The Weekly 2000 AD Prog #2502: Herne & Shuck Have A *Big* Demon Problem

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 …

Here we go again, another week, another set of five strips of excellent quality from the longest-running and finest weekly sci-fi anthology there is. Seriously, I shall keep banging on about it until you all tell me you’re reading it.

This week, everything continues. Meaning we’ve got, leading it all off, the second part of Judge Dredd: The New Future, something shaping up to be every bit as the positively brilliantly done ‘A New Future’ a couple of years back. Trust me, this is another of THOSE Dredds, the ones we talk about many years from now about how important they were.

Backing up that incredible start to this week’s Prog, we have more from Ghosted, where the world is involved in an alien war, and one African nation has taken steps to wall itself off from it all. It’s difficult, and it’s complicated, and it also happens to be completely enthralling. After that, we have more from Durham Red, who finds herself hunted on a planet where she’s still not sure just what the hell she’s doing there. We’ve then got more Azimuth, as Ramone Dexter’s journey into this bizarre techno world gets more and more dangerous. And finally, Herne & Shuck‘s latest, ‘Storming The Stone’, finds everyone’s favourite screw-up magician attempting to mount a rescue mission only to find that there’s a very big, very nasty demon in his way — no spoilers there, it’s right there on the cover.

There you go, five strips, each one particularly good in its own particular way, and proof once more that the breadth and variety of the strips to be found in your weekly 2000 AD is something no one else does.

All of it starts under that aforementioned demonic cover for Herne & Shuck by Lee Milmore …

2000 AD Prog #2502 was out in the UK on 30th September, meaning I’m late with this one once more. Granted, not quite as late as I was last week, but still late. That is, unless you count the US on-sale date of 14th October, in which case, whoo, I’m actually early. And if you are in the USA, head down to your local comic shop and ask, nay, beg, them to order it in for you.

Right then, enough preamble, let’s get into this one…

Judge Dredd: The New Future — Part 2 — By Rob Williams, Arthur Wyatt, Henry Flint, letters by Annie Parkhouse

There’s a case to be made for Judge Dredd: A New Future, and all those strips leading up to it, being one of the most important Dredd tales in many years. Williams and Wyatt certainly have a way of giving us Dredds that cut to the heart of the character, pulling storylines from our headlines and transposing them to Dredd’s world, and doing so in such a quite brilliant fashion, making these stories must-read stories. And of course, like ‘A Better World’, ‘The New Future’ is deep into the bowels of the political background to Mega-City One, tackling the machinations of those in power, the reach of the media, and manipulation of the populace. Plus, it’s got Henry Flint on art, surely to be talked about in the same breath as the likes of McMahon, Bolland, and Ezquerra as one of the finest artists to ever grace the pages.

So yes, I’m enjoying ‘The New Future’. I mean, why wouldn’t I? It’s loaded with so much potential, so much threat, so much politiking, and is delivered with such must-read, page-turning style by all concerned. Again, this will be one of THOSE Dredds, the sort we talk about for many, many years to come.

As for where we are, everything is taking place in the fallout from Accounts Judge Maitland’s failed experiment. We’ve got the principal players in her downfall circling –Head of Street Division, Judge Hernandez, nasty piece of work, completely wrapped up in his own ambitions, and in way too deep with the other main antagonist, Robert Glenn, media baron, the right-wing voice of MC-1, whose own ambitions for power mean he’ll cynically manipulate the citizenry to his own ends, using the media to build fear and stoke the fires of revolt where it suits him. Oh yes, absolutely nothing like anything that’s going on in our world today.

Dredd knows how Hernandez is implicated in the downfall of Maitland; he’s just working the case, working to bring down one of the Council of Five, second only in power to the Chief Judge.

This episode has Glenn spreading his bile and poison, stoking those fires amongst the Cits, complaining about those Cits fighting in the streets, whilst being the one whose vitriol and manipulative words have put them there.

And then there’s Oswald Roth, the journalist Maitland sent all her files to, meaning he has all the links between Hernandez and Glenn. This is how part 1 ended last week …

So Roth’s sitting on all of this, terrified, knowing what he’s sitting on is dynamite. Will he publish? Does he dare? And can anyone stop him if he does?

Well, all that will come out next episode.

But bloody hell, just one Prologue and two episodes into The New Future and it’s absolutely everything I hoped it would be. Just a superb bit of Dredd.

Ghosted Book Two — Part 3 — By Guy Adams and Megan Huang, letters by Simon Bowland

This Book Two of Ghosted appears, right now, to be alternating episodes. The first episode was a 13 months later thing, as the aliens invaded Earth. Then part 2 was a catch-up with Benu, who we’d followed through the first Book, and now we get more from 13 months earlier.

That first episode, set 13 months earlier in part 1, was where we discovered just what it was — well, sort of — that attacked the planet, obliterating Amerika with almost no thought. We met Chant, one of The Trust watching over the African city-state of Kinshasa, keeping their people safe and secure now that the wall has gone up and the city is locked down to the outside. As Chant said in that first episode, ”Cat purrs at mousehole. Idiot mouse squeaks. Cat pounces. Mouse dead. Let the others die while we learn.’

Which is where we are now, 13 months earlier, Amerika gone, as Kinshasa sends out exploratory missions to investigate and tracks the aliens as they circle the planet, dropping their own exploratory craft/cubes down to the surface.

