Megazine Volume 5 - The Odyssey

[Simon Beigh]

Who is Steve Gibson?

Oops - I meant Steve Dillon! Dunno where Steve Gibson came from

[Simon Beigh]

Meg 209 - Road Kill - Blog Entry



(Entry on BARNEY)

Slightly different design for this Meg cover, with the white border and different title font. I don't think I like the border much, but it could be just the way Greg Staples painted the Judge Death picture necessitated it. And what a painting it is! I love Greg's covers. Prog 1750 being my most favourite cover ever to grace a Prog.

Dreddlines published a very anti Darkie's Mob letter and a very pro one. Again, Alan Barnes made clear his view is to not focus on the jingoistic, anti-Japanese elements and, instead, focus on it being just a cracking war story that could have been set in any time or any place. It just so happened in the 70's that boys wanted to read World War II stories. As I said in my previous review, I think it is worthy of inclusion in a reprint section. Whether 2000 AD should be reprinting stories from the Battle comic, however, is a different kettle of fish. It doesn't bother me, I like them, but I'm sure it will annoy others who would much prefer reprints of 2000 AD material, if reprints are to be included at all.

[spoiler]Back to the Darkie's Mob story and in this set of episodes the mob face their biggest challenge yet when Darkie himself is captured. Can they save their leader?[/spoiler]

Let's look at the FOUR new stories (yes, four!) in this issue. XTNCT is a quirky tale [spoiler]about the last few humans in the very far future. And being human, they have created armies to fight their wars for them. These armies are genetically modified dinosaurs, animals and plants.[/spoiler] I wasn't sure about it to begin with, but I'm glad I pushed that thought to one side, because it looks like a good start. Scripted by Paul Cornell, whose name I don't recognise, and drawn by D'Israeli, who I do recognise, it is rendered in grey-scale which adds to the bleakness of this future world. [spoiler]The first text box we see really sets the scene:

"This place was once called Bordeaux. Then New Oslo. Then Edenurrathe. Then Blue. The three other names."

i.e. we are so far into the future - you need to leave any frame of reference you have behind! So GM dinosaurs and walking, talking tress don't seem that weird![/spoiler]

Then we have The Bendatti Vendetta [spoiler]which is totally opposite; set much nearer our own time and full colour painting, rather than greys and blacks[/spoiler]. Again, I didn't hold out much hope (perhaps I was just a bit grumpy when I read this Meg!), but saw it was by Robbie Morrison and pushed all thoughts of misery out of my head. Robbie is absolutely, totally one of my favourite comic book writers. Please, please check our Shakara or his most recent work, Drowntown, and you will not be disappointed...  I think I was feeling negative about this because it reminded me too much of Black Light, which was reprinted in a recent Meg, and I didn't like. [spoiler]Anyway, back to this story. It is about a shadowy organisation who take on criminals the police are unable to touch.[/spoiler] It's John Burns on art duties, and whilst I haven't liked some of his other stuff, I liked this artwork and script together. It did start a little slowly, and I thought I would be into the realms of Family - i.e. completely lost on what was going on - but I wasn't and at the end of the episode I wanted more...

Death On The Road is a Judge Death spin off[spoiler], where Death is wandering the Cursed Earth[/spoiler]. It was OK, I guess, it did teeter a bit on being silly. Maybe it was "played for laughs", but it didn't quite hit the mark. However, I am reserving judgement until next episode - unlike Judge Death himself who would have just extinguished the strip from existence :-) Loved Frazer Irving's black and white penned artwork, and it's a John Wagner script, so lots to like about this...

The new Dredd, Hong Tong, is a Gordon Rennie script - so I was immediately looking forward to it after reading Bato Loco in Meg 202. It didn't disappoint. [spoiler]Dredd has to leave MC1 behind to pursue a gang who are hiding known lawbreakers by giving them an entirely new body. He meets up with an old adversary from Sino-Cit (from Prog 1233 apparently) who is now on the side of the law...or is he?[/spoiler] Looking forward to the next one.

Devlin Waugh - well - I'm running out of things to say. I think I ran out a couple of reviews ago. We are lumbering towards a conclusion. I do wonder if it might best be read in one sitting, rather than as a serial. Perhaps I'm losing the tension in between other strips. Or perhaps it's not really my thing. I dunno. I don't skip it, I'm quite interested to see how it ends. But I won't be crying when it does end. MacNeil's art is probably the thing holding my attention the most. By Grud, the man can paint...

