Cover: Toby Willsmer
Publisher: Rebellion
Judge Dredd
Script: Kenneth Niemand
Art: Dan Cornwell
Colours: Chris Blythe
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
Dredd passes through the Oubliette’s market, passing a cage holding a humanoid aardvark, similar to Tweak in the Cursed Earth, but stops to fight for his boots. Over and over, he dies, but when he tags in the aardvark, he manages to win his boots back.
Last week, I spoke too soon. Dredd won’t make it to the top easily, but his willpower forces him to get back up again, putting Chumba Wumba to shame. Cornwell and Blythe evoke a magical but very believable world, so who knows what’s in store for Dredd further up the tower?
Brink
Script: Dan Abnett
Art: INJ Culbard
Letters: Simon Bowland
Castenada’s followed by Mac and Villanova, the latter of whom then explodes, and Kurtis has yet another Thereshare call with the BRV 1, where we see more non-sounds replacing words. The big cliffhanger is that someone on the BRV 1 turned a satellite to better receive a certain signal.
My frustration with Brink lies in the lack of change. For at least a month, we’ve been told over and over that things aren’t quite right on the BRV 1. There was a vibe to begin with, and then we saw a suspicious shadow, glimpsed through a window, and now there’s the no-sound censors. To me, it’s happened in the wrong order and at too slow a pace. The intruder has never been more concrete and threatening than when we saw their shadow…but then the threat became more nebulous. At a crescendo, when someone actually dies on the ship, we don’t even get to see it, and Kurtis, who is supposedly the protagonist, barely investigates the event.
I don’t enjoy being such a negative numpty, week after week, but I hope the creators don’t take it personally if they ever read these reviews.
Thistlebone: The Wild Maiden & the Fair Wolf
Text & page design: TC Eglington
Painted art: Simon Davis
A maiden and a wolf switch places in a fantasy Freaky Friday story. As the Fair Wolf shrinks from her wolfdom, the Wild Maiden grows more bloodthirsty, but is eventually killed by the pack she left behind.
The tale is illustrated in a simple style, just silhouettes accompanying the prose, so the visuals filter in from your periphery as you read; when the last page comes, a fully rendered painting of the death of the Wild Maiden, it’s a stunning punch in the face. It’s like the reality of the situation suddenly snaps into focus, where all plans evaporate, leaving only the final destination for both of them.
Judge Dee
Script: Ben Wheatley
Art: Simon Coleby
Colours: Jack Davies
Letters: Simon Bowland
While Klato threatens to burn out Dee’s soul, Psi Judge Marr, wearing the stublifier on his head, attempts to ambush Tamerlain, but fails, so Dee takes stublifier and blasts Bleeke Mansion, disintegrating Tamerlain. Dee is arrested by the Special Judicial Squad, but Chief Judge Logan intervenes, on request of Head of Psi-Div Judge Shenker. In the last two panels, Klato rejoins Dee.
It’s all wrapped up very quickly. For so many frontiers, it’s too quick a resolution. Blavatsky disappears, and Klato rejoins Dee for some reason. I couldn’t tell you why Shenker has an interest in Dee.
Overall I enjoyed Judge Dee, but I think the publication schedule and the pacing of the ending brought it down.
The Fall of Deadworld
Script: Kek-W
Art: Dave Kendall
Letters: Simon Bowland
As a completely new reader to The Fall of Deadworld, I am puzzled. We start with judges burning a zombie corpse, then a demon ends its possession of Judge Tanya, then a child takes the judge hostage?
Though I have no idea what’s going on, I really enjoy the art, which has great mise-en-scene. Deadworld feels lived in, and the characters are varied enough that I want to know everyone’s role in the story.
I have no idea what’s going on, but I prefer being confused to being bored, so I’m keen to catch up and see where this goes.
Helium
Script: Ian Edginton
Art: D’Israeli
Letters: Annie Parkhouse
To save fuel, Hodge, Grimsby and Bloom strip their vehicle down and set off for Ris, while out of sight, up above, a warship tracks their progress.
Honestly, I’m running out of ways to say that Helium is phenomenal. D’Israeli hogs the limelight, and he is brilliant, but Edginton’s script is by turns subtle and propulsive. Characters have distinct voices so that they’re all recognisable even though they’re all heading to the same objective. He knows when to let the art speak for itself silently, and he wrings conflict out of the situation even when there’s no villain or opposition. The landscape itself is a threat, with flora and fauna threatening to descend on the gang.
I can’t wait to find out what lies in wait for them at Ris.
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/
