Meg 275 - Skidmarks

[Rex Banner]

Don't want to say too much and spoil it for anyone.

The quality on display in this Meg is fantastic. A really strong line-up of strips with a nice couple of interviews and text pieces. Skidmarks being the high point with Dredd snapping at it's heels. The Jock Collection was always going to be strong starter for the 'graphic novel' addition, which it is, only let down by the quality of the spine! Not really but it's a clever way to get reprint material into the Meg without it actually being there.

I'm still undecided on the price tag. This month it, I would say very much that it's worth it but more than the EE the reprint side of the Meg has to maintain a high quality to keep it strong because of the higher price.

[+rufus+]

If you check out my blog.. you'll find pencils for the cover..

http://rufusdayglo.blogspot.com/

  Ruf

[Pete Wells]

Yup, it's a belter! I don't want to give much away either so:

Cover - Most of us will have seen this spectacular image on Rufus' blog, it's lovely. Shame there's titles and the likes covering it up!

Dredd - Ratfink continues to be a horrible read, Dredd manages to be a hero and a stickler at the same time. Next months episode sounds scary already...

Skidmarks - A triumph! Joyfully bonkers script, exciting, letratonetastic art from Rufus and more skidmarks than you can shake a stick at. [spoiler]"Oh... Buttocks!"[/spoiler] is a classic!

Anderson - Yup, still enjoying this. Boo's colours are aces and I like the whole Justice Dept. ownership set up. Nice to see [spoiler]George Bush Block[/spoiler] amongst the serial killers!

Black Museum - I loved this! The script - no pun intended -is bursting with ideas and had a really creepy ending. To be honest, I'd never really understood the whole Futsie thing so it was nice to have Al explain it to me properly! The art (other than the Dredds unfortunately) was great with loads of lovely little details.

Articles - This months articles include an interview with Rufus (best parents evah!) and one with Alan Martin which also reads well. There's also the film reviews, the first part of the story of British adult comics and something about Samurai Jack. I'm saving the last three for later.

Jock 'Graphic Novel' - Yeah it's a bit cheapy looking but there's no denying the class of the contents. We get The Shirley Temple of Doom, the wonderful Crossing of Ken Dodd, Rampots, Safe Hands and finally, Ten Years, which is a fascinating read in terms of what's happening over in the prog. As well as all of those gems we get unsullied covers for progs 1258, 1304 and 1318 as well as a great Dredd pin-up which I'd never seen (coloured) before.

Free Trading Cards - There's also a free selection of the new trading cards which is notable for an exclusive promo card.

Without a doubt, this issue of the Meg is an excellent read and fantastic value for money. The future's looking bright!

[I, Cosh]

Cover is ace.

Ratfink is still a nasty little bastard and Doherty's art is superb.

Tank Girl was readable, but I'm a bit concerned at the prospect of this being in the Meg for the next twelve months as I've always thought of it as a one-note story, amusing in small doses. Time will tell I suppose.

Anderson rattles along nicely without a Sister of Death in sight. It's always nice to see Boo Cook doing the business, but I'm not entirely sure Tom Cruise deserves to be in that company...

Not too keen on the art in Tales from the Black Museum, but it was a very neat little story  with an amusing subtext about the difficulty of constantly coming up with neat little story ideas.

Didn't read the text stuff and saving Jock for later. I also have a bag of little pictures, which I don't fully understand.

[Toni Scandella]

Only read Tank Girl so far.  It's ace.  I was a little apprehensive about reading a Jamie Hewlett-less Tank Girl, as I feel oddly snobby about the strip despite not having read it since Deadline was going (and TG was the only thing I ever liked about Deadline, certainly the only strip I read in it).  But Skidmarks delivers.  I'm quite happy to see her in the Meg and Rufus has done a great job making her his own - that cover picture is easily as good as anything Hewlett produced.

[Dandontdare]

A great issue for our Ruf - he's all over the frikkin' thing! Luckilly that's no bad thing! Loving Tank Girl, just like old times.

The Jock collection is marvelous (though it's too floppy to be a graphic novel surely - why not just call it a 64 page comic?)

Didn't like the idea of a 'son of fink' story at first, felt too much like flogging a dead angel, but he's such an evil little s.o.b. that this story  has won me over. It' nice to see a Justice dept operation go so spectacularly tits up for a change.

Tales of the Black museum - one of the best so far. (Actually, it's been too long since the big meg has had a really good judge-bothering craze. Mr Wagner...?)

