Judge Dredd: Climate Crisis
- Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
- Rob Williams (Writer)
- P.J. Holden (Artist)
- Ned Hartley (Writer)
- Jack Davies (Colourer)
This continues to bounce along with a smile in its heart and a villain’s face attached to its hand. Holden is one of the best artists working today and he has so much fun here. Davies’ colouring too excels as the action gets bloody and inventive in that way Dredd is so uniquely suited for. The face removal is HORRIBLE, and is played as such. There’s no easy violence here, it all hurts. There’s an action beat where the weather control system is reversed which is especially horrible and it’s all sat inside a story that’s bigger than all of it’s characters think it is. The reveal on who Facechange’s new partner is works better if you read the original story but unlike a lot of the big continuity stuff recently, it still hits. Good, burly nasty fun.
Herne & Shuck: Power Trip
- Annie Parkhouse (Letterer)
- Gary Caldwell (Colourer)
- David Barnett (Writer)
- Lee Milmore (Artist)
Herne loses the vote, but there’s always a way…My favourite strip so far in the year comes to a close with a surprisingly calm ending. Herne and co literally plan their next move over a nice cup of tea and a sit down and I cannot fully articulate how here I am for this. This whole series has had a wonderfully crumpled energy to it and that’s carried through here into a neat set up for the next series.
The real highlight here though is the council. Milmore, Caldwell and Parkhouse make this wild collection of unique, terrifying individuals all seem real and lived in. That makes Herne’s cheery, panicky pragmatism even more impressive. I’m sorry to see it end, but I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Tharg’s 3rillers: Who is Adrian Apollo?
- John Charles (Colourer)
- Steven Austin (Artist)
- Rob Steen (Letterer)
- Liam Johnson (Writer)
Adrian Apollo is a womanising secrer agent for the Empire of Humanity. His latest job included a pink-skinned female alien warrior, a lot of booze and a planet destroying weapon.
Early days on this one, which is always the point with these sorts of stories. It feels, right now, like standard James Bond in space, but that’s the point. Johnson’s got a good ear for dialogue and Austin’s got a great eye for action. The fight here actually flows in a way a lot of others haven’t. Charles’ colour choices give it a nice European edge and Steen’s letters are great. Not much to it yet, but it’s a promising start for sure.
Brink: The Call of the Void
- Dan Abnett (Writer)
- INJ Culbard (Artist)
- Simon Bowland (Letterer)
Regina Castenada is on the Moon and she is hating every breathing second of it. Abnett’s measured pcing hits its stride this week, as does Culbard’s work. Reggie, down an arm, technically out of a job, is a great character and a great hook for our first steps onto the Moon. She hates this, she wants this and her brief interaction with Bridget tells us just how hungry she is.
But the concealed weapon of the story is one you have to come to, because it’s so much fun to discover. Abnett drops a stunning visual gag, a great piece of worldbuilding and a reveal in four panels and it changes the tone of the story instantly. Bowland’s letters play a vital role in that and as the episode finishes, the wide open spaces and cheer of Culbard’s lunar colony are cut with some real tension. Great stuff.
The Discarded
- Peter Milligan (Writer)
- Simon Bowland (Letterer)
- Jim Boswell (Colourer)
- Kieran McKeown (Artist)
Veera and Aaxon have a long overdue talk and the Chip is not happy. The wild ride continues as this one didn’t quite land for me like the last couple of parts. There’s some great ideas, especially Veera being conditioned to forget the bomb she’s carrying, but it all feels rushed. Aaxon’s bonding with his daughter, after nine or so parts of him barely being on the page feels weird but the Chip going wild feels even weirder. It’s not been a persistent presence at all, so it goes from nought to rampage very fast. Also, and this is a personal thing I freely admit, given *gestures at the world* it feels a little tone deaf having an evil communist computer chip? In fairness it’s opponent is a cop, but still this feels a little like the sort of satire that points and laughs but doesn’t actually do anything. It’s fun though, and McKeown and Boswell land a couple of great, gnarly action beats.