Bad City Blue - Rebellion [Part Two]

BAD CITY BLUE, August 2021

Debatably turning the character of Blue completely upon his head, by having the rogue button man finally remember his past as the notorious gang leader of the Skulls and resultantly revert back to his disagreeably repugnant “devil killer” persona, Alan Grant’s script for the second half of “Bad City Blue” definitely portrays this graphic novel’s lead protagonist as a much less sympathetic ‘hero’ than the Scottish author did during its opening chapters. Indeed, the Inkpot Award-winner actually appears to go that extra step in presenting the “slumscum” as something of a brainless barbarian, who needs to be repeatedly taught just how to manipulate the engine alignment controls so as to blast the asteroid-based municipal free of a nearby Black Hole.

Happily however, liking the brutal "Grexnix" isn’t a precondition to thoroughly enjoying this comic strip’s insanely violent zarjaz action, and actually makes perfect sense once it becomes clear just how much street-fighting savvy Blue is going to need to remember if he’s ever going to make it to the central computer buried deep within the Power Dome alive. In the past, whilst being wracked by mind-controlling headaches, the befuddled assassin was understandably somewhat vulnerable, and quite quickly fell prey to a pair of his government-sponsored peers when he encountered them at the entrance to the city’s jungle habitat.

Now that “Dirty Blue” is involved in an exhilarating ‘race against the clock’ though, the aspiring “Big-Chief Boss” needs to be at his very best if he is to outfight an entire posse of experienced button men - all of whom have been dispatched to kill the “real bad scummer” before the man can complete his life-or-death mission. These deadly skirmishes, stunningly pencilled by “Scrotnig” artist Robin Smith, really help ensure that the audience are constantly kept guessing as to whether or not the foul hooligan will be effective in his endeavours, and definitely help reiterate the notion that the brutal hitman is bereft of any pity or compassion; ““Horgan an’ Shrap eat ‘crete. R.I.P., bruds!” 

Ultimately though, this “digital first” publication’s most memorable moment has to be its sense-shattering conclusion, which doubtless traumatised many a Squaxx dek Thargo when it was first revealed within the pages of “2000 A.D.” way back in July 1986. Having somehow managed to overcome the last button man, Teco, despite suffering a “shoulder shatter”, a semi-distraught Blue realises that he’s going to need to hurry if he wants to be known as the “top scummer, citywide”, and is last seen powering through the space-floating metropolis on his skimmer, plotting his presumably short-lived ascension.

Writer: Alan Grant (a.k.a Craig Lipp), Artist: Robin Smith, and Letters: Steve Potter

Bad City Blue - Rebellion [Part One]

BAD CITY BLUE, August 2021

Described by “Rebellion” as “a bleak highlight from the mid-Eighties, full of class warfare, gritty sci-fi, and big concepts”, this opening half of the next title in the Oxford-based publisher’s “series of digital-only 2000 A.D. collections” certainly delivers an enthralling vision as to just what Humanity can expect from life in the distant future, should some brave souls decide to emigrate to a self-isolated dome partially buried into the side of an asteroid. However, rather than spend any time at all leading its audience by the hand through the opulent residences of such a civilization’s Class A citizens, and then contrasting this with the much more decadent existence of the less wealthy population, Alan Grant’s narrative rather shockingly simply throws the reader head-first straight down to the very dark depths of Bader City’s depravity.

This riveting insight into the ultra-violent world of Blue and the button man’s brutal battle with a gang of cold-hearted murderers, proves an excellent way of immersing any perusing bibliophile straight into “Bad City Blue”, whilst simultaneously setting an incredibly fast pace for its plot. Indeed, within just a few turns of the page, the Scottish author has comprehensively established that this graphic novel’s lead protagonist represents the best interests of the decaying metropolis’ “decent folk”, and is perfectly disposed to follow their orders when it comes to gunning down any criminals who have become so big that they now threaten the floating space station’s natural order; “There may not be much of this city still fit for decent people – But what there is, it’s my job to keep that way!”

Cleverly though, the Bristol-born writer also soon establishes through the death of Gonza, that Blue’s beliefs might not actually be all that sound, and subsequently takes the hired gun on an exhilarating journey up to the very summit of the self-contained conurbation in order for him to discover first-hand just why nothing seems to be being done with all the breakages and leaks occurring throughout downside’s lower levels. This moment of realisation that the “real bad scummer” has been utterly abandoned by the same authoritarian figures he has been risking his life for provides an engrossing hook for this publication’s second half, especially when the robots who have been covertly ensuring that the Slumlands are blissfully ignorant of their masters’ mass-evacuation, decide to dispatch three more button men to specifically eliminate him.

Nevertheless, perhaps this comic’s biggest thrill-powered draw are co-creator Robin Smith’s incredibly dynamic layouts, which do a tremendous job of depicting the squalor within which Blue works. The British artist’s pencilling of the shotgun-loving hitman fending off a pack of giant, flying sharks is debatably this book’s highlight, albeit the illustrator’s attention to detail when sketching a smack of multi-limbed mechanical Jellyfish makes them equally as impressive a feast for the eyes.

Writer: Alan Grant (a.k.a Craig Lipp), Artist: Robin Smith, and Letters: Steve Potter

Slaughter Bowl - Rebellion [Part Two]

SLAUGHTER BOWL, June 2021

Wading waste deep in dinosaur carcasses, scattered human limbs and an entire arsenal of “tactical nuclear artillery”, John Smith’s script for the second half of “Slaughter Bowl” must easily have made the majority of this comic’s audience carry a massive grin across their faces throughout the entire length of the race. For whilst the utterly insane sport’s coverage does contain the odd commercial break, so as to allow the film crew to focus upon Chief Plastic Surgeon Cliff Hammond’s financially-fuelled efforts to save Stanley Modest’s sick wife, the vast majority of this graphic novel’s sense-shatteringly paced final four instalments predominantly focus upon the bespectacled serial killer’s homicidal efforts to get his Parasaurus called Myrtle across the finishing line in one piece; “Stan! You gotta snap out of it! This is it, Stan! Your big chance!”

