The V.C.s Back In Action: Book 2 (2000AD #1327-1335)

"I love it when odds pay off" - Smith

Time to return to Dan Abnett's noughties revival and sequel series of early 2000AD space opera series the V.C.s. That told the story of a motley group of humans from the various planets in a federation of planets.  We followed viewpoint character Smith, from Earth as they fought an aggressive alien race nicknamed the Geeks.  All bar Smith and the Sergeant Jupe were killed off as the story progressed but in the end humanity was victorious.  Fifty years later and Smith is working as a maintenance worker who has visions of his old comrades he talks to and who keep him company. At Peace Day to commemorate fifty years of peace between humans and geeks a radical faction of geeks attacked and it turned out the only equipment and ships that could stand against them effectively was the fifty year old stuff.  As a valued veteran of that first war, Smith was promoted to Major and put in charge of a team of his own, Diderot, Lin-Fu, Ryx, Kali and Geege who is a geek from the geeks who wish for peaceful relations between humans and geek. Book one saw Smith train up and forge his team into a formidable fighting force with Geege especially overcoming the prejudice of the rest of the crew.  Now it's one year later and the war is still raging so we join the V.C.s (stands for "Vacuum Cleaners") in the midst of battle.

We begin Book 2 with Smith and two others outside in space taking cover on an asteroid which is bobbing about inside the orbit of Mercury and experiences intense and lethal five minute days every three hundred seconds.   So they have to duck and cover to avoid being broiled alive in their suits which can only survive twenty-three seconds in the glare.

Smith:  "All we hear is our own scratchy breathing and the accelerating pip of our suit counters. Then it's night again. Because that's what we do...  We're vacuum cleaners"

They are hunting for a Geek ship that went to ground two hours ago and they "ain't leaving till it's cleaned".   They crest a hill and find their lander, poly-shielded against the glare and bristling with gun-pods.

Smith dares to be badass.

They end up exchanging heavy weapons fire against it, but realise they'll never get close enough to their armour. Smith thinks fast, when day comes they are both blind so he times a jump out of cover just over four minutes into day, "one second safety margin, and I'll be blind".  The sun comes up and he blasts into the air and flies towards the Geek ship and drops a powerful explosive onto the ship before the sun goes down and the Geek ship explodes.  Lin-Fu is amazed but he modestly says, "all in a day's work."

We then cut to the V.C.s ship responding to a distress call from a civilian ship The Celestine under heavy Geek attack.  There is also another military ship captained by a complete asshole called "Veto".   When Smith tries to coordinate their attacks to best protect the Celestine he just snarls, "don't you presume ta give me orders!  You stinking V.C.s think your God's frickin' gift!"

Veto's ship take out a Geek one. Smith yells at him that it is no time for feuding even if the loathing is mutual. They blast a Geek ship, declare one all then Smith asks him to protect the damn civilian ship.   But Veto's ship goes wide chasing after "another loose kill".  Smith desperately orders his crew to target the ships closest to the Celestine but they can't cover them all.  

The V.C.s try to save the Celestine.

The Celestine is blown apart with no survivors. Veto sneers that it's "a shame the colonial half-breeds got vaped."  He pegged two kills to their one though, "better luck next time" and his ship departs with Smith swearing ".... God help me, he'll pay".

We then rejoin the V.C.s in power down mode.  They are holding pattern with everything bar Smith's scanner and basic life support switched off.  We are invited to enjoy Ryx's thoughts on the matter. He ponders what Smith has said to them about "tickover".

Ryx: "Major Smith says that prolonged periods of waiting are an integral part of any combat tour. Major Smith says the build up of tension is good, because it keeps us sharp.  Major Smith also says we should look upon tickover as a chance to focus our minds and enjoy a moment of self reflection. We my mind is real focused, and in the spirit of self reflection I can say Major Smith talks out of his butt".

He's bored and hates the silence.   His scopes are off so he is staring at nothing and with the air-scrubbers off they all get to enjoy each other's stale odours.  He's been holding in a massive fart because he doesn't want to spend the next three hours smelling it.

Ryx ponders the boredom of tickover.

The others cope in their own way.  Lin-Fu meditates, he had asked her in the past if it was tantric and got a slap in the face for his trouble.  Keege reads books on how to interact with humans. Diderot and Kali play rude versions of rock-paper-scissors.  And Smith just hunches over the tac-scope, "just stares at it like it's going to show im the future.  Or maybe the past".

