Comic Book Review - 2000 AD Prog 2306 [Regened]

Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2306 [Regened]...

For the final time this year, Tharg hands the Galaxy's Greatest over to Joko-Jargo for another all-ages takeover. Inside this bumper-issue is are five tales that aim to appeal to the next generation of 2000 AD readers.

So, what does Joko-Jargo have in store? 

Aside from the usual suspects of Cadet Dredd, Chopper, and Futureshocks. We have the debut of two new strips - Bladers and Psychobaby. What are they all about? Well, let's peel back that incredible Alex Ronald cover and find out...

Cadet Dredd: Undertow

We're down in the Mega-City One docks as Dredd and Rico find themselves on another assignment. In keeping with the "brothers" competitive side, Rico is ribbing Dredd over beating him in their latest assessment. Naturally, the reason Dredd scored lower was due to his inflexibility to utilise a more fluid demeanour - something which Rico uses to push the two into some serious trouble. 

Paul Starkey brings a typically standard Cadet Dredd tale. It's Dredd and Rico off on another done-in-one which perfectly suits the format of these Regened Progs. While Starkey fills the strip with plenty of action, for long-time readers we get more insight into the brothers conflicting attitudes when it comes to the Law. And while we all know how it ends, it's great to see the rebellious Rico, and the virtuous Dredd play off against each other. 

Silvia Califano & Gary Welsh's artwork allows the script to flow with ease. The duo also utilises the cast's facial expressions to good effect too - especially that sly smirk from Rico.

Bladers

In the 25th Century, humanity branched out into the universe. In doing so, the sport of Gravity Blading has spread across the stars. 

Meet Abi Caine who due to an injury had to pull out of a series of trials that could have seen her becoming the sport's next top star. Yet, in a strange turn of events Abi has found herself in receipt of quite a heft sum of money. Soon the new owner of the failing Gravity Bombshells team Abi has her work cut out as the team attempts to reach the playoffs. 

From reading Bladers it is very hard not to compare it to the most recent reboot of Harlem Heroes. It also seems strange that we would have two similar future sports series both running in the Regened Progs. However, Bladers is my preferred option. 

While James Peaty leans into the cliché realms of sports stories such as Ted Lasso, it works well. Leigh Gallagher contributes some impressive linework that captures the excitement of the sport, along with its ferocity well.  

Think Mean Arena, crossed with Rollerball, Ted Lasso and The Renford Rejects and that's what you'll get with Bladers. 

Ulysses Sweet: Psychobaby

Ulysses Sweet is another character who's crossed over from the grown-up Prog to Regened. Helmed by Guy Adams and Paul Marshall we get to see a baby Sweet deal with all manner of issues while attempting to gather some weapons. 

What makes Psychobaby unique is that Adams and Marshall have styled the whole thing on those daily strips you'd see in the newspaper. Set across two double-page spreads we get Adams utalising plenty of quick humour to tell his story. While Marshall and Dylan Teague give plenty of cartoon violence. 

Futureshocks: The Planet Breakers

With humanity long bringing planet Earth to its knees over the constant need for resources, they've headed off into outer space. After all, there are plenty of resource-rich planets out there. Why not strip mine a few? After all who's going to stop them? 

And that's where everything goes wrong!

Yet again Karl Stock delivers another interesting Futureshocks strip. The overall lead-up is a nice piece of social commentary, with the ending twist delivering a meaty left hook. Alongside Stock for this one is Karl Richardson, who as debuts go - plays a great one. Everyone knows I'm a fanboy for great spaceship art, and Richardson doesn't disappoint with some great panoramic shots and a vibrant colour scheme. 

Chopper: All For One

Much like Cadet Dredd, the Regened Progs are great for diving into the backstory of 2000 AD's greats. It's the same here as we get the early adventures of Marlon Shakespeare. Long before he became the well-known Sky-Surfer we all know. 

Fresh out of the Juve-Cubes, Marlon soon gets a tough lesson on responsibility. Beginning in-media-res, we see Marlon deep in trouble as a Judge H-Wagon pursues him across the MC-1 skyline. Soon jumping back a few days, Marlon then catches us up on events. 

It's all action with plenty of Sky-Surfing as David Barnett and Gary Welsh bring another fantastic tale. Welsh takes over from Nick Roche for this instalment. While it's a different artist at the helm Welsh works well with colourist Gary Caldwell to keep a consistent style throughout. Meanwhile, Barnett continues to keep the lighthearted nature of these Chopper strips going with plenty of 3rd wall-breaking talking to the audience and setting up this Regened version of the character's future. 

All in all, Prog 2306 is another great outing for the Regened series. Along with the recently released Best of 2000 AD, there's no better time to discover why 2000 AD remains the powerhouse of British comics. 

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