Comic Review 182 // 2000 AD Prog 1335

Oooooo excited for this epic double Judge Dredd alien feature. With two cover options! The main cover is by Jock and is the blog post's main image above. It features Judge Dredd shouting while an alien Queen roars in the background. This is portrayed in a stunning orange pallet and really stands out. Then the follow-up image below is by Chris Blythe and shows Dredd about to be swarmed by xenomorphs in a more relaxed colour scheme. Both are very visually striking, and I think Jock's piece takes the win just. I am honestly hoping for an epic finish to the tale.

Okay, straight into the thick of it with Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus Part 15. It has been a wild ride, lots of action to the series, and this issue does not let up. We get a great scene where Dredd has accepted his fate and gunslinger-style attacks the Queen Alien. This, of course, pisses off the entire nest, it is at this point Judge Giants' team arrives, and we get a Mechanismo vs Queen punch up! The droid loses big time, losing the Nuke it was carrying. With little choice left, Dredd attempts to purge the nest with lava, and it is at this point that I will stop with spoilers. Go read it yourself! It is an excellent ending to great series, and I really hope the follow-up stories stay strong as this was an epic way to reintroduce myself to the prog formats.

Unfortunately, we follow up this incredible story with V.C.s Charon. I can't get into this series! Luckily this is also the last tale for them and has the team attempting to slingshot the Gravity of Pluto's Moon Charon. Unfortunately for the team, their ship is hit, and they plunge into the planet's gravity before disappearing. I assume there is book three, but I am not sad to this end. It is a definite miss for me.

Atavar II Part 7. After attempting to find the Wosk, Atavar and Worldbeaker are left playing chase as they seek out the Wosk who believe their God has arrived to save them. Turns out the giant mass at the core of Rim space is anything but Godly! Turns out the Wosk has invited the bringer of death to all things organic! Great way to end this series. We have gone from searching for an ally to discovering the end of all! After a rough start with this series, I ultimately have grown to enjoy this. Hopefully, Book 3 isn't too far away.

And just like that, we reach an end. A solid book; sad to see the end of the Alien crossover and Atavar but delighted to say farewell to the V.C.s. Let me know what you think of the comic. I love hearing your thoughts.

Until next time cheers for reading!

Comic Review 180 // 2000 AD Prog 1334

Sad news, everyone; as I write this piece, I have discovered my beloved Pixelbook 2017 edition Chromebook has died. Sadly the motherboard has fried, and replacement parts are stupidly expensive. Luckily, I still have my gaming P.C. and an old Lenovo tablet, but I will miss reading my comics on such a beautiful system.

This week's prog review replaces my audiobook slot as I have struggled to find time to listen to anything. But it does allow us to continue through the year 2003, we have reached April 2nd, and we have a V.C.s cover image; it gives us no real hint as to what may be inside, I am also finding the series a little dull, so this doesn't fill me with joy.

As always, we start with Judge Dredd VS Aliens: Incubus Part 14. Wow, this series just keeps going! Judge Dredd and Sanchez have escaped the Alien resin and are lost in the nest. While this is happening, Judge Giant's extermination team is ambushed by the mutie gang hanging out in the ruins of the old world. A pretty exciting action pack start. It was also great to finally see the Queen appear!

Though I am enjoying the series, I miss the fear of the earlier issues. The xenomorphs have lost the edge and have become nearly non-threatening.

The new story up next is a Future Shock tale called Head. It is a bit of a silly adventure involving an art critic who gets his comeuppance and ultimately becomes a piece of art himself. These Future Shock tales make me think of Black Mirror. A nice little filler piece, I highly recommend this one.

The V.C.s E & E. Really not enjoying this series. I feel it is just too on the nose for a sci-fi adventure. In this week's story, the team loads up and attempts a rescue mission. The odds are heavily against them, and they soon discover a plot that could change the war's course. This is too much WW2-style adventure comic for me, I am sure this has a lot of fans, but sadly I am not one.

Tales of Telguuth: The Iniquities of Snedron Part 2. Sylvana flees her father and heads to the local tavern for help. Here she finds a rogue who is willing to kill her father in exchange for a night with her, but first, he needs her to steal her father's talisman of protection. Of course, all is not as it seems, and the twist is evident to workout, but such a fun and comical piece. Lovely artwork and storytelling.

Then to finish up the week, we have Atavar II Part 6. While searching the abandoned Wosk World, Atavar discovers a sole inhabitant. The Wosk is an unusual-looking creature with both Bat and Mouse features. While dealing with this creature, we question how advanced they are. They seem highly spiritual and lack their own weapons. When pushed about the missing population, our Wosk responds that they have left to see "God." Soon Atavar and Worldbreaker are gearing up and leaving the planet searching for this new being.

A fun enough tale. I found the Wosk annoying, and I am also confused about the scale. I thought Worldbreaker was a massive ship, but it seems at most the size of a small house? How can this be? Help me understand.

With the end of Atavar, we reach the end of issue 1334. Overall an enjoyable issue; even though I am not enjoying V.C, it is still a solid tale, and I can see the appeal. What are your thoughts? I hope you have been enjoying this series of quick reviews. As always, I appreciate you all and hope you have a fantastic week.

Comic Review 172 // 2000 AD Prog 1331

Here we go with another 2000 A.D. Prog. We are exploring Prog 1331, which came out on March 12th, 2003. The cover is a strange one featuring, at least to me, an unknown bearded man with glowing eyes. The catchline states, "The Atavar is Back from the Dead." So at least I know it is from the Dan Abnett Sci-fi strip, then across the top, we have a Caballistics story teased. Let us dive in.

Judge Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus Part 11: The halls of Justice are under siege with the Xenomorphs pouring in through the underhive. Even with the skills of the Verminators, the Judges are being pushed back. Judge Giant activates an extreme measure with a rising body count and releases the Mechanismo units.

Great opener. Good to see the Judges struggling against the Xenomorphs and not just gunning down a non-threatening alien. Also, I love the Mechanismo units; they are so cool!

Caballistics Inc. Moving in Part 1: Following on from the earlier story from 2003, we get to catch up with the Caballistics team as they move into Exham Priory. Unfortunately, it turns out that the new base of operation was once the home of Malcolm Critchley, a Magus of a Cult wiped out back in 1934. The final panel hints that something sinister is stirring in the house.

Solid start to a new series. I am interested in seeing how the creative team develops it; I am enjoying an occult story arc in the progs.

The V.C.s Bystander Part 2: We kind of meet a new race in this episode known as the Polity, a collective of advanced alien races, who could stop the war between the Humans and the Geeks but instead hide behind ethics to not get involved.

Bit of a slow-burning story. Intrigues to see where it goes.

Tales of Telguuth - Pagrok the Infallible Part 2: Continuing on Pagrok's adventures to rescue a Damsel and make himself stupidly rich in the process. A classic ending to a fable, the main character Pagrok gets his wealth and gold, just not the way he had hoped for.

Rather enjoyable two-parter, I might seek out the graphic to review.

Atavar II Part 3: The title story! Still don't fully understand this series. But the Atavar is a cloned human from our extinct race designed to help fight the UOS, who turns out to be created by humans. It would seem he has decided to help the alliance and is travelling back to the war fleet when he is ambushed by World Breaker, a gigantic ship!

No idea what the hell is happening, but I am enjoying it, hahaha.

Overall a hugely enjoyable issue. Gimme more!!