Your Comments Please

[Jared Katooie]

This is really top-notch stuff, especially the art (No offence Q, it's just really brilliant art). Aside from a few quibbles I would regard it as being absolutely prog-worthy.

[Proudhuff]

Top notch, I've seen a lot worse in the prog over the years and the art work is fine, some nice touches and good and clear.


Story very timelt too considering the boohaha aboot pensions 'holes'

hope Two jags doesn't read this might give him ideas!!

Huff the Elder

[House of Usher]

I liked it, especially the artwork. The motive was very good indeed.

A couple of things though - for the sake of authenticity, I'm not sure about judges and their pensions. Surely a judge's 'pension' is the Long Walk, the Academy, or in DeMarco's case, becoming a P.I.?

And are you sure you couldn't have got in a hackneyed reference to Michael Douglas Block? Russell Crowe seemed a bit arbtrary.

Qmog can certainly plot, and I'd like to see more of Simon Penter's work. Often.

[Trout]

Very, very good indeed!

- Trout

[Si Logan]

I would just like to say that it was the variety of comments posted on this message board last month (regarding my previous contribution) that gave me the motivation to get this strip started and finished at speed ( with no small thanks to Qmoq's script of course).

Ok, 4 weeks may not seem 'at speed'  for 4 pages -but I've been working around my full time job and my first child is expected imminently (there
have been a few flat-packs to build I can tell you) -  so I didn't do too badly.

Apart from my wife ( who is my number one fan - but I have my suspicions that she may be biased! ), no-one really gets to see this stuff - so it's usually impossible for me to judge whether what I'm producing is ok - or whether it's complete rubbish.

Over the last month I had felt that the art in this strip was somewhere between below-par and passable, so the comments you have given have been a welcome surprise and, once again,  a great source of motivation.

2000AD Online has proved invaluable in obtaining some input - so a final big thanks to everyone who has taken the time.

It has been appreciated.

Back to the drawing board !

ps.  Has anyone got  'How to Draw Noses The Marvel Way'?

[paulpenter]

Hi Si,

Just checked out the strip, totally ace! You should definately do either Strontium Dog or Rogue Trooper for your next strip. Keep up the good work!

Your biggest fan (Slight Bias!)
Paul.

[Si Logan]

Ok....you can be my biggest fan then.

Thanks!

[Leigh S]

Good stuff - your art reminds me a little of Cyril Julien (I think it was?).  

Story's a nice un as well, with a good solid idea at its core. That said, I do think the last panel is finding Dredd in Alan Grant style ridiculously harsh territory - People living variable lengths of time is the whole point of insurance and pensions after all, and if it was an arrestable offence, they wouldn't have had to bump them off surely?  Personally, I feel a better ending would have been to have the old geezer arrested for conspiracy - he knew they were trying to do him in, but didn't care! :)

Other than that, keep up the good work

[Si Logan]

Oh no....my real job is encroaching on Judge Dredd!!

I'm not the writer, but surely an annuity is based on an assumption that you will live for a certain, limited amount of time......if, say, life expectancy suddenly soared the insurance companies would be paying out a lot more than they bargained for and would be in a lot of trouble.

Still....I liked the conspiracy thing - I could certainly think of worse ways to go (but not many better)!!

[Leigh S]

Thats true, and is a great idea for a futuristic tale - look at the pensions crisis they are predicting due to people living longer. Its the sort of thing that classic Dredd did well - take a contemporary issue and take it that step further.  

But that said, it's the risk the company takes - and I can't see the Judges making it illegal to be a drain on their resources by living too long. It's the only bit that I think steps over the imaginary line in my head that says "even Dredd wouldn't do that"! :)

[Matt Timson]

Yeah- it was almost a bit overkill and seemed tacked on to the end of an otherwise enjoyable tale.

I demand that you change the ending.  Immediately.

[esoteric ed]

Wow, I've only just seen this, excellent work all round Si, nice.


Ed

[Spaceghost]

that's really good you two. script and art perfectly     capture the feeling of dredd.

[Qmoq]

Thanks for your comments, Watcher!

As you suggest, the tale was based on the longevity of people continuing to increase - insurance firms that sell annuities are finding that they sold them too cheaply (I know, I work for one!) so the genesis for the story was the thought "What if they sold them at a time when it was thought that everyone was going to die soon? They'd be incredibly underpriced!"

Sorry it was a boring topic, but I write what I know...

In the next exciting tale, Judge Anderson explains the difference between endowment and repayment mortgages.

Cheers,

The Qmoq

[Dudley]

I know this is a joke... but could you write it?  Seriously.  I've never been able to understand that sort of thing: maybe if Cass explained it would all make sense...

Devlin Waugh on bonds would be pretty useful, too.