The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2469: The End Of An Era In ‘Death Of A Judge’

Taking a look inside the UK’s greatest sci-fi comic, the Galaxy’s Greatest, fast approaching 50 years of brilliance —it’s the Weekly 2000 AD.

This Prog’s a monumental moment, truly the end of an era. After almost 50 years of guiding the world of Judge Dredd, co-creator John Wagner bids farewell to the character as he heads off into retirement. So manyincredible stories. Not just Dredd, of course, but five decades of incredible storytelling from one of the greatest comic writers.

Alongside the finale to Judge Dredd: The Death of a Judge, there’s more from all who were there last Prog. That means we get the continuations of magical drama in Herne & Shuck, more demonic strangeness in Judge Dee, and more political adventuring in The Discarded. Finally, with episode 3, the latest Tharg’s 3Riller, Money Shot, reaches its finale, complete with even more surprising appearances. Yep, five strips as usual. But a monumental Prog for what may well be the final John Wagner Dredd.

Everything kicks off with a Mike Perkins Dredd cover hinting at what’s coming up in the finale of ‘Death of a Judge‘:

2000 AD Prog 2469 came out in the UK on 11th February. Apologies for being late (again). Life and work got messy this week here at Bruton Mansions, NV. If you’re elsewhere in the world, it’s tricky right now to get hold of the Prog, but hopefully the deal with Lunar Distributors will mean you’ll be able to get hold of the Prog soon in its physical form. But right now, head to the 2000 AD web shop to get it in digital.

So, with all that, time to get into this latest Prog…

JUDGE DREDD: DEATH OF A JUDGE – PART 6 – FINAL PART – BY JOHN WAGNER AND MIKE PERKINS, COLOURS BY CHRIS BLYTHE, LETTERS BY ANNIE PARKHOUSE

So, this is it. After nearly 50 years of writing at 2000 AD, the co-creator and so often the guiding hand of Judge Dredd is hanging up his pen and moving into retirement. Yes, Wagner’s said this is definitely his last Dredd. End of an era indeed.

Fittingly, he goes out with the six-part ‘Death of a Judge’, a perfectly put together procedural Dredd, packed with everything that’s made Wagner-written Dredds always so good. From the off, this one’s been all about the case – although, aren’t they all about the case? But the way Wagner sets things up, the way the investigation unfolds, the way the reveal comes, then the climactic moments, and the final coda… no one writes Dredd this well. No one ever has. And despite there being a real great crop of Dredd writers right now, no one will ever touch Wagner for what he’s done, time and again, on Dredd. And Perkins has done a superb job here, only his second Dredd ever – and the first was in 1995, way early in his career. But this is just gorgeous stuff.

As for this finale to Death of a Judge, it’s been just the perfect send-off. It’s its own thing, but it’s also the satisfying ending to the Mechanismo saga. Over the years, Dredd’s own initial hatred of the idea of the Mechs out on the street has softened to the point where the events of ‘Machine Rule’, where a group of Mechs staged a coup in MC-1, couldn’t quite put him off the idea. And so it is here in ‘Death of a Judge’, with the new Mechs, rejigged and back on the streets, that Dredd’s finally in the place to see them as the Judges they are, as he and Judge Ronald face down the damaged little kid turned into a killer.

Again, John Wagner always writes Dredd so damn well. This is the final time I’ll get to say that about new Dredd from Wagner. A damn shame. But I shall raise a glass towards John’s accomplishments.

HERNE & SHUCK: POWER TRIP – PART 7 – BY DAVID BARNETT AND LEE MILMORE, COLOURS BY GARY CALDWELL, LETTERS BY ANNIE PARKHOUSE

Oh, here’s a thing Herne didn’t see coming as he headed off on his little round-Britain quest for the acceptance of the Gods. Time to have that little heart-to-heart the abandoned child never got to have with Mom. Yep, dumped outside Manchester Cathedral, the only way the poor girl could save baby Herne, a very special baby, from the bad people who’d arranged to take him. Abandonment as protection, protection from the nasties of Cudd.

Still, the reunion doesn’t last that long, it can’t, he’s got the next God or Goddess to convince he’s worthy of the mantle of Herne the Hunter. Three down and three to go, and he’s only got one ‘yes’ vote in the bag. And he’s already lost two of the four votes he’s gone after thus far. Things aren’t looking too good for him, especially since failure means death.

Meanwhile, Jordy and Shuck are doing all the hard work away from Herne’s little God quest. Meaning they’re on the trail of St Michael, who has kidnapped Caris. And well, wouldn’t you know it, it’s all tied into someone in politics as well, someone Jordy has a past with.

Barnett and Milmore’s tale of weird things in the magical underneath of Britain, both new and old, is a lot of fun. Here, the splitting of things into two parallel narratives allows Barnett to get much more into it this time around, without really losing any of the forward momentum. Most enjoyable stuff.

