Chopper: Song of the Surfer

by Fleetway

Full colour illustrated graphic novel featuring Marlon 'Chopper' Shakespeare. Raised on the streets of Mega City One where he defied the law of Judge Dredd, Chopper grew to become the greatest skysurfer ever to slice the world's skies. A ruthless sponsor plans to turn the Supersurf 11 championship into a circus of violent destruction in which the top skysurfers compete against death itself.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 23, 1990

Reviews

[Janne Paananen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taas kaverin suositteleman ja lainaaman sarjakuvan kimpussa. En ole Judge Dredd -albumeita koskaan lukenut, joten niissä sivuosassa vilahtava Marlon "Chopper" Shakespeare on tyystin uusi tuttavuus minulle. Chopperin itsensä tähdittämiä albumeita on muutamia, joista tämä Wagner/MacNeil kaksikon taiteilema on varsin mainio.

Kyseessä ei ole supersankarisarjakuva, vaan pikemminkin erittäin väkivaltainen urheilutarina. Chopper on aikaa sitten eläköitynyt kolminkertainen ilmasurffauksen maailmanmestari. Mestaruuskisoja järjestävä multimiljonääri, Stig, luo uusimmista kisoista todella väkivaltaisen. Kilpailijoiden reitin varrella on tarkka-ampujia ja erilaisia hengenvaarallisia esteitä.

Kilpailijat ovat epävarmoja tulisiko heidän osallistua lainkaan. Mutta kunnia kiinnostaa ja pelkuriksi ei tohtisi osoittautua. Jos kukaan ei ilmoittautuisi kilpailuun, se peruttaisiin. Vai?

Chopperin piirrosjälki on värikästä ja upeaa. Etenkin hahmojen hiustyyleihin on satsattu. Juoni on suoraviivainen, mutta toimiva loppua myöten. Maailmaa kuvataan parhaiten kisan kommentaattorien kautta. Ihmishengen merkitys on kovin mitätön kilpailujen huviarvon rinnalla. Maailma muistuttaa jollain tavoin Nälkäpelin Panemia. Sisältö oli siis paljon parempi kuin mitä tylsähkö kansi antoi odottaa.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chopper began as a villain in the Judge Dredd series, in the now-classic Unamerican Graffiti storyline, as the most prolific graffiti artist in mega-city one. Of course it ended up with him being tossed into the notorious iso-cubes of the city. He broke out several years later only to become a sky-surfer, which is exactly what it sounds like, which became his defining characteristic for the rest of his stories.
Eventually his exploits and illegal surfing led him to being exiled into the Oz, the remains of Australia, and he has spent several years wandering about the big empty. After his friend dies, he drifts back to surfing and enters Supersurf 11, the biggest event in the sport, only now it has become a violent death race with no guarantee of survivors. Chopper, realizing his life has no purpose without the sport, enters. The race goes on with as close to a near-perfect ending as any of these 2000 AD stories have.

[Anthony Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long-time Judge Dredd scribe John Wagner and artist Colin McNeil combine to produce probably the best stand-alone story ever published under the 2000AD banner, here collected into one volume. Marlon Shakespeare (AKA Chopper), champion sky-surfer and celebrated counter-culture icon from the dystopian rockrete jungle of Mega-City One, is lured out of retirement to take part in Supersurf 11 only to discover the organisers have transformed his beloved sport into a gruesome death race. McNeil's vibrant full colour art captures the bloody spectacle perfectly whilst Wagner's script blends character and story with expert precision, in the process providing a worthwhile commentary on the increasingly inhuman nature of modern entertainment and the dangers of corporate greed. 2000AD never got better than this.

[Pryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

As my friend Mark said "Oof, Colin Macneil's finest hour". The artwork is just fantastic, although that word is strong enough to describe it.

The story as well is one that gets me on an intense emotional level every time as well. I'm not gonna spoil anything by raving about bits in it. Read Judge Dredd: Oz then this.