2000 AD: The Ultimate Collection #88. Originally serialised in 2000 AD Progs 1491-1499, 1513-1517, 1562-1566 & 1600-1609.

It’s June 2006. Returning to fill the “swashbuckling” 2000 AD sub-genre reinvigorated by Nikolai Dante, the second collection of Ian Edginton and Steve Yeowell’s The Red Seas continues to stretch the format that “pirate adventures on the high seas” can cover. Spoiler alert, it can also cover dinosaurs flying ships in an underground world created by Martians. Who knew?!

Volume Two continues, and builds on, the successes of the first collection. Derring-do and adventure, very likeable characters, plenty of monster action, some beautiful scenery for Yeowell to do his thing with, and a propulsive overarching story. Sometimes these continuing series can be difficult to keep reviewing, because on one level I can just sort of say – “it’s more of the stuff from the first one, which was good”. The strong sense of fun absolutely continues in these four stories, and it’s always great to see some lightness balancing out the darker series in Tharg’s roster.

Edginton does mix things up in interesting ways, however. While the first collection absolutely played on a lot of the tropes of pirate stories, particularly visually, they are really pushed to the background for this run of stories. The Hollow Land (2006) picks up six months after the previous story, and is set under the Earth in a hidden land of dinosaur warriors and alien artefacts. Yeowell does a great job of providing visual continuity for the series with the main characters and ships gracefully sailing the skies, but it’s a decidedly sharp swerve away from mythical legends to pulp sci-fi. Pirate ships and seas are also notably absent from shorter tales With a Bound He Was Free… (2006), which turns the focus back to mythology for a rousing tale starring Sir Isaac Newton; and War Stories (2007) which surprisingly jumps the action ahead to 1941. Old Gods (2007) rounds of the collection with a brief stint at sea before mashing up Native American and Norse legends in the United States of America.

Edginton also shifts the focus to some of the supporting players, addressing one of the minor nitpicks I had for the first collection. Captain Jack Dancer still gets lots to do (and gets to be very dashing while doing it), but the strongest character arcs are reserved for others. Isabella returns from her sudden departure in the new and exciting role of Empress of the Ma’har dinosaur tribe! It’s definitely some of the most interesting progressions in the series, as Isabella works to amass power to ensure she is never put in a position of being vulnerable again. Poor Jim falls afoul of the newly-ruthless Isabella, and becomes a shell hosting an alien intelligence. War Stories hints that some part of him still remains though, and is fighting the good fight. It’s all done in broad strokes, but I felt far more connected to the characters this time around.

As an overall collection of stories, Edginton provides a surprisingly positive and cynicism-free atmosphere of camaraderie and heroism, and as the final story wraps up with Dancer and his crew vowing not to be puppets for higher powers but take them on directly, there’s a wonderfully humanistic quality. It’s a welcome counterpoint to much else in the pages of the Prog, which can often highlight the darker side of human nature.

As with the previous Volume. Edginton also packs in lots of individually fun moments and scenes. Sir Isaac Newton, his life artificially extended into the 18th Century, and George Washington get to be part of a worldwide secret society; werewolves and frost giants prowl alongside Vikings and living statues; and Erebus the two-headed robo-dog continues to be a scene-stealer.

It’s hard to know what else to add to my praises of Yowell’s contributions from Volume One. He’s a perfect fit for the adventurous tales, and some of the scene-setting in particular is spectacular (the alien moon hanging in the underworld sky is a highlight for me). Edginton also gives him some fun sections to work with, including two old legends – Roman and Norse – that he gets to illustrate in the distinctive styles of old myths.

Volume Two of The Red Series sees the series successfully building on a strong start, and blend thrilling adventure with some unexpected additional layers. Halfway through the four books we’re getting in The Ultimate Collection, I’m still eager to sign on with Dancer and his crew.

Next time: Humanity is pushed into orbit and onto the edge in Brink: Volume One.