DREDD: Carrol and Currie make a good thrill, though seems like two ideas not quite long or strong enough to hold a story on their own mashed together - we had a previous (Rennie?) Dredd about Necropolis deniers I recall? It is a fun conceit, but given that both disasters were City wide, they dont hold up to a great deal of scrutiny - I doubt there are any astronauts who deny we landed on the moon for instance?
Flesh fails again, and I am sure it is the art that has one this for me - i enjoyhed and could follow it back when it was hand drawn, for all the drawbacks that art style had in comparison to this technically more impressive stuff
Savage works really well for me - bring on the cliff edge of craziness that Savage's world morphing into Ro Busters etc will bring. The idea of an inane future impinging on the past to make itself happen is very Millsy and is just about perfect - to see Savage caught up in that - perfecter!
Counterfeit Girl sseemed a bittoo long for the story it needed to tell -dropa couple of the chase episodes and i would feel a lot warmer towards this I think - solid enough though
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/2010_zps7c0p5szb.jpg)
Clint Langley
"inane" future of course being "insane", though your mieage may vary!
Quote from: Leigh S on 03 December, 2016, 12:45:01 PM
"inane" future of course being "insane", though your mileage may vary!
Those three words you dread, that always end a Mills story - "To Be Continued". Much as I like most of Pat's work, it would be nice if he could ever finish something.
Pat's cliffhanger endings do seem weird, but are standard fare in TV surely - Game of Thrones springs to mind?
It's annoying when Game of Thrones does it too. But I suppose you have a point.
I think though it may be because some writers care more about how it will all look in the graphic novel than in the weekly prog. I wonder if every third book if Savage has a proper ending?
Quote from: Richard on 03 December, 2016, 03:09:46 PM
It's annoying when Game of Thrones does it too. But I suppose you have a point.
I think though it may be because some writers care more about how it will all look in the graphic novel than in the weekly prog. I wonder if every third book if Savage has a proper ending?
Good point - weirdly, Pat rails against "writing for collections" as one of the many reasons 2000AD lost its way, IIRC, aas recently as in the 2000AD Thrill Cast of a week or two back!
Quote from: Leigh S on 03 December, 2016, 04:04:13 PM
Quote from: Richard on 03 December, 2016, 03:09:46 PM
It's annoying when Game of Thrones does it too. But I suppose you have a point.
I think though it may be because some writers care more about how it will all look in the graphic novel than in the weekly prog. I wonder if every third book if Savage has a proper ending?
Good point - weirdly, Pat rails against "writing for collections" as one of the many reasons 2000AD lost its way, IIRC, aas recently as in the 2000AD Thrill Cast of a week or two back!
You've got to be fucking joking. Everything he produces these days is clearly written in big collection-friendly blocks.
yeah isn't mills one of the big supporters of big european style hardback gns? sorry but Gordons right its so obviously written for the trade these days
60% Mills and clearing the decks. Savage sort of regained my interest but Flesh somehow feels like it's been going for 65 million years, despite not much happening. I'm just bored of it now, and I bet after the next ten-prog run we'll get another TBC.
Dredd was decent enough and Counterfeit Girl ended well. Looking forward to next week's giant prog.
"...A zarjaz finale to flesh"
Someones printed the wrong episode in my prog, as guess what... there was no finale! Jazarg or otherwise!
Pat Mill's emperor's new clothes have been wearing very thin of late, there seems to be very little substance over design in Slaine, ABC and this 9 part offering of Flesh, where as many have said... Nothing happened!
2000AD editorial staff are trying to sell this stuff by giving it 3 covers and the big build cinnematic build up's, which take up enough space in the prog and bank accounts, but not much else...
I've started to really wonder about the editorial staff and how they are marketing this stuff at the readership now, as I'm getting the impression they think we'll keep on swallowing it regardless (you fools and your late progs!)
Their golden goose will keep churning out book after book of this stuff (the clue is in the name), which will go on and on filling up the pages, whilst the stories become ever more tenuous and tedious.
ABC next up... I'm on the edge of my seat...
In fairness, 2000AD is no more guilty of this than U.S publishers, so the accusations are a little unfair.