Ryx ponders how Smith, being a veteran of the first Geek war is treating this new war as "unfinished business.  A score he's been waiting a fricking long time to settle."  Then Smith spots a Geek ship and the power back up with the waiting over, "time to clean up".

We then rejoin them in the midst of another firefight along with a friendly ship captained by a man called "Spense".  They collect their targets and "vape 'em!" They catch some heat though, but Spense flanks them and protects them as they get ready to chase down the remnants of the Geek ships.  They discover that there are two concentrations of Geeks, in front and straight down below.

Smith's ship goes for the wide target as Spense's goes for the dive.  But something odd happens, the reading Smith has keeps disappearing "just hazy, like it's not really there."  Then it is upon them and it's no Geek ship.  It's a huge ship belonging to the mysterious organisation called "The Polity".

The Polity appears.

The ship doesn't respond to their hails, but doesn't appear to be hostile. Lin-Fu worked in the diplo-corp before the war and confirms that it is most likely a Polity ship.

Smith: "The Polity.  They've always been there. Long before us naked apes roamed the vacuum.  A massive federation of superior races. Advanced, elitist, considering themselves above such petty things as war.  They stood by and watched as man and Geek slugged it out first time."

Before the latest war broke out they had been considering letting humanity join. An invitation that was quickly rescinded when war kicked off.

Didirot wonders wonders what they want, they seem to be just silently watching them. Smith thinks how they've come to watch the "primitive creatures" fight, observing them like goldfish in a tank.   Smith wonders how advanced you have to be not to "lend a hand and stop people dying?"

Then a swarm of Geek ships appear and Spense contacts them saying he needs help. He's got twenty-nine hostiles on his ship's back. Smith tries to get a response from the Polity ship saying he's begging them to help, to at least scare away the Geeks on top of Spense, "silence. They don't budge."

So Smith and his crew go in full tilt and start taking out Geek ships, but it's not enough and one Geek hit blows Spense's ship apart.  The rest of the Geeks high-tail it back into hyperspace and the Polity ship warps away as well.  Bitterly Smith thinks how the Polity say they can't get involved because it would "compromise their enthical values".

Smith: " Well, answer me this. You've got a ship so powerful you can stop worlds spinning and restart suns.  You watch living sentients die right under your nose.  What the frick does that say about your ethical values?"

We then join Ryx and Lin-Fu engaged in some planetary jungle warfare.  Ryx once again narrates.  Ryx takes out a Geek that had surprise Lin-Fu and she thanks him.  He admires her boobs and quips "I love when a girl falls for me."  She tells him he won't want her reporting him for sexual harrassment in the workplace.  "Be a P.C V.C. Gotcha" Ryx responds.

Fanservice!

She retorts that this is a two-person operation "not a date".  She then tells him to contact Smith as they have cleared the Geeks out.  The ship can't make it to them for at least an hour so Ryx and Lin-Fu have some time to kill.  But then Lin-Fu detects a Geek signature so they decide to go and check it out.

Ryx keeps looking at her boobs and getting even more hot and sweaty, while Lin-Fu is somewhat oblivious to his lustful thoughts towards her. Then she realises and accuses him of being "transparent".  Anxiously he responds, "and cute? Just a smidge?".  Then they reach their target, a Earth-Gov terraformed farm, and they discover Geeks there possibly poisoning the food supply. They blast the Geeks and go and investigate closer. Lin-Fu examines the stuff being stored there and says it's not of Geek origin. Then yells at Ryx for calling her "sweetcheeks".

Back on board and on patrol again, inside Geege is checking over the stuff they took from the planet and says although the boxes are of Geek design the devices are not of Geek manufacture.  He says he's not exactly sure what they are but thinks that they, "were designed to seed toxic pathogens into the 10 food farms."  Smith tells him to keep examining the devices and see what the micro-spec will show up.

Smith congratulates Ryx and Lin-Fu and asks if they ran into any trouble.  Lin-Fu says she was "bothered by something small and hairy, sir."  Smith asks if it was persistant? "Not after I aimed a weapon at it" she says while Ryx looks guilty.

Smith says they are going to head for Mars and get G.C.C Tech to examine the devices. Diderot then says he is picking up a weak distress call.  They boost ot through the speakers and it turns out to be Jupe which is out of the system beyond Pluto. Smith tells Kali to set course, the visit to Mars can wait, "Jupe was my first C.O. in the first one, Kali.  I ain't gonna leave him begging... not for anything!"

