Cover:

On the one hand this isn’t a great cover. It’s a very static image, and one which certainly won’t pull in any new readers. But on the other hand it’s announcing the return of Max Normal to the Prog, a fact which is very likely to pull in any lapsed readers. As a piece of art in it’s own right this doesn’t really work, despite being well drawn. But as a cover designed to promote the return of a popular character it’s a 100% success.

Judge Dredd – Debris – Part 5 (Final Part):

Debris comes to it’s conclusion this week, as Dredd takes down the block’s leader and sets about bringing down the whole block’s Citi-Def unit. As a story showing some of the aftermath of the Day of Chaos, Debris has worked very well indeed, although I hope we get to see more of what an impact the DOC had on the whole City soon. However I have a feeling that the main purpose of Debris has been to reintroduce the character of Dolman to the strip, and hopefully this will lead to another look at his character sooner rather than later. All things considered Debris has been a very competent strip, and one which I’ve enjoyed reading. Oh, and could we please see more of the Space Corps officer Easter please Tharg?

The Red Seas – Beautiful Freak – Part 5 (Final Part):

It’s difficult to really call this weeks installment of The Red Seas an ending, as the whole point of this story has been to set up the final Red Seas strip, which we should be seeing sometime next year. As usual with The Red Seas I’ve enjoyed every page of this little story and if truth be told I’m rather sad to see it come to an end. Credit has to go to Ian Edginton for keeping me hooked on this strip, despite the fact that all of the main characters were only notable by their complete absence this time around.

Aquila – Blood of the Iceni – Part 5:

An exposition heavy installment this week, but one which I found absolutly fascinating. It’s actually amazing how much I’m enjoying this strip, as despite having an interest in History I really have virtually no interest in the Romans at all. But I guess when both the script and the art are as good as they are here then it really doesn’t matter when or where a story is set. I’m guessing that this particular story only has another three weeks to run, so I sincerely hope that it won’t be too long untill we see more of Aquila in the Prog.

The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael – Manhunt – Part 8:

Even more amazing is the fact that I’m now enjoying this strip so much, and indeed it only seems to be getting better and better with each installment. I suppose actually having a grasp of what is going on in the story now means I can enjoy it a lot more than I could earlier in this strips run. This week there are a couple of factors introduced which now means that there is a genuine sense of jeopardy for the main characters, something which the strip had previously been lacking. This is turning into a pretty solid strip.

Lenny Zero – Zero’s 7 – Part 5:

Well Max Normal is back, and that can only be a good thing. I’d actually forgotten just how great a character he was, and arguably he was one of the most important characters during the early days of Dredd. Story wise Lenny Zero continues to be a tremendous amount of fun to read each week, and I for one am really looking forward to the actual heist taking place. This is proving to be something of a mini masterclass in how to write a Dredd world spin off.

Overall:

Another excellent Prog this week, with five out of five strips being absolute must reads. What else do I really need to say?

Quote of the Week: “This storm is a cacophony causing myriad toilet troubles.” – Ichabod Azrael

Thrill of the Week: Lenny Zero