If there’s one thing that can struggle to reach an audience as much as comedy, it’s horror. When it works it’s delightful. When it doesn’t, it’s often just a bit icky or confusing…
Plagues of Necropolis by Si Spencer and a rotating
team of artists
(Vol 2, issues 78-83)
What was this? A good idea, executed… medium-badly.
Necropolis was very much a fondly-remembered Dredd epic. The dark Judges
continue to be cool, but increasingly had become comedy characters. So I guess
this was an attempt to bring them back to their horror roots? Si Spencer is
definitely into a combination of weird/pretentious/funny, and as such makes
sense for this kind of anthology. There are some neat moments, I guess? But
none of the six stories is especially memorable. It perhaps didn’t help that
the series was given to a selection of new / try-out artist. One such was a
young Simon Davis, who was still finding his footing. The rest never made it
beyond a handful of Dredds. So, you know, a worthy use of space in the
Megazine, but it’s not exactly great comics.
 |
| An early work from Simon Davis |
Dreddworld relevance? It’s set in MC1 during Necropolis, and has fun with the citizens and Dark Judges.
Writing: 4/10 Spencer has some fun ideas and I
like that he tries to be clever and witty. But in these stories, he rarely
succeeds.
Art: 5/10 None of it is totally terrible; none of it is actually
good, either.
Impact: 1/10
Overall score: 10/30
Has it been reprinted? Inevitably. It was in a bagged
mini-trade with Megazine 355.
Soul Sisters by Dave Stone, David Bishop and Shaky
Kane
(Volume 2 issues 1-9)
What was this? A genuinely bizarre concoction from
the mind of Dave Stone, as filtered through the pen of David Bishop. (I gather
he had to basically rewrite Stone’s original super-dense scripts so they’d fit
better into Shaky Kane’s big-comics-panels style.) It’s about a pair of
crime-fighting nuns in Brit Cit. Because it’s drawn by Shaky Kane, it comes
across as very super-hero-y. It’s definitely a comedy, and not entirely
un-funny, but it’s aiming for the surreal end of humour (which is totally in
Shaky Kane’s wheelhouse). The character designs are neat, but that only gets
you so far. The plot and jokes are, simply, not very good.
 |
| The character designs and the cartooning are pretty great. Don't let that fool you... Words by Stone/Bishop; Art by Shaky Kane |
In an interview Stone later explained he had envisaged this all as a Leo Baxendale-esque series, with many smaller panels all brimming with textures and details and ‘shame’ lines and such. I can see that would fit the vibe. Not sure it would help the overall story be any good, mind. I do keep wanting to like this strip but I didn’t at the time, nor when I last re-read it. Maybe it would help to take nuns on their own terms, rather than just assuming that nuns make a story inherently silly/funny? (This is the reason why, for example, Sister Act is a good film but Nuns on the Run is not…)
Dreddworld relevance? It’s set in Brit Cit… and I
guess it has Judges in it? But it adds nothing to the concepts of Judge Dredd,
really. Although I rather wish somebody WOULD have a go at exploring religion
in MC1, beyond a) just poking obvious fun and b) that one excellent story where
Anderson meets (sort of) Jesus.
Writing: 3/10 – points for effort, but not
very many points.
Art: 7/10 – I do love a bit of Shaky Kane. Possibly more in small
bursts than in long-form narratives such as this.
Impact: 2/10 – although it only ran for one series, I’m giving it
bonus points for notoriety! Almost immediately, Soul Sisters became the
poster child for ‘worst mistake made by the Megazine’. It’s not. Although it
really isn’t a very good comic.
Overall score: 12/30
Has it been reprinted? Sadly no! You’ll have to buy
the original Megs to read this one… if you dare.
Zombie Army by Chris Roberson and Andrea Mutti
(Megs 416-420)
What was this? A video game tie-in, about a ragtag
group of soldiers/mercs/whoever in a village somewhere in Europe in 1944(ish)
who are set upon by zombies. Mostly Nazi zombies. They must work together (or
not) to fight/tactic their way (or not) out of a mess of zombies. It’s an
action-horror story.
Honestly, it’s not bad as such, but it certainly wasn’t
engaging enough for me -or as far as I know anybody else – to write in asking
for further comics exploits of the heroes. When you’re part of a wider comics
scene that includes e.g. Garth Ennis writing WW2 stories that are frankly
grittier and funnier and don’t need Zombies to liven them up, what’s the point?
I’ve not played the game, although I rather suspect that involves fewer
characters and tactics and instead has more running and shooting.
 |
| It's a video game, so one character HAS to have goggles perched on their head. It's the law. Art by Andrea Mutti |
Dreddworld relevance? None that I recall…
Writing: 5.5/10 Like I say, for what it is it’s
decent – it’s just that the ‘what it is’ is not my thing.
Art: 6.5/10 Mutti is a good artist. Give him something meatier to work
with!
Impact: 1/10
Overall score: 13/30
Has it been reprinted? Nope, don’t think so. Maybe
you can get it as a digital download if you buy the game??
Judge Edwina’s Strange Cases by various writers and
artists
(Five episodes across issues 8-20, and in a few contemporaneous
Yearbooks/Specials)
What was this? Well, it was the Meg’s first attempt
at an equivalent to ‘Future Shocks’. Which is to say, one-off tales with a
twist, set in Mega City 1, often with a bit more gore ‘n boobs than you’d see in
2000AD. Really it was an excuse to give new writers and artists a go – the
explicit aim stated on its first episode, in fact! It was only in the 4th
outing that the identity/backstory of ‘Judge Edwina’ (spoiler, not actually a Judge) was fleshed out a bit, to
no major effect. As a rule they were more horror-flavoured than just twist-based.
