MLGG: Pop Culture News, Reviews & Interviews

Available now from 2000AD.com, with free UK postage on week of release

The fourth and final all-ages 2000AD issue of the year is here – and it once again makes a strong case for a more regular schedule of Regened (the label given to these more kid-friendly outings for the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic), if not an entirely new spin-off series that can be read by the whole family.

This time around, the cover features Cadet Dredd facing down a hungry looking T-Rex in brilliant art by Alex Ronald. I’m a big fan of the bold, colourful Regened covers – which often have lighter backgrounds that really make the foreground art pop.

The five stories contained within the issue are excellent; Cadet Dredd is once again the lead (as is to be expected), with a tale featuring social commentary, some foreshadowing of Cadet Rico’s future and tame dinosaurs. It’s great; the writing and art is top notch and it really makes me want to see more of the early years of the Judges, unburdened by the very dark places Dredd’s stories often go (necessarily, it must be stressed, given the premise and setting).

There’s a surprise return for the Alan Moore co-created character Abelard Snazz, in a strip which features several attempts by our titular character to solve big problems at small sizes.

Venus Bluegenes, a female GI (Genetic Infantryman) from the pages of Rogue Trooper, gets a brilliantly action packed rescue story, with great art from Aneke.

Karl Stock’s Future Shock entry For the Man who Lives Everywhen is a nicely done tale of poetic justice that features some very relevant digs at post-truth conspiracy theories – as well as some wonderful depictions of a massive variety of alien races from Tom Newell.

Lastly – and probably my favourite strip in this prog – is Cavan Scott and Paul Davidson’s excellent Judge Anderson story, Early Warning, which has a nicely surprising twist. There’s a single page in this story that absolutely blew me away, with wonderful colouring throughout from Len O’Grady.

So there we have it – the last Regened issue of 2020 really goes out with a bang – and, though there’s not been any insight as to how many issues we can expect next year, the impression I get is that the Regened specials often sell really well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we do see a lot more of them next year. Though it can feel a little disruptive to have them pop up during the run of other stories – given that Regened issues are published as part of 2000AD’S normal weekly schedule, with the more mature stories in regular issues simply continuing the following week – I’ve looked forward to reading them every single time and haven’t been let down yet.

As I’ve mentioned several times, it’d be fantastic to see a proper Regened spin-off title. Monthly to complement my existing fix of the prog and Judge Dredd Megazine would do nicely. How about it, Rebellion?

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