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Mazeworld

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30 years after the British Parliament suspended the death penalty, the gallows have returned and Adam Cadman finds himself being the first person to be hanged since 1964. But as his life drains away, Adam is transported to a strange, new dimension, populated by warriors and mystical beasts: the bizarre Mazeworld! Written by 2000 AD legend Alan Grant (Judge Dredd, Batman) and featuring the breath-taking artwork of Arthur Ranson (Button Man, Judge Anderson) this must-have graphic novel contains the complete Mazeworld saga.

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

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154 people want to read

About the author

Alan Grant

1,712 books144 followers
Alan Grant was a Scottish comic book writer known for writing Judge Dredd in 2000 AD as well as various Batman titles during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also the creator of the character Anarky.

Alan Grant first entered the comics industry in 1967 when he became an editor for D.C. Thomson before moving to London from Dundee in 1970 to work for IPC on various romance magazines. After going back to college and having a series of jobs, Grant found himself back in Dundee and living on Social Security. He then met John Wagner, another former D.C. Thompson editor, who was helping put together a new science fiction comic for IPC, 2000 A.D., and was unable to complete his other work. Wagner asked Grant if he could help him write the Tarzan comic he was working on; so began the Wagner/Grant writing partnership.

The pair eventually co-wrote Judge Dredd. They would work on other popular strips for the comic, including Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog using the pseudonym T.B. Grover. Grant also worked on other people's stories, changing and adding dialogue, most notably Harry Twenty on the High Rock, written by Gerry Finley-Day. Judge Dredd would be Grant's main concern for much of the 1980s. Grant and Wagner had developed the strip into the most popular in 2000AD as well as creating lengthy epic storylines such as The Apocalypse War. Grant also wrote for other IPC comics such as the revamped Eagle.

By the late 1980s, Grant and Wagner were about to move into the American comic market. Their first title was a 12-issue miniseries called Outcasts for DC Comics. Although it wasn't a success, it paved the way for the pair to write Batman stories in Detective Comics from issue 583, largely with Norm Breyfogle on art duties across the various Batman titles Grant moved to. After a dozen issues, Wagner left Grant as sole writer. Grant was one of the main Batman writers until the late 1990s. The pair also created a four issue series for Epic Comics called The Last American. This series, as well as the Chopper storyline in Judge Dredd, is blamed for the breakup of the Wagner/Grant partnership. The pair split strips, with Wagner keeping Judge Dredd and Grant keeping Strontium Dog and Judge Anderson. Grant and Wagner continue to work together on special projects such as the Batman/Judge Dredd crossover Judgement on Gotham. During the late 1980s, Grant experienced a philosophical transformation and declared himself an anarchist. The creation of the supervillain Anarky was initially intended as a vehicle for exploring his political opinions through the comic medium. In the following years, he would continue to utilize the character in a similar fashion as his philosophy evolved.

Grant's projects at the start of the 90s included writing Detective Comics and Strontium Dog, but two projects in particular are especially notable. The first is The Bogie Man, a series co-written by Wagner which was the pair's first venture into independent publishing. The second is Lobo, a character created by Keith Giffen as a supporting character in The Omega Men. Lobo gained his own four issue mini series in 1990 which was drawn by Simon Bisley. This was a parody of the 'dark, gritty' comics of the time and proved hugely popular. After several other miniseries (all written by Grant, sometimes with Giffen as co-writer), Lobo received his own ongoing series. Grant was also writing L.E.G.I.O.N. (a Legion of Super-Heroes spin-off) and The Demon (a revival of Jack Kirby's charac

