Friday 27 May 2011

Tales of the Dead Man - John Wagner & John Ridgway

I was completely taken in by this when I first read it years ago. This time all the clues are there, the 'Have you seen his eyes?' part in particular. It's beautifully written and paced to perfection. More happens in one two page Wagner spread than in most writers entire issues. He is the master of the 5 page 2000ad format. There's just no-one to touch him, Pat Mills included.

It's also good to be able to say that after all thease years since it was published Wagner is still nailing it. I've picked uip a few Dredds lately and they've all been good. The only slightly duff one was vol 14 (I think) of the Complete Dredd books. It had the first Ennis stories in it and it was pretty poor in places.
Ridgway I have a strange relationship with. At first glance I find his style quite a turn-off but once I'm into the story his artwork is the perfect place to be.
I'm so glad I picked this up. I remembered it as being proper good and 20 odd years later it's still a real fucking ride.

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