PSI JUDGE DEE – PART 3 – BY BEN WHEATLEY AND SIMON COLEBY, COLOURS BY JACK DAVIS, LETTERS BY SIMON BOWLAND

First off, it’s such a pleasure seeing Simon Coleby here for an extended run in Dreddworld. We’re more used to seeing what he can do with Rogue Trooper’s world with Jaegir and the like. But here, damn, it’s a glorious thing. I mean, just take the first page, gloriously silent, watching a Judge Dee get herself up and out for a ride, only to realise, by the bottom of that first page and the explanation following it, that she’s not in control, not even awake.

And that’s all thanks to the demon Klato, the unwelcome thing in her body and head, and the reason she’s risen up the ranks and has the best clear-up rate in the Psi-Div.

Judge Dee is fascinating for the premise, but even more so for the obvious moral ambiguity Dee has. Faced with the demon after that failed exorcism, she doesn’t report it, doesn’t turn herself in, but lives a lie, concealing it all from the Justice Department, and worse, entering into the bargain with the demon itself to feed it the souls of the perps he helps her bring in. Dark, dark things are happening in this one. And you can’t help but feel it’s all going to get darker as it goes on.

As for where we are, obvious huge 2000 AD fan as well as a rather successful writer/director, Wheatley cleverly weaves in ancient Mega-City One history, all the way back to the classic ‘Haunting of Sector House 9’ from Progs 359 to 363 (some forty-plus years back in 1984). After the shock death of senior Psi-Judge Geller in the last episode, we get a taste of what he was involved in, as a manifestation of Tamerlain appears to Dee and to Klatu.

Was the now deceased Geller into something crooked, much like Dee herself is? Had Tamerlain taken up some form of similar possession there? Well, that we’ll have to wait and see.

But it’s sure an interesting and different take on the Law here.

THARG’S 3RILLERS: MONEY SHOT: HIGH STAKES – PART 3 – FINAL PART – BY KEK-W AND ROB RICHARDSON, LETTERS BY ROB STEEN

Tharg’s 3Rillers, quick hits of three parts, coming in fast and having to get a whole load of things done in a very limited page count. Sometimes they lead to bigger things – take Herne & Shuck for an example of a strip that began as a 3Riller. Sometimes they’re just a three-and-out.

Here, I can’t help but think Kek-W and Richardson have more plans for this one. I hope they have, I hope we’ll see another 3Riller maybe, or a series spinning off from this one, as it’s been a bit of a fun thing, including Kek-W throwing in not one but two blasts from the past.

The whole thing revolves around an accountant, Carla Dietrich, who’s not afraid of a little work for those the wrong side of the law. But this one’s taken her into a strange, strange placea indeed – ‘The City,’ complete with those blue-skinned men in black from Vector 13 we saw in part 1, and, coming in at the end of part 2, this strange fellow…

I mean, ‘The City’ should have given us the idea Kek-W was going to bring him in – the possibly undead mysteryman from the nineties 2000 AD who made it his quest to dispense justice in the place known only as ‘The City.’ But here he is, a fleeting glimpse of the strange in a strip that’s chock full of it.

Of course, with just a few pages to wrap it all up, things move very, very fast, and before you know it, Carla’s out, and Vector 13 are back with a job offer and a tempting bit of info about what happened to Carla’s dad.

Yep, dangling plot threads that just scream to be dealt with in at least a second 3Riller for ‘Money Shot’. Kek-W and Richardson are onto something here. I do hope they’re already beavering away on some more.

THE DISCARDED – PART 7 – BY PETER MILLIGAN AND KIERAN MCKEOWN, COLOURS BY JIM BOSWELL, LETTERS BY SIMON BOWLAND

Halfway through, and episode seven opens with a recap… which I’ll steal here as it suits perfectly:

“It started witha mistake: a self-evolving sentient AI chip accidentally discarded, which integrated in unexpected ways with the human brain of a prisoner on the floating prison of garbage known as Junkfall. A prisoner who just happens to be the father of Detective Veera Banksy.”

There you go. Of course, there’s more to ‘The Discarded’ than that. Well, there potentially is. But I’ve banged on and on about how much potential there may be in Milligan’s head about where this one’s going, with all the political stuff back on the fascist Britain where all the prisoners on Junkfall come from. But that seems a long way off here, so let’s not go down that path again.

Instead, let’s just take a look at what ‘The Discarded’ is right now. And what it is happens to be a really simple bit of story where we get to follow Veera on a trip through the various tribes of Junkfall, all of them adding a little doubt in her mind about the masters she’s meant to be working for.

That’s it. Simple. Veera’s eyes slowly opening, beginning to question. Where she’s going, what she’ll do when she gets there, we don’t really have an idea right now. But this one, right now, is one of those where it’s best you just go with it and enjoy the ride.