The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2472: Rejoice As Brink’s Back In The Call Of The Void

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.

49 years and one week old. And it’s still the best damn sci-fi anthology around. Every week, something to delight and thrill. You should absolutely be reading it.

Especially this week, as we see the return of the absolutely wonderful, the quite brilliant Brink by Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard. I honestly have it up in my top 10 of 2000 AD of all-time. That’s alongside things like Halo Jones, Dredd: Apocalypse War, Zenith, as well as another Abnett-written modern strip, The Out, with art by Mark Harrison. Here, as an extra special treat, Brink Book 6 opens with a double-length episode, so it’s a really good week.

Of course, that leaves room for just three other strips this week, all of which continue. So, that’s the second part of the new Dredd: Climate Crisis, where Dredd and MC-1 have a little trouble with the weather. Then there’s more from Herne & Shuck, the penultimate episode, with Herne wondering quite how “King Arthur would turn out to be such a dick”. And finally, more from the junk heap world of The Discarded, as Veera Banksy gets one step closer to tracking down Daddy.

Yep, time to dive in, all of it kicking off under an Ian Culbard cover for Brink. Damn, that looks great…

2000 AD Prog 2472 is out now in the UK, coming out on the 4th of March. Now, if you’re in the Americas, you’re still waiting for the first weekly shipments of 2000 AD to North American comic stores. So, if you do want to pick up the Prog (and you should), you’ll still have to head over to the 2000 AD webshop and get it digitally for now.

JUDGE DREDD: CLIMATE CRISIS – PART 2 – BY ROB WILLIAMS, NED HARTLEY AND PJ HOLDEN, COLOURS BY JACK DAVIES, LETTERS BY ANNIE PARKHOUSE

Well, Mega-City One finds itself in a right pickle. Their weather control satellite is occupied by the villainous Facechange [does exactly what his name suggests]. He’s after 10 million creds, or he starts destroying the City sector by sector.

So, off goes Dredd and a team of four, planning on using the new High-Elevation Infiltration Suit Tek (HEIST Gear for short) to get a hold of the satellite after parachuting in from above. It doesn’t go too well…

Meanwhile, down in Mega-City One, there’s more problems, as the Cartel (Coalition of Affluent and Respected Tycoons and Economic Leaders) find that their unexpected guest has a proposition for them.

So far, so good. A hell of a lot of fun, just as the first episode promised. A good, straightforward bit of Dredd adventure. Get a mission, carry out the mission, get out, that sort of thing. Williams and Hartley writing it well together, nice and tight, plenty of all-out action in the Judges launching themselves out and down towards the satellite, a suitably dangerous and deadly moment, and a bit of a twist at the end — and the return of perhaps a familiar face to long-term readers. More on her next time. She was there in the background in the first episode, but takes a much more deadly role here in part 2, as you’ll see from the second page of the preview below. Any guesses? Me? I’m not saying a word.

Artistically, Holden’s doing fine, fine things on the art. One of the lesser-used of the modern Dredd artist crop, but I do love seeing his very different take on all things Dredd.

Sometimes a Dredd just needs to be a damn good bit of action and an interesting limited set-up, and that’s just what Climate Control looks like. Bloody enjoyable fun stuff.

HERNE & SHUCK: POWER TRIP – PART 10 – BY DAVID BARNETT AND LEE MILMORE, COLOURS BY GARY CALDWELL, LETTERS BY ANNIE PARKHOUSE

Well, there’s my favourite opening panel of the year so far right there…

Oh yes, King Arthur the absolute dick. Granted, Herne really should have learned by now not to be so trusting. His quests thus far should have taught him that. But no, here he is, suckered by the ancient King and saviour of Britain into holding up a damn rock for all of eternity.

