4 out of 5

I can ignore Indigo Prime for a tense Dredd, a back-on-the-ball SinDex, and a burtal Jaegir.

And to be fair: I get why people might dig Indigo Prime’s random antics.  I was remarking (to myself) that one thing that helps 2000 A.D. stand apart is that I often don’t think the thrills are bad, just rather not to my taste.  There are huge talents working on all of these things, and it’s rare that I actually take issue with their quality.  I might not think that Lee Carter’s stiff art is best for Kek-W’s fanciful, jumpy scripting style, but Carter is an amazing artist capable of some awesome imagery.  And I couldn’t follow a lick of what Kek was laying down here, which, to me, boiled down to the IP crew just shooting guns at imaginary things while insane, imagination-constructed creations wreaked havoc, but he drops enough consistent concepts and sci-fi lingo to suggest a built world that I’m sure others appreciate.  And as this was the only thrill in the brief run that I wasn’t super keen on, fair enough.

There’s also a 3riller in this set from Andi Ewington and Ben Willsher that was probably better suited as a Future Shock; it’s just an extended action sequence, but given that the action looks great, I’m down.

On to the four star material: the great Mike Carroll and a growing artist fave of mine, Nick Dyer (a blend of McMahon expressiveness with the grit of Glen Fabry) take us on an undercover op from start to finish, with the unwilling operative – Barbara Grimm – caught between two bad choices.  While I’ll admit that I’m a little confused who was narrating this, it’s a gripping crime story told from Grimm’s point of view, doing tasks for the prisoners in the prison in which she works, then coerced into doing the same for the Judges as recompense.  This builds to a point where you truly can’t figure what’s going to come next, and I’m glad to see that Carroll might be using this to again build on his corner of the Dreddverse.

SinDex have a couple of short, isolated adventures again, with writer Dan Abnett forever finding new ways to put his guns-for-hire into trouble while also edging along plot elements bit by bit.  SinDex is, generally, just a ton of fun, and these shorts are on that level.  Plus, ever since Yeowell’s colors have been given a painterly touch from John Charles, the art has gained infinite depth, calling back to the Simon Davis era.

And then Jaegir: Atalia’s been taken prisoner in a contentiously-run Souther camp.  As other Southers feud with the leadership, Atalia’s fellow Nords stage a rescue.  What I’ve often respected about Jaeigr has been Gordon Rennie’s and Simon Coleby’s willingness to have their ‘heroine’ be anything but: she’s not glamorous, she’s a soldier, and she’s put through shit.  This arc, like, triples down on that, and we know Rennie isn’t adverse to offing his leads or ending his thrills, so there’s always the thought that things could actually end next prog…

A good run, clearing the way for a bumper prog of new starts in 2150.