This series of Flesh has been a bit of a misfire, but considering uncle Pat has been in the game over 40 years, he's entitled to a few duds from time to time-and I've been really enjoying Savage, somit's no biggie for me.
The bigger problem I have is so many unfinished strips the prog has in a holding pattern.
Cliffhangers are one thing, but at least you have a good idea when a TV series is coming back.
Stickleback
Brass Sun
Brink
Kingdom
Absalom (Though on that one it Gordon has said it's going to be wrapped up)
I can't honestly remember where Slaine or ABC Warriors left off
Ampney Crucis - ditto, something evil/duplicate universe?
Greysuit
At the moment it feels like every other strip is in a Dan Dare will return mode.
Okay before I go on I need to get this bit out the way. The quote at the end of Savage this week... and know I'll kick myself... but for the life of me I can't place it. I know it, but can't put my finger on it and its nagging me something rotten. I've tried a search but no joy, so I open the door to wails of derision but where is
"I want to than the Devil for all that he ain't done.
'Cos the Devil is innocent
It was me that was the one."
Anyway to Prog reviews in the Prog review thread, of all crazy things, I know.
Love the cover, so eye (ahem) catchin'
Inside really enjoyed Dredd, nice sharp done in one and Andrew Currie's art was pleasently restrained, which was entirely fitting. Top stuff.
Flesh was alas indulgent fluff again. This story has felt like its been just a vehicle for Clint Langley's art at times. Alas its not been that effective a vehicle and this has been a detriment to the series which up to this point I'd still be enjoying. I didn't hate this story, but I didn't love it the way I have this series in the recent past.
Double Savage was a lovely treat. This seems to be losing some folks and while the ending was very open (as was Flesh) it was a thrill ride. I enjoy the dynamic between Savage and Nika and look forward to her rescue next time so that both her and Bill can be on the out of their respective 'sides'. That's whats coming right? Good fun this one.
I've adored Counterfeit Girl to this point, one of the best new thrills in the last few year. Its propelled itself forward at wonderful pace, with art that has been suitably vibrant abd energetic. Its been a great examination of Mr Milligan's fav theme of identity so that makes it all the more disappointing that the end was a little weak. It might work better in re-read, which I very much look forward to but as read diappointing after a glorious thrill. Kinda wanted this to be a done in one story, but now I want it back so it can redemn its ending!
Overall very strong progage and the X-Mas Prog seems to have A LOT to offer and the line-up for the new year (I think), two new thrills, Kingdom, The Order joining Dredd could mean we have a stonking next line-up. Good work Tharg, good work.
Decent Flesh cover.
Enjoyed Dredd - nicely old school again; in fact it felt rather like a Daily Star Dredd building up to the inevitable punchline. Good one-off.
Flesh finishes, or not. Totally predictable 'cliffhanger' rather than actually telling a cohesive story. Had a look back over the whole run and there is some good stuff in there. It might read better as a collected volume with better paper, but probably not. Have to say that on review there is some terrific dino art in there. I just wish there was more plot progression for 62 pages and some, dammit ANY feeling that this might actually lead somewhere story wise.
Savage gets a double episode but I need to give this a read from the start. Based on other comments, I will reread Savage over Christmas.
Similarly, Counterfeit Girl ends but this lost me a while back. Will read the whole thing soon to judge properly but don't think it is really my cup of tea.
Looking forward to Christmas prog although, The Order is another that lost me. I think I might get the GN to catch up. Kingdom is always welcome, as is Deadworld and with 2 new stories to try (we will see if Edgington's is stand-alone or more of his universe building - hope for the former). Chris Weston on Dredd seals the deal. Roll on next week.
I really enjoy Pat Mills writing in 2000AD. I think he is one of the best.
Quote from: Steve Green on 03 December, 2016, 07:59:22 PM
At the moment it feels like every other strip is in a Dan Dare will return mode.
I truly believe that one day we will see the proper Gibbons-drawn conclusion to "Servant of Evil"...
It's very, very clear that Pat writes for the collections, and treats each 180-page book as containing three 60-page episodes. This is clearest with Savage, where the Taking Liberties collection has all the Adlard-drawn stories set in 2001, and The Guv'nor, drawn by Goddard, begins three years later and starts all the ABC Warriors tie-ins.
