5 out of 5

Mwah.

2000 AD is normally pretty awesome, and understandably the mixed batch of thrills are going to appeal to different people at different times, so it’s always super pleasing when the particular mix appeals to you.  And with this set of stories, I devoured each and every thrill.  …Plus… an amazing jumping-on issue that even makes Brass Sun seem exciting again.

So Enceladus concludes.  While I have to admit to feeling lost once Dirty Frank appeared, as his part in things relies heavily on the reader knowing of his previous appearances, the overall vibe of this series still hit hard and massive, with Henry Flint’s down and dirty artwork serving the insanity perfectly in the last few parts, when things really began to – no pun intended – heat up.  As is usually the case with 2000 AD, the conclusion drops somewhat suddenly, but at the same time, kudos to Rob Williams for giving us an acceptable gist explanation for the “how” of rebel judge Nixon being resurrected as an ice demon.  And almost any conclusion was worth the shot of Dredd on the frikkin horse.  When this closes out, we get Ian Edginton’s followup Ghost Town, which doesn’t give much talk-time to Enceladus, but uses the post-effects to justify exploring Dredd’s oversight of a team of ex- or would-be judges known as Rangers to be used as a small policing squad.  Dave Taylor draws all the figures a bit leaner than usual, which is interesting, and the script is somewhat normal Dredd but compelling nonetheless, with the type of interesting one-off characters that the Dredd world allows for moreso than any other comic universe.

The Alienist delivers an excellent first outing, with Eoin Coveney giving the art a nice Kevin O’Neill vibe, albeit with his own distinct angles and expressions that sell the overblown gothic setup of the mysteries lead posing as a spiritualist of sorts, ridding the planet of alien invaders who’ve taken the guise of spooks – this spook in this particular series picking an ingenious and fun hiding spot that provides a nice escalation of events over the course of the progs.  Rennie and Beeby make an excellent team as usual, the script bouncing along with a large cast of characters that are well effected for letting us appreciate their parts to play in the drama.

Robert Murphy gives us one of the most well-rounded Tharg’s 3rillers I’ve read, each part of ‘Apocalypse Anonymous’s interdimensional invasion tale giving us plot or character payoffs in perfect amounts for a short story.  Sean O’Connor’s and J. Lynch’s interestingly limber art was also definitely a highlight (helped by Aibgail Ryder’s warm and vibrant colors); I look forward to seeing their work matched to more progs soon.

Grey Area still suffers from some murky art, but I’m loving where Dan Abnett has taken the story, and it finally feels like our off-planet crew is able to move the plot forward by getting their “captors” to understand the threat of the God-Star that will soon destroy the planet.  Again, we’re in-an-out, the series delivered in small story chunks, but each entry felt like a proper ramp up this time and not a weird sidestep.

And after some hype, Dreams of Deadworld arrives, by Kek-W and insanely wonderfully dreadful (in a good way) painted art by Dave Kendall.  The series was pitched as a view of the Dark Judges before their world went all extincty.  It is, but the moments chosen aren’t necessarily all that poignant.  Still, I dig the evolution of the tale (from a dream by Kendall), and it’s good to explore these characters in any way possible.  Plus, at only four parts – one per judge – you can’t be too disappointed.

So these stories alone are all worth that five out of five rating.  But that’s too say nothing of the jumping on prog, which kicks off what should be a fun Dredd mystery with the great, slick art of Colin Macneil; Pat Mills zombie killer Defoe – not a Mills fan but this seems like a good outlet for his campy side – the next Brass Sun chapter, which earns points by jumping ahead (I… think) in a narrative that I felt was wandering since the beginning; and craziest awesome of all – new Bad Company!  Modern Milligan is more often miss than hit for me, but it’s still great to see these characters back in the game.

Jumping ons are always great; of course, the next months progs will show us if the followups can keep the momentum going…