The Weekly 2000 AD – Prog 2147 Previewed: The Day Of Dredd Approaches

With the Comicon Weekly 2000 AD we preview the best of UK sci-fi every seven days, giving you all you need to get onboard with 2000 AD.
The big news this week comes with Saturday 7 September, a day when specialist comic shops up and down the UK (and hopefully plenty of them across the world) get onboard with 2000 AD and Judge Dredd with signings and events, all coinciding with the publication of one of the best Dredd tales for many a year; The Small House by Rob Williams and Henry Flint (and for an idea of how great that is, check out the review and previews of that one).

But, before then, there’s the delights of Prog 2147 with more of the goodness of Dredd, more craziness in Indigo Prime, more gun-sharking with Sinister Dexter, the second part of the latest 3Riller and the ongoing brutally brilliant Jaegir.
Prog 2147 is out in the UK and on digital from 4 September, with international copies coming out later – ask for it by name at your local comic shop.

Cover by Jake Lynch

JUDGE DREDD: THE FALL OF BARBARBARA GRIMM – PART 2 – Michael Carroll, Nick Dyer, colours Quinton Winter, letters Annie Parkhouse
More classic Dredd from Carroll and Dyer, where Barbarbara Grimm continues where the poor woman is caught between the veritable rock and a hard place… or in this case, the Crime Syndicate that has her smuggling into the iso-block and the hard-chin of Dredd.

Is it any wonder that she’s feeling so damn depressed. Can she find a way out of it all? She might, but the odds of her getting out of this one unscathed are slim to none. Poor old Barbarbara.
Excellent stuff from Carroll and Dyer, really old school Dredd going on.


SINISTER DEXTER: NARROW MINDED – PART 1 – Dan Abnett and Steve Yeowell, Colors John Charles, letters Annie Parkhouse
The mini Sin Dex tales continue, with Abnett and Yeowell spinning another grand adventure for these two, this time needed for a bit of protection work with a difference, with a tech company needing the pair to protect a new bit of AI they’re developing.
As before, one of the things to really enjoy here is Yeowell’s artwork, with a more organic feel to his colour work than you’ll remember from the b&w work of old.


INDIGO PRIME: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF VISTA – PART 9 – KEK-W and Lee Carter, letters by Ellie De Ville
The madness continues… giant-size Burroughs takes out the London Eye and it’s full-speed ahead to the House of Lords, where our three stooges, naked and riding a giant claw are attacking alongside Major Arcana to take down the Lanzer Corporation.
It’s absolute fun and madness and great to see. Kek-W might not write the complexity of John Smith’s IP, but he’s got the craziness down perfect alongside a great, fast-paced adventure. And then there’s Lee Carter and some great artwork going on. A great looking, fun reading strip.


THARG’S 3RILLERS: RED ROAD – PART 2 – Andi Ewington and Ben Willsher, letters by Simon Bowland
Orange. Very orange. Gorgeously, strikingly orange. It gives Red Road a real vivid, bold look from Ben Willsher’s artwork, as befits Ewington’s fast-paced Mad Max on Mars storyline.
Two episodes out of the three in and you might think there’s been little but all-out action going on, but in Ewington and Willsher’s work there’s so much going on, all to be gleaned from the art and the subtext, far better than filling the 3-parter with exposition.
This is one of those 3Rillers I’d be really keen to see a lot more of in the future… fingers crossed!


 
JAEGIR: VALKYRIE -PART 3 – Gordon Rennie, Simon Coleby, colors Gary Caldwell, letters Ellie De Ville
As Jaegir fights her way out of captivity, she’s not yet aware of two opposing sets of rescuers, one her own men and the other from Southers led by Kovert, looking to stamp his authority all over Jaegir’s torturer, Colonel Raksha.

Cracking episode, beautifully paced, wonderfully executed, and with that last page (a little of which was above), it’s just a gorgeous exercise in artwork and colours.