Anderson - only glanced at this so far.  not keen.

[Leigh S]

As with the prog, Wagner is excelling - wonderful stuff, that almost carries the whole enterprise far enough to justify the entrance fee no matter what else might turn up.

Tank Girl... nice Rufus art, but as with Koburn thing, cant help but wish the artist was elsewhere employed.  Maybe the strip will win me over, but Tank Girl and me have history and I've barely seen a strip with Tank Girl in! I know it's terrible to prejudge a strip by peception, but it's a hard in grained perception.  Back when 2000AD was 2000AD and Deadline was Deadline, everyone was happy.  when 2000AD seemed (to me) to want to be Deadline, it went horribly pear shaped, so my perception of Deadline is coloured by my notion that it put 2000AD into bad ways.  I know that's a terrible preconception, but there it is, on the table.  So far, there's nothing here to dissuade me from that, but it's early days I suppsoe.  Still, nothing in there that's really my cuppa, feels like those 'hip to be cool' kinda things that i was never that keen on wherever they appeared, so not holding out much hope.  Can't win 'em all over.

Anderson, the story is not too bad - better than average for Anderson.  Like the Justic Dept angle, even if it has the potential to go "horrible Dept" in Grant's hands. Boo's art just isnt doing it for me here.  The figures are crazy weird, but not in a McMahon crazy weird, just wrong looking - Anderson in particular looks like an oddly proportioned, anatomically inaccurate sex doll.  Colours are still nice enough, but the figures just seem off generally. There's that comment in the Rufus interview about McManus' saying how after 100 pages, you'll start to get the hang of it, but i personally think theres much better in Boos first 100 pages than this.

Just to seal my reputation as moaoning luddite, I'd say the Black Museum things not bad, but the Disneyish art, while good, isn't really what I'd think best suited the story, or Dredd world in general.  

The Jock collection is a good bunch of stories though.  Nice to revisit those in one place.

Lasting impression - vague depression at the news that Mike McMahon can be tempted back to drawing for Tank Girl, but not for 2000AD.

[Buddy]

Not in shops yet... curses!!

McMahon tempted to draw Tank Girl and not 2000ad probably says more about 2000ad than anything else... but I havn't got all the details (does it mention McMahon in the Meg?? Is he doing a TG tale for the Meg or another publisher??)

[Leigh S]

(does it mention McMahon in the Meg?? Is he doing a TG tale for the Meg or another publisher??)

Doesn't say - hes doing a mini series for unspecified future publication.

[Buddy]

Ah right... McMahon Tank Girl sounds fantastic.

Wonder what other artists could be tempted by Tank Girl... I'd like to see an on form Gibson give it a go, he does great women and wierd and funny machinery... never seen him do a Kangaroo though.

It'd be good to see a book with five or six different artists join Team Tank... lets say... Rufus, McMahon, Gibson, McCarthy, Kev Walker & The Mighty Jock.

I'd pay good money to see that.

[+rufus+]

Hi Umpty,

Mick is doing a six issue TG mini series for Titan Books. It's called 'Carioca'. I've probably spelt that wrong.

Alan and I also have some TG series coming out with Titan next year... we've asked various people on your wish list for covers...

Ruf

As to 2000 ad appropriating Deadline style in the early 1990s, well, 2000ad had lost direction at that point, and tried to come up with a faximile of what it thought was 'cool', it was an appropriation of style, not content.

Hopefully  you'll give it a chance!

[Bart Oliver]

"Carioca" What would that be about, something to do with Rio de Janeiro or folk in Rio?

Tank Girl does Rio?

Beauty artwork BTW always a pleasure Rufus!

[+rufus+]

Thank you Sir,

Carioca, no not Rio!, something closer to Worthing... Best not to say too much.. Like most things Tankie, there are connections/ references, but often abstract, or at best very obscure...

Mick's doing some beautiful work, unsurprisingly..

For Hewlett fans, Cream of Tank Girl will be out at the end of this year, from Titan Books,... A big art book, with lots of rare, and previously unseen stuff..



r

[JamesC]

To be fair doing Tank Girl is something that McMahon hadn't done before so that my have been tempting in itself rather than have any baring on 2000ad.

[Pete Wells]

Here's a McMahon Tank Girl cover as owned by some strange artist chap, however lord knows what style McMahon will adopt for his forthcoming strip...