Ranks 4-3: so much thrill power
Rank 4: Prog 2003,
dated December 2002,
falling in between Progs 1321 and 1322
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| Would you buy a used Prog from this alien? Art by Greg Staples |
What’s in it?
Judge
Dredd, the first episode of a new epic/crossover
NuVCs, a one-off episode
Sinister Dexter, a one-off text story (Urgh!)
Nikolai Dante, the first episode of a new series, an origin story
Rogue Trooper, a one-off episode that introduces a character designed to
re-occur
Slaine, first episode of an all-new epic series
Caballistics, Inc, first episode of an all-new series
Banzai Battalion, a one-off episode
PLUS:
A history
of Judge Dredd crossovers, both within the world of 2000AD and without
A multi-page celebration of covers past, as chosen by various creators
A profile of new computer game Dredd vs Death
A new star scan and fact-file page for Indigo Prime
A star scan but no fact file for Judge Anderson
A big chunk of space to advertise the new-look Megazine
A handful of trailers for thrills to come
A letters page
Analysis
The last of the tall, thin years, and this is a new Tharg making his mark here, and frankly it’s superb stuff, with a couple of major let-downs. A text story? C’mon Tharg, we gave up on those with the hardback Annuals in 1991, didn’t we?? Also, in some places, the design is a little off. Short-lived design bot Graham Rolfe does some funky things with the Input page but basically repeats the same trick on the Output, and the same again but faded for all the extra material, and it doesn’t do any favours to those pages. But, overall, the choice of thrills, the balance of thrills, the thinking behind the extra content – it all adds up to make this special actually feel SPECIAL.
Right, let’s get into the blow-by-blow
Front cover by Greg Staples: Carrying on the theme of BIG THARG, but this time fully painted and for me it works in a way that 2001 and 2002 didn’t. Not sure what this kind of cover says to the causal fan in the newsagent, but it does convey a sense of ‘I am Tharg, and I am proud of this here comic book’.
8/10
Judge Dredd: Incubus part 1 by John Wagner/Andy Diggle and Henry Flint
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| Some fun mirroring there, of the helmet/shiny alien head and the city blocks / alien eggs. None of this goes anywhere thematically, but it's cool, no? Art by Henry Flint |
I’ve read this whole series pretty recently and judged it to be middling as
far as Dredd epics go. Although I remembered enjoying it a bit more than that
as it ran, and on reading this opening episode I can see why – it’s designed as
a cliff-hanger filled page-turner, ratcheting up tension week by week. This
opening episode is very much for Judge Dredd readers, but assumes we know what
we’re in for when it comes to Aliens. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine doing this
sort of crossover any better – but that’s not to say it’s the best Dredd can
be. Still, a crossover with a major pop-culture icon is not to be sniffed at,
this is special-worthy for sure.
9 out of 10
The VCs: Escher’s Well by Dan Abnett and Anthony Williams
One of those ‘people in bars chatting while not much happens until a fight breaks out and then an explosion’ episodes of the VCs, which are always fun. I suppose, in the main, this serves to let lapsed readers know that the VCs are BACK; otherwise it doesn’t do a huge amount to push forward the new series but it’s nice to know that the revival from earlier in 2002 was successful enough that they’d do more.
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| HIding some nostalgfia in a 'new' story. Art by Anthony Williams |
8 out of 10
Rogue Trooper: Angels by Gordon Rennie and Simon Coleby
One of those Rogue stories that uses the main character perhaps in his ideal context – he’s barely in it, but appears like a legend out of the mists to rescue a Southern in trouble. Only this is no ordinary Southern soldier, it’s pilot and GI Rafaella Blue! Who would go on to find fame and fortune in The 86ers a little way down the line. Not sure if anybody knew this at the time, but I suspect this was a test of concept? Anyway, setting up a major new character is, once again, Special.
