2000AD Prog 2247 (Rebellion)

 

The latest issue of 2000AD popped through my letterbox this morning slightly delayed by the Bank Holiday weekend but well worth the wait especially as there are three new stories starting this week.

Judge Dredd stars in a new multi-part dark adventure The House On Bleaker Street with suitably creepy artwork from Nick Percival. A group of kidnappers lead Dredd and a new Judge into a long abandoned building with a reputation. Is it true that no one who goes in ever comes out?

There's a promising episode of Tharg's 3rillers entitled The Mask Of Laverna. Magic, ancient Olympian Gods and murder. What powers does this mask bring a Russian gangster and can he be stopped?

The Final new adventure hails from the world of Nu Earth in Jagir: The Path Of Kali in which a bar fight leads to an search for the one survivor of a Norther attack on a Souther base. Just what threat is rising once again?

Plus of course the latest parts of the excellent Skip Tracer and the so-so story of Dexter, formerly of Sinister and Dexter as the AI tracks down our anti-hero.

This is probably the nearest you'll get to a jumping on issue for a while. The "Regened" editions have replaced those for now though according to John Freeman on his excellent website Down The Tubes Rebellion are seemingly heading towards separating the brands. Could this mean a regular more "junior" version of our favourite prog? 

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Recommended)

Available from: 2000ad.com

Also in Newsagents, selected Newsagents and Comic Stores is the latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine:

Steve Ditko's Weird Comics #1 (Charlton Neo)

 

I was reading a post on one of the many comic related Facebook groups I belong to when I noticed this comic and it's being available on the US Amazon website so I decided to see if the UK operation had this available and guess what they did. It's one of those "point to order" publications that are making small runs available to readers.

This is not a new comic and refers to Steve Ditko as a "living legend" when sadly he passed away in 2018 however his work is timeless and in the case of these five short horror/mystery tales still pass the standard of story telling today.

Ditko is remembered for his work on early Spider-Man and Doctor Strange stories and helped create the Marvel Universe along with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. For me he was also the first comic book artist I could really identify as so many of his mystery stories for early Marvel were reprinted in glorious black & white by Alan Class's range of British reprint comics such as Tales of Suspense.

Of course Ditko worked for several companies and after he fell out with Stan Lee went back to working for Charlton Comics where he produced some fine stories as he never allowed his work to to suffer even when paid lower rates.

Hence why these stories are published (with permission from the author) under the Charlton Neo label. They were originally published in Monsters Attack #1 to #5. Frankly if you are a fan of Steve Ditko to fork out a fiver for this small publication is worth every penny.  There's science fiction mixed with sorcery, crime greed and sheer stupidity. 

Rating: 5 Stars (Recommended)

Available via Amazon

Battling Britons (Vol 2) Number One

 

Back in April a team of British War Comic enthusiasts organised by Justin Marriott produced an oversized volume covering the various picture library books and weekly comics that contained stories of Brits at war. This contained a couple of hundred individual reviews of individual comics amongst other features . 

Now Justin has launched a fanzine covering the same subject with features, interviews and reviews of the war comics genre. This is a welcome addition to the on-going revival of originally produced comics and magazines by British creators and fans. 

This magazine covers classic out of print picture libraries and looks at the latest releases from the still published Commando series which passed the 5,000 issue mark a few years back and recently had it's 60th anniversary. This shows that there is still a demand for these types of stories with a mixture of new material and reprints.

This edition also has an article which looks at the coverage of the Vietnam war in American comics including titles such as Daredevil as well as Sgt Fury. Interestingly there's also an article from American writer and fan James Reasoner about his appreciation of the British output.

Other articles in include a look at the weird and wonderful such as the time travelling Gladiators from The Lion & Eagle comic which was one of my favourites and needs collecting one of these days. Johnny Red also gets some well deserved coverage but the most entertaining feature just has to be Tusk Force in which looks at the role of elephants in British war comics. Well done that man!

Rating 5 Stars (Recommended)

Both this and the Volume One book are available from Amazon.

