Available in the shops from 28th May
“It was one of the staples of hazy childhood summers, an
extra dose of Thrill-power for the holidays. But now the 2000 AD Sci-Fi
Special is back and with a new mission - to unveil a new generation of
comics creators!” So goes the promotional hoo-haa that came with my copy of
this blast from my past, a bleedin’ Summer Special, no less.
I have great memories of being a wee man and my mother
buying a few Summer Special’s and saving them for us to read in the car on the
way to some wretched caravan park or other. As a kid, it was nice to have an
oversize comic, although as an adult you notice more the large panels designed
to pad out the likes of The Beano and Dandy specials. 2000AD was, predictably,
different. Not necessarily in a good way for, like the annuals of the time, the
Summer Special was stuffed with rejected scripts, reprints and shoddy articles.
It’s 2014 now, and Tharg knows his readers are mostly grown
men and woman who will not accept rejected scripts and reprints, so in a bold
move the Sci Fi Special has been rejigged as a platform for new writers and
artists, handling classic 2000AD characters. What a great idea… in theory.
A Summer Special, like any comic, is only as good as it’s
contents, and this is where the 2014 version falls down like Oscar Pistorius’
defence. First up we have a Judge Dredd tale, “Jinxed”, which just happens to
be from the first female Dredd writer, namely Emma Beeby. Let's be honest, though, this fact is pretty immaterial. Emma has
written the lovely “Survival Geeks” 3riller with Gordon Rennie, which I really
enjoyed, but “Jinxed” is just not very good. Basically it’s almost a carbon
copy of the old Strontium Dog story “A Sorry Case”, but it’s Dredd having a ton
of bad luck. The saving grace is the very nice, clear art by Eion Coveney.
Next up we have Alec Worley, best known for “Age Of The Wolf”
(which I thoroughly enjoyed) with a Robo-Hunter tale illustrated by newcomer to
2000AD Mark Simmons. Set in Sam Slade’s earlier days it has a pop at the likes
of Ikea and design snobs to little effect. Basically, it’s quite a dull story
with a few good lines and competent art. There’s really not much else to say,
except I wanted better from Sam’s return.
It wouldn’t be a Sci Fi Special without a Future Shock, this
time by Jody LeHeup, better known for his editing work with Marvel than as a
writer. Also from the Marvel stable is Artist Jefte Palo, who has illustrated
plenty of superhero stuff. His unusual, modernist style works very well with
the story, which is a bit of a tried and tested tale that blows it’s “surprise”
ending to anyone who has ever read this sort of thing before. Nonetheless, it’s
well written and quirky enough to remain in the mind after the reading, making
it the best one so far.
Fan favourite Durham Red (A vampiric bounty hunter) returns
next, with a cute one off tale by relatively new scripter Robert Murphy. He’s
aided and abetted by another new boy Duane Redhead, a very appropriate name for
a Durham Red artist. The story itself is basic and pretty entertaining, with
Red doing exactly what regular readers would expect her to, and Redhead’s art
fits the story well, clear and nicely laid out. It will certainly be
interesting to see what these two can contribute in the future.
There’s a nice little treat up next as veteran Future Shock
scripter (amongst other things) Arthur Wyatt gives us a blast from the past
with “Orlok, Agent Of East Meg 1”, which is set during Dredd’s time as moon
marshall for those that like to know their continuity. Jake Lynch provides
rough but effective black and white art that gives an appropriately gritty feel
to a tale of espionage and betrayal in Brit Cit. A good, solid story as
expected from Wyatt, and a good introduction to a new artist.
Finally, it’s time for Rogue Trooper, currently shining in
his own U.S title from IDW. It’s written by Guy Adams, who entertained recently
with the hilarious if overlong “Ulysses Sweet”, and for his Rogue debut he’s
settled for a neat one off that provides plenty of action and jumping about
whilst ensuring new readers aren’t too confused about who this blue bloke is
and why is he talking to his gun. Art comes from newcomer Darren Douglas, who
has done cover work before but not, I think, an internal story. In fairness he’s
a great find, and his style is similar to that of Boo Cook, full of colour and
action. Again, the story is a simple one, but it works well as a quick read.
Overall, then, this is an okay release. Although it starts
off pretty poorly it certainly gets better, and if a few of the scripts are found
wanting there’s certainly a great deal of great art to get your teeth into. Not
quite a thrill power overload.
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