La decimotercera planta

The Thirteenth Floor #2

by John Wagner, Alan Grant (Illustrator), José Ortiz (Illustrator)

¿Quieres pagar en metálico, en tarjeta… o con tu alma?

Cuando descubrieron que Max, la inteligencia artificial, era un asesino en serie, lo extrajeron de la Torre Maxwell. Ese debería haber sido el fin de su vida virtual para alivio de los habitantes de la decimotercera planta, pero Max encontró un nuevo hogar en unos grandes almacenes de la calle Oxford, con todo un nuevo potencial de víctimas a su alcance: ladronzuelos, compradores odiosos e incluso agentes secretos. ¡Nadie escapa a su mirada!

Este nuevo volumen incluye nuevas aventuras inéditas en español hasta la fecha que se publicaron originalmente en la revista británica Eagle, en el ecuador de la década de los ochenta, a cargo de Alan Grant (Batman) y John Wagner (Juez Dredd) e ilustradas por José Ortiz, la leyenda del cómic español. Monstruos, islas misteriosas, regresos inesperados, la primera inteligencia artificial de bolsillo y hasta un nuevo trabajo como espía del MI5. ¿Qué puede salir mal?

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2020

About the author

John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Bo Malpas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, better than the Bible.

[Ángel Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Importante bajón de calidad respecto del primer tomo: Max es trasladado a unos grandes almacenes, y luego le da la ventolera de hacerse espía... en fin, una fantochada en toda regla, la verdad, indigna de los grandes nombres que realizan este cómic. Gracias a Tharrg, al final del volumen nuestro querido factótum regresa a su adorado edificio de siempre y vuelve a sus típicas barrabasadas, para alivio del paciente lector. Así que, bueno, alrededor de un tercio del tebeo es bastante decente, y al resto lo salva (por los pelos) el dibujo del siempre cumplidor José Ortiz, que no es cosa menor, o, como diría M. Rajoy, es cosa mayor. En todo caso, gracias, Dolmen, por saldar estos volúmenes, y gracias, lectores, por no dejaros timar en su momento.

[Alex Sarll]

In the first volume, Max the computer was a really prescient 1980s take on smart home technology - though also a massively optimistic one, in that he was installed in social housing, and his highest loyalty was to the inhabitants, not a sinister megacorp. Indeed, he would go to extreme lengths to protect the residents of his block, Maxwell Tower. After that ended poorly, he's now been installed in Pringle's department store in the West End instead, because of course he has. And it only has five floors, so he really has to go mental with the escalator to add a new thirteenth floor where he can torment malefactors. Oh, and the first people he takes there are actually innocent, ish, which is the sort of fuck-up he'd never have made in the earlier stories, because part of the delight of reading about this sort of gruesome vigilantism is that, whether the avenger be a psychotic Vietnam vet or a solicitous computer, the story has to ensure they only punish the guilty or the whole edifice falls apart. And even before that, protecting the profits of a department store would never be as sympathetic as looking after people in their homes, at least assuming you're not a full-bore Tory, or unless the story added some business about a sympathetic manager and their financial troubles and not wanting to let the employees down, none of which is here. And all of that is before the place turns out to be a front for a spot of 'enhanced interrogation' by MI5, because why not. Having discovered which, of course Max decides to sign up as a spy, notwithstanding the intelligence boss' surprise at the notion of a patriotic computer. "Of course. True blue and British through and through – that's me. Although I do confess a few of my components may be Japanese, but I keep a close eye on *them*." From this, Max proceeds to get disappointed that spying isn't like James Bond, take over the facility, and send his boss on a one-man mission against a villain's deadly island lair with a mini-Max strapped to his wrist. If Fonzie jumping one shark became a byword for losing the plot, what of a building computer who ends up on the other side of the world as a smartwatch, driving a dozen off by whistling? It is, in short, a mess; if the first volume lost the brilliant simplicity of the core concept in its later stages, that was still positively streamlined compared to what's on show here. Mercifully, by the end of this Max is back in Maxwell Tower where he belongs, and thank heavens; I was worried Volume 3 was going to see him running a roller disco on the Moon or something. But even when this volume is at its most misguided, I still can't help but enjoy a comic which appeared in the supposedly improving Eagle wherein a gleefully sadistic computer invited readers into his confidence as he tormented misbehaving fleshy ones, and where it was entirely standard for an instalment to sign off with "NEXT WEEK: THE BRANDING IRON!"

[Javi · Rating 3 out of 5]

En líneas generales, más de lo mismo, pero con un sabor claramente a menos, sobre todo por la sensación de que las opciones argumentales elegidas para intentar innovar no estuvieron precisamente muy logradas.

Aunque Max ya no dirige la Torre Maxwell (de momento), continua abusando hasta la extenuación del poder amedrentador de su decimotercera planta (ahora en la quinta planta de unos grandes almacenes) y de su poder hipnótico para seguir dando curso a sus instintos psicóticos.

Aunque el tono general decae, tiene momentos pico como el atiborramiento quijotesco de lectura de novelas de espías al que se somete Max, el homenaje a "Canción de Navidad" de Dickens, o el del todo desproporcionadísim0 e insano castigo al que Max somete a un ladrón de tres al cuarto.

Max es un demente vengativo que se cree persona, ¡y además buena persona!, y ya ni siquiera los autores se molestan en justificar sus fechorías e intolerancias como un mal funcionamiento del sistema.

Por suerte, el magnífico blanco y negro de José Ortiz hace que todo el conjunto se siga disfrutando como una fiesta de fantaterror añejo y ya algo trasnochado, pero pese a todo entrañable.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing followup. Max is moved to a department store and wants to become a spy, after reading a lot of James Bond decided to take on a Fu-Manchu villain. Eventually he returns to Maxwell Towers but even then it only slightly picks up and doesn't quite capture the magic of the first volume.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a little silly, but still very entertaining. In this volume we see Max the computer moved into a department store. We also get to see Max as a secret agent. Yes, a secret agent. Then he ends up back at his old apartment building so things come full circle. There's a lot that never makes sense here, but the art is good and the stories just make you want to keep reading.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked when Max was on Maxwell Towers in the previous collection. And I was full of doubt at the start of this one as Max was a store computer and a spy. But against all my doubts, it works. Silly simple fun with grim art. What not to like? Great collection.

[Mark L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still great and the art is consistent but I think the story loses its way, before returning to the classic crazed Tower Artificial Intelligence story.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't quite have the oomph of volume 1.

[Ztu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Includes outdated racist depictions of Chinese criminal and general colonialist as victim tropes.

[Adrian Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very British horror comic definitely for kids but no less enjoyable for it

[Stratospherus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not better than previous. Majority of the vol takes place inside a department store, and the tone is shifted toward more action adventure style than bloodcurdling horror. Still, a good read. Also, Max's personality is starting to rub my feathers.