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Prog 2038 - Going Viral!

Started by Magnetica, 01 July, 2017, 07:38:27 PM

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Magnetica

Artists I didn't appreciate at first but now do: number 1 on that list has got to be D'Israeli.

What's going on in Brink with the retching is it is a mental trigger against a key word. Basically a hypnotic suggestion. This featured in the first series.

jacob g

Quote from: norton canes on 06 July, 2017, 12:24:45 PMI just don't get what weird hold the Rogue Trooper universe has on 2000 AD. Yes RT was an immensely popular strip back in the day, but there was precious little else in the strip that had lasting appeal beyond Rogue himself.

TBH for me Jaegir is one of my favourite titles, not as RT spinoff but proper strong story (I kind of prefer Jaegir more than RT).
margaritas ante porcos

sheridan

Quote from: dweezil2 on 05 July, 2017, 09:20:58 AM
Quote from: robert_ellis on 05 July, 2017, 09:14:46 AM
Wow! Calling that cover a cluttered mess is a bit strong. I really liked the image took me back to the goblins Anderson used to fight in the Brett Ewins days. I think the prog is pretty strong right now - I loved the Dredd concept.

Yep, it all looks perfectly defined and delineated to me.
Another classy Cliff Robinson cover in my opinion!

Another vote in favour of the cover from me - brings across the idea of facing insurmountable odds from all directions.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: norton canes on 06 July, 2017, 12:24:45 PM
I just don't get what weird hold the Rogue Trooper universe has on 2000 AD. Yes RT was an immensely popular strip back in the day, but there was precious little else in the strip that had lasting appeal beyond Rogue himself.

Conversely, I thought Rogue was a pretty dull, one-note character in quite an interesting future war setting. Toxic atmosphere? Acid seas? Tanks the size of battleships? Battlefield scavengers? Alien enclaves? Biowire? There was a lot to like in the Nort/Souther/Nu Earth milieu, IMO.
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

Tjm86

Quote from: norton canes on 06 July, 2017, 12:24:45 PM
I just don't get what weird hold the Rogue Trooper universe has on 2000 AD. Yes RT was an immensely popular strip back in the day, but there was precious little else in the strip that had lasting appeal beyond Rogue himself.

Perhaps the fact that he was graced by some of the best artists of the day as well?  Gibbons, Kennedy, Twins, Wilson .... they gave life to such a bizarre landscape, twisting the most extreme potential realities of war into a believable reality.  I think Jim has it pretty much on the money, what GFD and Gibbons created has a life of its own.  That said, whilst Jaegir really lives up to that potential, Hunted seems to retread some of the worst aspects of the original strip so I do get where you are coming from there.

Elsewhere there have been complaints about not enough short, self contained strips.  Perhaps a Tales of Nu Earth series exploring some of the bizarre majesty of the planet?

Frank

Quote from: Tjm86 on 06 July, 2017, 02:07:57 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 06 July, 2017, 12:24:45 PM
I just don't get what weird hold the Rogue Trooper universe has on 2000 AD

Perhaps the fact that he was graced by some of the best artists of the day

In his introduction to an old Titan collection*, Cam Kennedy describes Message From Millicom as '(taking) too long getting Rogue into the action at which he excels', which is the artist's gracious way of saying nobody read Rogue Trooper for the story.

I'll join the collective sigh of disappointment regarding the second part of Parental Guidance. The fuzzy concept of the Technosphere wasn't developed - I'm not sure how it could 'shut down the entire city' - so the five panels introducing it last episode could have been replaced with the last page of this week's to form a nice one-parter.

On a positive note, the Freeziwhip Mrs Thompson bought (presumably for 4 creds, from Dan Tanna block) follows Mike Carroll's advice to new writers (see the last Thrillcast) about seeding the incidental details of your strip with references to Dredd's past, creating a sense of a cohesive world without bashing the reader over the head with the continuity stick.

DID ANYONE ELSE GET THE GENE WILDER (block) REFERENCE? Please say it was just me; it'll make me feel clever.


* Rogue Trooper: Future Wars (1990)

Steve Green

Quote from: Frank on 06 July, 2017, 07:57:13 PM
Quote from: Tjm86 on 06 July, 2017, 02:07:57 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 06 July, 2017, 12:24:45 PM
I just don't get what weird hold the Rogue Trooper universe has on 2000 AD

Perhaps the fact that he was graced by some of the best artists of the day

In his introduction to an old Titan collection*, Cam Kennedy describes Message From Millicom as '(taking) too long getting Rogue into the action at which he excels', which is the artist's gracious way of saying nobody read Rogue Trooper for the story.

I'll join the collective sigh of disappointment regarding the second part of Parental Guidance. The fuzzy concept of the Technosphere wasn't developed - I'm not sure how it could 'shut down the entire city' - so the five panels introducing it last episode could have been replaced with the last page of this week's to form a nice one-parter.

On a positive note, the Freeziwhip Mrs Thompson bought (presumably for 4 creds, from Dan Tanna block) follows Mike Carroll's advice to new writers (see the last Thrillcast) about seeding the incidental details of your strip with references to Dredd's past, creating a sense of a cohesive world without bashing the reader over the head with the continuity stick.