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5 stars
45 (19%)
4 stars
106 (45%)
3 stars
61 (26%)
2 stars
19 (8%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Alina.
865 reviews313 followers
August 25, 2017
An interesting story, accompanied by nice graphics, about second chance and redemption, inspired from a true fact.
Profile Image for Tom Ewing.
710 reviews80 followers
March 30, 2024
It’s 180 pages of Arthur Ranson art, which is certainly not to be sniffed at - he creates a weird but immediately tangible world which is a glorious, colourful mix of Moebius, Aztec architecture, and pulp fantasy, all filtered through his Eagle-via-Look-In British realist style. It’s lovely. A shame Alan Grant’s story is barely above Return To Armageddon levels of nonsense, and told with some of the sentimental mysticism that marred his 90s Judge Anderson strips. Credit to him for giving Ranson a load of really inspired things to draw, just don’t expect them to fit together into any kind of satisfying narrative.
Profile Image for Zac Hawkins.
Author 5 books39 followers
July 29, 2022
Reread for the first time since college, the first trade was an entry drug for me getting into 2000AD, a weekly ritual I still uphold. Best comic on the planet.
This was triggered by the passing of Alan Grant, a titan of the industry who never got the recognition he was owed in spite of writing some absolute classics, Mazeworld being a case in point.
The only comic, to my knowledge, that successfully captured the world building and pathos of Borges whether directly intentional or otherwise. Just a great comic, and Ransons art is as ever immaculately detailed.
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
7,059 reviews363 followers
Read
August 15, 2015
Arthur Ranson's art, as ever, is a joy, his intricacy perfectly suited to the twisting architecture of Mazeworld; even the panel borders sometimes contain labyrinths of their own, and by that point you're starting to see even the lines of faces as shadow-mazes of their own. His demons, scoundrels and looming pyramids recall the ancient, decayed worlds of Clark Ashton Smith, and make one wish he'd illustrated some of Steve Moore's Smith-homaging Tales of Telguuth for 2000AD. Alas, as in Ranson's other collaborations with Alan Grant, the script is not on the same level, being a series of bludgeoning satires, Do You See? morals and genre standards; the tone is set early with the groanworthy protagonist Adam Cadman (DYS?), a hanged man (DYS?) thrown into another world. And that's gentle compared to some of it, especially the third tale where we come face to face with all the cliches you'd expect of an unethical private medical firm. Though in some ways they exceed expectations: the entire staff appear to be not just ruthless mad scientists, but utterly incompetent even in the field of mad science.
Profile Image for Joni.
817 reviews46 followers
August 18, 2019
2000 A.D. es sinónimo y garantía de entretenimiento, a veces de muy alta calidad.
Mazeworld es una mezcla de Matrix y Maze Runner antes que estas existan. Todo con un toque de mundo medieval con magos y demonios. El arte de Ranson es tremendo, en llamas.
Excelente reedición de DC en cuanto a calidad de papel y revalorización del arte original.
Profile Image for Bogdan.
986 reviews1 follower
September 28, 2015
One small ideea from the story was taken from a true fact and this makes the graphic novel more dramatic.

A fellow condemned to death goes into the Mazeworld and becomes, until the end, a great Hero.

The graphics are well made and the story is interesting enough to keep you wanting more.

Profile Image for Stephan Brusche.
271 reviews27 followers
January 28, 2023
5 stars for the amazing art alone. The story is fascinating, has and at times quite bleak. Mazeworld feels real and that’s made possible by both the captivating story by Alan Grant and the top tier art by Arthur Ranson.
Profile Image for Kam Yung Soh.
956 reviews51 followers
June 23, 2021
By Alan Grant and Arthur Ranson, "Mazeworld" is an interesting story with an anti-hero protagonist, Adam Cadman. In our world, he has been sentenced to hang. But something strange happens during the hanging: he is transported to Mazeworld where, unable to remove his hanging hood, he is hailed as the returned 'Hooded Man' who will free the oppressed people from the masters of Mazeworld. Mazeworld itself is a set of mazes, set on a plateau which rises out of a sea of mysterious mists or clouds.

Unable to believe what is happening to him at first, Cadman's first instincts is to flee and hide, but events happen to make him change his mind and help the rebels.

Told in three parts, the first part starts with his hanging and first appearance in Mazeworld. It ends with the overthrow of one of the masters of Mazeworld and his reappearance in our world when his hanging is aborted.

Cadman is then transported to a medical facility, where an attempt to understand what is happening to him (by probing his brain) transports him back to Mazeworld when he once again is involved with the rebels and faces a new threat: the Dark Man who has supernatural powers granted to him by an 'angel' he has imprisoned. In our world, the brain probe makes doctors realize that his mind has gone to another world and he is worthy of further examination.

Returned to our world, Cadman is now in a corporate testing facility, who hopes to make use of the world he has revealed. But here, Cadman (transported back to Mazeworld) faces his greatest test: to navigate the maze at the heart of Mazeworld in an attempt to save it from an invasion of devilish creatures. But it may end in failure, for evil is at the heart of the maze, and it wants to use Cadman to invade our world.

A fascinating, dark, fantasy story, with artwork that is full of details that, sometimes obscures what is happening, this is a story with an ending that shows Cadman saving the world, but with many little tragedies along the way.
Profile Image for Timo.
Author 3 books17 followers
January 11, 2021
Such a nice idea. And the idea is produced to be a great comic with brilliant Ranson art. One of those comics that are pretty much forgotten but should be read by everyone.
Profile Image for Jesús.
184 reviews5 followers
June 21, 2021
A very interesting work, with an intriguing and story told from a curious perspective and great 2000AD-ish art. A nice surprise
Profile Image for Cesar Felipe.
93 reviews
April 18, 2022
Amazing comic with a unique and gorgeous fantasy setting, an intriguing main character, and a brilliant twist on the "transported to a fantasy world" tradition. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Simon Chadwick.
Author 47 books9 followers
February 15, 2019
It’s been three decades since the death penalty was abolished in Britain, but now Adam Cadman is to the first in a new swathe. Except Adam’s execution doesn’t go to plan, and rather than dying he finds himself on Mazeworld, still in the hood he was hung in (now with eye holes to see) and with the noose around his neck. Mazeworld is immediately complex and overwhelming, with bizarre creatures, human civilisations, grand architecture and lethal mazes, but the people that see Adam arrive believe he’s somebody else and Adam finds himself thrown straight into a bitter revolutionary struggle. Back on Earth his body lingers while on Mazeworld he’s offered the opportunity of redemption.