As another rule they were a bit confusing and not brimming with instant
brilliance.
 |
| 'Judge' Edwina Strange first appeared a few episodes into the series that takes their name. Words by John Smith; Art by John Hicklenton |
Dreddworld relevance? Set in Mega City 1, and with Judges often making an appearance.
Writing: 4/10 These are on a par with mid-tier
Future Shocks/Terror Tales. Not the worst, but no outstanding episodes neither.
Art: 5/10 It’s fun to see new artists honing their skills, but it’s rarely
very GOOD. Even Sean Phillips, who drew the bulk, was flailing (or perhaps
rushing it). There’s an incredible leap between these shorts and e.g. Armitage
and Devlin Waugh, which he clearly put more time and effort into.
Impact: 4/10 Can’t argue with the long-term success of newbies such as Ian
Edginton, Dean Ormston and Nick Percival. Or, I guess, Warren Ellis, with his
one and only 2000AD-related commission.
Overall score: 13/30
Has it been reprinted? I feel like some of the 8
stories have been reprinted somewhere, but certainly not as a collected bundle.
This is no great loss.
Brit Cit Babes by John Wagner and Steve Sampson
(Vol1 issues 16-20)
What was this? A neo-(and neon)-noir tale of two
undercover (female) Brit-Cit Judges, one of whom has pyrokinetic powers, taking
on a drug lord. It was very pointedly set in a night club, thus forcing the
heroes to dress super slutty. Which in turn encouraged Brain Bolland to provide
this enticingly boob-forward cover image.
 |
| Would the whole thing have been better if Bolland drew all of it? My answer is no. |
As far as I can tell, Brit-Cit Babes is what happens when John Wagner realises that he’s given himself permission to write a MUCH more grown-up feeling story than he has been allowed to do in the pages of 2000AD (and other comics) for 20+ years. He is even free from the restraints of Judge Dredd, playing in pretty much an all-new setting, even if the concept of Judges still exists. So we get this, I guess maybe Elmore Leonard / James M Cain wannabe story, with a nasty rapey druggy villain and two sleazy-but-not-really heroines?
Also paired with a brand-new artist who has a striking
colourful style, to be sure, but maybe not the skills to sell what is a quite
complicated plot. The story is a bit confusing, very sleazy, and not quite interesting enough by the time all the threads are tied together to demand a second outing.
 |
| Words by Wagner; Art by Sampson; Clichés by choice... |
Dreddworld relevance? It’s set in Brit-Cit, but does not explore any particular differences about Brit-Cit vs Mega City 1, which I feel is rather a let down coming from John Wagner. It’s as if he chose the location based on the name for the strip…
Writing: 6/10 Wagner is too seasoned to deliver a
poor script and bad characters – but it's not a winner. Ultimately, it doesn’t really seem to be ABOUT anything, which doesn’t
help.
Art: 4/10 Steve Sampson’s first professional strip work is, like many
people’s, not great. He did get quite a bit better! He’s alright at some of the
big panels, but his storytelling is sloppy and he can’t always be bothered with
backgrounds. I am perhaps more forgiving than many of his basic style – super
thick blocks of colour, and images traced from magazines. I certainly admire
its bold visual differences from pretty much any other strip artist going then
or now.
Impact 3/10 As a story, this is rightly forgotten. But, that first cover is
just SO strong it keeps luring the unwary reader back in for another go. Also
worth noting that although Sampson’s art on the strip was not much-praised, he
did go on to get a ton of work in the Megazine, getting better each time in my
opinion. Can’t ask more than that!
Overall score: 13/30
Has it been reprinted? More often than you’d think… The Mega Collection has it in Vol 18 "Undercover Brothers", and it's in Megazine 299 as well.
The Creep by Si Spencer and Kevin Cullen
(Vol 2 issues 41-44 + 50-54. And a guest appearance in a Dredd story)
What was this? It’s the one with the weird-looking mutant child
who lives in the Undercity, has insanely strong psi powers, and seems to be
motivated by a rather mean and nasty version of chaos. Or, he’s just a dick of
character who likes toying with people in a torture-y way. I suppose if you’re
being really generous, you could say Si Spencer was way ahead of the curve on internet
pranksters? And on the torture porn cycle of horror? But he seemed to be wide
of the mark in trying to conjure a new antagonist for Dredd who a) always wins
and b) is very nasty. Like, PJ Maybe is right there, and he’s much more fun to
read about.
Anyway, Kevin Cullen’s art and design really IS creepy, and Spencer is at least trying to push buttons to see just how horrible his
protagonist can be before readers turn away from him. I’d say it was about two
stories. Or maybe it’s that the Creep isn’t quite fun enough to be a Mr Mxyptlk
kind of character, and just too powerful to be an actual Dredd villain. One of
those where I want to like the story far more than I actually do – I think I’m
not alone in remembering that it left a bad taste in the mouth (which is
probably what Spencer intended).
 |
| I can stare at lovingly rendered brickwork all day. Watching all-powerful torturers playing, less so. Words by Spencer; Art by Cullen |
Dreddworld relevance? It’s set in MC1, playing with the toys more or less respectfully, except for the fact that a super-powerful mutant kid only works because he has no major endgame that would have to seriously impact the main Judge Dredd strip. (Although he does meet the big man once)
Writing: 4/10 Spencer, I think, gets what he’s aiming
for – it’s just the target was not one many people wanted to see. Apparently Russell T Davies was a fan, though?
Art: 7/10 Cullen is great, and gives good spookiness, but is maybe too nice to match the character? Maybe
the whole thing would’ve landed harder if the visuals were as nasty as the
stories?
Impact: 2/10
Overall score: 13/30
Has it been reprinted? Yes - in the Mega Collection Vol 79 "Into the Undercity".
No comments:
Post a Comment