Prog 1949: Murder Most Foul

[Richard]

A good prog to end on before 1950 next week. I especially liked the Death episode of DoD. But can't say why without spoiling it.

Another double episode of Dredd. Not as good as last week's I thought.

A very good Future Shock from David Baillie, and a new artist (I think) called Nick Brokenshire, who I wouldn't mind seeing again.

The Alienist ended quite well, with the promise of a new series. I liked that [spoiler]none of the supporting cast survived[/spoiler].

[Dark Jimbo]

Didn't enjoy this as much as last week's.

Edginton was straw-manning like a good 'un in Dredd - ignoring most of the subtle character development he's undergone in the past few years (in the wake of Origins/Tour of Duty, and again since Day of Chaos) in order to make the story he wanted to tell work. Jane Doe's criticism of Dredd all rings untrue, frankly - he hasn't been as much of a downright bastard as he was in the first episode of this story in some years. An odd tale all round, really - the 'our robots are going missing' plotline wasn't really followed through, the interesting supporting cast introduced last week were killed off with barely a word of dialogue between them, and the end fell a bit flat. Feels as though it was cut down from a longer script. And yet again we get that fallback Edginton character voice, the 'comedy cockney.' It at least fits the tone of his usual period strips - it was just plain weird to hear a character in the Meg talking about gussets.

Nothing but good things to say about Dave Taylor, though - he's welcome in my prog any time!

Halfway through Dreams of Deadworld I thought I saw where it was going and didn't really like it, but the last page was great. Have quite enjoyed the series overall but can't say I'd be in a hurry to see it back.

The Future Shock didn't quite work for me - it was a premise masquerading as a story. Really interesting ideas but there was no actual narrative to speak of, and the end... well, it was barely that. I did enjoy it regardless, though, and the art was great. Page 2 was particularly nice - cracking bit of panel trickery.

Huh. So that was The Alienist. I kept waiting for this to click with me but it never did. I kept waiting to 'get it' but that never happened. And it's hard to put a finger on why - it did nothing obviously wrong per se. I can't say I ever warmed to the cast, or felt particularly fussed whether they lived or died, which probably didn't help, and the suggested intrigue about Madelyn's true nature just left me cold. Rare that a Rennie story misfires so badly for me!

[Eamonn Clarke]

[ZenArcade]

That is a wonderful cover. The colour and tone is awsome. Z

[Colin YNWA]

Not that long ago Tharg was turning out pre-relaunch Progs with so much whollop that the relaunch almost felt a shame, he seems to have lost that trick of late. Still Progs like this make the new line-up next week all the more exciting.

Dredd... well it seemed to ramble and drift, the robit thing was wrapped to turn us to a pirate thing... I think the premise was there's a lot of problems out there, its tough, be tough or go down. Wrapped up in that was a rather cliched will they have a pop at him, won't they, which for me didn't so much not work, as not be worth retreading. It was actually a perfectly functional Dredd I guess but didn't really add much, well aside from the glorious art by David Taylor.

The Future Shock, well Dark Jimbo pretty much sums up my thoughts on it. Not bad, but not quite there. Dreams of Deadworld, again not bad, far from great and The Alienist ends, but hints that they might be building to more to come. I have to be honest I'd rather not have this back, it didn't add anything new to the Prog for me at all, a weak thrill manyly for the reason I feel read like I could have read it in any number of comics before, and the talent behind it has proven capable of so much better so but them to other things I say.

Next week looks great.

[Pete Wells]

 I've rather enjoyed Dreams of Deadworld (well after that awful opening Fire episode)  but I must admit I read this weeks' instalment in my best John Cleese voice. It was like a Monty Python sketch, what with Death accusing the Dark Judges of murder.

I'd really like to see it come back but with some much creepier scripts to match Dave's darker than dark artwork.

[ZenArcade]

I agree the writing on the Deadworld stories coukd be stronger in some instances, but 2 out of the three have been quite good; coupled with the superlative artwork this has been my second read in the past 3 progs after Dredd. The conceptualisation of Deadworld, the more tech advanced society and the sense of deep time has been most satisfying. Z

[Frank]

I've rather enjoyed Dreams of Deadworld (well after that awful opening Fire episode)  but I must admit I read this weeks' instalment in my best John Cleese voice. It was like a Monty Python sketch, what with Death accusing the Dark Judges of murder.

I'd really like to see it come back but with some much creepier scripts to match Dave's darker than dark artwork.

Aye; Dave's artwork achieved his objective of making the Dark Judges scary again, but Nigel Long's scripts had one foot in the Dead Reckoning camp. Nothing wrong with that, but it sometimes felt the creators were straining in opposite directions.

A different story each issue meant they were really Future Shocks, which tend to work as extended gag strips and require a final pay off. I assumed each part would be more of a tone poem than a narrative, which would have fitted Dave's initial, terrifying conception of the four as unspeaking, incongruous home invaders, menacing his family.

