DEATH TO DEVIANTS!
The dark arts of Nemesis the Warlock, Arch Deviant, Scourge of the Termite Empire, have allowed the aliens of the galaxy to triumph over their would-be exterminators. Nemesis himself is a proud husband and new father, beloved by his followers and family, and well-known for launching heroic strikes against human cruelty throughout the galaxy. But the maniacal revenant Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of Terra and undisputed leader of all humanity, has already begun to enact his vengeance. Soon the Warlock will know pain like he has never known before, and all creation will tremble at his rage...
Nemesis the Warlock is a sword and sorcery 2000AD series that Warhammer 40,000 ripped off extensively. As such, elements of it can be used by players and GMs of 40k rpgs with very little work. The weird gothic setting is also interesting enough to be used in its own right.
BOOK ONE: THE WORLD OF TERMITE >>44307075
BOOK TWO: THE ALIEN ALLIANCE and BOOK THREE: THE WORLD OF NEMESIS >>44328117
But before starting, a brief interlude with everyone's favourite xenophobic lunatic, Torquemada.
Torquemada died at the end of second ever Nemesis story, but hasn't let a little thing like corporeal destruction get him down.
>>44347460
He might be literally Hitlerno, I'm not using that word incorrectly, but one of the things that becomes clear over the course of the series is that Tomas does love his family, in his fashion.
I don't believe Candida de Torquemada has appeared in the series before this point, but she was featured in a poster here >>44329917
On to the main event
BOOK FOUR: THE GOTHIC EMPIRE
A quick primer of the key characters in the series. Spoilers abound
If anybody is reading along could you please occasionally comment to bump the thread?
This is Ro-Jaws. Like >>44347835 says, he was a regular character in two earlier series who frequently antagonised another robot named Mek-Quake (who, thousands of years later, still holds a grudge >>44334713)
In the real world, Whitechapel is a district in the East End of London infamous for a series of murders attributed to Jack the Ripper
How much of this is there?
The rest of the book is illustrated by Bryan Talbot rather than Kevin O'Neill. Today he is most well-known for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (a work of apocalyptic science fiction set in a multiverse with a main character who can move through multiple realities) and the Grandville series (steampunk detective stories set in a world with anthropomorphic animal characters)
>>44348232
There's nearly 90 pages of this book left. After that there are six more books and a few short stories. It also ties into quite a lengthy ABC Warriors story called The Black Hole.
I don't know if I'll be able to do it all. I'd like to do it as a sort of Christmas present, like Nikolai Dante last year, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep.
This is the last book of the first printed volume though, and functions pretty well as its own self-contained thing.
Some familiar faces in the Hell-Fire Club.
Forgot to add, in >>44348442, Muffin the Mule was a puppet show for children broadcast live by the BBC from 1946 to 1952. Its one of the earliest children's TV programmes. The Tube was a "cool" music programme broadcast by channel 4 from 1982 to 1987 (ie. contemporary with this comic) that showcased loads of up-and-coming 1980s bands.
The ABC Warriors were a band of robots so named because they were immune to Atomic Biological and Chemical weapons. Hammerstein (who made a memorable cameo in the 1995 Judge Dredd film) is often their leader.
Farewell Skulmo, we hardly knew ye. Mainly because you only existed for this to happen to you.
Gotta love Pat Mills.
>>44348797
He's a reassuring constant in a world of reason and sanity.
Mek Quake's tiny brain had been transplanted into a Titan in the last book, but this is his regular bulldozer body.
>>44347562
Is Torquemada the best husbando?
>>44347421
Oh shit, long time no see! Glad to see you are still posting.
>>44349125
Certainly the purest. And really, who doesn't want snuggles from beyond the grave under a comfy blanket while your significant other reads you bed time stories about their nemesis?
>>44349181
Well, it is Christmas.
I think the last time was about April and the days of Cass Anderson and Death.