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 04 December, 2016, 09:03:16 AM
It's very, very clear that Pat writes for the collections, and treats each 180-page book as containing three 60-page episodes. This is clearest with Savage, where the Taking Liberties collection has all the Adlard-drawn stories set in 2001, and The Guv'nor, drawn by Goddard, begins three years later and starts all the ABC Warriors tie-ins.
Yeah, Pat is ceryainly writing with his eye on how they will collect - I think it is possible to write for both the collection and the weekly (listening to the Thrill cast again he talks there about the importance of writing to the 6 page structure more so than it being a mistake to write for the collection). I think Savage works both ways, with each "book" having a set tone and idea and pacing that satisfied a lot more than Flesh for instance. That said, I enjoyed Flesh a lot more with McKay as the artist, and Defoe worked better for me too so I wonder if Langley doesnt help
Langley definitely doesn't help for me. As an artist he's amazing but as a narrative storyteller his work leaves me lost. The work is too busy for my tastes and detracts from following what's gone on. His choice of colour palette doesn't help either, particularly on the latest run of Flesh. That said, Mills' pacing and sometimes verbose style (thinking of the last run of Slaine) doesn't always help. It now gets a quick skim at best.
Quote from: Tjm86 on 04 December, 2016, 10:17:35 AM
Langley definitely doesn't help for me. As an artist he's amazing but as a narrative storyteller his work leaves me lost. The work is too busy for my tastes and detracts from following what's gone on. His choice of colour palette doesn't help either, particularly on the latest run of Flesh. That said, Mills' pacing and sometimes verbose style (thinking of the last run of Slaine) doesn't always help. It now gets a quick skim at best.
And not just the story telling for me - character wise, Langley is only as good as his actors, and his actors are...variable. Admittedly, I challenge any artist to sell some of the stuff in Flesh in terms of Carver vs Carver, but then you could argue Savage and Nika is a similar situation, but Goddard pulls it off a lot better for my groat
Just read my Prog to my son. There is nothing like explaining it to a child to make you see the plot holes.
I felt like I had read a similar Dredd before. It is okish, but few things just don't make sense...Hanson told control she had a perp to pick up, ok she didn't finished telling them where but surely they would have then gone looking for him and could retrace Hanson's steps or surely Judges would have some sort of GPS tracker (er today's technology can easily do that, let alone 2138).
And wouldn't the perp have died of dehydration after 9 days? I don't even want to thing about the toilet situation). The Chaos Day flyer seem to have been tacked on from a completely different story. Funny thing is I thought it was an ok episode when I read it myself.
I seem to be in the minority about Flesh - I actually quite liked it. Whilst I agree with comments that "nothing much seemed to happen" that is strange given the asteroid that wipes the dinosaurs out hit the Earth...so yeah other than that nothing happened...apart from Sunday getting his comeuppance, Carver and Carter squaring off and relevations about Regan. In my opinion the issue is the pacing the art style introduces, not the writting.
Savage...again I feel like I am in the minority here, I quite liked this series. I liked the art, like the feel of it and it actually made sense.
But, but I do agree with Steve Green's comment above - there are way too many stories now in a "to be continued status". I understand the financial imperative to produce collected editions, but surely you could do that and still have a story that wraps up in each book that is part of an overall whole. 2000 AD used to be able to do that easily.
Counterfeit Girl has probably been my least favourite of this run of stories and that ending left me with a sense of "is that it?". Would possibly have worked better as a 3Thriller rather than a ten parter IMO.
I liked the Cover very much for Prog 2010 -
the Dredd one-off was fine with me -
I also thought Flesh was okay - and the art-work was pretty good
Counterfeit Girl was a nice story with impressive artwork
for me the best story was Savage , and I liked the clear, precise art-work from
Patrick Goddard - the cliff-ending was really nicely done by Pat Mills
I personally think he is still putting out good stories and I'm really glad he still writes for 2000ad
I am looking forward to return of Brass Sun , Lawless ( soon I hope ? )
and Jaegir ( hopefully not too long into 2017 ) for me Gordon Rennie is producing some
really great stories that are unique
I thought Clint's art on Flesh was great.
