Who’s Better; ET or Skizz?
Prog 319, posted Thurs Dec 6^th 2007

Apparently, the story goes like this; In anticipation of the arrival of hit movie, ET, Tharg commissioned script robot Alan Moore, whose star was in the ascension but a way from its peak just yet, to write a thrill using its known themes, baring in mind that no one in the UK had seen it yet. By the time the movie was released here and Skizz started to be serialised in 2000 AD, the similarities were, how can I put this, many. Interestingly since then, I have read accusations by some of Moore’s peers (if, indeed, he has any) stating that some of his more known work, such as V for Vendetta for example, is similar to fiction published before it but, when accusing him of plagiarism, they never seem to mention the most obvious example of all.

Although I was far from being a regular reader of 2000 AD at this time, I have read Skizz once before, many years ago. This was a number of episodes at a time but, for The Slog, this is the first occasion that I’ve read them properly as single parts, although, admittedly, not a week apart from each other. I’m impressed at how natural they read and tightly written they are. At this point, Moore is drip feeding us episodes of Marvel Man and V for Vendetta and there is sometimes a sense that he is conscious of having to pack a little more in each time but Skizz, because he can be assured that it will appear every week, allows him the space to pace the story more ideally. Reading it this way, I notice that it contrasts well against the dystopian tones of Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper.

Jim Baikie’s art is brilliant. I had almost forgotten how good he is. It’s all perfect figure work, perfect environment and perfect emotion. There’s something about looking at a drawing of a kangaroo shaped alien scuttling past the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham or breaking into a garden shed that works for me. I have found myself staring in awe at Baikie’s line work and wishing I had that much ability and confidence.

For me, Skizz sits more in the old tradition of 2000 AD and its ancestor, Action, where a film currently on release is re-spun through the gauze of British working class perspective. In this case, it’s ET written by Alan Bleasdale. The human cast are compelling, particularly Cornelius (this thrill’s equivalent of Yosser Hughes) who, on meeting Skizz for the first time, asks him if they need pipe fitters where he comes from. Although I found it disconcerting to read in a recent episode that this character, who is traumatised by unemployment, is supposed to be three years younger than I am now.

Byrne, baby, Byrne!
Sci-Fi Special 1983, posted Fri Dec 7^th 2007

Like every sensible Marvelite of the late seventies and early eighties, I thought that John Byrne was the best thing since bare breasts. By 1983, he had finished helping to make The Uncanny X-Men Marvel’s biggest selling book and was now working his magic on the Fantastic Four and other Marvel comics. At the height of his popularity and output, the English speaking superhero comic reader’s favourite artist had agreed to draw an episode of a lesser known strip called Judge Dredd.

Seeing superstar artist Byrne drawing one of our humble British strips for the payment of a pint of milk and a packet of crisps seemed as likely as 2000 AD’s Alan Grant writing the lead Bat Man comic for DC even though, the year before, we had seen Joe Staton on Blackhawk. However, by the time both Byrne and Tharg could schedule each other in, his artwork, on his American books at least, was going through a ropey period. The Fantastic Four started to look like it was being drawn at actual reproduction size while who can forget the notorious snow storm issue of Alpha Flight where the panels were left blank except for captions, speech balloons and sound effects. I put this quality dip down to the quantity of his work, which, in relation to most other professionals was vast.

In Block-Out at the Crater Bowl, Dredd leads a group of Judges in policing a Block-Out match. The fans of the three sides are passionate about the blocks that they support to the point of irrationality and when the skirmishes between them turn into a full scale mass brawl Dredd has no choice but to spray the crowd in riot foam. I love the thought that Wagner and Grant might have written this satire of football hooliganism, a very British issue at the time, with Byrne in mind. He might have lived in the UK until he was eight years old but contemporary social issues specific to Britain must have been baffling to him.

Art Robot Byrne’s version of Dredd seems to be more in line with the earlier definition of the character instead of the scowling, post Bolland interpretation that was now popular. His style is loose and quick making his work seem confident and natural. Had he drawn this strip a couple of years before, his crowds would have been made up of generic faces but here they all look individualistic, the sign of a cartoonist at the top of his game as far as I’m concerned. There are some flaws; for example, it looks obvious from this black and white strip that he’s drawn it for colour reproduction and most of the scenes lack background detail but, on the whole, I would say this is an effort that compares favourably with many of the regular artists on the weekly at the time. With Byrne having burned his bridges with all of the mainstream publishers in 2007, perhaps Tharg should consider giving him a call and offering him the chance to draw Judge Dredd again. It’s just a thought.

The Hariy Robot
Prog 322, posted Mon Dec 10^th 2007

I definitely had this prog first time around. I’m guessing that I was motivated to buy it thanks to another appearance by the mighty team of Alan Moore and Alan Davis who are already producing dynamite with Captain Britain for Marvel UK and are about to, if they aren’t already, with Marvel Man for Warrior. This time they produce a one-off called The Hyper-Historic Headbang. In it, we learn of a flattened planet with pitch perfect creatures inhabiting its canyons and a spaceship carving its way through them thus creating one of the most memorable heavy metal concerts of all time. Now that’s what I call rock excess!

Although he’s made background appearances in Tharg stories before, art editing droid Robin Smith makes Alan Moore’s role as a script robot official, at last, by drawing him in his own pin-up. I love the idea of a robot with long hair and a beard. I think all three of the Star Wars prequels would have been improved considerably if all the robots had been CGIed with stylish haircuts and facial hair.

Judge Basset
Prog 327, posted Wed Dec 12^th 2007

In Judge Dredd Rise of the Werewolf, Dredd enters the under city, old New York, which was concreted over and had Mega City One built over the top of it. It is from there, through a crack in the ground, that Werewolves have been entering Meg One and spreading their condition. Now, the city’s top Judge has entered old New York to stop the infestation at its source.

The first thing to say about this story is that, for me, this is art robot Steve Dillon’s most memorable work on Judge Dredd. The mood is heavy with ink but he manages to maintain the dynamism that I associate with his 2000 AD work. It’s also interesting to see that Dillon, like Brett Ewins at this time on Rogue Trooper, seems to be interested in bold but simple page designs; small panels with, often, extreme close ups accompanied by a large, explosive, action splash. These close ups and big panels, however, can’t detract from how unique his werewolves look; they have box shaped jaws leaving me wondering if Dillon based his design on the dog Jock from the Fred Basset comic strips.

Rise of the Werewolf is a good example of how John Wagner and Alan Grant are scripting Judge Dredd these days. The story pacing seems extended out but every moment and line of dialogue is more considered and meant to be savoured. Their work reads like a more together ancestor to the twenty-first centaury trend in mainstream comics for story padding.

If this tale is a good example of anything, though, then it’s of the wide scope of the Judge Dredd concept at its core. Although the character remains inflexible the thrill itself is strong enough to hold the weight of werewolves, visits into space, mutants, time travel, social and political satire and all the rest. There are 400 million stories in the city and Wagner and Grant seem determined to tell them all.