Preview: 2000 AD Regened Prog 2220

2000 AD are celebrating its forty-fourth birthday with its first Regened Prog of the year, bringing together awesome sci-fi stories that can be enjoyed by all ages. Within these beautiful pages, you’ll find another thrilling case for Cadet Dredd, courtesy of Arthur Wyatt and Davide Tinto, and a brain-frazzling Future Shock from Karl Stock and Silvia Califano, alongside no less than three brand-new strips - the high-octane Action Pact by Mike Carroll and Luke Horsman, the twisty-turny Viva Forever by David Baillie and Anna Morozova, and the explosive Mayflies by Mike Carroll and Simon Coleby, set in the Rogue Trooper universe.

• UK and DIGITAL: 24 February 2021 £4.99
• NORTH AMERICA: 24 March 2021 $21 (per pack)
• DIAMOND: DEC201642
• COVER: NICK ROCHE (artist) HARY CALDWELL (colourist)

In this issue:

Cadet Dredd: Sub-Optimal
by Arthur Wyatt (writer) Davide Tinto (artist) Gary Caldwell (colourist) Annie Parkhouse (letterer)
Pin-up by Ben Glendining

Mega-City One, 2074 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! 

Action Pact: The Radyar Recovery
by Mike Carroll (writer) Luke Horsman (artist) Matt Soffe (colourist) Simon Bowland (letterer)

The far future, out in the depths of the cosmos. Commander Drake leads a team for very specialist operations — assisted by heavy-weapons agent Warsaw, tech expert Elton, twin gunners Tevyr and Jiago, and the silent and deadly assassin Shadow, she takes her orders extremely seriously, and faces the most dangerous of enemies. The members of her squad have come from planets all over the galaxy, and often from different eras. But just who is responsible for bringing them together and setting their missions? Why are there so many foes, eager to stop them from carrying them out? And why is Drake keen for this op to be ‘the one’...?

Viva Forever
by David Ballie (writer) Anna Morozova (artist) Pippa Bowland (colourist) Jim Campbell (letterer)

Mega-City One, 2143 AD. In this vast metropolis of the twenty-second century, there’s a huge gulf between the haves and the have-nots. Whilst many of the citizens are unemployed and living on welfare, their rundown apartment blocks rife with criminality, in the gleaming starscrapers that tower above them reside the multi-millionaires. These enormously expensive buildings are designed to keep the super-rich far from the masses, where they can luxuriate in their wealth. But a champion of the people is making waves amongst the billionaires — the thief VIVA FOREVER, who is posting online guidance on how to take their money...

Future Shocks: Geeno Firenzo's Big Comeback
by Karl Stock (writer) Silvia Califano (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. Now, at some point in the future, humanity will be enthralled by the next generation of social media called Allthefeels, which allows every user to connect emotionally — meaning influencers can sell exclusive experiences...

Mayflies: Precious Cargo
by Mike Carroll (writer) Simon Coleby (artist) Dylan Teague (colourist) Simon Bowland (letterer)

Nu Earth is 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 environment suits to venture onto its surface. So the Southers created the Genetic Infantrymen, bred to be immune to the planet’s lethal cocktail of pollutants. But the gene-engineers are always looking to improve the next generation of G.I.s, giving them specialised skills and abilities — and the enemy is keen to acquire them to make their own disposable army...

Available in print from: newsagents and comic book stores via Diamond
Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop and apps for iPad, Android, Windows 10