Threadly reminder to BE PURE, BE VIGILANT, BEHAVE
The prime minister is quoting British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey's remarks on the eve of WW1
The Mess was an ABC Warrior who was once a robot named Steelhorn. He was built from indestructible alloys, which was a huge advantage as a soldier but caused problems when he decided to retireand his commanding officers had him melted down for scrap. The indestructibility meant that the process didn't kill him, but it did turn him into liquid metal goo. He was last seen acting as a controlling force for a gigantic terraforming robot named George.
Aw bugrit, they're out of order again. Sorry folks. Give me a few minutes to try and fix this.
Whoops, didn't need to delete the last one.
OK, I'm going to reupload them in the correct order. If you refresh the page it should be easier to read.
What prompted Torquemada to be so heretically deviant here?
LoveAnd lust for alien death, of course, but mostlylove
>>44347857
>modeled on early 20th century britain
Promising.
These are early ABC Warrior stories.
A p45 form is the British equivalent of a pink slip, incidentally.
This is a positively normal development compared to some of what happens later.
BIG JOBS!
BIIIG JOOOOBS!
There may have been better ways to break that news, Purity.
The ABC Warriors are actually incredible. I wouldn't even know where to start describing them to someone. But they start off as like this classic Boy's Own story about cool robots smashing bad shit and fast forward ten years and you have like jaded PTSD leader, sniper robot with a fetish for women's underwear, robot that's a compulsive traitor (Blackblood is one of my favourite characters in any fiction), robot wizard with a magic sword, mentally handicapped robot with a big heart, shapeshifting robot that's the husband of the planet Mars.
It just got so weird in such a great way.
Torquemada's being just a touch hyporcritical here, given his present circumstances.That's deliberate
>>44350478
They do really nice hardback compilations for the ABC's now. Larger than the Dredd case files collections, full colour throughout. Well worth looking for.
That said, you do need to read it alongside Nemesis to get the most out of it, because I'm pretty sure it only collects the Warrior's solo outings rather than these crossovers.
>>44350101
This thing is just so fucking packed with ideas. There's so much here you could steal for games.
Gasp! The Evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt! I loved you in Earthworm Jim!
Lord's Cricket Ground is, again, a real place. The Ashes is a series of Test matches in a cricket season between England and Australia.
>The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and "the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia". The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to "regain those ashes". The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes.
>After England had won two of the three Tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh by a group of Melbourne women including Florence Morphy, whom Bligh married within a year. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden bail, and were humorously described as "the ashes of Australian cricket". It is not clear whether that "tiny silver urn" is the same as the small terracotta urn given to the MCC by Bligh's widow after his death in 1927.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes
Its still a major event in the non-US Anglo world. Another famous cricketer, W. G. Grace, can be seen in the background. You might recognise him as God in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Awww. They grow up so fast.
END OF BOOK FOUR
>>44350887
I know right? An anon in the previous thread was going to make a d100 random happening chart, and I'm pretty sure they'll have enough material to spare.
Books One to Four of Nemesis are collected in this omnibus edition. If you know the Judge Dredd Case Files, its exactly the same format (although unlike Dredd, you can fit all of Nemesis into just three books of that size)
Calling it a night here, I'm hoping I'll be able to do the next book or two tomorrow at an earlier time. If you're still hankering for Millsian action, there's a Redeemer storytime going on in /co/ right now here >>>/co/78391760
oops forgot the link
http://www.mediafire.com/download/kkxlkfldsm3tzlp/Book_4_-_Gothic_Empire.cbr
Seriously though, do buy a copy if you can. The images are so much sharper, which is great for picking out all the details, and its terrific value for money for the amount you get.
>>44348305
Nikolai Dante was absolutely fabulous, by the way, and is remembered fondly.
>>44348920
fucking AWESOME
>>44349315
There's been more than just that quote
It seems like they're having an absolute blast with aliens-pretending-to-be-victorian-england
>>44349946
oh god these names
I can't handle it
>>44350213
>"I am the robot."
>"I am the warrior-monk robot."
>"I am the warrior-monk-sorcerer robot who transcended reality."
goddamnit 2000AD
goddamnit
>>44350478
That is the most persuasive description of anything I have ever read.