Happily however, so simple a plot such as first past the winner’s post doesn’t mean that what follows is in any way sedentary or dull, thanks to the British author penning a number of high-octane set-pieces involving heavily-toothed carnivores mercilessly tearing chunks out of the numerous competitors in the most grisly way imaginable. Indeed, this so-called sport’s kill count is phenomenal with the tournament’s initial death actually taking place just outside the starting stalls when Salvator Ligotti’s bright green Triceratops catches “a trip wire with his very first step” and decapitates participant Number Thirty-Four.

Smith is also somewhat innovative in just how his exhilarating story is told by using the Word Television News Service coverage to ‘skip’ any boring bits and repeatedly whisk the reader straight into the very heart of the action wherever on the 120 mile endurance course it is taking place. This technique means that despite a few scenes depicting the rider’s purchasing either armaments or life-saving medical aid during a well-timed pit stop, Paul Peart’s marvellous illustrations are never really more than a handful of panels away from depicting some ghastly moment of unqualified carnage on the racing track - even if “the co-creator of Tracer” includes a disconcerting viewpoint straight down into a Megalosaurus’ digestive tract when DJ Jackmaster Chill and his accompanying Harry Camera are shockingly swallowed by the ferocious giant lizard.

Ultimately though, this entire publication lives or dies by the quality of its conclusion, when Stanley’s soft demeanour is finally put to the test against the homicidal barbarism of Mister Throat. Excitingly, Smith’s penmanship doesn’t disappoint, and even manages to throw the book’s bibliophiles a few curve balls within the final pages as the literally legless defending three-time champion goes tooth to tooth with his closest rival just mere inches from the race’s end.

Writer: John Smith, Artist: Paul Peart, and Letterer: Ellie De Ville

Slaughter Bowl - Rebellion [Part One]

SLAUGHTER BOWL, June 2021

Featuring an insane amount of disconcertingly graphic gratuitous violence, ranging from the merciless mutilation of hapless Pandas in a protected species preservation area through to an enraged Tyrannosaurus Rex devouring a fleeing felon whole, John Smith’s narrative for the opening half of this digital-only collection must have somewhat surprised many of its readers with the enormous amount of sympathy it somehow also generates for the lack-lustre central character Stanley Modest. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine life getting much worse for the greeting card company employee than that depicted within the first four instalments to “Slaughter Bowl”, as his twenty three year career is suddenly terminated, the doctor looking after his “dangerously ill wife” threatens to pull the plug on her, and the police shockingly arrest him for apparently being a mass murderer.

Fortunately, being dealt such a bad hand in the card game of life does mean that the swiftly convicted killer can now join the likes of Multiple Bob, Cannibal Deacon Makuth and Kasimir Rodchenko as a contestant in the “deadly battle royale where criminals riding dinosaurs attempt to annihilate each other for cash and prizes!” Such a surprising change of direction for the spectacled protagonist on Death Row gives the Lancashire-born writer an excellent opportunity to slowly fill in the details behind the gruesome sport to this graphic novel’s audience, whilst simultaneously providing the tale’s supporting cast, such as World Champion Mister Throat, with plenty of personality too.

In fact, this book’s build-up toward the start of the world-wide media event is arguably palpable, courtesy of Smith literally taking each bibliophile by the hand and walking them through the competitors’ lengthy preparations as they negotiate sponsorship deals, undergo an RNA-Infosquirt straight into the Hippocampus area of the brain, select their particular Prehistoric mount, and then finally equip the creature with all manner of lasers, automatic weaponry and missiles; “We need something light and manoeuvrable, but something that packs a punch too…”

Furthermore, the decision to present much of this information by way of a supposed broadcast by the Word Television News service allows the hype surrounding the Slaughter Bowl to become incredibly infectious, and ensures artist Paul Peart is given plenty of opportunity to pencil some excellent-looking camera shots of the various dinosaurs to be ridden in the race. These theatrical, often fast-paced news items also act as a great contrast to some of the more muted, rather introspective personal thoughts of Modest, and help highlight the quiet, inner turmoil taking place within Stanley’s mind amidst the utter hubbub of the frenzied, lucrative show surrounding him.

Writer: John Smith, Artist: Paul Peart, and Letterer: Ellie De Ville

The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For - Rebellion [Part Five]

THE MEAN ARENA VOLUME ONE: ALL TO SLAY FOR, March 2021

Whilst Tom Tully’s final storyline for this weighty tome somewhat strangely doesn’t depict Slater’s Slayers competing in an actual match, “The Jensens” does still maintain the British writer’s modus operandi for “scrotnig” shenanigans involving plenty of death and destruction. In fact, despite almost the entire narrative being set inside the club’s training complex, it is this six-part adventure which notches up Matt Tallon’s most kills since "the finest street footballer in the world" first started upon his merciless quest for revenge upon the people responsible for his younger brother’s death; “You defended yourself so well, Mister. You wiped out the whole family! Five dead and it’ll be a long time before the Jensen girls get out of hospital.”

Such a heavy death-toll really does show how violent a world the Shadow of the Slayers lives in, and ably demonstrates just why the ‘Big-Shot’ isn’t all that popular with his team-mates despite having elevated them into the national spotlight through his lucrative sponsorship deal with Kosi-Flex Sportswear. In addition, Tully takes the opportunity to use this homage to High Noon as a vehicle for introducing Sheena Lloyd and Ryk Rogan to the comic strip’s audience, as well as providing some much-needed ‘pen pictures’ of Mike Slater’s other players, such as Hangman, Sourpuss, Screaming Sid, Dirty Nigel and Crazy Lil.

