This morning I read prog 1812 in the waiting room outside my daughter's ballet class. I was surrounded by aspirational middle-class parents in crisp sportswear, and I sat, chuckling loudly, in my Wicker Man T-shirt, torn jeans and smelly old fleece feeling a spirit of brotherhood with Dirty Frank. Those fuckers will never know my joy. Hell of a prog.
The real beauty of this comic is in the editing. Steering it home has obviously been a challenge, but it's united three discrete strips with very different writing styles to give us a highlight in modern comics. The gritty Dredd story, the wordy noirish monologuing of Jack Point and Dirty Frank's unhygenic hilarity somehow combine into something that just works. It shouldn't - it should jar - but holy fuck it works, this shark-headed electronosing bang bang shooty shooty twisty turny justice-powered festival of backstory and supporting cast.
My highlights:
Judge Smiley looks just like Alan Bennett.
Point:
"I'm deputisin' you morons in the name of the law!"The meeting between
DeMarco and Dredd. Uncomfortable.
Overdrive:
"Name one thing you have that I cannot buy?" Frank:
"Justice."And that splash page. Beautiful and cheeky. I grinned.
There's more, of course. There are re-reads and discussions to come, as we peel apart the layers and enjoy the subtler parts, like when the writers peek out from behind the eyes of their characters. The "saudade" reference is explained, too, although I think it works on several levels; I'll have to have a bit of a think about it. All the loose plot threads appear to be tied up but I'll need to go over it again. There are more rewards to come.
But, overall: prog of the year. Dredd story of the year, despite John Wagner being at his best on Day of Chaos. I cannot praise this comic enough. Aren't we lucky?
- Trout
