4 out of 5

Some publication-woes apparently occurred as to whether or not Rebellion would be giving us a FCBD this year, but thankfully folks eventually got their heads screwed on straight, and here we are.

Some interesting changes from the previous year, though: most noticeably that we’re printed in an American-sized format, instead of the traditional magazine dimensions.  Very interesting, Matt Smith and crew; makes one wonder if that was a concession to getting this book out there, or if it was a planned bid for netting more US eyes.  It’s a bit of a bummer, in a way, as the mag format is ingrained into the 2000 AD DNA, but then again, the re-presented tales as of late – Aquila, Ichabod Azrael – have been US-sized as well, so maybe we can consider it part of a larger marketing strategy.  Either way, this gets added to this year’s other wrinkle: AMERICANS INVADING 2000 AD!  Eric Powell gets a shot at Dredd; Joëlle Jones at another Mega-City corner with Rat-Fink.  So it adds another possible to our list of reasons for the size change: as a favor to its corn-flake bred contributors.  Who freaking knows, right?  All I’m saying is that I miss the magazine format, and I do think it’s the proper way to present something if it comes bearing the full 2000 AD title.

Content-wise, while we do get a classic Strontium Dog, this again feels a bit more commercialized than usual by featuring samples of very recent thrills: The Order and Bad Company.  If you’re coming into it fresh, this totally makes sense, but, again, curmudgeon here going for a classic vibe: the mish-mash of new and old really sold the history of the book in a way these new titles don’t.  Sigh.  Anyhoo… the selections are well sequenced to bounce between humor (Dredd), horror (Fodder – a history / vampire mix), sci-fi (The Order), and an example of the one-shot style via a Tharg’s Terror Tales.  While I don’t know if any one entry here really stands out, or would necessarily get me interested in reading more of any given tale, I do think – all of my criticisms aside – that the FCBD 2016 accomplishes maybe its main task of giving the reader a good sense of what 2000 AD can be all about.  The seeming concessions humble it a bit, but it’s a whopping 48 pages of solid content nonetheless.