Of course the highlight of Tallon’s confrontation against the Malevolent Seven is his no holds barred battle within the Slayer’s drill ground, and how Matt manages to utilise his street smarts so as to outwit his truly vicious opponents. Whether it be simply attaching a ten-second timed limpet mine to a game ball, or simply spooking Hazell into making a rash move by booing at her through a garage window, the author shows this book’s central protagonist exploiting every trick the man has ever learnt during his highly successful sport’s career in order to survive his seemingly deadly ordeal.

Perhaps this tale’s greatest asset however, lies with Steve Dillon’s impressive layouts, and the way in which his pencilling adds enormously to both the sheer sense of Jarl Jensen’s physical menace, as well as the entire criminal crew’s evident notoriety. The Bedfordshire-born artist’s depiction of the aggressive gang gunning down hapless store keepers and chopping up practice droids quickly denotes just how noxious they can be, and arguably makes the way they are subsequently whittled down one-by-one by an equally mercenary Matt all the more impressive.

Script Robot: Tom Tully, Art Robot: Steve Dillon, and Lettering Robot: Pete Knight

The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For - Rebellion [Part Four]

THE MEAN ARENA VOLUME ONE: ALL TO SLAY FOR, March 2021

Following on from a fascinating two-part interim tale based upon incidents taken from left-flank blocker J.T. Venner’s biographical book “With A Mate Like This, Who Needs Enemies?”, Tom Tully’s sense-shattering conclusion to the Slater Slayers’ heavily-sponsored challenge match against the Southampton Sharks is certainly well worth the wait. For whilst the game’s disappointingly short-lived night-session isn’t covered anywhere near as long as the first-half, its narrative debatably gets as dark as Street Football can probably get following Matt Tallon’s truck with a savage gang of armed Fan-actics; “Mindless vermin who use sport as a tribal war! Any other time I wouldn’t even spit on them! But now..! Maybe they can help me to rid his game of the biggest street-rat of all..!”

Interestingly however, despite this pulse-raising romp towards the old Saints Soccer Stadium arguably portraying the Slayer as actually being even more of a cold-hearted killer than the players and officials he has vowed to hunt down, “the longest-running writer of the popular football-themed strip Roy of the Rovers” still somehow manages to make the central character somewhat sympathetic to the reader. This quite disconcerting feeling is probably in part due to the sheer sense of poetic justice the storyline’s road takes as the audience discovers just how Jaws Jensen got rid of Port Vale Pirates’ Paul Simpson by messaging a bunch of crazed Southampton followers to mercilessly ambush the player when he was isolated and without help.

The fact that Tallon manages to almost engineer a similar fate for the Sharks’ captain somehow allows the anti-hero to seemingly get away with badly breaking both the game rules and the actual law. Indeed, by the time an absolutely terrified Jensen is ruthlessly dispatched by a “gun-happy old codger” who simply refused to leave his shop unattended during the match, many bibliophiles were probably elated at Matt’s nefarious actions, even though the star Striker had clearly conspired with a bunch of brainless thugs to commit premeditated murder.

Sadly however, this cataclysmic conclusion does contain something of a sole disappointment following John Richardson’s replacement as Art Robot by Johnny Johnson for the very last part. What with Steve Dillon pencilling the aforementioned interlude spotlighting Venner, this substitution means that no less than three different artists end up sketching four successive instalments, and despite Johnson’s similarity in style to his predecessor, definitely jars the mind away from Tully’s storytelling.

Script Robot: Tom Tully, and Art Robots: Steve Dillon, John Richardson & Johnny Johnson

The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For - Rebellion [Part Three]

THE MEAN ARENA VOLUME ONE: ALL TO SLAY FOR, March 2021

Quite possibly the most memorable match from this early Eighties “Rollerball-meets Roy Of The Rovers” comic strip series, Tom Tully’s thoroughly absorbing depiction of the events surrounding the Slater Slayers’ challenge game against the Southampton Sharks justifiably forms the back bone of this “digital-only” release from “Rebellion”, and arguably doesn’t let up until smart-mouthed commentator Kevin O’Connor provides a player profile piece on J.T. Venner during half-time. Up until this point, whether the spotlight be on either the housing estate-sized pitch or just Matt Tallon’s revenge-fuelled machinations, the British author is almost relentless in his depiction as to just how brutal and deadly a sport Street Football can be.

For starters it seems even the wealthy world of Kosi-Flex owner Rollo Hartie can be highly dangerous, as the hover-chair bound magnate agrees a lucrative sponsorship deal with the Slayer just seconds after one of his hirelings has had his head turned to gory pulp testing out the tycoon’s experimental ram-suit. This "grotesque product of Twenty-First Century medical science" imbues everything disdainful about the sport as he contemptuously arranges for another minion to replace poor aforementioned Wilson without batting an eyelid. But the corpulent cyborg also demonstrates just how low Tallon will evidently go so as to ensure he can have his payback against the people who apparently caused his younger brother to die.

Equally as mercilessly mercenary is Matt’s behaviour in Southampton as he repeatedly goads his opponent’s squad-leader Jaws Jensen into mistake-after-mistake. Whether it be at a staged press conference where the star Striker slaps an abusive banner on his target’s forehead right in front of an audience packed-out with the press, or later when his scoring talent drives the Sharks’ player to sacrifice one of this own team-mates between the deadly steel teeth of the Slayers’ gaping-mouth goal, Tully’s penmanship makes it abundantly clear that the former Louis Leopard is willing to wade in blood as deep as those unfortunates he is targeting; “You’re not interested in crowds! All you care about is nailing the people who helped put your kid brother Paul in his grave..!”

John Richardson’s layouts also help enormously with this storyline’s excellent pacing, whether he’s illustrating a truly fascinating flashback sequence as to the history of Street Football, or pencilling the impressive new Slayer uniforms. Indeed, one of the match’s opening highlights is the way the artist sketches the physical ease with which “The Shadow” silkily evades the opposition’s best efforts to unsuccessfully bring him down, and having “left three Sharks for dead” subsequently puts Mike Slater’s club into a well-deserved lead.

