Cover: Toby Willsmer
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Script: Ken Niemand
Art: Andrea Mutti
Colours: Pippa Bowland
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
As Dredd raids a cult, a citizen somehow gets through to his comms in his helmet.
Dredd listens to this suicidal cit as he guns down cultists, tallying the offences, wading through blood. This story starts by using one of the unique qualities of comics: the visual channel and the text channel. While we read the conversation, we get to see Dredd beat up cultists, too. By using these channels, and showing such different sides of the story, it makes me wonder what the cit has in mind for Dredd. How will the two channels collide? What point is he trying to make by making Dredd say inspirational, suicide-preventing truisms?
Brink
Script: Dan Abnett
Art: INJ Culbard
Letters: Simon Bowland
Kurtis and Maslow go to Lunar Hab to meet up with Castenada, who gets a new arm. As they approach the prosthetic vendor, they draw parallels between the Moon and Ellis Island.
The thread involving the intruder on the BRV-1 has been abandoned for now. It seems like a waste of good tension. Each part of Brink nudges the story forward ever so slightly. So little changes that I’ve heard people say that they’ll save up a few progs’ worth so that there’s a bit more to chew on. I think Brink should be released in graphic novel format to counter this, with maybe a strong preview in the prog.
Silver
Script: Mike Carroll
Art: Joe Currie
Letters: Simon Bowland
Red is tasked with assassinating a Sepsis collaborator, only to find that he’s killed a father at his daughter’s birthday party. The pacing makes the reveal such a shock! It’s a fairly slow build-up, where Red is briefed on who the target is, before a whole page is dedicated to the slaughter, with just a single page at the end to show the aftermath.
A series of two panels sells the heartbreak. Red occupies the same space in each panel, but in the first panel, Red double-taps, splattering the collaborator. In the next panel, the kill space is occupied by the collaborator’s family. The morality of the Sepsis War is getting murkier as the two forces mingle, and I can’t wait to see how it complicates further.
Tharg’s 3rillers: Poster Girl
Script: Paul Starkey
Art: Paul Marshall
Colours: Dylan Teague
Letters: Rob Steen
Jenna and Dev near Peggy’s home, but as they shoot an intro, miles away, Nic discovers old outtakes, videos in which Peggy goes berserk.
Seamless crosscutting gives it a sense of urgency. Nic is discovering this only when it’s too late to stop them. We see the footage right before Jenna and Dev open the door, so it creates this feverish anticipation for next week’s prog. I’m very excited to see how this one ends.
Helium
Script: Ian Edginton
Art: D’Israeli
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Hodge is carried away by a soldier. Feigning unconsciousness, she sneakily steals his sidearm and blasts his head from behind. Cat-like, she lands on her feet, shoots the second soldier and then Francis’ rod, with which he’s been shocking her.
At gunpoint, she forces Francis to lead the way to her friends.
Hodge is really compelling! We’ve seen her innocence, her experience and her competency. Helium remains a highlight.
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/
