Cover: Simon Davis
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Script: John Wagner
Art: Mike Perkins
Colours: Chris Blythe
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Years ago, Dredd planted a seed. He raided Huckney and Silvana’s home, killing Huckney in the process, then arrested Silvana as her scarred son watched. I really feel for the kid. He’s one of thousands of children that Dredd has orphaned.
Now, Judges search for Dredd’s assassin. They ferret through the murderous nurse’s home, finding nothing, but in a nearby Vendomat, there’s grainy CCTV footage of a masked man.
Dredd and Ronald comb through every perp that Dredd put away in the last six months, and it comes to nothing. Over and over we see the mechanismo picking up the slack, saving cits, saving Dredd and intercepting perps escaping through the back alley. In fact, the only useful member of the organisation this week is Ronald. Maybe the eponymous Death of a Judge is the death of human Judges.
Despite making no progress, there’s a breakthrough when a scarred man calls Judge HQ and asks for Dredd personally.
Mike Perkins’ art delivers as usual, keeping the strip clear and dripping with tension as the manhunt continues. Everything is drawn so convincingly, a key skill when drawing Mega City One.
Herne & Shuck
Script: David Barnett
Art: Lee Milmore
Colours: Gary Caldwell
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Shuck and Jordy return to the cottage to find Caris missing and Beth beheaded. Being undead, it’s not as permanent as it would be for you and me, but it’s still pretty ‘orrible. They set off to find The Order of St Michael.
On Cernunnos’ orders, Herne waits at a crossroads at dusk until a horse and carriage comes along to take him to a caravan site. There, his mother awaits.
The MP from an earlier episode visits Saint Michael.
This chapter bounces between three scenes, so it risks losing coherence, but Gary Caldwell keeps a tight grip on the palette, making sure it’s clear when the scene changes. In future chapters, I would enjoy a full chapter from the MP’s viewpoint so that we can get a better grip on the threat to Herne, as it feels disconnected to his quest. Maybe it’s a failure of my imagination, but I can’t quite see how Herne will earn the favour of half a dozen gods while also rescuing Caris and dealing with Saint Michael.
Judge Dee
Script: Ben Wheatley
Art: Simon Coleby
Colours: Jack Davis
Letters: Simon Bowland
In media res, Psi-Judge Dee chases a perp, Levey, down to resyk, where cultists throw live humans into the masher to farm their psionic energy.
Two days earlier, we flash back to Dee receiving the mission to find Levey. She has an impressive record, but we find that this isn’t because of her own skills, but because she’s attached to a demon informant.
It’s a lovely start to Judge Dee, which sets up her character, her gimmick and her goal in a short time.
Thargs 3rillers: Money Shot: High Stakes
Script: Kek-W
Art: Rob Richardson
Letters: Rob Steen
Narration introduces us to the protagonist, Carla Dietrich, a dodgy accountant who was sent a box of money, guns and a satnav to guide her to a location.
When she gets there, some Blues Brother lookalikes shoot at her. The satnav springs to life and directs her to turn left, off-road, which leads her to this pocket dimension, where the palette is restricted to black, white and red.
The clients are more than they seem, and they want her to launder a ludicrous amount of money.
It’s a bold start to Money Shot. There are a tonne of elements set up that I’m curious to see resolved, if only to see just how the hell they’re going to do it.
The Discarded
Script: Peter Milligan
Art: Kieran McKeown
Colours: Jim Boswell
Letters: Simon Bowland
Kieran McKeown can do it all. From the madness of Junkfall to the mundanity of Aaxon’s home, it’s all done with perfect atmosphere and expression. He’s a phenomenal artist and cartoonist.
In flashback, we see Aaxon skip Veera’s birthday, ruining their relationship forever.
In the present, Veera beats the living shit out of Ruska. Victorious Veera is taken to The Dying Tent, where the old Sister Trash tells her of the sludge, a toxic brew fed to the poor to keep them compliant, leaving the most important part to the end: the brotherhood will toast Veera’s victory with water distilled from the sludge. By two AM, the cult are sludged out of their gourds. Escape from the camp is easy, but she can’t escape one of the last things she said: Your father was right.
Brilliant stuff yet again. The idea of Veera the cop becoming Sister Trash and learning that Aaxon may be right is so deliciously ironic that I slurp up every chapter of The Discarded like it’s my medication.
Overall: 9/10
Tony Holdsworth is a comics writer based in Dundee, Scotland, who reviews 2000AD each week.
His comics can be found here: https://tonyholdsworth2.wordpress.com/category/portfolio/