For me, it's about pace. Sláine is one of those Mills creations that can work when it's being relatively ponderous and epic, but also in quick, distilled blazes of action (although we've not really had much of the latter for a number of years), and Savage has a lot going on for the most part, even if I can imagine us seeing 'end of book 27' a number of years down the line.
Flesh: perhaps it's just expectation. For me, Flesh should be all-out ballsy classic 2000 AD. It's about cowboys and dinosaurs, with mad time travel and a dash of satire. Early Flesh had an exciting energy about it. And although today those strips lack maturity, they're still a lot of fun. Flesh today is a trudge. It'd be interesting if you had an artist with the energy of McMahon or Flint, say, with similar scripts that were compressed into half or a third of the space. As it is, it remains for me one of the biggest disappointments in the Prog, and something very close to a skip.
(As for the art: I don't think that's the problem unless Langley's somehow demanding he have loads of massive panels and splash pages. It does feel a bit murky at times, and a little stiff, but there's some great stuff with dinosaurs and design in these recent episodes. The problem is the pacing. It all just feels so slow.)
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 05 December, 2016, 02:08:17 PM
For me, it's about pace. Sláine is one of those Mills creations that can work when it's being relatively ponderous and epic, but also in quick, distilled blazes of action (although we've not really had much of the latter for a number of years), and Savage has a lot going on for the most part, even if I can imagine us seeing 'end of book 27' a number of years down the line.
Flesh: perhaps it's just expectation. For me, Flesh should be all-out ballsy classic 2000 AD. It's about cowboys and dinosaurs, with mad time travel and a dash of satire. Early Flesh had an exciting energy about it. And although today those strips lack maturity, they're still a lot of fun. Flesh today is a trudge. It'd be interesting if you had an artist with the energy of McMahon or Flint, say, with similar scripts that were compressed into half or a third of the space. As it is, it remains for me one of the biggest disappointments in the Prog, and something very close to a skip.
(As for the art: I don't think that's the problem unless Langley's somehow demanding he have loads of massive panels and splash pages. It does feel a bit murky at times, and a little stiff, but there's some great stuff with dinosaurs and design in these recent episodes. The problem is the pacing. It all just feels so slow.)
For me, I think it feels slow because the "character" stuff falls flat. The gurning faces and same old faces Clint uses suck all the energy out of thoose scenes, and there are a preponderance of them in Flesh at the moment. The satire is there, though much reduced this book, the Dino action is there... but it is all staged a little am-drammy. The Dinos seem to nuzzle each other rather than biting chunks out of each other, so that also falls as flat as the human acting for me
Can't we all club together and buy those negatives of Mrs Mill's laddie? That way Cybermatt can move on to using new talent...
Quote from: Proudhuff on 06 December, 2016, 12:00:56 PM
Can't we all club together and buy those negatives of Mrs Mill's laddie? That way Cybermatt can move on to using new talent...
Why, when a lot of his other stuff is of a high quality?
Quote from: dweezil2 on 06 December, 2016, 12:50:23 PM
Quote from: Proudhuff on 06 December, 2016, 12:00:56 PM
Can't we all club together and buy those negatives of Mrs Mill's laddie? That way Cybermatt can move on to using new talent...
Why, when a lot of his other stuff is of a high quality?
With
Flesh and the most recent book of
Sláine, Mills is pushing his luck, but he's been here before and pulled it back. The
insane Savage has been everything those books weren't, with something exploding on every page and plenty of plot to get through.
I think the difference might be the artists. Mills is trying to showcase Langley and Davis's work and let
them tell the story, but that slows the story to an arthritic limp. Mills just seems to be having more fun with
Savage too.
Does Tharg have an embarrassment of talent struggling to break through? None of the original strips the chasing pack* have put out -
Outlier, Age Of The Wolf, The Order, Samizdat - suffer any less from the pacing, tone, or narrative confusion some recent Mills strips exhibit.
* Old hands Abnett, Edginton and Rennie all have 3-5 regular returning strips per year
Quote from: Magnetica on 04 December, 2016, 02:13:33 PM
And wouldn't the perp have died of dehydration after 9 days? I don't even want to thing about the toilet situation).