First, though, a little chat, where Herne fills Arthur in on how Uber has replaced a trusty steed, and how wenching really isn’t the done thing these days. Although, as he points out, there is Wenchhub and Onlywenches, all available through the magical scrying glass in Herne’s possession (his phone to you and me), if only Herne could free his hand to open it with his thumbprint. Arthur is intrigued. Well, horny more like. And Herne? Well, Herne’s learning. And what he’s learned is that Arthur is a dick. And a none too bright dick at that.

In those first couple of pages, we have the essence of Herne & Shuck, what keeps me thoroughly entertained. That mix of old-fashioned magical adventure, all questing and meeting the myths and legends of old, and the irreverent, modern, tongue firmly in cheek feel that Herne displays in full here. That’s what makes Herne & Shuck so much fun. So, that’s Dredd fun and Herne & Shuck fun — well, what the hell, you can never have too much fun in your life.

Anyway, cue Merlin, looking at first, still, rather like Alan Garner (seriously, go read the Weirdstone of Brisingamen and the Owl Service), who spirits Herne away to the Judgement of the Council, leaving Arthur crying out pitifully, his last wish being the scrying glass and the wenches. Yeah, what a dick.

As for the Council and their judgement, that’s happening back at home base, where Shuck and Jordy have to give Herne the bad news that they’ve lost Caris. But that’s okay, right, because, as Herne reckons it, he’s two yay, two nay, but the Lady of the Woods was always going to be a yes, meaning Herne gets the powers of Herne the Hunter and should be off to rescue Caris with ease. Right?

Well, that would be telling. See you next week for the finale.

BRINK: BOOK 7: THE CALL OF THE VOID – PART 1 – BY DAN ABNETT AND INJ CULBARD, LETTERS BY SIMON BOWLAND

Okay then. Here we go, into Brink Book 7. By now, I hope you know I’m a huge fan of Brink. I genuinely think it’s one of my all-time favourite 2000 AD strips, up there with Halo Jones and the like.

What we’re getting here is a double-length opener to the latest Brink, 10 glorious pages to set up the latest long-running Book. Yes, there will be some out there bemoaning it, but they are, quite frankly, wrong. Book5 ran to 24 episodes, Book 6 ran to 28 episodes. Book 7 can run as long as it damn well wants. I’ll be here, absolutely loving it all the way through.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of the series so far — oh boy, you’re in for a treat. The perfect slow-burning sci-fi epic wrapped up in a noir crime procedural, worlds built stunningly by both Abnett and Culbard, artistically brilliant, and incredible storytelling. However, we are here at Book 7. There’s an awful lot you’ve missed. Please, please, please, do yourself a huge favour and go out and buy Books 1-6 right now. You’ll thank me for it.

Now, that’s not to say you can’t drop in here and have a bloody great time. Pretty much all you need is there in the summary on the contents page. Although if you happen to buy Book 6, there’s a perfect full series summary to catch you up.

“The late 21st century, and through environmental catastrophe and industrial overload Earth has been reduced to a wasteland. Mankind finally evacuated the planet in 2072 and millions were housed in a number of deep-space Habitats. But life on these cramped, overcrowded stations is tense, often spilling over into madness. Sects are rife, and Bridget Kurtis of the Habitat Security Division is investigating their reach.”

In addition, you need to know that, way back in Book 1, Mercury vanished in a flare of energy known now as The Mercury Event. And Bridget Kurtis, ‘Bridge’ has been seconded to the Special Detail Taskforce, the newly-formed HSD group set to investigate the Mercury Event.

But they’re not alone in this interest. There’s also the InterHab Intelligence Agency (IIA), who have their own reasons for wanting to keep the Taskforce from Mercury. In fact, time to slightly spoil the end of Book 6 now, as we drop into the IIA Directorate, where Danny Reardon/Evan Leeden has words…

Right then. With all that in hand, time for Book 7 to begin. And we begin on one of the two HabSec Bulk Range Vehicles of the Taskforce, headed from Luna Habitat to the Mercury Zone. They’re 10 weeks out, four to go before they get to the Mercury Zone. Onboard, amongst a crew of 10, there’s HSD Investigator and BRV1 Crew Lead Gita Gibrani, an old friend and colleague of Bridge’s, someone who, like Bridge, has seen and heard a lot of strange things in relation to both Mercury and the Sects over their time together. You know, like this…

Yeah, “Giant space gods hatching out of the sun.” Like I said, Bridge and Gita sure have seen some stuff. And like I also said, going back and reading all that’s gone before was really going to fill you in on a LOT.

