The lastest issue of
Belfast based fanzine Sector 13 certainly grabs the eye, with a
superb Rogue Trooper (well, Venus Bluegenes anyway) cover made from
live cosplay and digital tinkering. It's a cover that makes you want
to see what's inside and so does it's job perfectly. Of course,
regular readers will be wanting to take a look anyway, as Sector 13
is a high quality fanzine that has been getting better with each
issue. It's A4 size with 42 thick, glossy pages and sumptuous colour,
not your usual fanzine by a long shot.
Issue Five kicks off,
as usual, with a Dreddworld photo story featuring the Sector 13
cosplayers, a motley crew of perps and ne'er do wells who meet up to
get drunk and discuss knee pads. What they also do is star in very
impressive photo strips that look great considering this is done on a
budget. 'When I Lost Control' features the unexpected result of an
EMP blast let off at Ed Norton Block by a known seditionist. It's a
tight, interesting story with plenty of nice small touches, featuring
character development for one of the strip's regular characters,
Judge Knight.
'The Lament Of Gravlax'
is next, and despite the title it's a rather silly four page humour
story written and drawn by the very talented Cat Byrne. Basically,
Aliens want to abduct some humans but because of all the PC nonsense
on their planet they have to be subtle and kind about it, no 'zap bam
boom' or death rays allowed! It's a wonderful antidote to the
seriousness of the photo strip, and Byrne has a knack for humour that
combines well with the colourful, cartoony vusials that jump off the
page. Excellent work!
The third strip
introduces the reader to a new title character, the excorcist Judge
Whatley, who is not the barrel of laughs you might think. A demonic
wossname is threatening the city and only Whatley and his apprentice
West can stop it. A standard type of set up from writer Peter Duncan,
but the devil is in the details, and this is an extremely good story
that has a dark twist that left me hungering for the next issue. The
black and white art, from Joseph V Parangue, is very impressive,
reminding me quite a bit of 2000AD legend Boo Cook, and I can't wait
to see more of his stuff.
The centre pages (and
the next two!) are given over to a second Gronks story, following
last issue's 'Legend Of Snarki'. 'The Gronk With No Name' is
unconnected apart from the titular character's race, and we meet a
Gronk who just isn't like the other Gronks, starting with the fact
he's hanging out in a spaceport bar. Alan Holloway's script once
again blends pathos with action and humour, while artist Ed Doyle (a
known Gronkophile) delivers bright, colourful images that suit the
story down to the ground. Your poor heartses will never be the same!
A short interlude,
called 'Interlude' (ya see what they did?) is next, following on from
the photo story as Judge McBride investigates a recent case
converning Judge Knight. Donna Anita Black's Simon Harrison-esque
visuals work very well with Peter Duncan's script, effectively
filling out Knight's story a bit more, making you realize why he has
become disillusioned with Justice Department.
We return to the
darkness next, with another Excorcist Judge story, this time
featuring Judge Merrin, sent to apply Judge boot to a demon's
backside in 'The Terror Of Titus Tower'. Firstly, the strip looks
great, with lovely clear black and white art from Morgan Brinksman.
Secondly, it's another case of what is a standard set up being built
on with clever twists and a satisfying pay off, so thumbs up for
writer Mark Keenan as well. A great one off strip that made me think
a bit more of what exactly is inside a cloned Judge.
Things get very silly
for the next two pages, as Davy Francis' 'Revengers: Deadend' throws
a few laughs around with a throwback to the likes of MAD magazine as
some robot superheroes go nuts at a screening for the new Revengers
movie. It's very daft but funny with it, but looks quite messy, like
he sent the Editor a few pages out of an A4 notepad, with the result
being we actually miss the final pay off line that is cut off by the
page size. I'd have liked to see it redone on white pages, although
it's still a good laugh with plenty of nice touches.
Finally, we return to
the story of Judge Knight, and I can't go too deep into this without
spoiling the ongoing plot. It does a decent job of setting up the
next chapter in his story which I assume will continue next issue,
and Sector 13 has to be appluded for this approach which has resulted
in a magazine you have to take your time with to follow the story
properly. Peter Duncan scipts again, and whilst I find Scott Twells'
art a bit rough, it's rough in a McMahon sort of way, and fans of the
old master should certainly appreciate it. Composition wise I've no
conplaints, though, as it's all well handled and well told.
So that's Sector 13
issue 5. It's a ludicrously solid read, with thrills, humour and
theological discussion. I genuinely think that several strips would
be very at home if you found them in 2000AD itself, and as ever the
photo strip is very well done. The fact that the story from it is
continued throughout the mag is testament to the ambition of the
people involved. Available through the post or at various conventions
(such as Lawless May 18th in Bristol), it's well worth
picking up.