Concentrating on narrative instead of atmosphere meant that rather than a split with the last 25 years of making Death less threatening by letting us know more about him, these stories took Fear, Fire, and Mortis down the same path. Dave Kendall's artwork is a career highlight though.

[Skullmo]

I usually love Edginton's work but for me that story just got Dredd wrong. It seemed to start so well too!

[Proudhuff]

Contrarywise for me from all the above!

Dredd spot-on and cracking, lots of interesting MC1 threads many simple blown up or wonderfully shot in a kind of Indiana Jones way. Great great double length story, with threats coming thick and fast and Dredd reacting rather than moping around. Artwork stunning.

Futureshock worked for me, coming from leftfield.

Dreams of Dullworld was so dreary I skipped after two pages, cover and artwork flashback to the muddy 1990 nadir of the prog.
   

[Mikey]

Another cracker cover from Kendall - called to mind the 1991 Mega Special cover, but with all the menace and putrescence that doesn't have (no harm to Ormston mind).

I'm with Huff Block about Dredd - I thought this was a great finish! I was genuinely surprised that [spoiler]Doe chose Joe[/spoiler] and enjoyed the Black Atlantic pirates (so can accept the accent). It definitely hinted at darker days to come in MC1 and even if we've seen some development of Dredd's character and motivation, I'd say the citizens wouldn't have noticed so much as they're still faced with Justice Department essentially still doing what it does. If you ask me, this yarn wasn't from Dredd's perspective so we don't fully appreciate his internal decision making process, so he appears his older self. Good stuff.

Really enjoyed the Future Shock too. Felt very familiar initially, with some similarities to American Reaper, but it turned out to be it's own beast with a neat idea at its heart and was well executed.

And The Alienist...some fantastic artwork throughout the strip, but like others it just never fully clicked for me. Thought it had last week, but I didn't feel a strong connection for the finale. Think I said this before but it felt like an 'old school' style of yarn - it's a Haunted House after all! -  so maybe it didn't gel with the other strips in the Prog. I'm usually a fan of Rennie & Beeby so would be happy to see this return and further develop the premise.

Dreams of Deadworld finished well, with a morality play for Death! I can understand how the humour doesn't work for some, but it works fine for me. Helps to create a disjointed and uncomfortable reading experience entirely appropriate for a freshly carked Deadworld imo - you're not quite sure if you can find it amusing. Brilliant final page, a real spine tingler!

Good prog Tharg! Really looking forward to the return of Bad Company next week...

[robert_ellis]

I loved the end of this Dredd 2 parter. It all came together as a story & and the beautiful art works a treat. The Alienist seems an odd beast - great dialogue & character but campy and without bite. Strong art but not scary enough. Nice old school future shock - in a good way. Dead world is just fantastic - spooky & thoughtful, just perfect. All in all an amazing prog!

[Timothy]

I've only read the Dredd so far - the rest will have to wait until after work - but I thought I'd pop in to support the wow camp. I thought it was a great story, crammed full of tense situations, human conflict and laughs. It was perhaps a bit old-school, but never in a bad way. More, please.

[TordelBack]

Interesting spread of reactions there!

Cover was outstanding, just brilliant. Kendall has refreshed Death's whole look with no hint of inconsistency with what has gone before. Scary as bejayzus. Can you see anyone dressing up like that at Mrs Gunderson's? Brrrr.

Dredd was way better than I expected - a satisfying 4 parter that worked very well as two. It was very much a disillusioned outsider's view of Dredd, rather than the more first-person perspective we often get, and convinced me fully - the characters, the city, the crazies, the action.  Liked it a lot.

Future Shock seemed a bit drawn-out, if that's even possible. Always happy to see Bailie in this slot, and Brokenshire's currently-unpolished Rian Hughes stylings show promise.

And if Bailie wasn't quite up to his usual standard, nor were Rennie and Beeby. The Alienist never seemed to get going for me, and I felt I'd seen it all before. Well written, well drawn, nice concept but apart from a strong second episode it just didn't grab me. No problem giving it another go, mind.

Dreams of Deadworld, on the other hand, delivers. All the things I normally dislike were there - dark painted art, numerous new Cenobite Judges, silly murder mystery conventions... But it all came together beautifully, and I loved it jusrcas much as I was revolted by it.  I thought Nigel walked a fine line between the daft and the terrifying throughout this series, which is how it should be, and Kendall was a complete revelation - he says this was inspired by a nightmare, and I believe him. In many ways Greg and John brought the DJs full circle in Dark Justice, their Bolland roots gorgeously rendered in hyperrealism, their purpose scaled back to punchable monsters in a haunted house, a nice bokend to their strange career. Kendall and Kek-W have gone a completely different way, emphasising the insane endpoint of their twisted logic, their sickness, their wrongness. Vying with The Order as my top thrill of 2015. MORE!

[ThryllSeekyr]

Was watching the Jimmy Fallon Show the other morning when he interviewed Keith Richards who seemed more coherent than I would have beleived him to be and after seeing this cover picture a excellent choice to be Judge Death.