Comic Review: Finn by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner for 2000 AD
I am sure it is becoming evident that I love comics, especially 2000 AD. Today’s comic is special for me, and you will be getting two reviews of Finn in the coming months. This first one is based purely on the free magazine with the Judge Dredd Megazine. The second review will be based on the entire collection Hardback released in 2022. This free magazine was released in 2017, I believe.
Before even reading, I can tell you I will love it. I have fond memories of reading Finn in my younger days, and it is one of my favourite stories in 2000 AD at the time. Unfortunately, the 2000 AD publishing team at the time felt it was too similar to Mill’s other work (ie. Slaine). And cut its life span short. This is a shame, as Finn was in many ways more relevant than Slaine in the 90s and had a lot more space to grow story-wise. It would have been cool to see it progress into 2000 and deal with all the world affairs of that period.
As it is titled, Book One is written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, with artwork from Jim Elston and Kevin Wicks.
The cover is quite a moody, aggressive piece, showing our lead Finn squatting on a chemical pipe, feral beast mask on, whilst a fuel refinery burns in the background. This sets the scene perfectly for what I can remember of the tale and fills me with excitement to reread it.
The opening pages show a pagan-style ritual, intense and focused on Earth and nature. Through this opening sequence, we learn of the Newts, an alien race that came to Earth in the primitive days and separated man from nature (of course, this is linked to Slaine’s story and general Celtic folklore). We also learn about Mandy, the high priestess for Mother Earth, and Paul, who becomes Finn the Beast at the end of the ritual. The Beasts’ aka Finn's ultimate mission, is to seek out the Newts and their supporters to show them the errors of their way, usually in a bloody manner.
The rest of the opening strip introduces us to the Shining Ones, helpers to the Newts. These creatures are human in form and have manipulated mankind's progress for centuries. Shining Ones are a cruel bunch of monsters who view humans as mere cattle or play toys to be abused and discarded at a whim. For example, the main two in this opening strip invented Poll Tax (Google it, kids) and are currently discussing implanting identity chips into humans (I am pretty sure this was in the news not too long ago, ha). From this scene of wealth and luxury, we head to Plymouth in England and catch Paul (a.k.a Finn) at his day job: a taxi driver. As his day of work draws to a close, Mandy (the High Priestess) gives Paul the location of the two Shining Ones, as we discussed above, and his first true mission, to kill them (simple).
Now, we get to witness the faithful Finn. Donning his beast mask and equipment, Finn looks every part of a Paramilitary trooper. Gone are the old days, with Finn’s kit being highly technical whilst still leaning into the occult. Examples include his helmet with a built-in gas mask, a Spiral-Vine that helps focus his power and acts as a climbing tool and the Black Dagger, which is hinted at but not fully explained yet. Now fully equipped, Finn heads off to face the Shining Ones, and if I’m honest, he gets his arse kicked. This I enjoy as It is the Batman appeal; the hero can be hurt, killed, maimed, etc. They are ultimately human and can be in danger, making for a more thrilling read.
From here, things quickly ramp up, and the world of Finn is explained in more depth. This is portrayed via Finn travelling to St. Michael’s Mount (a beautiful location) with a random woman possessed by Mandy. Finn learns of an ancient battle between the Newt's Shining Ones and the Rebel Shining Ones. As I'm sure you've already guessed, it didn't go well for the rebels, and after this failure, the World belonged to the Newts. From here, we learn of The Free Mariners- The organization of the ruling Shining Ones and the true power that controls the world. During this section, we hear about their traditions, like wearing amphibian-style feet at meetings and how older members wear fish outfits to look more like the newts. We also get introduced to an Anchorman (a James Bond-style hitman). With this all in place, the book ends on an action-packed fight scene, as Finn goes after a higher-ranking Shining Ones, and we get to see Finn using some incredible witch magic and a submachine gun to good effect. Ultimately, the final pages reveal where Newt lives and set us up for Book 2. I hope to cover this in the following review, as that is the complete series.
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