''Really & Truly'' is a comic strip appearing in the anthology '' 2000 AD'' in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, created by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

and

Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Marvel ...

. It depicts the travails of the titular characters as they take a shipment of advanced drugs from Colombia to San Francisco in what writer

David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine ''NME'', his writing credits have included '' On the Hour'', '' ...

has described as a "post-

Burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

, post-

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

future".

Publication history

The story was - along with the ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

'' story "

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

" - Morrison's contribution to new ''2000AD'' editor

Alan McKenzie Alan McKenzie is a British comics writer and editor known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography McKenzie worked for Marvel UK during the early 1980s, editing '' Starburst'', ''Cinema'' and '' Doctor Who Monthly'' magazines. After leaving the ...

's "Summer Offensive", an 8-week period where he sat back and let Morrison,

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...

and John Smith have free rein. The story was published in ''2000AD'' Progs 842-849 (3 July to 21 August 1993) - alongside Millar's '' Maniac 5'', Smith's ''

Slaughterbowl This is a list of minor ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' list of 2000 AD stories, stories. Stories A Absalom ''Absalom'' is a horror comics, horror story spin-off from ''Caballistics, Inc.'' by Gordon Rennie and Tiernen Trevallion. The stories ...

'' and Morrison/Millar collaboration '' Big Dave''.

Creation

''Really & Truly'' dealt explicitly with drugs, and according to Morrison was written in a day while high on ecstasy.

Synopsis

In Teknograd, an enclave of young Russian scientists located in the Colombian jungle, Really and Truly are employed by Dmitri to run a consignment of bullets - a narcotic that can be inserted into the ear, producing "head shooms that last for days". Their destination is an illegal

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and Dmitri sends

Cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Johnny Zhivago along with them as well. As they reach

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

they are detected by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, who notify Captain Nice, while drug-lord Boss Buddha also targets the pair. On a comfort break Truly is nearly attacked by mutants but saved by the awful verse of

beat poet The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatione ...

Scuba Trooper, who promptly joins them to get a lift to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where they are ambushed by the gigantic House of Fun, Nice's huge mobile base. They escape but end up in Anyville, a fifties Americana theme park filled with robots and a lone human, Native American Kicking Bird. They learn Boss Buddha's enforcers are closing in so split up - with Johnny Zhivago and Scuba Trooper heading on to San Francisco while Really and Truly draw them off. The ladies head to a flooded

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and are attacked by helicopters. They shoot them down but are intercepted by the House of Fun - which has been captured by Johnny and Scuba, with Captain Nice sidelined when he ingests the drug Void. Really, Truly and their motley crew then enjoy the rave.

Characters

*Really Something and Truly Amazing: unflappable ace drivers, crack shots and narcotic enthusiasts. *Johnny Zhivago:, a

with the strength of ten men, only recently defrosted. *Scuba Trooper: a

who is very protective of his goatee. *Captain Nice: a government drugs agent who travels in the House of Fun, who covers for his baldness by having the word 'hair' written on his forehead *Boss Buddah: a gangster who is a strong believer in

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

. *Dmitri: a Russian drug-scientist based in Colombia who speaks

Nadsat Nadsat is a fictional register or argot used by the teenage gang members in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel ''A Clockwork Orange''. Burgess was a linguist and he used this background to depict his characters as speaking a form of Russian-influ ...

Collected editions

Reception

Richard Bruton of

Comicon.com Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he w ...

disliked the story, considering it derivative of the material often seen in ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

'', "packed with drugs and forced wackiness", but was thankful for the "brilliance" of Hughes' art.

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

placed it fourth on a list of Morrison's "most controversial stories", calling it a " Class A Josie & the Pussycats" and also noting the similarities to ''Deadline'', particularly ''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

''., and would also call it "''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

'' by way of

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

". Graham Johnstone called it "an entertaining romp" while reviewing ''Yesterday's Tomorrows: Rian Hughes' Collected Comics'' for Slings & Arrows. Morrison themselves would note "''Really & Truly'' is no award-winner but it has a certain throwaway charm", and would later admit the story was heavily influenced by ''Deadline''.

References

External links

Heroes of 2000AD - Grant Morrison
{{DEFAULTSORT:Really and Truly Comics by Grant Morrison 1993 comics debuts 2000 AD comic strips 2000 AD characters British comics characters British comic strips Dystopian comics