Well that is another good Prog, with one absolute belting standout and one bait and switch missing ... I mean he really went and did it, didn't he!
Anyway we'll get to that. Dredd is brutally functional opener, its harsh and sharp artwork fitting for a story that feels so weighed down by function and technic that its lost a sense of fun and story. Still I've bought in and we'll see where we go with this.
The Order just keeps layering on the story, throwing more and more in, but doing it with a guile and energy that it never forgets its sense of fun and story.
A Terror Tale which feels a little out of time, is none the less really fun and engaging, and when it needs to be suitably creepy and why don't we have more David Hitchcock in the Prog plase?
So last week's Grey Area, the title of this two story don't seem to be the bait and switch I was expecting... though there is one panel, thrid page, third panel, that makes makes me think that its still to come and I'm really enjoying this so I'm giving Dabnett and Harrison the benefit of the doubt on this one.
But let's be honest if you've been enjoying Deadworld to this point this is the story to storm to the top of your charts this week. Bloomin' brilliant and this turn of events, assuming its not going to twisty turn on us is most welcome and opens the series up quite supremely. Just fantastic stuff.
So over all very good Prog, thank you Tharg... if you have to keep that bait and switch you owe me a little longer so be it, entertain me like this and I'll happily wait...
(https://i.imgur.com/0KFwKii.jpg)
Mark Harrison and some sort of Pussy Riot squad.
The art on Dredd this week is absolutely gorgeous. ;)
Quote from: Eamonn Clarke on 21 July, 2018, 10:03:24 PM
Mark Harrison and some sort of P****
Remember the days when Mark Harrison got grief for drawing female characters wearing so little clothing the only part of their anatomy
not on display was that depicted above?
I mostly enjoyed this weeks prog but for a couple of things. The Terror tales' ending made no sense to me. Maybe I'm being a bit dense, but what am I suppose to make of it? [spoiler]Is Quilli real after all or is the child so believing of her father she is having a psychotic episode?[/spoiler] I also have an issue with this week's Deadworld episode. [spoiler]Judge Death's father was executed when Sidney was a boy. I am no doctor, but I am sure that death by electrocution would speed up the deterioration of a body. Also, Judge Death never showed any indication of madness when it came to bodies before. Why is he treating the corpse of his father like Norman Bates did his mother? Finally, we have Judge Death reach into the chest of the would be assassin and stop her heart. It is stated that this talent is new to him. Hang on though, just after Sidney was transformed into Judge Death by the Sisters, he went over to the Hall of justice and did that very same thing to the Chief Judge. [/spoiler]
That being said, the Dredd is starting off nicely, the Order is weird as always and Grey Area was really sad.
I stared and stared at the Dredd artwork this week. Absolutely magnificent! The Order continues to be of no interest, I'm afraid. The Terror Tale made little sense... I'll give it another read later. Deadworld is a pass until it's complete. Grey Area top class as always. Not a massive hit-rate for me right now, but I still enjoyed the prog a lot.
Now for some more quality time making Anime heart eyes at Dredd.
I thought the art on Dredd this week was generally really good, but a couple of things seemed a bit off to me: the Judges' helmets looked odd and also Dredd's stance looked strange to me.
Cover - ahem. Fantastic. Fans should be gushing in praise for that cover.
Dredd - pretty solid opener but agree the helmets (an aesthetic choice) looked a bit crap. What appeared to be a C20th fire hydrant surprised me too. And the story-telling around the cars destruction wasn't too clear - I only worked out the persons laying waste to the Justice Dept wagon [spoiler]were the people previously in the car [/spoiler] due to the conversation with Hersey after [spoiler]initially I assumed they were other members of the gang[/spoiler]. But good. Lots of stuff - action, story, justice dept politics to get ones teeth into. Kudos to Chris Blythe's colours too.
The Order - trade-waiting this
Terror Tale - this was really good. It was a bit decompressed but that was filled with nice stuff and the story kept moving. The ending seemed open-ended ([spoiler]the daughter is evil or the doll is real and took a new host[/spoiler] but that's fine. It works well and was a great use of the art droid's style too. Great work all round.
Grey Area - me sad. Hate you guys.
Deadworld - sorta anti-climatic after what happened in Grey Area. Tharg defo should have switched their order as 'cheap' deaths mean less after grieving for departed much-loved characters. But god this is still a good strip. More!
Absolutely firing prog - top marks all round. Off to read Droid life and damage report now..
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 21 July, 2018, 10:07:14 PM
The art on Dredd this week is absolutely gorgeous. ;)
Seconded.
Anyone still waiting on this prog to arrive? Mine is MIA.
That Deadworld story is totally sick, in two ways.