Back to the reprint section, and we have lost the Daily Star Dredd Reprints! Nooooo! This is a terrible decision, Mr Barnes. Why? They were only half a page - surely room could be found for a half page reprint? Tut. Anyway, Harry Twenty On The High Rock (which I'll just shorten to Harry 20) began. I've wittered on a lot in this review, so I'll just say it's very good and I'll cover it more next time. I'll also cover the text article Blazing Battle Action by David Bishop more next time, where David is tracing the roots of the awesome Battle comic... Gordon Rennie is still finding things to rant about - this month it's co-writing. Quite informative actually...

And finally...can't leave out Apocalypse Soon. Still love it...

[Simon Beigh]

(Entry on BARNEY)

Seeing as Reservoir Dogs had a profound effect on me as a young man I was always going to like this cover. Mr Woo and and Mr Dredd with the other Sino-Cit agents. Loved it. No silly borders as well, full page art, which was good to see.

I promised more on the reprint stories in my last review, so lets start with an ending - the end of Darkies Mob. Dreddlines letters have showed it divided opinion, but as I said previously, I have enjoyed it. The last few episodes were really very good. [spoiler]The end is in sight for the Mob, but will they go out in a bang or a whimper?[/spoiler] Wagner's writing is of the highest order and I genuinely felt a bit emotional at the ending. Whether you think it should have been re-run or not, writing like that needed a reprint. I don't think I can recall the last comic I read where a little lump popped into my throat at the end... And next month, the amazing Charlie's War starts. This strip, along with Johnny Red, totally caught my imagination as a 9/10 year old. Can't wait!

Harry 20 got off to a good start last Meg and carried on this issue. [spoiler]Set in the future, Harry is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sent to The High Rock - a satellite prison orbiting the Earth that houses 10,000 criminals. There, your last name is lost - replaced with the length of your sentence (hence Harry 20). I know it sounds like a poor mans Escape From Alcatraz or The Great Escape but the twist is the cold, dark space between Harry and freedom. Swimming and tunnelling are not an option![/spoiler] Gerry Finlay-Day keeps the tempo high and the art by Alan Davies is very good. A bonkers Future Shock by a writer and artist I'm not familiar with round off the reprints. A Meg feels better with a Future Shock...

The text article, Blazing Battle Action, is part 2 of the story of the Battle comic. David Bishop continues in the same vein of Thrill Power Overload, turning his attention to the popular boys comic from the 70's and 80's. I hadn't realised how many of the 2000 AD regulars like Mills, Wagner and Ezquerra had been involved. If you read Battle and enjoyed Thrill Power Overload, this is a great little history lesson. If you didn't and - er - didn't, as it were, you might well skip this.

Gordon Rennie continued his top Dredd run with the conclusion to Hong Tong. And it's an all action episode. [spoiler]There are gun fights, martial arts and cars exploding. What's not to like! This isn't Dredd exploring his inner demons, it's Dredd kicking ass![/spoiler] It is a top episode and I can't recommend it highly enough. XTNCT continued to please. [spoiler]The genetic army find their first colony of humans since the Bourdeaux incident. What will they decide to do with them?[/spoiler] I got more into the Judge Death story The Wilderness Days. [spoiler]One of the Dreddlines letters praised the story for revealing Death's inner thoughts in his mission to destroy all life. [/spoiler]Clinging to that nugget of insight I enjoyed this episode a whole lot more. Thank you Floyd Kermode of Japan! Another of Floyd's insights summed up Devlin Waugh for me. It's like synchronised swimming. It's difficult, I couldn't do it, they work very hard but its quite boring and I don't care if I never see it again. Except Floyd was talking about The Bendatti Vendetta. Remember, I'm giving this a chance because its a Robbie Morrison story and this week started to move with a pace [spoiler]when we got the back story of the founder of the group of vigilantes.[/spoiler] I enjoyed it. It's not Sci Fi or horror, but I don't really care. Others might.

Patrick Goddard's insights in The Interrogation Cube were interesting. Even he has no real love for Wardog. And Gordon Rennie's rant was how he just chucks loads if stuff away, not caring how valuable it might be. I think my wife wishes I was a bit better at chucking stuff out!

And finally... Apocalypse Soon. Still making me smile!

[Skullmo]

wardog was a classic!

