The Weekly 2000 AD – Prog 2133 Previewed: The Kids Just Aren’t Alright

Here we go again – It’s Prog 2133 at the Weekly 2000 AD here at Comicon. More Dredd, finishing up a two-parter, more Scarlet Traces, more Kingmaker, more Max Normal, and the third and final part of the latest Tharg’s 3Riller, The Chimera.

Cover by Neil Roberts

Prog 2133 comes out on digital and in UK comic shops on 29 May.
JUDGE DREDD: NEW BLOOD – PART 2 – FINAL PART – Rory McConville, Siku, letters Annie Parkhouse
Quick two-parter from McConville, exploring the brutal selection process for Judges, and just what sort of horrible world remains for those who fail. Another short from McConville, but another one that explores those dim little recesses of Dredd’s world rather well.
And Siku’s art is a stylish, stylised thing, which gives us some particularly striking images. But, it also gives us some real clunky moments of perspective. However, the style wins out just about. Good to see him back.

THARG’S 3RILLERS: THE CHIMERA – PART 3 – FINAL PART – James Peaty & Brian Corcoran, colors by Matt Soffe, letters by Annie Parkhouse
The dream corridor active, Cordelia and Jace have become programmed terrorists, madmen, virtual reality to take over the world, and The Chimera. Peaty sort of pulls it all off, but he rather runs out of space for the story he was trying to unfold, meaning it’s all just that little bit rushed and forced here. Still, fair enough, and some very nice artwork from Corcoran.


KINGMAKER: OUROBOROS – PART 10 – Ian Edginton and Leigh Gallagher, letters by Ellie De Ville
Crixus has the power and it’s fight time as the forces of The Thorn come knocking. But, this isn’t the Crixus we know, not anymore… seems old Orcs can learn new tricks after all, after a little bloodshed, of course.

Frankly, this is just a neat few pages of huge ass fighty stuff, and also a chance for Leigh Gallagher to go large on the art, which is looking just spectacularly gorgeous.
The scope of the art and the way the tale is going really has set this one up for a great ending.


MAX NORMAL: HOW MAX GOT HIS STRIPES – PART 9 – Guy Adams and Dan Cornwell, colours Jim Boswell, letters Simon Bowland
The ongoing saga of the hippest of cats continues, with Max and Vito finding out just how the hell Mo Bland ended up dead in a locked treasure trove.
It’s fast and it’s funny and it’s just the right side of ridiculous, with Adams getting around an episode that’s high in exposition in making the frustration with the exposition all part of the storyline. Meta Max Baby, Meta.


SCARLET TRACES: HOME FRONT – Part 7 – Ian Edginton and D’Israeli, letters Ellie De Ville
So, there is a resistance to the Martian attacks, except they can’t give their secrets over to the authorities, thanks to the dark spectre of racism and xenophobia, something that’s been in Scarlet Traces all the way through, as Edginton delicately treads a line between action and the huge-scale and the more personal tales.

And yes, D’Israeli’s artwork is just sublime, a page of the resistance hiding from the Martian tripod, and giving us a view under the bodies of the dead.
It’s just quite spectacular artwork, unique, innovative, brilliant.