The Weekly 2000 AD: Dredd Rides Into Sov Bov In Prog 2404

Taking a look inside the UK’s greatest sci-fi comic, the Galaxy’s Greatest… it’s The Weekly 2000 AD.

Continuing with everything this week, so that means more Judge Dredd dealing with a Sov sleeper in Hater, more Rogue Trooper, and more from the quite breathtakingly good Brink and The Out. There’s also part four of Nightmare New York, sadly the final art from the late, much-missed, John Burns. Next episode sees David Roach and Peter Doherty take over art duties.

It’s all starting under a cover from Dan Cornwell…

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2000 AD Prog 2404 is out in the UK on 16 October in the UK. You American readers need to go to your local comic shop and get them to order in the monthly four-Prog bundles. Seriously, you won’t regret doing that for a moment.

So, onwards and upwards, let’s show you what’s happening in the latest Prog… including seeing all this brilliance of dialogue and art in the latest episode of The Out…

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JUDGE DREDD: HATER – PART 2 – by Ken Niemand and Silvia Califano. Colours by Giulia Brusco by Jim Boswell, letters by Annie Parkhouse.

Last episode we saw a mysterious Sov sleeper doing a bit of recruiting, taking poor young Georgy, just another Mega-City One victim taken advantage of, manipulated into something that’s going to end really badly for him.

It’s a tale of generations of hatred, youth too easily radicalised and turned too easily against the city. Which is how Georgy ends up dressed as a Sov Judge, first killing an Apocalypse War vet and then turning his gun on the Judges on the case. It’s part 2 of a 3-parter and you just can’t see poor Georgy getting out of this one alive.

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Again, it’s Niemand playing with Dredd, telling stories where Dredd’s merely another character. It’s the city that’s the star in this sort of Dredd, and the stories become all about the city and the poor bastards that have to live there. It’s always been the way, with Niemand merely the latest to adopt this way of doing Dredd. He just does it very, very well. Along that really good writing, we have the art team of Califano and Brusco giving us something that gets to the heart of the grimy, nasty world here, whilst also giving us some very stylish, but always readable pages to savour.

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THE OUT – BOOK FOUR – PART 3 – by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison. Letters by Simon Bowland

Another six fabulous pages of my joint-favourite thing in the Prog for so many years (Brink, of course, being the other).

I’ve said many, many times before now about how I would cheerfully just read a whole series of The Out where Cyd and her sentient Bag shoot the breeze, such is the skill that Abnett has of capturing naturalistic dialogue that makes every conversation a delight, along with Harrison’s ability to make every page so full of invention and capture the very essence of the alien ness of all we’re seeing here.

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Well, the first five of six pages here are proof of precisely what I mean by that. It’s just five pages of Cyd and Bag hanging out and chatting. That’s it. Nothing more at all, just Cyd waiting to pick up her next fare. Yet it’s so bloody good. There’s a wonderful rhythm to the conversation, Abnett playing with words, creating truly witty repartee, all backed by some astonishing detailed visuals from Harrison. It’s just superb drama, a play unfolding so well.

So, it’s discussions on Cyd’s state of mind, convincing the Space Raiders that she’s one of them, the nagging feeling the ship’s haunted in some way, how some aliens they’ve met really do look like breakfast, Cyd’s past faux pas with food, the continual putting off cleaning up the ship, and a discovery of certain illicit substances Cheerio had on board. It’s five pages that absolutely delight. This really is just a superb read.

And then we get that final page, where things suddenly happen and Cyd’s life takes yet another troublesome turn. Perfection.

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NIGHTMARE NEW YORK – PART 4 – by Kek-W and John Burns. Letters by Annie Parkhouse

So, one last time, let’s just enjoy the beauty and skill the late John Burns put into every brushstroke, the incredible details, the sublime line, the lush colours. Because this is the final time you’ll see something new by this master of comic art. Sadly, Nightmare of New York was the last thing he did before his passing and only completed these first four parts. Next episode sees David Roach and Peter Doherty take over to complete the series. I’m sure neither of those great artists would take any offence in me saying I wish it weren’t so.

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We have young Lil struggling to cope with the new knowledge that she’s the fifth point, protector of Orange Street, magically tied to the area to the point she just can’t leave.

Meanwhile, Moloch is gathering his forces, ‘the great enemy,’ with Lil as their target.

It’s just a glorious romp of historical magic, Lil finding her place, guided by the mysterious blind mentor, talk of secret worlds and ancient conflict, the Banfhaidh yet to be seen, a promise of increasingly strange things to happen. Yes, absolutely strange but still really good.

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And of course, all the way through we have the art of John Burns. Just luxuriate in every panel, every beautiful line, the seemingly effortless flow of the art, the unique colouring style.

So, one last time, a couple of typically stunning pages of Burns’ artwork…

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BRINK: CONSUMED – PART 26 – by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard. Letters by Simon Bowland

So here we are, half a year’s worth of episodes that have taken us from what was meant to be a brief break for Bridge and her team as they stop over on Belleholme Hab on their way to meeting up with the rest of the task force looking into the Mercury Incident, and plunged us deep into sect activity and the hunt for a serial killer. And it’s really speeding up now, we’re close to the end, Abnett and Culbard’s skilful control of things never letting up, not in bit, as we build to the finale.

Last episode saw it end with Kurtis seemingly helpless in the hands of the Red River Killer, Castenda bursting in to try and save her, only to find herself in danger…

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Here, we have the climactic end to the Red River Killer portion of Consumed, five pages where Abnett takes a step back and entrusts it all to Culbard to bring things home. After episode and episode of the slow build, this one erupts into action, with Culbard expertly choreographing things throughout.

Again, Brink is just a sublime bit of drama, every moment adding to the cumulative effect, each episode giving us more and more. Two episodes of this brilliance to come still. It’s just been the best thing. I can’t think of a better way to spend six months plus of my comic reading life than this.

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WHEN A G.I. DIES – PART 4 – by Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard. Letters by Rob Steen

So, my thoughts on this latest Ennis/Goddard Rogue have gone pretty much this way – it looks incredible, but it’s too reliant on knowing too much ancient history/continuity of the character – to it still looks incredible, and it’s got the makings of a really cleverly done political thriller delving into the machinations of the Souther leaders with Rogue as a mere pawn in their war games.

Here with part 4, I’m afraid I’m veering back towards it’s bogged down in the past too much, expecting too much of the reader not intimately aware of every nuance and twist from the original saga back in the early 80s.

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Again, it’s all looking back to the Quartz drop, the massacre of the Genetic Infantrymen that left Rogue as the last GI standing. We have Gunnar talking about the time he was sent to murder Rogue, hints that the Souther higher-up who killed himself in episode one of this one is involved in all that. And I’m just finding myself, once again, feeling that little bit lost in what’s going on.

I can’t help but feel there’s a cracking story going on here that I’m missing out on. But unless it’s me completely reading it wrong, surely I’m not meant to be thinking that way? Surely I’m meant to be teased and intrigued rather than confused and frustrated?