Doesn't it rain in one panel? And we definitely get to see the toilet situation at the end of the second page.
Quote from: Steve Green on 03 December, 2016, 07:59:22 PM
The bigger problem I have is so many unfinished strips the prog has in a holding pattern.
Cliffhangers are one thing, but at least you have a good idea when a TV series is coming back.
Stickleback
Brass Sun
Brink
Kingdom
Absalom (Though on that one it Gordon has said it's going to be wrapped up)
I can't honestly remember where Slaine or ABC Warriors left off
Ampney Crucis - ditto, something evil/duplicate universe?
Greysuit
At the moment it feels like every other strip is in a Dan Dare will return mode.
Unfortunately I have to agree with you - as much as I enjoyed Helium, Scarlet Traces and Brink, it's been two years since we had that revelation in Stickleback and it'd be nice to see a few of the older stories concluded before we get the new stuff. I think the general feeling when I read a great new strip is "I like it and all, but I liked that other thing that's been on hold since last year - does that mean neither of them are going to ever be completed?"
We keep having this argument about the gap between returning series... I think I'm definitely in favour of the model we saw in the 200/300s, where, in addition to Dredd, there would be two or three series on extended/semi-permanent runs. Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Nemesis, Slaine, Ace Trucking and Robo-Hunter would all rotate in and out on long-term runs that, I think, helped cement their popularity.
I get that not many artists can hit the schedule that Belardinelli, Gibson or Ezquerra maintained, but I don't think Rogue or Slaine were hurt by a roster of artists.
Why is no-one talking about the back cover and last page of Counterfeit Girl? It's absolutely incredible!
It's a great last page, although I seem to remember Rufus commenting somewhere that he regretted making Libra's original costume too intricate and fiddly to draw. He's not done himself any favours with her new jacket.
I was unsure about Counterfeit Girl but it totally won me over by the end. Great stuff. I also found myself enjoying Savage again by the end. Totally bonkers fun even if some of the dialogue wasn't very natural and the shoe horned lyrics were annoying. Art was as always superb.
A good Dredd, always nice to have a 'lighter' (was it lighter?) Cit focused one shot to break up 'THE CITY IS IN DANGER' storylines. Flesh was just painful. Some beautifully rendered dinosaurs, some oddly static photoshopped faces and one character with a drawn face which stood out against the photoshop. 'To Be Continued' .. please no, but if a giant asteroid can't kill off the strip, nothing can. More hits than misses but I'm looking forward to the new batch of thrills.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 06 December, 2016, 11:26:07 PM
We keep having this argument about the gap between returning series... I think I'm definitely in favour of the model we saw in the 200/300s, where, in addition to Dredd, there would be two or three series on extended/semi-permanent runs. Rogue Trooper, Strontium Dog, Nemesis, Slaine, Ace Trucking and Robo-Hunter would all rotate in and out on long-term runs that, I think, helped cement their popularity.
I get that not many artists can hit the schedule that Belardinelli, Gibson or Ezquerra maintained, but I don't think Rogue or Slaine were hurt by a roster of artists.
See also: early Sin/Dex and Nikolai Dante for a (relatively!) more recent example of strips that took up semi-permanent residence for a while and benefited from it. It requires a lot from the writers and artists - particularly from the artists, as a long-term commitment to a series can essentially rule out any other work in the meantime unless they're very prolific - but it can establish characters and strips in a way that gives them greater longevity, even if - as with Dante and Sin/Dex - the pace falls off later.
Quote from: Frank on 06 December, 2016, 01:38:31 PM
Quote from: dweezil2 on 06 December, 2016, 12:50:23 PM
Quote from: Proudhuff on 06 December, 2016, 12:00:56 PM
Can't we all club together and buy those negatives of Mrs Mill's laddie? That way Cybermatt can move on to using new talent...
Why, when a lot of his other stuff is of a high quality?
With Flesh and the most recent book of Sláine, Mills is pushing his luck, but he's been here before and pulled it back. The insane Savage has been everything those books weren't, with something exploding on every page and plenty of plot to get through.
