Cover: Neil Roberts
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Henry Flint
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Judge Tan abandons Anderson and climbs to a nearby vantage point. From there, he does not see the cloaked fisherman eat her. He sees them carefully load her into a vessel. Where are they taking her?
Aboard, Anderson struggles, so a crewman tries to feed her a black worm, but the swirly-eyed harpooner from last prog stops him.
It’s a true thrill, this prog, when the carefully built tension explodes into action. The question of where Anderson is being taken and what the fishermen want with her is tantalising, so I will be there next week to report on Dredd.
Red Dragon
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Steve Yeowell & Patrick Goddard
Colours: Dylan Teague
Letters: Simon Bowland
Again, Martin Howe stands in front of a grave, but this time it’s the grave of Rhys’ mother, Enid. The production crew talk about the experiments of Dr Peyne, who was essentially the father of Cloud 9 and the killer of their mothers.
After they talk to locals and uncover what Siadwell was like when he returned from London and lost his powers, it becomes clear that not all are open to talking about Rhys. Morgan Phillips, a huge, bearded, Bluto type, confronts them at the site of another arson.
Again, we see the word Lloegr, which, since my last review, I have learned is another name for the many-angled ones who inhabited superheroes in the original series. My question is, did the wider population ever become aware of the cosmic creatures? Or is this a reference without being a direct relation?
In colour, Rhys tangles with Lux, and Mandala deals with him in his own way. Peyne pops out and says he’ll speak to Rhys.
This story holds the most value for committed, longtime readers, so I am keen to find out where everyone else from Zenith is in this story.
Void Runners
Writer: David Hine
Artist: Boo Cook
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
The Oracle goes mad with dust.
The liberators reach out psychically to find the vaccine and, in the process, alert the subjugators to Shikari’s presence. Finally, the opposing forces are brought into conflict.
Brass Sun
Writer: Ian Edginton
Artist: INJ Culbard
Letters: Simon Bowland
Wren and Ariel touch down on the world Variety, where inquisitors trawl for anyone who may have contact with the blind watchmaker.
Ariel tries to make sure that Wren won’t intervene, but I strongly suspect that Wren won’t be able to look away and neither will I.
Brass Sun plays the most interesting game with scale. In one prog, we see two high-ranking religious figures talk about the fate of the galaxy, and in another, we see the smaller-scale conflict between local oppressors and refugees. It’s never boring and it always looks great.
Rogue Trooper
Writer: Alex De Campi
Artist: Neil Roberts
Colours: Matt Soffe
Letters: Jim Campbell
The sexy illusion at last prog’s cliffhanger of course turns out to be Northerners in disguise, who incapacitate the Southers and take them to a work camp.
Rogue arrives, and he’s…coloured himself in? I suppose if he were blue, he’d get rumbled straight away, but an uprising begins before he can execute his covert plan.
Rogue has to use the chaos to his advantage and continue his dogged pursuit of the Traitor General.
I am loving the point of view in this story. It’s so cool to see Rogue through an ordinary soldier’s eyes, to always see Rogue with the reverence and awe that he really would inspire.
I imagine that future parts of this story will show Rogue meeting with these grunts who idolise him. I hope he lives up to their expectations.
Overall: 7/10
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/