DID ANYONE ELSE GET THE GENE WILDER (block) REFERENCE? Please say it was just me; it'll make me feel clever.


* Rogue Trooper: Future Wars (1990)

I'm guessing something to do with Wonka Memes?

Frank

Quote from: Steve Green on 06 July, 2017, 08:10:04 PM
Quote from: Frank on 06 July, 2017, 07:57:13 PM
DID ANYONE ELSE GET THE GENE WILDER (block) REFERENCE

I'm guessing something to do with Wonka Memes?

See No Evil, like the unnamed protagonist.



Colin YNWA

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 06 July, 2017, 01:02:02 PM

Conversely, I thought Rogue was a pretty dull, one-note character in quite an interesting future war setting. Toxic atmosphere? Acid seas? Tanks the size of battleships? Battlefield scavengers? Alien enclaves? Biowire? There was a lot to like in the Nort/Souther/Nu Earth milieu, IMO.

I've said it before and I fear I'll say it again, but defo this. Rogue was a rubbish character in a great world, served by artists above his worth

Steve Green

No the See No Evil thing didn't occur to me.

It would have been fun to have had Judge Tedd on the cover shooting internet beasties to pieces.

The Adventurer

Quote from: Frank on 05 July, 2017, 09:54:56 PM
'WE MUST UNITE TOGETHER' ...' NOT THAT'LL MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE WITH WHAT OUR NEW RECRUIT REALLY IS'


In a touching tribute to the strip's creator, Hunted deliberately echoes the idiom of Gerry Finley-Day, littering the script with ripe dialogue and basic grammatical errors. There'll be a scrotnig/escorting homage next week.

I don't usually comment on Rennie strips (because I'm indifferent to his work and dislike his chosen internet persona), but Hunted is objectively, physically poorly written. The wrong words have been incorrectly typed into Microsoft Word. You'd think Tharg would notice the jagged green lines when he opens the document.

Hunted has previously treated us to the stylistic awkwardness of 'it only slows it, not stops it' (2037) and the howling 'that's what's left of your men being wiped out by everyone else who's now very much my men' (2034). Sons Of Booth swapped 'I' for 'it' (2032) and 'the' for 'he' (2031), so maybe the assistant editor droid's on holiday.

Its spoken dialog. People don't necessarily speak grammatically correctly. If its intentional for tone, its not incorrect.

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Frank

Quote from: The Adventurer on 09 July, 2017, 12:23:37 AM
Quote from: Frank on 05 July, 2017, 09:54:56 PM

' NOT THAT'LL MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE WITH WHAT OUR NEW RECRUIT REALLY IS' (2038) ...

'THAT'S WHAT'S LEFT OF YOUR MEN BEING WIPED OUT BY EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S NOW VERY MUCH MY MEN' (2034)


Its spoken dialog. People don't necessarily speak grammatically correctly. If its intentional for tone, its not incorrect.


Employing contractions and other deviations from formal English in dialogue reproduces the patterns of informal speech, reads more smoothly, and communicates character. That's clearly not the way the contractions and odd tense choices in the instances cited above are functioning.

I've never heard (or read) anyone say 'that'll' instead of 'that it will', and I'm not sure which phrase 'with what' has displaced (considering?). There are many common deviations from formal English that are familiar and comprehensible to readers - the examples above are neither.

The second example is such a convoluted, mind bending construction - switching between single forms (who's) and plural terms (men) that it defies logical interpretation. Nobody speaks like that, even when they're getting grammar wrong.

Bizarre phrases like these hinder communication. The only effect achieved is a narrative and cognitive stumble, sending the reader limping back to the start of the sentence to take another run at reaching the finish line with some idea of what was supposed to be said.

As far as communicating character is concerned, contractions and non-grammatical speech are commonly used to signal informality and a lack of sophistication or pretension. None of that squares with Kestra's established character traits and speech patterns*.

In most other instances, The General speaks in short, clear sentences with phrasing and vocabulary that demonstrate his confidence and sense of superiority. I can't see a dramatic reason why the scenes quoted from above cause him to lapse into semiotic spaghetti.


* Kestra adopts the mannerisms of an American actor playing an upper class English villain in an RKO serial. That first quote above is sandwiched between the Bertie Woosterish 'Oh most definitely' and 'I know just how much force to use to counteract your strengths'. The rest of the series shows the General adopting the phraseology and vocabulary of Jacob Rees-Mogg writing a letter of complaint to John Lewis:

'So yes, I know very much what I am doing ... Aah, my dear, how I wish I could see everything through your eyes ... In fact, I'm positively counting on it ... Thank you, but no ... And, again, I thank you for your concern, but must say no ... (the pain) is necessary, and, frankly, welcome ... It's time to abandon this refuge ... After all, I have a unique relationship with something they'd very much like to acquire.'

Frank


Ignore that last post. Writing it killed an hour on a rainy Sunday, but all it really says is that nobody speaks like that*.


* not even the character who is speaking.

A.Cow

Quote from: Frank on 09 July, 2017, 01:46:06 PM
Ignore that last post. Writing it killed an hour on a rainy Sunday, but all it really says is that nobody speaks like that.

You've obviously never lived in Dudley.

The Adventurer


THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK