The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2489: Dredd Battles On And On Down In The Oubliette

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 week, it’s more of the same for the Prog, with all five strips carrying on. That means we’re off to catch up with Judge Dredd having a few problems in ‘The Oubliette’, the massive summer blockbuster of a Dredd epic. There’s another excellent episode of the greatest sci-fi procedural of Brink, where there’s a rather huge revelation that may alter absolutely everything we’ve been led to think. Following that, there’s another descent into the hell that is the homeworld of the Dark Judges in The Fall of Deadworld. We head back to mid-19th-century New York, where life for a newly empowered Lil just gets more and more complicated and dangerous in Nightmare New York. Finally, we’re back to the events besetting Mega-City One now the Black Tower’s set up camp there, as we follow Psi Judge Anderson doing whatever she can to work out what the hell’s going on.

There you go, 32 pages, five strips. Five very different strips. Seriously, I tell you every week that it’s about time you were reading the best damn sci-fi anthology there is. If you’re concerned about jumping on right in the middle of things, don’t be. The joy of a weekly is that things move fast. Right in the middle of things? Well, you’ll pick up on what’s happening. If you love it, great. If you don’t, there’s something different coming along in a few weeks. So, there’s no waiting — jump on now!

Okay then, let’s head on in … all of it starting with the latest Dredd cover by Steven Austin.

2000 AD Prog 2489 was out in the UK on 1st July. It’s also out in the US and the Americas on 15th July, meaning you American folks can finally get your hands on this the way it’s meant to be experienced … weekly.

Right, if you’re all sitting comfortably, then we’ll begin …

Judge Dredd: The Oubliette — Part 7 — By Ken Niemand and Dan CornwellJake Lynch, Colours by Chris Blythe, letters by Annie Parkhouse

Yeah, we’re really into this new big Dredd now, one that’s happening all across both the Prog, with ‘The Oubliette’ (and the series within a series, The Finders), and the Judge Dredd Megazine, with The Black Tower. It’s one of the occasionally done big event Dredds. Not something that’s done too often — I mean, this isn’t Marvel or DC, and a Dredd mega epic is a rare thing, still special thanks to its rarity.

Okay then, simple summary — something, the Black Tower has made an incursion into Mega-City One. This is a bad thing. Although no one, including us, knows what the Black Tower is, why it’s here, where it came from… you get the idea. Meanwhile, MC-1’s greatest lawman, Judge Dredd, wakes up someplace else, in the Oubliette. Again, no idea what it is, where it is, why it is. Meanwhile, back in MC-1, Dredd’s forgotten, his very existence seemingly erased from memory, as Judge Rico is, and according to memory, has always been, MC-1’s finest.

There you go, the potted history of this one. Of course, what it doesn’t cover is that Niemand’s been seeding events here for the past few years. With Nick Percival he’s been giving us a horror history of MC-1, setting up much of the backstory to ‘The Oubliette’ and The Black Tower quite wonderfully. But Niemand’s also been slowly bringing in a cast of characters proving important to the whole Oubliette/Black Tower saga, as seen in The Finders, which we had another episode of last week.

Oh yes, there’s so much going on in this one, and it’s going on really well. Which brings us here, The Oubliette and Dredd. He’s doing what he does best, working the case, stubbornly refusing to give in, despite what seems like impossible odds. Accompanied by the ghost of a girl he didn’t manage to rescue in ‘The Shift‘, another of the Niemand/Percival horror Dredds, he’s making his way up through the levels of the Oubliette, a place where death is merely a temporary inconvenience and where the residents are a veritable cast of characters from the long history of Dredd.

So, yes, basically Dredd goes up, fights a lot of people, and works the case. That’s ‘The Oubliette’. Simple. But it’s also a load of fun. Take this episode, where the continuing joke of Dredd’s obsessive desire to get his gear back plays out, when the Sov crime clan recognise him from his boots …

Cue a little ultra-violence. Dredd’s always been judge, jury and executioner, and it’s something Niemand and Cornwell really bring to this one.

This seems to be The Oubliette’s basic story driver. Dredd goes up a level, Dredd fights the bad guys, Dredd keeps going.

This time it’s the Sovs, next time, who knows who it will be. And still the mystery of just what, where and why of the Oubliette remains. Sure, we’ll get to that in time, of course, but right now, we get to enjoy the ride. And a fine ride it is too.

Niemand’s giving us plenty of action, plenty of mystery, and Cornwell, well, Cornwell’s art is doing great things here.

Brink Book 7: The Call Of The Void — Part 18 — By Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard, letters by Simon Bowland

18 parts, that’s three months plus of reading right there. Those who don’t get Brink will say nothing’s happened; it’s all just talking heads. But they really are missing the brilliance of Brink. Because, in these 18 episodes, there’s been such incredible things going on, all culminating in a major revelation in the final panels of this episode. Seriously, it’s one of those absolute game-changers of a plot twist. Although, given that Abnett’s a twisty so-and-so when it comes to a thing like this, all plot twists should be considered possibly a red herring and a tease!

So, we’re here on LunaHab, where the HabSec Taskforce investigating the Mercury Event is making progress with just what’s happening with their mission on its way to Mercury.

Bridge has her ideas, testing them out on Bonner and then all the major players of the Taskforce, where the spectre of IAA manipulation looms large. The IAA being the Interhab Intelligence Agency, another government organisation, but one that’s seemingly playing its own game, one that’s in direct conflict with HabSec, one that looms large over everything playing out.

