2000AD #2200 REVIEW

Writers: Rob Williams; Arthur Wyatt; Rory McConville; Alec Worley; Dan Abnett; James Peaty; Ian Edginton
Artists: Joel Carpenter; Leigh Gallagher; Nicolo Assirelli; Paul Marshall; D’Israeli
Colours: John Charles; Dylan Teague
Letters: Annie Parkhouse; Simon Bowland; Jim Campbell
Publisher: Rebellion

Prog 2200 is a jumping-on issue, intended to be the ideal starting point for new readers. The cover might say “all new stories”, but that’s not entirely true…

Dredd is still recovering from the trauma of the last few months, but takes to the streets to quell a riot in Judge Dredd: Carry The Nine. Featuring some truly beautiful art from Boo Cook, Carry the Nine is full of lovely little comedy and character moments amid the typical Mega City madness. Carry the Nine continues directly on from the events of last week, with Dredd still coping with his growing exhaustion, but eager to get back in the saddle.

The story cuts between Dredd on the streets and a budget meeting, but both manage to be high on tension. The city is again on the brink of collapse! Can Accounts Judge Maitland balance the budget in time? Drama!

In the one-off Futureshock: Omnidetectorists, interplanetary scavengers descend on the remains of a recently collapsed civilisation, eager to loot the wreckage. It’s a nice little tale, providing a bit of misdirection before the final twist. Art is by Joel Carpenter, who provides some nice alien design, although the line art feels a little light and looks like it could do with some colour.

Killer shark Hookjaw makes a surprise debut for 2000AD this prog. Essentially a Jaws rip-off, Hookjaw originally appeared in the pages of Action back in 1976 – a comic that was so bloody and violent the British government actually discussed the damaging effect it was having on the nation’s youth. More recently, the killer shark has appeared in short series by writer Si Spurrier and artist Connor Boyle.

This most recent re-imagining gives the killer shark a magical backstory, in which previous strips were just another retelling of an old legend. It’s a nice idea and well executed, building interesting characters through small details...although the shocking finale suggests that this updated Hookjaw might go in an unusual direction.

The A.I taking over Downlode has taken control of Sinister, and Dexter is forced to fight his oldest friend in SinisterDexter: Ghostlands. This is part three of the latest book of Sinister Dexter, and marks the 25 anniversary of the strips appearance. The emotional heft of this week’s shocking episode will likely be lost on new readers, since there’s a huge amount of backstory here. For long term readers this episode is a shocking development with major implications, despite consisting mostly of a small group of characters having a fight in a couple of empty rooms.

I’ve always found Skiptracer strangely flat. The tale of a man with vague psychic powers who lives in a big cube-city in space rules over by a nondescript evil government, There’s nothing wrong with Skiptracer. It’s just never had quite enough individual character to get get me excited.

Skiptracer: Hyperballad starts as tradition decrees, with Nolan running a bit before demonstrating his powers. This time round, the mission is to protect a tiny, anime popstar from the sort of people who might want to steal tiny, anime popstars.

After a sabbatical of six years, Stickleback finally returns to the pages of 2000AD with New Jerusalem.

Set in a steampunk Victorian London under attack from Lovecraftian entities, Stickleback is “The Pope of Crime”: a mastermind who rules over a criminal empire. New Jerusalem immediately provides a satisfying explanation of Stickleback’s secret origins, revealed in the final panel of the last story published way back in Prog 1911. It’s an episode that long terms fans will have been waiting for, but which provides a nice opener to new readers.

Also Jim Campbell does some great work, building on the style used by dearly missed letterer Ellie De Ville, who passed away last year.