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Spoilers => Prog => Topic started by: glassstanley on 10 February, 2018, 03:47:47 PM

Title: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: glassstanley on 10 February, 2018, 03:47:47 PM
Now that's what I call a Prog!

The cliffhanger to Bad Company - I don't think I've been left hanging like that since the penultimate part of Bad Company II. Back then it was 'Who is the Krool Heart?' Now it's ...

Anyway, I appear to have been proved completely wrong in a previous post complaining about Bad Company - Terrorists.  Milligan and team appear to have been playing a long game.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Eamonn Clarke on 10 February, 2018, 07:35:15 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/MDKa3NV.jpg)
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 10 February, 2018, 09:47:50 PM
Whilst I don't have Pat's reputation for meticulous research and can't discount the possibility that I've missed some crackpot website authoritative internet source stating otherwise, I'm broadly confident that Alfred Nobel didn't "invent gunpowder".
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: TordelBack on 10 February, 2018, 10:23:36 PM
Not unless there was time travel involved.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: A.Cow on 10 February, 2018, 10:55:10 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 10 February, 2018, 09:47:50 PM
Whilst I don't have Pat's reputation for meticulous research and can't discount the possibility that I've missed some crackpot website authoritative internet source stating otherwise, I'm broadly confident that Alfred Nobel didn't "invent gunpowder".

The dialogue says "produced gunpowder", not "invented".  And Alfred Nobel's first Swedish patent was on "ways to prepare gunpowder".

However, the context of the rest of the sentence would make more sense with "dynamite" instead.

Then again, these is Quartz's rant.  It's not unreasonable for a fictitious character to get dynamite and gunpowder mixed-up.  After all, we're talking about someone who has GPO Type 706 telephone handsets hanging from their midriff...
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 10 February, 2018, 11:00:27 PM
EDIT: No, of course. How stupid of me. Pat can do no wrong. My mistake.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Magnetica on 10 February, 2018, 11:38:10 PM
I enjoyed the Prog this week, but that was mostly off the back of cracking episodes of ABC Warriors and Savage. It seems Blackblood doesn't actually like being [spoiler]betrayed[/spoiler] himself.

Brass Sun throws us a bit of a curveball in a largely dialogue free episode. Intriguing.

Bringing up the rear are Dredd and Bad Company . The Dredd arc ends and for me it was all a bit "so what". Bad Company teases at what might be going on; it remains to be seen whether it'll be enough to save the whole thing.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Richard on 11 February, 2018, 12:25:11 AM
I liked how Dredd ended. It's good to see Dredd defeat someone by using his wits instead of just shooting them once in a while, and it had a big monster in it.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 11 February, 2018, 12:07:55 PM
As I recall, very p[ossibly wrongly but that's never stopped me, Alfred Noble set up the peace prize as he felt so guilty about the harm done by his development of dynamite?

Anyway to things at hand and more progy we have another good un, Not quite as good as last week but there's a real refreshing balance this week, largely due to a bold and glorious episode of Brass Sun.

However we should start with Dredd, its a little odd as an ending, not to the individual story which ends really well and is pretty satisfactory but rather Dredd's East Meg excursions. In theory I should like it as after all there's been no over arching mission / plot in these stories its just need a noce way to throw Dredd into different situations and tell different stories. Should like that, nice way to move things aroiund, as it is as its been around a while it felt like it should have had more to it. As it is its rather 'Right done with that, what's next'. Still good stuff and enjoyed the ending to this story.

ABC Warriors all that was done is quickly pushed aside and now we have everyone blaming poor old Blackblood... well yeah for good reason...but having set up all this cool conflicit again it all felt a little pushed aside. Let's see where it leads though.

Savage does a better job of setting up its ending its just a blast of action but given the cliffhanger feels just the same as last weeks hasa it moved us on at all - ah why care it was such fun.

Then we have a gloriously atmospheric Brass Sun, gorious low of dialogue, especially compared to the Mills' stories that proceed it, yet establishing so much, while setting up lots of questions. So much done with so little. A chance for the story to catch breathe after the last few hectic epsiodes but with such craft and subtly driving things forward with a real quiet conviction. Glorious on ever level.

As could the end of Bad Company be as Milligan slowly hints at answers... or does he, fantastic teasing.

So as we enter the end games of the 4 none Dredd strips it will be fascinatating to see which land them and which stumble. There is plenty set up though to really make it such fun as we findout.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 11 February, 2018, 12:15:47 PM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 11 February, 2018, 12:07:55 PM
As I recall, very p[ossibly wrongly but that's never stopped me, Alfred Noble set up the peace prize as he felt so guilty about the harm done by his development of dynamite?

Nobel did indeed invent both dynamite and gelignite and reputedly set up the prize to assuage his guilt on the matter. (A quick google just now reveals that the French press excoriated Nobel upon learning of his death... except that they had confused Alfred with his older brother Ludwig, so Alfred got to see exactly how he would be regarded upon his death while he was still living and set up the prize in his will.)
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Keef Monkey on 14 February, 2018, 01:39:42 PM
Having a bit of a dip with the prog personally, still reading weekly and still look forward to it but storywise the current batch of thrills just doesn't seem to be gripping me. It's really, really rare I get a bit detached from 2000AD though, and it's probably been years since the last time so I'm sure I'll be clicking with it again very soon. There are only a handful of strips Tharg puts out that I don't really follow too intently, and I think it's just rare poor fortune that a bunch of them have shown up at once.

Savage normally actually falls into that category but  I think it's the thing I'm enjoying most just now, just because the action has been really fun lately, and I am enjoying the artwork in Bad Company. The Dredd story hasn't really grabbed me and I totally lost the thread of what's going on in Brass Sun and ABC Warriors many moons ago unfortunately.

