Welcome, Earthlets, to this week’s installment of Multiver-City One! Every Wednesday we examine the latest offerings from Tharg and the droids over at 2000 AD, the galaxy’s leading producers of Thrill-Power entertainment! Between the weekly “2000 AD” itself, the monthly “Judge Dredd Megazine”, an extensive library of graphic novel collections, and new US-format one-shots and mini-series, they have decades of zarjaz comics for you to enjoy.
This week brings us an all-new Prog, so let’s dive right in, shall we?
I. THIS WEEK IN PROG 1970
Judge Dredd: Undercover Klegg, Part 2
Credits: Rob Williams (script), D’Israeli (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Depending on which maps you want to believe, Sino-Cit Two may be one of the larger Mega-Cities in the world. Located in what is today southeast China, this Asian Mega-City is one we’ve not seen a whole heck of a lot of over the years. It’s sister city, Sino-Cit One, seems to have been thought up solely to be destroyed in the Apocalypse War. And, as could be figured from its lack of substantial narrative presence, Sino-Cit Two has never really come to be of any real consequence either. What’s known is that the city has a dubious human rights record and that, due to its ties to the Sov Bloc, finds itself in a contentious relationship with Mega-City One.
Last week we saw the Kleggworld ambassador bite the dust after a failed attempt to bite a fatty. It’s unfortunate that this is the moment the ambassador’s vices choose to catch up with him, as he is expected to soon arrive in Sino-Cit Two to sign a peace treaty between Mega-City One and the Kleggs. As is the (presumed) tradition for Kleggs, anything that prevents the signing from happening will automatically trigger a war between the two involved parties. So I’m sure everyone can appreciate how delicate of a situation the Mega-City One Justice Department is in at the moment.
In an attempt to fool the Kleggs and avoid war, Judge Dredd must turn to someone he’d rather not have dealings with. This someone just so happens to not only be a Klegg himself, but is quite the thespian; two qualities that’d come in handy right about now…
Kingdom: Beast of Eden, Part 10
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Richard Elson (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Gene and the masters have arrived in the mega-hive they’ve been seeking!
Ever since Gene’s crew has come in contact with the astronauts, it’s been a real clash of cultures. Social norms combined with intellectual and language barriers have created a fair amour of tension and hostility between the two camps. This is despite Gene and Numan’s best efforts to meet in the middle on things. But now that they’re all face to face with the very thing that everyone’s been after, we’re seeing a new type of conflict arise. It seems that the Aux and the Humans have quite different ideas about how this whole thing should wrap up!
The Order: In The Court Of The Wyrmqueen, Part 10
Credits: Kek-W (script), John M. Burns (art), Ellie de Ville (letters)
Early birds may get the wyrms, but when the wyrm is several stories tall and holding large groups of people in its psychic thrall, is that really a good thing? We find out this week!
While the rest of The Order converge on the position of the Wrymqueen, Anna Kohl and Izta are fending off waves of wyrm-controlled corpses, blades stabbing and guns blazing. And just in case you think 16th century London doesn’t offer too much opportunity for prolonged gunfire (what with muskets and such), remember we’re talking about The Order here. Sixguns and Tommy guns, or the Elizabethean equivalents, are front and center in the titular Wyrmqueen’s court. I find it interesting and satisfying that while The Order’s gender ratio is 2:1 to the males, it’s the women who are kicking the most ass. Kek-W sets up the action for Burns to pay off, and pay it off he does. Can’t wait to see the men finally show up and start contributing!
Continued below
A.B.C. Warriors: Return to Ro-Busters, Part 10
Credits: Pat Mills (script), Clint Langley (art), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Things may be looking up for the now-free Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein, but they sure aren’t for Howard Quartz. And trust me, that state of affairs could not happen to a more deserving fellow. Or 10% of a fellow, to be precise. As we saw in ‘Savage’ (now an ‘A.B.C. Warriors’ prequel also written by Pat Mills), Quartz was beaten to within a millimeter of his life by an earlier version of a Hammerstein robot reprogrammed by Bill Savage in retaliation for Quartz’s role in the Volgan occupation of Great Britain. The 10% of him that survived was encased in that Robbie the Robot from Hell body we see him in, and he becomes known as Howard Quartz, the Ten-Percent Man. Just enough human brain matter to be certified as still human. That is, until you piss off the man who can revoke that certification. Do that and your metallic ass gets logged as 100% robot, with the complete lack of rights and privileges provided therein. Not that this is (or was) the last we see of Mr. Quartz, but still nice to see that smug SOB get his comeuppance.
This week brings the Ro-Busters flashback to a close, but not the strip itself. I’ve got a feeling we’ll see a few more surprises, and maybe a Ro-Jaws or Apex sighting, before this strip runs its course.
Strontium Dog: Repo Men, Part 10
Credits: John Wagner (script), Carlos Ezquerra (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Things may still be going according to Johnny Alpha’s master plan (clear out an impregnable asteroid criminal hideout by tricking an even more powerful race to do it for you by convincing them someone on said asteroid stole a prized cultural artifact), but the margin of error is getting as thin as one of the hairs on Shaggy’s head.
Oh, the Galanthans are doing their part. They’ve decimated Castor Limax’s defense fleet and are cutting through his interior guard like a hot knife through butter. But this is all in aid of getting back said cultural artifact. If Johnny Alpha isn’t able to deliver it to them as promised, he and the rest of the Stronts will be next on the chopping block. Problem is, Johnny doesn’t have it; the Twister Sisters do. Done stole it from poor Shaggy a few weeks ago, they did.
Does Johnny and company gave enough time to steal it back before either the Galanthans or Castor Limax make their time run out?
II. AN EARTHLET’S GUIDE TO 2000 AD
We understand that having such a large selection of comics to choose from can make knowing where to start with 2000 AD seem daunting. What do they publish? Where can I get it? What’s up with Judge Dredd? Can I still read “2000 AD” if I don’t like Judge Dredd?
So to help new & potential readers, we’ve put together An Earthlet’s Guide to 2000 AD. This FAQ collects everything you need to make your initial foray into the 2000 AD Thrill-verse as simple as possible.
That’s gonna do it for us this week! “2000 AD” Prog 1970 is on sale today and available from:
- The 2000 AD Newsstand app for iPad and iPhone,
- The 2000 AD app for Android devices,
- 2000ADonline.com in print or DRM-free PDF and CBZ formats,
- Select US newsstands, and
- Finer comic shops everywhere
So as Tharg the Mighty himself would say, “Splundig vur thrigg!”