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| The space/sky-fighter design is as cool as the character inside, frankly. Art by Simon Coleby |
8 out of 10
Slaine: Moloch part 1 by Pat Mills and Clint Langley
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| Another in a long line of super-memorable Pat Mills villains who isn't actually in that many Progs. Art by Clint Langley |
Another one where I have to remind myself of the shock of the new. This wasn’t Langley’s first go on Slaine, but it was his first in the style he’s now established so well, the "photo-based /computer-graphics-looking art that can’t be based on actual photography because everything he’s drawing simply can’t exist in the real world, but it sure looks like he's doing a lot of photo manipulation" style. On top of that, this is also the start of the Books of Invasions sequence of Slaine, the major resetting of Slaine away from his time-wandering days and back, more or less, to the situation he was on at the end of the Horned God saga. (Actually, there had been resets of sorts before this point, but this is the one that really stuck).
But is it any good? Well, you know, Langley was in the early days of his new thing here, and knowing how much better at it he got I’m tempted to mark this one down. The story’s also a little confusing as it leaps into a flashback very quickly, with little context given for Slaine’s status before the flashback, and even during it. Are we going back to the middle of the Horned God story, or after the end of it?
On the other hand, this opening epsiode has got all the Slaine action you could want: Slaine and Ukko drinking in a bar; fights breaking out; sea devils vs woaded up naked Celts; syntax-twisting insults; anti-colonialist rhetoric; a warp-spasm. But best of all there’s Moloch, an all-new villain with an ‘eye-catching’ design, if you get my drift, whose look is up there with Slough Feg, Elfric and the Guledig.
9 out of 10
Sinister Dexter: a text story that no one will read by Dan Abnett and Simon Davis
Look, I did read it for this exercise. I don’t remember if I read it at the time, frankly I doubt it. Abnett is an experienced prose-wrangler and there’s nothing wrong with a text story in principle, but I don’t like ‘em! The plot here is pretty standard by SinDex accounts; in theory there’s a status quo shift at the end about who the biggest ganglord in Downlode is, but after the falls of both Holy Moses and Demi Octavo I’d lost track anyway.
The main thing is the puns. Normally you’d get two or three in a comics episode, here with five pages of rally quite small print Abnett burns through loads, and the hit rate is as high as you’d expect. I will give a shout out to “They fob him off faster than a perv with a thing for keyrings” that made me gasp a bit, and will note that this isn’t even the rudest sex-joke in the whole piece, but it’s still a funting text story.
One more gripe: the overall design. There are fun pictures (of course) that have captions beneath that have the feel of classic Annuals from like the 1930s. And that has a charm to it. But the story itself is not written in that style, perhaps a missed opportunity?
I’m tempted not to score this one at all, because I could and did skip over it first time out. But that would feel unfair to the other Specials in this ranking exercise. Gonna bring the average down a lot!
4 out of 10 (you know, it gets points for the art, for the jokes, and indeed for being a perfectly good story, if in the WRONG MEDIUM.)
Nikolai Dante: Hell and High Water part 1 by Robbie Morrison and John Burns
In all honesty, I haven’t put the effort in to work out if this story is the first insight into Dante’s childhood, and indeed his mother. But even if it’s not, this is the sort of story that long running characters are allowed to do after they’re long established and readers care enough to look deep into their past. It feels special, even. Yes, it’s the first episode of a sequence, but as single episodes go it’s superb, zagging at the end where you expect a zig.
9 out of 10
Caballistics, Inc: Going Underground part 1 by Gordon Rennie and Dom Reardon
The obligatory all-new thrill, for a fourth year in a row provided by Gordon Rennie. His best yet! I’d actually forgotten that this thrill started in a Special, and I’d kind of forgotten that it was ever a new thrill – it’s such a big part of the 2000AD landscape of the 2000s for me. To be honest, this opening episode is fine but not as eye-catching as Necronauts, and although most of the characters and even central overarching mysteries are set up here, it’s not at all obvious what this series is going to be. Reardon, too, is finding his footing and would get a lot better by the second series. Still, it’s cracking stuff.
