Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our monthly look at the “Judge Dredd Megazine!” Let’s get right to it.
Judge Dredd: Krong Island, Part 3
Credits: Arthur Wyatt(script) Jake Lynch(art) John Charles(colors) Annie Parkhouse(letters)
Michael Mazzacane: When we last left ‘Krong Island,’ there was the build and anticipation for something more to happen. As much fun as considering the nature versus nurture dynamics at play when raising sentient apes is, this is a story that features Chekhov’s Krong. Well, it’s ‘Part 3’ and Chekov’s Krong finally goes off. The new Krong smashes his way through a would be Fyre Festival, gloriously realized by Jake Lynch’s art. He uses the full page to make this giant ape as big as possible, with a nicely placed Rockstar acting as scale. Lynch fits in the right kind of repeatable, cartooned, detail for puny humans as they scatter about and are smashed by the gigantic metal behemoth that gives the image a real sense of mayhem.
While this story is a Dredd one, writer Arthur Wyatt’s willingness to dedicate space to riffing on the Universal Studios-Jurassic Park nature of the island and all that could entail is appreciated. This Dredd is getting in some more Clint Eastwood-esque one-liners in as the story progresses, but he still isn’t that interesting. Dedicating a full page to in-universe narrating the torrid history of Krong Island or the larger laborer concerns being expressed (and to degree mocked) in this story is more enjoyable. All of that is just so absurd and Dredd is so unflinchingly straight.
Unleashing Mecha Krong also gives Lynch and colorist John Charles the space to really find the variety of ways apekind can smash, splat, or splatch humans. These moments provide both a comedic charge to the violence and make for a decent running gag. For all the guns, mecha, and assorted weaponry being brought to bear, everything always seems to end in people getting smushed in one way or another. These actions also let Lynch go a bit wild on the angles and perspective, that fit the overall chaotic nature of the strip. Everything is finally going Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. As this would be labor dispute breaks out, Wyatt makes a surprising aside by lamp shading the movements fall or co-option by a demagogue. Their leaders falseness shines through when he is shocked to see a counter rebellion underway; they can’t be rebelling he’s the rebellion!
One of the recurring highpoints of reading 2000 AD anthologies is how effectively these strips land cliffhangers. Sometimes they are outlandish or nicely built drama. In the case of ‘Krong’ Wyatt decides to add one more reference to the list by promising the recreation of one of the best scenes from King Kong vs Godzilla. With Lynch’s excellent use of scale and page design throughout the strips run, I really hope they follow through on this promise.
The Returners: Irmazhina, Part 1
Credits: Si Spencer (script), Nicolo Assirelli (art), Eva De La Cruz (colours), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Kent Falkenberg: The first we see of Ciudad Barranquilla is a smoldering crater where a Justice Department building once would have towered over the downtown core like a black-visored sentinel. Its looming absence is as palatable as the wreckage is dirty and ramshackle. And in that opening splash, there’s a distinct impression “The Returners” might just be a filthy and morally bereft little ditty.
But that’s what the Megazine is for, right? Peeling back stones and shedding some light on the seedier stories lying beneath the Dredd-verse? So it makes perfect sense that Si Spencer and Nicolo Assirelli juggle a car-window rendezvous on sketchy street corners and bloody-knuckled jail cell murder attempts in ‘Irmazhina, Part One.’
Assirelli’s lines have a staccato rhythm that’s reminiscent of a prime Sean Murphy morass, while Spencer’s script walks us back from that opening crater to watch four disparate individuals come awfully, awfully close to their bitter ends. In that way, the strip plays out more like a series of vignettes. But Spencer’s writing is taught enough that we get a strong sense of who these people are, or at least a glimpse of what kind of world has shaped them
Continued belowAs an opening salvo, ‘Irmazhina, Part 1’ is more concerned with showing the events that the titular characters are returning from. And that just fine, plot can come in time. For now, its enough to have an introductory splash of Spencer’s crime and Assirelli’s grime.
