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