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: Health and Happiness
Credits: Rob Williams (script), Simon Coleby (art), Len O’Grady (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Rowan Grover: This “Judge Dredd” prog takes a look at the unfortunate things that can happen to normal people in the aftermath of a Judge’s chase, and how corporate and capitalist interference can perpetuate the cycle of violence, specifically in this Mega-City One case that still draws some parallels to real life. Williams uses a sing-song narration that manages to capture both whimsical, happy-go-lucky feelings with depressing, sadder ones without changing too much language or tone. It’s clever how sustained it is throughout the whole piece. The story itself is poignant whilst remaining the wry 2000AD tongue-in-cheek style. Having Harry Dump be an excessively positive force of good is at times played for laughs but also works well to show how much of a dive he takes when hit by Judge Dredd and having his legs taken. The resolution is a little too neat for how cutting the story feels and slants a little too easily into Dredd’s favor when it could’ve ended in a much more indistinguishable area and been more interesting for it.
Coleby’s art is slick and embodies a glossy, city-like realism. There’s a great reliance on sketchy, heavy inking that gives the whole piece a really classy, matte-finish type of look which I love. The shading also helps to make characters pop from the backgrounds by having a different enough visual style. Yet because of this, we get slightly less detail on the cityscapes that allows for some palpable worldbuilding, the kind that feels perfect within a “Judge Dredd” story. It’s little things, like the coffee machine in the very first panel, to the blocky medical machines in Dump’s recovery room. O’Grady’s colors also use really lovely, shiny palettes to evoke different tones from scene to scene. The first page is all pastel blues and pinks, which work well to convey Dump’s hyper-positive nature, which eventually is infected by some soft shading that lends these vibrant colors a much grimmer nature.
“Health and Happiness” is a classic sharp-tongued “Dredd” story but it doesn’t fully stick the landing. However, with slick art and biting commentary present throughout the majority of it, it’s well worth a read.
Durham Red: Served Cold 07
Credits: Alec Worley (script), Ben Willsher (art), Jim Cambell(letters)
Michael Mazzacane: The previous strip had an awkward ending as it misstimed some sound ques. The start to this latest edition of ‘Served Cold’ has no such problem as Ben Willsher opens with a giant 2/3-page image of a stampede of wild ice-elephant-bug-things. It is simple but effective. Willsher gives the page a lot of energy through the contrasting lines caused by the weather effects, the array of bodies, and varied gate of the creatures. It starts this strip off on a strong, violent, foot.
That image also sets up the general cacophony of action that makes up the majority of this strip. The previous strip was all about using the page to obscure the spatial relations of things, while at the sametime making pleasing meta images. Willsher in this strip flips it on its face, the larger page images are all turned on themselves. As Durham fires bolts at the stragglers, she is also quasi-fired at by the sentry gun. It creates this image of controlled chaos. They might not be the most pleasing on their own images, but they create the correct disorienting mood.
Disorienting the reader makes the sudden heel turn by Roswell all the more effective and out of nowhere. Willsher continues to use the characters expressive ears to show the character exuding a sense of smug satisfaction as they takedown the infamous Durham Red. This sudden plot development propels the strip into its final act and once step closer to an inevitable Assault on Precinct 13 styled finale.
Continued below
Proteus Vex: The Shadow Chancellor Part 7
Credits: Mike Carroll (script), Jake Lynch (art), Jim Boswell (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Greg Lincoln: Mike Carroll creates an intriguing narrative by switching viewpoints in his storytelling. He’s done this on and off during “Proteus Vex,” telling us from the far future how the events we are seeing will be viewed through the lens of history. This time he even does a bit of meta storytelling, becoming a bit philosophical about time and history themselves. This thought piece he’s going through with in and of itself is pretty thought provoking is played against Vex’s physical journey into the mind of one of the Silent.
Lynch and Boswell make that backdrop visually interesting, a bit amusing, and sinister in its final moments. They give us the gory physical details as Vex and the flesh pilot enter and locate the mind of the Silent. The snippets of the Silent existence before now are oddly mundane, including their “winter” garb in the images. I can’t say why, but they are humorous in their plainness against the narration.
Outside that philosophical argument and the journey into a silent mind, sinister things are afoot and leave us at a pretty potent cliffhanger as this chapter ends. Everyone it seems is a bit at risk. Even Commander Tross may be in trouble as the Citheronian fleet approaching them has drawn the attention of her superiors, none of whom seems keen about the presence of a flesh pilot on the ship. It sets up a situation that may take a bit more then a chapter or two to unravel.
Sláine: Dragontamer Part 6
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Leonardo Manco (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Jeremy Hachat: This week’s chapter of “Sláine” is another slow one. We see Sláine partying with the criminals and other trash that Brutus plans to wipe out. There continue to be hints about Butus’s son but he is not yet revealed. This chapter has a lot of talking and, even though there are some beheadings, it is a relatively slow six pages, with an ending that promises some excitement for next chapter.
Once again Leonardo Manco does a great job and brings a lot of life to these “Sláine” pages with his detailed and expressive inks. The highlight of this week’s chapter is a loose 9 panel grid with a Celtic cross incorporated into the layout; it’s a stunning page. Manco’s use of color to differentiate different locations and moods in the story is very clever.
Pat Mills loves to tell a story pitting the common man against authority and Brutus is being set up as a pretty unlikable authority figure. Sláine struggles a bit to find the confidence to go up against him but in the end he’s always up for a fight. Mills and Manco are working great together and I’m expecting next chapter to be another good one.
Hershey: The Brutal – Part Seven
Credits: Rob Williams (Script), Simon Fraser (Art), Simon Bowland (Letters)
Christopher Egan: In one way this chapter finally allows the other foot to drop, even if it isn’t really following Hershey’s plan. And there is more of that pain I brought up last week. Frank has had enough and he’s ready to take down the criminals that he and Hershey have surrounded themselves with. Whether that means arrests or everyone ends up dead. There’s a nice violent catharsis to whole chapter. It’s the release of tension that has been building up since the first chapter, unfortunately every week has felt so disconnected from the chapter before and after that there is barely any weight behind the change in narrative, or any weight behind the plot. It is nice to see some action though. Motives are clear even with the weakened cohesion of story.
Frank’s need to take matters into his own hands really works here. His pain and defeat have been evident through this entire story so for him to regain some agency over his life and immediate actions, as untimely as they may be, is a nice change for him and the story as a whole. The quality of this chapter is up there, it would have been nice to have a more even strip prior to it. The highs and lows have pitched drastically from the start. Hopefully Williams can stick the landing and give us continuing chapters, and an ending that makes it all seem worth it. With the cat of out of the bag regarding Frank and Hershey’s real professions, it looks like things coming to a fast and wild head could be on the horizon.
Fraser crushes the action sequences. They’re violent, but quiet. Precision is key, even when it looks like all hell might break loose. He pulls back in a few panels allowing us to see some of the chaos, but quickly snaps into close-ups of pained and shouting faces. Emotions are front and center. It’s great work and he has been consistent every week. With only one brief flashback, his colors aren’t really used to differentiate time and space this week. He goes all in on the emotional side, matching his color work to his illustrations.
This is one of the best weeks we have had for “Hershey: The Brutal.” It hasn’t been all bad, by any means. Just glad to see the strength of this creative team shining through.
