Cover: Cliff Robinson & Dylan Teague
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Script: Ken Niemand
Art: Dan Cornwell
Colours: Chris Blythe
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Dan Cornwell knocks out this brilliant 28-panel page in which Dredd fights a gang of creeps. It’s a knock-down, drag-out brawl, which leaves Dredd a loser. Creeps cast him into a central pit, what they call The Cauldron, where all the dregs of the Oubliette end up. I love the panels in which Dredd is plummeting, where Cornwell stretches out Dredd’s head to sell the speed at which he’s travelling.
In the Cauldron, Dredd is rescued by a seven-foot-tall, armoured bastard.
In MC1, the other Dredd feels a disturbance and sets off to rescue his dimensional brother.
It’s a great start to The Oubliette, with Dredd in peril from the get-go. I love that we’re thrown into the deep end, with no explanation for why Dredd is in the Oubliette, forcing us to engage and be curious. Some fans may be upset about how much we see of Dredd’s face, but I’m enjoying how The Oubliette starts.
Brink
Script: Dan Abnett
Art: INJ Culbard
Letters: Simon Bowland
Bowen calls in a hit squad while Kurtis, Castenada and Maslow have dinner.
This is probably my favourite part of Brink so far because things are actually happening. Bowen’s perspective in this episode allows us to see the stakes. There’s tension because there’s a real possibility that Kurtis, Castenada and Maslow could die. Despite that, Kurtis doesn’t solve the problem herself; she just gets called away by Bonner. There’s been a death on the BRV-1. If only Kurtis had followed up on the BRV-1 intruder.
Silver
Script: Mike Carroll
Art: Joe Currie
Letters: Simon Bowland
Estaban, Desilva’s brother, takes them in, but confirms to Alain that his family is dead.
Elsewhere, Red and his gang of rebels ambush a truck, but Donaldson reveals that he has an ominous message.
It’s a fun mix, with the worldbuilding happening alongside the action, and Joe Currie’s art sells both. Currie effortlessly switches between a conversation in an opulent interior to a chase in a suburban setting, so I am excited to see where he gets to draw next.
Helium
Script: Ian Edginton
Art: D’Israeli
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Helium is at a high point once again. The robot butler Francis tells Grimsby to unhand him, so Grimsby rips his arms off before jacking into his brain to find Bloom.
It’s a stunner. There’s a page in which we see Grimsby downloading Francis’ memories. The palette changes, and we’re invited in. The King’s birth and coronation. Francis taking new faces. And Bloom in the larder. It’s always so clear what the objective is, so it’s an effortless read, but it also sets up possible avenues for the story to go in the future. Grimsby connected to Francis’ hard drive, for example, so I wonder if Francis will have infiltrated Grimsby’s mind.
Overall: 8/10
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/