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| Chapter & Verse! Love those guys. Art by Dom Reardon |
9 out of 10
Banzai Battalion: Save the Fitz! By John Wagner and Ian Gibson
Exactly the sort of cute one-off that a brand new reader could enjoy. However, as Banzai Battalion tales go, though, it’s one of the weaker ones. Nothing wrong with it, but outside of the old-school War comics lingo and Gibson’s effortless rendering of comedy robots, there’s nothing especially memorable.
7 out of 10
Onto the non-thrills!
Starting out strong with a brief rundown of Dredd crossovers, no stone left unturned here whether it’s Johnny Alpha from the Prog, Creep from the Meg, Armitage in the Virgin novels, and of course Batman, Predator and Lobo from beyond the confines of 2000AD. One thing it doesn’t do is dare to pass judgement on how good any of them were, but I guess it’s OK to let us readers judge for ourselves.
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| Reading about these crossovers is often better than reading the actual comics... |
Then there’s the selection of old Prog covers, as selected and with brief comments from the top creators. Excellent choices, fascinating insights and a nice feature, although the decision to make the covers small and the accompanying text big is bizarre. Some stats for anyone without access to the special: Progs 205 and 469 are selected twice; just 2 covers out of 25 are taken from after 1988. Bolland takes the crown with 5 different covers selected (McMahon also has 5 but 1 is chosen twice)
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| Question for any designers out there: which is a better use of space: Big numbers, or a big picture of a comics cover that's being celebrated? |
Brand new Rebellion game Dredd vs Death gets a few pages of screenshots and behind-the-scenes discussions. As a non-gamer it means very little to me, and I find the design with its tall, skinny Dredd to look rather weird, but I don’t resent this being in the Prog.
There are a couple of ads for thrills to come in the Prog, and a bigger section promoting the new-look Meg, about to relaunch with issue 201. This has a decent roster of strips to come, at least as far as you can tell from a brief glimpse and short synopsis. But the general principle of lots of new material as well as reprint is the key message here, and the Megazine never looked back, really.
Nothing to report from the Input pages, although letters discussing the end of Asylum make me want to have another look at that with claims of something truly nasty…
Which just leaves one rather poor Star Scan from Jock (early days for him, of course! He got a lot better) and a rather excellent star scan from Chris Weston, showing the Pet Shop Boys in Winwood and Cord cosplay (The image used on the cover of several collections, in case you’re wondering). If this is an early tease for the return of IP some 5 years down the line, then well done, Tharg!
What’s
NOT in the Prog?
Arguably,
there’s nothing missing. To an extent, four years into the format, there’s no
more impetus to try to make each one feel like a summing up of 2000AD as a
whole. However, Tharg is clearly trying to keep that balance of current
thrills, the return of old favourites, and at least one all-new thrill. Perhaps
what’s missing is a pointed effort to get particular beloved but lost creators
involved – the selection of writers and artists here are all people on Tharg’s
regular list at the time, with perhaps the exception of Ian Gibson, whose name
might draw in a lapsed reader from the first Golden Age (but who was, in fact,
appearing in the Prog reasonably regularly at the time).
Look, there are some duds in this Special. The presence of a text story is still grating on me, even though it’s a perfectly decent example of the form. The cheap design on the ‘classic covers’ segment grates a little, too. Would it have been so hard to make them bigger?? But one can overlook these things. And although there are no perfect score stories in here, the hit rate of the strips inside is super consistent. I’d say all the returning stories do an expert job at drawing you in to want to find out what’s going to happen next Prog. With Caballistics, Inc as the all-new thrill, and both Slaine and the VCs on duty as re-inventions, the Prog achieves that elusive feeling of both nostalgia and genuine innovation.
Final scores…
Average
thrill-score: 7.9 out of 10
Non-thrill score: 3.5 out of 5
Balance of thrills old and new: 4 out of 5
Standalone specialness score: 9 out of 10 (and that's even WITH there being a text story here.)