I think the difference might be the artists. Mills is trying to showcase Langley and Davis's work and let them tell the story, but that slows the story to an arthritic limp. Mills just seems to be having more fun with Savage too.
Does Tharg have an embarrassment of talent struggling to break through? None of the original strips the chasing pack* have put out - Outlier, Age Of The Wolf, The Order, Samizdat - suffer any less from the pacing, tone, or narrative confusion some recent Mills strips exhibit.
* Old hands Abnett, Edginton and Rennie all have 3-5 regular returning strips per year
I'd suggest that there is not much room for new talent to expand and learn if the dinosaurs are still stomping around, I don't mind the odd hit or miss that is a short run but so many of the long running stories are misses now its embarrassing. Time for another Offensive Summer?
Flesh is pretty much just two panels stretched out.
-Oh no,T-Rex-es are coming
-Oh no,they are here
Savage did pay off in the end.
Dredd was pretty sharp too.
The Dredd was okay, but we've had this basic idea twice (?) before (a rookie was even failed for leaving a perp cuffed on Hate Street) and Dredd's sentencing at the end was a very rare Carroll misstep in handling a convincing Joe - a citizen can't be held responsible for action that was obviously due to delirium directly caused by a failure of Dept procedures- there's even an ongoing investigation! He could easily have come up with something else, as it was he may as well have charged him for fouling the slab or causing obstruction.
Maybe Dredd was just being a dick because the guy was negating Chaos Day?Still,not exactly by the book.
Quote from: Timothy on 07 December, 2016, 08:56:38 AM
It's a great last page, although I seem to remember Rufus commenting somewhere that he regretted making Libra's original costume too intricate and fiddly to draw. He's not done himself any favours with her new jacket.
I once asked Carlos Ezquerra if he regretted the design of Dredd's uniform for the same reason (I can never get that bloody eagle to look right!), to which he replied "nothing good is ever easy"
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 07 December, 2016, 09:29:48 AM
See also: early Sin/Dex and Nikolai Dante for a (relatively!) more recent example of strips that took up semi-permanent residence for a while and benefited from it
Which was fine if you liked those strips*. Advocates of that system might consider that
(whatever the consensus here) Mills and his characters are
very popular (and bankable).
I'd enjoy a six month ABC Warriors residency ...
I think I prefer Tharg's new model, where popular
writers are given residencies, rather than popular characters. Gene the Hackman might not be in the comic for six months out of every twelve, but Dan Abnett is.
Creators don't burn themselves out on a character, churning out stories to demand, and if I'm reading a story by a top creator which I'm not keen on
(Brass Sun), I know it'll be soon be replaced by another of his works which I like
(Helium).
* I'm in a minority, but I only ever thought they were okay, and eight years of their semi-permanent residency convinced me I wasn't the kind of reader 2000ad was looking for.
So regarding the back cover, who is in the pic just up from the almighty Bamber Boozler?
Quote from: Frank on 07 December, 2016, 03:28:47 PM
I think I prefer Tharg's new model, where popular writers are given residencies, rather than popular characters. Gene the Hackman might not be in the comic for six months out of every twelve, but Dan Abnett is.
Creators don't burn themselves out on a character, churning out stories to demand, and if I'm reading a story by a top creator which I'm not keen on (Brass Sun), I know it'll be soon be replaced by another of his works which I like (Helium).
My view is the exact opposite of yours: my current attitude is "Oh, it's another Ian Edginton story, I'll skip that," because I'm not a fan of his work. If, on the other hand, he was consistently writing a much more limited number of strips, the chances are far higher that I'd be pulled in by the narrative, despite myself. That's exactly what happened to me with Sinister / Dexter - started off disliking it, wasn't that into Abnett either, was very fond of it by the time of Eurocrash, now regard Abnett as someone whose work I'm interested in outside of 2000AD.
Quote from: Banners on 07 December, 2016, 03:29:23 PM
So regarding the back cover, who is in the pic just up from the almighty Bamber Boozler?
(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjPG27jwmv6VOVEF1wpYL7suuaUmng5MtY2YFU04wZCkS7kNh7)
The late, great Steve Dillon (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/01/steve-dillon-obituary)
Quote from: Greg M. on 07 December, 2016, 03:49:51 PM
Quote from: Frank on 07 December, 2016, 03:28:47 PM
I think I prefer Tharg's new model, where popular writers are given residencies, rather than popular characters.
