Terrible pun strapline apart I like the action packed cover. Straight out the Gyre the full page lets us see a lot more detail in Nick Percival's glorious art.
A great letters page with three well reasoned letters (no Huff, natch) with one modest reader notching up his 50th Meg letter and 91st overall!
He must kiss a lot of ass to get printed - but no! Stephen Watson of Paisley tells it as he sees it and gets a strong comeback from the editor who tells him off for judging something (Realm of the Damned) after one episode. Frankly if I bit into a shit sandwich I know I don't like it without consuming the whole thing!
It will however be read and reappraised as we go on. Still to read the rest but the bonus book is 'Angel Zero' with next month's 'The Best of Tharg's 3rillers Vol 1'.
Lots more strip this month with a feature and sample of 'Goldtiger' which has intrigued me as they try to layer it into 2000ad's past.
Cover: Out of focus....I do wonder why Percival seems to favour that blurry look....
The Gyre: Bit of a damp squib of a tale....over before it really got going. Some nice panels, some more blurry stuff.
Featurette??: Skipped...had a read of the comic episode... Dan Dare with sex puns?
Realm of The Damned: I expect there'll be a lot more 'oh dear, dear...no, no!!' type opinions along soon enough, but I think it's fine. Good art, and we are getting undead, immoral, murdering vampires in aq vampire story. Good. Beat the living shit out of sparkly emo types or 'integrated' veggie vamps. The art is great, and I could care less about 'naughty' words getting bandied about, but I'd have to put some effort in. Dark, brutal, and reads like a pitch for a decent R rated vamp movie.
DeMarco: I guess it's a build up for something in the future....for now I doubt I'll remember this strip by next month.
Dust: Continuing along nicely, gorgeous to look at, and a decent script even if it does read like something we may have already read a couple times. ;)
Letters: Outraged 'harrumphs' abound! :p
Thought this months issue was just a bit bland not really enjoy the Meg at the moment but dos think realm of the damned was better
Fuck, the 3rillers get into floppies next month? Really wanted these to get a trade.
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/8d82f0c212d049139949da08691d3814_zpseeogqoya.jpg)
Sorry, just noticed my headline should read 'beef' not 'reef' - still a poor pun!
That's a really, really powerful cover. Great art and very dynamic. Shame about the dodgy wonky letters design again though. Is this choice of letters, going to be a regular thing on covers now? Loved The Gyre - wish it could have been longer as the story felt a little bit rushed but fabulous atmospheric art and hope Percival & Carroll get to do a longer Dredd epic next time! They work really well together. Time to read the rest of the Meg with a strong cuppa..... :)
I think that lettering is very specific to the story
Not a great Meg for me. The cover's quite nice, but the typography is iffy. The Gyre ended, but had no punch. The text feature seemed entirely appropriate for what everyone's trying to do but nonetheless almost put me off of Goldtiger a bit rather than trying what could be a really innovative and clever trade.
Realm was a notch better than its opener for me, but it still feels a bit immature. I like dark, intense comics, but this has felt like some teens trying to be edgy. (I thought the responses in the letters pages were a bit odd, too. Yes, other strips have had horrific acts depicted, but there's a point when a lot of people go "really?")
DeMarco has, for the first time, lost me. I've no idea what's going on. Needs a reread. (Also, although I understand why ditching her fortune was a plot path to take, I'm not sure it benefits the character at all. I liked that part of her, and it afforded the strip opportunities that a lone, broke PI really doesn't.)
Dust, boob armour aside, is really the saving grace for me this month. In fact, I'd happily see 'Dredd' have a much longer residence in the Meg. Have the two Dredd continuities bookend two other strips for the foreseeable.
I noticed on the letter page Al Ewing and Si Spurrier were referred to as "former 2000 AD writers".
Now I knew Al Ewing was going off to write for some American comics, but I didn't realise Si was no longer working for Tharg. It's a real shame IMO, as Simping Detective has to be my favourite non-Dredd Megazine strip of all time.
Plus you know...Trifecta.
Quote from: Magnetica on 14 March, 2016, 08:41:34 AM
I noticed on the letter page Al Ewing and Si Spurrier were referred to as "former 2000 AD writers".
Now I knew Al Ewing was going off to write for some American comics, but I didn't realise Si was no longer working for Tharg. It's a real shame IMO, as Simping Detective has to be my favourite non-Dredd Megazine strip of all time.
Plus you know...Trifecta.
I think both would like to come back and have said as such, but richer opportunity elsewhere so I think, alas, very understandably, the times of plenty for both are over.
That said I'm sure they'll squeeze us in at some time in the future and I know another Zombo has been muted somewhere down the road, so fingers crossed...
In his recent Meg interview, Al specifically cited Zombo, and it appears time is the only reason he's not still writing for 2000 AD, rather than contractural reasons. So that's at least a little positive.