[Simon Beigh]

Oh sorry, mate. I forgot it was a favourite of yours! What was it you said the other day.. "I wish they'd make another Wardog - god it was good". Something like that, wasn't it?!

[Skullmo]

Actually it was i wish they would make some Wardog merchandise, I would throw money at that. Maybe a Wardog lunchbox and flask

[Simon Beigh]

Yep  - I can see you on the train in the morning with your Wardog lunchbox and flask and maybe a little Wardog bag as well. Barking at people when they give you funny looks: "What - Wardog's the greatest!!"

[Simon Beigh]

Meg 211 - Portrait of a Ssserial Killer





Entry on BARNEY

This Meg came with a choice of two Judge Death covers. The copy I have is a subscribers copy (which BARNEY says is one of only 3750 copies!), so it actually came wrapped in both covers - a nice idea. The outer cover has to be my favourite - a wonderful parody of the Batman Killing Joke cover by Brian Bolland with the Joker replaced by Judge Death. One arch nemesis replaced by another. Brilliant stuff from Frazer Irving, and a firm favourite.

So the amazing Charlie's War began to be reprinted this month. Whatever the feelings are about Darkie's Mob being racist and stuck in the past (and people are still writing to Dreddlines to complain) these must be out aside for Charlie's War. I know the Meg is a Sci Fi anthology, based around the world of Judge Dredd. Put that to one side for a second, and appreciate one of the finest stories to grace comics. Full stop. Reading it now has quite a powerful effect. I don't mind saying I had tears in my eyes and a big old lump in my throat. As a kid, I remember it well - especially the mud and filth and the bulging face of 'Old Bill' the sergeant barking orders at the men. In my adult days I now know a lot more about this period of history and knowing what Charlie is about to face is quite an emotional thing.[spoiler] He joins the Western Front six weeks before the Battle of the Somme...[/spoiler]

The text story, Blazing Battle Action, told by David Bishop is still holding my interest. Again, this may be because I read the Battle comic as a kid. A reader of the Meg who did not may skip this and wonder why a quarter of their magazine is taken up with a load of guff from a 70's war comic...

Back to the Sci Fi. Oh, hang on, The Bendatti Vendetta, isn't Sci Fi! I'm enjoying it though. [spoiler]The newest recruit is put through his paces, but its difficult to see who is testing who[/spoiler]. Again, Robbie's story gives you a pay off at the end of the episode. He really is a top writer! But as quickly as it started, it has finished. Gah! More please!

Right, now let's get back to the Sci Fi! Harry 20 is still marvellous. [spoiler]Harry and his buddies are deep into their escape preparations, but others are becoming suspicious..[/spoiler]. There is some real dramatic tension in this story that may not have been appreciated by children, but it's gripping stuff for adults.  Really enjoying this one.

Then there is the Dredd story Sturm Und Dang. Firstly, it's another Gordon Rennie story. Hurrah! Secondly, is drawn by 'Rey' Carlos Ezquerra. Twice hurrah! Thirdly it's a Cursed Earth saga! I'll stop with the 'Hurrahs', but I think you get my point. All the right ingredients for a cracking story and it really is. [spoiler]Dredd is forced to enlist the help of a disgraced ex-Judge Koburn when his Hotdog Run group are asked to take out a gang of Muties. Muties with Nazi tendencies.[/spoiler]

Really now enjoying Judge Death: The Wilderness Days . [spoiler]This episode was particularly good in being a parody of Natural Born Killers - with Jay Death along for the ride[/spoiler]. Now I have got used to the style and story-telling, it's become a firm favourite.

XTNCT is also going well. I have to confess to not fully following the story this episode, but the character of Raptor totally makes up for that. If I meet D'Israeli at a comic con and can get a sketch off him, Raptor would be my choice. He's a brilliant little character who 'speaks' using no vowels (so XTNCT = 'Extinct'). It's a bit like playing the missing vowels round in Only Connect reading his dialogue... Some may find it frustrating at first, but please persevere!

The Four Horsemen [spoiler]have finally found their Horses and[/spoiler] are on a full charge in Apocalypse Soon. [spoiler]Tony Blair and George W. Bush make an appearance - very topical![/spoiler] In The Interrogation Cube was Frazer Irving, who was quite grumpy about the whole thing - but never as grumpy as Mr Grumpy Gordon Rennie! Speaking of which, he finally seems to have run out of steam as his regular column You're Next Punk has disappeared. I hate it when that happens. It's like when the Daily Star Dredd's vanished. No warning - just gone.. Also, a lot of adverts in this month's Meg - seemingly all for the same thing: Dredd vs Death the novel; Dredd vs Death the computer game; then the computer game again... Filler!!!