And through it all, Chant keeps an eye on things — ‘Let others fight, pound away ’til sore and tired.’

Again, Ghosted keeps doing what it did all the way through Book One, dangling the plot and the background just that little bit out of reach, keeping us all guessing. It could have been frustrating, yet it’s not, as Adams is perfectly controlling this one, with Book Two’s structure of an episode of the past, followed by an episode from 13 months back, drip-feeding us what’s an absolutely enthralling storyline. It’s perhaps not one for you if you want your comics all laid out for you in nice, totally understandable and simple-to-read episodes. But if you fancy something a little more challenging, something pushing you just that little bit to think about what you’re reading, then you’ll most likely be enjoying Ghosted as much as I am.

Durham Red: Hungry City — Part 3 — By Alec Worley and Ben Willsher, letters by Simon Bowland

But having said all that with Ghosted, that doesn’t mean there’s not a place for something a little more linear and simple in the pages of 2000 AD. And that’s by no means being critical of Durham Red, not at all. Just as there’s a place in 2000 AD for something that gently frustrates you with its structure, there’s also a place for a good, old-fashioned bit of an action mystery done as wonderfully well as this Durham Red by Worley and Willsher.

The vamp Strontium Dog has found herself on Mondo Carnivallo, Hungry City, a Resort Station, where all the crime syndicates come to play. She still has no idea why she’s here, only that what she’s done thus far, thanks to a bit of a colossal bender, wasn’t exactly good. And word is getting out, as we saw last episode….

And that sort of heat can only mean bad things are coming to Durham Red — and she knows it. Although perhaps she didn’t expect it quite so quickly as this, as she gets a knock on her hotel room door — housekeeping, but fully loaded …

All of which brings us to this episode, five pages of absolute action, all starting with the would-be assassin breaking down the door of Red’s hotel room. As Red says, she’s ‘wanted for the murder of a casino boss I don’t remember murdering,’ and now ‘Someone’s sent a Pro to give me a twenty-gauge makeover.’

Yes, five pages of action, all gloriously played out by Worley and Willsher, who really is doing great things on the art here.

It’s not complicated; it’s not trying to be. All this latest Durham Red promises you is a damn fine little action adventure with a mystery thrown in. And just like all the best action adventure mysteries, it’s an absolute blast to read.

Azimuth: How To Train Your Dagon — Part 3 — By Dan Abnett and Tazio Bettin, colours by Matt Soffe, letters by Rob Steen

Where we are — Azimuth, techno metropolis, created by the AI that has taken over Downlode, the mega-city that Sinister Dexter called home. Now, Finn Sinister has been subsumed into the AI, and his partner — ex-partner — Ramone Dexter, has pitched up in Azimuth, accompanied by Cass Anderson — ‘Rogue ex-Judge from a murdered multiversal strand.’ Yes, it’s Judge Anderson, although maybe not the Judge Anderson we all know from Dredd’s world. Although quite where she’s come we’re yet to find out — all part of Abnett’s plan here to give us as much mystery as possible. Alongside Azimuth native, Suzi Nine Millimetre, cadavatar warrior, they’re attempting to get to Funderland to locate Krugerrand, the latest step in their quest to solve the mystery of just what Azimuth is, and, in doing that, perhaps taking a step to defeat the AI.

Thing is, they’re on board a little boat sailing the hypotheseas, and they’ve just confronted the captain about him selling them out, and it really hasn’t gone all that well for them …

But this is Abnett writing this, and things are really never quite what they seem.

I do keep saying this, but Azimuth has been the making of Sinister Dexter, where Abnett decides to reinvent the long-running series, turning everything on its head, joined by artist Bettin on the previous run of Sinister Dexter, Bulletopia, and now let loose here on Azimuth to create all the wonderfully inventive looks you’ll see here in Azimuth.

We’re into uncharted waters, a complete reinvention of Sinister Dexter, transformed into the world of Azimuth, and it’s done just what Abnett, I presume, intended, breathing new life into the series and the characters. As with everything Azimuth before it, ‘How To Train Your Dagon’ is just a great mystery wrapped up, as they say, in an enigma. So much fun.

Herne & Shuck: Storming The Stone — Part 3 — By David Barnett and Lee Milmore, colours by Quinton Winter, letters by Annie Parkhouse

Herne’s in the midst of a plan to attempt to rescue young Caris, held by St Michael in their HQ underneath Stonehenge. The director, head in a bottle, is aware of all this. Which is not good.

And then we have Member of Parliament, Alex Ramsey-Hall, whom we met last series, where it was revealed he was a host to the demon Moloch, the very demon that Herne screwed up the exorcism of by the simple fact of not actually being there. Of course, being a politician, whether or not they’re hosts to a very angry demonic form, the director really shouldn’t have trusted Ramsey-Hall …

And as bad as getting her funding cut and losing out on the hope of a new body, the truth swiftly comes out that she’s really not going to be needing said body after all …

So Ramsey-Hall and Moloch now have the power of St Michael at their disposal. Oh, that’s not good, not good at all, for Herne and his little band of hopeful rescuers.

Again, Herne & Shuck walk a fine line between the serious stuff — children being kidnapped, demonic possessions and deaths — and the lighter elements. All of it means Barnett and Milmore are on to something good here.