Script Robot: Tom Tully, Art Robot: John Richardson, and Lettering Robot: Pete Knight

The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For - Rebellion [Part Two]

THE MEAN ARENA VOLUME ONE: ALL TO SLAY FOR, March 2021

Firmly focused upon Matt Tallon’s account “of the last, terrifying game he played for St. Louis Leopards against Florida Fiends”, Tom Tully’s second storyline inside “The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For” certainly provides its readers with a thoroughly compelling comprehension as to the flawed character of the legendary American Street Football Star. Indeed, considering just how arrogantly reckless the Slayer comes across from this publication’s printed pages, it probably isn’t all that surprising that some within this tale’s opposing team decide to set aside any notion of winning the actual ball-game in order to murder the “King of the Road” with a masonry-drill looted from a local builders’ yard.

Fortunately for this graphic novels’ sports fans however, this plot to rid Archie Sugrue of his main rival is enthrallingly intermixed with plenty of thrilling football action too, with the “noted British comic writer” even going so far as to pointing out all the regulation differences between the English game and those from across the Pond; “That was another reason why I’d decided to quit Street Football – The Fliers. The latest rule change allowed two of them per squad…” These insights into just how the deadly game is played “American-style” really add an authentic air to some of the narrative’s more science-fiction based elements, and arguably consistently ensnare the audience into believing that they’re listening to a commentator broadcasting a play-by-play account of the Superleague title contest.

Perhaps this tale’s biggest draw though is the Arch-fiend’s ultimately unwise decision to play the Death-Card at the start of the match in an effort to win a million dollars by scoring. The fact Sugrue could be shot dead by the Leopards’ rifle-armed Longstop packs every appearance made by Archie with some extra tension, especially when the “Grexnix” manages to extract himself from the teeth of a shopping mall’s pedi-ramp and appears on the verge of outwitting Tallon with a stunning goal. Artist John Richardson’s ability to imbue this zarjaz sequence’s panels with plenty of pace will genuinely cause bibliophiles everywhere to momentarily hold their breath as a head-strong Matt ignores the sage advice of his manager and attempts to stop the badly crippled striker on his own at the very last second.

Script Robot: Tom Tully, Art Robot: John Richardson, and Lettering Robot: Pete Knight

The Mean Arena Volume One: All To Slay For - Rebellion [Part One]

THE MEAN ARENA VOLUME ONE: ALL TO SLAY FOR, March 2021

The latest title by “Rebellion” in their “brand new series of digital-only 2000 A.D. collections for 2021”, this bumper one hundred page periodical opens with a sense-shattering insight into the final twenty minutes of Slater’s Slayers’ Third Division Street Football match against the increasingly dominant Wakeford Warriors, and arguably doesn’t let up with its high-octane antics until the full-time flare is fired. In fact, apart from a momentary pause to witness Matt Tallon losing his temper at the sudden death of the Slayers’ latest signing, Paul Simpson, whilst watching the match at a local bar, this comic strip initially simply sticks to depicting all the action which takes place on the streets.

Enjoyably, Tom Tully’s successful technique of plunging this book’s audience straight into the thick of things really works well as an inescapable hook, and alongside all the rule clarifications and sporting lingo, creates an enthralling atmosphere which appears as authentic as the ball game is clearly fatally violent. Admittedly, there is the odd occasion when the writing debatably seems to waiver into the utterly fantastic, such as when the Slayer suddenly starts seeing one of his opponents shockingly transform into a bizarre-looking slavering monster and cowers in the corner like a quivering coward. But in the main the exciting passes, bombs, Droid gun blasts and wall-vaulting acrobatics are as realistically grounded as any perusing Squaxx dek Thargo could demand.

Rather delightfully, the Glasgow-born author also immediately demonstrates that Tallon has plenty of faults of his own rather than lazily being depicted as some sort of super-human star player who’ll effortlessly score with every opportunity. The gifted striker’s forgetfulness not to wear an “approved suppressor” over his bionic thumb almost gets the man shot on suspicion of being a droid. Whilst Matt’s poorly-played decoy run late in the match results in him getting dangerously struck in the neck by the ball and later suffers the aforementioned hallucination that he was about to be torn to shreds by some giant horned beast; ““No! N-No..! You… You can’t take me now! Not now! I paid for what I did!”

Additionally adding plenty of grittiness to the street football shenanigans of this sport are John Richardson’s somewhat scratchily-sketched layouts. The artist’s pencilling provides all of the characters with lots of dynamism and athletic ability; albeit it’s probably the way he sympathetically draws the sad facial features on Wakeford’s Joe when the player disconcertingly realises his best friend, Harry Carpenter, was nothing more than a robot, which is this storyline’s most memorable scene.

Script Robot: Tom Tully, Art Robot: John Richardson, and Lettering Robot: Pete Knight

Judge Dredd: False Witness #4 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS No. 4, January 2021

Those fans of Old Stony Face able to successfully slog their way through Issue Four of “Judge Dredd: False Witness”, probably felt Brandon Easton’s narrative technically lived up to IDW Publishing’s pre-release boast that it contained a “shocking conclusion.” But whilst the San Diego-based company were presumably referring to their belief that the “award-winning writer” had penned a sense-shattering finale to his Teutonic tale of Mathias Lincoln going “toe-to-toe with Mega-City One’s most infamous lawman”, this comic’s readers were arguably highlighting its incredulous contrivances, erratic plot-threads and sudden inclusion of elements, such as the villain of the piece’s formidable super-strength, simply to give the book’s main cast something to do.