My view is the exact opposite of yours: my current attitude is "Oh, it's another (INSERT NAME) story, I'll skip that," because I'm not a fan of his work.
You can see why few of the Thargs have much hair left. I'm off to read the comic I'm supposed to be discussing.
Thanks! Yes, thought it was Steve Dillon but wasn't quite sure—lovely touch.
Quote from: Banners on 07 December, 2016, 08:46:41 AM
Why is no-one talking about the back cover and last page of Counterfeit Girl? It's absolutely incredible!
I was going to moan how it was a shame that this was the first thing I saw as I picked up the sub, and how it kinda gave the game away a bit.
But on reflection I think it being on the back cover helps with the open-ended nature of the finale - no confines for Libra, not even from the cover of the comic she appears in. And it really is a wonderful piece of work!
Dredd would've worked better if the story had focused just on the idea of someone forgotten on a holding post, instead of shoe-horning the Chaos-denial in at the end, but thats just my opinion.
Was still a good Dredd, from a great writer.
Just want to say how much I enjoyed Counterfeit Girl.
With all the talk of strips on holding patterns, this one stood out as a concise, self-contained story with a simple premise and a beginning and end. The art was great and it was fun to dive into that colourful and distinctive future world every week. The end even managed to be a bit thought-provoking.
Well done to all involved - and thanks!
Quote from: TordelBack on 07 December, 2016, 02:02:22 PM
The Dredd was okay, but we've had this basic idea twice (?) before...
This is precisely the problem now, and John Wagner alluded to it at the
Lawgiver convention a few years back: with 40 years of stories, it's too easy to accidentally re-tread well-worn ground. I'm guessing that's why he was so keen for Chaos Day to upset the balance a bit.
Despite not really enjoying Savage, the ending was great and now leaves me wondering if I should re-read and reappraise.
I liked the change of pace with the Dredd story and I'd be very happy if we had more one-offs next year.
My heart sank when I saw "to be continued" on the last page of Flesh, for the well discussed reasons on this thread and others.
Counterfeit Girl ends on a high and is probably my favourite thing in the prog this year. More Milligan and Dayglo please Tharg!
Rather frustratingly, I'm still waiting for my sub prog. I think this is the first time since starting my sub in 2003 or so that the prog hasn't arrived by the street date, and it kind of caps what has been quite a drop-off in service following the switch to the new distributor. I've received my prog and Meg on the Saturday before the cover date almost every week/month for years, with the very occasional Monday or Tuesday during busy periods, but since the change the prog has arrived later and later, with Tuesday and Wednesday being more common now.
I'm not hugely fussed if it's a bit later - though before the street date would be nice - but it's such a sudden and clear change I wondered if it was just down to the change in distributor or whether there was a change in policy (i.e. management want subs to arrive closer to street date instead of half a week early).
(...anticipating a dig in the Damage Report now... ;-) )
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 08 December, 2016, 11:03:28 PM
it kind of caps what has been quite a drop-off in service following the switch to the new distributor.
I don't map the problems in service to the change in subs provider. My general level of postal service took a massive hit within a very few weeks of our lovely government part-privatising it. Collection frequency was radically reduced, and second class mail, in particular, would arrive up to a week after the posting date. In addition, a lot of mail now arrives with part of the address (the town) written by hand on the envelope, suggesting that it's been sent somewhere else and then sent back, despite the envelopes being correctly addressed in 100% legible machine-printed text.
Privatisation. Improving public services since... oh, wait, basically never.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 08 December, 2016, 11:22:45 PM
I don't map the problems in service to the change in subs provider. My general level of postal service took a massive hit within a very few weeks of our lovely government part-privatising it. Collection frequency was radically reduced, and second class mail, in particular, would arrive up to a week after the posting date. In addition, a lot of mail now arrives with part of the address (the town) written by hand on the envelope, suggesting that it's been sent somewhere else and then sent back, despite the envelopes being correctly addressed in 100% legible machine-printed text.
