Comic Book Review - 2000 AD Prog 2279

Past Crimes, Will The Truth Finally Surface?...

Things start to alow down this week as we head into Regened territory for next week's Prog: 2280. 

While "some" of the collective readership moan and groan - it's not that bad! Not only do we get two new strips from David Bennett and Karl Stock, but Anna Morozova is also back too! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

The main takeaway from Prog 2279 is that John Wagner's tale of two Dredds - 'The Citadel' - reaches its conclusion. Was it as game-changing as we were lead to believe? Well, keep reading to find out.

Joining 'The Citadel' this week is the usual line-up of Hope In The Shadows, Brink, and Fiends Of The Eastern Front. However, joining these is a special Future Shocks that sees the debuts of this year's Thought Bubble winners; Honor Vincent and Lee Milmore. 

Judge Dredd: The Citadel - Part 10 (Final Part)

Since the arrival of the other "Dredd", John Wagner had given us a bit of a is he, isn't he tale. Is Winterton telling the truth? Or did the ordeal shell-shock the Cadet that much he's fabricating his version? 

Well, the pay-off is a bit of both. 

As Father O'Dowd is taken for treatment due to Winterton biting his ear, he's confronted by a certain Cadet Judge Chopra. Copra who's been relegated to desk duties due to her injuries within the Apocalypse War finally fills O'Dowd in on the true versions of events. As things stand the "other" Dredd was a Sov plant, whose purpose was to infiltrate the Meg. 

It's quite a fitting end to this tale, and the revelation does give Wagner some space to develop things in the future. However, it's not quite the epic that Rebellion's advertising would have had us believe. Don't get me wrong 'The Citadel' has been a great read, but its pay-off was a little bit lacking. What it does do is leave you with a lot of questions. "How many other clones are there?" "Have the Sov's cloned other high ranking Judges?", "is Dredd OUR Dredd?". Here's hoping Wagner picks up these threads and doesn't bait us for too long. 

Hope In The Shadows: Reel One - Part 4

Mallory Hope is in a bit of trouble this week as the film's sleazy director wants the P.I. off of his set. And he's not fussed if it sees Hope in a body bag! 

The overall mystery gets a bit murkier in this episode as Guy Adams continues to paint a dark and moody theme to this supernatural detective noir. This is all backed up by Jimmy Broxton's fantastic artwork, which gives Adams' script its punch. 

Brink: Mercury Retrograde - Part 10 

Dan Abnett gives us another masterclass in everyday life as Maz's investigation into the Union activity continues. The last issue saw ex-Union boss Eugene Bardot reveal a little too much to Maz about how these organisations work. Naturally, he's peeved someone off, and their heavies come to visit Bardot. 

Meanwhile, Maz meets the very familiar face of Francine Lightman. With talk of questionable things being pumped into the Hab's air and water supply, could this be the reason behind all the riots? Anyway, Abnett gives us yet another mundane cliffhanger as Maz is hauled in front of HabSec, which could mean he's about to run into yet another familiar face? 

I'm enjoying 'Mercury Retrograde'. Not only is it another superb story from Dan Abnett, but going back to the start of the saga is helping flesh prior events out more. INJ Culbard's art is also on point. There's plenty of great character work which aims to give this one a very human connection. Not only this, but Culbard has also done a great job in giving the Habitats a lived-in feel while remaining mysterious. 

Much like Abnett's other work, everything from the script to visuals comes together to craft a compelling and beautiful sci-fi epic.

Future Shocks: Relict

First off, congratulations to Honor Vincent and Lee Milmore for winning this year's Thought Bubble! Not only this, but 'Relict' is a very strong indication as to why Tharg chose these two talents. 

Writing a Future Shocks tale can't be an easy task. Not only do you need a full story with a "shocking" twist, but it all also needs to be complete in five pages. Sometimes they work, and others don't. Thankfully Vincent has nailed it with this tale of Mice and Men. 

It's a great short story that sees a lonely mouse battle against various threats to then come up against mankind. While the ending is a little predictable, it's quite a heavy and thought-provoking read. 

Lee Milmore's art is stunning. Each cell is packed with vibrant line work, with a lot of detail. The animals all look great too, and the viewpoint from our heroic mouse gives everything a monstrous feel. 

Everything flows effortlessly as Milmore and Vincent bring this tale to life. And it's "shocking" to think that this is their first published work for Tharg...it's that good! 

Fiends Of The Eastern Front: 1963 - Part 7

Constanta has escaped Russia and is back in London. First on the agenda is to get answers as to why he was in Berlin, and who exactly is pulling the strings. The only way he's going to find out is by speaking to his handler; Major Doleman.

Ian Edgington gives a great conversation between the two as he reveals the past of  Constanta and Baba Yaga. It's easy to see why the Witch is pissed as Constanta had taken her eyeball during a prior confrontation in 1812. 

The spy thriller has taken a somewhat backseat over the last few weeks as the Occult has manifested itself in this tale. Thankfully Edgington hasn't forgotten this and the "Tinker Tailor Soldier Vampire" theme is still simmering away in the background. 

And yes, Tiernen Trevallion's artwork is still bloody fantastic! But you already knew that! 

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Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev