Rob reviews 2000 AD Prog 2332…
Another week, and we’re back with another jolly across the thrill-verse as Tharg returns with another installement of 2000 AD goodness.
Judge Dredd is on cover duties this week with a very impressive show by artist Toby Willsmer (adds yet another Lawmaster to THAT gallery).
Under the cover and we have the beginnings to a multi-episode Judge Dredd that’s been helmed by Michael Carroll, there’s yet more offerings from Durham Red, Enemy Earth, and Rogue Trooper. Then rounding this week off is the penultimate part to the Dan Abnett’s phenomenal that’s The Out. So, with another strong line-up, shall we?
Judge Dredd: In The Event of My Untimely Demise - Part 1 (Michael Carroll, Paul Marshall, Dylan Teague, Annie Parkhouse)
Picking up from the plot threads teased within one of Carroll’s previous Dredd episodes - ‘The Long Game’, In the Event of My Untimely Demise deals with the aftermath of that alliance between the Parliament and the Kindred crime families. With the alliance utilising the psyche powers of the mysterious Mr. Sage as a human “Judge Dredd detector”, the group has been able to wage war across the Mega-City One underbelly.
However, the groups latest attack ends up with an unexpected outcome as Judge Dredd begins to suspect that somethings amiss. Under the pretence of a mole operation within the Justice Department network, Dredd and his closest associates go off grid for their own investigation.
So far so good as Carroll brings us yet another interesting dip into that Mega-City One cesspit. There’s plenty to enjoy as we get a look into how the mobs operate under that steely gaze of Justice, and some classic investigative work from Dredd. Add in plenty of solid line work from Paul Marshall, and Dylan Teague’s incredible knack of bringing urban environments to life, and this thriller has great things written all over it.
Durham Red: Mad Dogs - Part 7 (Alec Worley, Ben Willsher, Simon Bowland)
Bloody violence is the name of the game as Wilsher gets to show off yet more of Durham’s talents. With Durham adding a new meaning to ‘rip & tear’, her partner in it all thinks that things maybe a little too easy. Could it be luck? Or is a far more greater plan at play?
It isn’t long before the shit really does hit the fan, and Durham comes face to face with Rudo. But, with his motivations for needing the former SD agent still unclear, what’s coming next?
While the narrative maybe a bit thin on the ground, Worley does give us plenty of gratuitous violence that highlights the characters “unique talents”. This is then reflected within Wilsher’s own art work as we literally see an unfortunate fellow getting beat to death with his own appendage - not something you’d expect to see in the next Regened!
Mad Dogs is bloody, brutal, and will certainly stay in the memory long after the credits have rolled!
Enemy Earth: Book II - Part 7 (Cavan Scott, Luke Horsman, Simon Bowland)
With their latest Safe-haven now under attack by the mutated flora and fauna, the fragile alliance between Zoe, Jules, and the British Prime Minister has started to show cracks. Picking up straight after that moment where Jules leaves Jessica to die, we see Zoe attempt to save the former antagonists life.
It’s that classic switch-around as Scott lays the foundations for his own “Negan”. While Jessica did some terrible things in previous episodes - and the fact that she was going to murder Zoe and Jules for food - does make her an instantly unlikable character. So while the reader does certainly get behind Jules’ reasonings to trap her, it’s Scott’s little prods into the characters redemption that makes Zoe’s rescue attempt that more exciting.
While I quite like Enemy Earth, it doesn’t hit with the same punch as Cavan Scott’s work with Star Wars: The High Republic. What we get here is a simply twist on the zombie apocalypse genre, that seems to play things very safe.
The Out: Book 3 - Part 14 (Dan Abnett, Mark Harrison, Simon Bowland)
Cyd has found herself back in front of the Unanima (remember them?) as her trial has taken quite a turn. She’s found out that her melding with the Tankinar had been all due to the meddling of the Zoto when they resurrected her way back in Book 1. While Cyd knows the who, she doesn’t yet know why. As such it’s over to fellow human Robert Lustre, some time-travel gizmo, and the original Zoto home world. Oh and a Proto Tankinar is there too!
Through Robert’s device we get to see the Zoto’s meddling with the Tankinar tech - a technology that they don’t understand. Naturally things take a turn for the worse and the ancient Zoto are assimilated by the Tankinar to become hosts of the war machine. While the Unanima take it all in, Cyd is slowly piecing the rest of the puzzle together - the Zoto want to fix the galaxy, but need to destroy it first. With this revelation now revealed, Robert’s tech fails and the Proto Tankinar finds itself drawn into the future.
How does it end? Well we don’t have long to find out!
Rogue Trooper: Blighty Valley - Part 7 (Garth Ennis, Patrick Goddard, Rob Steen)
Across the last seven parts we’ve seen Rogue and his unprepared British allies make their way across the desolate fields of WW1 Europe. Ennis and Goddard have treated us to plenty of gratuitous violence from our favorite Genetic Infantry, and some personal soul searching from the brave soldiers battling for King and country. However, we still don’t know how the two worlds have been brought together. While we do know it has something to do with the black hole that NU Earth orbits, how come Rogue was drawn to the past, and not the British infantry drawn to the future?
Well, with the answer to that question teased come the end of this episode, it does seem that Ennis is starting to head towards his concluding chapter. However, back to this week and we get to see Rogue do what he does best as a German supply outpost stands in the way of his Tommy pals and their quest to get home. Things do go a bit Vietnam as Rogue silently dispatches everyone - and everything - that stands in his way with brutal efficiency. With the end now in sight, it’s over to the time travel shenanigans to throw another spanner in the works… welcome back to NU Earth!
While I have a patchy history with Rogue Trooper, I’m loving Blighty Valley. Aside from the introduction back in part one, Ennis hasn’t filled us with a constant reminder about who Rogue is, and what his mission is - which is something the early stops did with careless abandon. Instead what we get is a tight military story that shows Ennis’s expertise as both a comic book writer, and his knowledge of the horror of World War 1. Away from this and Patrick Goddard continues to amaze me with his taught action scenes, and harrowing landscapes that perfectly capture the emotional story being told.
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