2000AD, PROG 2115 REVIEW

Writer: John Wagner; Dan Abnett; James Peaty; Robert Murphy; Ian Edginton
Artists: Colin MacNeil; INJ Culbard; Paul Marshall; Steven Austin; Tiernan Trevallion
Colourists: Chris Blythe; Quinto Winter; Pippa Mather
Letterers: Annie Parkhouse; Simon Bowland; Ellie De Ville 
Publisher: Rebellion



In pushing current events to ludicrous extremes, 2000AD frequently predicts the future. On the day I received my preview copy of Prog 2115, the British Prime Minister narrowly kept her job after a vote aimed at removing her government from office. Theresa May clings on, resolutely determined to enact policies that her own supporters have rejected.

In Judge Dredd: Machine Law, Chief Judge Hershey discusses her plan to step down, knowing that after Dredd’s public loss of faith in her leadership she no longer has the support she needs. It couldn’t have been more on-point if Hershey has danced her way onto the page to the strains of Abba, only to announce some meaningless patriotic sound-bites. “Justice means justice. The law of the people. An eagle based Brexit”.

John Wagner’s genius isn't just in his ability to predict the future, but in his multi-level scenes and storylines. As Hershey seemingly regrets losing Dredd as a friend, Dredd sees politicking and potential betrayal. Elsewhere, robot Judge Randy deals with a hostage situation in very Dredd-like fashion, whilst shamelessly questioning if the old man is still fit to be on the streets. Hershey’s subtle hints about "strains on the department", and Dredd’s stoney faced silence when faced with the solution, speak volumes. John Wagner is back on Dredd scripting duties, and all is right in the world.

On the theme of predicting the future, a bunch of high-ranking religious fundamentalists try to bring forth the apocalypse in Brink: High Society. It’s just a matter of time, folks.

Even as it approaches its climax, Brink takes its time. This genuinely unnerving horror has resisted tipping its hand to show anything supernatural. Whilst many comics, and most media, throw death and bullets around with macho abandon, Brink is more grounded in its approach. Violence is rare, with the horror and tension mostly conveyed through clever but realistic dialogue.

Bridget and Ludo have confronted the cultists as they launch their plan to poison the air supply. But how do you reason with the unreasonable, and how can you threaten people without fear? As Joel from Human Resources points out, these people have nothing left to loose.

Tharg’s 3Rillers is perhaps a flawed format. Whilst single issue Future Shocks demand concise storytelling, three part stories are often pitches for ongoing series, and are either a little flabby or feel incomplete. Keeper of Secrets gets of to a great start by completely abandoning expectations, simply introducing a character as if she’s been here all along.

A young man accidentally curses his boss, with shocking results. Meanwhile, a psychic investigator feels a disturbance in the force. It’s smart, concise storytelling that doesn’t mess around.

Fiends of the Western Front comes to an end this Prog, after several episodes of fighting. Fiends has been fine. It’s done nothing wrong, and successfully dragged a character from the vast back-catalogue of British comics recently obtained by publishers Rebellion into 2000AD’s mainstream. Unfortunately, Fiends has also mostly revolved around a couple of fight scenes, with none of the folk-themed lore of wider world of the previous Fiends' chapter.  Its ending feels a little incomplete, but fits well into the Fiends-universe.

Skip Tracer: Louder Than Bombs feels like storytelling from a previous era. Whilst it’s a decent story with some nice art, it also feels a collection of ideas that you’ve probably seen in other comics or movies. This Prog, Nolan has a conversation with an angry mechanic who somehow knows what happened in a top-secret military base in the last story...but the whole thing just seems to be an opportunity for something predictable to take place elsewhere.