In 2013, the lead up to prog 1850 brought some impressive long-form thrills:
Defoe: The Damned(Progs 1836-1847; last seen in 2010)
Script: Pat Mills
Art: Leigh Gallagher
Letters: Ellie De VilleI've not been much of a fan of Defoe: all that driving around in a car when cars didn't exist reminds me too much of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie. And the previous outing (A Murder of Angels) consisted of a collection of complete and utter bastards (the Dirty Dozenne) peering over battlements and blethering about the author's research findings.
But I really liked this series. First of all, the art is amazing. This opening shot of the zombie horde lurching forward for another assault on the Tower is stupendous (even in this cropped and shrunk version):

Additionally, the story has more movement in it. We go back in time to get some historical perspective on Defoe's state of mind, and then we also have some of the characters leaving the Tower for the first time in a series and a half. In this flashback shot, we have the terrible foreshadowing and disturbing off-kilter perspective that suggests an awful answer to Defoe's question:

The story is rounded off with some amazing inventions (a zombie-powered paddle boat), some egotistical upper crust superheroes, and a quiet scene in Mrs Miggins Pie Shop. And if all that's not enough to entertain you, there's always Gallowgrass's astounding couture:
The Ten-Seconders: Godsend(Progs 1836-1849; last seen in 2008)
Script: Rob Williams
Art: Edmund Bagwell, Ben Willsher (9 & 10)
Letters: Simon BowlandWith the five year gap, the review in the first episode was very welcome. Everything gets quickly turned up to 11 with a Jupiter-sized spaceship enveloping Earth and casually destroying the Moon (so casually, in fact, that it never gets mentioned - only shown):

Gentleness, such as that displayed by the brutish Damage, is not rewarded and the story focusses more on stripping each character down to expose their weakness. It's not really clear, as we reach the climax, if humanity has any hope in this universe.
I enjoyed this third series a lot as it provokes thought, has a crazy pace, bizarre characters, a quiet sense of humour and it looks amazing:
Age of the Wolf III: Wolfworld(Progs 1840-1849; last seen in 2012)
Script: Alec Worley
Art: Jon Davis-Hunt
Colours: Gary Caldwell
Letters: Annie ParkhouseSeries #1 was "28 Werewolves Later", Series #2 was Wolfenders and this is Planet of the Werewolves. That's quite a jump, which visually is quite shocking as the more standard giant wolf beasts of the first two series are replaced with a more anthropomorphic species.
As it leaps forward in time, a sort of magically accelerated evolution has taken place and we witness a world filled with new beasts and a harnessing of new moon-powered tech (used by the wolf species in a bid to finally exterminate the human race):

Rowan has aged and become a notorious dervish: a grey witch that powers her way across the land and through any obstacle (herself as much a beast as any of the wolves) in her bid to defeat the curse that has taken over the planet:

Ultimately, it all sews itself up in a tricky third act: my assumption is that this ends the story. If you're doing a re-read you could safely skip the second series as the weakest of the three and you'd be doing just fine.
All in all, a great time to be reading the prog, and I haven't even reviewed the best bit...