Comic Book Review - The Best of 2000 AD Vol.2

Rob reviews The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2...

It's been a few months since Rebellion's first attempt at luring new readers to the phenomenon that is 2000 AD. The Best of 2000 AD Vol.1 offered an accessible mix tape of thrills that had been made up from a small snippet of the long-running comic book defining stories. 

Much like its predecessor, The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2 boasts yet another trip across Tharg's Thrillverse for those looking to test the waters. For the uninitiated, series editor Owen Johnson has curated a veritable mix of tales that showcases 2000 AD without needing vast amounts of knowledge to understand. However, for veteran readers, The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2 offers a brilliant way to reacquaint with old favorites, while allowing for plenty of potential passing of the torch discussions.

Taking on the style of an oversized version of the weekly Prog, The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2 features six strips pulled from the publications past and present. Once again, kicking proceedings off is the 2000 AD mainstay that's Judge Dredd. This time out we're treated to Judge Dredd: Magic Bullets by Al Ewing and Colin Wilson. While Ewing now lends his writing credentials to Marvel, Magic Bullets is a perfect example of why the writer is held in such high regard. 

Taking place across Mega-City One, Ewing weaves a tale that involves military hardware, Mega-City One's elite, and the ordinary Cits that stand in the way. Taking inspiration from the real-world issue of drone warfare, Ewing asks the question of what would happen if the psychopathic rich started to play God. As the crazy "sport" starts to sweep across Mega-City One, Dredd is on the other side attempting to figure it all out. But what happens when he becomes the next target? 

All in all, a great opening from Ewing and Wilson. 'Magic Bullets' is a great Dredd tale that's not all Lawgivers and Perps. While it does have its action, the bulk is Dredd doing some detective work, while the craziness of Mega-City One leak from the Cits he encounters. 

Next up is the second half to book one of Dan Abnett's stunning sci-fi 'Brink'. Taking place in the far future, humanity has been forced out into the cold reaches of space. Earth is no longer habitable, and the remnants of human life reside on various habitat stations floating on the "Brink".  Not strictly a traditional sci-fi, Abnett slows his narration down to a crawl. This allows the veteran writer to get under your skin with the murmurings of space gods, kooky religious cults, and shadowy corporate dealings. 

With 'Brink: Book 5' recently finishing its syndication within the weekly Prog, now's the perfect time to delve into Abnett and INJ Culbard's masterpiece. You won't regret it!

Moving on and comic book critic Tom Shapira brings an incredible critical essay that introduces Pat Mills and Kevin O’Neill's 'Nemesis The Warlock'. Shapira takes readers on a journey through the history of one of the publication's more influential characters. This segues nicely into six strips about the titular Nemesis and his battles against another iconic character; Torquemada. 

While 'Nemesis The Warlock' highlights 2000 AD's younger years, it can be quite little rough around the edges. But keep with it and Mills takes the reader on quite a journey that portrays humanity as a force of enslaving shits, rather than the usual "good guys". While Nemesis hasn't been seen in 2000 AD for a few years, he's one of the characters who's still looked at very fondly by the anthology's readers. And while Mills has unceremoniously cut ties with the comic he helped create, these "history lessons" are the only way we'll experience these initial Thrills. 

Keeping with the works of Pat Mills, we then take a trip to Mars with the ABC Warriors. Much like Nemesis The Warlock, the ABC Warriors were a mainstay of 2000 AD's early years. Again, much like Nemesis, Hammerstein and his team of robotic warriors have been sunset by publisher Rebellion due to parting ways with Mills. So while the current running Joe Pineapples strip is essentially the adios to the Warriors, we at least have this look back into their "golden era". 

Away from their uncertain future, 'Red Planet Blues' is a great look into the ABC Warrior's past. Featuring the talents of comic book heavyweights Alan Moore, Steve Dillon, and John Higgins, 'Red Planet Blues' is one almighty tale - and this is coming from someone who's not overly fond of the ABC Warriors. Across the narrative, Moore mainly focuses on Hammerstein as the aging droid recounts a mission back on Mars. With a script full of emotion from Hammerstein, Moore deals with a "hiccup" in humanity's terraforming of the Martian landscape. It's a nice simple strip that's certainly elevated by Dillon and Higgins' line work and colors. Now if only Alan Moore wrote more ABC Warriors...

Rounding off The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2 is a trip back to Mega-City One with 'The Vampire Effect'. Written by the pseudonym T.P. Grover, (in reality either John Wagner, Alan Grant, or both), with art by Mick McMahon (or should that be Mike?), 'The Vampire Effect offers a quintessential Dredd tale moves away from a simple perp, to something more supernatural - after all anything fair game in Mega-City One. 

The finale to this volume is once again saved for a single page D.R. & Quinch. I've got to hand it to Jamie Delano and Alan Davis with these silly one-page spreads. Not only a great way to break from the more serious aspect found in this volume but more D.R. & Quinch really shouldn't be trusted with an agony page! 

Overall, while The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 2 is a fantastic read it doesn't hit with the same "oomph!" as Volume. 1. Whether this is due to the aforementioned featuring both the critically acclaimed 'Halo Jones' and 'Shamballa'? Or something else entirely? 

Either way, Volume. 2 offers another great look into why 2000 AD remains a firm favorite to so many of its readers. There's a great mixture of thrills within this volume, that captures all the different aspects of the anthology across its 46 years. If you've never picked up a copy of 2000 AD, then now is a perfect time! 

Rating: 8.5/10 

Like this review and want to support the blog further? You can do so by heading over to Ko-Fi.com/GeekCultureRev. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, but more so is the fact that you took the time to read this review Thank you!

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