3 out of 5

A successfully average Regened, weighed down rather heavily by an XL Lowborn High, which continues to remain – both in writing and art – as middleground and safe as possible. 

Prior to that. our Cadet Dredd kicks things off mostly strongly, with Toby Willsher’s expressive art (and painted-looking colors?) a great fit for Ned Hartley’s surreal tale, involving Joe being sent into Rico’s dreams. The beginning to get us there is clunky, and the ending is similarly abrupt (like, give Lowborn’s pages to Dredd…), but inbetween, Hartley uses a semi-typical concept for very atypical results, resulting in a unique exploration of the twins. 

Lowborn High. I like Anna Morozova’s bubbly, swirly-line art style, and I don’t find David Barnett’s Hogwarts for witch flunkies premise without promise, just this strip has seemed to take all the uninspired norms of YA comics and mush them together. None of the characters or world feel especially defined; there’s an acceptable Archie Comics vibe to it. This outing, everyone gets and familiar, and one of ’em is a murderous panda, which is worth a giggle, plus what could be an interesting character addition for Drill, except it’s boiled down to predictable YA stuff. I recognize this strip had utility, but not for me. 

Michael Carroll’s Rogue Trooper-youths strip Mayflies finally takes shape for me, suggesting this will be a really solid tale to collect. The teens are still on the run, at a crossroads between Norts and Southers,  but we’ve had enough time to settle the characters and tone, that it all starts to vibe. And with that – a more even tone – Simon Coleby’s art feels more at home. This is primed to become a standout. 

A kinda unfunny Robo-Hunter text piece by Scott Montgomery is a new type of entry for the Regeneds. This is, as that sentence may suggest, somewhat of a miss, but I’m pro trying out text pieces in the Regeneds for sure. 

Finally, a somewhat tone-def, mean-spirited Future Shocks from James Peaty, but Gary Welsh’s art has a Roger Langridge meets Neil Googe vibe I really enjoyed.