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Meg 335 - Reaper Files

Started by A.Cow, 13 April, 2013, 12:52:48 PM

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Daveycandlish

Haven't read the issue yet but can I just say that cover is absolutely amazing!
Looks like a 60s sci-fi/spy movie poster - absolutely brilliant - Arnaldo Putzu-like :thumbsup:
An old-school, no-bullshit, boys-own action/adventure comic reminiscent of the 2000ads and Eagles and Warlords and Battles and other glorious black-and-white comics that were so, so cool in the 70's and 80's - Buy the hardback Christmas Annual!

Mikey

Yeah-forgot to mention how fantastic I thought the cover was-plus the Reaper Files mini strip.
To tell the truth, you can all get screwed.

staticgirl

I couldn't make head or tail of American Reaper this month but the case file was good.

I don't mind which style Colin McNeil chooses for his art as I like them all very much for different reasons.

The other stories were very good indeed - good art and writing all round. I really enjoyed reading the interview with Paul Marshall who is a fantastic artist and the short story made me giggle!

Mabs

Quote from: staticgirl on 20 April, 2013, 08:25:29 PM
I couldn't make head or tail of American Reaper this month but the case file was good.

I don't mind which style Colin McNeil chooses for his art as I like them all very much for different reasons.

The other stories were very good indeed - good art and writing all round. I really enjoyed reading the interview with Paul Marshall who is a fantastic artist and the short story made me giggle!

Same here. I feel i gotta read it again to understand what the hell was going on. The case file was superb though,  Fay Dalton's artwork was amazing.

I must say my favourite strip in the Meg was a wordless one; John Byrne's Twisted Tales which was absolutely fantastic! Heart melting stuff indeed!  :D
My Blog: http://nexuswookie.wordpress.com/

My Twitter @nexuswookie

Zarjazzer

Pretty good. Dredd story was particualrly well done IMHO. Dan Francisco is roaring along nicely like a lawmaster pursuing a perp to destruction!!!!!   :-\ Um, I think I;ve killed the analogy. Anyway good fun in Insurrection I'm a big fan of b&w art so the style change didn't really impact me much. In fact I thought it was lovely.
The Justice department has a good re-education programme-it's called five to ten in the cubes.

Recrewt

Quote from: Mabs on 20 April, 2013, 09:08:34 PM
Quote from: staticgirl on 20 April, 2013, 08:25:29 PM
I couldn't make head or tail of American Reaper this month but the case file was good.

I don't mind which style Colin McNeil chooses for his art as I like them all very much for different reasons.

The other stories were very good indeed - good art and writing all round. I really enjoyed reading the interview with Paul Marshall who is a fantastic artist and the short story made me giggle!

Same here. I feel i gotta read it again to understand what the hell was going on. The case file was superb though,  Fay Dalton's artwork was amazing.

I must say my favourite strip in the Meg was a wordless one; John Byrne's Twisted Tales which was absolutely fantastic! Heart melting stuff indeed!  :D

I do think that American Reaper could be a good story and I don't mind the artistic style but with each Meg it gets a little more confusing.  This months episode was very confusing and for the first time I thought 'this could do with a few more pages to fill out the story'.  Also, each episode doesn't really flow to the next - I have no idea where this story is going.

The twisted tale was fantastic and we probably all thought the same thing when they took his teddy - b*stards!

Insurrection - I don't mind the new style for this but aftwerwards I was thinking - perhaps it was more intentional than saving time.  The 'softer' style last month to reflect the beauty of the colony and now the 'darker' style as things have 'kicked off'?

Proudhuff

Quote from: Mabs on 18 April, 2013, 11:04:44 AM
Quote from: mygrimmbrother on 17 April, 2013, 01:06:36 AM
A shame to see the art change styles in Insurrection - was this a time constraint thing I wonder? Bob Byrne's strip was lovely in colour. Haven't read TSoDF yet but looking forward to it. AR can bugger off.

