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2000 A.D. Prog 1979

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    Ian Jane
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  • 2000 A.D. Prog 1979



    2000 A.D. Prog 1979
    Released by: 2000 A.D./Rebellion
    Released on: May 11th, 2016.
    Written by: Various
    Illustrated by: Various
    Purchase From Amazon

    2000 A.D. Prog 1979 keeps some of the existing storylines going and brings in the debut chapter of a new Slaine run, highlighted by a cover from Simon Davis that commemorates this occasion.

    Judge Dredd - The Lion's Den by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden: Judge Joyce was extradited to Brit-Cit to stand trial but the transport was attacked. The judges escorting him are shot at by heavily armed assailants who manage to cut Joyce out of the transport, bringing him to safety. His captors tell him he can work with them or be their hostage. They know he and the 'Yank Judge' uncovered the truth about the Murphyville massacre and that they can cripple the Brit-Cit judges. Mclusky, the man in charge, is happy to get Joyce on board. Meanwhile at HQ, the Chief Justice isn't so sure she's done the right thing.

    Still no Dredd in this installment, but we'll get there. Joyce proves a capable lead here and it's interesting to see his story expanded upon in this latest storyline. Carroll's script starts to elaborate on the pre-established conspiracy a bit, fleshing it out nicely and pointing at big things to come. Holden's artwork is solid, it shows nice detail particularly in the opening 'crash' scene and it's quite colorful too.

    Survival Geeks - Lord Of The Ringers by Gordon Remmie, Emma Beeby and Neil Googe: Kev continues his self-narrated tales of just how great he really is and he's not about to let Shaka and his cooking skills interrupt. When the house starts spiraling out of control, the others hope Kev has a great plan to save them - when they land and find themselves surrounded by zombies, it turns out that Kev really can save them. At least for now. But are the others really starting to notice that something is a bit… off?

    The art continues to shine in this run and the story is amusing enough. Again, it's a bit too heavy on pop culture reference but there's at least enough of an actual narrative here, as chaotic as it may be, to hold our attention.

    Slí¡ine: The Brutania Chronicles - Psychopomp by Pat Mills and Simon Davis: This latest Slaine story opens with our hero in the midst of mortal combat with Gort. He offers him the change to surrender but the behemoth isn't interested. Slí¡inetakes a beating while Lord Weird and his minions watch, theorizing that the beating he's taking now may remind him of the beatings he took from his father as a child. This leads to some flashbacks where we learn that Roth, Slí¡ine's father, had doubts as to the boy's legitimacy. And then, just before it seems he could deal the killing blow, Gort stops his assault… but just temporarily.

    Mills' script is pretty great. This is essentially just a few pages of some guys beating the snot out of each other but by presenting it from the perspective of Lord Weird we get both some background info on Slí¡ine and some progression in the story at the same time. It's a neat idea and it works. Davis' artwork is great, beautifully bringing the insanity of Mills' writing to life in an appropriately grandiose style.

    Brink - Part Two by Dan Abnett and Inj Culbard: Habitat Security Director Elane Vittori does not want Brink to follow up on what happened in the first installment, but she knows he's going to. She does, however, tell him that his shooting of Yakob Cruz was justified, but she says the case is closed even if he and Bridget don't see it that way. They know that sects are running big pharma and that the gangsters they brought in affiliated with the sects had identifying marks. The one arrestee able to talk, Jan Bremer, isn't saying anything, at least not at first… not until he talks about why Cruz is dead and… the future. But is this Jan Bremer at all, or a low life criminal named Trin Tacker?

    It's kinda-sorta a police procedural set in the outer space of the future, but it works. The plot advances considerably in this installment. It's heavy on dialogue but after the action intensive opening chapter, that's not a bad thing as it puts meat on the bones of the story and explains what really went down earlier in the storyline. Abnett offers up some clues as to where this might all go, but no real answers yet. So there's some suspense that stems from that. Culbard's art is good, nice line work and a knack for drawing crazed facial expressions helps to make the interrogation scene interesting to look at.

    Tainted: The Fall Of Deadworld by Kek-W and Dave Kendal: We see Grandpa's thoughts, why he's the conspiracy theorist that he is, what caused it. We see an attempt to inject him with 'the taint' go wrong, he fights back. At the bus, Luke wants to die, he tries to get the cops nearby to shoot him but his plan backfires, eventually forcing his own sister to put a bullet through the back of his head. On the police radio, we hear of the event, while Fairfax listens in and ignores it. Instead, he's intent on taking out Gates, who just so happens to not be all that far away from Grandpa…

    Kek-W's story is starting to pull the different threads together nicely. There's still plenty of violence and carnage and other assorted nastiness to go around but it's building into something more substantial, and that's a good thing. Kendal's art is still the best thing going in the current 2000 A.D. storylines and it's perfect for the story being told here.















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