Slaine is the Carrion Maker! Slaine is the Feeder of Wolves! Slaine has a beautiful cover and an even more beautiful chapter in Prog 1930! I enjoyed the hell out of this chapter of Slaine: even though Davis can do these big, indulgent spreads, he proves this week that he can still simplify for an action-packed chapter. The result of this simplification is really impressive. The art is boiled down to three consistent vertical panels on each page and Davis exercises full command of whether or not the scene feels claustrophobic. Slaine's axe cuts apart the scene with thick crimson swipes of blood to awesome and, at least one time, pretty funny effect.
Finally things move along in Grey Area, making for a great chapter. The art on this title has never stopped providing a steady drip of awesomeness, but the conflict with the Choodey lasted one or two chapters too long. In any case, I'm happy to see things are moving again, and excited to see where they go, especially since Harrison's art really shines outside of a jail cell.
Strontium Dog and Dredd kept up their usual level of excellence this week and in addition to the regular titles we got a one-off episode of Terror Tales called "Phase Shift." The gag here is pretty dumb, but I don't really care at all because of Hitchcock's pencils. If you aren't head-over-heels in love with the first page of this comic, independent of anything that is said or any plot machinations, then you and I cannot be friends. I believe Hitchcock penciled a story in the Christmas Special issue of the Progs at the turn of the year, and I remember being similarly impressed, even though that story was also lackluster. Anyway, my point here is that if you see the name "David Hitchcock" on something, assuming it's not a name also shared by some Winnebago insurance salesman from Duluth, you should check the comic out.
Score: 4/5
2000 AD – Prog 1930 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: 2000 AD Price: £1.99 (Digital) £2.49 (UK) Release Date: 5/13/2015 Format: Weekly; Print/Digital