The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2357: Hershey Sees All
by Richard Bruton
Since 1977 2000 AD has been the UK’s greatest sci-fi weekly comic, and every week we give you a glimpse inside the new Prog… it’s The Weekly 2000 AD.
After the break for last weeks’ rather enjoyable Regened Prog, we’re right back into it all with the five strips all coming back in the middle of their runs.
It opens with the cover-featured Judge Dredd: Poison, where Rob Williams and PJ Holden take Dredd deep into the Cursed Earth in his quest to find Hershey’s killer. After that it’s four strips showcasing the variety that you can always find inside the Prog. Whether it’s Helium’s pulp sci-fi as Hodge learns more about the world and herself; the politically-friven love story of refugees desperately seeking sanctuarry in The Devil’s Railroad; the chaos of a world doomed to destruction and death in The Fall of Deadworld; or the fabulous fantasy comedy of Feral & Foe, there’s so much to enjoy inside.
Prog 2357 is out now in the UK. As always, North American readers should get to their local comic shops and demand they get the four-weekly Prog bundles in – you really are missing out on a treat!
JUDGE DREDD: POISON – PART 6 – Rob Williams and PJ Holden, colours by Peter Doherty, letters by Simon Bowland.
Dredd’s quest to find out who poisoned Hershey, why they did, and why Hershey did nothing about it when she was alive, has taken him out into the Cursed Earth.
The trail leads to ‘The Alchemist’ and his fungus fields, used to make a poison derived from the Harrisburg Fungus – and Dredd keeps coming back to PJ Maybe, like a dog with a bone. But although the Alchemist might be pretty useless, he does have one surprise for Dredd by the end of this one.
So, we’re six episodes into it all and there’s a real sense of things slowly pulling together, with Williams and Holden playing things out well. But as for where it’s all going to go – well, I have no idea. But it’s one to stick around for, the classic Dredd quest tale done with a modern twist.
HELIUM: SCORCHED EARTH – PART 6 – Ian Edginton and D’Israeli, letters by Simon Bowland
Oh, the colours that D’Israeli uses on Helium are just so fabulous – just take a look at that first page and its dive back to when Sol and Hodge pitched up on the beach at New Castle after escaping the regicide below the Fugue. Just stunning.
Meanwhile, back in the now, Hodge has become something of a celebrity in the Fugue town, the lost princess. And they might well be right…
Of course, being the lost princess comes with a hell of a lot of dangers as well – specifically from Ris, where Hodge’s unveiling as the lost princess means the entire regime could come crashing down.
All of which means that we’re heading towards an ending here to ‘Scorched Earth’, the sides assembled, the battle lines drawn, that sort of thing. Think of this as the calm before the storm perhaps and just settle back to enjoy the gorgeous artwork that D’Israeli puts in panel after panel.
THE DEVIL’S RAILROAD – PART 5 – by Peter Milligan and Rufus Dayglo, colours by Jose Villarrubia, letters by Jim Cambell
Back to the dangers of the Devil’s Railroad, where lovers Palamon and Constance have been separated and each have their own problems right now.
Palamon’s terrified that he’s going to be outed as the one who killed Sister White’s favourite son and Constance has a bit of a moment with a probability worm followed by her own brush with Sister White’s other, not-so-favorite, son.
Basically, two leads in peril, desperate times, lovers torn apart by circumstance, over-the-top villainy – this is Milligan and Dayglo giving us Shakespeare in a sci-fi setting. It’s a wonderful ride of a series, plenty of action, great art from Dayglo with characters so full of expression all the way through.
THE FALL OF DEADWORLD: RETRIBUTION – PART 5 – by Kek-W and Dave Kendall, letters by Simon Bowland
Death and disaster – again… well, what do you expect from a series predicated on the idea that we know exactly where it’s all going to end, with the Dark Judges taking over and transforming the planet until there’s no life left?
It’s Casey Tweed – the mass of bodies and dead fluids being as grotesque as only Dave Kendall can make him – fighting Sidney De’ath and his new colleague, the Kartel assassin’s body, currently inhabited by Eunomia, the third sister of Death. Crazy enough for you yet?
Well, not to worry as Kek-W throws more into the pot in a moment…
Yep, just when Casey was getting on top of things, now he’s got to cope with Judge Fear as well.
Frankly, The Fall of Deadworld is madness writ large on the page, something strange and wonderfully horrible happening every few pages, all brought to life by Kendall’s art, the perfect fit for this.
FERAL & FOE: BAD GODESBERG – PART 6 – Dan Abnett and Richard Elson, letters by Jim Campbell
All right then, now for the perfect end strip for the moment – as Feral & Foe bring some lightness to it all, with Richard Elson’s art just perfect for the sort of action-driven fantasy stuff in here, but always able to give the characters enough character and emotional range to really deliver the great comedic dialogue that Abnett’s peppering the entire series with.
When last we saw Wrath, she was busy climbing the tower to confront Sire Clumms, High War Priest of Godesberg and maybe the one who can help them all work out just what the hell is going on here and why so many strange bits of magic are trying to kill Wrath, Bode, and the rest of their not so merry little band.
