Comic Review: Rogue Trooper: The 86 ERS
Following hot on the heels of the Jaegir review comes a Blue G.I review. This story is set after the timeline of Rogue Trooper on Nu Earth, as we follow one of the G.I Dolls as she is reassigned to a new unit, the 86ERs. G.I Dolls were originally meant to be for support work, designed as the female counterparts of the Genetic Infantrymen created by Milli-Com to fight the war on Nu Earth. This soon changed as the war continued and it turns out they were as deadly as their male counterparts.
Title: The 86ERs - Touchdown
Author: Gordon Rennie
Type: E-Comic
Pages: 144
Publisher: 2000 AD/Rebellion Publishing
Fluff:
The Acoma System, a Souther-held warzone in their galaxy-wide conflict with the Norts. Centred around a gas giant, its once-rich moons make it a valuable mining site, and the job of protecting the regular supply routes falls to the 86th Air Support Reconnaissance Squadron – a dumping ground for every failure and freak.
Rafe is a G.I. Doll, a genetically engineered soldier sent to Acoma to join the 86ers. There she struggles to fit in with the ragtag crew of misfits and rogues. But when Rafe stumbles across a deadly secret, there is more than discrimination to face, because now she is fighting for her life!
Review
I'm glad that over the last few years, 2000 AD has opened the doors to spin-offs in the Nort vs Southerners war zones. I'm also delighted that it is a strong female character with a different skill set than Rogue. Rather than cut and paste of Rogue. The setting is on a space station called 'The Citadel' controlled by the Southerners. The Citadel hangs around a giant Gas Planet with fabulous asteroid belts to fight over in thrilling space battles. Here we are introduced to the 86ers, a group of 'misfits' and 'rogues'. Basically, if you are sent here, you are on the naughty list and a real career dive. This seems to be the case for Rafe, who recently joined the 86ers. This G.I. has to learn who to trust quickly, as her life will depend on it.
A significant part of this comic is the large cast of characters. There are a lot of them. They are also easy to get mixed up if not careful with the reading.
Rafaelle Blue - The main character. Female G.I. and one of the new outcasts to form the 86ers.
Gabe - Blue’s Robot sidekick with a rather strange personality.
Commander Harrigan - Chain-smoking Squadron Commander of the base. Very stereotypical.
Elson - A womanizing fighter pilot who introduced Rafe to the Citadel. Another classic role.
Kristos - A Southerner PSI, treated with mistrust by nearly everyone. Even in a war with Blue Clones and Werewolves, we still must fear the witch!
Becca Hunter - Flight Leader. Another strong female character (great work in this comic).
Stalov and the Norts - Switched sides after their Klan attempted (and failed) a coup. Treated with some mistrust. No one trusts a traitor.
Doctor Friedkin - A mysterious character who seems to be tracking the progress of Rafe. Originally a geneticist on the G.I. project, he turned to Xeno-Archaeology and has been obsessed with elder races after encountering a vast, biological alien ship in a jump gate accident. So much to unravel here!
Japeth - A mysterious alien hybrid who saves Rafe from the Nort base, although he kills Rafe's robot, Gabe.
Security Chief Montuez - Working with Friedkin. He views Rafe as a "gene-freak".
They all seem to be working towards different goals, ultimately leading to their survival. But some of them are up to some seriously crazy stuff. An example would be that the Southerners have discovered the remains of an Elder race, who not only once ruled the galaxy but grew beyond it as well. Soon, the galaxy-spanning war of Norts vs Southerners means nothing compared to the ultimate threat of these Elder aliens being re-woken. I love that these all-powerful aliens have never been seen, but the hints dropped into the story make you believe they are best left alone.
As with most 2000 AD strips, the artwork is pretty and helps aid the story. The scenes set during the space battles are some of my favourites. It does seem like the story was left open for a follow-up; I wonder if it will come to pass. I, for one, hope it does, as I enjoyed this.
Have you read this? Please drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
