfully changed but the shifts in how Tillerson is framed panel to panel, highlighting his eyes or giving him a full portrait as he freely walks around his suite is an excellent way to show how he is in control in such a limited space. This measure of control gives him in the posture of a Bond villain, but one who so far isn’t inept enough to be eventually undone by his own schemes.
Continued belowBack when we first met Tillerson, it was tense conversation as each side was probing the other for possible intel. It was meant to be awkward, mostly because of the yellow that permeated every panel for the lighting. Here that lighting feels more in tune with Tillerson’s mood and the somewhat crazy offer he gives Davia. The twelfth entry in ‘High Society’ moves with a quickness previous strips never had as everyone scrambles for a new position in this new game.
Fiends of the Western Front, Part 1
Credits: Ian Edginton (script), Tiernan Trevallion (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Kent Falkenberg: At the heart of ‘Fiends of the Western Front, Part 1,’ it’s bi-planes versus man-bats. And while that centerpiece is quite enough to make Gordon Rennie and Tiernan Trevallion’s work a deliciously fiendish feast, there’s more than enough on the side to ensure we’ll be enticed back in the upcoming weeks.
Presented in a crisp grey-scale palette, Trevallion’s art is a perfect blend of the grim realities of the Great War and the expressionist horrors of Nosferatu. Trevallion’s smooth line gives clarity and precision to the aerial combat – the sight of bi-planes flying through the rain is especially evocative. But when the feral children of the night tear into battle, there’s a jagged ferocity that acts as an excellent foil.
Rennie thrusts the narrative forward with a matter-of-factness that suits the keep-calm-carry-on straight forward nature of the British fly-boy acting as our window into this world. And his script captures a somewhat antiquated cadence, which, if not actually authentic to the time period, at least carries with it an air of authenticity. Either way, it’s quite invigorating to hear a pilot say to his tailgunner, “It’s nothing, you prawn,” only to be proven immediately wrong by the sight of winged hell-beasts cascading down upon them through a lightning-wracked sky.
‘Fiends of the Western Front, Part 1’ finds Rennie and Trevallion in fine form. There’s plenty more to dig into in the strip. But really, an extended sequence of giant bats clawing and tearing at WW1-era fighter planes is more than enough to get started.
Durham Red: Three Gifts
Credits Alec Worley (script), Bill Willsher (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Greg Lincoln: Christmas stories can be cliché so it’s refreshing to read one that plays as well with the standard tropes as this “Durham Red” one shot. ‘Three Gifts’ is loosely a play on a Christmas Carol with someone being given a second chance but with a noir femme fatale twist. Alec Worley sets up the dynamic between Red and her possible future boss well in the first few sentences. It’s a playful non linear story flashing back to her procuring each of the gifts she unexpected presents to him. She’s a presence in the story presenting a choice to someone, because of her actions, at a crossroads. Its effectively a violent Christmas tale that manages to no show the violence it implies. The creative team borders right up against the horror elements in the story. Given Red is a vampire this tinge of noir suspense and horror is well appropriate. The ending leaves you wanting more of the “vampire” assassin.
Bill Willsher’s line work is very clean and clearly done. He’s got a great command of setting the scene and uses his close ups to good impact. His version of Durham Red is stylish and appealing without dipping into stereotype or exploitation. The rest of the cast too are well designed and full of character despite their brief time on the .stage. His limited color palette keeps to the cooler side keeping with the time of year, despite all the reds in the story. As a one off it’s pretty and like the narrative it makes you hungry to see a bit more.
