Reading – Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One

Published in 2011, Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One* presents eleven stories set in Mega-City One and the world of Judge Dredd. These are stories about the wrong size of the law, and with art from Jock, Simon Coleby, and Henry Flint (as well as other artists, but those three are my favorites in the book) it’s as fun to look at as it is to read.

Lenny Zero, Dead Zero, and Wipeout

The first three stories in Lenny Zero* are dedicated to Lenny Zero, the title character, and are definitely the best tales in the book. Written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Jock, all three black and white stories (with some digital grayshading work) work together beautifully to introduce us to undercover Judge Lenny Zero . . . and introduce us to Lenny’s problem. You see, Lenny Zero has gone a might corrupt during his years as an undercover Judge. And in these three stories things go a bit wrong for our “hero.”

What’s especially impressive is that the first Lenny Zero story, as Diggle tells us in the introduction to Mega-city Undercover* (which needs some discussion; later), was written at a time when company policy did not allow him — as 2000 AD editor — to contribute stories to the book. Good thing Diggle went against policy and broke the rules, because this story clearly proves he can write!

And if you remember my review of Batman: The Black Mirror (reading post here) then you know I’m a fan of Jock’s artwork. These stories are from earlier in his career — and don’t feature quite as impressive page layouts as The Black Mirror — but the art’s incredible and I’m a pretty big fan of the stark black & white look and the stylized character art. And while there are curves in the art they’re jagged; just the right level of roughness and sharp edges to make me really excited by the look of the first three stories in the book.

Slick Dickens, Dressed to Kill, and Slick on the Job

The next three stories inside Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One* are actually my least favorite tales in the book. Written by John Wagner (and one lists Alan Grant as co-author), these three stories are all about the fictional character “Slick Dickens.” Yes, these three works of fiction are about a fictional character in the setting . . . try to keep up. You see, Mega-City One author Truman Kaput sets off committing crimes so that he can better write his next novel, a crime story. This way the novel would be more “true-to-life.” But when Judge Dredd catches the author in the act Kaput is soon in the iso-cubes.

The Slick Dickens tales aren’t at all bad, they’re just (IMO) the weakest tales in the book. It doesn’t help at all that I’m not much of a fan of the artwork by Xuasus (shown above) who handles Dressed to Kill. And the other two stories, illustrated by Steve Dillon and Greg Staples, also are way down on my list of “fantastically fun art in a comic.” But I think ultimately my problem with these three stories in the book is that the other tales in Lenny Zero* are just way more fun to read and look at.

Bat Loco, True Romance, and Head Job

Written by Gordon Rennie and illustrated by Simon Coleby, this trio of stories comes in as my second favorite batch of tales in Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One*. All about street hood Carlito Agarra, the “Bat Loco,” these stories let us see one hell of a lucky criminal in Mega-City One who gets away with more than he ever should.

Rennie writes great dialogue, and Coleby’s action art really helps keep the pace fast and fun . . . which is important for these very short comic stories (two are twelve pages and one is eight pages). In the stories we see guys fighting over the corpse of a fat man, Judge Dredd fail to capture the criminal, and Agarra’s badass fiance save his life by blowing away a pair of aliens. Yes, these stories get pretty far out there. But they’re fun and the madness works perfectly in the comics.

Streetfighting Man

Written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Henry Flint, Streetfighting Man tells us the adventure of ex-gang leader Lee Walker. Lee has served his time and works for the Judges, going around and telling kids his tale and trying to direct others away from a life of crime. But when Walker’s family is kidnapped and he’s forced to commit crimes for their captors it all goes violent. There are some fun twists — including Judge Dredd not going postal on Walker — and the end is one packed with proper Mega-City One-style justice. Fun work!

Wallcrawlers

Written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Robert McCallum, the last story in the book is pretty straightforward and a good look at the building scrubbers of Mega-City One . . . and what happens when a graf artist is sentenced to clean building walls. There are days when jail is better than spending time on the streets — and in the skies! — of the city.

Mega-City Undercover vs Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One

Two books, published years apart, with a bit of overlap between then. Lenny Zero* is the newest of the two and the one I would recommend because it’s newer and cheaper, but if you want more and don’t mind after-market prices then both Mega-city Undercover* and Mega-City Undercover 2* are worth grabbing for more undercover action. Warning, though, that the Lenny Zero stories are in Undercover so if you have Lenny Zero and Undercover then you’ll have those stories twice.

Closing Thoughts

Highly recommended! Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One* is enjoyable, a good price for the number of stories packed inside, and is mostly all A+ story and artwork. And to be fair, the stories I’m not all that much a fan of do have people who love them, so depending on your own personal tastes it’s possible everything inside will be gold to you.

I always love the 2000 AD booth at conventions, and reading through Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One* has me again itching to invade their tables at SDCC and load myself down with books. One more month and I’ll do just that!