Nemesis The Warlock: Eps. 3-5
The 2000AD editorial pages were responding to readers’ enquiries by saying the ABC Warriors were coming back. Obviously a blatant lie. I take great exception to misleading readers in this way.
I’m blown away by Nemesis the Warlock: the Definitive Edition. My compliments to the publishers, Rebellion, and especially their designer Gemma Sheldrake for the truly inspired front and back covers.
Such a Definitive Edition requires a Definitive Commentary, a companion piece for when you’re looking at the beautiful art by art-creator Kevin O’Neill and the other talented artists that followed him. So it’s time for The Secret History of Nemesis the Warlock, an episode by episode revelation of what really went on behind the scenes.
Episode Three – Bryan’s first episode.
Bryan’s first episode is a triumph. He has captured the fanaticism of Torquemada perfectly. His hardware is equally inventive. I’d suggested air cavalry with massive swords attached to their planes to Kev but he hadn’t been able to fit them in. So I suggested them here and they look cool. In fact I was so fond of them, I featured them again in Requiem Vampire Knight.
Apart from the various De La Salle brothers, I was also inspired to write Torquemada from another source: Kessler – the cold, cruel Gestapo chief in the BBC TV series Secret Army. I met the actor Clifford Rose when he played a Gestapo chief in my Doctor Who audio play The Scapegoat and he was a truly lovely man. But he played Gestapo heads brilliantly and they always left a deep impression on me.
Episode Four – Battle in Whitechapel
The space battle and Whitechapel scenes are beautifully executed by Bryan. But the scene that lingers in my mind is Bryan’s composite view of later radio signals from Earth.
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