The completely self absorbed 2000ad re-read thread

[AlexF]

I will put my hand up and say that as an 8-year old in 1986, I have fond memories of the Garpetbaggers. I think I liked the film references, or at least the ones I got, anyway (Rambo and King Kong). And, at the time, I hadn't read any of the old Garp stuff - all I knew was that Belardinelli was the best artist ever and it was silly fun.

I tried to re-read it not long ago and just couldn't; it's awful! I do still like the Dopplegarp, though (the chicken story) - that's got some genuine screwball funnies going for it.

Sooner or Later was my first exposure to arty pretentious comics. I barely understood it and then and only a little better now, but the visuals are so striking, and the tone so warped that I rate it pretty highly overall.

[Colin YNWA]

Well surrounded by big stars as Morrison, Gaiman and the man who should have rised to stardom with them John Smith all have Future Shocks (Smiths introducing the proto-Indigo Prime) an old War Horse comes to a bitter conclusion of a true classic as Strontium Dog - Rage concludes in Prog 489.

While the young stars do indeed shine bright its the relentless darkness of Rage that truly illuminates. Experienced creators timing a simple revenge story to perfection. Relentlessly hammering home the simple theme of cold revenge and the hollow lack of redemption it brings. Its an absolute timeless masterpiece. A truly classic western. I while ago I mistaken called Portrait of a Mutant my favourite Strontium Dog story. What a young fool I was all those... well months ago...

While I'm at it Incident on Mayger Minor provides a wonderful epilogue of sorts to. Great stuff.

[Colin YNWA]

Quick detour before taking the last of 1986 on my jollies I visited the years two annuals to save me having to take them with me.

Both are decant pieces, if as ever full of filler. 2000ad Annual 1987 has a very curious Rogue Trooper by Pete Milligan bouyed by some absolutely stunning colour art by Jose Ortiz. A nice Morrison future shock see Grant flexing his meta muscles. The highlight of the book is the Wagner Grant and Talbot Dredd, a lovely story Alan Gramt then provides some adequate if slightly uninspiring Strontium Dog and Anderson.

As ever it seems you pay a little more for the Judge Dredd 1987 Annual but you get your monies worth. It open with art by Ian Gibson that almost matches that of Ortiz opening the 2000ad in a delightfully cheeky Dredd story. The real value however comes in the literally psychodelic main story 16 pages of Brendan McCarthy doing his thing as Dredd trips on some good gas. A story that's always stuck with me and stands the test of time so very well with each re-read. Wonderful. The two tales that round it off a fun Max Normal showcasing Brett Ewins art and another Talbot Dredd hold the JD annual well ahead of the 2000ad one.

So while I say they are both decant maybe that's unfair. The Dredd might not be quite up there with those first few Dredd annuals but it does a damned good job of trying.

[Colin YNWA]

So quick holiday thoughts via my smartphone... not bloody smart enough to stop my typos I don't doubt! I digest.

The cover of Prog 496 struck me... when I got back to my feet I also noticed how quickly Cliff Robinon has become the drawing a classie Dredd image to go with a one liner. In the last 6 issues we've had 'Eye of the beholder' 'Best logo in the world' AND 'Bring me your...' Man that's set up a pattern that lucky we still see 30 plus years later.

Magnificent.

[Colin YNWA]

So Prog 499 clears the stalls and its interesting stuff. Ace Trucking ground to a halt an issue early and I'll leave that there as I think I've made my feeling on this stpry quite clear.

After the glory that was Incident on Mayger Minor on read now in my under-rated classics list is a slight but no less fun Strontium Dog story. Sooner or Later finishes and to be honest while I've loved it this strip never quite reaches the heights it has in my minds eye. I think it was pretty incredible to my 14 year old mind, to my 45 year old mind, which has read a LOT more comics its not quite as stand out as I remember.

Two other strips are of more significence here though. Both Rogue Trooper and Slaine see a return to form... well okay the former hasn't ever had any form in my eyes BUT there's no denying this story seems to set up potential... potential which I don't think is ever realised, still we'll see. As ever in Steve Dillon served by good art. Slaine while not at its early glories has moved on from the leyser and dice nonsense we've had over the last couple of years. So year two classic strips set up for big things. Change is a coming to the Prog and next yeat will see much of significence.

Though I'm getting ahead of myself. First we have the small matter of Prog 500 to get to and 1986 still has a few tricks up its sleeve I seem to remember...

[Colin YNWA]

So after Prog 499 there's really only one place to go isn't there and thats...

Prog 500

In many ways the archetype for the celebration prog. Certainly those done well. This comics has the perfect mix. Classic thrils returning. In this case Slaine - not long gone... well in fact its been back for like 8 progs prior to this BUT returned to stella form - and Nemesis. Both of which I'm sure I'll take time to type about at some point. We have a lovely Dredd, all be it not a specifically an introductory one as might otherwise be the case.

