Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files vol 2

John Wagner (writer)
Alan Grant (writer)
various artists
Rebellion

This volume collects together forgotten and rare gems from the Thrill-power archives. Readers can experience Dredd strips that haven’t been reprinted in over thirty years. This collection of classic strips is a must read for any comic fan!

This is a collection of stories from annuals and specials from the 80s and the stories are typical of the time.  Lot's of puns and silliness interspersed with some Dredd style ultra-violence.

Being from specials and annuals the stories are all short little self contained tales.  It's really familiar stuff but that doesn't detract as it's great stuff.

Two classic writers alongside loads of groovy artists make this a proper fun read.

Doctor Who: The Way Through the Woods

Una McCormack
BBC Books

'As long as people have lived here, they've gone out of their way to avoid the woods...'
Two teenage girls disappear into an ancient wood, a foreboding and malevolent presence both now and in the past. The modern motorway bends to avoid it, as did the old Roman road. In 1917 the Doctor and Amy are desperate to find out what's happened to Rory, who's vanished too.
But something is waiting for them in the woods. Something that's been there for thousands of years. Something that is now waking up.

I rather enjoyed this little ditty.  I took a slow evening and a bit to read it which is generally the case for these.  They tend to be a little slight but also usually good fun.

There's something about the woods;  no one goes there, no one talks about it and even the motorway avoids it.  People have been going missing in there for years and every 50 years or so someone doesn't come home.

In 1917 Emily Bostock disappears into woods but luckily for here she's accompanied by a shy young man called Rory who has friends who are looking to put an end to the shenanigans.  Unfortunately, The Doctor has been arrested and Amy is having  trouble talking the woods' last victim into putting herself at risk. But eventually all the pieces fall into place and the problem is revealed and easily remedied in characteristic 11th Doctor style.

Petrograd

Philip Gelatt (writer)
Tyler Crook (artist)
Oni Press

Introducing the untold tale of the international conspiracy behind the murder of Gregorii Rasputin Set during the height of the first World War, the tale follows a reluctant British spy stationed in the heart of the Russian empire as he is handed the most difficult assignment of his career: orchestrate the death of the mad monk, the Tsarina's most trusted adviser and the surrogate ruler of the nation. The mission will take our hero from the slums of the working class into the opulent houses of the super rich... he'll have to negotiate dangerous ties with the secret police, navigate the halls of power, and come to terms with own revolutionary leanings, all while simply trying to survive Based on historical documents and research, Petrograd is a tense, edge-of-your seat spy thriller, taking the reader on a journey through the background of one of history's most infamous assassinations, set against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous moments in 20th century history.

I only known two things about Rasputin.  Firstly that he was Russia's greatest love machine and secondly that he was a cat that really was gone.  Phillip Gellat on the other hand seems to know a lot more, particularly with regard to how he met his end and the people involved.  How much of this book was based on established fact, I have no clue.  It tells of the British Secret Service and their manipulation of the crown prince of Russia into carrying out the assassination and also of the nascent revolutionary movement in the country.

I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this as much as I did.  It was engagingly written and very nicely drawn and provided a very diverting evening's read.

Snowpiercer

Jacques Lob (writer)
Jean-Marc Rochette (artist)
Titan Comics

Snowpiercer is the enthralling and thought-provoking post-apocalyptic graphic novel that inspired the critically acclaimed movie starring Chris Evans (Captain America, Fantastic Four). Originally published in French, this marks the first time that Snowpiercer will be available in English.
In a harsh, uncompromisingly cold future where Earth has succumbed to treacherously low temperatures, the last remaining members of humanity travel on a train while the outside world remains encased in ice.
The surviving community are not without a social hierarchy; those that travel at the front of the train live in relative luxury whilst those unfortunate enough to be at the rear remain clustered like cattle in claustrophobic darkness. Yet, things are about to change aboard the train as passengers become disgruntled.

I watched the film a couple of months ago, it was OK.  It was nothing particularly earth-shattering but still fun.  My friend Steve on the other hand loved it so much he went out and bought the book.  It isn't very good.

As with the film it shows the journey of a rear-ender all the way to the front of the massive train as it traverses a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland.  Unlike in the film here he is a prisoner in the company of a liberal minded third class passenger. The story of the journey through the train is similar but resolves differently and quite unsatisfactorily which I won't spoil for you here; I'll let them do that for you.

The art is significantly better than the words but the lack of scale brought about by the scenario has left it feeling a little cramped and stilted.

It's a nice idea but not one that's been particularly well realised.