Judge Dredd: Christmas is Cancelled

With a title such as 'Christmas is Cancelled', don't expect any of these holiday tales set within Mega City One to have happy endings. While the 8 or so stories are set within a dystopian society, there's a cheeky element to many of these tales. One story is a sci-fi parody of the Nativity complete with mutant versions of donkeys, sheep and cow. Another is a retelling of A Gift of the Magi which takes the selling of a body part to a new level. 

Featuring the talents of Al Ewing, John Wagner, Paul Marshall, Dave Taylor, this collection of Judge Dredd stories set during the month of December, this read is very British. Nothing is sacred. There's drugs. There's murder and violence. Both big government and even bigger business are corrupt. But unlike another book of similar material, this Rebellion Developments publication has something the previous didn't- HOPE. Because no matter how bad things get in the year circa 3000, there's always Joe Dredd and his fellow Judges to help bring about a semblance of law and order in hope of bringing forth a better tomorrow. 

Containing reprints from Xmases past from 2010-2014. This book was issued in gratuity with Judge Dredd Magazine #439; released December, 2021.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Not All Robots #1

With 10 days until Thanksgiving, last night began my countdown to the holiday with a decent size stack of comics devoted to Turkey Day! 

When it comes to Christmas comic books, if a book has a holiday looking cover but there's nothing Christmasy inside, I call it a Scrooge! So what do I need to call a book that I thought was set during the fourth Thursday of November but probably was really set during the month of July? I want to call it a Turducken. That sounds really funny. But that's probably more of a comic book without a Thanksgiving cover but has a food feast inside! So I guess I am calling this book a 'Tofurky'!

Set in a dystopian future of 2056, lucky citizens occupy city domes while millions struggle to survive the outdoors in a toxic wasteland. In the domes, humans live a life of luxury, while their family robot works and brings home the bacon. With a slew of murders and assaults being made by malfunctioning machines, the population of the Atlanta dome in particular is beginning to worry of a robot uprising. 

In the Atlanta dome, the Walters family is getting a tad suspicious of their automaton. As soon as Razorball returns home from his factory job, he slinks off into the garage and does God knows what. The Walters thinks Razorball is designing something to kill them with. And when a malfunction eliminates the entire population of the Orlando dome, the Walters' fears and that of humans everywhere might have come true! 

Has the revolution begun?

Even though there wasn't anything Thanksgiving about this comic, except for a 21st century twist on that iconic Norman Rockwell painting of a family serving a roast turkey, I was digging this first issue. That was until I read writer and series creator Mark Russell's soapbox article at the end of this issue. 

Instead of citing inspiration on how humans are becoming too reliant technology or how automation could literally destroy our economy or cause millions to lose their jobs, their livelihoods, The Prez reboot writer cites toxic masculinity as the root of all evil in this book. Primarily, WHITE masculinity. I'm not normally one to question a writer's motivations or creative license. But I rolled my eyes that of all the things Russell could blame for an ill wind between humans and robots, blaming white men for the problem would have been 50th on my list.

And then I realized who the editor for AWA (Artists, Writers & Artisans) was- Axel Alonso. During Alonso's time at Marvel as the EIC, he nearly brought the House of Ideas to its knees. Alonso alienated fans and retailers, telling everyone that he was in charge and didn't care about the feelings of those who had disposable income. There's nothing wrong with wanting to promote diversity in the storylines and voices of their creative team. But to blame a lack of sales on comics on white fragility is a complete cop out. Plain and simple, the stuff Alonso promoted just wasn't on par with the quality stories overseen by Stan Lee, Jim Shooter or even Joe Quesada. 

So I carry a bit of a grudge against Axel Alonso. And knowing that he's got a hand in this recipe has put a bad taste in my mouth. I really want to read this rest of the story. I'm just not willing to spend my hand earned money on something produced by somebody who claims that they can live without it. So if I find this book at my local library or maybe for trade credit at a used book store, I'll find out how it all ends. But until then, I can blissfully wait and use my money to buy something from someone who appreciates my voting dollars.