Indeed, it is genuinely doubtful that many within this publication’s audience could guess from one moment to the next what nonsense the American author was going to come with, as Judge Cassandra Anderson causes her prisoner to experience an anti-Christian religious reawakening using her mental abilities, Joe Dredd preposterously conjures up “a backup Mechanismo unit to follow us underground to escape detection” just as the Justice Department’s attack on Newton Block looks ill-advised, and Shannon McShannon develops the ability to literally punch this comic’s titular character straight off of his feet whilst he’s handcuffing her thanks to the treatment she’s receiving for venereal diseases..!?!

Disconcertingly however, this randomness and illogical penmanship does still lead to a couple of rather enjoyable action sequences, with artist Silvia Califano’s proficient pencilling of Dredd and Anderson storming McShannon’s robot-infested power base possibly proving to be the highlight of the book. Packed full of pulse-pounding laser beams, bullets and more metallic wreckage than you’d see on an episode of “Scrapheap Challenge”, there’s definitely plenty to entertain with this frantic gun battle, and it’s genuinely a shame that the fight is over almost as soon as it’s started; “For all their fascist bluster, Street Judges possess a freedom in being exactly who and what they say they are.”

Ultimately though, this twenty-page periodical’s script fails as a result of its deeply troubled ending which sees Lincoln inexplicably take his own life by jumping into a vat of toxic goo with a hand-grenade rather than face an Iso-Cube. Considering that this entire four-part mini-series has seemingly been about the illegal immigrant strenuously fighting for his very existence within the huge metropolis such behaviour seems erratic at best, and appears to have been included, along with the youth’s aforementioned abrupt religious zeal, just to give the tale something of a sting in its tail other than Judge Dolphy’s eventual arrest.

Story: Brandon Easton, Art: Silvia Califano, and Colors: Eva De La Cruz

Judge Dredd: False Witness #3 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS No. 3, September 2020

Chock-full of contrivances and manufactured motivations, Brandon Easton’s narrative for Issue Three of “Judge Dredd: False Witness” probably struck most of its 2,400 strong audience in September 2020 as being a bit of a choppy mess. Indeed, whether it be “illicit plastic surgery centres” helpfully providing the Justice Department with a sub-dermal identification marker on their illegal “surgical subterfuge” so the surgeons can be readily traced, or Mathias Lincoln just happening to have an “override disc” about his person so as to conveniently commandeer a Lawmaster just as the Judges have him cornered, this comic’s script is literally riddled with disconcerting coincidences.

Perhaps this twenty-page periodical’s biggest disappointment however, is just how the Baltimore-born writer depicts Pendleton Snipe’s meteoritic rise from Eden Bridge refugee to super-rich media personality simply because the kid apparently had the ‘gift of the gab’. Having made his way across the Cursed Earth into Mega-City One it is not unbelievable to imagine the immigrant becoming involved in the distribution of contraband, and somehow scraping his way through a criminal organisation to the very top. But instead, this book’s American author would have his readers believe the adolescent merely ‘appealed’ to the better nature of an underground physician to provide him with “the full monty of body mods” after he handily “got the attention of the executive producer” of a television show one day..?

To make matters worse though, the recently deceased Snipe is suddenly revealed to be the long-lost brother of Technical Judge Dolphy, who also happens to have illegally entered the giant metropolis with Lincoln and joined the Justice Department using a false identity. This revelation is made even more fantastic when Mathias admits to swapping his final psych-evaluation with Bernita’s in order to fool Psi-Judge Franklin into thinking Dolphy was a suitable recruit; “They’re going to discover us! No, scratch that. They’re going to discover me!”

Perhaps therefore this comic’s one saving grace is Kei Zama’s ability to pencil the violence of the Twenty-Second Century, especially when Judge Dredd is busy bashing a surgeon’s security staff so badly they’ll need “two weeks of reconstructive facial surgery”, or punching Lincoln straight in the chops just as the fugitive thought he’d escaped the city. In fact, the Japanese artist’s layouts depicting the “organizer” gunning down a Mechanismo droid whilst hurtling through the streets on a Lawmaster is probably the sole highlight of this publication.

Writer: Brandon Easton, Art: Kei Zama, and Colors: Eva De La Cruz

Judge Dredd: False Witness #2 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS No. 2, April 2020

Building upon this book’s shocking premise that Doctor Filth is trafficking children from the Cursed Earth so he can dissolve them in vast chemical tanks and “extract their mutant genes”, Brandon Easton’s penmanship for Issue Two of “Judge Dredd: False Witness” certainly brought home the horror of the post-nuclear world to his audience in August 2020. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a more grim fate for the hapless adolescent immigrants than the one which the television personality has in store for them once they arrive at Mega-City One and fall prey to his laboratory’s “nightmarish experiments”.

However, such trauma is arguably as nothing when compared to the gaping holes within this twenty-page periodical’s plot and the Baltimore-born writer’s incredibly impotent version of the metropolis’ Justice Department. True, such glaring contrivances as the “professional provocateur” simply allowing Mathias Lincoln to freely walk out of his test centre despite knowing that Filth is chemically “turning humans into puddles of goo” and subsequently selling it to the rich as a life enhancement drug, certainly ensures that this comic contains plenty of pulse-pounding action once the good Doctor apparently realises his mistake. But why would someone as all-powerful as the industrial/entertainment megalomaniac possibly allow any person who had first-hand knowledge of his entire operation to simply leave his establishment alive in the first place..?

Similarly as jarring is the response of Chief Judge Logan to the Shannon McShannon show, whose broadcast is clearly inciting the conurbation’s citizens to rise up against the Cursed Earth immigrants. In the past, whether via a covert smear campaign, blatant set-up, or highly visible arrest, the Judges would debatably never allow such ‘trash-talking’ to continue; especially when it appears the so-called legitimate protestors are also being armed with some “off-world heavy deployment technology”. Yet Dredd’s superior is all-set to allow the madness to continue simply because he’s afraid “this is beyond our ability to control.”