Privatisation. Improving public services since... oh, wait, basically never.
Heh. Indeed...
Our service here has fallen off a bit, but nothing quite as bad as that, which is probably why the change in the day the prog arrives stands out - when every other bit of regular mail is much the same, the sudden change in this one thing is very obvious.
I don't recall whether the same company handles fulfillment for shop orders too now (IIRC that changed in the last couple of months as well) but I've also been a bit unimpressed with the service there - my last order was for half-a-dozen books during the Halloween sale, and they arrived in a black plastic bag with a bit of thin bubble wrap taped round them, and a few dents on the spines where they'd been clobbered during shipping. Quite a contrast to the way orders from the shop were shipped previously - sturdy boxes, packing material etc.
Don't think there's been any material difference since the change- I had a late one that week when there were acknowledged problems, other than that it's been Saturday or Monday as always.
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 08 December, 2016, 11:03:28 PM
It kind of caps what has been quite a drop-off in service following the switch to the new distributor.
As I've already stated in the thread for Prog 2004, there is no new distributor. The subs copies are sent directly from the printers, and have been for the last 2-3 years. They're mailed out on the Thursday, to arrive Saturday. Sometimes problems at the printers can mean they leave a day late, and that can knock arrival past the weekend.
No change in policy, no change in method. I can only put the unfortunate recent lateness of your prog's delivery down to a localised Royal Mail issue.
Quote from: Cyber-Matt on 09 December, 2016, 01:38:03 PMAs I've already stated in the thread for Prog 2004, there is no new distributor. The subs copies are sent directly from the printers, and have been for the last 2-3 years. They're mailed out on the Thursday, to arrive Saturday. Sometimes problems at the printers can mean they leave a day late, and that can knock arrival past the weekend.
No change in policy, no change in method. I can only put the unfortunate recent lateness of your prog's delivery down to a localised Royal Mail issue.
Apologies, Matt. I hadn't seen that post in the thread and I've clearly got the wrong end of the stick. My recent progs had been arriving packaged differently with a different company sticker on (I think the most recent ones I received had an "Intermedia Solutions" sticker on them, which I don't recall seeing before, as did the last order I got from the online shop) but perhaps I'm just putting that change and something I read elsewhere together and getting 5. It's odd that the prog/Meg are the only things affected among other regular mail, but if there's no change in method or policy then it must be (yet another) Royal Mail quirk.
Cheers for clarifying (again!)
Quote from: Cyber-Matt on 09 December, 2016, 01:38:03 PM
...there is no new distributor.
That's what you said about the collapse of WTC Building 7.
(Good job Rigellian hotshots can't melt structural steel).
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 08 December, 2016, 11:22:45 PM
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 08 December, 2016, 11:03:28 PM
it kind of caps what has been quite a drop-off in service following the switch to the new distributor.
I don't map the problems in service to the change in subs provider. My general level of postal service took a massive hit within a very few weeks of our lovely government part-privatising it. Collection frequency was radically reduced, and second class mail, in particular, would arrive up to a week after the posting date. In addition, a lot of mail now arrives with part of the address (the town) written by hand on the envelope, suggesting that it's been sent somewhere else and then sent back, despite the envelopes being correctly addressed in 100% legible machine-printed text.
Privatisation. Improving public services since... oh, wait, basically never.
the good news is to help the trains run better, they are handing the profitable bits over to their Rail Company chums to asset strip...
sorry diverting thread ahead :D
Quote from: Cyber-Matt on 09 December, 2016, 01:38:03 PM
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 08 December, 2016, 11:03:28 PM
It kind of caps what has been quite a drop-off in service following the switch to the new distributor.
As I've already stated in the thread for Prog 2004, there is no new distributor. The subs copies are sent directly from the printers, and have been for the last 2-3 years. They're mailed out on the Thursday, to arrive Saturday. Sometimes problems at the printers can mean they leave a day late, and that can knock arrival past the weekend.
No change in policy, no change in method. I can only put the unfortunate recent lateness of your prog's delivery down to a localised Royal Mail issue.
As the person who deals with incoming post in my office, I've also noticed the effects of privatisation on delivery times - what used to take a day or two now takes up to a week.