Reviews: 2000 AD 40th Anniversary Special & 2000 AD Prog 2019

My thoughts on two new comics from 2000 AD

Interlude 01 by Jock (a) Simon Bowland (l)

The first interlude kicks off with the cast of Judge Dredd giving us a little celebration! Hershey, Anderson, the Dark Judges and even Develin Waugh! Excellent stuff, it made me smile and set the tone for the rest of the interludes! I like the artwork too – the final panel is excellent!

Judge Dredd: Blood by John Wagner (w) Carl Critchlow (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Next up is a one-shot Dredd story, it’s an interesting read as Dredd is really just following up after the event in all cases. He does manage to close the case, and he gets the right man, but it feels weird. There is an ending of sorts and it does make sense though!
Interlude 02 by Rufus Dayglo (a) Simon Bowland (l)

This interlude has a classic 2000 AD feel to it – maybe because I’ve been reading a lot of old progs lately, but there is humour, bitterness and crazy stuff happening though!
Zombo: Z.O.M.B.0 by Al Ewing (w) Henry Flint (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Tharg gives a bit of revisionist history here, introducing us to the Zombo prog!  What follows is an excellent lampoon of the 70’s with foreign agents, posh boys paired up with cockneys and acronyms all round – the ending did make me chuckle!
Interlude 03 by Mark Sexton (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Mek-Quake gives us something to think about with all the violence in 2000 AD  – which leads us onto….
Ro-Busters: Seeing Red by Pat Mills (w) Clint Langley (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Ro-Jaws is his usual self, but there’s something wrong with him! Since meeting with Quartz he seems a lot more subdued. Hammerstein is determined to get to the bottom of it, and he does, but Ro-Jaws has a unique idea to sort things out! I like the beginning – how Ro-Jaws is on a rescue job, and the final panel with the colours is really good!
Interlude 04 by Patrick Goddard (a) Simon Bowland (l)

The Search/Destroy agents wish 2000 AD a happy 40th here, with the ending you would expect with McNulty involved – no Alpha though, but he’s next!
Durham Red: The Judas Strain by Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen (w) Carlos Ezquerra (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Alpha is in this, but it’s all about Durham Red – she’s an interesting character, and I can understand why Johnny doesn’t fully trust her! This is a classic S/D story though, with a nice twist ending to it all! Johnny still isn’t happy though!
Interlude 05 by Bryan Talbot (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Torquameda has something to say to you for this interlude!
Sláine: Red Branch by Pat Mills (w) Simon Davis (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

We get a look at a short story of Slaine’s younger days in this issue, and it’s madness as he and another compete to join The Red Branch. Slaine is Slaine here, and you can see him learning to be the man we know him now. For some reason though, he looks like a young Mel Gibson!
Interlude 06 by Mike Collins (a) Simon Bowland (l)

The droids feature in this final interlude – good luck guys! 🙂
Nikolai Dante: Devil May Care by Robbie Morrison (w) Simon Fraser (a) Gary Caldwell (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

It’s great to see the return of Dante, maybe someone heard me saying about the character at the Comics Museum! This was a fun adventure where Nikolai is his usual self as are the other characters! Some nice cameos too!

Judge Dredd: Deep In The Heart by Michael Carroll (w) Henry Flint (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

It looks like the Sector Zero story is all finished with this explosive ending. Judge Brass does her part, and it’s a well thought out ending to the story. Brass played her part well and there is an interesting response from Dredd. I did like the note at the end!
Kingmaker by Ian Edginton (w) Leigh Gallagher (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

The escape starts here, with the Orc acquired and the dead causing chaos, this is a fast issue. There’s a fair amount of battle going on and some quippy comments! It looks like we’ve got a battle on our hands in the next prog too!!
Kingdom: As It Is In Heaven by Dan Abnett (w) Richard Elson (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Pause and Gene get their battle on, and it’s frantic and bloody – really well drawn. Then we get to the plot of it all. It looks like we’ve got a way forward after some of the treading water we’ve had!
The Order:  Wyrm War by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Part 9 and the battle of New Atlantis seems to be at the end, the traitor has been dealt with and now it’s a case of what is next! There is some really good heroics here, and the Wyrm Lady is now more trusted. It looks as though the battle is going to the Wyrm next issue!
Sinister Dexter: Electric Landlady by Dan Abnett (w) Steve Yeowell (a) Abigail Bulmer (c) Simon Bowland (l)

sinister Dexter are setting themselves up in a nice apartment – with full security. It looks though as this may be a problem. The security is wired up to protect the residents – when it works out (it’s a robot BTW) that Sinster & Dexter are heavily armed, it thinks that it must kill them to protect them from themselves! It’s a funny read with cliffhanger ending. I like the art – although it’s not as grainy as I’m used to for these characters!

 

Available in print from: UK newsagents and all good comic book stores via Diamond
Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app,2000 AD Windows 10 app

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From Rebellion comes the last in this mini-series. This is Hawk The Slayer #5. UK and DIGITAL: 10 August £3.99 NORTH AMERICA: TBC $6.50 DIAMOND: TBC Don’t miss the all new comic-book sequel to the classic eighties fantasy […]

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