Fortunately, the titular character does seem to be aware of the poor message his leader is sending to the increasingly agitated demonstrators, and having discovered a corrupt cell of judges aiding Filth’s efforts, he decides to tackle the problem head-on by blasting his way through the security robots of McShannon’s broadcast headquarters. This destructive confrontation is probably the highlight of the book, with the senior lawman literally punching an argumentative rich kid right out of his sneakers for impudently standing in his way.

Writer: Brandon Easton, Art: Kei Zama, and Colors: Eva De La Cruz

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #4 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 4, June 2003

Firmly focusing upon the exploits of a seemingly ‘destined to die’ Joe Dredd, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s script for Issue Four of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” certainly provided its audience with ample evidence as to just why the senior street judge is Mega-City One’s toughest lawman. In fact, considering that Fargo’s clone has already been ‘fatally’ impregnated by a Facehugger before this particular publication even starts, it is difficult to imagine a more grimly determined incarnation of the Apocalypse War veteran than that presented to this comic book’s audience in 2003.

Fortunately however, unlike the much more emotional Judge Sanchez, whose hysteria at having an embryo embedded inside her body almost unhinges her mind, Dredd seems to take a sort of stoic comfort in the fact that he can still serve his city one last time by ridding the metropolis of the extra-terrestrial threat, as well as the presence of the nefarious Mister Bones too. This fatalistic philosophy makes Pat Mill’s co-creation arguably deadlier than ever, as he engineers a truly horrific, albeit fitting, death for the leader of the anti-Judge activists and mutants who have killed so many of his fellow law officers; “M-My pheromone tag! He’s crushed it --! B-Back! G-Get back! Please -- You m-must recognise me! It’s me -- D-Daddy-!”

Unsurprisingly, this twenty-four page periodical’s creative team also can’t resist setting up a somewhat ‘Ripley-like’ confrontation between Dredd and the alien hive’s queen. Packed full of pulse-pounding tension as the dying Judge declares his intention to gun the egg-laying monstrosity down where she stands, many of this comic’s readers were probably as slacked jawed as Sanchez is portrayed as being at the thought of just a couple of lawgivers taking down an entire Xenomorph XX121 nest. But the lawman’s desperate attempt to crush the aliens’ ruler beneath an unstable cement ceiling, whilst simultaneously trying to escape via an old subway station’s exit “sealed off with resin”, makes for a sense-shattering action sequence.

Similarly as successful is the writing duo’s ‘spotlight’ upon the guilt-laden Packer and her inner demons at having underestimated the deadliness of her pest control team’s current prey. Resolute to neutralise the “alien frenzy” once and for all under an unrelenting torrent of boiling lava, Dredd and Sanchez seemed determined to ‘die like a judge’ until the Verminator’s leader makes a highly memorable self-sacrifice using her jet-pack's fuel supply as a ready-made explosive, and engulfs the entire old Grand Central Station, and then some, with flesh-sizzling magma.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #3 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 3, May 2003

Arguably consisting of just one long calamitous confrontation between the Grand Hall of Justice’s finest and more Xenomorphs than even James Cameron could crowbar into his 1986 science fiction sequel film “Aliens”, this “Dark Horse Comics” publication surely had its readers in 2003 absolutely spellbound. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine John Wagner and Andy Diggle penning a more pulse-pounding twenty-four page periodical than Issue Three of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus”, especially when it initially appears that Judges Ball and Simpson will need to bravely try to hold off an absolute torrent of the “highly aggressive endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial species” almost single-handedly.

Admittedly, this comic does experience something of a ‘calm before the storm’ moment, as Mega-City One recovers from having a huge crater “eaten away by the creature’s own body fluids” appear at City Bottom, and Packer’s proud Verminators mourn their recent losses courtesy of an unconvincing Resyk funerary ceremony. But Mister Bones and his mutated anti-Judge activists don’t allow such dialogue-heavy discussions to last for too long before blowing a hole straight into the heart of the Justice Department’s headquarters; "The charge is shaped to detonate without damaging the hive around us… And then -- the incubus will rise!”

The resultant battle between Chief Judge Hershey’s heavily outnumbered forces and the Xenomorph XX121 drones really is an incredibly thrilling experience, courtesy of this comic’s collaborative writing partnership intermixing sheer, blood-soaked carnage with moments of humanity every half dozen or so panels. Such a combination of action and emotion, like Charlie Shook refusing to join his Pest Control colleagues when the rest of the team decide to take up arms alongside Joe Dredd, is incredibly enthralling, and genuinely adds an element of fear for the audience when someone they know something about suddenly faces their gory end against the unremitting aggression of the savage extra-terrestrials.

Henry Flint and colorist Chris Blythe should also take a bow for imbuing this book with some truly staggering visuals. Stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the senior lawman’s last stand, each heroic human’s final moments are wonderfully pencilled onto their determined faces. Marinello being dragged down to his death, Butterman’s belly being eaten away by acidic juices, and even Judge Sanchez’s sheer terror at the slaughter around her, are all indelibly burnt into the bibliophile’s brain. Whilst few can surely have stifled a cheer when Giant is pencilled arriving in the nick of time with four gun-toting Mechanismo Droids...

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #2 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 2, April 2003

Bringing the titular character’s mano-a-mano confrontation with one of H.R. Giger’s Xenomorphs to a truly cataclysmic conclusion, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s narrative for Issue Two of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” must most assuredly have landed well with the mini-series’ audience. In fact, Old Stoney Face’s shoot-out with the “primal creature” at the Eisenhower General Hospital is arguably faultless, as the Apocalypse War veteran uses every weapon at his disposal, and then some, to finally kill the monster which previously had led to the deaths of “three people in thirty seconds” whilst hiding inside the building’s central ventilation shaft.