And finally...Devlin Waugh. Meh.... (BTW, if you are a big Devlin Waugh fan, leave a comment - tell the world why it's so great! Balance my lethargy over the strip. Explain to me why it isn't the same every week of crap one-liners and random chasing of people by vampires!)

[Dark Jimbo]

Really enjoying the regular blast of nostalgia these reviews provide - personally I don't think the Meg was ever better than during this couple of years. Can't believe I'd forgotten all about XTNCT! What a weird little classic. And you're right about Devlin, by and large - but imagine how it felt to read when there was a month between each installment, not a few days! I've long said that the best Meg strips are the ones that are tailored to the monthly format and written with the month's gap between episodes in mind - XTNCT is a good case in point as each episode is a self-contained mini-story in the overall arc. Keeps things tight and pacy. Most stories though, like Red Tide, are simply written as would any story for the prog be, which is fine for the prog but can start to feel excrutiatingly drawn-out and bloated in the Meg.

[Greg M.]

'Red Tide' undoubtedly has its problems. It's a bit of an unnecessary sequel to the wonderful 'Swimming in Blood', which is about the best thing the Megazine ever published. There's also the fact that 'Devlin Waugh' had already gone off in all sorts of wonderful new globe-spanning directions in 2000AD, so rehashing 'Swimming...' just seemed like a bit of a step backwards. Am I right in saying it was something that editorial specifically requested Smith write, rather than the product of the notorious Smithian muse? It feels like one of those stories where he's trying to tone down his usual madness and write in a more 'mainstream' style.

Having said all that, it's still Smith, and even weaker Smith is better than most - certainly bloody miles better than 'XTNCT', as far as I'm concerned. (But then I thought 'XTNCT' was awful. Great art, mind.)

Enjoying your reviews though, Simeon - I don't personally regard this as my favourite Megazine era, but there was undoubtedly good stuff in there, even if I'm not sure I'd always agree with you on which are the good bits! (But then who only wants to read reviews that echo their own opinions?)

[Skullmo]

(But then who only wants to read reviews that echo their own opinions?)

Me

[Simon Beigh]

Thanks chaps - appreciate the feedback. I genuinely want to know if I've missed something with Devlin Waugh: Red Tide. I was filing Meg 255 yesterday, and noticed Devlin Waugh is back. My little heart sank...

Anyone else with a view?

XTNCT is quirky and weird and off beat. That appeals. It may not quite work all the time, but it's a risk and I like that. Devlin just feels flat and pedestrian and plodding. I can't put together the John Smith of Firekind with the John Smith of Red Tide... They are so different in their style and storytelling (and I read Firekind in a short space of time, not weekly, as I only bought those Progs recently). I haven't read Swimming In Blood but from what I read on the forum in other posts, no-one has a bad word to say about it.

And as for Apocalypse Soon - I'd buy that on a lunchbox! What a gem that is!

Meg 212 on the train home tonight!

[Dark Jimbo]

For clarification's sake I did like Red Tide, and enjoy Devlin stories in general - I was simply using RT as an apposite example of how Meg stories can sometimes feel interminably long if not tailored to the format. The last Devlin story we had went down a storm, and it was only three parts long. Coincedence? I think not.

[Greg M.]

I genuinely want to know if I've missed something with Devlin Waugh: Red Tide.

I dunno if you've necessarily missed anything, 'cos it isn't the best Devlin story - it's definitely not the one I'd point to if I was trying to convince someone why Devlin was one of the all-time great 2000AD/Megazine characters. That said, your review made me dig it out and read it again, which I hadn't done for a while, and I quite enjoyed it - much more than I remembered, in fact. (Cheers!) It find it starts very promisingly, but becomes a bit repetitive. The best stuff is all the weird and imaginative notions about how vampires would adapt to an aquatic environment - some of Smith's ideas there are excellent, like the lethal young vampires who feed on toxic algae, or the mud-skipper mutations, or, best of all, the deep-sea dwelling berserkers. In fact, the early bit with the berserker suicide attack is a brilliant conceit, and the highlight of the whole story - pure Smith. I found I wanted more of this sort of thing, and less of Lilith.

