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thecommonswings's review
4.0
Although histories of 2000AD tend to be a bit snobby about Gerry Finlay Day, he understands Rogue Trooper better than almost anyone else who’s tried their hands at the character. The problem really is that there’s only a finite amount of stories you can tell with such a simple character, especially once his one main motivation - the traitor general - was tidied up. He can’t mature as a character because that’s not the world he’s in or the character he is: he’s an unstoppable clone soldier who chats to his dead buddies to keep away the boredom. That’s kind of it
Dave Gibbons crucially misunderstood this when he rebooted the character as Friday, which ended up as sour and self important and unable to indulge in the joyous whimsy this book manages to juggle with the future war stuff. There’s a lot of future war angst here, but nicely balanced with detours into disco, satire and more. I think it’s been very wise that any visits to Nu-Earth since have been peripheral stories like Jaegir, because there’s only so far this can stretch. Unlike Johnny Alpha there isn’t that burning injustice spurring him on or Joe Dredd’s slow, weary tumble into doubtful old age. He just keeps on going with his mission until he becomes legend
Dave Gibbons crucially misunderstood this when he rebooted the character as Friday, which ended up as sour and self important and unable to indulge in the joyous whimsy this book manages to juggle with the future war stuff. There’s a lot of future war angst here, but nicely balanced with detours into disco, satire and more. I think it’s been very wise that any visits to Nu-Earth since have been peripheral stories like Jaegir, because there’s only so far this can stretch. Unlike Johnny Alpha there isn’t that burning injustice spurring him on or Joe Dredd’s slow, weary tumble into doubtful old age. He just keeps on going with his mission until he becomes legend
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