Maybe tonight's read will be more about the holidays...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Footnote- I teach high school culinary. So it is my job to educate the next generation of chefs and cooks. Unfortunately, I see how my industry is in danger of losing the human element with strides in robotics and automation. As food workers request higher pay, owners and operators are looking to save money by replacing employees with robots. Such an issue troubles me to no end and for Mark Russell to completely gloss over this controversial and industry threatening issue for an axe to grind with Trump supporters and the like was just irksome to me. My apologies for allowing politics to seep deeply into my review.

 

Lazarus, Volume One

Wonder Woman's Greg Rucka pens a futuristic tale that takes the idea of a dystopia and skewers it just a little bit. Instead of a structured government,or a miltia faction order is maintained by powerful crime families. They control the limited amount of resources. Their most trusted 'employees' have privilege status of rations, clothes and shelter. All other citizens are considered waste.

To protect their interest, each family funnel a large portion of their resources into a single family member known as a Lazarus. Genetically modified with cybernetics, these family champions are the pinnacles of medical science. And this means a lot of rebuilds and a little bit of playing God.

The Carlyle Family's Lazarus is named Forever.  But something is off with 'Eve'. She's got a conscious. Everyone knows that a Lazarus cannot think for themselves because of their programming. With a coup brewing in the Carlyle household, Eve is an unknown factor. She may be loyal to father now. But that very well may change when the family feud formally begins.

I think my wife got me this. I love grab bags and I think this was a part of monthly subscription service called Comic Bento; which is sadly now defunct. I added this book to my collection and then it sat for several years. Man, was I a fool.

This opening volume was phenomenal! Rucka's story had hints of The Godfather, The Terminator and a futuristic medical drama. I've got a lot of questions that remain unanswered. Like what was responsible for the fall of the world governments? How did these crime families rise to power? Yes, I have questions. But they weren't questions that had to be answered in order to enjoy this introduction to the world of Lazarus. If anything, wanted to know those answers are what will bring me back to the series again for volume 2.

Not sure when I will get to visit the family Carlyle any time soon. I'm hoping my local library has the rest. Fingers crossed.

A unique look at the dystopia trope that seems to dominant 21st century comics and graphic novels.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Deathlok: The Demolisher

Deathlok is a lot like the DC Comics character The Demon. Stylistically, he's a pretty awesome character with really great abilities. But unlike the Jack Kirby creation, Deathlok has undergone a ton of complex and often confusing retools. He still looks freakin' amazing. But his backstory is about as jumbled as the memories left in his cybernetically enhanced brain.

This Marvel Knights adaptation of Deathlok takes place in the near future. The corrupt corporation Roxxon owns just about everything to the point that squabbles over water rights and borders are fought in televised battles sponsored by the megacorporation. The bravest and most daring of soldiers are used to sell everything from cola to the newest weapons seen on the battlefield. 

An up-and-coming warrior named Travers is about to make squad leader when his CO Luther Manning kills him for disobeying orders. In hopes to still cash in on this profitable character, Roxxon develops a series of clones that just aren't up to par as there's not enough viable tissues remaining. In response, a super solider is created of the remaining Travers stock along what's left of Manning's brain. 

At first it looks like Roxxon has created the ultimate solider known as Deathlok. However, it becomes quickly clear that Deathlok is unwilling to become a pawn of the corporate machine. Desperate to find Manning's wife and son, the combined mental forces of Travers and Manning make kindling of Roxxon's military might while subconsciously the duo fight off viruses and other cybernetic stimuli created to destroy Deathlok's brain.

This book was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed the opening chapter and the ending was really good. There were some kick-ass fight scenes spread throughout. But the scenes involving Roxxon trying to control Deathlok were really confusing and quite dull. There's a lot of techno-babble that went a bit over my head and those scenes really slowed the pace of this story down to a tortoise pace. 

The metaphysical parts of Manning and Travers working together as the hive mind of Deathlok were also some really interesting segments. I could have done with more of that and a lot less of Roxxon's scientists giving their maniacal ubiquitous monologues on how to kill Deathlok.

This story was also a parody of celebrity culture, especially in how the lines of realism in reality television and the news media are often blurred for the sake of ratings. There's definite nods to several other films about the role of sport and violence in dystopian societies such as The Running Man, Rollerball, and Death Race 2000. Plus, I'd be in serious denial if I didn't mention that the Universal Solider films seem to have played a large part in the plot's inspiration as well.

