Previewing ‘Survival Geeks Book 2: Crisis Of Infinite Nerds’ – Saying Farewell To Another Great ‘2000 AD’ Comedy Series
by Richard Bruton
For one final time, it’s back to the world of the Survival Geeks, this time they’re having their own particular crisis in this latest 2000 AD digital edition.
Yes, it’s time to join (for the final time) Clive, Rufus, and Simon, three of the biggest sci-fi obsessives around, plus their reluctant housemate Sam in their modest two-up-two-down little house, which also happens to be powered by transdimensional tech that’s never quite worked the way it should.
The foursome have been having their adventures in time and space, exploring the multiverse, constantly bickering about the important stuff in life – you know, whether Han shot first, which Star Trek was best, and generally getting on Sam’s nerves. Somewhere along the way they were joined by their cut little pet Cthulu, Howard.
This second volume of five tales rounds out the saga for the Survival Geeks, a series that’s been a consistent hoot, something that harks back to the long history of comedies here in 2000 AD, sitting comfortably alongside the likes of DR & Quinch and Hewligan’s Haircut; comedy with a strong vein of absurdist dark humour running all the way through it.
Effectively, it’s Emma Beeby and Gordon Rennie unleashing their collective ire on the obvious targets… comic and media conventions (Nerd Con), horror and slasher movies (Slash n’ Hack), good old D&D and why geeks don’t date (Dungeons & Dating), and comic book crossovers of the cosmic scale (Crisis Of Infinite Nerds)!
And all the way through, Neil Googe has given us some wonderfully light-looking artwork – light in tone, not light in execution, hell no – after all, he’s been called on to give us huge ideas, massive scenes, literally a cast of thousands at times – and he’s never failed to deliver something that’s so readable, so flowing, and looks amazing.
In the end, what we’ve had with Survival geeks has been something that’s going to take its rightful place amongst the comedy greats of 2000 AD, and it’s all thanks to Rennie, Beeby, and Googe, not to mention Gary Caldwell and the great Annie Parkhouse.
Between them all, they’ve taken the silliest of ideas and given us a series that has fun, fantastical adventures, lampoons their selected targets mercilessly, and, best of all, gives us something that’s got wonderful characters and a real heart – something that comes out all the way through this, but never more so than in the oh so surprisingly heartfelt final episode Quiet Night In.
Taking place a fair few years later, we catch up with the foursome and discover… well, I won’t spoil that particular delight for you but let’s just say it’s a completely out of character but absolutely perfect ending to this whole thing.
Survival Geeks: Crisis of Infinite Nerds – by Gordon Rennie, Emma Beeby, and Neil Googe, colours by Gary Caldwell, letters by Annie Parkhouse
Published by 2000 AD/Rebellion on 6th July 2022
Originally serialised in 2000 AD as the stories; ‘Geek-Con’ (Progs 2082-2086), ‘Slash n’ Hack’ (Progs 2096-2099), ‘Dungeons & Dating’ (Progs 2123-2127), ‘Crisis of Infinite Nerds’ (Progs 2175-2182), and ‘A Quiet Night In’ (Prog 2212).
Now, preview time… the first few pages of Geek-Con… disappointments with zombies, relationship issues, multiversal conventions, the Survival Geeks getting to be minor-league famous, and the appearance of Inspector Qui… and that’s all just in the first few pages…
