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 Citadel 04
Credits: John Wagner (script) Dan Cornwall (art) Dylan Teague (colors) Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair: While the last three parts of the story have shown the reader how the regular civilians of Mega City One view Dredd, now we get to see that leadership in action, and it is equal parts inspiring and terrifying. Also, we are getting closer and closer to actual answers as Dredd leads his scrappy band of resistance fighters to a place known only as “The Citadel”.
Writer John Wagner is putting on a solid display of character work in “Judge Dredd: The Citadel 04” and also crafts an impressive action sequence. Dredd’s group of misfits and fighters are desperately fending off an assault by Sov mech droids and their weapons aren’t doing much to hold them off. It’s very clear that the only thing keeping everyone alive and together is Dredd, who strikes an imposing and inspirational figure who knows exactly what to do and leads his group over a literal valley of the dead. However, the darker side of Dredd is also on full display here, because there is nothing he won’t do or nobody he will not sacrifice in order to achieve his mission.
Artist Dan Cornwall gets to show off his action chops in “Judge Dredd: The Citadel 04”. The artwork feels quick and energetic and there is a clear sense of motion and energy as Dredd faces off against the enemy in a desperate gunfight that he knows he cannot win. While it’s a quick section of the story, everything is clearly laid out and it is easy for the audience to understand what is going on. It’s a great little action set piece that stands on its own while fitting into the larger story.
“Judge Dredd: The Citadel 04” is a descent into Hell as an ever more desperate gang of misfits and soldiers flee from a seemingly invincible enemy while heading into something that threatens to be much worse.
Proteus Vex: Desire Paths, Part 12
Credits: Mike Carroll (script), Jake Lynch (art), Jim Boswell (colors), Simon Bowland (letters)
Greg Lincoln: Jake Lynch and Jim Boswell do an excellent job of giving this week’s “Proteus Vex” a wide screen space combat opening. Though their panels are a series moments of frozen action, the flow of the story gives the feeling of a vertiginous chase through space wreckage with a big screen action feel. The pages of action and talking heads scenes they created feel longer than the spare five pages that they encompass. The art reminds us how rich this universe is with the variety of life and styles it contains. This is the first week in a long time that Midnight’s absence is not the first thing I felt.
Mike Carroll is a sly writer, and is building to something bigger and more interesting with this tale. The dialogue reminds us that there is much love lost between Vex and his prior colleagues/current pursuers. At the same time, he doesn’t let us forget the dire events and choices that are likely it seems to be leading into a bigger wider scarier conflict to come. The developments in this story hint at possible alliances or threats, building bigger questions into the ongoing story. Whether they will be resolved now or later is really unclear, but what is clear is that what seemed to be a possible final “Vex” arc looks to be anything but.
Fiends of the Eastern Front: 1963, Part 1
Credits: Ian Edginton (script), Tiernen Trevallion (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: The start to the new “Fiends of the Eastern Front” runs like clockwork; it does everything you’d want an introductory strip to do. It also features an opening two pages of shudder-inducing horror that is rarely elicited from me in the pages of “2000 AD”. The year is 1963 and an American spy plane is flying over the USSR, until it isn’t because its pilot is EATEN ALIVE BY SPIDERS! And you thought what happened to Omid Djalili in The Mummy was rough. As ick inducing as the pages are, artist Tiernen Trevallion does a plainly fantastic job of showing the creepiness of it all. The cockpit is claustrophobic, which is already horror inducing. The sudden presence of a spider pushes things to another level as Trevallion pushes the perspective in using action to mirror the increasingly cramped space the pilot finds himself in. Trevallion treats the following page as they drift down to Earth in the opposite manner by pulling out and revealing the husk that remains.
Continued belowTrevallion approaches their black and white art in this strip closer to their work in the “Hellboy” universe than their work in “Absalom”. The latter had more dashes of ink splatter and texture to it, at least so far “Fiends” is more representational cartooning with bursts of texture.
The rest of the strip sets up this Weird spy yarn as the Uncivil Service is called into action to investigate both what caused fleshing eating spiders to suddenly materialize and how one of Hitler’s necromancers knows about it. Edginton and Trevallion don’t go for dread in this sequence, but new readers should get the idea that this isn’t the service at their best and that’s what makes this interesting.
Kingmaker: Falls The Shadow. Part Ten
Credits: Ian Edginton (script), Leigh Gallagher (art), Jim Campbell (letters)
Christopher Egan: Crixus knows this is a no win scenario. He either continues fighting until everything lays waste, or joins his enemy and becomes a villain in this story. No matter what decision he makes something worse will come along and/or occur. His relationship with wizard has never been more strained, having no patience left for the old man and his half-wisdoms. Beyond all this arguing and brain-aching decision making, the crispy corpse of the Wraith King has broken through the atmosphere and crashed in the distance. It has landed with a surprise, it isn’t just his body, he has returned to life.
While these choices Crixus must make are somewhat intriguing, simply based on how impossible it all is, there is still very little to connect with here, but the rising problems do make for a mildly interesting chapter. A big issue I have with this series, and it’s been quite evident and overused in the last few chapters is the use of modern English, including slang and idioms. It feels so out of place with this fantasy sci-fi epic from a distant galaxy and it takes me out with every speech bubble that relies on it. It feels late in the game to complain about this, but it’s only gotten worse as Edginton’s script marches on grasping at new bumps to place in the road. Like he’s gotten board with simply writing these characters and feels the need to blend in Earth-based dialogue. I guess we’ll have to see if things tighten up in the coming weeks and if the new arc of “Kingmaker” can get things back on track.
Brink: Mercury Retrograde Part 4
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), INJ Culbard (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Brian Salvatore: While “Brink” is still taking the slow game when it comes to setting up the central conflict of ‘Mercury Retrograde,’ the larger picture is beginning to come into focus and allow the reader to have some sense of just what is at stake here. Using a press angle is not new, and the grizzled editor who’s giving you one chance – but can’t protect your ass from what is brought down upon it – is about as trite as it gets. But Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard make it work through the sheer quality of what they’re putting out.
Culbard’s art is still getting the short end of the stick here, drawing conversations in relatively bland rooms and industrial hallways, but there are details that elevate each page beyond just talking heads. Leeden, one of our union workers, has had a slightly sinister look in his eyes from Part 1, and here, we get the first glimpse of, perhaps, why that is. Culbard doesn’t go over the top with the suspicious activity, though. It’s al just under the surface, and it allows the world to continue to build t a natural pace.
Abnett’s pacing in the script, thus far, has felt like a slow burn, but the final page this week begins to see a larger picture emerge, one that will likely speed up the pace of the story and also allow Culbard to go a little nuttier with the art. As much as I like a blow burn, “Brink” could use a shot of adrenaline.
