3 out of 5

Nothing bad, nothing too great, but I appreciate that Regened feels like it’s settling into something of a rhythm, where I have my expectations for each entry, and they’re just about met.

James Peaty’s Cadet Dredd is right in line with this middle-of-the-road vibe, as young Joe doesn’t differentiate himself much from old Joe except via his helmet color. “The Exchange” covers a cadet exchange with MC-2, and the uncovering of some nefarious deeds as a result. “Middle-of-the-road,” to reunderline, is not bad, and this is solid and well-paced, just without any notable character. What’s more noteworthy is artist Joe Currie, whose figure- and linework has a Frank Quitely vibe to it that will be worth watching develop.

Lowborn High continues… forever. I appreciate that this has mostly kicked off its Harry Potter vibes (besides it being about a school for young wizard types…), but that only means it’s become almost completely without distinction. It’s inoffensive, and plays it very, very safe, giving us different typical character archetypes, and here playing up a “you’re best being yourself” moral, when someone makes a magical pact to drastically alter themselves… with dire consequences. Mike Walters’ art gets a bump from before, showing a bit more confidence and detail, but whatever David Barnett is doing with cutaways to a council of witches needs to move along, at least for my tastes.

Renk returns, and I’m still totally down with a fantasy world P.I. shtick, even if Paul Starkey can’t quite nail the execution – the trail of clues feels a little muddled, and the ending falls flat. But you can feel the world evolving, and I suspect that will strengthen the voice of the characters as well, which might help to paper over weak mysteries (which are surely hard to cram into only a few pages anyway!). Really enjoying Anna Readman’s detail-stuffed art – my vote for a strip that should continue.

Lastly, Karl Stock is paired with the very unexpected (because I wouldn’t have picked his weightier, painted style for Regened – but totally pleased to see him here!) Toby Willsmer for Future Shock Autocop, with Stock again proving a reliable hand at these one-shots, giving us strips that could play just as well in 2000 AD. I expected to be rolling my eyes at an AI swipe, as our lead character is made redundant by the tech, but the strip winds its way to a classic conclusion that’s in line with Future Shocks of any generation.