The Milford Green Saga (Oversized Hardback Edition) (Signal Comics)

 

This was a comic I actually came across by accident when I saw it advertised on-line about a while back. I ordered the first issue but they sent me the third so although I had a quick flick I didn't read. For one reason or another I forgot to query my order so when I saw this oversized collected edition being promoted on Kickstarter I jumped at the chance as I was already intrigued and the edition I had showed promise so ordered a copy.

The Milford Green Saga is a wonderfully illustrated all-ages science fiction story set in Victorian times. It begins  the tale of a local bully and a young lad who watches his love from afar getting beaten.  Alfie is a good lad and has a brain if no brawn. But everything changes with the arrival of a spaceship in "England's prettiest village".

This isn't a rehash of War Of The Worlds far from it. Other than aliens being in rural England the similarity ends. These aliens are fighting each other over some precious object. The adventure begins.

Our hero retreats to a castle where with the father of Mary his girlfriend to be Alfie makes a stand....

Not wanting to publish too many spoilers all I can say is this story is a treat as the two Victorian youngsters head into outer space and return with dire news for her majesty. If you want to see Queen Victoria in space then this is the book for you.

This book is well worth every penny of entry to read the adventure penned by Samuel George London with matching art from Mikael Hankonen. 

Rating: 5 Stars Plus (A Must buy for every comic fan)

Website: signalcomics.com

2000AD Regened Prog 2246

 

The latest issue 2000AD hit the doormat yesterday and turned out to be the quarterly "all-ages" edition aimed at younger readers (previous issues reprinted in two trade collections) which apparently sell very well which is good news for the hobby as well as the publisher. Today's readers like me are getting on in our years and new blood is required if comics are to survive into the future which seems so heavily dominated by electronic entertainment not that any game has interested me since Space Invaders...

Actually despite the fact the content is "toned down" it's still an excellent read as we start off by meeting a young Judge Cadet Dredd who has to go undercover in order to save the lives of some homeless juves hiding out in a bloc due to  be abolished. The Block With No Name shows that despite everything deep inside Joe has a nice side.

Then there's The Mayflies set in Rogue Troopers universe and although we're talking kids, these youths are hard and they are going to survive no matter what it takes. Whose side will they take in this seemingly never ending war? Find out in The Way Forward.

Next up is the charming tale of 'Splorers which includes a greedy pet monster called Howard (no relation honest!) which sees what should be a harmless biology lesson go terribly wrong....

There's a Future Shocks tale Trash Culture. These can be hit or miss. This one's a miss for me sorry folks.

And finally we end with Chopper as hes starts out surfing. He's a good bloke really as we see in Chopper Don't Surf!

Rating 4.5 Stars. (Recommended)

Available from Wednesday at good newsagents or 2000ad.com

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On and for more mature readers is the latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine in which Devlin Waugh is about to go to hell..... 

X-Men/Fantastic Four 4X (Marvel Comics)

 Having decided to stop buying Marvel Essentials from Panini because of the Venom content I have had to look elsewhere to read the material that was announced for the fourth issue. The story featuring the X-Men and Marvel's First Family, the  Fantastic Four squabbling over the future of Franklin Richards was both unexpected but made sense in the way the mutant world is now developing. 

Franklin of course is actually a mutant. An Omega level one as well. Professor X thinks that the young man needs to come to Krakoa as part of the Mutant nation. Reed ad Sue of course see things differently. They are a family after all.

From the beginning there is hostility between the two groups and it seems Reed has already take precautions to prevent Franklin from going through one of the gates which is like waving a red flag at the mutant world.

Inevitably the two groups of heroes, one human the other mutant fight but they hadn't reckoned with what Franklin wants himself as he buggers off with Kitty Pride. Enter Doctor Doom ad the whole issue becomes ever more complicated.

There's a secret island in the pacific which is part of Latveria (who knew) and the action continues.

Overall this is a very good story. Having just read the X-Men in Marvel Universe #5 my attitude is wavering about the way Professor X and Magneto are taking the mutants. They are becoming far too superior and even possibly a little bit racist towards mankind. 

I hope there are more crossovers to explore this worrying development.

Rating: 5 Stars 

Doctor Who Annual 1980 (World Distributors)

From the Tom Baker years comes this annual with features about the Doctor Who programme, character plus some science articles which includes a page that tells us Pluto is a planet. No longer accepted these days (or is it) though since I grew up with the idea it will always remain the Ninth Planet to me!