On a rescue mission.

They arrive at the scene and find two other ships have answered the call, one of them being Veto's ship.   He sneers over the comms that "it looks like your old buddy got vaped but good." This angers Smith, but before he can unload on Veto, Diderot says he's picking up a call from inside the automated mining platform which is crawling with Geeks.

Everyone gets suited up, they are going to peform an "Evac and Extract". They burn in and drop onto the platform.  Ryx queries why they are doing this after having the mantra "you're hit, you're dead" drummed into them.  Smith says Jupe knows the saying wel, but if he is calling for help that means there is more going on than meets the eye, "there is more at stake here than his neck."

Leaving Kali piloting the ship, the rest start making their way across the mining platform, vaping Geeks as they go. They work their way to the depot area picking up a weapon signal that isn't Geek so it much be Jupe.  They blast there way over there and find an injured Jupe, the last one of his squad left standing.

Saving Segeant Jupe.

He apologises and says it wasn't him they needed to come for, it was some vital information he has stored on a small computer in his hand.  The Geek's are building something out past Pluto, "A mass driver weapon big enough to spit out meteors the size of Africa. Spit 'em out.  Straight at Mother Earth!"

With Jupe, they start fighting their way out of the depot. Smith calls Kali who doesn't respond right away.  But she is there she has some Geeks on her tail she needs to shake before she can evac them.  Veto's ship has split, but the other one captained by a man called Laker shoots the Geeks chasing her and she is able to land to pick the team up.

They all board safely and Kali blasts away as fast as the ship will take them.  But then Laker's ship is blasted to smithereens leaving Smith's ship the last one standing. Jupe is desperately trying to find find a com-band he can upload the information on the Geek weapon to but the Geeks are jamming all comm traffic.

Kali tries a desperate manouvere to get the Geeks off their butt by sling-shotting the ship round Pluto's moon Charon. Smith tries not to think that it's the name of the ferryman of the dead.  But the ship takes a hit, Smith thinks tha means they're dead and Earth will never know what the Geeks are up too as the ship falls through Charon's atmosphere....

The end of the V.C.s?

And that cliffhanger bring Book 2 to an end.  This is huge fun still. Epic space war sprinkled with genuine moments of humour and humanity.  It's nice seeing the crew interact and bond under the brooding command of Smith.  Ryx and Lin-Fu's growing attraction to each other is cute stuff and quite understandable given they are living in very close proximity to each other under constant threat of death.  Future plot points are seeded here with the mysterious Polity still an unknown factor in the war and the mystery of the devices found being used by the Geeks to poison the Earth's food supply. Dan Abnett's writing keeps the style of the original V.C. comic very well, and Anthony Williams art has a real heft and weight to it, with some wonderful renderings of space battles.  I real like the "blue collar" soldier vibe this series has always had, a gang of disparate people working as a team with even a Geek fully accepted because he's proved his loyalty in the forge of battle.  It's nice to be invited into the thoughts of someone other than Smith who remains an imposing prescence even at his pensionable age. Ryx is kind of goofy and likeable with his clumsy flirting with Lin-Fu and his lack of awe at Smith's advice on how to treat downtime.  All-in-all this is a fun continuation of the modern storyline which also keeps the spirit of the classic original.  Now do they all survive the crash onto Charon?  You'll have to wait until the next UK comic month to find out.  Oh what a tease I am!

The V.C.s Book 1: Back In Action (2000AD #1301-1306, #2003)

"You're hit. You're dead" - Steve Smith

Long ago in ages past (the 1980's) trade paperbacks weren't really a thing, so 2000AD exploited its back catalogue by providing a monthly collection of a random serial for about fifty pence.  In this way I caught up with on-going series such as Slaine and Nemesis The Warlock as well as being introduced to serials that were over and done with such as The Ballad of Halo Jones and the V.C.s.  The V.C.s (short for "Vacuum Cleaners" due to their reputation for clean kills with little debris) was very early story dating back to the 1979-80, a future war saga that introduced us to a motley collection of human soldiers hailing from various Earth colonies, throw together to fight the insect-like aliens the "Geeks".  The viewpoint character was an Earth native called Steve Smith, who had to fight their prejudice against Earth based humans (his nickname was "Earth Worm"), and the cost of the war was very high as by the end only Steve and Jupe the sergeant and ship's captain, a certified badass who wasn't really slowed down by being rendered blind survived from the original crew.  Now a major, Steve led an an attack on the Geek homeworld that ended the war and the original strip, and I covered the original series during my last UK comics month.  But many years later in 2002, 2000AD scribe Dan Abnett decided it was time to give the concept another go round and thanks to my very good friend Lucy who gave me the trade paperback collecting the first three new Books of the V.C.s ("Back In Action") I can write about the sequel storylines as well.  I'm covering Book 1 first, plus the related one-shot "Escher's Well".  The further books will be covered in further UK comics months.