We get plenty of exposition here, as Bridge and Gita take a wander round BRV1, introducing the crew, filling each other in on the machinations of IIA and their attempts to shut the Taskforce down. But that exposition, it’s never forced, never dull. It’s all part of the joys of Brink, all of it done so beautifully by Culbard, filling these walk and talk panels with detail and fascinating features. Damn, it’s beautiful.

Thing is, Bridge isn’t actually there on BRV1 with Gita. She’s merely Theresharing in (think 3D Facetime). Right now, she’s back on Luna Hab on the Taskforce Mission Centre. The crap that went down on Belleholme Hab in Book 6 delayed Bridge, Bonner and Lind from getting to Luna Hab, meant they would have missed the BRV1 launch, even if it hadn’t launched early.

In the second half of this opener, Bridge and Bonner get read into the Taskforce and what’s been happening on Luna Hab by Taskforce Director Vittori. And she’s got bad news for them both about when they’re going to be headed out on BRV2 to follow Gita.

So, there we go. 10 pages. Absolutely wonderful. So much to enjoy here, so much set up already. It’s just the best thing, it truly is.

THE DISCARDED – PART 10 – BY PETER MILLIGAN AND KIERAN MCKEOWN, COLOURS BY JIM BOSWELL, LETTERS BY SIMON BOWLAND

Getting towards the end of The Discarded in a few episodes, methinks, as Veera Banksy gets closer and closer to her dad, who’s been taken over by the rogue chip with plans for conquest. Her job is to find him and kill him.

But things rarely go as planned. Right at the end of last episode, she came face to face with a particularly nasty specimen…

Yes, he’s the guy assigned by Veera’s father to kill her. But the thing is, when Aaron Banksy did that, controlled by the ‘chip’ as he is, he didn’t know the person sent to kill him was his own daughter. And even this big, bad assassin begins to query things when he realises that it’s Aaron Banksy’s daughter he’s meant to be killing, wondering if Banksy knew it was her when he put the hit out.

Again, we’re wrapped up here in ideas of revolution and what it means, with Veera now working out how she’s going to play things, seemingly still determined to go through with the plan to kill her dad.

What we get here is McKeown really showing off how good he is at action, as Veera desperately attempts to get away from her would-be killer, a sequence of three pages big on action, something McKeown really does so well.

Then it’s back to the source, back to the real threat, back to Aaron himself, where the revolution is taking a dark turn, not at all what Aaron, pre-infection, had in mind. The ‘chip’ has nefarious plans, and Aaron’s really not sure he’s onboard with those, proving there’s still something of Aaron left after the possession.

We’re left with a standoff, Veera coming face-to-face with Daddy. Although whether it’s really ‘Daddy’ anymore is up for debate.

Again, so much is going on in the details here. Milligan working hard to push ideas of control, of freedom, of rebellion, and what it all means. We’re headed for an obvious showdown, the daughter sent to kill the father for a cause she’s increasingly questioning, and a father losing himself with the ‘chip’s possession, finding his ideals of rebellion perverted with the influence of another.

Fascinating things are playing out here. I’ve gently criticised The Discarded for setting up the really interesting story as one that comes after this first series is done with, but I think I’ve finally just relaxed into this one as is. If there is a second series of The Discarded, there’s plenty to explore for sure, all the ideas of the characters of the Discarded headed back to that fascist Earth with its authoritarian regime. But that’s for a potential second series, perhaps.

Right now, I’ve learned to just ease back and just go with this one, something that’s turned into a really pretty straightforward thing in the end. But a rather enjoyable, straightforward thing nonetheless.