Hope others are still really enjoying it though, but personally looking forward to the next line-up refresh!
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Proudhuff on 14 February, 2018, 02:16:57 PM
I didn't enjoyed the Prog this week, but that was mostly off the back of kacking episodes of ABC Warriors  and Savage. It seems Blackblood doesn't expect to be betrayed himself... Shirley some mistook?

Brass Sun  throws us a bit of a curveball in a largely dialogue free episode. Intriguing and nicely done.

Bringing up the rear are Dredd and Bad Company . The Dredd arc ends and for me it was all a bit "so why East Meg?" This could have been in the Canadian wastes? and how do you control feeding one of babies?

Bad Company bores at what might be going on or might no or if someone cared; it remains to be seen.

A bit like the Sexy Ostriches in the Megazine, I can't wait for this all to finish.

oh and that muddy painterly cover makes my blood run cold.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Freddychopper on 14 February, 2018, 06:56:30 PM
Lovely painted cover artwork from Nick Percival  - Always great to see his work on Dredd.

Dredd wraps up nicely. I'm a big fan of Carroll's Dredd work and like that he puts Dredd in different environments. It was good to have an action episode and see the old guy fight and still kick ass like a youngster

Uncle Pat continuing at a pace on ABC Warriors. A bit off topiic: I actually just saw that Simon Bisley preview of the Joe Pineapples story, that kind of looks a little bit strange in this current age but hopefully will be good mindless fun and mayhem.

Love Savage - Go Quartz!!

Bad Company is good retro fun but it's Brass Sun that doesn't really do it for me, I'm afraid.

Decent enough prog though.

Time for tea!


Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: DrJomster on 14 February, 2018, 10:23:01 PM
That was a lovely episode of Brass Sun. Gorgeous! I'm going to have to get the collected edition. And Brink.

I'm actually quite liking the ABC/Savage link up. So close to a digital Mek Files binge, I can't tell you!

Quite a good Prog all round tbh.

Oh, and nice cover to boot!
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: sheridan on 15 February, 2018, 12:05:54 AM
Quote from: A.Cow on 10 February, 2018, 10:55:10 PM
Then again, these is Quartz's rant.  It's not unreasonable for a fictitious character to get dynamite and gunpowder mixed-up.  After all, we're talking about someone who has GPO Type 706 telephone handsets hanging from their midriff...


Not unreasonable, though this particular fictitious character is an arms dealer...
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: JamesC on 15 February, 2018, 09:58:09 AM
An enjoyable prog I thought.

I enjoyed Dredd but I think MC needs to do a bit more work on characterization. Dredd himself isn't given much personality in this story and everyone else is just a cardboard cut-out. The villain should have been a memorable character but in the end was just an obstacle they needed to get past - he may as well have been a high wall or a bomb that needed de-activating. The same goes for the Sov guy who was apparently a returning character - but as he has no character I didn't remember him and probably won't if he turns up again.
It's a shame because I liked the setting and the mood and plot of the story was all fine.

I really enjoyed both ABC Warriors and Savage. It's not high-art but I think Pat writes fun OTT adventure stories and he picks great artists to work with - both strips look fantastic. Quartz is a really fun villain.

Brass Sun doesn't and never has done it for me. Get Culbard back on Brink!

Bad Company looks great and has a fun yet dark mood - in some ways it captures what made it great in its heyday. Just a shame the story isn't very engaging.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: A.Cow on 15 February, 2018, 10:37:25 AM
Quote from: JamesC on 15 February, 2018, 09:58:09 AM
Brass Sun doesn't and never has done it for me. Get Culbard back on Brink!

I just don't get the love that people have for INJ Culbard's art.  It's far too minimalist for my liking.  I appreciate that everyone will have their own taste, but I don't feel the Culbard style suits action sequences or the pace of weekly storytelling.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: JamesC on 15 February, 2018, 10:47:47 AM
Quote from: A.Cow on 15 February, 2018, 10:37:25 AM
Quote from: JamesC on 15 February, 2018, 09:58:09 AM
Brass Sun doesn't and never has done it for me. Get Culbard back on Brink!

I just don't get the love that people have for INJ Culbard's art.  It's far too minimalist for my liking.  I appreciate that everyone will have their own taste, but I don't feel the Culbard style suits action sequences or the pace of weekly storytelling.

I like it. Most importantly you can tell who everyone is and where they are in relation to each other. His story telling is really good and he has a great sense of design. Some lovely use of colour too - those bits in the last series of Brink where the woman was sunbathing were stunning. Even more so in comparison to  the coldness of the space station and space in general.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Magnetica on 15 February, 2018, 11:36:00 AM
I used to think  D'Israeli's art (his Scarlet Traces style ) and INJ Culbard's art were too minimalist. Then I watched an episode of From the Drawing Board which showed how D'Israeli produced his pages. Since then I have viewed the art produced by both of them differently and have come to like them.

They are both clear and convey what is going on in the story.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: The Corinthian on 16 February, 2018, 06:10:00 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 11 February, 2018, 12:15:47 PMNobel did indeed invent both dynamite and gelignite and reputedly set up the prize to assuage his guilt on the matter.
Psychologically speaking, this is not a million miles from someone creating a really successful war comic and making penance for that by writing a long-running strip about the horrors of the First World War.
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Richard on 17 February, 2018, 03:31:16 PM
Except that war comics don't actually kill anyone.

(Unless you roll one up and hit someone really, really hard with it.)
Title: Re: Prog 2068 - In Cold Blood!
Post by: Tiplodocus on 19 February, 2018, 06:48:09 PM
Enjoyable but ticking over... nothing less than good but nothing that leaps off the page and bites my face off.

I genuinely couldn't work out what I was looking at on the big image on page 1 of Brass Sun. Odd because everything else is crystal clear story telling.