The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2260: Lights, Camera… Bring On The Klegg!

Time to head out to the land of 2000 AD, the UK’s greatest sci-fi weekly comic for four decades and counting… it’s The Weekly 2000 AD

This Prog; part two of three of the silliest thing in Judge Dredd this year – ‘Judge Dredd: The Musical‘, the penultimate instalments of Dexter and Scarlet Traces, and the finale of this particular run of The Diaboliks. And to end the Prog, the best thing you’ll read in 2000 AD (and most other places as well) – The OUT.

Okay then… you can grab 2000 AD Prog #2260 on Wednesday 1st December. It’s Klegg-tastic…

JUDGE DREDD: THE MUSICAL – PART 2 – Rob Williams, Chris Weston, letters by Annie Parkhouse.

So, Sensitive Klegg is back from Sino-Cit and putting on a show – a musical based on the life of his hero, Judge Joseph Dredd. Now, having got the surprise funding through for the show, Klegg’s ready to take centre stage and play his hero… except there’s a problem with the money and the backer might be pulling out unless they can get some big names from Dredd’s past involved.

Y’know, like this…

Of course, the big question is just who is the mystery backer behind the musical?

No spoilers at all – but you do find out at the end of this one, in preparation for the big finale next Prog (and it’s a 10-page special finale as well.) But there’s no way you’re going to guess, no way at all.

Bloody hell, it’s good. It’s really good. Dumb, ridiculous, over the top good.

THE DIABOLIKS – LONDON CALLING – PART 4 – Gordon Rennie, Dom Reardon, letters by Jim Campbell.

After getting the revelation last episode of Solomon’s past, we’re ending this short 4-parter with a threat to his new family, a promise that the sins of his past will come to haunt him and soon – all connected to both Solomon’s past and the recent events in Rome.

“Sore times are coming, Solomon Ravne. You will know loss and you will know defeat.”

 

And that’s it.

Nothing more in these four parts than a brief sojourn in London and setting up the darkness to come for the Diaboloiks. It’s all a bit too short, a bit too mysterious.

But damn, that Dom Reardon artwork does look so striking – the things he does with so few stark lines in incredible.

DEXTER- BULLETOPIA CHAPTER 7: LORDY JORDY, KING OF EVERYTHING – PART 3 – Dan Abnett, Tazio Bettin, colours by Matt Soffe, letters by Simon Bowland

Now, this one’s the same as The Diaboliks in a way, lots of short chapters that’s all building up to something bigger, but whereas The Diaboliks is doing things in mysterious fashion, Dexter’s more about the action – more satisfying short-term, week to week, maybe not so much in the long term.

But all that means is that there’s a real fun in reading the week-on-week exploits of Dexter et. al., on the run from the sentient A.I. controlling Downlode and the newly re-animated version of Sinister. And having plenty of dinosaurs in this one doesn’t hurt either. Bloody huge Sov-gene-altered dinos and they’re hungry.

SCARLET TRACES – STORM FRONT – PART 10 – Ian Edginton, D’Israeli, letters by Simon Bowland.

Last Prog, right in the middle of the decisive action in the war against the Martians, Ahron went for a mind dive into the captive Martian’s head and met the Martians in the nearest thing to their true forms. History was told and now decisions have been made. Could this really be the end to war?

There’s some dazzling artwork from D’Israeli this episode, as every page switches to a different aspect of the many different storylines of Scarlet Traces. Each different style on show is just so impressive, all adding to the sense that we’re pulling everything together now for the final episode in this phase of the tale.

THE OUT – BOOK TWO – PART 10 – Dan Abnett, Mark Harrison, letters by Annie Parkhouse.

Well, after Cyd had her experiences with the performance artist, Lustre, and got to know just that little bit about the UP, not to mention the stunning moment where she met up with her lost child in the UP. The emotional punch of that was a big moment in a strip that manages to foist the big, emotional moments on us so well, so unexpectedly.

And then we had the moment of horror.

The Tanikar are back.

Now, last time Cyd experienced the Tanikar, back in Book 1, we didn’t even see them, they were just there, a nightmarish threat that terrified event the bravest of warriors. And Cyd’s nowhere near a warrior, so you can just feel her terror.

Especially as, last time, all we ever saw was the threat that the Tanikar posed and then the aftermath. And the aftermath for Cyd was that she died. Look, it’s complex, but it’s so wonderful – go back to the first series in the Progs or just wait for the collection – but all you need to know right now is that the Tanikar are the bogeymen of this series, appearing as if out of nowhere, striking impossibly fast in devastating fashion.

So, as Cyd finds herself evacuating once more, this time in the luxury VIP suite gifted to her by Lustre, there’s a moment of calm before the storm. Although there’s that small matter of the cramps she’s been having… hmm, what’s that all about?

As always – just stunning.