Review: 2000AD PROG 1922- ‘Iron John went laughing to his end.’

Writers and authors: Numerous
Publisher: Rebellion
Released: 18th March 2015


The beginning of my comic book week begins when I get my issue of 2000AD. I get it, read it, and review it. I’ve already done the first two, so on to the third.

This week's contents

Judge Dredd this week is a one shot story with a group of young corporate enforcers being told about how great Judge Dredd is. It’s an old narrative technique, used to make the main protagonist seem like a legendary figure, a man of mystique, intrigue and importance. It works here, but as I’m an anarchist, as opposed to the statist that the book is aimed at, I’m not going to be impressed by the glorification of a representative of the status quo.

The idea that you need a uniformed thug like Judge Dredd to protect civilians from crime is a corporate/banking/msm produced myth that helps justify Police state attrocities the world over. This myth has always been used to justify a lack of liberty, a lack of freedom and an increase in state surveillance and a march into state tyranny. The myth is that without cops the world would be dangerous and violent, so you need a bunch of unquestioning order followers in uniform to protect evil humanity from itself.

Here’s a question. Ask the people living in Ferguson USA in 2015 about that myth. What do you think their reaction will be when you try to convince them that cops are there to help and protect, and not to control and persecute? I think you get my point.

Second story this week is my old statist mate Bill in Savage/Grinders. This one has some drones taking time off from blowing up Afghani wedding parties to appear in 2000AD. Aside from the drone stuff this one is about brothers. It’s okay, but with the state and authority loving core to the story it’s pretty much like Judge Dredd really. So, is there going to be any anarchy (meaning freedom from centralised government slavery systems) in 2000AD this week? No freedom yet in the first two stories, so on to story three, fingers crossed.

Battling the unthinking corporate parasites

Nope, no freedom here. This one begins with some geek moaning about being bored. What??? Bored???? How is it even possible to be bored? Look at the world, read, learn, discover, improve, improve, and improve. If you are bored you have a severe deficit in the imagination department. I’m never bored. Do you know why? It’s because I’m not a bloody wet lettuce feminist liberal geek drip, that’s why. That’s enough of ‘Survival Geeks’ for this week I think.

Story four (1%) read like an episode of Doctor Who, but without the Doctor. If you like the paedophile cover-up crew at the BBC then you should like it. To me it was clever, but it’s not really saying anything. Clever is good, clever is fun, but I’m an anarchist reviewer searching for freedom, and I didn’t find anything here that I could get a good grip on.

The last story in 2000AD this week is the conclusion to ‘The Order,’ a tale about knights, a fighting feminist young girl and giant ‘wurms.’ I liked it. I enjoyed the courage of the protagonists, how they went down swinging, aggressive, fighting till the end, never giving up, never cowering, never begging for mercy. That’s how I want to go. I enjoyed the book.

So, that’s it for another week of 2000AD. Dredd was Dredd, Statist Bill was Statist Bill, Geeks were Geeks, Dr Who failed to turn up in his own tribute story and I got some iron willed defiance from some strong manly types in the conclusion to a delicious story about ‘wurms.’

2000AD is clearing out the winter dust next week, ready for spring and ready for a New Year. I complain about it, but there’s always something in it that I like. This week it was ‘The Order’ and that was enough for me.


Rating: 6/10

Best story: The Order- 9/10
Worst story: Judge Dredd- 2/10