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: The Fall of Barbarbara Grimm Part 4
Credits: Mike Carroll (script), Nick Dyer (art), Quinton Winter (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair: This is it, this is where Barbarbara Grimm has finally had enough of being played like a fiddle by the law and the criminals and she snaps.
Author Mike Carroll continues his string of excellent writing in “The Fall of Barbarbara Grimm Part 4” and has started to shift the story from a broad, general story about the push and pull of ideologies on a single person to a much more personal story about how far a person can be pushed when their backs are against the wall and they have no other choice. Grimm realizes that she’s dead no matter what she does, and decides to embrace her fate by murdering a pair of corrupt prison guards and getting arrested by Dredd. Her transformation from meek and mild smuggler and informant to angry and murderous psychopath is very well done, and the story hints that she’s got something bigger brewing.
Nick Dyer’s artwork and Quinton Winter’s colors continue to create the perfect atmosphere for the story as well. Everything continues to look dirty, beaten down, and worn out from the constant stress and violence that makes up everyday life in this part of Mega City One. What’s really interesting is how Dyer manages to convey so much emotion in each of the characters without focusing on their eyes. While it’s true that a reader can learn a lot about a character by looking at their eyes, nearly all of the panels have the characters either wearing glasses, masks, or their eyes are so sunken into their sockets that all they can see are black holes. It really goes a long way towards dehumanizing the characters and showing their exhaustion and frustration.
“The Fall of Barbarbara Grimm Part 4” continues an excellent story by showing its main character snapping under the stress of their situation and the potential beginnings of a vicious rampage. This is where the story starts to get bloody and violent, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens next.
Sinister Dexter, Narrow Minded, part 3
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Steve Yeowell (art), John Charles (colors) Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Gustavo S. Lodi: The first two chapter of the ‘Narrow Minded’ arc had been knee-deep in the exploration of artificial intelligence, how it could possibly emerge, and how the initial interaction with humans would be. It was a clever and insightful assessment of an old sci-fi trope, and one done so in a very unique way.
It is unfortunate, then, that with chapter 3 the creative team seems content on just exploring how intense, and well-choreographed action scenes can be. There is nothing to be found on the beefier topic first introduced.
Visually, ‘Narrow Minded’ part 3 reads really well, with series’s artist Yeowell being particularly effective on page and panel design, the action flowing seamlessly, guiding reader’s eye movement really masterfully. While the actual illustrations are not extraordinary, the craft of storytelling surely is.
But then, it is up to Abnett’s choices on how to move the plot and script further that disappoint. True, the banter between the two lead characters remains as strong as ever, but having seen their differences through the perspective and machinations of Lilith (the AI) was too much of a good thing and is sorely missed on this chapter.
At the end, ‘Narrow Minded’ part 3 is not a bad chapter unto it’s own, but by comparison it is certainly found lacking. There may be more afoot than meets the eyes, but this one is a pretty action sequence, but little more.
Future Shocks – Congested Anima
Mark McCann (Script), G. Farby w/ K. Holloway (Art), Adam Brown (Colors), Ellie De Ville (Letters)
Christopher Egan: This issue’s “Future Shocks’ delves into many of themes, philosophies, theologies, and horror/sci-fi elements. In just six pages it covers a lot of ground, and does so in a quick, but well paced manner.
When Anne survives a horrific car accident, in which she loses her partner Daniel, she is plagued by her own thoughts. Whether she is awake or asleep her mind is swirling with the ideas of various religions, and versions of an afterlife, how she can learn to move on, and of course, survivor’s guilt. Every minute of every day she is haunted by a dark figure; seemingly a representation of this storm of thought and feeling. We see her replay the moments of the crash and throw herself into learning about the possibility of an afterlife and getting better through therapy.
This is an absolutely haunting tale. Anne is being tormented by ghosts, some literal, and some simply made of her own memories and emotions. McCann gives us plenty to mull over as we see learn exactly what is going through Anne’s mind and her conversations with those trying to help her move on. Not only does he write a deliciously dark story, he thoroughly torments Anne with his script, and in turn, the reader.
The illustrations by Farby and Holloway are equally disturbing. Their work performs the duty of portraying horror, sci-fi, and real world drama in gorgeous and terrible detail. Every panel is filled with gritty realism and haunted fantasy. As incredible as this work is on its own, Brown’s color work is simply outstanding and elevates the entire story. In the pages that showcase fantastical moments, his work really stands out. It is guaranteed to leave the reader sufficiently horrified.
‘Congested Anima’ is creepy, beautiful, and sad. Once you reach the final panel and twist you will be drawn to retrace the steps that got you and Anne to the end. Similar to The Twilight Zone‘s supernatural horrors and Black Mirror‘s bleak look at future technology blended together, this is a must for fans of dark sci-fi.
Jaegir: Valkyrie, Part Six
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Simon Coleby (art), Gary Caldwell (colors), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Christa Harader: Atalia’s been through a lot the past couple weeks, but does it merit genocide?
Rennie & the team go for a moment of explosive drama at the end of this story that doesn’t entirely land. That may sound flip, but the abrupt shift in character – or perhaps abrupt characterization, period – doesn’t entirely work with the taut tale of struggle that preceded this installment. It’s a smart move to have Atalia take up a little more of the narrative drama in our finale, and the decision sets up some high drama for whatever story comes next, but the whole thing feels just a touch melodramatic in the wrong way. Reticence might’ve worked just as well for that final, operatic note.
Coleby’s art is still good, with less hand-to-hand combat and more of those perspective-melting explosions and stylized backgrounds that help sell the desolation and endlessly crushing militarism of Atalia’s world. Caldwell’s colors mirror this well, with good accent panels in green and blue for emotional shifts of pauses, and De Ville’s lettering carries us home.
Overall, “Jaegir: Valkyrie” was a good attempt to depower a character and add a little psychological interest to Atalia’s story. Raksha’s also not dead, which means they didn’t waste a good villain, and that’s prime material for a story down the road.
