Comics

Interview: ‘This is a pretty monstery series’ – talking Storm Warning: Dead and Gone with John Reppion

17th November 2022

Psi Judge Lillian Storm is one of Brit-Cit’s finest, is back right now in the Judge Dredd Megazine for the new series of Storm Warning, Dead and Gone.

Originally created by John Reppion, Leah Moore, and Tom Foster and first appearing in The Relic (Megazine 361 to 366), Lillian’s gone on to feature in four more series with the fifth, Dead and Gone, beginning in last month’s Megazine issue 349.

The usually grumpy Lillian Storm has the ability to speak to the dead, which would be enough to put anyone on edge in itself, but Storm also has the constant companionship of the spirits of children who’ve been with her since a demonic ritual. So, yes, it’s understandable that she’s just so ticked off all the time.

But for the new series, we start with a shocker… yes, Lillian Storm is dead.

How? Why? And what’s going to happen next? Well, for that, it’s time to talk to Storm Warning co-creator John Reppion…

John, great to chat to you, hope all is going well there with you and yours and you’re safe and well and haven’t had to start burning valuable things to keep warm this winter.

Best way to start off is have you tell us just what we’ve got to expect with this latest outing for Psi-Judge Lillian Storm and just what terrifying predicament she’s in here in Dead & Gone.

JOHN REPPION: Lillian Storm started out life at an orphanage where a terrifying occult experiment went wrong, killing the other children and tethering their ghosts to her forever. Lillian grew up but the other kids never did, and their spirits allowed her to communicate with the dead. Under Judge Campbell, who became the head of Brit-Cit Psi Div, Lillian became a Judge handling some of Brit Cit’s weirdest cases.

Now, Judge Storm is dead. Dead and Gone gives us the story of what led to her death, and what’s going to happen next.

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How many episodes do we have for this one?

JR: Six parts in all, so it’s a pretty lengthy one.

This time around, we have Clint Langley on artwork, who’s already got a little experience with Storm Warning after providing the art for Storm Warning vs Blackhawk in the 2000 AD 2020 Sci‑Fi Special.

John, you’ve already had the pleasure of two fine talents on Storm Warning, your co-creator Tom Foster, and Jimmy Broxton. But what sort of artistic delights is Clint bringing to the party here?

JR: Yes, Tom basically created the character and the world with Leah and myself, so his series are really the starting point of the whole thing. As a writer it’s great to see characters you’ve helped create interpreted by different artists and I can honestly say that I’ve loved all the different versions of Storm and her Brit‑Cit that Tom, Jimmy, and Clint have created.

I think Clint is absolutely perfect for Dead and Gone, which is quite a dark story in some ways, and I feel like you can really tell how much fun he’s having with the whole thing, especially in this second installment which has just hit the shelves.  

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Did you know Clint was returning to Storm Warning or was it one of those great surprise moments?

JR: I think I found out maybe halfway through scripting that Clint was going to be the artist. My immediate reaction was that that was going to be perfect. He did such a fantastic job on the Blackhawk crossover, and this series is every bit as mad and frenetic as that, so I knew it would work.

Without wanting to give too much away, this is a pretty monstery series – there’s lots of cool, weird baddies of one form or another, and Clint does that just brilliantly. But, also, it’s the textures and the density of the artwork. Whether we’re in Brit-Cit or the Underworld then Clint just throws everything he’s got into every little detail, so it’s a visual feast.

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John, outside of comics you have a great interest in the world of ghostly Britain and the folklore of these isles. I think it’s easy to see why the setting and themes of Storm Warning really do play to both what you know and what you obviously find interesting in the occult of Britain.

JR: Yeah, I’ve written loads of articles about British folklore and ghosts and weird history and all that kind of thing. Even a book or two. I’ve been sort of obsessed with all that stuff since I was a kid. I grew up visiting a giants grave in a little village a few miles from my house with my grandad, and playing with friends in a big cemetery, and an abandoned school, and a derelict factory… blame Scooby Doo and the Usborne books of Ghost, Monsters, etc, I suppose.

I often try to get some of that British Weird into what I’m writing (Finder & Keeper in Regened does some similar stuff in a more All Ages friendly way). When Leah and I were first asked to come up with a Brit‑Cit series then we both knew that was what we were going for; a very British spookiness.

So what is it about Brit Cit that really does seem to lend itself more to horror (with a sci-fi twist of course) than somewhere like MC-1? (Not that MC-1 hasn’t had its fair share of horrors, but to my mind I always picture Brit Cit as more steampunky and folklore-tinged.)

JR: So, for the Storm Warning world, I sort of started thinking about it all with Occult Detectives like Dr. John Silence and Thomas Carnacki in mind. That Victorian/Edwardian clash of technology and the supernatural. Brit-Cit has all of our history and all of that old British stuff buried beneath it, just as London really does. All of the ghosts and legends are still there, but there’s all this modern tech and infrastructure crammed in around and on top of it all. It’s like a place that’s overstuffed with everything and it’s all spilling out all over the place.

Finally, what else can we expect from you both – and of course you and Leah, John – whether that’s for Tharg or (whisper it quietly and he may not hear you) outside of 2000 AD?

JR: Well, Leah’s been busy on very high-profile music books, working with the likes of The Doors, Joan Jett, Tori Amos, and more recently Motley Crue. We’re literally just back from the Thought Bubble comics festival in Harrogate today where myself and artist M D Penman launched the hardback edition of our Graphic Novel adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. A very nice fella by the name of Alan Moore very kindly wrote us a lovely introduction for it.

Thank you so much to John for getting back to us – he really had pretty much walked in from Thought Bubble, got some sleep, woken up, and straight away set about doing this! Now that’s dedication to (and maybe a little bit of fear of) Tharg!

You can find the incredible Storm Warning right now in the pages of the Megazine – the new 6-part Dead and Gone started in issue 349, which was out last week, and continues in issue 350, out on 16 November with a gorgeous looking Tom Foster Storm Warning cover! Get it wherever the Galaxy’s Greatest is sold, including the 2000 AD web shop!

And as for the previous series, here’s the complete Lillian Storm in Storm Warning:

The Relic (Megazine 361–366) – Leah Moore, John Reppion, Tom Foster
Over My Dead Body (Megazine 400–403) – Moore & Reppion, Jimmy Broxton
Green and Pleasant Land (Megazine 404–408) – Moore & Reppion, Foster
Storm Warning Vs Blackhawk (2000 AD 2020 Sci-Fi Special) – Reppion, Clint Langley
Dead and Gone (Megazine 449–454) – Reppion & Langley

And be sure to check out John Reppion and Leah Moore’s website – right here.