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2000 A.D. Prog 1964
Released by: 2000 A.D./Rebellion
Released on: January 20th, 2016.
Written by: Various
Illustrated by: Various
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The UK's greatest science fiction comic soldiers on, once again featuring a fantastic painted cover courtesy of Clint Langley.
Judge Dredd - Ghosts by Michael Carroll and Mark Sexton: The surveillance footage Dredd had hoped to get his hands on is no good but it sure seems like a certain female Judge has been up to no good. In the middle of his conversation with Matthews, a blonde female Judge named Grayden shows up in HQ and opens fire with her Lawgiver injuring Dredd and killing quite a few others. Dredd stops the assault and just as he's about to get the edge on her, is attacked by a drone of some sorts…
This second chapter is pretty violent! It's basically the assault from start to finish but it's nothing if not intense. Carroll's story continues nicely from the first chapter and Sexton's artwork is top notch, with loads of detail and some great coloring too. This one ends on a serious cliffhanger - great stuff.
Kingdom - Beast Of Eden by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson: J.S., Gene-dog, Feedjam and Shimmy are making their way through the storage facility they broke into where they not only uncover an assault vehicle they can commandeer, but also some 'Alpha Aux Big Dogs' in some sort of cryogenic status. Complicating matters? Well some of those containment pods look to have been opened, and there are some very dead but very large ticks littered about. When they get the residual power hooked up and running, they soon realize they are not alone and that the super swarm is headed straight to The Kingdom.
This Mad Max style post apocalyptic adventure story is moving along nicely. The characters are becoming more interesting and the plot is proving to be as well paced as it is interesting. Elson's art is nicely detailed, the character design is impressive and there was clearly a lot of care put into bringing Abnett's story to life, this chapter standing as further proof of that.
The Order - In The Court Of The Wyrmqueen by Kek-W and John Burns: The members of the Outerboros make their escape in a daring chase scene that opens up this chapter. They're out to rescue Adam Brass but figure their certain red headed captive might be a spy. One tries to kill him but it stopped by the other - he may have information that they can use, and he claims to know where the golden seed is hidden.
Kek-W's story of the past twists and turns in interesting ways. There's an element of conspiracy here that drives the action nicely and we really don't yet know who can trust who, but it pulls us in and makes for a good read. Burns' painted art steals the show, it's beautiful to look at and rich with period detail and beautiful color.
ABC Warriors - Return To Ro-Busters by Pat Mills and Clint Langley: Ro-Jaws lays dying but before he can pass Mek-Quake attacks and finds out that it's sometimes easier to fish it out than it is to take it, thanks to Hammerstein's counter attack. It's pretty much a slaughter, but what they don't realize is that they're being observed and for a very specific reason at that - they're overriding their violence limiters and are possibly the subjects of some unorthodox experiments involving defiance code! Their observers absolutely cannot let that defiance code spread… even if that's exactly what Apex seems to want.
The best chapter in this new storyline yet! Mills' script is loaded with action but not at the cost of the ever important plot development that you need to keep things interesting. We really get the best of both worlds in that regard this time around, while Langley's artwork is absolutely perfect. The black and white illustrations are insanely detailed but at the same time, unique in their style. Lots of heavy line work and strong inks make this a pretty atmospheric looking piece - this is the best ABC Warriors story in quite a while.
Strontium Dog - Repo Men by John Wagner and Carlos Esquerra: Johnny and his merry band of mutants use their unusual skill sets to get into the compound. Soon enough a drone heads their way, but they make it and before you know it the solid steel of the roof has been peeled back and they're inside. They poke about, looking for the sacred brain they've been tasked with retrieving, but soon have to go into hiding so they don't get nabbed by the gold cloaked members of a strange procession that makes its way through the halls.
Wagner and Esquerra have been handling this character for years and their experience shows here. While there are a few spots where Esquerra's art looks a bit too digital, for the most part his unique stamp is all over this entry and it remains as clear as day why he's so often associated with this series. Wagner's story doesn't get to spread its wings too much here, this chapter really just shows our crew getting in and then finding themselves in trouble, but it does set up big things to come in upcoming chapters.
