The worst of 2000ad for sale

[Lobo Baggins]

To be honest, I can't remember which one is Junker and which one was Trash. Is there even a difference?

Trash was actually pretty readable, I seem to recall being able to get through it without any problems on my big re-read.

I just don't remember anything about it beyond the artwork (I seem to recall the protagonist walking off into a lovely cityscape at the end).

[SmallBlueThing]

My Junkers have arrived, and feedback has been left. Many thanks for that- I will now place them on the "to read" pile.

Interestingly/ amusingly, the comics I bought four days before I paid for the Junkers, and which were dispatched two days later second class, have yet to arrive. Second class post is really utter bollocks, isn't it? It seems to be "deliver when we can be arsed".

SBT

[judgerufian]

My Junkers have arrived, and feedback has been left. Many thanks for that- I will now place them on the "to read" pile.

Interestingly/ amusingly, the comics I bought four days before I paid for the Junkers, and which were dispatched two days later second class, have yet to arrive. Second class post is really utter bollocks, isn't it? It seems to be "deliver when we can be arsed".

SBT

Maybe the postie wanted to get rid of Junker as fast as possible and delivered ultra quick 

[robert_ellis]

I'm glad my Junker comics have gone to a good home. Has anyone ever seen the similar reprints of the colour journal of Luke kirby comics? Maybe called night walker? I loved summer magic and although later stories were never as good they had loads of charm

[I, Cosh]

Indescribably beautiful watercolour is what They jihad.

[maryanddavid]

Autocorrect or over my head
I don't have the Night Walker ones, but they are apparently  available as either  666 Mark of the Beast, presents night walker 19-21 or Night Walker 1-3.

[Darren Stephens]

The Clown and Wireheads got the US reprint treatment too, according to David McDonald's excellent Beyond 2000ad

* I'm not sure how much input Mary had

Ugh, Junker was bad, but I quite liked Dry Run. The Clown, though, was BLOODY AWFUL. Some very nice art, but the script, what there was of it, was just so bad. My god. How the hell it was ever accepted, I have no idea. The number one worst story in 2000ADs history, in my honest view. 

[Frank]

The Clown, though, was BLOODY AWFUL. Some very nice art, but the script, what there was of it, was just so bad. My god. How the hell it was ever accepted, I have no idea. The number one worst story in 2000ADs history, in my honest view

Writer Igor Goldkind was the publisher's PR guru and talked a very good game.

[NapalmKev]

I liked 'The Clown'! I also liked 'Trash'. This is from memory as I haven't read either story in years. This will be remedied by digging out my old Progs when I have the time.

I have absolutely no recollection of 'Junker'

Cheers

[Link Prime]

The Clown, though, was BLOODY AWFUL. Some very nice art, but the script, what there was of it, was just so bad. My god. How the hell it was ever accepted, I have no idea. The number one worst story in 2000ADs history, in my honest view

Writer Igor Goldkind was the publisher's PR guru and talked a very good game.

Who writes these Wiki Sauchie- you?

[Frank]

ARF! Given that he's a PR guy to trade, I'd be amazed if the edit history of that page doesn't show Igor Goldkind to be the one and only author of his Wikipedia entry. If one of us was responsible, I think Goldkind's time at Fleetway would get more page space than the fascinating intricacies of his adventures in the worlds of digital publishing, search engine optimisation, and guest lecturing at UK institutes of further education.

[SmallBlueThing]

Okay, so I read Junker.

Some things: Firstly, the actual reproduction of the strips over the four issues is lovely- gorgeous in fact. Ridgway's art and Perkins' colours are beautiful, and the size change from prog to US comic doesn't harm this one bit. The covers (all original, by someone I don't know) are a bit meh, but when an artist like John Ridgway struggles to find arresting imagery within the actual strip, that is I suppose inevitable. They're good tries, anyway.

As well as Junker, spread out over four issues, we have a selection of back-up strips: 'The Fallen', a Future Shock by Tomlinson and Bellardinelli in #1, A Frank Lynn and Arthur Ranson FS in #2 (untitled, about a film star who hides her face after coming back from a set in Egypt), An 'Eagle One-Off' called 'Mutants', by David Robinson and Alan Burrows (which is obvious in its twist, but looks great) in #3 and the same team on another couple of 'Eagle One-Offs' called 'Killer' and 'Death of a Hero' in #4. Of these, 'Killer' was the one I enjoyed most- despite again being arguably obvious from the off, you have to bear in mind that a lot of 'Eagle's readership would not have come across this kind of story before, at time of printing. Also 'Death...' had a chucklesome twist too.

As for Junker itself- well, previously I only remembered that it went on forever and was very dull. I recalled it was a bit Star Warsy, and fully expected to find four issues on the trot to be undoable and to have to spread it out over... oh, the rest of my life, probably.

However. It's not that bad. Okay yes, actually, in context with the rest of 2000AD, it's pretty dreadful. But you know what- I read the whole thing in one go, in just over an hour, and was never bored. Maybe because I'm a little bit more familiar with Michael Fleisher's strengths, after reading a lot of stories by him in 'Savage Sword of Conan' recently, it did immediately become apparent that he has actually just taken a standard sword-and-sorcery plot and (presumably to fit it in to 2000AD's remit) liberally added Star Wars. We have a duplicitous woman, lots of mysogeny from the main protagonist, fights, space battles, a desert planet or two, a comedy sidekick who saves the day at one point, and lots and lots of brilliantly ridiculous names.

I don't know whether Fleisher is taking the piss, but we have

"I am Varex't J!Q, one of the few survivors of the royal lineage of Nyallspex. Our planet's entire way of life is dependent upon an ability to harness the unique emanations of a rare crystalline flora which blossoms only on the asteroid Pkk'th..."

"My home planet has been at the mercy of the blood-mad Yanomamoid Warlords of the neighbouring planet Venezga!"

and so on.

The Star Wars gloss goes as far as an alien bar-fight at one point and the protagonist's story is basically thus: He was a cop, his wife left him because he was good at his job and away from home too much, then he fell in love and was betrayed by another woman resulting in his losing said job and having to take up a position as a salvage flier. His motto is "women are awful, really". He displays this by saying things like "I don't trust a woman" quite a lot, in response to which his newly-found supposed-damsel-in-distress, possible love-interest Varex't J!Q (or "Veejay") usually gets a wrinkled-nose close-up and a "Hmmph! Men!" panel.

In a completely unexpected twist, VeeJay is [spoiler]actually a blood-mad alien warrior queen ("By the scarlet nebula!" she rants) and they don't get together at the end. Junker buggers off with his comedy lizard-monkey-rat Razz(matazz), after Razz vapourises her with a grenade, there's a big explosion in space and a joke before bedtime.  [/spoiler]

Tosh, obviously. But- the art by John Ridgway and Tim Perkins is just so bloody lovely- the gorgeous painted landscapes, the classical Ridgway creature designs which appear to have marched straight out of his Colin Baker Dr Who period- that I found myself drinking in every page.

I never thought I'd say this but- if you can get this series, do. Or y'know, just read your back progs.

Cheers to Robert_Ellis for the sale!

SBT

[robert_ellis]

...bloody hell you read them!

[ZenArcade]

I still say a joy to look at with a very poor sub-pulp plot. 2000AD has produced worse. Z

[Trout]

I have no memory of any of that story. I vaguely recall not hating it, but... Wow.