Oh dear. I'm really not happy with the change of style for Insurrection. I was really impressed with last months artwork - it elevated the strip to a whole other level, but looking at the artwork now, its devoid of that magic touch. Can someone from the Meg explain as to why this was the case? Was it - as stated already - to do with time constraint? Even so it's a damn shame.  :(

Glad to say I never noticed any change was so caught up in the story, will have to go back and see what the fuss is about.
DDT did a job on me

Mabs

Quote from: Recrewt on 23 April, 2013, 01:26:10 PM

Insurrection - I don't mind the new style for this but aftwerwards I was thinking - perhaps it was more intentional than saving time.  The 'softer' style last month to reflect the beauty of the colony and now the 'darker' style as things have 'kicked off'?

I was just wondering, what style was the previous two series in? Was it the soft style or the more 'clear' style? Or both? I think that could be a good indication of whether it was just a stylistic choice or one based on saving time for the recent change. I don't unlike it,  but the opener was more beautiful to behold and evocative of MacNeil's work for America.
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My Twitter @nexuswookie

Recrewt

Errr don't know, sorry - I have only recently been getting the Meg so I have not read the previous series! Anyone else?

Also, after re-reading my post 'I don't mind the new style' was a spectaculer understatement on my part as both styles have been some of the finest art in the Meg of late!

Hawkmumbler

The previous instalments in Insurrection where with MacNeil's trade "Marbled Effect" as seen in last months meg.

jackstarr

Well, I have to say that I'm finding the Meg far superior to the prog at the moment.  Other than Stickleback (which I like for the art) there's not much for me in the prog - but I really do think that the Meg is on top form at the moment.

The sheer variety of styles on offer is in itself a delight.

Dredd - really enjoyed this one-off - nice to see John Burns back on Dredd, and Michael Carroll has been writing some cracking Dredds of late.  Wagner's on a break, GRennie seems to have lost his touch since he took his long break, and the Robs have never really clicked for me when writing Dredd - but Michael Carroll on Dredd doesn't seem to disappoint.   

Interrogation - enjoyable enough as filler.

Dan Fransisco - what a splash page!  As for the story, it depends where things go from here - Francisco is a complex character who has been through a lot - and mixing action with character-based drama could be a winning mix.  Just hope they don't turn Dan into another one-dimensional judge and actually do something interesting with him - the political undertones could be very interesting.

American Reaper - Nice centre page splash.  Once you get past Pat's expositionary dialogue (not as cringeworthy as usual) and the usual exagerrated facial expressions there's a summer blockbuster in there somewhere.  Not only that, but it's short which also allows us to have...

Tipping Point - Cracking art by Fay and a nice little story.

Twisted Tales - always been a fan of these...just wonder how far Bob can take the whole "tiny creature" idea.  Nice art, and following Reaper it really reinforces that you don't need to "say" when you can just "show".

Going Wheely - I like these short stories - far better use of space than reviews, and this one is pretty good.

These alone would be worth the money, but then to finish off with -

Insurrection - a real gem...the first series was probably the most enjoyable thing for in the meg me for many years, and although sequels never quite reach the same heights, the two following series are still hitting a pretty high bar.


And then I realise there's also the bagged collection - haven't read this yet, but nice to have yet something else in the package:)

Daveycandlish

Was the new style on Insurrection not to do with having someone else doing the greytones this time around? Maybe MacNeil had to ink heavier to guide the tone artist - just a thought. (I don't have it to hand so forgive me for not using his name)
An old-school, no-bullshit, boys-own action/adventure comic reminiscent of the 2000ads and Eagles and Warlords and Battles and other glorious black-and-white comics that were so, so cool in the 70's and 80's - Buy the hardback Christmas Annual!

Recrewt

Quote from: Daveycandlish on 25 April, 2013, 05:36:15 PM
Was the new style on Insurrection not to do with having someone else doing the greytones this time around? Maybe MacNeil had to ink heavier to guide the tone artist - just a thought. (I don't have it to hand so forgive me for not using his name)

John-Paul Bove is credited with doing the Greytones.

opaque

Reaper is a good story but the way it's been done it's not right atall.

sheldipez

I still liked Reaper. For what it's worth.

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