The Weekly 2000 AD – Prog 2149 Previewed: A Fate Worse Than Death In A Fabulous Future Shock

Welcome welcome one and all to the Comicon Weekly 2000 AD, giving you a first glimpse at the various sci-fi delights going on in Britain’s finest.
Next prog is another nearly all brand-new strip thing, so it’s time to bid goodbye this Prog to poor Barbarbara in Dredd, say farewell to Jaegir, and welcome the wonderful return, for one-prog only, of Glenn Fabry on a chilling Future Shock. The only strip to keep on keeping on is Sinister Dexter.
Prog 2149 is out in the UK and on digital from 18 September, with international copies coming out later – ask for it by name at your local comic shop.

Cover by Glenn Fabry

JUDGE DREDD: THE FALL OF BARBARBARA GRIMM – PART 4 – FINAL PART – Michael Carroll, Nick Dyer, colours Quinton Winter, letters Annie Parkhouse
As Barbarbara Grimm discovers here, this was always going to end badly for her. Trapped between the Judges and the Mob, she’s got nowhere to go. But the old adage of a cornered animal being way more dangerous proves true once more. By the end, things played out almost the way we thought they would, but in Caroll’s hands something seemingly obvious takes a few unexpected twists and turns along the way, with Nick Dyer’s artwork ably assisting all the way, great visual storytelling to really ramp up the tension and pace in this final part.

Will this be the last we see of Barbarbara Grimm?
Who knows… but fascinating to see threads of Carroll’s storylines being somewhat pulled together.

SINISTER DEXTER: NARROW MINDED – PART 3 – Dan Abnett and Steve Yeowell, Colors John Charles, letters Annie Parkhouse
Double episode time for Sinister Dexter as the bad guys come gunning for them. But as with so much of Abnett’s writing, no matter how insignificant and seemingly closed something from a while back may have seemed, everything ties together and suddenly Ray and Finn find themselves dealing with a familiar problem.
And with just one episode left here, I reckon we’re only going to get a few more questions. Hugely enjoyable stuff from Abnett and Yeowell.

 
FUTURE SHOCKS: CONGESTED ANIMA – Mark McCann and Glenn Fabry, with K Holloway, colors Adam Brown, letters Ellie De Ville.
Now this was a really pleasant surprise, as it’s been far too long since we saw something from Glenn Fabry. And Mark McCann is really proving himself something of a Future Shock favourite, since Talk’s Cheap, with Adam Brown in Prog 2099 was simply stunning.

And this one keeps that hit rate going. Right up there with the very best of them.
Fabry’s fabulous full-color art lavished on the page but the real star is McCann’s story, six pages to tell something chilling, enthralling and quite brilliant.

JAEGIR: VALKYRIE -PART 6 – FINAL PART – Gordon Rennie, Simon Coleby, colors Gary Caldwell, letters Ellie De Ville
It’s not a surprise that Jaegir gets out of her imprisonment, but the sheer pace and action involved in Valkyrie has made this one a superb six-parter.

And another rather excellent Jaegir story wraps up here with Rennie and Coleby giving us not just a perfectly contained tale but also an ending that promises a lot more death and devastation to come.