This is a pleasingly thick collection that gathers the entire tale within its pages, and to add to the satisfaction there’s a definitive ending to it all. Mazeworld lays its cards on the table from the outset with Arthur Ranson’s detailed illustration constructing panoramas, cityscapes and street scenes that are awash with architectural detail. Even some of the page layouts tip a nod to the books theme and title.

Adam Cadland begins as an unlikable individual but Alan Grant steers him towards an alternative path where he ends up embracing the notion of heroism, selflessly helping others. Along the way he meets some weird people in some weirder places, but there is an internal logic to the fantasy that carries it all along.

Having not read it before I rather enjoyed reading the entire saga in one sitting rather than spread out in small chunks within the pages of 2000AD. Rebellion have upped their game recently, becoming curators of much of Britain’s comic history, but they already had plenty of gems of their own and this is one of them.
Profile Image for Antoni.
Author 6 books27 followers
June 7, 2022
4/5

Encara tinc massa present com vaig xalar amb «L'home dins el laberint» de Robert Silverberg perquè aquest «Mazeworld» d'Alan Grant i Arthur Ranson no em molés. És un còmic boníssim que m'ha fet gaudir d'allò més.

La sinopsi és ben simple: després de molts anys el parlament britànic aprova recuperar el mètode d'execució de la soga. Adam Cadman, condemnat per assassinat, és el primer pres que serà penjat en molts anys. Però alguna cosa va malament i el bo de l'Adam no mor a l'instant, sinó que queda en una mena d'estat vegetatiu, en una estranya vigília a cavall de dos mons, el fantàstic i el real.

Així és com descobrim Mazeworld, un món meravellós d'inspiració medieval ple de monstres fantàstics i referents a l'arquitectura asteca. L'Adam arribarà a Mazeworld amb el títol de The Hooded One, un mític guerrer que ha d'alliberar el poble del jou dels poderosos. Sóc molt fan d'aquest Penjat —si algun cop es tradueix al català, espero que li posin aquest nom que li escau tant, ja que el paio és bastant peculiar— i de les seves peripècies en aquest món ple de mags, tirans i laberints, de com es fa seu el títol i lluita per tirar endavant.

Les il·lustracions són el millor del còmic, en especial els plans aeris que ens ajuden a veure Mazeworld d'una ullada. El guió va néixer per a ser desenvolupat en un videojoc, però finalment va acabar sent un còmic. Resulta una mica imprecís en alguns episodis i acabem fent un descens final que pel meu gust resulta un pèl precipitat, però la foscor inherent al laberint i els seus personatges ens ho fa oblidar tot.

Tot un encert! Fantasia èpica, ciència-ficció i rebel·lió en un mateix còmic. Un imperdible que es gaudeix fins i tot per algú que, com servidor, té un nivell d'anglès força limitat.
Profile Image for Dani Mexuto.
78 reviews
December 5, 2023
Estiven case cen páxinas sen mirar cando se creou este cómic, divagando sobre cando puido terse escrito, moi confuso porque o estilo do debuxo ten o coloreado barato de cando tiñan deadlines nos 80 e o guión parecía unha copia de The Matrix 1, adaptado á ficción científica e con toques de fantasía histórica. E pois foi feito entre o 1996 e o 1999, antes que The Matrix 1 pero con todos os defectos do final desa década, incluído o rexurxitamento de ideas reclicadas.