There's also a couple of comic strips which considering that these were the mainstay of Doctor Who Monthly's features these were certainly not up to the standards one would expect but then a lot of these World Distributors annuals were produced on a budget. However I would have thought Doctor Who was a solid seller worth the extra effort. Both strips Terror on Taboi and The Weapon feature Mary Tamm as Romana. 

There are also some illustrated prose stories. Never used to read those as a kid. Books fine but for annuals I wanted comics. Sadly just space filler. 

A good piece of nostalgia for us oldies but not outstanding I'm afraid. 

And to end here's a brief clip featuring the late Mary Tamm. RIP.

Plainer Jane #3 (Broken Face Comics)

 

The latest issue of the independent crime thriller comic arrived last week but I was a bit late in getting around to reading it however if you din't get this via Kickstarter you really should pick this up as the story continues with our Jane moaning about her lot in life moaning about helping out in hospital collecting urine samples.

Taking the piss she thinks as her friend reminds her of their need to be responsible to others. Our Jane of course is a schoolgirl assassin and a person you would never even glance at being sort of plain. A new hat here another jacket there and you'll never notice.

This time her latest hit goes a bit awry as an encounter with a man using a prostitute upsets her concentration. Oh there's plenty more to read here and the author tells us that issues #4 & #5 are in the process of being prepared.

There's extra colour pages this month and a tale from our Jane's past, which given her age isn't all that long ago.

Rating: 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

www.brokenfacecomics.com

Marvel Universe: X Men #5 (Panini)

 

The journey into the world of Marvel's merry mutants continues with the latest issue of Panini's latest volume of X-Me adventures. With the island of Krakoa now beig recognised on the world stage the leaders of mutant kind resort to diplomacy as we see in the third and fourth chapters of the latest run of the X-Men stories.

Not all is well. There is one amongst the humans who has prepared for the worst should things not go his way but Professor X and Magneto have their own guards in place making their meal a safe if unfruital event. Only the attitude of Wakanda surprises me give their King is married to (or was last time I read these comics) to a mutant himself.

Then there are the first three chapters of the new run of Excaliber to enjoy as Camelot is under siege with only the deranged Morgan Le Fey to defend the realm against the White Witch. And she's the usual bitch that we have come to both love and hate. 




We are introduced to a whole realm of trouble as Betsy Braddock ad her allies go to seek the old lighthouse that was the gateway but not all is well as they are attacked at sea and there be traitors on land. 

And events lead to a new Captain Britain, which isn't really a secret once you look at the cover.

This X-Men title is getting better and better. I'm glad to be back for the ride.

Rating: 5 Stars

The 77 #6 (Out Now!)

 

One of the joys of being retired is I get to pick up and read the post as soon as it arrives. I this case the postie had to knock as my copy of The 77 didn't fit through the letter box. One read, lunch and a afternoon nap later it's time to review the latest edition.

I have to say just like the previous issue The 77 has finally take the stage to a far more professional level than right at the beginning. A independent comic that has evolved ad improved in a very short period of time. Everything from production to content is  getting better all the time.

There is as usual a choice of covers but I went for the standard as I rather liked it and the strip it represents, Extinction 2040 by Paul Goodenough (w) & Ian Stepforth (a). However first up is the next instalment of V which is a noticeably much improved strip from when it first started out. The team is in the under-city and it's time to be very afraid it would seem!

There's also a rather disturbing short story Animal Kingdom from Paul Neal & John McCrea which takes elements from a various of stories to create something new...and is a extinction event for us!

Vikings are up next in the first of a four part story Jorum about a rather egotistical Chief who despite having qualified for Valhalla wants more and is to take risks that maybe his men are not going to be too happy about. Just saying...

The space age being upon mankind it's hardly surprising that there is a Galactic Geographic and two explorers get sent on a mission to film creatures with multiple mating organs of both sexes. However they didn't know how f*cked  up this might get. To be continued from the obviously warped minds of Noel K. Hannon & Warwick Fraser-Coombe!

Then there's the origin of Division 77 which is as unpleasant as you might think give the troopers are a bit like Cybermen having seemingly had their bodies changed  but not their feelings removed.

