Prog 1709 - Angel of Death

[House of Usher]

Wow! What a fantastic Prog!!!

This week:

In Judge Dredd, The Beast in the Bay, An inventive 'mystery narrator' yarn from Si Spurrier, admirably illustrated as ever by Patrick Goddard.

A little action goes a long way in Defoe this Prog, with zombie-educating silliness and flourishes of cool: "supernaculum!" I'm going to start using that as my own catchphrase. Or not.

It was refreshing to see the comedy playing a greater role in Sinister/Dexter again at last. I'm much happier reading this not caring about the politics or the characters, just enjoying the wordplay. Nice and crisp Anthony Williams art gets room to breathe, as the script doesn't try to fit too much on one page.

I'm only slightly surprised at how much I enjoyed Slaine. It's not my favourite series by a long chalk, but I think if it was ever due for a reappearance it's now. I found the past couple of months of Progs a bit dry and unappetising, and the reappearance of Slaine is moist and tangy in comparison. There is all kinds of fun going on here, including something for fans of chopping up monsters, and who's not a fan of chopping up monsters, am I right? The latest story premise serves the purpose. Slaine's recent adventures have been mostly mercantile in flavour, and this one's no different - Ukko takes on yet another business the previous proprietor wants rid of, and, as always, there is a catch. Clint Langley's colours are scintillating. For Mills-verse continuity fans, links between Defoe and Finn spotted last week are echoed here in cosmological parallels between Defoe and Slaine.

The big finale in Low Life made reading it a real pleasure this Prog. I'm quite relieved to see the end of it but also that I enjoyed the ending so much, because it did lose me along the way. Dirty Frank [spoiler]back in uniform[/spoiler] was not a development I had seen coming. Brilliant! I am very interested to see where this goes. I suppose he must have had a recent psychiatric evaluation, and passed, which is a real eyebrow raiser.

10/10

[Buttonman]

Bah! No Prog in Paisley.

[Dandontdare]

Mine's not arrived yet either 

[John Caliber]

My prog arrived atop my copy of THE AVENGERS: A CELEBRATION (with a torn dust jacket).

Another Spurrier Dredd story that starts off with an interesting premise, then terminates with my shrugging and sighing 'what was the point of that?' All whimsy, no punch.

[Grant Goggans]

Does Defoe end this prog?  I was wondering whether it was going to start doing 15-episode "books" like Savage.

[radiator]

Yeah, Defoe (and Low Life) end this week.

There's a preview for the new Cursed Earth Koburn series... Does this mean that Carlos is working again?

[Dandontdare]

Yeah, when he popped into the yap shop the other week he said that in between bouts of chemo he was working on this. Ya can't keep a good squirrel down!

[John Caliber]

Indeed. You'd never know Carlos is even ill. Nothing like a bit of illustration therapy.

[coastguardjackuk]

The best prog for a few weeks. I love the cover layout, it's improved considerably by the removal of the strip titles at the top and seeing Leigh Gallagher in colour is lovely as always. Great news concerning the imminent return of Cursed Earth Koburn, especially as this shows Carlos is returning to rude health. I loved the recent interview in the meg as I'm sure all squaxx did, and am sure I echo everyone's thoughts in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Dredd: An excellent Dredd this week. Was a bit disappointed with 'Gutshot' last week, there was always going to be a little dip in thrill power after 'Tour of Duty' finished so it's nice to get an offbeat story that gets the old grey matter bubbling over. Dredd is always great when reflecting current anxieties in our society and this week had a full house. The media and it's dealing with 'event' news, government and spin doctors, mankind's shameful treatment of wildlife for our own ends, illegal immigrants and their view of our society and the way they are prepared to risk their lives to get here. Absolutely fascinating. Dredd could even have had the episode off and it would have been just as enjoyable. All this, and 'Sushi Addict Fatties coming in low'. Brilliant.

Defoe: Great as usual, dialogue not up to previous heights, although some lovely new words this week. For me, this series' highlight was Gallowgrass' revelation about the crust he is growing (Prog 1706) which had me in stitches. Classic Pat Mills.I welcome Defoe back everytime.

Sinister Dexter: As usual brilliant, although having caught a brief flash of Slaine whilst turning the pages I think I may have rushed SinDex a bit in my excitement at the return of our favourite celtic bloodspiller. Which leads me nicely to...

Slaine: Back, and not a moment too soon. As one of my top 5 thrills of all time I could barely contain my excitement at the start of 'The Exorcist' and although not as immediately attention grabbing as the previous couple of stories I look forward to next week with baited breath. Beautiful colour choice from Clint as always. God it's great to have Slaine back!

Low Life: As much as it's great to have Slaine back it's also great to see the back of Low Life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it but for me it's been the weak link for a while. It's prevented previous Progs from being truly great and is usually the last thing I read.

So, all in all great stuff from Tharg as ever. Roll on Prog 2011!

[Proudhuff]

Huff mansions is a prog free zone, first Saturday for ages....

[Colin YNWA]

Well Sheffield is in luck and the prog arrived. Its a down turn from last week largely due to the fact that it features the two Pat Mills stories I don't enjoy. Slaine is ok but I just can't seem to get past the Clint Langley art, which I love on ABC Warriors (in the main) but I personally think its too ornate for Slaine which I prefer to look more natural and organic.

The Dredd is a fun one off with great art. I'm always happy to see Sinister Dexter in the prog, particularly when drawn by Anthony Williams. I'll be intrigued to see what S&D 'newbies' make of this one as I think it makes a good job of setting out the basics of the story, making it a good jumping on point? We'll see I'm not the one to judge that.

Low Life has a fantastic ending, except, well except Dirty Frank ending up [spoiler]back as a regular street judge[/spoiler] just didn't sit well with me. He doesn't seem [spoiler]in the correct state of mind to be trusted with regular duties [/spoiler] I'd have thought? Still once I'd got past that it wrapped up really well and I'd delighted it'll be back.

Ok prog

[Emperor]

Yeah, when he popped into the yap shop the other week he said that in between bouts of chemo he was working on this. Ya can't keep a good squirrel down!

Yep - on the 6th October he said:

carlos_666: but I finished the first episode of Koburn.. after one month!

He didn't seemed very impressed with the pace he was managing them but he has a good excuse Once the chemo is over (which it possibly should be by now?) and the moustache grows back I'm sure he'll be back on full form.

[Bluecube]

I liked Dredd this week. Interesting, different and always good to see the fabulous MC weirdos in action. Bring back the Fatties I say!

Defoe, Slaine, Sinister Dexter all inspire a mere shrug of shoulders. Defoe especially totally missed the mark as far as I was concerned. Shoot zombies. Break with a few words. Shoot more zombies. Yaaaawwwnn. Slaine should have retired a long time ago - after The Horned God as far as I'm concerned, it just doesn't work.

Dirty Frank - what can I say? I read a Dirty Frank story many moons ago before I stopped (gasp!!) reading 2000AD and loathed it. Hate isn't strong enough a word! However, this story arc has been nothing short of excellent. Consistently the best story in 2000AD with the odd splash of humour but also pulling you in with  a genuine need to find out what happened next. Truly excellent.

And is it just me or am I getting the impression that it's the same old characters coming back even after they should have retired? Dante for example. Possibly even Johnny Alpha...

[Darren Stephens]

Mmm. No prog for me this weekend. I'm wondering if my cred card has lapse and I'll have to get it wednesday...? Buggeration! 

[amberkraken]

Dirty Frank elation!

-that is all.