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 Relic, Part 2
Credits Kenneth Niemand (script), Jake Lynch (art), Jim Boswell (colours), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: Jake Lynch’s art shines in the second part of ‘Relic.’ What exactly was happening at the end of the last strip was a bit visually confusing. I wasn’t sure if Oggl was being possesed by the angry spirits of his ancestors or if he was transforming like Freiza. It turns out he was taking a trip through the Astral plane. To represent this immateriality Lynch constructs pages around open space like the opening page. Oggl seems to be going everywhere and nowhere at once on that title page. It is centered around his physical body and the image of his consciousness leaving it. From there with the use of a couple of panels, and some implied ones, he is shown jetting about in all manner of direction. The page has a reading line due to the narration boxes and isn’t all that complicated despite the visual unpredictability of the macro image.
Lynch really captures the timely-timelessness of the Astral plane on the third page as Oggl communes with his grandfather. Once again, the page has a clear reading line, straight down, but due to shifts in foreground and how the scenes are laid over top of one another, making for plenty of implied panels, everything seems to be happening at once and yet in a clear linear fashion. Lynch’s page design in this strip is a good example of something that is formally interesting and highly artistic without being overwrought and impenetrable.
He uses this design language to good use when Oggl has his showdown with Dredd. He uses the intangibility of Oggl’s psychic powers to break panel borders and disrupt the visual order of a “Dredd” strip. It becomes an excellent visualization of how different Oggl and Dredd are, despite some clear similarities.
Sinister Dexter, The Frighteners, Part 1
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Steve Yeowell (art), John Charles (colors) Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Gustavo S. Lodi: Readers returning to “Sinister Dexter” will find the usual balance of crime noir, asimovian sci-fi, and a twisted sense of humor on these pages. Ablett, Yeowell, and Charles are at home with this new adventure, having more fun than in previous stories.
Perhaps the biggest contributor to that is the nature of this investigation, which separates the two protagonists to their own part of the tale. The sheer absurdity of what is going on, involving a rogue artificial intelligence, a crime-filled theme park apartment, and an antagonist who is as much of a foil as a mystery, the sense of surprise is present on every page.
A lot of credit has to go to Yeowell on art, particularly on the timing of some of the visual gags that dominate the latter half of this issue. There is plenty of physical humor to be found on the latest “Sinister Dexter” and that might steal a couple of laugh-out-loud moments for its audience.
All in all, ‘The Frighteners’ is less of a scare, and more of a good laugh, told within the confines of the “Sinister Dexter” universe. Readers will feel right at home with the art style and characters, but be taken on a far more amusing ride than previous instalments.
The Zaucer of Zilk: Part 10 – A Zaucerful of Zecrets
Peter Hogan (Script), Brendan McCarthy (Art, Colors, & Story), Len O’Grady (Colors), Jim Campbell (Letters)
Christopher Egan: With revelations, come time paradoxes. The Zaucer gets confirmation that the villain he has been hunting all this time is his daughter Tutu. Our not so trusty narrator, the Tailor of Tales comes in to give us the Secret Origin of the Criminaut. As someone who doesn’t enjoy time travel the Tailor sips some brandy before delving into this new story.
Continued belowIn the near future, Tutu saw her father killed in battle against the creature known as Dust Devil. Using his faulty wand to fight, the powers backfired and the Zaucer was killed immediately. With her father dead, Tutu’s life spirals out of control, leading to darker paths than she ever saw for herself. Becoming fed up with this life she taught herself time magic so that one day she could send herself back to stop this completely preventable death from happening.
Once back in the past she set in motion all of the recent problems and roadblocks for the Zaucer so that he would never get that broken wand back in his hands. Clearly exhausted yet determined to save her father, adult Tutu agrees to stick around long enough to ensure the Zaucer doesn’t die, but she believes her life is hers and nothing will change that, even time travel paradoxes. She can only hope that the Tutu of the present will grow up with her father and lead a happier life.
This chapter ends with the Zaucer coming to some conclusions as to how he can get rid of his broken wand and still be equipped as the magical hero he needs to be.
Skip Tracer: Nimrod, Part 2
Credits: James Peaty (script), Paul Marshall (art), Dylan Teague (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Brian Salvatore: For the second straight week, “Skip Tracer” tells a story with heavy use of flashback. This is an effective technique, even if it somewhat dampens the action in the story, which takes place in the flashback. If you know that Hastings is going to be hurt badly, it takes the tension out of seeing her fired at, as the results are already known. But it gives the series a symmetry and an unique approach which, especially in an anthology, is quite useful.
Paul Marshall’s art is at its best when he’s drawing robots and monsters, so he has some fun this week working with Nimrod’s minions, one of whom really shows off Dylan Teague’s colors as well. The creature appears to be a demon of some kind, spewing hellfire from his eyes. Marshall and Teague created a really evocative page with him attacking Hastings and Nolan, and although that tone somewhat dissipates when the flashback ends, it helps set the stakes in the strip, and gives the reader a better idea of just how serious the threat is.
Feral & Foe: Part Ten
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Richard Ellson (art), Richard & Joe Ellson (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Christa Harader: Wrath and Bode spend some time back at the home camp, realize Huntzinger’s screwed them over, and head out again to kill yet another bad dude. With an entourage in tow this time. They’re probably not going to survive too long.
Is this strip overstaying its welcome? Possibly. Is it still entertaining? Yes, and every time I think we’ve run out of gas, something comes up in the next week to revive my flagging interest.
This installment moves the plot along pretty well. It’s about time we touch on the motivation for the larger story, and Abnett and Ellson do a good job of balancing absurdity with world-building. Wrath and Bode find out that their contract is more than a little unequal (read: they’re in for it,) but Huntzinger dangles a big bad in front of them with the classic promise: one kill, and absolution will follow. Ellson plays with additional creature design, which is the cornerstone of this strip’s visual strength. The Ellsons continue to demonstrate that daytime backgrounds work best in this strip, and Parkhouse is back on her game with her customary blend of skill and style.
Our duo sets out with an elite crew chock full of fantasy tropes and silly names, and instantly land in deep trouble. What’s in store? More death, probably, and who knows what else!
