1424 Stone Cold Crazy

[Tiplodocus]

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Enjoyed the DREDD - though I thought the tighter boots gag was slightly rushed - maybe another panel of Guthrie babbling apologising about having to shoot him would have made it seem less like it was a reference being shoe-horned in as ooposed to a bit of character development.

Of course, I'm alwasy wrong with these things - it's probably meant to be obvious the Dredd is jumping to conclusions and offering people snug boots as a solution - is he beginning to doubt the sytem again sort of thing.

I just can't connect with Second City Blues which is a shame because it seems to be trying so hard. Perhaps too much of it seems derivative to me - I don't know what it is really.


Slaine - again, I've just about given up on this.  The muddled art didn't help me this week either.  I can't help thinking that there is a huge potential in Slaine that isn't getting used.  What we seem to be getting is tired old retreads. Dredd seems to go from strength to strength - I like the way it evolved from what started out - I don't think I can reread early Dredd's and get as much fun out of them (they seem too childish at times). Slaine, on the other hande, I can reread early ones and get almost more enjoyment out of - it was great to start with (shoggy beasts, sky chariots, wickermen even the early cythron stuff) but now it just seems to wander about like a demon that Mac Roth has just lopped the head off.


CABALISTICS always finished too fast for my liking.  Great stuff and I really look forward to buying (and reading) a collected voulme. Didn't like the overdone Tom Baker gags (we got it in the first panel)

Dante seemed a bit crap at times - a really clunky bit of "Previously on Dante" exposition from the Weapons Crest at the start and John Burns draws "look and learn" dinosaurs. Hasn't he looked at a dinosaur text book in the last twenty years? Even Tiny Tips knows they don't look like that anymore.


Nice to see familiar faces on the INPUT panel - Logan really does seem to be taking a stand against Off-Topicness in his own inimitable style.

[Shewrog]

mine arrived this morning, best prog for a while me thinks..

[DavidXBrunt]

Reading Logans letter makes me feel like a cider drinking alchy sat in the bus station and noticing that that bloke who used to spend all day getting pissed with us is getting on a bus in a nice suit and tie, clearly heading off to a good job. Ah well, he'll be back. The lure is too strong...he'll be back. And so will Karne and all the other buggers who think they can escape but no! They'll be back.

Sorry, quick review -
Cover - Maria from Corrie modelling for Hannah Chapter? I was going to open a book to put bets on who got the Cabals cover this time round. Longest odds would be on Dom 'The Bomb' Reardon.

Dredd - Critchlow art is always a treat. Like to see him on Sin Dex. Story is just spot on, liked it a lot.

2nd C.B. - Not as bad as I feared, not as good as the apparant effort put in deserves.

Slaine - Having read 'Slaine the King' before this and 'Horned God' after, it seems a pale shadow of it's former self. And all the really great moments in those stories revolved around Ukko. Sorely missed.

Cabals -Yay. Will it be back soon? Please say it will. Nice Tom Baker image on the last page, overshadowing a rather good last episode. Best new strip since Dante? You know I'm right.

Dante - Liked the mass beatings on Krakken, interested to see how this develops. Even when it's seemingly on cruise control Dante is worth reading.

[paulvonscott]

Not in the local post office, but then most of the strips are halfers.  I'm half-interested, but there's nothing inspiring.

[thrillpowerseeker]

the cover was nice..I'd like to see Simon Davis do Cabs..oh and the 1974 hexagonal football featured again in a 1960 flashback...mysterious!

[Bart Oliver]

++ I can't help thinking that there is a huge potential in Slaine that isn't getting used. ++

Aggreed, I just rediscovered the Irish Illustrator Jim Fitzpatrick and his passion for Celtic mythology.

From the Jim Fitzpatrick website;

http://www.jimfitzpatrick.ie/images/silver/lugh2.jpg>

THE SILVER ARM (1981) by Jim Fitzpatrick is volume Two of the CONQUESTS trilogy and continues the story of Nuada, telling how the Gods forged his Arm of Silver. THE SILVER ARM also contains the account of the Second Battle of Moy Tura, a saga unique in Early Irish Literature for in it appears almost the entire Irish pantheon.

This volume describes the great battle in which the Tuatha D? Danann led by Nuada of the Silver Arm and their greatest champion Lugh, the Il-D?na, king, Balor of the Evil Eye.

Visit his site now..

Link: http://www.jimfitzpatrick.ie/intro.html" target="_blank">Jim Fitzparick site here..

[Bart Oliver]

http://www.jimfitzpatrick.ie/images/silver/lugh2.jpg>

[Lord Running Clam]

I really enjoyed the prog this week.

