2000AD #2250 Review
Writers: Rob Williams; Arthur Wyatt; Ian Edginton; Gordon Rennie; Dan Abnett; Roger Langridge; Maura McHugh; Chris Weston
Art: Jake Lynch; D'Israeli; Antonio Fuso; Mark Harrison; Brett Parson; Lee Carter; Chris Weston
Publisher: Rebellion
Prog 2250 is a "jumping on prog"; a semi-regular occurrence where 2000AD’s alien editor Tharg the Mighty turns the thrill-power dial up to 11, with all new intended to entice new readers.
Judge Dredd: The Hard Way catches balls which have been in the air for a long time, with Judge Maitland again facing the threat of assassination. If you look back a whole year you’ll find references to “The Red Queen”, and this episode lines up a new threat from the shadowy underworld figure. A comedically long amount of time is spent listing an ensemble cast of killers, and the threat they pose, each one interesting and unique.
Spending so long in the line up, that Dredd barely makes an appearance, the Hard Way is shaping up to be another great story, and another fantastically long arc from Rob Williams. Will Maitland’s controversial plan to defund the police actually work, or will she be silenced forever?
Also harking back to earlier stories is The Diaboliks: Arrivederci Roma. The paranormal troubleshooters set up their next adventure whilst on a journey through Rome to an unusual embassy. It’s an odd one, with plenty of characters part way through their own stories – at one point, an “editor’s note” actually references a future episode.
In Scarlet Traces: Storm Front, a Venusian soldier returns home after time on the front line...sort of. Ian Edginton and D’Israeli’s Scarlet Traces was originally published by Dark Horse as kind-of-steampunk sequel to HG Welles’ war of the Worlds, where a resurgent British Empire has asserted itself by co-opting Martian technology. The more recent stories in the universe have leapt across the solar system and through time. Storm Front is a direct continuation of Home Front, set in an alternative 1960s with refugees from Venus living in Britain and contributing to a resentful British society. It’s an intelligent look at a post war world where Britain was indeed dependent on foreign born citizens who it treated, and continues to treat, appallingly.
Throwing us part way into a confusing adventure and then pulling the rug away just a few pages in, Scarlet Traces is an interesting if confusing read. D’Isreali’s hallucinogenic re-imagining of Welles’ tripods and the switch in tone that occurs part way through is impressive.
PSI Judge Anderson: Be PSI-ing You is another tale that picks up a long thread. Judge Corann is on the run through the Undercity beneath Mega City One, whilst her bosses meet to discuss something that happened in this year’s 2000AD Sci-Fi Special.
There’s not really a full explanation of what’s going on to keep us up to date. Lee Carter’s art strangely lacking in background, with most panels limited to characters in a grey void.
Con artist Mary Poppins-a-like Pandora Perfect looks up an old friend in Mystery Moon. It’s a knockabout romp, entirely uncynical and full of fun. One of the joys of the anthology format is that it allows for stuff like this, which could easily fit in to a kid’s comic.
Future Shock: The Guardian and the Godchild is so good, it made me angry. It’s not a reaction I’ve had before, so let me explain….
Artist Chris Weston becomes Artist/Writer Chris Weston with a story set in a beautiful imagined feudal Japan. A Samurai has failed in his duties and become a masterless ronin, only for his life to be given new purpose when he discovers an alien craft which he takes to be a messenger from heaven. For two whole pages it’s a wonderful set up, a glimpse of a possible story that could easily become a long running adventure. Mr Weston’s art is suitably downbeat – brown tones for flashback, green for alien encounter, an effortless physicality to the characters. The script is sparse, simple, direct and clean.
It’s a beautiful creation. I wanted to know more. I wanted to explore this world and learn more of its people...but The Guardian and the Godchild had other plans.
In another wonderfully strange land beginning to be explored, intergalactic explorer Cyd returns in The Out.
A hit with readers in 2020, The Out told the tale of a far future photojournalist whose travellers had taken her so far into alien worlds that none of the locals had ever heard of “humans” from “Earth”. It took a darker turn as Cyd drifted further from her point of origin, only to loop back into strangeness as she either gained an AI friend or, alternatively, had a total mental breakdown and started conversing with inanimate objects.
The Out: Book Two is filled with light and laughter and fun details (such as Cyd’s vest declaring her a "HILF"), but coupled with a deep sadness as she struggles to find another human. There’s not a huge amount in terms of action or plot, but it’s just a lovely adventure to join Cyd in her travels.
There’s not a single bad story here, and a few of them are excellent. So it’s a great prog, but is this the ideal starting point? Almost all of the stories rely on backstory, or are actually part way through a longer arc. If you're a new reader whose willing to spend a bit of time not actually knowing what's really going on, Prog. 2250 is a great example of what 2000AD can do