>>44347421
Any chance you're going to zip all these up and post 'em somewhere when you're done?
>>44352921
I assume you mean 'fuck yes'.
>>44350478
Excellent summary capped.
>>44351136
Stop tempting me to foul heresy, Magna, you vile deviant!
>>44356146
the greatest of villains
Are you going to be scanning the game magazine where you play Torquemada? Sorry, can't remember the name - was it Dice Man? That was fun!
>>44356606
Good question. Unfortunately I've not been able to find the one with Torquemada, but luckily for you someone made a flash version for Bryan Talbot!
http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/youaretorq.swf
There's also one for Dredd on Talbot's site too.
http://www.bryan-talbot.com/images/art/youarejudgedredd.swf
I do, however, have one with Nemesis as the star
>>44351607
That's nice to hear. I hope Evasive Action Dante saw my thank you note.
Diceman was a limited series of gamebook comics by Pat Mills and other 2000AD alums. There's only one that's not about a 2000AD character, and that'sRonald Reagan>There was only one other story in the comic which was not derived from 2000 AD. This was "You are Ronald Reagan in: Twilight's Last Gleaming," a satirical spoof in which the reader, playing the part of the American president, must prevent nuclear war breaking out. This strip was unusual because if the player's sanity score gets too high, then the Secret Service assume that the president must have been replaced with an imposter (a comment on Reagan's perceived intellectual limitations). This game was exceptionally difficult compared with the others in the comic, as the player must make irrational decisions to avoid arrest and execution, while trying to make the right decisions to prevent a nuclear launch by either side. In fact the player transpires to have very little control over the outcome, and almost every option inevitably results in World War III, suggesting that nuclear diplomacy is very difficult to control once Cold War tensions have begun.
For the budding ABC Warrior fans out there, I'm unfortunately going to be unable to do all their adventures (this year, anyway). However, I have planned ahead!
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/s0a5c5gu5nul5/Part_One
You can get Ro-Busters in one complete Case-Files size omnibus (I think they've just released a new edition as well) and all of the pre-Nemesis Warrior stories in pic related, 01 of the Mek Files collection. The Mek Files don't have the Nemesis stories, you'll need to look get >>44351381 and the next volume to get the complete picture (although if you don't want to do that there are good summaries of what you miss in each).
It can be tricky to get the physical books for reasonable prices outside the UK, but you can get really good digital copies direct from 2000AD's online shop and Amazon.
http://shop.2000adonline.com/
I think we've got space for one last story in this thread, Alan Moore's Red Planet Blues. This story was in the 1985 annual, roughly contemporaneous with the end of The Gothic Empire but set quite a bit beforehand.
>>44353289
Already done it, but for your convenience
Prologue
http://www.mediafire.com/download/tiqjrxnb5x7d054/Book+0+-+prologue.cbr
Book One
http://www.mediafire.com/download/s4c9tireggpenj6/Book+1+-+Termight.cbr
Book Two
http://www.mediafire.com/download/u0d4t6axp21ttb8/Book+2+-+Alien+Alliance.cbr
Book Three
http://www.mediafire.com/download/y6fn1e06tfhbg1c/Book+3+-+World+Of+Nemesis.cbr
Book Four
http://www.mediafire.com/download/kkxlkfldsm3tzlp/Book_4_-_Gothic_Empire.cbr
And the minis
http://www.mediafire.com/download/723p2is45vs5sqy/39.2000AD+Sci-Fi+Special+1981+Nemesis+the+Warlock+-+The+Sword+Sinister.cbr
http://www.mediafire.com/download/t1blbnr8t9wy8k4/55.2000AD%27s+Diceman+%231+%28You+Are%29+Nemesis+the+Warlock+-+The+Torture+Tube.cbr
I'm going out now, but I;ll be back later to Book Five.
First class story bump.
Hello all. Found one more short one that was published between books 4 and 5, and I can fit it in here.
Look at that handsome devil.
Egad.
The ghastly rewards of deviation.
New thread with Book Five here >>44363321
Bump for good stuff.
