I would have to say this; find the time! The meg has been on a form that, as has been noted, the prog is lacking at present. Jake Lynch has produced a blinder of a cover. His colour artwork is definitely an order of magnitude greater than that he produced on some of the earlier Orlok stuff. He continues to impress with the Dredd strip and we have the first of a quality story.
Lawless continues to showcase the talents of both Abnett and Winslade. An interesting Freudian interlude into the depths of Pettifer interspersed with Lawson's calculations. In some respects it makes for a far more interesting episode, comparing and contrasting the two lead characters in the story. Especially when you consider how far Lawson has come since Insurrection.
Waugh continues this theme of the mechanisms that drive behaviour but perhaps less effectively. Dowling's art brings out the best in McConville's narrative but the sibling rivalry seems a bit overdone. May well work far better on a complete reading.
McConville does a far better job on Koburn; or is it the sublime pleasure of Ezquerra on art duty? Hard to tell but the core characters have an interesting dynamic; anal retentive, classic oppositionist and idealistic novice. Layered in with a familiar air of bigotry and a possible conspiracy. Hopefully McConville has something more interesting up his sleeve than the standard 'something rotten in the heart of Justice Dept' trope that we've been subjected to over recent years. Certainly a lot of promise but some reservations.
Wyatt and De Campi have however, certainly for my money, dispelled the notion that the Dark Judges might be an error for movie world Dredd. It must be a massive challenge to take one of the classic Dredd stories and reimagine it. The thought of Bolland's artwork combined with Wagner / Grant's story telling is a daunting challenge. Yet it works. There is a modern sensibility that allows for the potential reinvigoration of what has become a bit of a joke in recent years. The story telling has a subtlety to it, a maturity to it that the original possibly lacked. At the very least it hints at significant potential. Of course Flint on art again massively helps but if this is the final movie world Dredd strip then it is possibly going out on a high and presenting a massive argument for revisiting that decision.
For quite a while now the meg has consistently delivered. The quality of artwork, of story telling, the articles (arguably this month is an Adverorial for Ranson's Beatles volume but hey ho) all add up to what for me is the best value for money out of all my comic buys at present.
As an aside, the cover for the forthcoming Grey Area volume with it's pastiche of Farage's Brexit poster did make me laugh!
