Preview: 2000 AD Prog 2206

This week's 2000 AD Prog is the fourth Regened prog of 2020. Cadet Dredd is back, courtesy of Mike Carroll and Nicolo Assirelli, and stranded in the dinosaur-infested wilds of the Cursed Earth; fellow Judge Cassandra Anderson also returns, once again by Cavan Scott and Paul Davidson, and tackling an alien menace that is not all it seems; we head to Nu-Earth to meet clone-soldier Venus Bluegenes for the explosive Threat Level: Zero by Liam Johnson and Aneke; and the man with the two-storey brain, Abelard Snazz, returns to 2000 AD after an absence of thirty-seven years, brought to you by Paul Cornell and Anna Readman, who makes her prog debut. Add to that another head-spinning Future Shock from Karl Stock and Tom Newell, and you have a scintillating blast of the sci-fi we've all come to love from 2000 AD.

• UK and DIGITAL: 4 November £3.10
• NORTH AMERICA: 4 December $24 (per pack)
• DIAMOND: SEP201390
• COVER: ALEX RONALD

In this issue:

Judge Dredd: Tooth and Claw
by Mike Carroll (writer) Nicolo Assirelli (artist) Gary Caldwell (colourist) Annie Parkhouse (letterer)

Mega-City One, 2077 AD. Home to over 800 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. On one side is the polluted Black Atlantic, and to the west is the blasted radlands of the Cursed Earth. Overcrowding in the metropolis is rife, unemployment is at ninety per cent, boredom is universal and crime is rampant. Only the Judges — a zero-tolerance police force empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. CADET JOE DREDD — together with his clone-brother Rico — is a rising star in Justice Department, and will one day be its finest officer. Make no mistake, he is the Law!

Abelard Snazz: The Only Way Is Up
by Paul Cornell (writer) Anna Readman (artist) Pippa Bowland (colourist) Jim Campbell (letterer)

The outer reaches of the galaxy. ABELARD SNAZZ is the man with the double-storey dome — a mutant whose reputation as the cleverest being in the universe is known on every planet in every system. Such is his tremendous reasoning power, civilisations from every corner of space have sought him out to help solve their problems. If you’ve got the cash, and you’ve flattered his enormous ego enough, then Snazz will come up with a solution. Unfortunately, his record on actually improving a situation is kind of spotty, and even his loyal droid manservant Edwin is starting to think that maybe Abelard’s ideas are not always helpful...

Venus Bluegenes: Threat Level: Zero
by Liam Johnson (writer) Aneke (artist) Barbara Nosenzo (colourist) Simon Bowland (letterer)

Nu Earth, just one planet among many caught up in a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers. Strategically vital, both sides are desperate to secure it but use of chemical weapons during the conflict has rendered the atmosphere poisonous. Now, soldiers must wear special suits to venture onto its surface — to breathe Nu Earth’s air is highly dangerous. So the Southers created the Genetic Infantrymen, bred to be immune to the planet’s lethal cocktail of pollutants. The female equivalent, known as ‘G.I. Dolls’, were meant to be restricted to work on the orbiting command centre Milli-Com — but VENUS BLUEGENES has other ideas...

Future Shocks: For The Man Who Lives Everywhen
by Karl Stock (writer) Tom Newell (artist) John Charles (colourist) Annie Parkhouse (letterer)

Out in the vast reaches of the universe, there are an infinite number of stories waiting to be told. These cautionary tales pass from traveller to traveller in the spaceports and around campfires on distant planets, acquiring the status of legend, their shocking ends a salutory lesson in hubris. Anything is possible in these twisted trips into the galaxy’s dark side. Abandon your preconceptions, and expect the unexpected. Time travel has always been a dream of scientists throughout the centuries - the chance to explore eras in either the past or the future. But so far the technology has always eluded them — until now...

Anderson, Psi Division: Early Warning
by Cavan Scott (writer) Paul Davidson (artist) Len O’grady (colourist) Simon Bowland (letterer)

Mega-City One, 2142 AD. Psi-Division is a section of Justice Department that specialises in Judges with accentuated psychic talents — from precognition to exorcism, projection to pyrokinesis, it deals with all manner of paranormal crimes, and is often the city’s first defence against supernatural threats. Cassandra ANDERSONis Justice Department’s top telepath — warm, empathetic and often flippant, she’s not your usual Judge, and she still sees the good in the Big Meg’s citizens. Given that Psi-Judges are often highly strung, their occasionally disrespectful attitude is overlooked as long as they continue to get results...

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