Cover score: 8 out of 10
Overall overall score: 32.4 out of 40
Now if you'll forgive me for the wonky numbering, but there ahs been an interruption!
Rank 3.5: Prog 2262, (which would be ‘Prog 2022’ under
the old numbering system)
dated December 2021,
(falling in between Progs 2261 and 2263, obviously…)
Art by Toby Willsmer
What’s
in it?
Judge
Dredd, a one-off with a meta-twist
Visions of Deadworld, a one-off but continuity-heavy
Kingmaker, first episode of the latest series
Dexter, a one-off but also part of the latest storyline
The Order, first episode of the latest series
Tales from Mega City One, a one-off and ‘blast from the past’
The Out, latest episode of the current series
Proteus Vex, first episode of the latest series
PLUS:
An interview with one of the original minds behind 2000AD
A couple of trailers for thrills to come
A letters page
Analysis
Another year of
pandemic, another extraordinary effort by everyone involved to put together a
100 Page beast as if it was no big thing. Arguably, in terms of the strips
chosen there’s nothing super special here, barring one story, but there sure
are a LOT of excellent thrills, and the extra content ain’t half bad…
Right, let’s get into the blow-by-blow.
Front cover by Toby Willsmer
A gloriously demented wraparound, choosing to showcase generic beasties, bots and bikers instead of any specific characters, although I do appreciate the nod to Frazer Irving’s back cover monstrosity from ‘Prog 2061’. I’m also choosing to claim the biker as a loving tribute to Sleeze N Ryder, because why not.
9/10
Judge Dredd: Trinity by Ken Niemand & Richard Elson
Aka the one where ‘our’ Judge Dredd goes dimension hopping and meets up with movie Dredd and movie Judge Dredd. Hilarity ensues. No really, its’ very funny, and a great chance for Elson and Nieman to show off how well they understand the similarities and differences between each version.
9 out of 10
Deadworld: Jessica by Kek-W and Dave Kendall
Several years / series into the long-running Fall of Deadworld saga, and I’ve rather lost track of who we’re following and what has happened to them along the way, especially as we keep diverting to other places/people. But this episode highlights the little girl from the first series, who has more or less been the main character, which is welcome. But mostly it’s all about living out some sort of purgatory in a Metal album, which is a fun time, and certainly Kendall is having as much fun as he can with it.
9 out of 10
Kingmaker: Falls the Shadow by Ian Edginton and Leigh Gallagher
So by now I have come to accept that this series is not meant to be a pisstake of Middle Earth as I kind of thought for most of series one, but is actually a rather seriously epic that happens to throw in aliens alongside orcs, elves and wizards. Not entirely my thing. But this episode tells a neat and largely self-contained tale of noble sacrifice that I can appreciate, even as it leaves me scratching my head about where it’s going next – which is just the way Edington likes it.
9 out of 10
Dexter: Hosanna by Dan Abnett and Tazio Bettin
This is the stuff! Abnett is so deep into his 25 (26?) year journey with these characters and this setting that the emotional heft to it is everywhere. But what’s it’s really about is a classic sci-fi exploration of whether computer programs can truly capture and process emotions. Of course we can’t (yet) answer that question, but Abnett posits a possible version where Ais do at least recognize and harness the power of emotion, even if it messes them up. Also bonus points for the Xmas setting in an Amazon warehouse.
Science Fiction ideas in a Sci-Fi comic. Well I never.
Art by Tazio Bettin
10 out
of 10
The Order: Fantastic Voyage (part 1) by Kek-W and John Burns
The overall story of The Order is even more fractured and hard to follow than Deadworld, but at least in this episode Kek-W is making an effort to remind us who various characters are, and indeed his core cast has lost a few people so that helps. But mostly what helps is the stuff going on around the edges of the plot here, where John Burns gets to draw hints of mysterious and murky goings on in a sort of interdimensional ocean of wonders. I don’t know where this story is going, but the old 1960s Fantastic Voyage movie is a childhood favourite, and I have to imagine that immune responses are going to feature…
9 out of 10
Tales of Mega City One: Christmas comes to Devil’s Island by Karl Stock and James Newell
Casual suicide - that's more 2000AD.
