Tooth Review: 1565 (Obligatory Spoiler Warning)

Prog 1565Two weeks to Prog 2008, and things are coming to a close (I’ve been saying that for a while now, haven’t I?)

Cover: The mysterious Karel Toten from The Red Seas, as rendered by Steve Yeowell. A dramatic enough image, and Steve Yeowell is on good form at the moment.

Quote of the Week: “Slaughterhouse! The is Dredd! Kitty is dead! The woman you think is your wife is just an empty shell! They tricked you Slaughterhouse!” Judge Dredd (speaking through the cybernetically-controlled corpse that was Slaughterhouse’s wife)

Spoilers (in addition to that one)…

Judge Dredd: Mandroid – Instrument of War part 11. Dredd tracks down Melody, Vincent’s granddaughter. Meanwhile, Slaughterhouse has second thoughts about going on the mission with Vincent.

Pretty much the whole episode is a set up to the quote above – clearly Wagner thought the idea of Dredd talking through a dead woman’s body too delicious to resist (Wagner has a thing about men in dead women’s bodies – look at America). Melody’s characterisation is interesting though; she is presented as a sad, broken person who ultimately has been going along with her grandfather’s wishes out of a desire to be loved. Last week’s revelation that her body is decaying as a result of an STD contracted through a rape attack adds another note of tragedy. In revealing all this, Vincent himself comes across as an even more despicable character whose just desserts must surely be meted out next week.

Bob Byrne’s Twisted Tales: Take #4. This occasional series is surprisingly effective but very odd. This week the story concerns a prisoner whose cell is regularly flooded and infested with nasty little sea creatures which he eventually uses to make good his escape. Told entirely without words, sometimes these strips can be a little confusing but contrast nicely with the main 2000AD fare.

Sinister Dexter: Life is an Open Casket part 6. No Siniter or Dexter this week as instead the two crime lords plot and scheme between each other. A score draw, the events do lead to the long trailled tagline “The War of the Moses” being uttered in the strip itself at long last. Meanwhile it emerges that Tracy Weld, ex-cop and Dexter’s ex-girlfriend, is working with the police to inform on him.

Not much to add to my previous weeks’ reviews except to note that Dan Abnett’s penchant for bad puns knows no bounds. And I mean that as a compliment.

The Red Seas: War Stories part 4. A pirate T-1000 versus Nazi robots. What’s not to love?

Button Man: Book IV – The Hitman’s Daughter. Harry and Adele make good their escape. Not much to add here, but I’m holding out for a twist next week.

Next week: Everything comes to a shuddering halt. Prog 2008 is coming!

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