Markley’s Fevered Brain: I Dredd a Fix

Wayne Markley

Wayne Markley


by Wayne Markley

This blog is a mixed bag of reviews and some random thoughts about comic books and the industry. I review the newly released Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored HC, restoring for the first time the classic stories about a fight over fast food, namely KFC, that landed up bringing lawsuits and getting the stories banned since they first appeared, till now. I also review my current favorite Image title, The Fix, a cop buddy comic unlike anything else, and it is great. Also a few thoughts on DCs ongoing Rebirth, comic book cover prices, Scooby Apocalypse and a great, charming online one panel strip called Watson that will make any geek smile.

Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored HC

Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored HC


For the first time since they first appeared in the pages of 2000AD, Rebellion has released the Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored HC, written by John Wagner and Pat Mills with art by Brian Bolland, Mick McMahon and other in a luscious deluxe hardcover. For those who do not know the story here, when these stories were released the publisher got in all sorts of trouble as in the story there are fast food wars and the writers specifically named major fast food franchises and made fun of them. This lead to a number of legal hassles that prompted the publisher to never reprint these controversial stories till now. Not even the recent Judge Dredd-Cursed Earth collection from IDW included these stories. Now re-reading them almost forty years later it seems kind of silly that this story caused such an uproar. But it did, and parts of this epic saga have been buried ever since.

Now the question becomes is it worth it to buy and read this collection again when most of it has been collected numerous times in the past? The answer is yes. This is a beautiful collection on sharp white paper with all of the color spreads from the original comics restored, for the first time. The overall story is still a great mix of humor and adventure as Judge Dredd and Spikes Harvey Rotten make their way across the Cursed Earth. This takes place in the earlier part of the Judge Dredd mythos when the comic was still a biting commentary on British politics and life. Sadly a lot of the points Wagner and Mills make are still true today. Even if you put aside the politics of this book, you will find a rip roaring adventure on par with the greatest Hollywood epics (think Indy Jones in the future) with some spectacular art and some biting writing. I am glad to see this finally back in print, uncensored, and in glorious color where appropriate. Recommended.

The Fix

The Fix


The Fix by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber has become one of my favorite comics after only four issues. This is a crime comic that is also so much more. It rates up there with the best television cops shows, coming close to the bar set by The Wire, which if you have never seen you, should stop reading this, sit down and watch all five seasons. Good, you are back. Wasn’t that great? Now unlike The Wire, The Fix is set in Los Angeles and it is about two police detectives who are as crocked as the day is long. The book opens with the two of them already neck deep in problems as they constantly make things worse as they try to fix the prior problem they had caused. In almost all of these issues they are doing a variety of illegal acts and get involved with some unsavory people who will just as soon kill these two cops as work with them. The book is a nice mix of crime, humor, and action. It is very funny in places and dramatic in others. The storytelling by Nick Spencer is excellent (as is his current Ant-Man series which if you like it, you will love this book) and the art by Steve Lieber is clean and slick and truly captures the feel of the story. You actually feel as if you are in Los Angeles as you glide from panel to panel. This book is not a superhero book by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a fantastic read that I would think even the hardest superhero fan would enjoy because of all of the action and the great storytelling.

Now a few odds and ends and short thoughts on a few topics. I have been reading all of DCs Rebirth titles and so far, as little as they have done (three issues per title at the most and the number ones are still coming out weekly), I have a few early thoughts. First off, they are much better than the New 52. Far less dark and violent and there is attention and detail to the character’s past that the New 52 shunned. None have really blown me away (like The Fix has), nor have any made me go “I give up” on this title ether. I think it is a vast improvement over the last five years, but I still have issues with the line. My main complaint is once again they are writing for trades; that is long multiple part stories that read better in one sitting, than one complete story. Now this is true for almost all comics these days, except for Scooby Doo Team-Up, but it still frustrates me. It makes it very difficult recommend a title to a new reader in our retail store when I have to explain you have to read these five issue to understand what is happening in issue six. Or wait for the trade. I wish DC, and almost all other publishers, would tell standalone stories with subplots that build the larger story and save multiple part stories for special events. Overall though, I think the Rebirth books have been very good.

Speaking of DC Rebirth, why are all the Rebirth titles $2.99 in comic book stores and $3.99 on newsstands? I think it is clearly a benefit for comic retailers that they can charge less than Barnes and Noble, but who knew this? The causal comic buyer who traditionally does not go to the comic store will have no idea they can save money by going to a comic retail store, or a mail order company like our parent company, Westfield Comics. I do not have an answer to this, as if you strongly promote this you will anger newsstands, which are such a tiny part of the comic sales anymore they barely count. But the traditional outlet, gas station, grocery store, etc. is still a great way to catch people who would never think of going to a comic store due to their preconceived ideas of what a comic book store is. I would like to know what you think of this. Is it a good idea?

Watson

Watson


Recently I meet a gentleman named Jim Horwitz. In the course of our conversation he mentioned he does an online comic strip called Watson. I wrote it down and later checked it out. I am glad I did. It is a single panel strip that he publishes three times a week and it is both charming and funny. It is steeped in pop culture that both pokes fun at it and obviously loves it at the same time. If you would like a laugh and a smile, check it out at http://www.watsonstrip.com/. You will be glad you did. Unfortunately, there are no print collections available presently.

Scooby Apocalypse #6

Scooby Apocalypse #6


My final quick take is Scooby Apocalypse. When this book was first announced I hated the idea. As I am a big fan of the original Scooby-Doo comic, particularly the Dan Spiegel material. Now I have read three issues of this new imagining of Scooby and the gang by Jim Lee, J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Griffin and Howard Porter I am surprisingly pleased. It is a fresh take and a fun read. Not really anything like classic Scooby-Doo outside of the characters and name, but it is a fun read that is very entertaining. But I should note that it is once again an ongoing story that is being done for a trade and not stand alone stories and the violence is turned up dramatically compared to the traditional Scooby, so not really for kids.

That wraps it is up this time. Thank you very much for your time and for your comments and opinions. Everything I have written he is my thoughts and in no way reflect the thoughts or ideas or likes/dislikes of Westfield Comics or their employees. I always welcome your thoughts about what I have written here, as well as any suggestions on a book I may be over looking. I can be reached at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. As always,

Thank you.

 

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