Rob Lake reviews 2000 AD Prog 2219...
It's Wednesday yet again which of course means I'm back with another trip into the Thrillverse with the weekly 2000 AD Progs.
We're up to issue 2219 this week which (un)fortunately means we're heading into Regened territory next week with another All-Ages Prog. I can almost hear the tears from here...
Anyway, this week we say goodbye again to Hershey as The Brutal comes to its end. Kenneth Niemand is back with another done-in-one Dredd, Sláine goes back to his murdering, Durham is still playing in the snow, and Vex...well things are just as bad as before...
This weeks cover comes courtesy of Patrick Goddard and Dylan Teague. It's a great scenic look at the rooftops of The Meg, and is a wrap-around to boot. Which leads us into this weeks first strip...
Judge Dredd: Against The Clock
Ken Niemand is back this week with a look into the world of the sky-surfers of Mega-City 1. This is another one of those tales that dives into the world of The Meg with Dredd almost taking a backseat in the proceedings.
The star of this week is instead a sky-surfer who's making her way as a delivery surfer. With her young child strapped to her back, we follow the journey as she goes from depot to delivery, with a run-in with Dredd to interrupt her schedule.
Both Goddard and Tegue are on fire throughout Against the Clock. Theres plenty of death-defying action shots as our sky-surfer twists, turns and dives through the Mega-City 1 skyline. It's full of gorgeous skylines and shows a more "glamorous" side to the Meg
Niemand taking us back to the sky-surfers reminds me a lot of John Wagner's The Mega-City Way of Death, which highlighted the more illicit side of this dangerous profession.
Sláine: Dragontamer - Part 8
Sláine is back to doing what he does best this week. Theres plenty of blood, murder and mayhem as Sláine attempts to free Brutus' monstrous son.
As always Leonardo Manco's art has been phenomenal throughout the last 8-parts of Dragontamer. And if this is well and truly the end to Sláine then it's going out with a bang.
Proteus Vex: The Shadow Chancellor - Part 7
It's a bit of a mixed bad this week as everything seems to be kicking off at once. So not only do we have Vex's flesh pilot on the loose with the Imperium trying to hunt it down, the Citheronian ships are also on their way to take Midnight Indicating Shame back home.
Jack Lynch provides the goods this week. His portrayal of the flesh pilots escape gives us some gorgeous angles and various close up shots. It's all still incredibly alien with the weird and wonderful characters that Mike Carroll has brought to his script.
Proteus Vex has so far been on the slow burn, but after this week the galaxy is seemingly off to war...
Durham Red: Served Cold - Part 7
Durham is in a tight spot this week as she's delivered into the hands of the "big bad". Why is she so important? Well we still don't know. The dynamic has changed as the Assault on Precinct 13 style siege is now over and the mercenaries have performed their tradition bad guy coup.
Served Cold has been a great read these last few weeks, what's started off as your typical Durham Red tale has taken quite a twist. With the overarching plot of Durham seeking forgiveness, it's going to get "bloody" no doubt.
Alec Worley and Ben Wilsher have given us a great action romp with some gorgeous artwork to boot.
Hershey: The Brutal - Part 8 (Final Part)
Love her or hate her, Hershey comes to its satisfying conclusion this week. The former Chief Judge has a gun to her head as Frank is getting roughed up by Edu's champion.
Of course its not all over as Hershey has another card to play on her way to finally get Edu.
Rob Williams possibly hints at what's to come for Hershey as this finale opens to the Cheif Judge talking to someone off scene. Something for part 3 maybe?
Whilst some of you will be glad to see the end of Hershey, I personally think The Brutal has been quite good. It'a not only built more character into Hershey, but Frank has changed considerably from his role in The Small House. Whether or not Hershey should of stayed dead is for another time, but both Williams classic storytelling and Wilsher's amazing tonal art has made The Brutal a slow building, mean and brutal story from start to finish.
Rating 8/10
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