2000ad Prog 2015 REVIEW. SPOILERS AHEAD… So here it is - the annual 100-page Christmas Special. I look forward to this every year. Manly because it’s a bumper fest of zarjazness and manly it’s a good jumping on point for many readers who may have let the Galaxy’s Greatest pass them by over the last few years. Shame on you if you have, because the past twelve months have seen some fabulous stories come and go. “Chaos Day” has been the highlight of the year – the best Dredd mega-epic in ages, and great new titles like Jaegir and Outlier. What 2000ad does so well is produce new strips that even after a few episodes feel like they’ve been in the comic for years, such is the quality of art and writing on offer. Prog 2015 is no different. SPOILERS AHEAD… “Dark Justice” has had an immense build up on 2000ad’s Facebook page, with a great 12 day countdown using art samples from the strip each day. The hotly-anticipated Dredd tale doesn’t disappoint on Part One either. An interviewer is speaking to Bruce Jaques (who bears an uncanny likeness to Richard Branson), and four thousand of Mega-City One’s richest citizens, who are boarding the shuttle for the Mayflower, in orbit above the Earth. According to Bruce he is sick of life on the planet, the people and the Judges in general. The Mayflower Station sounds like paradise, with enough food, water, entertainment facilities and space for generations to come. Something tells me that it’s not going to stay that way for long though. Then we get such a creepy and intense scene, where someone is breaking into a dark, decrepit house and looks to be possessed. Could it be the notorious PJ Maybe? And is he possessed by Judge Death himself? Dredd meanwhile, is trying out the new Mark III Lawgiver, an improvement over the Mark II with a faster response time and a lot of new cool features. Seriously, imagine our police force having one of these and criminals beware! Then we cut to Grand Hall Of Justice’s Med Bay, where fan favourite Judge Anderson learns that Judge Logan is in a serious condition and one of the Dark Judges Mortis might be at work. There is a lot going on in the first episode, but it’s so well put together with a great script by John Wagner and absolutely glorious art by Greg Staples. It could go anywhere at the moment but it’s off to a fantastic start so far. The only downside is having to wait three weeks for part two! The Visible Man is a one off by the looks of it, but would love to see a longer series in the future. We open in Dunwich, Suffolk, with an old Presbytery house on a dark and stormy night. Two skeletal-like figures enter. One is called Frank and the other accompanies him. He has avoided the Starman’s bidding and when Frank and what appears to be his wife enter the attic after a soothing voice tells them to, they are greeted by Father Hugo Wace. He is not offended by their skeletal appearance as he has seen worse. It soon turns out that the Father is worse. Frank learns of the terrible secrets of the past and how he cannot be trusted. It’s a very dark tale and a dark subject matter that is handled well. Told by anyone else it could have gone very wrong, but Pat Mills handles it well and the gothic like art by David Hitchcock gives it a creepy, eerie feel. Father Wace meets his grisly end and justice is served, but maybe a less controversial subject matter might have been better served for the story that will have a few raised eyebrows. Not the easiest of subjects to tackle but it could have been a lot worse. The Order looks set to be a great story set in the 13th century. It tells the tale of Anna Kohl, who is still alive after many years and doesn’t seem to age. She is looking for the truth about what happened to her father and the other knights who stood up against the Wargvolk, the wolf nation. Some say they slaughtered thousands and now Anna is the last of her line, as is this mysterious stranger who shows her where her father’s final resting place is. But he is not as he seems, as he transforms into something terrible beast right before her eyes. Then, as Anna thinks she has killed him, he reveals a neat twist at the end that would give Doctor Who a run for its money and it did bring a smile to my face. Looks like this is going to be a great mash up of genres, and brilliantly handled by Kek-W and John Burns. Can’t wait for the next part. Ulysses Sweet “Psycho Therapist” has a fun opener, full of black comedy and tongue in cheek humour. He is not happy with the new chip in his head. It’s always funny watching the deranged maniac talk to it and the banter between the too soon leads to Ulysses having to take some head action. His employer has a job for him on Abbraxus – apparently there is a royal family that needs taking care of. The chip he has in his head is hilarious – Kinsey Warmz is a smarmy charming git, and Ulysses knows it better than anyone. He needs to get this guy out of his head and will go to extreme measures to get the chip out. Having found two copies of the original chip left and he needs it back. Forget the plot on this one – although it is good – and just go along for the ride. Guy Adams and Paul Marshall bring the story to zany life and it’s always lively and fun. It’s always great to have Jaegir in the prog, and this one-off tale “Brothers In Arms” is a lot of fun. We start with a flashback to Atalia’s past and see her being protected by