Comics: 2000AD Prog 2079 - Reviewed




2000AD is a British anthology series featuring several different stories from different writers and artists in each issue. The company 2000AD has been around for over 40 years and is probably best known for introducing us to the character Judge Dredd and his violent futuristic world. This issue contains five stories that feature Judge Dredd, Sinister Dexter, Anderson, Psi-Division, Future Shocks, and Strontium Dog, with a cover from Mick McMahon. 

The first story is the start of the new Dredd thriller “Judge Dredd: Nans of Anarchy Part 1” and was written by Alec Worley, art by Karl Richardson, and lettered by Annie Parkhouse. Tenants of the Betty White retirement block are facing eviction, with Dredd warning them that they have less than a month to vacate. The surviving members of the Betty White motorcycle club The Valkyries are looking for one big score to avoid being evicted, but Dredd has other plans for the group. I particularly liked McMahon's mixture of detailed lines and heavily shaded areas, and having some of the panels break into other panels or the white background of the page. 

This is followed by “Sinister Dexter: The Gangbusters" and was written by Dan Abnett, illustrated by Steve Yeowell, colored by John Charles, and lettered by Annie Parkhouse. Sinister Dexter follows Finnigan Sinister and Ramone Dexter, the best hitman in the future city of Downlode. In this new story, Sinister and Dexter look to take out a notorious ganglord while he's out sky-scrapping, a new sport that allows people to fly stunt drones. Sinister and Dexter believe that this is the only way to get close to their mark. It's a World War II battle in the skies as the artists channel the British comic series Air Ace Picture Library from the '60s. The duo and world of Sinister and Dexter continue to impress me and the humor is very reminiscent of Deadpool, with their choice of dialogue, breaking the fourth wall, and hitman violence,

The third story is “Anderson, Psi-Division: Undertow Part 6” and was written by Emma Beeby, illustrated by David Roach, colored by Jose Villarrubia, and lettered by Simon Bowland. Anderson is the top telepath (seen in the film Dredd) of the Psi-Division and is currently investigating the murder of another psi-Judge with her partner Judge Flowers. With everyone in major peril battling an army of vampires, the action hits a fevered pitch. The art from Roach in this part is terrific and is filled with a mixture of horror and intense action. There is a just an immense amount of detail on these pages, from heavily shaded areas to intricate linework and cross hatching. 


This is followed by “Future Shocks: An Inconvenient Tooth” and was written by Martin Feekins, illustrated by Joe Palmer, and lettered by Ellie de Ville. These stories are kind of similar to Black Mirror episodes, unusual cautionary tales set in a strange futuristic society. This tale is no different. Palmer's art is what shines through in this tale, it's slightly cartoony and is completely black and white. With the pages being black and white, it puts a wonderful emphasis on the actual details and style of the art. 

The final story is “Strontium Dog: The Son Part 7” and was written by John Wagner, illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra, and lettered by Ellie de Ville. Set in the future after the Strontium 90 fallout, Strontium Dog is a mutant bounty hunter that works for the Search/Destroy agency. He is currently on the Planet Protoz with a new hitman named Kenton, where the leaders of Protoz have presented them with a nearly impossible mission. Part 7 of the story sees Strontium attempting to save Kenton from the Glazers, a pair of beings that have a bounty on them. Once again, Strontium Dog is masterfully crafted by the legendary Ezquerra (co-creator of Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog) and the art is just so rich in his unique look and style.

2000AD is a must read anthology series for fans of sci-fi and futuristic stories. With multiple tales in each issue, there's always a little bit of something to appeal to everyone.

-RV