Art by James Newell
I
tell you, that Whitey Logan, hapless perp from the first ever Dredd, he just
keeps coming back into the Prog every decade or so. Anyway, here he is again as
a side character in a Christmas tale of inmates in Mega City One’s oldest and
nastiest jail. There are neat Harry 20 vibes (and really, the Prog is due for
another good prison-set strip), and the hit of nostalgia is welcome. But it’s a
good not great one-off story.
7 out of 10
The Out Book 2 (part 2) by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison
Tharg once again taking a chance on running just the latest episode of an Abnett space-set thrill. And why not? There are so many ideas in each episode of the Out, so well rendered by Harrison, that it’s sure to raise interested eyebrows from lapsed/occasional readers. It’s fun hanging out with Cyd Finlea, if, in this instance not the most earth-shattering piece of brilliance ever. But still…
Imagine being able to carry your ice saktes with you EVERYWHERE.
Art by Mark Harrison
9 out of
10
Proteus Vex: Desire Paths (part 1) by Mike Carroll & Jake Lynch
Proteus
Vex himself isn’t technically in this episode – he’s merely depicted in sort of
flashback/montage sequences. And frankly that’s a good thing. I’m more taken
with his companion Midnight Indicating Shame, who steals the show here. As ever,
more weird ideas and alien politics, all requiring slightly more words to
explain itself than I’d like, but words well worth reading nonetheless. It’s
yet another…
9 out of 10
Onto the
non-thrills!
Well, there’s really only one special feature, and following a recent pattern
it’s an interview with a key creator of the old days. I’d also say it’s the
most entertaining yet. Doug Church, art bod and brains behind more of 2000AD’s
original innovations than I ever realized, is quite a character, and prompts
interviewer Karl Stock to be that much more fun in turn. Fascinating and fun.
Beyond that, there’s a letters page which sadly has no new Lego, but what lifts
this Prog are the trailers for thrills to come. It’s all Dredd, but that’s no
bad thing, certainly not when that includes Dark Judges, John Wagner ‘changing
everything’, and the idea of revisiting Judgement Day, an epic everyone seems
to secretly enjoy while also agreeing that a lot of the plot points in it are
terrible.
But is it also being WRITTEN by Will Simpson?
So yeah,
that one interview and those specific trailers, at least from the view here at
the end of 2021, make this Xmas Prog actively special!
What’s NOT in the Prog?
Well, outside of that trailer, there’s no John Wagner, and this is also the first post-Pat Mills Xmas Prog (he has in theory quit writing for 2000AD, although he has at least one story left to see print, and I kind of doubt he will stay away forever…). There’s also no all-new thrills this year, nor any surprise returns of an old thrill – unless you count the return to Devil’s Island, which is worth half a point in that direction. Still you can’t argue with an obscenely high-quality collection of thrills, all showcasing the best of what 2000AD is doing these days.
Final scores…
Average
thrill-score: 8.9 out of 10
Non-thrill score: 4 out of 5
Balance of thrills old and new: 3.5 out of 5
Standalone specialness score: 8 out of 10
Cover score: 9 out of 10
Overall overall score: 33.4 out of 40
-back to ranking numbers that make sense 😀
Rank 3: Prog 2011, (which would be ‘Prog 2017’ under
the old numbering system)
dated December 2016,
(falling in between Progs 2010 and 2012, obviously…)
What’s in it?
Judge Dredd, a seasonal one-off
Kingmaker, first episode of an all-new thrill
Ace Trucking Co, a seasonal one-off (and blast from the past!)
