Home Art Review: 2000 AD – Prog 1875
Review: 2000 AD – Prog 1875

Review: 2000 AD – Prog 1875

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So, in case you missed it, last week was a jump-on prog for 2000 AD, which you can read about here. It had five new stories, two of which were brand new titles, and now we get to see how those stories are going to progress and move forward.

Dredd, as always, heads things up in Mega-City Confidential. I said before this story is a bit more refined for the Judge, and this is only accentuated with this weeks findings. A fugitive is on the run and Dredd is hot on the trail and there is lot’s of political commentary in the meantime. Since it’s a jump-on story, it looks like this is going to delve into what’s right vs. what the government says is right and how Dredd walks the middle-ground between the two. As a second part, the development is spot on in making us believe the two leading perspectives and the tension is already mounting. John Wagner is almost too good at setting up these hard scenarios for the Law.

New kid on the block Outlier is next and yes, just yes. Very, very solid artwork and scripting from Karl Richardson and T. G. Eglington, respectively, has produced a great sci-fi thriller in the making. The entire scenario has quite a bit of cliché to it – the vengeful murderer, the detective with a shadowy past, the crew of a mysterious ship who seen too much – but it’s the execution of said cliché that works to their advantage so well. Does it feel new? No, but it does feel good and right now the chips are lined up for the next part to be all information for us and the characters as the rabbit hole begins to grow.

The color of the week this week is green in Sláine as the Simon Davis drawn gealic inspired fantasy hero continues on with A Simple Killing. Of course, it’s not simple, but you already guessed that. Switching from the strong blues of last week, the violence is interrupted this segment as things take an uncharacteristically peaceful turn and our hero begins a voyage of great discovery. Sláine‘s greatest strength has always been the well thought-out and often beautifully rendered world of Albion, so honestly, any story that wishes to explore it’s isles and the mysteries held within is fine by me.

‘Ye think a war’s comin’? We’ll show ye what one looks like fer really reals.’ ‘Either that, or we’re jokers and we’ll wind up dead. You have nothing to lose.’ Literally cannot fathom a greater synopsis of Sinister Dexter. Naturally, this was spoken in reference to them blowing their way through some poor fella’s gang and, with any luck, using that as leverage to get out of the troublesome situation they are perpetually facing. The Generican Dream is good, it’s very standard for the lads, but it’s good. The only gripe I found this week is that the story feels like a small part of a greater picture, and I’m not sure if these are the right characters for a BIG storyline. They work well in small doses, with some overarching themes and character development to tide them over story to story. If the pacing remains at this speed, some development would need to kick in soon to maintain interest.

I actually missed something in last week’s prog for other newbie Jaegir, it’s set in the same universe as 2000 AD veteran Rogue Trooper, Nu Earth and all. No wonder the location seemed so perfectly dreadful in it’s atmosphere. For my money, this was the highlight this week. Gordon Rennie has scripted a very grim slice of sci-fi indeed. Genetic experiments, hybrid killing machines, parasitic chemical weapons, just horror after blood-soaked horror. This is not a pleasant place to exist, and the war-torn memories discussed by Jaegir and her superior are satisfyingly gut-wrenching. The decision to end this book on a section dedicated to historical context was a good one – lots of room now for this to unfold on a grand scale. I can’t wait.

2000 AD Prog 1875 is available now.

[easyreview cat1title=”The Arcade Verdict” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”9″]

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