Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 4

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 4 (2000 AD, First UK Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. #624-630, 633-635, 2000, 1301-1312, 2003, 1344-1349, 1380-1385, 1462-1464, 1477-1479, 1771, 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special 1992, 2000 A.D. Yearbook 1994, 2000 A.D. Winter Special 2005, and The Judge Dredd Megazine #244 (cover dates April 29, 1989- February 22, 2012)

Writers: John Tomlinson, Ian Edginton, Mark Millar, Gerry Finley-Day, Andy Diggle, John Smith, and Gordon Rennie

Artists: Steve Dillon, Kevin Walker, Dave Gibbons, Staz Johnson, Dylan Teague, David Roach, Jim McCarthy, Simon Coleby, Mike Collins, PJ Holden, Steve Pugh, Brett Ewins, David Hill, Richard Elson, and and Colin Wilson

If you are still buying a line of books by Volume 4, then you are likely a completist. That is exactly what this odds and ends, even the kitchen sink hodgepodge collection is: an endcap for the completists, the remainder of the non-US produced stuff. The writing and artwork are all over the place in terms of quality. It reads fine, but rather than the huge, sprawling, book-length arcs found in the first three volumes, this is an assortment of flashback stories and shorter arcs. I have read all four of these books and have enjoyed the character and the concept, but I don't feel the need to go any further.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book is wider than a standard trade paperback due to the dimensions of the original UK publications. The material is still reprinted in a size smaller than the original issues.

Linework and color restoration: The black and white portions look crisp and clean. The color portions are scanned from original comics and look decent.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Cardstock cover notes: Cardstock is thick, but the coating is that dull frosty feeling stuff that scuffs when you breathe on it too hard. I will never understand why any publisher would choose to use this other than as a cost save, as it looks like shit by the time that you are done reading it. I can only imagine how beat up this would look if it were on a shelf in a store and handled repeatedly. 

Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 3

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 3 (2000 AD, First UK Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. #410-419, 422-426, 428-432, 444-449, 520-531, 567-572, 574, 575, 589, 598-600, 602, 603, 2000 A.D. Annual 1986, 1987, 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special 1982-1984, 1986, 1988, 2000 A.D. Winter Special 1989, and Dice Man #3, 5 (cover dates March 23, 1985- Winter, 1989)

Writers: Gerry Finley-Day, Steve Macmanus, Simon Geller, Peter Milligan, Steve Dillon, Pat Mills, and Grant Morrison

Artists: Jose Ortiz, Steve Dillon, Boluda, Chris Weston, Eric Bradbury, Brett Ewins, Cam Kennedy, Mike Collins, and Will Simpson

These continuing adventures of Rogue Trooper and his biochipped comrades, Bagman, Helm, and Gunnar, seem to spin their wheels while continuing to entertain. Rogue's quest to get his fallen biochipped comrades regened into new bodies brings him back to Milli-Com, when peace talks between the Norts and Southers are interrupted by a third party.

Unknown to all, it is really a race of aliens who want to conquer Nu-Earth. The aliens approach Rogue with the promise of ending war for all time. All that he has to do is eliminate 34 key figures and peace will follow, or so they promise him. After fulfilling several of the hits his quest takes him to the ancient planet Earth, where he learns the truth in a slapdash way. What had been a huge sprawling epic seems to stop abruptly, and it seems an inorganic way to end what should have been a big bang of an ending. Oh well.

The writing is good and the artwork is solid, especially Jose Ortiz and Chris Weston's. This is fast paced, action packed stuff low on the search for literary credibility and high on fun. Comic books try too hard to be taken seriously nowadays. Not everything has to be sophisticated “adult literature”.

I thought that the Choose Your Own Adventure style stories at the end of the book were a lot of fun, especially the ones which require you to roll a die and use the score to determine where you are going. Neat stuff. This volume kinds of wraps things up well enough and would be a fine stopping point. There is a fourth volume in this line which is aging to perfection in my backlog as we speak. I hope to read it someday.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The only covers that are included are 2000 A.D. #410, 422, 429, 568, 574, 598, 602, all in full color.

Linework and Color restoration: The black and white material looks sharp. The color material was scanned from original comics and looks decent.

Paper stock: Matte coated stock. Many people prefer an uncoated stock for black and white material but a coated stock will hold the blacks better. As long as it has little to no sheen it is more enjoyable to me. Your mileage may vary.

Binding: Sewn binding on softcover makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte finish with a dry feel to it. It is easily scuffed even when handled carefully. 

Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 2

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 2 (2000 AD, First US Printing, 2013; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. #318-355, 358-392, 401-406, and 2000 A.D. Annual 1983, 1985 (cover dates May 28, 1983- February 23, 1985)

Writers: Gerry Finley-Day, Steve Macmanus, and Ian Rogan

Artists: Cam Kennedy, Brett Ewins, Boluda, Steve Dillon, Robin Smith, and Trevor Goring

Rogue Trooper is a G.I. (Genetic Infantryman) in the Nu-Earth Future War. G.I.s are genetically modified to be able to survive in the toxic wasteland of Nu-Earth. He has the biochips of three of his fallen G.I.s inserted into his equipment, which gives the book a supporting cast. Gunnar (inserted into his gun with a number 2 written on him), Helm (inserted into his helmet with a number 1 written on him), and Bagman (inserted into his backpack with a number 3 written on him) are waiting for Rogue to prove his innocence so that they can return to Milli-Com and become re-gened into new bodies.

This has a serial feeling to it, with Rogue trying to prove his innocence while consistently doing the right thing for his cause even though the Southers would kill him if they could. In that regard it is like a sci-fi version of the 1960s television series Branded.

A few new elements are added to Rogue's abilities, and they are presented in a believable manner. I really enjoyed the tightly structured, fast-paced arcs. The main difference between these arcs and what now passes as arcs in comics is that this was done in mostly 4-page weekly bursts. This really picked up at the end. I enjoyed it so much that I bumped Vol. 3 up the backlog queue and am already reading it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The covers for for 323, 331, 344, 371, 388, and 392 are included, albeit in black and white. The logic being that only the covers featuring Rogue Trooper on them are presented here. #401 and the 1983, 1984, and 1985 also had Rogue Trooper on the cover, although those have been omitted from this collection.

Linework restoration: Things are generally excellent although there are a few page that seem murky, like the blacks are too heavy. There are a handful of stories that were originally printed in color

Paper stock: Heavyweight uncoated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. Has a nice thick band of glue.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick cardstock with a matte coating. Resistant to scuffing, a rarity with this type of finish.

 

Review- ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1

ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1 (2000 AD, Second Printing, April, 2011; Softcover)

Collects the Rogue Trooper stories from 2000 A.D. Nos. 228-232, 234-243, 246-258, 260-262, 265-301, 303-317, and 2000 A.D. Annual 1983, 1984 (cover dates September 5, 1981- May 21, 1983)

Writers: Gerry Finley-Day and Alan Moore

Artists: Dave Gibbons, Cam Kennedy, Brett Ewins, Colin Wilson, Mike Dorey, and Eric Bradbury

Rogue Trooper is a G.I., or Genetic Infantryman, a sort of super-soldier modified to withstand the harsh toxic environments of Nu-Earth without a breathing apparatus. Mankind relocated to this new Earth but their chemical warfare in the Nu Earth future war polluted the atmosphere. The G.I.'s entire personality transfers to a biochip at the time of their death, and these biochips can be installed in various hardware. When Rogue's comrades are killed in combat he inserts them in his helmet (Helm), his gun (Gunnar), and his bag (Bagman). They can speak and retain their entire personality and serve as the supporting cast. 

It is really interesting to see how influential these British comics were on American comics. The third party narrative is used sparingly, mostly as a plotline recap since this was a weekly strip, with the rest of the story being entirely dialogue driven. Compare this to American comic books of similar vintage and you will see what I mean. Nowadays this is par for the course, but British comics are where that style started.

While this was consistently enjoyable throughout 400-odd pages, The Fort Neuro arc was my favorite. I love how the one base, the Napoleonic Complex, pretended to be from France. Dave Gibbons (later of Watchmen fame) was the original artist for the series, and Alan Moore writes the story from the 2000 A.D. Annual 1984. Cam Kennedy is nearly as good an artist as Gibbons. This is good stuff that holds up remarkably well 30-odd years after it's original publication.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Buy ROGUE TROOPER: TALES OF NU-EARTH VOL. 1 TP at InStockTrades!

The OCD zone- The only covers that are included are #228, 231, 241, and 317.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: There is an uncredited additional page at the end of the cover gallery in the back of the book.

Linework: Things look good for 95% of the book. A few pages look murky, like a few of the pages may have been scanned from printed pages instead of sourced from film. The film was altered from original publication for the 2005 192 page collections. The *footnote box refers to previous books rather than individual issues.

Paper stock: Thick uncoated stock, zero sheen under any light source.

Binding: Sewn binding, six stitches per signature.

Cardstock cover notes: Dull matte coating, easily scuffed even when handled gingerly. I strongly dislike this style of finish.