Re: reconciling the Smith of 'Red Tide' with the Smith of 'Firekind' - 'Firekind' is written weird to the very core, whereas 'Red Tide' keeps the weird for trimmings and flavour and has a very conventional action story at its heart. The true Smithiness feels a bit relegated to the margins - though I expect for those not as fond of the writer's glorious eccentricities as I, that may be a bonus.

[Simon Beigh]

Meg 212 - Heads Up!



(Entry on BARNEY)

Two blog entries in one day can only mean one thing - two Megs read! It's a tough old job this Meg Odyssey! To the cover, and what a cover. Mr Simon Davis take a bow, sir, because that is a wonderful painting of craggy old Brit-Cit cop Armitage, and a rather horrible looking head in a jar. More on that later...

I heaped praise on Charlie's War last time - suffice to say it is still hitting the mark and I know it will continue to do so for a while yet. Mills' writing and Joe Colquhoun's art together are perfection... Harry 20 also kept the pace high this month.[spoiler] After months of planning, Harry and his chums are hoping to make it to Earth in their escape capsule - but will the other prisoners or the warders let them - and what is the awful secret they carry with them...[/spoiler] Gripping stuff...

Judge Dredd: Sturm und Dang reached it's conclusion. I shall miss it, as it was another cracking story and, again, I can't help but wonder if it was too short. I say that a lot about Gordon Rennie's Dredds, but I just enjoy them so much! There is a lot of action in his writing, and Ezquerra's art was spot on. [spoiler]I enjoyed the character of disgraced Judge Koburn, and am hopeful we may get a back story or another Cursed Adventure with him in it in the future. He keeps his cap pulled down over his eyes, so like Dredd, you never see his face. Is that significant, I wonder...[/spoiler]

After initial reservations, I am very much into the Judge Death story The Wilderness Days. Ja[spoiler]y D ends up in Las Vegas, and if you are familiar with the Cursed Earth saga (if not, get thee to your nearest Thrill Merchant and purchase Complete Case Files 02), he meets up with some familiar characters.[/spoiler] Having now figured out this is being played for humour, I am enjoying it immensely. I do hope it carries on for a goodly while yet...

XTNCT continues [spoiler]with the genetically modified crew working their way to Seattle this time. They find a bunch of humans who are relying on their baser instincts, rather than their intelligence, making them a harder quarry[/spoiler]. Some episodes definitely work better than others, and whilst good, this one was not as good as previous ones. Perhaps the lack of Raptor appearing much in it was a factor for me...

A new thrill this issue was Armitage: Apostasy In The UK. Armitage is a Brit-Cit cop, a detective rather than a Judge. His job is to work crimes like the CID do in the UK police force today, and he can call upon Judges for backup. He is grumpy, over-worked and under-paid and is feeling his age. His sidekick, Steel, is young and keen - which seems to make him even grumpier. I like this character, and the story line looks like a classic detective story that I like anyway (I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan, and there are certainly elements to that side of British crime writing in this story style). I guess Armitage reminds me a little of Morse, but grumpier! Dave Stone is the script droid for this story, and the marvellous John Ridgeway handles the art. Looking forward to seeing how this one plays out.

Blazing Battle Action concluded with a look at the decline of the comic title - as it agreed a licence with the Action Force toy line. A lot of creators moaning about the loss of quality and the declining standards. Funnily enough, this is where I jumped on, sucked in by having Action Force figures. I enjoyed the stories as a kid, and of course, had no clue that the art of John Cooper I admired so much was absolutely hated by the artist himself. He was very upset to be taken off Johnny Red and put on the kids toys section.

The other text articles saw D'Israeli in the Interrogation Cube where he reveals he is learning German and his girlfriend reads out loud to him if he is working late. And, joy, grumpy grots himself Gordon Rennie is back for his You're Next, Creep column. In my last post, I was moaning about the amount of adverts for Dredd vs Death. In his column, Gordon moans about books of comics, games of books of comics, and so on. Good to have you back, sir!

Apocalypse Soon dipped a little for me this week. Hopefully it is setting up for something next time.

And finally...Devlin Waugh fans will be relieved to hear I thought this week's episode was OK. We might be starting to get somewhere at long last. Also, Greg M. has kindly agreed to write a review of the story once I have finished reading the whole thing. That way, you will get a counter-point from someone that did enjoy the story, and hopefully give you some insights that I simply am unable to pull out for you. Something to look forward to, and for others to feel free to replicate (but don't give anything away - I'm not finished with it yet )...