The Weekly 2000 AD Prog 2184: The End Of Days Begins Here For Dredd

The Weekly 2000 AD… Week in and week out, giving you the preview of the new 2000 AD Prog. The UK’s best sci-fi weekly since 1977. four decades and still going strong. This week – five new strips and the beginning of the latest big Dredd epic in End of Days…

Prog 2184 is out in the UK and on digital on 3 June from newsagents and comic shops. At least any comic shops that are open, as this lockdown continues. Please, please, your LCS should offer a standing order service, mail order, maybe even kerb-side pickup – and now is the time to make use of them now. Step up and support the comic shops that keep the industry going. And wash your hands.
This week, it’s pretty much all-new after last weeks Regened issue, so there’s a new Dredd tale from Rob Williams and Colin MacNeil, the return of Sinister Dexter for the Bulletopia storyline by Dan Abnett and Steve Yeowell, more Future Shock twists from Chris Burnham, and the next story-arc begins for The Order by Kek-W and John Burns. And ending the Prog, the very latest spin-off from the Caballistics, Inc. when Gordon Rennie and Dom Reardon bring you The Diaboliks.
 

JUDGE DREDD: END OF DAYS – PART 1 – Rob Williams, Colin MacNeil, colours by Chris Blythe, letters by Simon Bowland
Rob Williams was on Twitter recently telling us he’d finished the biggest Dredd story he’d ever done, with a tease of art from Henry Flint and I thought, given the title of this one, that this could be it.
Hey, it still might be, even with the Colin MacNeil art – which looks so damn good as always here. It certainly starts in epic, foreboding fashion, with Dredd’s nightmares of a red moon, monsters, and a lone rider approaching the walls seeming to bleed out into reality.
Williams really does do these sorts of brooding, slow-openers so well, the tone of his Dredds akin to Wagner’s at times… never a bad thing!
Turns out it’s a psy-thing, precog flashes, a rider and a horse… big, bad things coming. And a very unexpected guest in the cells.
Nope, wasn’t expecting that one at all. Makes it all very intriguing as to where this one’s going.


SINISTER DEXTER – BULLETOPIA – PART 1 – BOYS IN THE HUD – Dan Abnett and Steve Yeowell, colours by John Charles, letters by Jim Campbell
The return of Downlode city’s premier gunsharks, Finnigan Sinister and Ramone Dexter, kicking off the Bulletopia storyline which promises, at least from the intro page, to be a big tale.
The boys have fallen foul of the rogue A.I. that’s out in the wild and now they’re attempting to get Brant out of Downlode. But things never go that easy for this pair.


THE ORDER – LAND OF THE FREE – PART 1 – Kek-W, John Burns, letters by Simon Bowland
I say it every single time The Order reappears in the pages of 2000 AD – it’s just one that I’ve never connected with. I tend to skim it, looking at all that great John Burns artwork but letting the story drift over me. Hey, it’s the proof of a good anthology that there’s always going to be some that just aren’t for you. But for those who love The Order… enjoy.
Benjamin Franklin’s holed up in 1794 Connecticut, given youth and purpose by a mystery potion, on the run from the Wyrms and their Earthly agents.
It’s a fun little opener, watching Franklin on the run. But in the end, I finish the episode with no more idea of where any of this is going, same as usual.


THARG’S FUTURE SHOCKS – JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH – Chris Burnham, colours by Len O’Grady, letters by Simon Bowland
Now, this is a treat – Chris Burnham’s art and story in full colour, all the better to make some of the brilliant visuals pop in a very fine Future Shock.
A team of explorers venturing out in the freezing cold to find final proof of a flat Earth – but what they really find… there’s the twist! Great stuff all done in just four pages – which is why I’m only putting one up here… just to keep the surprises for you when you read the strip.

THE DIABOLIKS – LA VITA MALVAGIA – PART 1 – Gordon Rennie and Dom Reardon, letters by Simon Bowland
Solomon Ravne and Jennifer Simmons were once part of Caballistics, Inc., the paranormal troubleshooting team. Jenny was possessed by a demon from Hell, Solomon and Jenny became a couple, had a child, and Caballistics, Inc. disbanded.
So, it’s happy families with a magical twist. Or maybe not, as we first meet them running out of luck in the casino, pursued by some weird occult organisation or other, having to be on the run to distract the bad guys from going looking for their boy.
A great start made all the better for seeing Dom Reardon’s artwork back in the Prog. His fine lines, minimalist look, black and white – it all just works really well.