Welcome, Earthlets, to Multiver-City One, our “2000 AD” weekly review column! Every Wednesday we examine the latest offerings from Tharg and the droids over at Rebellion/2000 AD, the galaxy’s leading producers of Thrill-Power entertainment. Let’s get right to it!
This Week in 2000 AD
Judge Dredd: Rend and Tear with Tooth and Claw, Part 5
Credits: Rob Williams (script), RM Guera (art), Giulia Brusco (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Greg Lincoln: The situation looks just as dire this week as it was last if not worse. Rob Williams has set a brutal task for them to survive. The stashed supplies have been raided, the bear is quite obviously still perusing them, they don’t know if the massive gun they, well Dredd actually is toting and it seems the winds themselves are against them as they cling to a mountainside. Their several conversations the two have make it clear that the trip are in a terrible position. The dialogue also establishes that Judge Moon is someone who deeply wants to make a difference for Mega City 1, also that their guide has born in this wilderness place and much like Moon is doing the best to survive there.
RM Guerra’s art is pretty stellar this week. It’s clear in closeup that the elements and time have taken a toll on Dredd, his face is stubbly, and if possible, craggier. They have clearly been on the move for days at least given how weathered and tired the trio seem. That is communicated simple through body language and in Giulia Brusco’s rendering on the their clothing. Though there is a lot of stark contrasts in both pallet and the use of shadows and negative space the atmosphere they created for the story feels subtle and present. They create a sense of suspense and foreboding for this game of prey and predator in this story that is really effective and evocative of the title. Hoping that Moon survives this tale as she is the best part of it.
Brink: Consumer, Part 3
Credits: Dan Abnett (script), Inj Culbard (art), Simon Bowland (letters)
Michael Mazzacane: Abnett and Culbard get to hang out and chill this week. After all the stay at Bellholme is only supposed to be for 10 days and then it’s off to Luna hab and the story can really begin. But like lead character Kurtis, this creative team doesn’t seem to be able to relax as one would normally do. Instead Inj Culbard does some of their best work with the limited color palette and Abnett writes an entire strip that is secretly an exposition dump for people not fully caught up on “Brink” that simultaneously acts as a greasy 70s political thriller.
It took me several pages to realize that the chief wasn’t an alien or supposed to be blue. His pigmentation was a byproduct of Culbard’s play with the lighting in their ultra-secure room. No matter the reason the color fits as there is just something off about his character, as Kurtis puts it he has “indecent levels of curiosity.” He claims it’s out of a sense of justice and the need to better police his subjects, but this is “Brink” there’s some larger conspiracy at play.
This meeting of the minds also does something that the creative team haven’t had a chance to demonstrate to readers yet, that Kurtis is a real stickler for the rules and following protocols. Abnett’s dialog has said this is the case. Her, what we could say “stoic” nature comes off as very by the book. But it is the way Abnett writes her dialog interjecting, clarifying, and to a lesser degree steering the Chief, shows how on top of things she is. She might not have all the administrative experience, or the political friends, but this sequence captures why she is smart enough to stay alive throughout this series. It’s subtle stuff, but just comes through wonderfully.
Noticeably absent in this episode is our space vampire. I guess they were busy slurping down their victims’ fluids. This absence shifts the tone of the series away from a sort of street level procedural and onto one of high office politics, obviously the two are connected but how has yet to be revealed.
Continued belowEpisode 3 of ‘Consumed’ is a subtly good strip and use of 2000 AD, it sets the table but doesn’t just go about setting the table in a way that is boring for readers and is actually enticing for people who might not be caught up.
Aquila: River of Hades Book 2, Part 4
Credits: Gordon Rennie (script), Patrick Goddard (art), Dylan Teague (colors), Annie Parkhouse (letters)
Matthew Blair: It’s a rebellion in the Underworld as the souls of the enslaved revolt against those who would see them in chains, even in death. Of course, our heroes are in the midst of the fighting, and in the chaos and destruction of war, bad things happen and old friends must choose between the mission and each other.
