Comic Review 172 // 2000 AD Prog 1331

Here we go with another 2000 A.D. Prog. We are exploring Prog 1331, which came out on March 12th, 2003. The cover is a strange one featuring, at least to me, an unknown bearded man with glowing eyes. The catchline states, "The Atavar is Back from the Dead." So at least I know it is from the Dan Abnett Sci-fi strip, then across the top, we have a Caballistics story teased. Let us dive in.

Judge Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus Part 11: The halls of Justice are under siege with the Xenomorphs pouring in through the underhive. Even with the skills of the Verminators, the Judges are being pushed back. Judge Giant activates an extreme measure with a rising body count and releases the Mechanismo units.

Great opener. Good to see the Judges struggling against the Xenomorphs and not just gunning down a non-threatening alien. Also, I love the Mechanismo units; they are so cool!

Caballistics Inc. Moving in Part 1: Following on from the earlier story from 2003, we get to catch up with the Caballistics team as they move into Exham Priory. Unfortunately, it turns out that the new base of operation was once the home of Malcolm Critchley, a Magus of a Cult wiped out back in 1934. The final panel hints that something sinister is stirring in the house.

Solid start to a new series. I am interested in seeing how the creative team develops it; I am enjoying an occult story arc in the progs.

The V.C.s Bystander Part 2: We kind of meet a new race in this episode known as the Polity, a collective of advanced alien races, who could stop the war between the Humans and the Geeks but instead hide behind ethics to not get involved.

Bit of a slow-burning story. Intrigues to see where it goes.

Tales of Telguuth - Pagrok the Infallible Part 2: Continuing on Pagrok's adventures to rescue a Damsel and make himself stupidly rich in the process. A classic ending to a fable, the main character Pagrok gets his wealth and gold, just not the way he had hoped for.

Rather enjoyable two-parter, I might seek out the graphic to review.

Atavar II Part 3: The title story! Still don't fully understand this series. But the Atavar is a cloned human from our extinct race designed to help fight the UOS, who turns out to be created by humans. It would seem he has decided to help the alliance and is travelling back to the war fleet when he is ambushed by World Breaker, a gigantic ship!

No idea what the hell is happening, but I am enjoying it, hahaha.

Overall a hugely enjoyable issue. Gimme more!!