Comics Review: "2000AD" Prog 2015

- by Ninja Ross, 17 December 2014

It’s nearly Christmas, people! Do you know what that means? Yes! Misery. Carol Singers. Spending money on people you don’t like. It’s a terrible time of the year and I’d cancel it if I could. It’s not all bad, of course; we also get a brand new 100 page prog from 2000AD!

The cover! Click to enlarge!

Kicking off this year’s extended Christmas prog is the start of a brand new Judge Dredd story, written by series co-creator John Wagner with art by Greg Staples: Dredd: Dark Justice.

This is the return of the legendary Dark Judges: Judge Death, Judge Mortis, Judge Fear and Judge Fire. These guys are the exact opposite of Dredd, believing that just being alive is a crime.

The story is set primarily in space, but the first chapter spends a lot of time setting up the key players in different locations. This story is a few years in the making, with Staples spending a lot of time getting it to look as awesome as humanly possible. This is very much achieved, as it look absolutely incredible. It’s some of the best art to grace the pages of 2000AD in a long time, and that’s saying a lot.

Wagner’s writing is pretty incredible here, too; it’s a dark, gloomy beginning. It’s a very subtle start to the story, with very little action. The focus here is building the atmosphere and hyping up the return of the Dark Judges.

Out of context fun: two random panels showing the amazing art of the main story.

That’s a tough story to follow. The return of the Dark Judges? IN SPACE?!? It’s entirely downhill from here, right?!?
No.

Following that is The Visible Man: The Screams in the Walls, by Pat Mills and David Hitchcock. The visible man is kind of like the Invisible Man, except it’s only his skin that’s invisible. Not the most useful super power.

Our hero, Frank, is on the run with his partner when they stumble upon a wrecked priest’s house, with the priest sitting around. You know this isn’t going to go well. And it doesn’t!

The writing here is definitely not bad in any way, but the anthology format does make things feel a bit rushed. It still has the 2000AD vibe, though and is very at home in the book. The art is dark and gritty. The fact that it’s in black and white helps add tpo the bleakness. It’s a good looking chapter.

We also have the first part of a new Ulysses Sweet Story by Guy Adams and Paul Marhsall.

"Sweet" is right. Click on each of these to enlarge (do we still have to tell you that?)

Sweet is a psycho that makes other psychos concerned for their own general well being. He makes mass murderers want to lock their doors at night. He’s so dangerous, he has been put on a curfew and forced to have a psychologist chip planted in his brain. Something he is not fond of. The story follows Sweet as he rids himself of his irritatingly upbeat new doctor and begins his search for his classic, more cynical doctor.

It’s a fun story and Adams [A writer we love, here on Trash Mutant! - Ed.] makes Sweet a loveable nutjob. You can keep your Deadpools and your Dominos, Ulysses Sweet is the ultimate badass merc.

It also looks great, with Marshall’s art being a little reminiscent of another 2000AD veteran, Steve Dillon. It still keeps its own original feel, though.

Taking a break from the Thrills, the comic also has a little quiz about 2000AD! Not going to lie, new readers are going to outright fail this quiz. It’s still a lot of fun, though!
 
A Rogue Trooper spin-off, Jaegir: Brothers in Arms follows the story of Atalia Jaegir as she retells the story of how she was bullied by her brothers for being part Souther, how the only brother to show her any kindness was killed on the battlefield and how things only got worse from there.

Written by Gordon Rennie, with art by Simon Coleby, this is one of the more interesting stories in the book. Both this and the return of the Dark Judges will definitely keep you reading in the new year.

Jaegir

Coleby’s art matches Rennie’s script perfectly, proving that these two make an excellent team. His art is gloomy but full of life. The style is perfect for war stories, making things look bleak and hopeless. Ina  good way, of course.

Finishing of the book is Judge Dredd: The Ghosts of Christmas Presents by Michael Carrol and Karl Richardson. In this final Thrill, we follow Titus Axle, a member of one of Mega City’s crime families. When their psychics fail to warn them of an attack from a rival family during a job, they’re forced to hide out, with the boss, Pops Pomerantz, planning to retaliate.

Exactly how Dickens envisioned it.

The story is basically A Christmas Carol, but really really short. It’s a fun, festive way to end the book. It also looks nice and colourful, without sacrificing any grimy nastiness.

This isn’t all the book contains, of course! There are some excellent stories in here by the likes of Rob Williams and John Burns. It’s all good, and I’ve only told you about a handful. Every story is worth your time. Buy it as an early present for yourself! It’ll be the best present you get this year.


This comic came out today. It should also be bought today. GO GET IT.

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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