“Aquila: River of Hades Book 2 part 4” is an extended fight scene and writer Gordon Rennie creates a tableau that is packed with energy and action. Amid the swirling chaos of battle, Rennie makes the wise choice to keep the action focused on a single character, one of Aquilla’s companions named Felix. It’s a noble story filled with all sorts of classically manly Roman virtues, but there’s a sense that Rennie’s script would be better if the reader had a better sense of who Felix is as a person and as a character. Again, this can be chalked up to readers not being completely familiar with the backstory and it’s not the worst problem a script can have, but it is noticeable.
Ancient warfare was very up close and personal and artist Patrick Goodard does a great job of showing how bloody and awful it could be in “Aquila: River of Hades Book 2 part 4”. Now, not to nitpick, but there was some order to these battles, with both sides trying to maintain order with the losing side usually breaking first, but Goodard seems to be more interested in falling back on familiar tropes of ancient warfare in the movies and tv. This is a chaotic, violent, and ugly scrum of monsters and humanity and Goodard does some amazing crowd work. On top of that, the fantastic sense of energy is clearly present throughout the story and it can leave unfamiliar readers breathless after checking it out.
“Aquila: River of Hades Book 2 part 4” is the classic battle scene you see in a lot of movies where one of the characters heroically sacrifices themselves for the mission and the audience learns an important lesson about collective action and responsibility. However, some interesting writing choices coupled with gorgeous and bloody artwork do a great job of making this part of the story look and feel unique and special.
Indigo Prime: Black Monday, Part 10
Credits: Kek-W (script), Lee Carter (art), Jim Campbell (letters)
Chris Egan: Star Trek meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets “I’m Just Ken” in the newest chapters of “Indigo Prime: Black Monday” Ok, so not exactly, but sort of. The vibes are there. This series continues to get weirder and more layered as it continues on. This might be the most magical the series as felt thus far, and while the crazy sci-fi aspects have never stopped and have only gotten stranger with each subsequent chapter, the mashed-up style and vibes of Part Ten really understands the genre blending and world hopping conceit of this series.
Every page and panel are truly beautiful from top to bottom and even if there are moments that have to be re-read due to lack of story clarity, any lacking in the script is completely redeemed by the stunning artwork. Lee Carter is unlocking certain things that I can’t truly explain or understand as why they work, but, hey that’s art. Not everything needs to be fully explained away. The work rules and keeps this story interesting and wanting us to come back for more.
Proteus Vex: Devious, Part Six
Credits: Mike Carroll (script), Jake Lynch (art), Jim Boswell (colours), Simon Bowland (letters)
Brian Salvatore: With the central mystery ‘solved’ – we know where Vex is – ‘Devious’ spends a chapter essentially doing the equivalent of a sitcom clip show, showing the reader moments from Vex’s life that have meaning for this particular story. While it’s not quite as lazy as highlighting funny or touching scenes from past episodes, this is the first script from Mike Carroll that feels like it is without a concise goal for this particular story. There are points that needed to be pushed across – Vex’s memories of first encountering the flesh-pilates, for instance – but there’s no way to do so without reverting to this device.
This is also the first chapter that Jake Lynch’s art feels not up to snuff. That’s not to say that he’s doing poor draftsmanship, but rather that the memories/flashbacks, which could’ve been opportunities to vary up the art style or try different approaches to indicate the fuzzy nature of the memory reconstructor, look exactly the same, aside from Jim Boswell’s colors, as the rest of the work here. While the crimson shading does indicate the use of the machine, it feels like an afterthought instead of a design perk of the story.
That gets to the heart of the somewhat laborious pace of “Devious” thus far. This feels like a story that could’ve been used to highlight different types of storytelling for each of its narrators across the first five chapters, but the sameness of the approach is frustrating after enough time. Carroll and Lynch have done good work so far, but when considering how just a few tweaks could’ve made it something special, the chapters become more disappointing.
