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Prog 2023 - Punch It

Started by hippynumber1, 18 March, 2017, 01:08:40 PM

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hippynumber1

All new prog, all new line-up and thread bagged by me. What a great weekend!

Another great dynamic cover from Cliff Robinson - he always makes it look so easy.

Dredd - an amusing little one-off by Wagner/Ezquerra. A little predictable but fun.

Then we get to the really good stuff:

Brink: Skeleton Life kicks off with a little intrigue and shock

Future Shock - massive plot-hole aside this is great for a first attempt from both writer and artist and, let's be honest, they are virtually impossible to write, these days!

Scarlet Traces: Cold War Bk 2 - oooooooo, those martians and their machinations!

And, finally, The Fall of Deadworld: Cursed. Superbly grim stuff from Kek-W and Mr Dave. I love this strip and can't wait for the collection.

Strip of the prog for me though is Brink.


Richard

What was the massive plot hole? I thought it was a good tale.

Darren Stephens

Mind blowing cover from Robinson and Teague. I've not read this issue yet ( it's right next to me, waiting to be devoured!) but, I must say, the art in the Future.S looks great. Very Alan Davis. Also, can't wait to read Cursed. Loved the previous tale of Deadworld.
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hippynumber1

#4
Quote from: Richard on 18 March, 2017, 01:17:50 PM
What was the massive plot hole? I thought it was a good tale.

[spoiler]We're going to put you through this extensive and expensive testing regime but not actually bother telling you that we'll be removing your brain, it's not like that might be something you'd want or need to know.[/spoiler]

hippynumber1

I suppose I should have spoiler tagged that. Oops. Sorry...  :-\

Bolt-01

No worries- did it for you.

Richard

I see what you mean but on the other hand [spoiler]they'd be a bit short of volunteers if they told people that![/spoiler]

dweezil2

Cliff makes those Dredd covers look effortless!

Really brilliant stuff!  :)
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Colin YNWA

Well it was always going to be a hard act to follow. The last few Progs have been excellent, really excellent. With the line up we have here I think we could get close to that quality. Its just here the two thrills I was most looking forward to were a little too opening episodey.

Brink was pretty damned fine up it so called out scene setting as to feel a little too deliberate. I almost wish the two scenes were in the opposite order. The great piece with the worker [spoiler]shooting himself[/spoiler] just seemed to be nailing home what had been discussed before. It did it really well and added far more intrigue but it would have worked better at the start and allowed the second scene to focus more on pressure and character. Still really enjoyed it. Scarlet Traces fair ponged of Ian Edginton's biggest weakness, poorly hidden exposition. I do love his work do he does suffer when he has episodes like this and after the highs of his superb Kingmaker this felt so heavy.

The Future Shock was cute and fun, it did feel a bit weird that it was a surprise but still fun. The art at first glance looked soooo polished and seemed like someone the American market would snap up in seconds. It didnt quite hold to close examination but hell for a first go was pretty damned fine.

The Dredd was a neat, easy one off. Not Wagner's best but Wagner doing stuff he does so well and maybe we've not been treated to for a while so really enjoyed this if it was standout.

What I did love was that the strip I was least looking forward to was the best thing in the Prog, always a treat that. Really enjoyed Deadworld which has left me cold in the past. Not sure why but something clicked and loved this. If that holds and the other strips get to the level I expect that we could be on for some good times.

Will we get another One-off next prog I wonder?

Tjm86

I thought that the Dredd was quite a clever one in some respects and showed off some of Wagner's skill in using the strip to critique social trends.  The perversion of a simple meme that leads to tragedy.  Very topical in the current frenzied social media climate and to me harks back to the Jo Cox murder.  Elegant in its simplicity.

Dandontdare

My prog came on Friday whcih is unheard of!

My review: Outstanding!  :thumbsup:

Mattofthespurs

Great Prog sadly read by 9am but still very very good.
Not a dud story in there.

A.Cow

*LOVED* the clever references in the UN scene in Scarlet Traces, especially a fully independent [spoiler]Rutland[/spoiler].  Genius.

Magnetica

Good strong start to this run of stories.

Given this is jumping on Prog, it was a shame it didn't have the higher quality paper for the cover we have had in recent years, but it's a minor quibble really.

Nice Dredd. As John Wagner has said current events are sure to be a rich source of satire. (Hasn't it always been though?)

Nice opening episodes for Brink and Scarlett Traces. I do like the little explanatory text boxes in Brink. They don't get in the way of the flow at all and avoid "who/ what where is that?" type questions. I really do think other strips could learn from this, yes I do mean you "The Ord..."...sorry let's move on from that shall we?

I even have a new appreciation for D'Israeli's art following the recent "From the Drawing Board " video and the panel he was on at the 40th ( with INJ Culbard and Ian Edington as it happens - and Rob Williams).

I even liked Deadworld.

The future shock was good, especially the art. Looks like the Thoughtbubble competition can provide a good source of new talent for the comic (see for instance what Tom Foster had to say about it at his 40th panel.)