The prog is still going strong
Dredd - the art is fantastic and the story is looking very promising
The Order and Deadworld - there is two things common about both of them and it is the stellar story telling from Kek-W and both brilliant artists suites the story.
Grey Area - [spoiler]RIP[/spoiler]
Loved the Terror Tale. Art stood out frm the rest of the Prog, story was straightforward. More like this please.
ZARJAZ!! (Especially Dredd & Deadworld).
If there's no body, they ain't dead.
Still it's pretty much all Zarjaz stuff; wasn't 100% on the Terror Tale and having THE ORDER (with it's no establishing panels ethic) and DEADWORLD and GREY AREA (where you need to drink in the page before working out how to read it) mean the prog takes time to read.
Is that 'Banzai Battalion: inside a toilet' on the cover?
So there's a lot going on in this week's Prog, and having wasted half the afternoon fantasising about Strontium Dog minis, I haven't time to tackle it all now, but I will say this: where the hell does Tharg source his art talent from, and why can no other publisher in comics match it. Is there a page in this week's entire comic that isn't spectacular? Sullivan, Manco, Burns, Hitchcock, Kendall and Harrison: yez are all so different, and all wonderful, take a collective bow!
Quote from: SIP on 24 July, 2018, 08:12:16 AM
Anyone still waiting on this prog to arrive? Mine is MIA.
Strangely, just as I was gearing up to send an email, Prog 2091 dropped on the mat on Saturday. Seems very strange for the distributors to be pulling a Hachette on us after our whinging about the Ultimate Collection's schedule. With any luck 2092 will be here before Wednesday and this will be but a hiccup.
Quote from: Tomwe on 29 July, 2018, 10:52:29 PM
Quote from: SIP on 24 July, 2018, 08:12:16 AM
Anyone still waiting on this prog to arrive? Mine is MIA.
Strangely, just as I was gearing up to send an email, Prog 2091 dropped on the mat on Saturday. Seems very strange for the distributors to be pulling a Hachette on us after our whinging about the Ultimate Collection's schedule. With any luck 2092 will be here before Wednesday and this will be but a hiccup.
yup - prog 2092 arrived today
Boyhood of a Superfiend was written by Brian Skuter, as told to him by Sidney, while Tainted is omniscient third person narration. Plenty of room for errors, embellishment and fabrication in the former.
Quote from: sheridan on 30 July, 2018, 01:11:12 PM
Boyhood of a Superfiend was written by Brian Skuter, as told to him by Sidney, while Tainted is omniscient third person narration. Plenty of room for errors, embellishment and fabrication in the former.
S'right.
Boyhood is self-serving auto-hagiography, and a bit pants in places TBH (art aside). However, all the Omniscient Long says here is "this talent is new to him", he doesn't say this is the
first time he's used it. Squinting long-sightedly at the printed word like an old man is new to me too, but I've been doing it for several months now...
Quote from: TordelBack on 30 July, 2018, 02:20:24 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 30 July, 2018, 01:11:12 PM
Boyhood of a Superfiend was written by Brian Skuter, as told to him by Sidney, while Tainted is omniscient third person narration. Plenty of room for errors, embellishment and fabrication in the former.
S'right. Boyhood is self-serving auto-hagiography, and a bit pants in places TBH (art aside). However, all the Omniscient Long says here is "this talent is new to him", he doesn't say this is the first time he's used it. Squinting long-sightedly at the printed word like an old man is new to me too, but I've been doing it for several months now...
:-D
Quote from: TordelBack on 30 July, 2018, 02:20:24 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 30 July, 2018, 01:11:12 PM
Boyhood of a Superfiend was written by Brian Skuter, as told to him by Sidney, while Tainted is omniscient third person narration. Plenty of room for errors, embellishment and fabrication in the former.
S'right. Boyhood is self-serving auto-hagiography, and a bit pants in places TBH (art aside). However, all the Omniscient Long says here is "this talent is new to him", he doesn't say this is the first time he's used it. Squinting long-sightedly at the printed word like an old man is new to me too, but I've been doing it for several months now...
And considering his father's corpse hasn't deteriorated much*, maybe this isn't too long after he has become undead. He is referred to as the 'new chief judge' a few times after all.
Granted the state of the world might suggest it's been happening for a good while, but I think it's more a case that the process has accelerated in recent years. I am referring to the post apocalyptic nature of the world and destruction of society here as I think the whole process from the beginning has actually taken a very long time, before even the Dark Judges appeared on the scene. I haven't read all of young Death, but wasn't the justice department of Deadworld more much more brutal and inclined towards the death penalty than the Meg's version even before Sydney and co played their part?
* Although future embalming methods might play in that.