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2000 A.D. Prog 1980

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    Ian Jane
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  • 2000 A.D. Prog 1980



    2000 A.D. Prog 1980
    Released by: 2000 A.D./Rebellion
    Released on: May 18th, 2016.
    Written by: Various
    Illustrated by: Various
    Purchase From Amazon

    2000 A.D. Prog 1980 is here and if that ominous looking cover from Clint Langley is anything to go by, it could be an intense one!

    Judge Dredd - The Lion's Den by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden: Chief Judge Hershey made the deal with Texas City to hopefully solve Mega-City One's resource shortage. Chief Judge Owsin has arrived to discuss things with Hershey, how to bring Mega-City Two on board. Meanwhile, Judge Joyce dukes it out with McClusky, after which he makes his escape only to arrive in Dagenham, a part of town that he isn't so familiar with. But what of Dredd? He's been absent so far…. but not any longer.

    We knew Dredd would be brought back in at some point, and here's where it happens, but there's very obviously a whole lot more of that side of the story left to be told. At the same time, Carroll's story builds on the conspiracy that's been slowly but surely laid out in the prior installments to the point where it's coming together quite nicely now. Holden's artwork is good, nice thick lines give things a tough look that suits the story nicely.

    Survival Geeks - Lord Of The Ringers by Gordon Remmie, Emma Beeby and Neil Googe: The ongoing saga of Kev's supposed greatness continues, this installment leading off with a quick history of Kev's pop culture obsessions and the various mistakes he's made in predicting trends. Is he really under the control of some sinister force urging him to kill off his friends and make them pay? What is Howard trying to warn the others about and how are Rufus and Clive? It's all too easy to forget some people exist.

    The plot threads from the first installments are starting to weave into a more cohesive whole in this chapter. Again, plenty of pop culture references seem to be the name of the game but the artwork is nicely detailed and very colorful with a great sense of movement to it.

    Slí¡ine: The Brutania Chronicles - Psychopomp by Pat Mills and Simon Davis: Lord Weird and his minions continue to observe the battle between Slí¡ine and Gort, noting that by questioning Slí¡ine's legitimacy they seem to have gotten him all fired up. As the two titans beat the living shit out of one another, Weird waxes on about how they endowed these lower beasts with some of their powers and how it's interesting that, despite this 'gift,' they've maintained their animal urges. As the fight gets bloodier, they question why Gort doesn't use his axe to end it. Is it latent homosexual urges? A desire for fair play? A penchant for inflicting as much cruelty as possible? Or possibly a death wish? Eventually the Psychopomp has enough and orders Gort to finish him - and then Gort speaks a single word. “No.”

    This second chapter takes the crazy factor from the first and turns it up to eleven. Things get pretty nutty pretty quickly here, the fight that has been the backdrop for the story taking an unexpected turn in the last two pages and setting up some big things to come. Mills' script has got plenty of bizarre, dark humor to it while Simon Davis' artwork is as beautiful as it is completely chaotic. These guys clearly know what they're doing here, don't miss out on this.

    Brink - Part Two by Dan Abnett and Inj Culbard: Carl Brinkman and Bridget Kurtis decide to get up to speed on what's happening at the Sugarsurf Pharm owned Odette Habitat. Turns out there are three cults - The Exhalation, The Private Sanctuary and The Red Visor a.k.a. The Sungazers a.k.a. The Shiners. But Tracker doesn't have a connection to any of those groups so far as they can tell. Is there another group he's affiliated with? Maybe one they're not aware of? Carl heads off to get some food, a woman named Frannie Lightman introduces herself to Bridget. She's a biologist and overheard her talk about her stomach problems. It's caused by what's in the food she eats. Frannie talks to her about eating 'clean' and she invites her to come to her company, Macriobio, to learn more.

    This entire chapter is basically made up of talking heads but there's enough humor in the dialogue to keep it interesting. On top of that, Abnett's story is clearly building here. The introduction of Frannie is clearly going to have ramifications in future installments and for that reason alone, it's worth paying close attention to the details here. The clean, colorful artwork of Inj Culbert is always nice to look at - this chapter is no exception.

    Tainted: The Fall Of Deadworld by Kek-W and Dave Kendal: Last but most certainly not least, this chapter starts out with Judge Fire reporting to Chief Judge Sidney that he and his macabre associates have neutralized the sector and that the cadets are being trained. Mortis chimes in, they've got the environmental factors under control. Judge Fear reports that the resistance forces are under control while the sisters, having consulted the oracle, report that a prophecy warns them to 'beware the Judge child!' Psiren tells the chief that they're working on new dead-fluid variants… and then we catch up with the Judge they've been trying so hard to recruit: Fairfax. As to the survivors? Jess runs out to find her grandfather but it doesn't end well…

    Lots of Dark Judges action going on in this issue, tying up some of the more mysterious loose ends from earlier chapters while still evolving the story of the human survivors and their plight. Lots of gory mayhem to go along with what is some pretty solid exposition and a few effectively quirky plot twists too. Good stuff. Kendal's artwork is still amazing, week after week. This seems to be working towards its conclusion soon, these guys are firing on all cylinders.












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