Delightfully however, simply because Mega-City One’s toughest lawman succeeds in his mission does not mean that this tremendous crossover title is over all-too soon, with the comic’s collaborative creators quickly shifting their focus away from the Justice Department’s meticulous investigation into just how Jimmy Godber “was breeding the aliens for pit fights”, and instead finally introducing this storyline’s lead antagonist, the facially disfigured Mister Bones. Shrouded in dark shadows and villainy, the former freebooter captain exudes menace in every panel he appears in, and quickly makes it crystal clear that he won’t be happy with any other result than the total destruction of the metropolis which sits above his Undercity-based secret headquarters; “Y-You’re sick, Bones! Rotten to the core! I don’t know why we ever got mixed up with you! You’re worse than the judges! Grud help them! Grud help Mega-City One!”

Also inserting plenty of dynamic tension and atmosphere into this twenty-four page periodical’s scintillating story-telling are Henry Flint and colorist Chris Blythe, whose combined artistry repeatedly imbues this book’s action sequences with plenty of punch and pizazz. Indeed, it’s hard not to feel the sheer terror Fisk must have been feeling when she realises the lethal alien she has been searching for is right behind her, or Maier’s sheer incomprehension at his horrific fate as Millar’s fiery corpse unerringly plummets straight towards him. In addition, the British penciller’s ability to crowbar in the odd moment of humour amongst all the bodily mutilation taking place is equally worth mentioning, with a cooing baby endearingly tapping a fearsome xenomorph’s chin as the alien’s slavering jaws hover above its crib debatably resulting in this book’s biggest chuckle.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd Vs. Aliens: Incubus #1 - Dark Horse Comics

JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS: INCUBUS No. 1, March 2003

Published weekly in the British comic “2000 A.D.”, as well as monthly by “Dark Horse Comics”, this cross-company mini-series must have had both "Dredd-heads" and fans of the “Aliens” franchise drooling at the prospect of Mega-City One’s toughest lawman battling one of “nature’s most adaptive and deadly killing machines.” For whilst Old Stoney Face already enjoyed a history rich with such notable extra-terrestrial foes like the Kleggs, Trapper Hag, the Nosferatu and Raptaurs, all of them arguably paled into insignificance when compared to the cultural impact of H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph XX121; “Gotta warn them! They don’t know what they’re dealing with!”

Delightfully, John Wagner and Andy Diggle’s script for Issue One of “Judge Dredd Verses Aliens: Incubus” doesn’t disappoint either, providing plenty of pulse-pounding action straight from the book’s get-go as low-life Jimmy Godber desperately attempts to avoid a bullet in the head from the criminals he double-crossed, whist simultaneously trying to reach Eisenhower General Hospital for medical assistance. Readers familiar with the “highly aggressive endoparasitoid extra-terrestrial species” will know exactly what is coming next, but such foreknowledge doesn’t stop the Judges’ first encounter with a Chestburster from still being a wonderfully shocking experience for all concerned.

Just as impressive as the Alien’s introduction is the collaborative writing team’s establishment of Packer and her Verminators. Despite the pest controllers being quite numerous, and resultantly struggling to attain much ‘screen time’ within this twenty-four page periodical, each individual still manages to demonstrate their own distinctive characteristics, personal beefs and ambitions, before “humanity’s ultimate nightmare” begins to whittle down their roster.

Undoubtedly this comic’s biggest highlight however, has to be Joe Dredd’s exploration of a rental warehouse at City Bottom and the lawman’s sense-shattering slugfest with an adult xenomorph. Dynamically pencilled by artist Henry Flint, and riddled with enough Ovomorphs to make even the biggest fan of Pat Mills’ co-creation somewhat nervous as to his future, this action-sequence is packed full of some truly jaw-dropping moments of horror. Whether it be Brubaker taking a Facehugger smack in his face, Pitt losing her fingers to a splash of the extra-terrestrial’s deadly blood, or Gomer and Earl literally been dissolved where they stand by a torrent of concentrated molecular acid, Wagner and Diggle are utterly merciless in their dissolution of the Senior Street Judge’s ill-prepared squad.

Writers: John Wagner & Andy Diggle, Art: Henry Flint, and Colors: Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd: False Witness #1 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS No. 1, March 2020

Despite apparently wanting “to capture the essence of how he was portrayed in the early years of the 2000 AD comics”, Brandon Easton’s narrative for Issue One of “Judge Dredd: False Witness” arguably won’t please many of the Mega City One lawman’s oldest fans. For whilst Old Stony Face certainly plays a somewhat prominent part in this twenty-page periodical, the book’s spotlight is very much more focused upon the misadventures of Mathias Lincoln and his uncovering of a “horrific conspiracy stretching from the Cursed Earth to the city’s seats of power.”

Indeed, considering that for large swathes of this story, the “Glyph Award-winning writer of comics and television” does little else but present the background, thoughts, feelings and aspirations of his new character, a Justice Academy drop-out turned courier, it is somewhat surprising that Joseph Dredd obtains as much ‘screen time’ as the senior judge actually does. Such a disagreeable relegation to the side-lines really is this publication’s biggest frustration, especially when at one point it appears that the legendary lawman is going to have to track down his perp through “roughly fourteenth thousand kilometres interconnected tunnel lines”, battling all sorts of tentacled horrors on his travels.

Sadly however, such a promising ‘manhunt’ is quickly snuffed short by the Baltimore-born writer, who instead depicts Dredd uncharacteristically giving up the chase “a while later” and simply has him return to the sewer system’s street entrance outside Scalia Block empty-handed. Of course, for Lincoln to reach his extremely rich client and discover he’s carrying a container of Sulfuric Dioxide, the carrier clearly has to evade capture. Yet the manner in which the young man avoids both arrest and his spending time in the iso-cubes, seems as contrived as the punk’s first encounter with the veteran of the Apocalypse War, who Mathias far too easily defeats courtesy of a “low-grade flash-bang.”

