4 out of 5

I can understand why this didn’t take off – it’s a story I had to read twice to get a better feeling for its beats – but it’s an excellent boiling-down-of Rogue Trooper elements that doesn’t have the slightly alternate universe / pandering vibe of the IDW Judge Dredd series; it wholly passes as a reboot. But again, that might be the very reason it doesn’t work as an intro: writer Brian Buckley, primarily a book author at the time, somewhat assumes our investment in the Norther / Souther conflict, skipping way past any proper Rogue (and Bagman, etc.) intros to just drop us in it. It’s not showy. It asks you to read it.

This may not have worked for new audiences, but I loved it. And for clarity: I don’t have a huge history with Rogue, so it’s certainly not required, but I do still think some passing familiarity is a great assist to the read.

At a high level, the story is pretty basic: Rogue Trooper – a nickname for our blue-skinned lead – is traveling across the wastes of “Nu-Earth,” searching for clues as to who wiped out his fellow, genetically-engineered infantrymen (G.I.s), at a location called the Quartz Zone. Fighting for the Southers, Rogue hunts for some Norther perpetrator, but runs across a fellow Souther, surviving on Nu-Earth, and decides to escort him to a nearby outpost. There, he gets stuck not only from a Norther attack, but also from a separate Souther kill squad that’s tracking the G.I. due to his nickname: he’s essentially gone rogue, and should either return to the fold… or die. This is “basic” because it boils down to a lot of fighting, but you can already see the political complexity baked in.

Adding to that, Ruckley touches on the social and psychological aspects, again in a more indirect manner that probably owes to his writing background. It gives the story a lot of weight and (ironically?) humanity, as we get nuance to Rogue’s “cold” personality, pinged off his resurrected teammates – he has three friends’ brains AI’d into his equipment, which talks to him – and the isolated Southers.

But then adding to that is where the story feels a bit cluttered: flashes to the attacking Norther crew and dealings with the Souther government elsewhere are good world-building, and bad for giving more focus to the current story. It’s stuff that feels like it would’ve made more sense in a second arc we never got.

Lastly, artist Alberto Ponticelli and colorist Stephen Downer perfectly bridge the gap between a US comic and the UK origins. The work has a weighty, moody feel that seems suited to American books, but a good line weight and cleanliness in the panels that reminds of the tight pacing of a weekly like 2000 AD. Like the text, the art gives you more the more you give it, but it can function as quick paced adventure as needed. Most importantly, Ponticelli gifts every character a distinctiveness, so that even when everyone is bundled in similar outfits, you have a sense of who’s who.

Rogue, even moreso than Dredd, seems like a character primed for crossover to other markets. Dredd is a bit more general and unwieldy (and maybe very British), whereas RT has a more accessible sci-fi underdog premise that I’d think could work for many. This story really was an excellent stab at that, showing off potential complexity while telling a pretty linear tale. But that same juggling act might’ve been a turnoff. While I wasn’t sad to see the IDW Dredds end, this does really feel like a missed opportunity, not just for being a crossover hit, but for the character itself.