Comic Book Review - 2000 AD Prog #2393

It’s Wednesday which can only mean one thing! Yes! It’s time for  another trip into the Thrillverse with the 2000 AD weekly Prog…

Lee Carter is on cover duties this week with a pretty haunting image of Rogue. It’s also Lee’s first outing as cover star and he’s made a damn good job of it! 

It’s the usual suspects this week with more from Judge Dredd: Machine Law, Silver: Unearthed, Brink: Consumed, and Herne & Shuck: Suffer The Children. However, we also have yet another new tale from NU-Earth in the form of Rogue Trooper: Recon. 

So without further ado, let’s grab some synth meat and sit back with Prog #2393

Judge Dredd: Machine Rule - Part 2  (John Wagner, Colin MacNeil, Chris Blyth, Annie Parkhouse)

After his previous outings with the Mechanismo units, Dredd earned the right to be suspicious. After all aside from a small amount, most of them have tried to kill him in some shape or form. 

Wagner throws us straight into the thick of it this week with quite a shocking opening. As a result, Chief Judge Logan tasks Dredd with taking temporary charge of Sector 99. For his first order, Dredd sets to remove the Mechanismo units from the streets of the sector.

Naturally, it doesn’t go down well from both the human and android elements. With sentient machines not willing to give up power, and a very rusty set of human Judges, Dredd is soon to fight with his hand. And who better to orchestrate it all than John Wagner! 

Rogue Trooper: Recon - Part 1 (Geoffrey D. Wessel, Paul Marshall, Pippa Bowland, Jim Campbell) 

It seems that not a week goes by and we’re back on NU-Earth with Rogue and his microchip chums. Is it Rebellion gearing up for this year’s Summer crossover? Or simply drumming up interest in the upcoming Rogue Trooper movie? 

Anyway, after the more modern tale of Souther Belle, Wessel and Marshall take us back to simpler times with a classic inspired black & white Rogue Trooper tale. 

Something not quite human has emerged from the wormhole that connects NU-Earth to the rest of the galaxy. Crashing through both Souther and Nort ships alike, this UFO soon finds itself within the wasteland war zone that is NU-Earth.

As Nort troopers head to recover the craft, something emerges and wastes no time in making first contact. 

I’m not sure that Rogue Trooper has featured “aliens” before, but I’m all up for seeing how this one pans out. Wessel wastes no time in setting the tone with this one with plenty of action straight from the get-go. Marshall gives us plenty of closeup scenes which keeps the action and tension contained to the characters within. Meanwhile, Pippa Bowland’s use of shading extenuates each expression with ease. Topping this off is a special mention to letterer Jim Campbell whose use of German language got me asking one of my native German-speaking colleagues what the hell it is the Norts are saying! 

Herne & Shuck: Suffer The Children - Part 2 (David Barnett, Lee Milmore, Quinton Winter, Annie Parkhouse) 

Already taking part over two of Tharg’s 3riller, Herne & Shuck now have their series - which continues the events seen within ‘The Crawley Man’ and ‘Maxwell’s Demon’. Acting as a standalone series, you don’t need to have read the previous outings to understand what arc David Barnett is building with this full series. 

With no help coming from the Lady of the Woods, Herne is at a loss as to who to turn to. Caris is still being hunted by those who wish to sacrifice her, and the deeper Herne goes into the conspiracy - the less he likes. “Help” is soon at hand when Jordy reappears,  but it’s short-lived as a new player enters the fray. 

At first, I was on the fence as to why Herne & Shuck warranted a full series. However, after two parts, Barnett has won me over. It’s got a tinge of dark folklore horror energy that’s been mixed with a character-driven narrative. With plenty more to explore with both Herne and his demon dog Shuck, there’s plenty of life in this old dog. 

Lee Milmore’s art continues to shine as his imagination runs wild with Barnett’s script. Alongside colourist Quinton Winter, Milmore knows these characters well and certainly knows how to capture the crazy supernatural elements of this wonderful strip. 

Brink: Consumed - Part 16 (Dan Abnett, INJ Culbard, Simon Bowland)

The mystery deepens as Curtis makes a strong case to allow current suspect - and former undercover HSD agent - Castenada back onto Belleholme’s streets. She reasons that if Castenada thinks she’s back working for HSD she can lead them to the serial killer who’s running amok across the Belleholme Hab. The trouble is she’s got to convince Belleholme HSD CEO Denis Hyland that she’s right. 

Meanwhile with the killer still at large, just how are they disposing of the bodies? I’ve long suspected that “Consumed” was a double meaning for both Curtis being consumed by her work, and well…this panel spells it out. 

More brilliant work from Abnett who’s playing a blinder with this latest story. There’s been a heck of a lot of red herrings and twists over the last 16 parts that it’s hard to tell if we’ve already seen the killer or not. With the investigation now starting to pick up speed, and Tharg confirming that Brink isn’t over yet - there’s plenty more mystery for Abnett to throw at us. 

Much like Dan Abnett, INJ Culbard’s art is on point week after week. It’s incredible how much detail he packs into each scene thwarts are characters talking amongst themselves. The little things such as the green hue of the HSD office, to the cool blues of the custody block, really sell the atmosphere of this sci-fi thriller. 

Silver: Book One: Unearthed - Part 3 (Mike Carroll, Joe Currie, Simon Bowland) 

We continue to explore the powers of the mysterious Baroness Desilva as the Sepsis brings the fight to her - and her would-be saviour. Now face to face with the human resistance, their leader reveals that he’s known Desilva for decades. 

It’s all kicking up a gear for Sliver as Carroll has now given us our starting course. We’ve had our introductions to the movers and shakers of this world and it’s now time to throw some narrative meat onto our plates. There are already plenty of questions that need answering, and Carroll is throwing more to us - especially when it comes to the Baroness. 

Joe Currie’s art continues to shine the spotlight onto this new world with a great selection of action shots and visceral close-ups. It does wonders to showcase Desilva and her penchant to rip and tear. The cool colour palette gives everything a twilight feel with the flashes of red standing out against the crowd. 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social