The Order, first episode of the latest series
Deadworld, a seasonal one-off
Hope…, first episode of an all-new series
Aquila, a non-seasonal one-off
Kingdom, first episode of the latest series
PLUS:
A long
feature on Misty comic
An interview with Pat Mills, and extract from his latest prose novel
A double-page poster
A handful of trailers for thrills to come
A letters page
Analysis
So this
Prog was a mere 11 issues after the landmark Prog 2000 (second version), and as
such it’s kind of an achievement to pull out a full-size 100 Page special so soon.
Indeed, the bulk of the letters page has readers’ reactions to that very issue.
It’s ALSO a mere 3 months before the 40th Anniversary celebrations,
which are being touted all over the Prog, and which would end up being marked
by a standalone special extra Prog, so Tharg really had his work cut out for
him planning out THREE special occasion Progs in swift succession. Does this one
suffer as a result..?
Front cover by Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague
This cover harks back to the pre-Bumper Xmas Progs, being a 2000ADish take on a Christmas card – basically, Judge Dredd messing things up for Santa. It witty and violent but perhaps not an all-time special as far as Prog covers go, if only because it’s SO Christmassy
8/10
Judge Dredd: Boxing Day by Rob Williams and Chris Weston
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| Poor Dolman, missing out on all the fun Art by Chris Weston |
This is just mental, in that good way. A classic set-up – Judge suggests novel way to prevent crime, which of course goes wrong – is presented with such glee that it leaves me grinning from ear to ear. Chris Weston is in full gurning mode, always a delight, and Williams is pulling no punches at sending up Dredd (and his family), Barney the very old, glitch-y robot, and of course the citizens who couldn’t be more braying or mob-like if written by Wagner and Grant in their hey-day.
10 out of 10
Kingmaker: part 1 by Ian Edginton and Leigh Gallagher
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| For a Middle-Earth pisstake (ish), this doesn't half take itself seriously Art by Leign Gallagher |
I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest Kingmaker fan, and this first episode pretty much serves to remind me why. I get that it’s all poking fun at Tolkein and his ilk, but it’s either poking fun in a way that is too clever / too loving to the source material, or it’s not quite fun enough? Edginton gives over a lot of space, and Gallagher a lot of drawing, to the ‘honest’ version of this material. There’s a lot of serious stuff before the rug-pulling, is what I’m saying. When the aliens turn up it IS awe-inspiring and novel. But the main characters, so far, are a fairly serious wizard and a gruff orc. Sure, having orc as the hero is cool, but why are these two given the roguish characters of the goons in the pub who get sliced and diced? I guess to subvert my expectations, which I applaud, but why mess with the 2000AD formula of having the heroes be the piss-takers? Still and all, it’s gorgeous to look at, and loads of 2000AD fans love this series.
9 out of 10 (It’s only missing on full marks because I don’t really like it. Hard to fault it, though)
Ace Trucking Co: the Festive Flip-Flop by Eddie Robson and Nigel Dobbyn
I’m super curious to know if Tharg commissioned an Ace Trucking story, and this resulted, or if Eddie Robson had a bee in his bonnet about Amazon (and why not), and thought it’d be fitting to see what 2000AD’s premier delivery company (sorry, Zippy Couriers) would make of it. Either way, this is a fun story, with an impressive feeling of the original, especially in the plot and art, although Robson doesn’t quite nail the Trucker lingo.
7 out of 10
The Order: Wyrm War by Kek-W and John Burns
This series of the Order marks the point where the whole thing becomes somewhat impenetrable, even if individual episodes are fun. At least this is episode one, and it’s presented in a way that makes (some) sense in itself, and has fun playing with the idea of fairytales as a version of history in which Timeworms exist. Suggesting that the narrator is secretly Cyrano de Bergerac is not quite the ‘surprise reveal’ that the comic makes it out to be, though! Even if one is dimly aware that he wrote some of the oldest known science fiction.
9 out of 10
Deadworld: Winter Break by Kek-W and Dave Kendall
Just the idea of having a seasonal tale set in this most bleak and dreary worlds is an amusement that tickles me (as it must have tickled Tharg). In itself this is very much continuing the adventures of Fairfax, Byke and the Kid, only now in the snow with deadite wolves.
