Since 1977 2000 AD has been the UK’s greatest sci-fi weekly comic, and every week we give you a glimpse inside the new Prog… it’s the Weekly 2000 AD.
This week the start of a new Judge Dredd multi-parter, ‘In The Event Of My Untimely Demise’, this time by Mike Carroll and Paul Marshall, picking up on the plot threads of Carroll’s Dredd in Progs 2126-2129, ‘The Long Game‘. After that, it’s more from Durham Red, Enemy Earth, and Rogue Trooper, and the penultimate episode of the quite wondrous The OUT to enjoy.
(Toby Willsmer’s latest impressive Dredd cover)
2000 AD Prog #2332 is out on Wednesday 17th May. Okay then, time for a little look inside…
JUDGE DREDD: IN THE EVENT OF MY UNTIMELY DEMISE – PART 1 – by Mike Caroll and Paul Marshall, colours by Dylan Teague, letters by Annie Parkhouse
In ‘The Long Game’, Mike Carroll introduced Mr Sage and the upcoming alliance between The Parliament and The Kindred, two crime groups in MC-1. And we learned how Mr Sage had a particular link to Dredd, a link that means he knows exactly where Dredd is at any moment – and that makes him a particular asset to The Kindred, albeit not an asset they trust.
So they’re using Sage as a Dredd locator, using his knowledge to keep one step over the other clans. It’s a careful game, not getting too far ahead, not giving the game away, the pretense of a mole in the Justice Department…
But Dredd knows something’s up. Of course he does. He’s been doing this far too long to not recognise when the mobs are being a little too lucky. And that’s why he’s taken to running his own little investigation with those he can trust.
So, what we have here is another excellently set-up Carroll plot, feeding into mob activity in the Mega-City, all with Marshall’s solid and stylish artwork. Strap in, this one looks like it’s going to be good.
DURHAM RED: MAD DOGS – PART 7 – Alec Worley and Ben Willsher, letters by Simon Bowland
More of Durham Red’s mission, bit of blood, bit of ultra-violence on the way – but Burt’s convinced it’s all too easy and Red just can’t see it.
And what do you know, she’s right. Rudo Kanka’s played her perfectly, getting her right where he wants her. What for? Well, we don’t know that yet, but there’s a definite plan playing out.
Seriously, how good is it seeing Red beat the bad guy with his own arm there? Worley knows what we want.
It’s such a fun strip, so fast and precise, Worley’s writing crisp spy thriller with blood, but it’s Willsher’s art that really makes this one work, all that super clean line and great subdued colouring that really makes every moment pop.
ENEMY EARTH: BOOK II – PART 7 – Cavan Scott and Luke Horsman, letters by Simon Bowland
With the little sanctuary they could find under attack from the mutated plant/animal things, everyone’s running for their transport. But, as we saw last episode, Jules made a decision that just seemed so horribly brutal…
Yes, he was prepared to let Jessica die back there. Worse, he trapped her to make sure it would. Now, obviously we know why he’s done this, after all she was one of the group that was going to eat both him and Zoe. But for him to go so far really does speak to how much Enemy Earth is about innocence lost.
And at the same time, it’s all about family, old and new, which explains why it’s Zoe who rushes in to save the day.
After that, it’s off to the docks and perhaps the start of the trip to India?
Enemy Earth does just keep motoring along doesn’t it? It’s a hell of a lot of fun, an apocalyptic zombie thing that plays around with some of the tropes but also stays close enough to what we love about the genre to make it familiar and enjoyable. And kudos to Horsman as well, whose art really does get better and better, the stylistic choices he’s making with composition and colour are really coming good here.
THE OUT: BOOK THREE – PART 14 – Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison, letters by Simon Bowland
Okay then, we’re getting close to the end of the Out now, with Cyd before the Unanima tribunal once more, looking to explain everything that’s gone on.
She’s made her case, exposed the Zoto for implanting the Tankinar tech in her, now is where we find out the bigger question… WHY?
Well, that’s where Robert Lustre and his time-slicing tech comes in. He’s opening a one-way link to the original Zoto homeworld… all of which meant they were looking at this at the end of the last episode…
Yes, that does look like Tankinar tech, doesn’t it. Oh shit.
We get a brief history of the Zoto and their meddling with Tankinar tech. It doesn’t end up well for the Zoto back then. And yes, Cyd gets her answers, or rather, Cyd pieces it together. And just like that it all slots into place, all of the pieces that Abnett and Harrison have been teasing us with over the weeks and months are here, brought together seamlessly. Damn, it’s so good.
Of course, if that means that everything is answered and we get resolution, it does rather beg the question what’s going to happen next time. Well, that’s right there in the last few panels. Nope, poor old Cyd cannot catch a break can she. See you next week!
ROGUE TROOPER: BLIGHTY VALLEY – PART 7 – Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard, letters by Rob Steen
The Tommys Rogue’s running with are nearly back to their own lines now – apart from the German staging area right in their way. We’ve had the couple of episodes of reflection and Ennis doing his best Charley’s War now – and in truth it was rather good – but now it’s back to the action.
So it’s nice and steady through it, night time, silent as mice, with the Tommys using Rogues Helm, Gunnar, and Bagman to guide them and Rogue clearing the way ahead – bloody, brutal, near silent.
All the way through to the final page and a little surprise that we’ll pick up on next episode. After all, we still need to find out just why Rogue is here in WWI, or maybe why WWI was brought to Nu-Earth.
Goddard’s stark artwork just looks so damn good all the way through this. The detail he’s putting into it, the choreography and body language, all of it really is making this into a Rogue story to remember.
Since 1977 2000 AD has been the UK’s greatest sci-fi weekly comic, and every week we give you a glimpseCOMICONRead More