Igual que está a visión de considerar a Magnus Carlsen o mellor axedrezista simplemente porque é o número un no presente, en termos absolutos tería vantaxe, eu non podo non ver este cómic desde o presente, non dou valorado os seus méritos postos en contexto no pasado, en escoller ideas sobre viaxe a outra dimensión, esperto aquí, durmido no teu mundo, a inmoralidade do anti-heroe .... e polo tanto pareceume unha trapallada, un cómic con ideas que quedaron tan soterradas polo monte de ideas iguais que veu despois que non se dá degustado.
612 reviews8 followers
March 4, 2019
Intriguing but ultimately ridiculous story about an hanged man who finds redemption by becoming a savior in an alternative fantasy world that his mind retreats to while he's twisting on the gallows - a world that begins to seep into ours when he's kept alive after the execution fails. It caught my eye because I love mazes of all sorts, and there was definitely some cool maze stuff - particularly in some cool stylistic flourishes throughout the consistently well-done artwork - but overall the whole thing for me hovered between too over-the-top and not over-the-top enough.
Profile Image for Dbgirl.
475 reviews10 followers
July 14, 2024
The artwork done by Arthur Ranson is absolutely beautiful. I mean, I even picked this book from the library shelf because of the cover and when I read from here and there, I knew I just had to borrow this. However, I am a little disappointed, for the story is too thin and yet explains too much. The concept is neat and story is good enough, but art like this demands more from the story. Sorry, Alan Grant, but this needed a better execution. I still liked to read it, it’s fascinating and tickles my imagination. I just wanted more. 3,5/5
Profile Image for Damian Herde.
283 reviews
May 7, 2022
An interesting take on the portal fantasy. A murderer is hanged, but instead wakes in new world dominated by mazes and feudal warlords. Every selfish choice he makes threatens to return him to suffocation at the end of the noose, so he is forced to act with honour.

A story in three parts, following the questions of what is real, and whether a world that hates you is worth fighting for. The art is excellent.
Profile Image for Ana Pérez.
612 reviews4 followers
December 17, 2022
Aunque los autores han creado un mundo muy original y hay que tener en cuenta el año en que se publicó, no me han convencido ni la parte narrativa ni el aspecto gráfico. El protagonista es un antihéroe de manual con algo de evolución a lo largo de la novela, pero el resto de personajes me resultan solo relleno. Además, hay aspectos del argumento que no quedan del todo claros. La idea es muy buena pero la ejecución no tanto.
282 reviews2 followers
March 30, 2023
I picked this up for Arthur Ranson's art and I have to say that it's the best work I've seen of his since Button Man, with some memorable character designs. The story was decent - a sort of fantasy, adventure story. The plot got more and more convoluted as it went on but it allowed for some more weird scenarios and demons for Ranson to draw. It ended rather abruptly, and not all that positively, with the fate of one character reminding me of Gloucester's end in King Lear.
69 reviews1 follower
May 15, 2021
With in the the book; there are three brilliant stories that could be loved as much as the other, but as this has all three stories; it turns into a tale that builds and builds until u finally meet the purpose of the hero, I thought the artwork was great; and I loved how Sci-Fiction of the past and the 60's mixed well together with out looking odd.
Profile Image for Matevž.
185 reviews
August 26, 2020
I'm split about this one - on one hand it has a very interesting premise, introduction and (anti)hero. On the other hand it leaves a lot of details out of the story (how exactly the mazes function etc.) and skips the timeline...
Profile Image for Simon.
Author 12 books16 followers
January 7, 2021
Recent Reads: Mazeworld. Alan Grant and Arthur Ranson's graphic novel is a story of redemption as a murder finds himself in a death-bed alternate world where he's seen as a fabled hero, a role he finds himself adopting. Is it dream or is it reality?
Profile Image for Bill Coffin.
1,286 reviews8 followers
May 3, 2021
If you are a fan of the particular wavelength to be found in the pages of 2000AD, then you’ll probably enjoy this tale of weird fantasy around a hanging victim transported to another world. But if you are not a 2000AD fan, this will probably leave you cold.
Profile Image for Sean Keefe.
Author 7 books3 followers
August 18, 2021
Good but not great, although Arthur Ranson’s art is simply FANTASTIC, worth buying this for alone.
Elsewhere, the story’s good but just a touch unclear and incoherent to give you the full picture of what’s going on.
Still, look at that art….
Profile Image for Etain.
488 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2023
I'm giving this 5 stars mainly because of the absolutely amazing art and because of that wonderful bittersweet ending. If you love classic sword and sorcery tales like Conan then you owe it to yourself to read it, it does take a while to get going but by the end it's exemplary.
Profile Image for Travis.
56 reviews1 follower
January 26, 2019
A really good story with great art. ProTip: Don't read Alan Grant's into as it does contain spoilers. Otherwise, no complaints.
Profile Image for Matthew Taylor.
383 reviews5 followers
July 15, 2021
A remarkably interesting fantasy work, ripe for further exploration; which owes its amazing impact to the fantastic photorealistic art style of Arther Ranson, a spectacular comic book artist.
Profile Image for Mark L.
107 reviews
March 19, 2022
Excellent complete fantasy story, fantastic art.
Profile Image for Colin Sinclair.
Author 6 books7 followers
April 17, 2023
Great concept and interesting execution, although the art was a bit busy and cluttered in some of the crowd scenes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

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