her half-brother, Leo, from her other two half-brothers, Vadim and Rodion. Even though she is bullied by them for what they said about her father, Leo stops her from seeking revenge. We then flash to the present, and as Jaegir stands in The Time Of The Gardens Of Stone remembering her brothers, we flash to the Waking Of The Beast where she was training and speaking with her father. We learn the shocking death of one of her half-brothers, but her father doesn’t think it’s an accident. Jaegir learns the truth about how her father feels about her too and it hurts. We see her taking orders from one of her most hated half-brother Vadim, taking out orders and killing loads of Southers. It’s a war her father started to honour the death of Rodion. It’s a sombre story but kind of seasonal as well, as Jaegir celebrates the year in the way only she knows. Some fabulously drawn battle scenes by Simon Colebly and a great script by Gordon Rennie keep things ticking along nicely. Pity it’s so short and looking forward to Jaegir’s return in 2015. Low Life is always excellent and “The Really Big Christmas Sleep” is a fun filled case for Dirty Frank, Wally Squad’s best Judge in Mega-City One. He thinks Nicky Narko is the best Wally Squad Judge though; pity about the poor guy’s narcolepsy. Frank has called on Nicky for a favour – to hunt down Ghosts which seem to be terrorising the Low Life. Some great scenes between Frank and Nicky, as well as Frank not being able to sleep. Love the twist near the end and laughed at how the Weather Control seems to be earlier this year. A poignant moment at the end for Dirty Frank – let’s hope it’s not too long to wait until he returns! I’m not too familiar with Max Normal but I do love the style. He’s a swagger and a charmer, with zippy one-liners and a different way of speaking then most citizens of Mega-City One. When he comes across his old ape pal Vito acting as a homeless, he saves him and buys him a drink. The two of them reminisce about what life was like in the Meg back then. Vito was big in the comics business and apes and used to love reading them. As Max points out – “it’s certainly better than bananas”. When Skinner the Sinner plans to take on Vito’s corporation and steal all the comics, even though Vito is planning to sell them duplicates to make more money. Of course, Skinner gets the last laugh when Max alerts Dredd to their presence. Back in the present, Vito remembers that night but not about Max giving him money. The two skulk off back to the place where the comics last were to see if they were still there. What follows is a great little robot battle and a cheeky homage to 2000ad itself. I think “Hoojie Paloogie!” just might be my new favourite catchphrase too. Hope we haven’t seen the last of Max and Vito neither. We need a series next year! The gritty and brilliant Savage returns for Book 9 and “Grinders” starts off particulary well. Savage learns that Zoya, the love of his life, has been upgraded and fitted with technology – and by the looks of it Volgan technology. Is Savage working as a spy or a traitor? It’s hard to tell. Then we learn what Zoya has planned for Savage and we flash forward ten months later. The Hammerstiens are attacking and is the war lost? Have a feeling Bill Savage and his men have a few surprises up their sleeves in the coming weeks. Seriously, I would love someone to start with Book 1 and make this into a TV series – it would work so well on AMC, although it wouldn’t be cheap to make. Pat Mills and Patrick Goddard do fabulous work together – and it’s just so wonderfully British I can’t wait to read more. Prog 2015 finishes with the excellent Dredd tale “Ghost Of Christmas Presents”, with Titus Axle being a hitman for notorious crime lord Pops Pomerantz. He’s taken a bullet for him for a long time and now is in the process of stealing Mumps dolls – the latest must-have Christmas toy. He plans to make a lot of money on this. It appears the perps who tried to take out Axle and his men were part of Duck Czajkowsky’s men, but Titus has a gut feeling not to go through with killing them all. All the crime families pull together in Mega-City One sometimes, all with bent Judges and crooked Psis. Axle cannot be touched… or so he thought. He was visited by a ghost, showing him all the bad things he had done. He couldn’t work for Pops and more and couldn’t leave any evidence. He confesses to Dredd about all the families involved and knows he will never see the sun again, but he now is able to be free. One of those Dredd tales that works so well because Dredd is only in it briefly at the end and we spend more time with the supporting characters, it’s wonderfully written by Michael Carroll and I love Karl Richardson’s chunky, bold and colourful artwork. A fitting end to a brilliant Prog 2015. As well as all these stories, there was a fiendish quiz which will test even the die-hard 2000ad fan, and some great Star Scans and hints at what to expect in 2015. Also of note the last page, as a fan favourite is coming back in Prog 1912, which will be on sale 7th January. But seriously, this is the perfect time for anyone who hasn’t read 2000ad for a long time to come back onboard. It’s been on such a high this past year, and here’s to 2015 and more zarjazness to come!
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:47:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015