 For the most, writer Charlie Huston's (Moon Knight) vision is quite gritty while border-lining on the absurd. Yet, everyday, I am stunned even more by how much reality television and pro-sports is looking a lot like the Saturday night wars in this book. So maybe it's not too weird after all.

Also, this is a Marvel Knights book, meaning that it's a little more of an adult comic than most things published by Marvel. It's even got a parental advisory on the back. The language in this book is comically X'd out. But the level of gore is quite disturbing. I haven't seen this much graphic representation of the horrors of war since the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Punisher MAX artist Lan Medina must also be a huge fan of the film Scanners as there's quite a few exploding heads in this book as well. 

Definitely not a book for the kiddies. Nor recommended for those with weak stomachs and an aversion to blood and gore, even if it is just illustrations of it.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 64

     A couple of weeks ago, I examined the first issue of the British Comic Magazine 2000 AD. Well, today it's time to check out the first appearance of 2000 AD's most popular character, Judge Dredd.

     The creation of writer John Wagner, Judge Dredd and the series that bears his name is set in a dystopian future. After a massive nuclear war, the remaining populations of earth are crammed into giant metropolises called Mega-Cities. Dredd is stationed in Mega City-1 which is centralized in the Detroit area.

    Because of the massive over-crowding, the justice systems of each Mega-City is overworked. So, the police are deputized as street judges who act as judge, jury, and executioner at the time of arrest. The toughest of them all is Judge Joe Dredd.

Dredd as he first appeared in 2000 AD Prog #2.

     For 40 years, Dredd has fought criminals, aliens, zombies, cannibal hillbillies, even the man himself, Batman. 

One of several team-ups of
Judge Dredd and the Caped Crusader.

     There's even been 2 live-action films based on the popular character. Sadly, neither Sylvester Stallone or Karl Urban could accurately bring the futuristic Dirty Harry to life on the silver screen. As a result the 1995 Judge Dredd and 2015 Dredd were colossal duds. 

Theatrical poster to the 1995 live-action film
starring Sylvester Stallone.

     Neither film was enough to kill Judge Dredd. He's still alive and kicking in both the pages of 2000 AD and his own American series currently published by IDW Publishing. 

2000 AD, Prog #2, the 1st appearance of
Judge Dredd.

    Well, that's my look at my favorite year. If you want to learn more about Judge Dredd, I recommend you check out your local comic book shop, where not only can you find the comics but an assortment of action figures, statues, apparel and more.

    Until tomorrow...
     

The Never Weres

  In this young adult sci-fi mystery, set in the not to distant future, humanity hasn't had a live birth in about 15 years. There are no elementary schools. Human cloning is illegal due to horrific mutations. Crime is running rampant, food is scarce and civilization is under militaristic surveillance 24/7. 

   Maybe the future that this book is set in isn't that far off...

   In this dystopian society, the human race's last hope rests on 3 teens. Jesse is the son of biologists and is a budding genius in the field of animal cloning. Mia hopes to preserve our history through art and volunteers with the elderly. Xian is a tinkerer who loves to go exploring in places she doesn't belong.

     When one of Xian's adventures results in the reopening of a missing girl's cold case, the trio finds themselves targets of the police. As they uncover clues in the city sewers, they come ever so much closer to solving not only the mystery of the missing girl but could solve the genetics puzzle of successful human cloning. Or they could doom it permanently...

    The Never Weres is the first solo graphic novel by journeyman artist Fiona Smyth. Adults might recognize her style as it's been used in MAD Magazine and a score of magazine advertisements. She has a cartoonist style that is creative, different, and yet oddly familiar. This helps to make this gritty story seem a little less hostile than it really is.

   When I review books for Family Comics Friday, I usually read books that are for all ages. This is one of those rare exceptions. The plot looked really intriguing and that is what this book was. But the ethical questions of human cloning, along with themes of hope in a hopeless world and dystopia may be too much for younger readers. Recommended for ages 10-18, I would have to agree. This is not a book for a 5 years old; that's for sure.

    Smyth crafted a clever mystery with lots of twists, turns, and brains. This is a thinking man's graphic novel for sure. And when you finish it, it will leave you thinking about some serious stuff. 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.