I liked the cover it looked good even if Hannahs face looked slighty off.It would be nice if Dom Reardon could have a crack at a cover ar some point.

Droid life-As always makes me laugh.

Dredd-Both art and story were great.

Second City Blues-This is growing on me.

Slaine-The art I like,but the story is abit iffy.The monster fight had a nice Star Wars fill to it.
Could a crossbow bolt kill a god though.

Caballistics Inc-This was by fall the best thing in the prog.It will be interesting to find out what came out of the mummy.The last page made me laugh out loud and came with a good cliffhanger.

Nikolai Dante-Was alright.Felt a bit like a Mills,story,What with what looks like black matter and a T-rex.

The letter page was good and I'm looking forward to the start of the Dirty Frank,story next prog.

[Endjinn]

I really, really, really, really liked the cover. I'd probably be sniffing around trying to buy it already if I wasn't so broke.

Dredd, Cabs, and finally Dante all present and correct in terms of quality.

SCB is getting a bit better, and Slaine's just carrying on as usual...

[Dudley]

Cover - ACE

P14 - ACE

Dredd - Ace-ish.  Not Rennie's best, but then that's a hell of a high bar.  Slight "Greatest Hits Remix 2005" feel, but with no great improvement on the originals.  Art was great.

SCB - DXB's spot-on - "Not as bad as I feared, not as good as the apparant effort put in deserves."

Caballistics - Great.  Superb, in fact.  And I like the Scotty Big Bad, whatever the hell it is.  But can I put it on the record that Mr Baker was much nicer than that when he gave me his autograph?

Dante - I just don't get the problems other people are having with this.  I LOVE the slightly retro Burns art, the plot's got lots of criss-crossing stuff, half-naked chicks (or goodlooking bloke, if you prefer), Harryhausen scorpions AND immortal bearded psychic pirate ninjas.  PLUS sharp, funny dialogue.  What's not to like?

Fun letter from Logan - hope he's happier now.

Great to see that Tharg is going to have a fifth story back in the prog in 2 weeks' time.

[Carlsborg Expert.]

I thought the letter of the week was a credit to serious writers.

still reading....

[feridian]

Prog finally arrived; I also loved the cover. Perhaps partly from seeing a B&W strip go into colour? Makes Hannah look younger than the normal strip.

Dredd: I don't know about this; I like the follow-up to Total War, but the story seemed a bit thin here. There's really not a lot that happens, nor any kind of development of the main arc.

SCB: This is really growing on me, both the setting and the characterisation. In contrast to the above the pacing zips along, but that's not a bad thing.

Slaine: Art is murky, but not as opaque as the plot; I can't follow what's going on.

Cabs: ended too soon; great pig in a kilt.

Dante: not my cup of tea, although the giant monsters bursting out everywhere do liven it up.

Definitely the best prog of the year so far - firing on all cylinders.

[Oddboy]

Droid Life: yay!

Dredd - good-o solid story. Plenty more Total War follow ups welcome!

Book 2: Sl?ine Macroth and the Chamber of Secrets - not too bad this week.

2nd City Blues: MONKEY IN A CROWN! nice one.

Caballistics, Inc. aces. But over! NOOOOO! What's happened to Demon Jenny?

Nikolai: Great fun.

Letters: Tharg says that only the input page is the way to get into 2000AD history... yet 75% of the writers are well known on the messageboard!
And being on the internet *can* get you immortalised in 2000AD - Devons Daddys Diner, anyone?

[Max Kon]

I really thought Slain was going to die, a major dissapointment when he survived, hopefully he'll die next week.

'Bad characters are always more appealing to women'

That explaind every thing. Pat is just doing this to appear bad and get more women. ;-)

[paulvonscott]

Against all expectations I enjoyed this prog more than I thought I would.

I wouldn't be able to tell if it was Black Siddha, Bek and Kawl or Caballistics unless it had the golem in from last week, or even better Caballistics written on the cover.

Dredd was good, lose the crammed in fanfic tight boots reference and it was an enjoyable story.

I thought Slaine was a really good espisode, it will be interesting to see if the Slaines relationship with the Earth Goddess is over, and what happens when they get back.  Although I suspect that may be next book.

If Pat Mills had written this weeks caballistics, he might have been accused of tapping into the centuries long fear mongering that Jews have been killing children and babies for magical power.  And thus labelled an anti-semite.

It is of course, complete nonsense (on both counts), but that doesn't normally stop anyone from making a gratuitous slur to score a few points.  Anyway, that aside, yes, enjoyable occult/action romp.

Nikolai Dante was okay, except the whole changing DNA/gun thing was a load of tosh of the highest order.  The gun ought to be banned under a Geneva convention of comic strip weapons.

SCB - the ball was very good.  As always, like the art.