Throughout this story, Steve is haunted by the ghosts of four of the original V.C.s, Hen-sho, Ringer, Dwarf Star and Loon.  Only Steve can hear what they say and they only appear if he hasn't taken his medication.  Through this plot device current readers are able to get some idea what the original storyline was about and how the current situation compares.

An aged Steve Smith.

It's fifty years since the end of the Human-Geek war.  Now an old man, Smith is working as a maintenance person.  He tells his ghosts that the war, "screwed me up and I'm screwed up still."  But he hasn't taken his pills so he can "shoot the breeze with you guys".  He tells them he could get a job in the military but:

Steve: "Because times change.  For one thing, the modern corps is a place for hot-shot college graduates with Masters in Gravitics and Astro-Physics.  They don't have a place for grunts like you and me.  We're a dying breed".

Steve is summoned into the ship he's cleaning and told he has a visitor.  He is alarmed to find it is a Geek and freaks out a bit.  The Geek apologises for upsetting him.  He is just a historian composing a work on the Human-Geek war. 

Because next month is "Peace Day" celebrating fifty years of peace between human and Geek, he believes the time is right.  He wants Steve's input because he played such an integral part in the end of the war.

Geek: "I want to reflect the human history.  Like many of my generation I am ashamed of the brutal behaviour of our fore-fathers."

He says in the past fifty years the Geeks have not rearmed, nor have the stirred dissent, the war "is a shame we will bear for a long time."  He asks Steve is he is going to Peace Day.  Steve says probably not, though he has been invited.  The Geek says he'll see his old comrades again, Steve says he sees them plenty.

Keege the friendly Geek.

Later that night he wakes from a dream of battle with all the ghosts watching him.  They want him to attend Peace Day, Steve flatly says "No!"  We then cut to him at Peace Day, he is assigned a Captain Johnroe from the Galatic Combat Corps for the day.  Smith takes a look at the powerful looking ships in the sky above and asks what they are like to fly, Johnroe says they only get to fly them in simulations, there hasn't been a "hot war" for years.

He takes Steve to an old Star Ship of the kind Steve flew during the first war.  There are only fifty left in service and will all be taking part in the Peace Day fly-bys.  Onboard, Smith meets Jupe, now with eyes again, "cheap graft jobs".  Jupe asks when they get to fly. But Johnroe says the Air and Space museum has insisted that only their staff operate the antiques.  "We're all antiques" comments Jupe to Steve.

Jupe and Smith feeling like relics of a bygone age.

Jupe and Steve chat as they look out of the window.  Jupe says this might be the day "The Polity" invite humankind to join.  Steve says he never knows what to make of them since they made contact thirty years ago.

Steve: "This enlightened confederation of alien cultures.  With ten thousand years of peace and harmory beind them and technology that makes us look like cavemen.  Where were they during the Geek war?  They could have stepped in.  Stopped it.  Saved lives."

Jupe says humans are an infant species and needed to prove "we were worthy of contact not rescue."  Then the Geek flotilla arrives, Jupe comments how relieved he is that they aren't allowed weapons.

Spaceship!

Steve however notes the ships are starting to pair up, looks "like an assault formati-"  he is interupted by a huge explosion.  Smith initially thinks he is hallucinating because he didn't take his pills that day.  But he looks out of the window and sees the Geek ships tearing the human ones apart and realises they are at war again.

He returns to Jupe, who calmly says they are losing badly.  The Geek Blink ships are way beyond their capabilities and even the ships from the original war have some kind of bleeding edge shielding, "Smith, we're losing so frickin' bad it's not even heroic" comments Jupe.

