The Ballad of Halo Jones

[whitesycamore]

The Ballad Of Halo Jones was written by Alan Moore for 2000 AD, and has been described as a "feminist space opera." The story is set in the 50th century, beginning in a dystopian enclosed city known as The Hoop. Although the story was originally released in weekly five page episodes, the TPB is divided into three books - the following ten pages are all taken from the first book. The three books are all quite different in tone and it's hard for me to choose a favourite, so if these scans go down well I may post parts of books two and three in the future.



Halo is 18 at the beginning of the story, and lives on The Hoop with her room mates Brinna, Rodice, and Ludy, along with Brinna's robotic dog Toby. Having absolutely no food in the house, Halo and Rodice plan to go grocery shopping.













After a slight riot, the girls (and dog) find themselves behind schedule, so Rodice makes some changes to the itinerary of their journey.









Due to the delay the girls find the route ahead cut off by something called the Hoop Flex, a routine maintenance task which seems to involve part of The Hoop temporarily disconnecting from the rest. However, Halo has an alernative idea.









Rodice's plan backfires, and she accidentally zenades herself. This has the benefit of making her not care about going out onto the surface of The Hoop, so Halo gets to use her route after all.





Finally they get to the mall (after several other setbacks that I didn't include) and are able to buy their much needed groceries - and even a gift for Brinna.









Ah well. Best laid plans, eh?

And finally, one page from an earlier story which sums up the spirit of those living on The Hoop:





Of course, by the end of book 1 Halo does get out, and that's when the story really gets interesting...

Comments

[greenmask]

I just do not believe she is eighteen. I just don't! I think it's in the body language? I dunno.

I do heart *this kind* of 2000AD strip though. I've never been a regular buyer; when I tried to be a few years back there was just not a single story going that I liked. Nor art-style. Except for the photo-manipulation Slaine, actually, but that was "interested in" rather than "definitely liked".

Always wondered about Ms Jones. Thanks for this!

[whitesycamore]

I was partial to Caballistics Inc ages back, but I never really cared for anything else, and I just couldn't deal with only a tiny amount of plot progression each issue.

I definitely want to read D.R and Quinch though.

[greenmask]

I like the massive phonebook Judge Dredd trades. My village library even had one at one point! They're so ugly and mean, perfect feet-up reading. And Bisley-drawn Slaine is.. I don't even have words!

[mrstatham]

DR & Quinch is one of those things that can be a little shocking in just how ridiculous it is, given the usual things Moore writes. Like Halo Jones, there's some manner of reflection on Vietnam and the like, but it is done in just about the silliest way possible.

I think I have my trade about somewhere, so I might see if I can get it to work with the scanners at Uni, and put a few pages up, because there's definitely a few stories I love, like 'Something Something Oranges Something'.

[whitesycamore]

You really should, I'd love to read some!

I'm a little disappointed at how few seem to be interested in HJ - and all those who have commented are fellow Brits (I think). And here I thought the Alan Moore tag alone would have drawn quite a bit of attention...

[thandrak]

How's your mom, Ed? Nice! I guess it was a bit closer to current then, though. But still, nice!

(hee hee. Potrzebie!)

[halloweenjack]

Man, it's been ages since I've read this, I'm not sure if I even have my copies any more. I especially liked the concept of the Different Drummers; talk about slaves to the rhythm...

[nemryn]

This is the second most epic grocery-related quest I've seen.

[whitesycamore]

I would like to know the first, please! (Bonus points if you have lived it).

[nemryn]

Terror Island!

No bonus points, unfortunately.

[mrstatham]

HJ is one of my favourite Alan Moore stories. It's a little more low-key and unknown than most of Moore's stories, save the DR and Quinch strips he did with Alan Davis, but it is a really nicely told one. I think it's kind-of interesting that Halo's wish does, kind-of, come true, but it's absolutely subverted by the sheer amount of misery that comes along with it. The end of the third volume is one of the saddest things I've read.

[whitesycamore]

I was quite taken aback by how hollow and burned out the ending felt. Halo, making a last ditch attempt to leave the ruins of her wasted life behind her... D:

It seemed unfinished really, as though there were lots more story left to tell. We never even find out why she became such a legend in the future.

[mrstatham]

Moore did have way more stories to tell. I think if you look about on Ian Gibson's website, there's a few bits and pieces about what they would have done, but I can't remember why Moore and Gibson didn't make anymore stories.

But the ending we get is very sad, and incredibly miserable. Halo gets to have these fantastic experiences, but the war and the lies of her superiors make her as implicit in the murder of so many as the people giving her orders. It's little wonder she decides to strike back by effectively murdering her would-be suitor.

[grazzt]

I thought the ending was more bitter-sweet than miserable. Sure she had lost friends in the military, and been betrayed horribly, to speak nothing of her disillusionment from serving in the military. But in the end she had freedom that few had, and you just knew something good (or if not necessarily good, at least interesting) was just around the corner.

[red_cyclone]

I love Halo Jones so much. I used to read my dad's 2000 ADs as a kid and always though Halo was amazing, but the story has so much depth that I didn't appreciate, the kind of depth that probably isn't there in Durham Red, much as I used to like that.