4 out of 5

Chris Weston on Dredd?  Sold.  But first: part two of the simple but weee Brendan McCarthy Hoverods, and then the intense Judge Pin wages a private ear via Mr. Williams and Weston, who of course does an awesome job, but of course of course we can only hold onto him for a couple progs.  Replaced by an equally exciting crew, though: rising star Rory McConville paired with Leigh Gallagher, spinning up the start to a promising tale on censorship.  A set of good-looking, entertaining Dredds.

Pat Mills and Colin MacNeil continue their current winning streak on Defoe, as the satire gets more and more biting as our leveller finally pinpoints the recent source of the reek infestation.  I’ve voiced my wishy-washyness toward Mills, and past Defoe strips have wandered a bit, but this one has maintained a great balance of plotting and humor.

Annett’s Brink ratchets the tension up and up.  It was a little disappointing when the supernatural aspect of this storyline was quaffed, but it’s definitely been for the best.  Although what happened to our cultists?  INJ Culbard is doing okay on the title, but I haven’t felt especially tied to his style the last few thrills, the bulk of the internet carried by Dan’s writing.

And wee howdy, after the last installment of Scarlet Traces (not much to say on that – I was interested during the infiltration aspect of the first half, but I’m not even sure what the focus of the last half was), more Abnett via Gray Area, which has become more and more of something I look forward to with each installment.  Mark Harrison’s art keeps getting sharper, too, as he refines his characters more over his blurry backgrounds.  The ETC crew has returned to Earth for some more one-shotty adventures – with Resting Bitch Face, et al. in tow! – as Abnett starts to lay groundwork for a likely inner-ETC conflict with a brusque newbie.

Last up is Rennie’s Hunted, which I believe started in the 40th anniversary issue.  Like a lot of Rennie’s Rogue Trooper stuff, my lack of familiarity with the history keeps me feeling somewhat lost, but as the bits and pieces of the story’s manhunt for a rebel Souther general roll in, I find myself fascinated week to week.  …Which is the strength of Rennie’s writing, but also, y’know, god bless P.J. Holden’s art.