Luckily, what this comic lacks in proficient penmanship it does contain in prodigious pencilling, with Kei Zama’s dynamic, action-packed panels predominantly proving a real delight for the eyes. Indeed, it’s a real pity that the Japanese “metalhead” isn’t given more opportunity to draw both Dredd and a pair of seriously formidable-looking Mechanismo robots, as the lawman has debatably never looked better; “You are all participating in an illegal demonstration. Disperse immediately! The next volley from the droids won’t be a warning shot.”

Writer: Brandon Easton, Art: Kei Zama, and Colors: Eva De La Cruz

Judge Dredd: Toxic #4 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC No. 4, January 2019

Despite providing a finale which is a far cry from the “shocking conclusion” publicised by “IDW Publishing”, Paul Jenkin’s storyline for Issue Four of “Judge Dredd: Toxic” still must have pleased the vast majority of its 4,101 readers in February 2019, with its entertaining mix of graphic violence and over-the-top politics. Admittedly, the twenty-page periodical debatably contains one of the most contrived set-ups seen upon the streets of Mega-City One as the titular character discovers the “entire cavern system” making up “literally half the Spillover” is actually an English-speaking, peace-loving extra-terrestrial entity which only wants to keep the humans safely protected from the poisonous sewage running beneath the metropolis.

But once this lazily manufactured premise has been explained, the British novelist’s narrative gathers pace at a pulse-pounding rate, especially when the hostile metal-eating environment leaves the three lawmen woefully under-gunned against a raging mob of die-hard anti-alien fanatics. In fact, the “suicide mission” of some “sixty to seventy armed individuals neither “harbouring symbiotes” or “the necessary protective gear” to survive their “one-way ticket” is undeniably the highlight of this publication, with the bearded Judge Scammon proving a thoroughly intriguing addition to the Grand Hall of Justice following the loss of his Lawgiver and admirable determination to at least “draw a few of the intruders below” with nothing more than two handheld batons; “Remember your training: Hand-to-hand against any perps who break through the outer cordon.”

Likewise there’s some delightful interplay between Cassandra Anderson and the titular “old curmudgeon” once the grim-faced Senior Judge finally accepts the underground monstrosity is trying to save the scrubbers, and actually goes so far as to politely thank the gigantic species “for your service” to his people. The telepath’s quips as to Dredd being a “closet Empath” and his stern retorts concerning the female Judge’s sentimentally doubtless brought many a smile to the lips of this comic’s audience, and additionally proves a welcome reminder as to just why the two heroes from the Apocalypse War work so wonderfully well together as a crime-punishing pairing.

Sadly this book’s somewhat rushed and sickly-sweet conclusion does debatably result in “acclaimed writer Paul Jenkins’ first Judge Dredd story” ending on something of a low note; albeit Scammon’s miraculous resurrection following his ill-fated meeting with a laser blade wielding maniac does offer the possibility of future adventures featuring the fearless Noah. For no sooner have “the pugilists taken their blows” than the entire sprawling city’s noxious skies are almost instantly cleaned, and having caused so much prejudicial hatred Citizen Spencer Richards, undoubtedly modelled upon American President Donald Trump, is unsurprisingly revealed to have been carrying an alien symbiote of his own all the time…

The regular cover art of "JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC" No. 4 by Mark Buckingham & Chris Blythe

Judge Dredd: Toxic #3 - IDW Publishing

JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC No. 3, December 2018

Packed full of more anti-alien extremism, block wars and citizen riots than many within Mega-City One’s metropolis limits can probably handle within the space of a few days, Paul Jenkins’ narrative for Issue Three of “Judge Dredd: Toxic” must certainly have quickened the pace of many readers with its combination of pulse-pounding violence, political machinations and a mammoth sewer-based monster. In fact, apart from a rather word-heavy sequence depicting Cassandra Anderson telepathically connecting with the surviving Blenders, the British screenwriter’s storyline for this twenty-page periodical is pretty much non-stop action; “Pull weapons and stay alert. I have a bad feeling about this place.”

Happily however, this publication’s invigorating tempo doesn’t mean that its plot is simply a series of straightforward set-pieces contrivingly crowbarred together. For whilst the cold-blooded shooting of Mister Pheta literally just before the “so-called body modifier to the stars” reveals the identification of the person behind the extra-terrestrial symbiotes is perhaps a little unoriginal, the subsequent vehicle pursuit through the busy streets of Judge Dredd’s super-sized city-state, complete with a “complimentary guide service” by the taxi’s robot-driver, is as scintillatingly scripted as its witty dialogue is reminiscent of the Johnny Cab ride during Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 American science-fiction action film “Total Recall”.

True, the Prism Award-winner’s decision to include “just a droid called Steven” interviewing the leader of the Anti-Alien League, and a clear stand-in for American President Donald Trump, does arguably seem a little too forced what with Mister Spencer Richards doing little else but spout his distasteful “wear your prejudice as a badge of courage” political nonsense for eleven excruciating propaganda-fuelled panels. Yet even this tongue-in-cheek depiction of the “uncontrolled Nazi sympathizer hearkening back to the dark days of the mid-twentieth century” is quickly overshadowed by the titular character’s claustrophobic excursion down into the Spillover alongside “the most on-point, brown-nosing, hyper-achiever we’ve ever had in the system”, Judge Scammon.

Disconcertingly, what does debatably let this comic down though are Marco Castiello’s breakdowns, which seem to lurch from the somewhat scratchily-sketched Pheta and the rich man's “sanctioned, sprayed or neutered” pets to the artist's much clearer dynamically-drawn depictions of Anderson firing her lawgiver from the roof of a fast-moving taxi car. Indeed, in many ways the apparent inconsistency of this book’s interiors makes it hard to imagine that the Italian was its sole penciller and Vincenzo Acunzo his solitary co-inker.

The regular cover art of "JUDGE DREDD: TOXIC" No. 3 by Mark Buckingham & Chris Blythe