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 2000 AD
Judge Dredd: Disciples of Death Part 2
Credits: Ken Niemand (script), Neil Googe (art), Gary Caldwell (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Greg Lincoln: The humor and sarcasm that stands out in ‘Disciples of Death’ makes you wonder just how dark this story arc might get. The animated, stylized, comedic tone of Neil Googe’s art and the colloquial, snarky, and quipping dialogue makes it feel like this is all fun and games but it may just hide another actual return of the Dark Judges. Sure, it’s fun when Dredd seems nonplused, offhandedly shooting a corpse, “just to be sure.” His comment about getting an accurate count of the “busted heads” was actually laugh out loud funny.
Behind all the fun fisticuffs though, the immigrant couple, for all their goth cuteness and funny accents, have brought a wave of conspiracy and murder to Mega City One. Googe may put a hint of the menace and murder in the way he draws them but because of his style it’s a cute and cuddly menace and murder, it’s creepy, but to quote a popular gaming podcast, it’s “fun creepy.” Throughout this part, his clean sharp art is really a pleasure to look at. There is just enough reality and realism in Googe’s style to make the highly stylized designs have just enough reality to be solid. His characters faces may be animatedly expressively but the art communicated their glee or anger or confusion right to the heart. Whether this the overall story is an extra dimensional invasion or a magical scam being perpetrated on the Cal-habbers, it will be a fun pretty ride.
Durham Red: Mad Dogs 04
Credits: Alec Worley (script) Ben Willsher (art) Simon Bowland (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: After the action-heavy single sequence nature of the prior strip, the fourth entry in ‘Mad Dogs’ gets by more on what the creative team isn’t showing us. Durham’s sky diving entry was the opposite of subtle so it didn’t take long for the gangers to come sniffing around for the people that fell from the sky and maybe some mutant pigeon meat.
Burt is soon captured, and it seems we were ready for an extended sequence of torture. As banal as these sorts of sequences are, Worley and WIllsher do a good job of parodying the whole scenario by introducing our would be torture expert next to a hilarious bit of barbershop signage threatening to stuff what appears to be a toothbrush up someone’s nose. Just because the comic is having a laugh doesn’t mean the threat of torture isn’t present.
The fourth page is the turn on the strip as Ben Willsher stealthily builds to a triumphal reversal of fortune. Red is MIA after the first panels of the strip, whose presence is more spoken of and imagined than seen. That is, until you get to the fourth panel, and their presence is made manifest by the five dead bodies and plenty of splatter. Before you can even get to the next panel Red is already gnawing on the would-be torturer’s neck. It’s a solid reveal and bit of craft, nothing too fancy but a well-executed moment nonetheless.
The final page is a running gag about the messy nature of Red’s vampirism. A gag that is fitting for the strip, largely left off screen. We only get a mention of Red dripping everywhere, forced to imagine what that looks like as our duo maps out what’s next for the mission.
The fourth entry of ‘Mad Dogs’ isn’t some stand out bit of craft, but it’s still well made and executed.
The Order: Heart of Darkness Part Twelve
Credits: Kek-W (script), John Burns (art), Jim Campbell (letters)
Chris Egan: The absolute insanity comes to a head this week with the final chapter of “Heart of Darkness.” Robots, mutated creatures, fantasy, sci-fi, and horror merge, clash and explode in a way that feels right for how this plot has progressed thus far. It’s fun with a streak of seriousness that tries to keep things weighty. It’s mostly successful, but it’s the wild side of this whole thing that keeps things interesting.
Continued belowAs much as I have enjoyed the genre blending of this series, as it comes to a close, I’ve found myself really latching onto the Victorian style horror over the rest of it. Feels like a bizarre, lighter, Mignola style story.
And like any long-standing 2000 AD strip this entry serves as an ending and new beginning. An empty space on a bookshelf is the next big clue leading to what’s next. What a fun series this has been and I hope that whatever comes next continues to have as much absurdity and enjoyability.
Enemy Earth Book 2: Part 4
Credits: Cavan Scott (script), Luke Horsman (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Matthew Blair: We’re at a pretty bleak moment in the story right about now. The monsters are closing in, people are sick and dying, and it looks like the Prime Minister is dead, so their mission is a failure
How are they going to get out of this one?
While extended action scenes are fun to look at, they can be a bit boring to read at times. However, writer Cavan Scott does a great job of blending high paced and violent action with bits of information about the world and a devastating emotional gut punch in “Enemy Earth Book 2: Part 4”. There’s a very real sense of panic and tension throughout the story, which makes it all the better when the characters are saved and the reader can breathe a sigh of relief. Also, despite the fact that the characters have to work together to survive the onslaught, it’s the kind of conflict that is going to leave mental and emotional scars that won’t go away any time soon.
Since “Enemy Earth Book 2: Part 4” is heavy on the action, it’s up to the art to deliver an engaging story, and Luke Horseman delivers. The fantastic monster designs that have been a highlight of the comic are on full display, and the creatures look like equal parts Lovecraftian horror mixed with a cartoon villain that is kind of kid friendly, but really isn’t. There’s a lot of frantic and desperate energy on display here and Horseman captures it with a combination of high energy speed lines in the action, and some great character work by showing just how angry and hopeless the characters look and feel. Comics may be a static medium, but it feels like there’s a ton of motion and energy here.
“Enemy Earth Book 2: Part 4” is a great example of how to write an action scene in a comic book and pushes the characters to the very limit of their physical and mental endurance. It’s the kind of conflict that leaves scars behind that don’t quite heal, but we’ll see what happens.
Rogue Trooper: Blighty Valley, Part Three
Credits: Garth Ennis (script), Patrick Goddard (art), Rob Steen (letters)
Brian Salvatore: Rogue can cut a pretty menacing figure, and so it’s a little surprising to see him approve compassion for the capture of a German soldier instead of letting him die. I know that Rogue is often portrayed as the ‘ultimate’ soldier, but we don’t often associate that sort of descriptor to someone who shows kindness to their enemy, though that obviously is a mistake. That one moment in this chapter did more to color my perception of Rogue than anything else we saw.
What we did see is Rogue deciding to come clean with his compatriots about what it is exactly that he is or, rather, we get a tease to him doing that next week. This chapter is frustrating in the way that so many 2000 AD stories are, in that they are stuck in this too-long second act. The last two chapters, and likely the next one, could’ve been one chapter of a really taut story. The idea of Rogue telling these early 20th century folks about his reality is the most exciting prospect for the series since he showed up in their time, and it is stretched out unnecessarily, which is frustrating.
Patrick Goddard continues to do fine work here, but even he must be tired of drawing ‘soldiers milling around a battlefield,’ as that’s all he’s been asked to do as of late. His character detail has continued to be quite good, and he’s able to give these soldiers, with very little background, some unique and expressive features. The lack of action in the story is not just a problem for the visuals, but Garth Ennis’s script is clearly missing some oomph to it. “Rogue Trooper” doesn’t show up too often, and when he does, it should be in a story a little more bombastic than this one.
