4 out of 5

Dredd, besides being a staple in 2000 AD, can definitely help to shape the reading experience: with two really strong Dredd tales leading the way, the remaining thrills get a bump.

So let’s start with some of the lesser (in my opinion) tales.

Scarlet Traces: Home Front.  This concludes at part 12, in 2138.  I haven’t had much success with Scarlet Traces in past progs, and that repeats here: bits and pieces of the Mars vs. Venus vs. Earth storyline are spread too far apart by Kek-W to make me care much about the characters or what’s happening, with things only really picking up when we’re down in the trenches of a scuffle.  Oppositely, while D’Israeli’s art shines in the more downbeat moments, with his stylization and color contrasts helping to bring out the humanity amidst the sci-fi, his larger scale sequences aren’t very moving, with the same effects mentioned above just undercutting the scope and animation.  I think if you’re already into ST, this continues the battle, but there’s no new “in” to grab me.

Replacing Scarlet Traces is Indigo Prime, which is, like, one of my least favorite strips ever.  That’s why these progs maintain a high rating – you swap out my stinker for another.  Kek-W’s writing has no sense of rhythm to my ears, which is only encouraged by the incredibly random nature of IP’s otherworldy police corps.  Lee Carter’s photo-esque, stiff style makes for some fantastic pinups, but struggles with Kek’s already strewn about narrative.  Again, if you’re a fan, I think this delivers, but for me, this is just more “shit’s gone wrong and Indigo Prime does random stuff to fix it.”

Trekking into the mid-ground, we have Emma Beeby’s / Aneke’s continuation of the Judge Karyn / werewolf-y storyline in Anderson, Psi-Division.  While Beeby sort of under utilizes Judge Flowers, and I tend to find Beeby’s writing jumpy when momentum kicks up in her stories, this twisty exploration of guilt and justice in Anderson’s and Karyn’s mind is interesting, although Aneke has trouble detailing some of the psi-trickery that takes place.  I do like how Emma has dug in to Karyn’s psychology instead of just chalking her up as either a monster or a lost cause, and Martyrs truly evolves her storyline.

Thistlebone: T.C. Eglington and Simon Davis have ex-cult member Avril return to her past haunt – Harrowvale – with a reporter.  Davis has taken some of panel experimentation he used in Slaine and applied it to a slow-burn, creepy exploration of truth vs. fiction from Eglington.  Some horror / thriller tropes tip-toe in, when it might’ve been nice to keep things vague, but it understandably gives the story some shape.  What’s most rewarding here, though, are the characters: T.C. and Davis give Avril and reporter Seema Chaudry real shape and weight, and we very much want to see them both through the story.

In the winner’s circle: Absalom’s conclusion, from Gordon Rennie and Tiernan Trevallion.  Harry and crew descend, essentially, into Hell, for ‘that one final mission:’ to rescue Harry’s kids.  Using Harry’s encroaching sickness and the mind-tricks of the location, Rennie takes us through the horrors of Harry’s psyche, while his team battles through some creepy thrills, illustrated with awesome embellishment and energy by Trevallion.

The first of our Dredds, The Samaritan, is one of the most delightfully brutal Dredd-y things I’ve read recently, from Kenneth Niemand and Staz Johnson.  What seems like might be setup for a new character – an unregistered psi who uses her abilities to run an underground hospital, only to find herself patching up ol’ Joe himself – is not only gripping from installment to installment, but manages to bow out with a true gut punch.  Rory McConville does a funny one off with Tom Foster, before Rob Williams and Chris Weston return with Judge freakin’ Pin.  And we know, by this point, that Pin is twisted, but when she manages to catch Joe, they just ratchet the whole thing up.  Yes, of course, Joe will always survive, but this really puts us in a life-or-death situation, which is proof of not only the longevity of the character/s, but certainly also of the skill Rob brings to the writerly table, given grounded grit by the great Weston.