Lawless Breaking Badrock: 6
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Phil Winslade(art), Ellie de Ville(Letters)
Greg Lincoln: Dan Abnett and Phil Winslade give their ensemble cast a rest from the emotional and physical turmoil of the last couple of chapters. Marshall Metta Lawson and Deputy Rondo bring the cast back together in more ways then the obvious. The reunion with Deputy Kill-a-Man Jaroo shows the real buddy cop-like friendship that has grown between them and gives them a bromance (for lack of a better word) moment. Lawson and Petifer, her strongest support and first friend in town, make real steps to repair their wounded friendship and working relationship. Though there is a lot still wrong in Badrock, and the full butcher’s bill from the initial attack is still being counted, this chapter allows out heroes to hope just enough to go on with their stand. Well, at least most of them.
Phil Winslade’s artwork is always so full of texture that it is noticeable when he leaves details out. I can forgive the few empty backgrounds that let you focus on his great character work and expressions, but I don’t really get the brightly clean, textureless firearms that make their appearance this week. What really stands out, visually, are the last few pages that show the fates of the organ-leggers and the Munce Inc. forces. It’s an imposing and effective page that takes away all the hope that we thought Badrock had, and renews that stakes. We can still hope that the bleached bone vision Hetch keeps talking about is false, but it’s still looking possible.
Cursed Earth Koburn: The Law Of The Cursed Earth, Part Three
Credits: Rory McConville (script), Carlos Ezquerra (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Rowan Grover: Rory McConville ups the quality big time in this part of “Cursed Earth Koburn”. We start to see more of a world develop around this stoic, wholesome detective character and the demented world thriving around him. McConville uses corrupt judges to mirror real world police brutality as one of the great judges beats up a local sheriff for being ignorant of a nearby town being razed. There’s a lot of moral grey area as the great judge is himself mentally impaired, making for a powerful conflict of interest and compelling story. Then there’s Koburn and Alonso on their vagrant journey which is well-paced and feels like an odyssey of personal discovery for both of the characters, as we find more about the rookie Alonso and her past in the Chaos Day.
Ezquerra’s art gets a lot more stretching room here. The opening sequence between Judge Alf and the impaired greater Judge has some of Ezquerra’s best emotive work. Ezquerra portrays Alf perfectly as the meek, innocent but decidedly ignorant small town sheriff, while the greater Judge is the work-weary boss, having bouts of aggression channelled through beating up lesser judges, but feeling relatable to every other overworked staffer in a position of power. Ezquerra’s softer facial work conveys these emotions with a fine fidelity that can’t be achieved with hyper realism. Ezquerra also has a good handle of the environs of the story, having literally worked within this setting for decades. Koburn walking through the train of caged animals is interesting in a way that makes me want to find out more about the world that has led to this occurrence, which is something only an experienced artist can provoke.
McConville and Ezquerra’s “The Law of the Cursed Earth” story has moved up in leaps and bounds in it’s mere three parts already. This is a creative team you’ll want to look out for, and I look forward to seeing where the journey of Koburn and Alonso leads next.
Dredd: The Dead World, Part 3
Credits: Arthur Wyatt & Alex De Campi (script), Henry Flint (art), Chris Blyth (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters).
Tom Shapira: Part 3 of the serial introducing the Dark Judges to the low-fi world of the movie “Dredd” is mostly an art showcase for Henry Flint (whose pencils are well complimented by the stark coloring of Chris Blyth), which is far from being a bad thing. As the justice system is trying to understand the plethora of weird events around the city Dredd has one on one, though when dealing the body jumping fiends it’s never only one, with the new and creepy version of Judge Fire.
It’s a great scene – all sharp angles and overpowering flame effects as Judge Fire’s presence seems to overwhelm the page and skewer the sense of reality. Henry Flint and Chris Blyth just sell the idea that this creature is something Dredd has never seen before, and that for all his competency he’s not quite sure how to deal with the problem. Dredd is not frightened per se, but he’s definitely confused and over his head – which is something you can’t do with regular Dredd.
I will say that rest of the story is not quite up to snuff with that scene, I get that the playing with time and place is trying to mimic the confusion the characters feel in-story but there’s something to be said for establishing a proper sense of time and location before you break it. Arthur Waytt and Alex De Campi seem to be trying at a story that’s bigger than it’s main character, which is to be respected, but if you want to make it a story about the city toy need to present it better.
