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: Guatamala Part 6
John Wagner(script), Colin McNeil(art), Chis Blythe(colors), Annie Parkhouse(letters)
Greg Lincoln: Wagner, McNeil, Blythe and Parkhouse continue the themes from last week and deliver more of the robot despot horror show in ‘Guatemala Part 6.’ This week Dredd confronts the dictator and tries to negotiate and Beeny is treated to more of the local tour. To call the meeting a negotiation is generous as it was mainly a predictable parade of threats and demands from a literal tin pot dictator. The way Wagner wrote the dialogue it’s apparent they knew of the family connection to Hershey and are full on prepared to be as medieval as necessary to get their way. The b story delivered a view of the cynicism that end stage capitalism would breed if full body transplants were a thing. The story builds an all too plausible, horrible, hostage situation which you can see people doing in real life without the benefit of lacking a human heart.
Colin McNeil’s style, which is kind of comedic look, is somehow so perfect for something so dark and ominous. The cartoony approach makes the horrible things being threatened in the story that much more vile, to the point of makes it possible to enjoy hating the robotic villains. The art teams approach to the b story with Beeny played well. It was a story that anyone familiar with Tales from the Crypt or Black Mirror could see the punchline coming but the way McNeil and Blythe drew the scenes made the skin just crawl. ‘Guatemala’ is such a mix of genres and feels that it’s hard to peg how they will wrap this up or how much of the plot is a con for something else.
Defoe: The Divisor Part 6
Pat Mills(script), S.K. Moore(art), Ellie De Ville(letters)
Michael Mazzacane: There are a couple of pages in the sixth edition of “Defoe: The Divisor” that are spectacular pieces of composition, in all senses of the word. The first page is chocked full of visual information as Defoe charges the stagecoach sword drawn, Moore goes the full Warhammer on this page. The stagecoach is in the center of the page, but it is only part of the focus the second part is the giant blade and close up on Defoe as he stabs at it that forms the primary focuse. Everything else around that page is there to support getting the reader to that moment. The supporting smaller panels keep good visual continuity with each other showing him get closer and closer to the stage before revealing that giant center piece. For all the complicated design elements the reading line is fairly straightforward with the page cut into rough thirds actually.
There wasn’t space for it in the last column, but Ellie De Ville’s lettering for the Irdonozur and the Angels is a effective design element. Depending on the backing color the change in outlines isn’t consistent but it keeps everything readable even as they stretch and skew the lettering to curve with the action.
The second spectacular bit of page design comes later in the strip as Defoe has a conversation with the pair of angels that show up. The Angel designs are bonkers in the absolutely right way for this strip, imagine Kirby Krakel come to life. Defoe isn’t much a fan of them and to get that opposition across visually, Moore places Defoe in the upper right corner and an angel in the bottom left. Overall the page, much like the first one, has a fairly straight reading line but there are enough big macro elements that just tie it all together.
Angels don’t like being turned down and things appear to be going badly for Mr. Defoe, but he did pull the secret energy weapon on them first. Things are building up to something big happening in “Defoe” very soon. These last couple of strips have been very plot heavy literally moving characters around in a chase but the design elements by the art team don’t make that such a bad thing. On a page design level this is likely the best overall strip in the series thus far.
Continued below
Brink: Hate Box, Part Six
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Inj Culbard (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Rowan Grover: “Brink” continues the fast pace from the previous progs into the beginning of this one. We get some great back and forth between Bridget and one of the other younger recruits, Loyola. Abnett uses him as something of a punching bag for Bridget to show she’s unafraid to let her tougher side loose and it’s a lot of fun to watch. The two get pulled up by their supervisors and the pacing is slowed down somewhat, but we do get to see some great back and forth between Bridget and her old friend. The prog ends well with Bridget seemingly placated but we can see from her scathing words that she is close to boiling.
This is one of my favorite issues from Culbard of this run so far. The lineart at the beginning is super tight, nailing a lot of important details in Bridget and Loyola’s facial expressions. This allows for some killer back and forth between them, especially as Bridget really presses Loyola up against a wall, who’s sneer makes him even more despicable. The choreography of this scene is also fairly solid, with Culbard moving the characters through the alleys with a nice fluidity, especially in Bridget. There’s also some great paneling at the end of the prog, as we get some phone-box style shots of Bridget talking with her superior that feel personal and important.
“Brink” still feels like a fun sci-fi, but this prog is slowing the pace back down once again. Thankfully, Culbard’s art is picking up the slack, proving to be great with subtle emotional detailing.
Hope, Under Fire Part 6
Credits: Guy Adams (script), Jimmy Broxton (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Gustavo S. Lodi: Nearing a major turning point, “Hope,” through its ‘Under Fire’ arc seems to be asking questions about the reality itself where the story takes place. Up to this point, the readers have been led by a troubled narrator who, it now learns, but might truly unreliable. There seems to be even more twists and turns on this narrative than originally envisioned.
Undoubtedly, the art by Broxton remains a hallmark of “Hope.” It walks on the area between photo-realistic and dynamic, usually owing that success to the semi-fummetti style, that hazy, effervescent look. On the scenes where the lead character is lost in town, or lost in thought, that brushwork is perfectly suited to enhance the feelings that nothing is what t seems.
The plot and script by Adams is bold. Almost nearing the end of the arc, the writer throws wrench after wrench at his character and target audience. It is almost a game of dare, where the book demands a level of trust that everything will come together at the end, as all excellent mysteries do. It does elevate expectations quite a lot, so the actual finishing line of “Hope” will be one to be watched closely.
Regardless, ‘Under Fire’ remains a captivating story, thanks to its layered characters and gorgeous arc. It could end brilliantly or blunder at the end, but holding the proverbial “Hope” for sure!
The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 6
Credits: Kek-W (script), Dave Kendall(art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair: Now that the Sovs have been taken care of, it’s time for the part of the story where we get the last, crazy, desperate last push from the scrappy resistance fighters.
“The Fall of Deadworld” Part 6 allows writer Kek-W to slow down and introduce a little intrigue to the frantic pace of the story. The Deadworld Judges who survived the undead onslaught have been given some time to regroup thanks to the failed Sov invasion and they have decided to seize the initiative and attack. Meanwhile, the dead have been making plans of their own, and it turns out that the dead’s leader, Casey Tweed, isn’t as evil as she appeared to be and may have been tricked into doing more than she bargained for. This is a story filled with some fun twists and turns and it’s impressive how much development is packed into a few short pages.
Since this is a more character driven portion of the script, there isn’t a whole lot of opportunities for artist David Kendall to show off. A large number of close ups and small panels mean that there needs to be a lot of time dedicated to character details and facial expressions, and Kendall certainly manages to succeed with that. With that being said, Kendall gets to show off his skills at monster design near the end of the comic with the introduction of a character named Gates: a massive, hulking monster with a twisted deign that is one of the most creative and imaginative monsters I have ever seen.
“The Fall of Deadworld Part 6” is another calm before the storm moment that promises to set up something big and epic in the following pages. While the format of the story makes things a little difficult to follow, the necessity of fitting a ton of development and character work into a few short pages helps the story move forward at a refreshingly brisk pace and promises to entertain with a fantastic ending.