There's a new three-part story Disposal from Martin Fisher (w) and Charlie Gillespie (a) which sees the dead become mutants. A twisted tale that obviously has more to offer as does the rather more amusing Mister Meeker, Monster Maker which follows.

There's racism and revenge in Silver Jubilee set back in the seventies by Dave Heely and Andrew Sawyers with  the issue finishing up with the second part of the intriguing Red By Day, Black By Night.

Can't wait for the next issue to be honest and there's an annual to come in the autumn which will include Penny Pentagram one of my favourites from this comic! 

A cracker of a publication and comes highly recommended by me!

Rating: 5 Stars

Available from: the77comic.bigcartel.com

Comics Unlimited #7 (Out Now)

 

The latest issue of the British comics fanzine is now variable from Amazon and is a little different from the previous issues in that it is just 60 pages rather than the usual 100 and is cheaper as a result. The quality however is unaffected. 

As publisher Glenn B Fleming explains:  "unfortunately, we live in interesting times and real life seems to have caught up with people" but at least as one reader points out there is no "filler" and you get intelligent and considered articles as normal.

This particular issue kicks off with a tribute to Ron Embleton a top notch British artist who fans of a certain age will recall from his work for TV 21 and will have see his paintings in the credits of Gerry Anderson's Captain Scarlet.

One niche article is for fans of wrestling and comics, not my thing though The Thing appears!

Much of the comic output of the nineties remains a mystery to me and one such gap in my knowledge is Stan Lee's Nightcat. Can't say it looks like it would have appealed to me and certainly did't catch on but the Stan's ideas were not always  shall we say "perfect". Interesting though.

Stephen Hooker brings us back to the mainstream with a "bump"as he takes a look at the genre of British war comics which when I was growing up were central reads. The really good stories appeared in those little pocket book libraries that were designed to fit into your blazer!

Of course The Valiant and The Victor were amongst the weeklies which devoted pages to the genre but it wasn't until the advent of Battle that we had a really "gritty" war comic appearing every week!

The return of the "golden age" heroes and how they were retro-fitted into the "Silver Age" DC Universe is tackled by Tony Ingram in a thoughtful piece that helps explain how the multiverse was born. Honestly it was much simpler to understand back then than today....

There's also a excellent potted history of the early X-Men (up to #66) that is well worth a read as it was at first a bit of a backwater for Marvel unlike today when along with Spidey is the backbone of their sales. Now we need an introduction to the next stage please. I lost track of the X-Men years ago and have only recently returned via the new Panini series.

There's also a review of the long running Daleks series from TV 21 that got reprinted by Panini last year while this months mag looks at early attempts by DC to be socially aware. Actually remembering that questionnaire from my childhood makes me cringe now.....

Rating: 5 Stars.

This and all previous issues are available from Amazon.

The Avengers: The Final Host (TPB) (Marvel)

 

It's not so long ago since I wrote about my misgivings over the Celestials being integrated in the mainstream Marvel Universe but it worked and the saga of Earth's fate ended in the legendary Thor #300 one of the best single issue comics ever published.

Or so we thought...

The Avengers contains back pedalling on so much of established Marvel History I ended up just running with it. The First Avengers at the dawn of time before humanity leaves a lot to be desired as does much of the story-line in this story which sees "dead" Celestials falling from the skies as yet another Final Host arrives and this time they are not alone.....

As I've confessed to regularly on this blog of late I am well out of touch with the latest goings on in the Marvel Universe and didn't know the Avengers were "no more" again...

Of course this event brings them all back together. Who would have guessed and Thor is ot above berating his All-Father Odin for keeping secrets (and there's a big hint that there are more sins of the so-called "gods" to be revealed...hope they are a bit more consistent with the Marvel Universe than this one is.

I suppose this might appeal more to newer readers than old bitter fanboys like me who hate too much revision but it isn't all bad despite the annoying premise. Certainly I'll be picking up more Avengers trades in this series as the writing and art are good.

Not sure I like what happened to the She-Hulk though. As for her affair with Thor..... And since when was Avengers HQ in the head of dead Celestial? Could a regular Marvel reader enlighten me?

Rating 3 Stars