The ship they are in makes Landfall on the moon.  The Captain tells them to keep calm, Jupe says the veterans came through a war, they do calm pretty well.  The Captain, behaving like an arsehole, invites them to "come and observe how we do combat these days.  If your hearts can take it."  Meanwhile Steve is given an idea by Hen-Sho's ghost and sneaks off.

The Captain shows the Geeks infantry on the moon coming for them via an advanced scanner.  He lists off all the modern technology their own soldiers are equipped with, but when they and the Geeks clash, the Geeks easily wipe them out much to the Captain's horror.  Smith then appears in an old V.C. suit.  The Captain demands to know what he's playing at and Jupe snaps.

Jupe: "No idea Captain.  But he's the only man I can see not dying or talking out of his ass".

Steve leads a group of similarly suited up soldiers out on to the moons surface.  Jupe asks if he has a plan, "We put out the mat, and start cleaning" says Steve.

Time to get cleaning.

Some soldiers are pinned down, reporting that their body shields don't offer protection and the Geeks are shrugging off their plasma rounds.  Some Geeks bear down on them and Smith's squad blast them to pieces.  Steve says the Geeks weren't expecting anyone to be using "antique killware".

He examines one of the Geek's body and finds a shield bonded to the thorax that he takes for reverse engineering.  They start to leave and one of the rescued soldiers says they might still be able to save some of the injured.  "No time.  No point.. One rule, you're hit, you're dead" says Steve.  When the soldier protests, Steve says it's a rule that works.

More Geek swarms appear, but Jupe has a "Blitz Cannon" and mows them down.  This clears the main assault swarm but another is approaching in a canyon nearby.  Using a jump pack, Smith peforms a "D.L.", Detonate and Liquidate with some "Hades Grenades".  With them dealt with, they return to the ship.

On the way one of the rescued soldiers bemoans that with all their state of the art defences and weaponry they were "crucified" while the veterans using antique killware and armour saved the day.  He does admit it was pretty "amazing" though.

Then we are shown a Starship Troopers style propaganda film for the humans.  It informs us they are fighting back.  They are unlocking the secrets of the Geek tech while going back to basics with "old style ships and old style weapons.. all back in style this season!"  Many are volunteering to fight and people like Steve Smith will be leading them, "who better to lead the new generation of troops over the top?"  It ends with two new recruits saying "Earth can take it!"

It's now six weeks after Peace Day, and Smith is meeting his new crew; Ronsalle, Kali, Lin Fu and Ryx.  There sixth crewmember will be with them by the end of the week.  They go out on a exercise patrol and it doesn't go so well.

Steve's rookie crew.

Ronsalle is "hit", Ryx who is supposed to be providing cover fire forgets to take the safety off his cannon and it jams and Lin Fu charges into a fight before checking she has adequate back-up.  Afterwards Steve chews them out and says he is going to Ops and when he gets back he wants Troopers not screw-ups.  As he leaves he says to his ghosts:

Steve: "I know, I know.  Well maybe I was that bad when I started out.  That's not the point. I had you guys to whip me into shape.  You're all gone now.  It's just me out-numbered by those dumbass rookies.  How much worse could it get?"

It does get worse.  His sixth crewmember is a Geek, the same one who wanted to interview him and who specially requested assignment to Steve's crew.  His name is Keege and he says the "current cycle of violence has been initiated by extreme racist factions".  Thousands of Geeks are opposed to them and want to join the fight against them.  Steve angrily responds:

Steve: "Suck it in Keege!  You talk all fine and high-minded.  But there is one detail you can't change.  You'll always be a frickin' Geek!"

However he is forced to take Keege anyway and now complete, his ship and crew go out on their first patrol.

Keege the V.C??!

They encounter four Geek ships and engage them in combat.  They take out three but the last one comes at them from the port side.  Keege is manning the port gun and Steve orders him to fire, but Keege seems to freeze up and doesn't responds.  Fortunately the Geek ship goes wide and the others shoot it down.  Keege explains afterwards, "I didn't freeze up, sir.  I... I... just didn't see it."

Steve is dubious as how he could miss a ship unloading everything at them.  Steve says he thinks Keege just couldn't bring himself to fire on his own people and suspends him from duty, saying they'll drop him off at the nearest supply depot.  Later that night Keege sneaks into the communications room, but Steve is waiting and points a gun at him demanding to know what he is up to.

Keege proving his innocence.