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| Always good to pause to appreciate those little moments Art by Dave Kendall |
9 out of 10
Hope… for the Future part 1 by Guy Adams and Jimmy Broxton
The second of two all-new series to hit this Prog, and that in itself is exciting. This, like Kingmaker, proved to be a hit with readers, and it’s one that I like as well. This first episode is very dense, perhaps a bit too pleased with its hard-boiled noir writing style, but buried in there is some fun stuff about magic, and the seeds of an interesting protagonist and his gas-mask and habit-wearing hanger-on.
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| Gas masks are never not creepy Art by Jimmy Broxton |
9 out of 10
Aquila: Mors Venetiae by Gordon Rennie and Paul Davidson
So this is a ‘Masque of the Red Death’ themed story that does involve Aquila, but in something of an apocryphal way. It’s gory and mean-spirited, in the way of a Gordon Rennie one-off. The ‘red’ idea is one that would be the main connecting theme of the upcoming 40th /Ruby anniversary special. Makes me wonder if this story was originally intended for that special, and perhaps one of the thrills there was running a bit late (the Zombo story has very little red/rubyness in it…), or Tharg had a late change of heart. Anyway, it’s a perfectly decent story, and always good to have some Rennie in the Xmas Prog.
8 out of 10
Kingdom… as it is in Heaven part 1 by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson
Abnett has a way of writing these long-running series where you keep thinking he’s said all he has to say, and then he comes back with another series. Late-period Kingdom is never bad, but making the humans as much villains as ‘Them’ was not my favourite move. Elson delivers top violence, of course.
7 out of 10
Onto the non-thrills!
One less strip than Tharg had been using of late (and perhaps that’s the main price to pay for so many special editions bunched together), but actually the extra content is pretty decent this time around. There’s a LONG text-feature about Misty comic, which seems to be the main point of celebration following the recent purchase of IPC/Fleetway’s back catalogue. And for a 2000AD audience, that seems about right, I think? There’s some really interesting stuff in the article, which is based on two very different interviews, one with Misty writer P. Mills, and one with Misty fan and academic Julia Round. Coming at the comic from opposite ends, it’s fascinating to see where their opinions both agree and disagree.
More indulgent is a second interview with P. Mills about his recent prose novel ‘Serial Killer’, and an extract from that novel, which plays the weird trick of describing, in words, the plot of a theoretical one-page 'funny' comic strip about a caning-mad schoolteacher during WW2.
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| I don't get it... Art by Kevin O'Neill |
Then there’s a Cursed Earth based poster of Dredd and Chopper by Chris Weston, which is apparently an invitation to the 2000AD 40th birthday celebration. Nice poster, but weird concept.
What’s NOT in the Prog?
Well, Pat Mills is all over the extra features, and there’s a teaser poster for more ABC Warriors, + the Droid Life features latest T rex hero Gorehead… but there’s no actual Pat Mills written comics in this special, which is always a little un-2000ADish. (He DOES have two strips in the 40thSpecial, though). Also let off Xmas Prog duties to work on that special is John Wagner. Tharg is very much coasting on his contemporary creators, is what I’m getting at.
BUT with two all-new thrills and the surprise nostalgia hit of Ace Trucking Co (as drawn by yesteryear stalwart Nigel Dobbyn), it’s a nice balance of old, new and in-between. If lapsed readers wanted to get a sense of what modern 2000AD is like, this is a very strong sampler.
Final scores…
Average
thrill-score: 8.5 out of 10
Non-thrill score: 4 out of 5 (good features all, but it’s a LOT of text to
read…)
Balance of thrills old and new: 5 out of 5
Standalone specialness score: 8 out of 10
Cover score: 8 out of 10
Overall overall score: 33.5 out of 40
Only two Progs left then, and we still haven't seen the mighty Prog 2000.
But WAIT! There's a hidden contender hiding in the wings...
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