Comic Book Review - 2000 AD Prog #2391
We take another trip into the Thrillverse with 2000 AD Prog #2391…
It’s a good week to be a fan of 2000 AD. Not only does today see the release of the weekly Prog, but we’ve also got the Judge Dredd Megazine and the hotly anticipated Misty Special. Not only this but if you’re a collector of the Hachette 2000 AD Ultimate Collection, there’s a new graphic novel out too!
Now find the time to read them all!
Anyway, delving into Prog #2391 we have a gorgeous Rogue Trooper-inspired cover by Dan Cornwell. It’s also quite a poignant cover as Cornwell (alongside Geoffrey D. Wessel) wraps us in Rogue Trooper: Southern Belle this week.
Southern Belle isn’t the only strip leaving us this week as we also say goodbye to the current Judge Dredd story; The Bam-Hunters. Fear not, as next week sees the return of John Wagner and Colin MacNeil with Machine Rule.
Joining Judge Dredd and Rogue this week we have; more deep space mystery with Brink: Consumed, strange going’s on in another Futureshocks tale, and the continuation of Mike Carroll’s new series Silver.
Sit back, draw the curtains, and let’s get stuck into 2000 AD Prog#2391.
Judge Dredd: The Bam-Hunters - Part 3 - Final Part (Ken Niemand, Richard Elson, Annie Parkhouse)
The silliness continues as Ken Niemand wraps us in this absurd look into Mega-City One life with fiery abandon. The Bam-Hunters has been quite a thrill ride. Not only has it seen the return of the bumbling duo of Moria and Callum, but Dredd’s been as much of a side character within his strip. This has been down to newcomer - and hunter of all things bad - Hieronymous Skelly.
Here Skelly has finally tracked down Callum and Moira and is set to dispense his judgement to the duo. Queue an Apocalypse War Rad-Pit, a good old-fashioned ghostly possession, and this one’s just as barmy as old Skelly!
The Bam-Hunters has been a great three-parter from Niemand and Elson. Not only is Niemand bringing yet more character to Callum and Moira but could he be slowly build towards a possible supernatural threat to Mega-City One?
Elson’s art has been superb throughout with the artist capturing the atmosphere of this chaotic tale exceptionally well.
The threads of the past 13 weeks are slowly being pulled tight as Kurtis starts to get into the thick of the sect activity plaguing the Belleholme habitat.
With the revelation that Castenada holds a picture of Kurtis from way back in Brink: Book 1, just what is her connection to the Reservoir Killer?
I say this every time but Brink is truly a masterclass in how to write a sci-fi thriller. Even though it’s not the most action-packed strip, Abnett keeps the tension creeping that it wraps you in its warm embrace and doesn’t let go. Just how the events of Belleholme fit in with the wider sect activity is still up for debate, but it’s going to be very interesting nonetheless.
And of course, INJ Culbard’s art is just phenomenal.
Rogue Trooper: Southern Belle - Part 6 - Final Part (Geoffrey D. Wessel, Dan Cornwell, Chris Blyth, Jim Campbell)
6-parts and we’ve concluded this latest instalment in the massive Rogue Trooper story.
Not a lot that I can say to this one that I’ve not already said. However, Dan Cornwell packs quite a lot into his action sequences that it has given Southern Belle a more vintage Rogue Trooper feel. Of course, this isn’t a criticism towards Wessel, but do we need a step backwards in going forward?
Either way, more Rogue Troopers is a good thing, right?
Futureshocks: Crescendo(James Peaty, Sedat Oezgen, Annie Parkhouse)
Reading Crescendo reminded me a lot of Warhammer 40K’s Emperors Children’s fall to Chaos during the Horus Heresy. Where the Astartes of the had the Slaanesh infused Maraviglia as their downfall, Crescendo writer James Peaty gives us a less violent downfall - albeit it with more or less the same results.
I won’t say too much more but Peaty and artist Sedat Oezgen chart Johan Kepler’s fall from grace with great detail. It’s not a Futurshock that has any deep meaning, but as a simple “jolt” in the middle of this Prog, it works pretty well.
Oezgen has also surprised me with Crescendo. He’s not an artist that I’m overly familiar with, however, I’m hoping we get to see his line work in the Prog again soon.
Rounding this week’s trip off is the second part of Mike Carroll and Joe Currie’s supernatural sci-fi Silver.
Last time out we got a fair bit of world-building as Carroll introduced us to this new universe. Post-apocalyptic Earth, desperate survivors, a supernatural threat that’s been long buried in the past, and to top it all off…alien invasion.
The arrival of “The Sepsis” really threw me last time out, and with this second episode, we’re riding with our inhuman creature - Baroness Yelena Honoree DeSilva - as she gets brought up to speed.
It’s quite clever storytelling as we get plenty of world-building details in a way that doesn’t slow the story down, or bore the reader with an exposition dump. It isn’t long before we see the Baroness in action against this futuristic threat as she comes face to face with the Sepsis invaders.
It’s here where Joe Currie takes over as he delves into a well choreographed - and quite violent delight as the Baroness shows the invaders that she is not one to be trifled with. It’s bloody and brutal and leaves little to the imagination as to why she’s been brought into this war of survival.
Two episodes in and we already have the genesis of another classic 2000 AD strip.
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