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 Harvest Part 2
Michael Carroll (script), Nick Perceval(art), Annie Parkhouse(letters)
Greg Lincoln: ‘The Harvest Part 2’ adds more to our knowledge base related to this string of murders but does little to enlighten us or endear any of the players to us. The investigation brings Dredd into contact with the Doctor who performed the amputation for the momentary suspect in part one. She’s apparently a very over worked and driven doctor who’s not afraid to stand up for herself even is the face of the law. Michael Carroll takes time explaining who this clinic works and well established its relationship to transplants. It’s almost assured that someone there has connection to the killer but what the killer is after beyond mayhem and seemingly random body parts is anyone’s guess. The script gives us clear hints there there is a coverup of missing body parts going on and the art makes those things pretty visceral.
Nick Perceval’s art is still solidly creepy throughout this chapter. The mix of his attempts at realism in his art and the grayed out color palate he is using here is still unnerving. He’s got an esthetic sense that is along the lines of “Metabarons” by Juan Giménez and perhaps that is why there is a pervasive air of body horror in the art.
Most upsetting in this part is the treatment of the Judges themselves. The way they are drawn they are a little nondescript. It took a very close took to see that the Judges killed on the trail was not in fact Temple from part one but one named Eric Croft, an African American. It’s upsetting for multiple reasons that he’s sacrificed for the plot after a spare five panels.
Defoe: The Divisor Part 10
Credits Pat Mills(script) S.K. Moore(art) Ellie De Ville(letters)
Michael Mazzacane: The question of legibility has been a recurring one throughout my coverage of this strip. The legibility of S.K. Moore’s art has varied, and largely gotten much better as the pages kept coming in. The tenth part of ‘The Divisor’ offers a different twist on that question as Moore is tasked with representing something that is theoretically incapable of representation, Irdonozur in their Divisor form. The character is the equivalent of a Great Old one in the cosmic horror genre, looking upon them in their incomprehensible forms causes madness. The opening splash page of this strip isn’t as awe inspiring as the previous two, or immediately legible due to the more pronounced use of black. Though the centering of the page on a bright white sphere is smart composition. In many ways the form this creature takes is the exact opposite of the Angels of previous strips, where they burst with light it only exudes darkness. I wouldn’t say this is the most immediately readable strip in the series and it lacks some of the feeling of previous ones, but that friction in the decoding process feels like part of the point.
Irdonzur has many forms on their body, the one we see most often and fittingly is a neigh comprehensible tentacle with an endless maw of sharp teeth. Moore shifts the gaze a bit as the magician tries to interact with them so that it appears the tentacle is not paying mind to the human trying to speak with it but us the reader. It is a discomforting image to look at. The magician meanwhile suffers the fate of all who look upon such things and explodes as if this were Scanners. You would think the Priest who saw this happen and think twice about trying to pull the “Power of Christ Compels You” card, suffering a similar but less gruesome fate.
With the supernatural out of the way there is always guns to fall back on. In the final pages the legibility of the strip becomes confused again but more due to page layout than representing the unimaginable. As the remaining party flees to the escape pods tracking their movement is a pain, a shame after the previous strip made such sequences so entertaining and easy to follow. Defoe’s final confrontation with Kearney is muddled by the heavy blacks and lack of grey or other bits of texture to distinguish them.
Continued below
Brink: Hate Box, Part Ten
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Inj Culbard (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Rowan Grover: “Brink” goes a little quieter this prog as we see Bridget start to deal with the ramifications of her actions last chapter. We get a throwback to the debut character of this story, Weyowa, who is still as cowardly and inward as ever as he serves as a point to show Bridget is trying to avoid swearing for her Hate Box. However, he serves more like a fleshed-out character in this story, as we see him recall all the events of the crime event that kicked off the series. The revelation that Bridget knows what the word ‘Vovek’ refers to gives her a new edge on the situation, and it’s satisfying to see her reclaim her agency, get back in the field, and even take on Weyowa as a pseudo-sidekick.
Culbard does good work for a mostly indoors, quiet issue. The back and forth between Weyowa and Bridget is what is on display here, and Bridget looks as hard-pressed yet perseverant as ever. Weyowa suffers from looking a little hastily drawn at times, but also retains that cowardly veneer that eventually turns into hopefulness with the story. Even the monotone colors do a good job of bringing the story back to basics so that it can once again move forward from here. My only qualm with the art is that the setting is a little bland, so whenever Culbard tries to populate it (with papers or desk chairs), it can look out of place or detrimental to the scene.
“Hate Box” has slowed down for a second, but only to bring back older characters and renew the motivation for our main ones. The art is a little quieter this issue but does a good job at illustrating the back and forth between characters.
Hope, Under Fire Part 9
Credits: Guy Adams (script), Jimmy Broxton (art), Ellie De Ville (letters)
Gustavo S. Lodi: “Something tells me I’ve found what I was looking for.” With that opening line, “Hope” is once again on the path to greatness, on the best chapter of the series so far. Showing a much better grasp at pacing character development, reveals, and action, this one substantially moved the story forward without losing sight of key personal moments.
As “Hope” develops, readers are better understanding the rules of magic on this world, and just how far villainy can play out on such a scenario. There has been much discussion on how difficult it is to write magic, where to set the boundaries. Here, and taking a page from “Doctor Strange,” “Hope” defines the cost of doing magic really well… and how to get around those rules, if one is ruthless and evil enough.
Adams write very complex and layered characters. Even if his antagonist is a bit “too” evil for his own good, he does not come across as one-dimensional.
Broxton’s art can really flex its muscles on this chapter when it comes to creature design, and the horrific effects of magic gone awry. There are some truly ghastly pages in here, very well composed, to magnify the impact it causes to readers.
A much better packaged, largely due to a firmer grasp on pacing, “Hope” delivered it’s best entry yet. Here’s “hoping” (pun intended) it continues on this path.
The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 10
Credits: Kek-W (script), Dave Kendall(art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair “The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 10” gives us a showcase of what is probably the most capable and badass character in the Judge Dredd himself…and maybe Judge Andersen. This is the moment for Judge Ava Eastwood, the world’s most capable grandma.
“The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 10” continues writer Kek-W’s string of moderately hopeful stories, as well as giving the reader some background as to how things got so bad in the first place. The writing focuses on an attempted raid by the good guys on a food processing plant that had been converted by the dead into a corpse processing facility. Although the living are hopelessly outmatched and exhausted, they make a bold effort to destroy the plant and cripple the dead, even if it’s just for a little bit. It’s a great bit of action writing and for the first time, we get to see the leader of the dead feel a twinge of fear.
Once again, David Kendall’s artwork is put on a back burner for “The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 10” in favor of the story. While there really isn’t a great moment for Kendall to show off his true talent in drawing disgusting imagery, he does get to draw a fun action scene. The action is well laid out and choreographed and Judge Ava Eastwood looks properly intimidating and capable shooting, stabbing, and bludgeoning her way through an army of zombified corposes.
“The Fall of Deadworld: Doomed Part 10” starts ramping up the action in a story and building towards its climax. Even though it might be a little difficult trying to process such a large story in such tiny chunks, it remains an entertaining action piece with some of the best horror elements ever seen in comics.