The rest of the crew assemble and want Steve to "vape" Keege there and then.  Steve asks Keege for an explanation.  Keege says he wanted to prove that he didn't freeze up during the battle.  He recalled hearing a low radio noise which his species use to incubate their young.  He thinks the Geek aggressors have developed that technology most likely as a command/control communications net and it temporarily overwhelmed Keege's brain.

The rest of the crew are dubious, but Steve goes to think in private.  He says to his ghosts he thinks that "I'm afraid I'm being blinded by my prejudices".  Then he is called to the Bridge.  Lin Fu and Ronsalle did a sweep for the sound and found it coming from a wreckage field nearby, a "Solar Death Bar" says Steve.  They suit up and go in for a closer look, and find millions of eggs, "The Geeks are hiving in here!" cries Steve in alarm.

Uh-oh.

Steve calls back to Kali on the ship that she needs to launch a "Nova missile" to wipe the nest out.  They start to fly back to the ship when they are attacked by Geek "drone-guards". They battle their way through with guns and grenades.  Kali is trying to get the ship through the debris field to get close enough to launch the missile.  Ronsalle is hit and the others have to leave him behind.

Kali says she doesn't know how she'll manage to work the missile deck as well, and Keege says he can do it, just cut him free.  Kali refuses at first, but Keege says to "flood the cabin with white noise" to block out the infrasound transmissions. Keege takes the missile deck and when the missile locks on he fires it saying "this is for Ronsalle you frickers". The missile wipes out the spawning hive and the others, minus Ronsalle get back to the ship safely.

Things that make you go boom.

Later they arrive on Mars and Steve tells them to enjoy some R and R before they ship out in seventy-two hours.  Keege asks if he should report back for duty too?  Steve says he'll think about it.  Left alone with his ghosts, he admits his crew did OK.  Ronsalle joins the other ghosts and Steve says, "you guys look after him Okay?  I'll clean up here."

That brings Book One to a close, but there is a one-shot called "Escher's Well" which follows on from it before Book Two starts.

Steve wakes from a dream of an old battle with his old comrades, the dream had turned into a nightmare in which he sees Jupe killed.  Having woken with a start, he calls Jupe up and they meet for a drink at a bar called Escher's Well which uses gravity to work like the Escher picture of all the stairs at right angles.

Escher's Well.

He asks Jupe to promise he has someone the can trust watching his back.  Jupe reassures him he'll be careful and they move on to discussing other things such as what side the Geek homeworld is going to come down on, and will The Polity get involved? Steve doesn't think The Polity will do "squat" to help them, then a trooper called Diderot comes up behind him and introduces himself as Ronsalle's replacement.

Before Steve can say anything to him Keege comes into the bar and the other patrons react poorly to his prescence and Keege is attacked.  Steve punches out the man who attacked Keege which inflames the others but the rest of the V.C.s come to the rescue and soon a full fledged chaotic bar brawl ensues which Diderot joins in with and which the V.C.s win.

Nothing bonds a crew like a good old bar brawl.

They make themselves scarce before the authories can get there.  Steve gives Diderot the thumbs up and when Keege tries to thank him, Steve says that the "V.C.s look after their own".  He and Jupe say their farewells for now and Jupe says that "there ain't no Big Kill Shot waiting for me."  But as he departs Smith thinks of the original V.C.s and says to himself that he wishes he could believe him...

This is a worthy sequel to the original.  I think my positive writes up of Saga, Halo Jones and Prophet show I've a bit of a weakness for grand space opera and the V.C.s was and is enjoyable sci-fi hokum.  It was a very clever idea to have the obselete equipment and tactics from fifty years ago be the only thing to work against a more advanced army, which meant the return of those awesomely cool armoured space suits (that HAD to be a big influence on the look of the Space Marines of Warhammer 40K) and the harsh philosophy of battlefield survival.  We also get a Geek in the role Steve Smith played in the original V.C.s, a distrusted outsider who proves himself loyal and worthy in battle. Finally having Steve talking to his old ghosts helps fill in the backstory of the original series (which is frustratingly out of print right now as a modern TPB) and help us see how much things have both changed and stayed the same.  Dan Abnett's writing is great and it's obvious he has a real love for the original series as he writes in this collection's introduction.  Henry Flint's artwork has a nice "chunky" feel to it, which again reminds me a bit of the Warhammer 40,000 universe I have so much affection for. There are two more Books in this trade so I'll be covering them in future UK comic's months, if you like tales of future war then keep an eye out, this stuff should be right up your street.