We also have a new thrill as should be the case in all such issues as 2000ad always looks to the future and innovates. In this case a little known thrill called... oh what was it now, oh yeah Bad Company or some such. Might come back to that... you think?

Finally we have the Tharg retrospective/ celebratory thrill in this case the classic and famous, almost as much for what it doesn't do as what it does - Tharg's Head Revisited. Creators, often with Pat Mills, allowed an, almost, free hand to let rip and let rip they do. Its not so much meta-satire rather it comes across as a rather beautiful primal scream therapy session!

Its a glorious Prog in and of itself but more importantly for me with Tharg's Head Revisited and Bad Company its a harbinger of times coming, changes in the order of things and the start of a changing of the guard. As it should be Prog 500 still feels like a very important issue.

[Greg M.]

Its a glorious Prog in and of itself but more importantly for me with Tharg's Head Revisited and Bad Company its a harbinger of times coming, changes in the order of things and the start of a changing of the guard. As it should be Prog 500 still feels like a very important issue.

I shall read your musings from this point onwards with particular interest, since this is the beginning of 'my' era - the period from 500-700 is very much the period I've got the strongest attachment to. Is this the beginning of the post-modern era of 2000AD?

[Colin YNWA]

Is this the beginning of the post-modern era of 2000AD?

Yeah that's the question I will be asking. Prog 500 seems like such a marker. Pete Milligan's Bad Company laying a marker for the new and Tharg's Head Revisited laying to rest what has gone before. The approaching format change marking a pretension to be 'more' than just a regular comic, which it should be remembered were still fairly plentiful at this time.

Even the Dredd in 500 had very dark overtones almost rejecting more frothy greats that had marked the classics before... though this is a bit of stretch I to say!

[TordelBack]

Dat cover, tho.

[Muon]

Its a glorious Prog in and of itself but more importantly for me with Tharg's Head Revisited and Bad Company its a harbinger of times coming, changes in the order of things and the start of a changing of the guard. As it should be Prog 500 still feels like a very important issue.

I shall read your musings from this point onwards with particular interest, since this is the beginning of 'my' era - the period from 500-700 is very much the period I've got the strongest attachment to. Is this the beginning of the post-modern era of 2000AD?

That's kind of "my" era too. I have fond memories of sitting on the floor one summer holiday with a load of progs from around the late 400s to the mid 500s fanned out in front of me and getting my mind blown by strips like Bad Company. I started getting the prog for myself not long after that.

It's interesting that most people trace the "decline" of 2000AD to around prog 520 when that was around the time I was getting into it. There was certainly a tension between old and new in that period, looking back. It'll be interesting to see what Colin makes of it.

[Greg M.]

It's interesting that most people trace the "decline" of 2000AD to around prog 520 when that was around the time I was getting into it.

That's unusually specific - is that because undisputed works of genius Bad Company, Slaine the King and The Dead all end in Prog 519 and in their place comes the mediocrity of the (admittedly very well drawn) Hit-era of Rogue Trooper?

[TordelBack]

Well not to spoil Colin's narrative journey, but Greg's 'post-modern' proggage isn't far off the mark.  From 520 there's a very serious spell of self-referential rehashing, reworking and rejection of coherent narratives - Whitey returns (again) in Dredd; Orlok returns in Anderson; DR & Quinch is regurgitated as the Agony Page; Strontium Dog does The Schicklegruber Grab again but with the Spitting Image Reagan; Mean Arena returns as Mean Team, and then Mean Team itself returns as feck knows what for a thousand pages. 

Luckily (the rather post-modern superhero) Zenith is just around the corner. 

[Greg M.]

Whilst I was originally thinking of the absurdist spins given to traditional comics narratives by Messrs Milligan, Morrison and later Smith ( featuring leads ambivalent in both role and motivation, something that even spills into Mills and the Hicklenton-era Nemesis), it's hard to argue with TB's suggestion that this all coincides with the prog achieving a kind of ironic self-awareness.

[Fungus]

Self-awareness is never good. TB nailed it as usual.

Which raises a question. Where does reread end? Plough on through the crud that saw me/others jump ship? What does that serve, we're not academics...  There's an offensive summer but then decades, to reach now...

[sheridan]

It's interesting that most people trace the "decline" of 2000AD to around prog 520 when that was around the time I was getting into it.

That's unusually specific - is that because undisputed works of genius Bad Company, Slaine the King and The Dead all end in Prog 519 and in their place comes the mediocrity of the (admittedly very well drawn) Hit-era of Rogue Trooper?

Nah - it definitely had glossy covers by the time it was going downhill.