Again, the naysayers would moan that all that happens here is that Bridge chats to Bonner, then goes into a meeting. And yeah, that’s what happens, on the most basic level. But what it doesn’t convey is just how much drama there is packed into every panel, every page here, as Abnett and Culbard create magic on the comics page.

The discussions, chats, and meetings here play deep into all that’s gone before – and that’s my cue to remind you that you should really be reading all six previous Brink volumes. Seriously, you’ll thank me.

With Bridge and Bonner, it’s all about where the investigation into why the Mercury mission was sabotaged, how the second ship never made it off the launch pad, and what that means for the one on its way to Mercury — and it all seems to be headed in the direction of IAA.

As for the bigger meeting, that sees Bridge finding unlikely allies — for a moment at least (a gorgeously done little bit of the humour that’s there in Brink, sarcastic, snippy, but all part of the sort of golden dialogue Abnett writes here.) It also sees various theories coming out about what’s happening, including Bridge’s prior experiences with Sect activity, the whole Weird Life thing, and ends with Bridge doing Abnett’s work for us, a complete 180 on things, leading to a final page where, if you’ve been a fan of Brink from the start, you’re left thinking… ‘What, How, Why?’ and absolutely loving the twist Abnett has thrown our way.

And of course, as good as Abnett is, Culbard matches every bit of fabulous dialogue, setting these conversations in scenes that make anything look fabulous, all those talking heads around the table, all those conversations, they all have a visual power to them, Culbard pulling out all the stops that means that every little moment has this visual importance, the drama of what’s going on carried by Culbard’s artwork, made all the better by Culbard’s artwork.

Surely, by now, you’re tired of me saying this, but it’s oh so true. Brink is just the best thing from 2000 AD for many years, right up there with any of the strips across the Prog’s near 50 years, right up there with the very best in all comics.

The Fall Of Deadworld: Justice — Part 3 — By Kek-W and Dave Kendall, letters by Simon Bowland

Welcome once more to The Fall of Deadworld, where we know the outcome (Deadworld will, after all, fall), but the story here is how it falls.

Kek-W and Dave Kendall‘s saga – and it is a saga, full of foreboding and grand events, all grounded by this boots-on-the-ground tale of those brave resistance fighters who we know are fighting in vain – keeps rolling on, multiple characters, all fighting for one thing: to strike back against Sidney D’eath and his new Dark Judges.

Here, Childs, Fairfax and the rest deal with the Sov invasion, swiftly, brutally …

Kendall’s art is perfect for this one, grimy, nasty, really bringing us into the horrors of the world we’re watching end, joining in with Jess Childs, as she attempts to save her world, gathering others in her quest, including Judge Fairfax, corrupted by the dead fluids, all fighting for their lives, in what, we know, will prove to be a futile fight. But that’s the draw of Fall of Deadworld, we, the reader, are observers in this futile fight against an end we already know is coming.

Nightmare New York — Book Two — Part 2 — By Kek-W and David Roach, colours by Peter Doherty, letters by Annie Parkhouse

Back to 1845 now, and a different New York, as young Lil has been busy finding out over the course of the last series. She’s got magic in her veins, it seems, and a father deep into devil-worshipping and dark magicks. His planned sacrifice of her to the demon Moloch failed, and she’s now left with just mama, although mama’s hardly well at all.

Even her relatively safe haven of the bakery is no longer that, as the New York gangs are getting a little too close, and one of their number just spontaneously combusted on the shopfloor.

That’s where we left things in part one. Here, said flaming corpse gets up from the floor and rebuilds his burned body. Mose is a firedrake, a phoenix … and, much to Lil’s embarrassment/intrigue, very naked …

Mose has the same sigil brand/tattoo as Lil. And he has a tale of abuse and torture in his past, of kidnap and strange men torturing him and his firedrake powers for their sport. Now, having escaped their clutches, he’s come to Lil for help in getting out of the Bowery.

Plenty to enjoy through Nightmare New York, the sort of different strip that 2000 AD is so good at, just part of the grand variety of comics work you’ll find inside every week. And although we’re no longer treated to the art of co-creator John Burns, who sadly passed in 2023, David Roach brings his own sumptuous art to each and every page.

Anderson Psi Division: The Void — Part 2 — By Liam Johnson and Rob Richardson, letters by Rob Steen

An Oubliette/Black Tower-adjacent tie-in here. As Judge Anderson finds herself one of the few Psi-Judges in MC-1 not screaming into the void or just plain dead after the incursion of the Black Tower into the city.

Dredd’s missing, forgotten by pretty much everyone; Rico’s the main Judge and always has been as far as MC-1’s concerned, and Anderson is doing what she can to deal with the nightmares all around.

Oh, and then there’s that strange disembodied voice she keeps hearing …

This one benefits from Richardson’s artwork, as there’s something about the way he puts things down on the page I really like. It’s all in the colouring I think, or at least the colours he does add so much to what you see on the page, all the subtle tones working so well.

Now, how much this Anderson will really fit into the whole Oubliette/Black Tower storyline, I have no idea. I don’t imagine all too much, as I’m sure Niemand, quite rightly, is keeping all the big events to himself. So, what you can expect from this one is just a good, simple Anderson, doing what she does best, protecting the city from all the strangeness.