Bato Loco

rebel[14 Aug 2012]. Free.
68 pages. Colour & B&W.
Rebellion.

Edited by Keith Richardson.

Cover by Simon Coleby, coloured by Chris Blythe.

Free with Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #326 (14 Aug 2012).

Contents:

 2 Credits / Indicia

 3 Bato Loco title page; illustrated by Simon Coleby.

 4 Judge Dredd Bato Loco credits page; illustrated by Simon Coleby.

 5 Judge Dredd Bato Loco w: Gordon Rennie; a: Simon Coleby, lettering by Tom Frame, colouring by Chris Blythe.

r: Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #202 (11 Feb 2003).

17 Bato Loco True Romance credits page; illustrated by Simon Coleby.

18 Bato Loco True Romance w: Gordon Rennie; a: Simon Coleby, lettering by Tom Frame.

r: Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #208 (27 Aug 2003).

26 Bato Loco Head Job credits page; illustrated by Simon Coleby.

27 Bato Loco Head Job w: Gordon Rennie; a: Simon Coleby, lettering by Tom Frame, colouring by Chris Blythe.

r: Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #229 (08 Mar 2005) - #230 (05 Apr 2005).

39 Bato Loco Kiss Me Deadly credits page; illustrated by Andrew Currie.

40 Bato Loco Kiss Me Deadly w: Gordon Rennie; a: Andrew Currie, lettering by Simon Bowland, colouring by Peter Doherty.

r: Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #290 (10 Nov 2009) - #291 (08 Dec 2009).

58 Judge Dredd Meat Patrol credits page; illustrated by Simon Coleby.

59 Judge Dredd Meat Patrol w: Gordon Rennie; a: Simon Coleby, lettering by Tom Frame, colouring by Chris Blythe.

r: Judge Dredd Megazine (Rebellion) #224 (19 Oct 2004).

67 Bagged with Megazine 327 On Sale 15 August 12 in-house advertisement for Marauder.

68 Goin' Loco!

In the Big Meg's Barrio blocks, they called Carlito Agarra the 'Bato Loco' - 'Crazy Guy'. He's just trying to make an honest cred, but if it ain't the Judges on his back it's the Mob - Madon'!

You have to love a cover where someone steals Judge Dredd's badge.

So I know what it is you are thinking.

'Carlito,' you are saying, 'why is it you are doing this strange thing with this big fat dead guy, and all those Judges and bad news scary mob guys? Is this why they are always calling you Crazy Guy?

And so then I say to you, 'Patience, my friends, for soon you will be seeing that all this is not so crazy after all...'

There have been more eccentric beginnings to Dredd's stories. Not many, but there are a few which can top the image of a man riding a giant corpse on wheels.

A week earlier. Louie the Gut, returning from making his regular smuggling route through the Black Atlantic tunnel, collapses from a heart attack and dies, the haul of uncut diamonds in his stomach. Carlito Agarra is picked up by Don Morte's men for a sit-down, despite the fact that Don Morte is a taxidermied corpse, whose wishes are 'interpreted' by his consigliore, Vito Machievelli. Asked to retrieve the diamonds from the Resyk morgue, he discovers that two of his associates also have the same idea.

There are two corpses of similar size present, though the choice of which one is their corpse is settled when Guido Guisperre - 'Grand Guignol' - bursts from a corpse's stomach wielding his chainsaw. Hearing the disturbance, Dredd orders all squads to move in on the morgue, though Carlito and Guignol burst through the morgue's doors riding Louie the Guts' corpse. Managing to escape from both Guignol and Dredd, Carlito makes a run for freedom, and fate is smiling on him as he searches for a way to square things with Machievelli.

While most of the time I would have a problem with coincidence playing a part in the resolution of a story, here it works to the advantage of characterisation and the overall mood of the strip. Yes, there is a whole series of unlikely events, but in Mega City One this is business as usual.

Okay, so here we are again, and every time we are doing this, it seems as if you are catching me in the middle of something crazy happening.

Catalonia, Carlito's girlfriend, who he met when she took the contract on his head, is angered that a year has passed since Carlito promised to marry her within a year. Catalonia promised to herself that she would kill him if he didn't keep his promise, and she gives him a week to purchase her a ring. As the days tick by, without money or a ring, things look bleak for Carlito. Hearing that the Slyrrm, aliens seeking ingredients for narcotics on their homeworld, he scams them out of enough money for his needs.

As Carlito is ready to ask Catalonia to marry him, the Slyrrm catch up with him.

With a good sense of the variety of life in the setting, Rennie manages to weave a very funny - and quite light, given prior strips - action-adventure story. Catalonia is fantastic character, and it is pleasing that she is so much more competent than Carlito.

Head Job crosses Carlito's path with that of Judge Dredd once more, as Machievelli orders him to deal with Cubans from the Wastes who are running an organ-legging racket. A bulk shipment of executed politicos turns out to be merely their heads, and Carlito doesn't want to pay for something he can't sell on. As the deal goes south, Dredd leads an assault on the exchange. Recognising Carlito from Resyk, Dredd chases after him, as the other Judges clear up the organ-leggers.

Seeing Dredd covered in body parts is amusing, though somewhat predictable now. The circumstance in which he manages to get in such a predicament, however, is rather fresh. Unlike the rotting head thrown at him.

Okay, so I know what it is you are thinking -

"Carlito", you are thinking, "is that Abadonna Morte I see you with, beloved daughter of your boss, Don Morte? Why is it you are in this situation with her, when everyone know she is crazy as hell, and liable to get you in very serious trouble indeed?"

And I say to you, "that is a good question my friend, with an answer that is maybe long and not so simple to explain..."

Called in to deal with Abadonna's latest break-up, Carlito is told to assist Billy-17 cleaning up the mess. While there, Abadonna asks him to accompany her on a date, as she has invitations to the Cocabandito, and can't turn up alone - for appearances sake. A kidnap crew hits their car before they reach the club, however, and his worries about Abadonna killing him are replaced with a worry he's going to meet his end another way. Carlito's (entirely unintentional) heroics impress Abadonna enough that she kisses him, and Machievelli informs him that he should consider Abadonna his girlfriend from now on.

Which, considering his fiancée is a contract killer, isn't the best news he's had.

Catalonia orders Carlito to meet her on a rooftop, which he agrees to, as Abadonna tells Machievelli that she fears he is cheating on her. Obviously this means he must die, but Abadonna insists she be there to witness Carlito's demise. Things soon escalate out of control.

The final story in the collection is a very sombre and low-key Dredd story in which he takes night shift on meat wagon pick-up with a Judge whom he failed. It isn't often that we get to see the less glamorous side of the judicial system's tasks, and here we see what it takes to go out every day and collect corpses for Resyk. Following a relatively normal night of pick-ups, Dredd answers a call, drawing the truck into a fight which it isn't designed for.

Not as funny as Low Life, though a fine example of the less dramatic side of Mega City One's inhabitants. Following through on the promise of an excellent introduction to the character, Gordon Rennie delivers on Bato Loco's promising premise with one unlikely event after another, increasing the stakes with each installment. Gloriously illustrated by Coleby and Currie, there isn't a dud panel in the entire collection.