2000 AD - prog 249

Amazing detail from O'Neil.

This comic book, for me, is a jolt of nostalgia from late January 1982. Again, it has a great cover, just like last week. It shows the effects of hallucinogenic gas, with a future soldier pointing a bazooka at an illusion of a giant snake. It is not at all subtle, but it is cool.

The first story is Ace Trucking but I skipped past it this week, and went straight to Nemesis the Warlock. This story had - wonder of wonders - a female character, saying words and everything. She was the only female in a battle where everyone else was a guy, so the scene doesn't pass the Bechdel test, but it is something. It is amazing how different Nemesis is with Redondo's art instead of O'Neil's. I say it every issue, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

Judge Dredd this issue is interesting. It features our hero firing a bunch of missiles that he calls TADs, or total annihilation devices, which is a strangely evocative name. I remember being impressed by it at the time, although it is just different branding for a nuke, I guess.

The Mean Arena strip is pretty forgettable, and then comes Rogue Trooper. It is a beautiful story about hallucinations wandering toward a foxhole in the chemical haze. I could even imagine it making a good play. The foxhole would be centre stage, and holograms could be used for the hallucinations.

I don't usually talk about the back covers of these comic books, but this one is amazing. It is Nemesis the Warlock, drawn by Kevin O'Neil. It probably took him weeks to complete it. It is a simple image with just one single, naked alien wearing a cape, but there is an insane amount of detail in cape folds, muscle contours, and even knuckles.