2000 AD #2497: Prog 2497

Bear witness to my Mightiness, for I am Tharg, alien editor extraordinaire of this SF anthology! Welcome, my Thrill-hungry Squaxx, to the third bumper prog of 2026, as we surge out of August, leaving behind a scorching summer — both literally and in terms of circuit-shattering excitement — and preparing to embrace a whole new raft of stories coming your way in September, starting in the scrotnig Prog 2500. But that’s still three weeks away, so let’s celebrate the zarjazness you hold in your hands right now because it’s forty-eight pages of eye-popping mayhem.We’ve got double the Mega-City drama again as the last chapter of The Finders runs alongside The Oubliette with Dredd finally learning who has been behind his incarceration, plus there’s the latest instalment of Brink, the penultimate part of The Fall of Deadworld: Justice, and the last part of Nightmare New York Book Two.Add to that a complete Future Shock from the Peaty & Yeowell droids, and a twelve-page Young Death story from Kek-W & Sedat Oezgen, and it’s quite the galactic brainblaster. Enjoy, Terrans, enjoy — your visual nodes deserve it!JUDGE DREDD // THE OUBLIETTE, Part SixteenMega-City One, 2148 AD. Home to over 300 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE DREDD — he is the Law! Now, the lawman has found himself trapped in a mysterious dungeon from where there is seemingly no escape..BRINK // THE CALL OF THE VOID, Part Twenty SixThe late 21st century, and through environmental catastrophe and industrial overload Earth has been reduced to a wasteland. Mankind finally evacuated the planet in 2072 and millions were housed in a number of deep-space Habitats. But life on these cramped, overcrowded stations is tense, often spilling over into madness. Sects are rife, and Bridget Kurtis of the Habitat Security Division is investigating their reach…THE FALL OF DEADWORLD // JUSTICE, Part ElevenThe planet that became known as DEADWORLD was once a regular civilisation existing in a parallel dimension. But the end of days is coming, and creatures called the Dark Judges are spreading their contagion, exterminating all life. While Sov forces have take advantage of the chaos and invaded, Jess Childs and her fellow rebels must rescue Judge Fairfax as they try to save a world falling into chaos…FUTURE SHOCK // AND NOW THE FIREWORKSOut 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…YOUNG DEATH // GRAVE CONSEQUENCESThe planet that became known as DEADWORLD was once a regular civilisation existing in a parallel dimension. Its Judge force was notoriously brutal and openly corrupt, and so when young psychopath Sidney De’Ath joined its ranks, he quickly became something of a rising star. But Sidney is being courted by entities beyond the veil, who want to use him to usher in a global apocalypse…NIGHTMARE NEW YORK // BOOK TWO, Part TenLower Manhattan, 1845. The early days of the North American metropolis are marked by a mix of poverty and organised crime. Young Lil, living rough on these dank streets, had just turned eighteen when she discovered she was part of a select group of individuals that were imbued with special powers. As she learned to use them, there were further revelations that her father had planned to sacrifice her to a demonic entity…THE FINDERS // THE OUBLIETTE, Part 17Mega-City One, 2148 AD. Home to over 300 million citizens, this urban hell is situated along the east coast of post-apocalyptic North America. Crime is rampant and only the Judges — empowered to dispense instant justice — can stop total anarchy. Toughest of them all is JUDGE RICO — he is the Law! Now, a black tower has materialised in the metropolis, causing chaos, and P.I.s Joe Fargo and Lana Locke are looking for Dredd…