Gosh, that one didn't do much for me.
Cover: Along with its source story the best thing about the Prog, beautiful image, brilliant tagline and title. Who wouldn't be intrigued?
Dredd: Oh dear oh dear. I was glad when Wagner took the credibility-stretching step of sparing PJ at the end of
Tour of Duty, I felt the character deserved special treatment, and had earned the logic-bypass that let him live to scheme another day, especially as it was only his own arrogance that saw him caught, rather than any skill on the part of Dredd.
This current story on the other hand... what a mess. There's nothing original here, nothing we haven't seen before (except a strangely resigned Dredd) and PJ's escape plan was pedestrian and its success bafflingly flawed - from the very idea of
his having his own lawyer, passing notes to SouthAm drug lords and dispersing his illegal monies to fellow inmates, to the elective face change (!), to the minimum security regime, to the incredible good fortune of a passing mo-pad. Lampshading the incompetence of Justice Dept hardly changes a thing.
Unless there's a deeper game afoot, of which we have been given no hint, I'm going to be pretty disappointed. As it is, this has the villain-diminishing hallmarks of one more Judge Death escape or Angel Gang resurrection. Bah! Art is nice, mind.
Sinister Dexter: I love SinDex, but alternate dimensions
and time-travel? Weren't we getting somewhere momentum-wise? Still, Abnett writes so bright and breezy, and the art is so sharp, that this is second-best thing in the Prog.
Savage: Atmospheric, but
shouldn't they separate the data stick from the stupid pilot? And the secret route to Ireland is the train to Liverpool? It feels a bit like Pat is trying out every possible angle on the occupation scenario: from contemporary US-alike occupiers, to 1980s police drama, to robot liberators and high-tech capers, to 1940's France. But that's no bad thing.
3iller: Some nice McCrea art not helped much by an uneven colouring job. This was a passably amusing attempt to re-create the Abelard Snazz style of story, but ultimately lacked engaging characters or a convincing trajectory through its three dissimilar parts.
Zombo: I'm not a huge fan of Zombo, but President Trump and Obmoz are terrific - the
corruption of Obmoz's controls was very clever, the banter sparkling throughout, and the opening cliffhanger resolution gag utterly groanworthy in the best possible way. This is a big improvement on the second series, and along with the cover the top thrill in a dull, frustrating week.
Bah!