When I spoke to Henry Flint at TB last year he said that the toughs for a new ZOMBO where already completed so their is a script of sorts done, though Mr. Flint did say it was only a test run not the actual story.
Just delurking... I was a bit disapointed of the rather dismissive response to the Realm Of The Damned queries. I've read every issue of the Meg since it launched. However, this is the first time I've actually just gone WTF at any strip and considered leaving it.
I'm no prude when it comes to violence or gore - I'm a huge fan of Preacher thanks to the Meg. But this I really, really didn't like. Do I pick up the Meg to see someone pissing blood into someones mouth? Really? Just truly awful, such a misstep.
I know there's a market for this kind of strip, and I'm sure to fans of that style of strip it's great, but it's just not 2000ad/Meg for me.
Maybe I'm just getting too old for the Meg, I don't know, but just yuk. Sorry!
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 13 March, 2016, 09:45:47 AM
DeMarco has, for the first time, lost me. I've no idea what's going on. Needs a reread. (Also, although I understand why ditching her fortune was a plot path to take, I'm not sure it benefits the character at all. I liked that part of her, and it afforded the strip opportunities that a lone, broke PI really doesn't.)
I read it thinking that I thought I must have missed an episode. Not a high point.
Cover: Out of focus?...I thought it was just the bifocals out of whack but no, that shoogily text grates too, it reminds me of letraset on fanzines covers from the '70s, but not in a good way.
The Byre: For the graim was tint, the besom was deen, An' siccan a soss it never was seen. Bit of a sick squid of a tale....messy inking aside Some nice action panels, but the three-quarter 'body view' seems repetitive IMHO.
Big Goldtiger Dream: Dan Dare with sex puns? more Immodesty Blaze with a big dong of Jason King wedged in for fun, not really my cuppa, nor is...
Realm of The Damned: Dark, brutal, and reads like a pitch for a decent R rated vamp movie. The whole story grating against the frothy foam of Goldfraptiger. Trying too hard to shock for me to like, but naughty boys everywhere will love it.
DeMarco: I have not a Scooby what/who/when is going on and for now I doubt I'll remember this strip by next week...
Dust: best thing in the Megazine, gorgeous to look at, and a lesson for all above ;)
Letters: Outraged harridans abound!
4/10 more grating than great.
The Meg was way below recent standards I am afraid this month.
Judge Dredd had a bit of a "was that it?" feel to me. Stuff just seemed to happen. Normally I am a big fan of Michael Carrol's Dredd but this was a bit flat. Not helped IMO by Nick Perceival's "I should like it but I just don't really" artwork.
Goldtiger. Don't think I will buy the GN on the strength of this.
Realm Of the Damned. Story and art ok. Please cut out the swearing ( I know it was down to just one F word this week). And please, put some clothes on.
Demarco. Again normally like this, but the last two parts have lost me a bit. Re-read required.
Movie Dredd. As with Demarco the last two parts have lost me a bit and a re-read is required. Also sad to see the totally unnecessary F word. What is wrong with "drokk"?. And put some clothes on.
And yes as Butch has pointed out there is swearing in the film, but this is a comic and I simply don't like it. How can I give this to my kids to read????
Cover: I like it!
Judge Dredd: Looking forward to re-reading this, really like the set-up but found some of the art confusing initially this month. Found it tricky to get a handle on who was where and why, but that'll probably be sorted without a month in between episodes.
Goldtiger: Didn't read the text article but the strip was interesting. Not something I'd buy but it was curious to think that's something that was ever potentially going to be in the prog, given how Flesh Gordon it all is and how relatively tame that side of things was in comics back then.
Realm Of the Damned: I wasn't put off by the first episode, loved the artwork and thought it set a very distinct tone that's different to anything else in the prog or meg currently. I didn't find the blood wee upsetting or offensive either, and much like the the editorial droid I can't really see why it would be seen as such in the context of a demonic story, it felt a bit Clive Barker to me and that's a good thing by my reckoning. Thought this weeks episode was great, the art continues to look fantastic and the addition of badass armed sci-fi militia guys is cool, I reckon I'm going to be a big fan of this series.
Demarco: I was pretty lost here, but this run is one that I've not quite kept a handle on the story from month to month. Will be giving it a re-read.
Dredd Movie-man Version: Like this a ton. Looks great and the story is great. My only (small) quibble is that in diving into supernatural/superpowered opponents it maybe does away with the grounded aspect of the movie Dredd? Not that that's necessarily a problem as it's still a very cool story, but I wonder if bringing it more in line with the more fantastical elements of the regular series perhaps means it loses what makes it distinctly different to the regular series and what might have lured in readers who don't read regular Dredd but did like the movie.
That's just a passing thought though, as personally I love it.
Haven't read the floppy yet, but will get round to that next week!
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 17 March, 2016, 09:31:22 AMMy only (small) quibble is that in diving into supernatural/superpowered opponents it maybe does away with the grounded aspect of the movie Dredd?
The movie whose female lead was a psychic? I always saw the Dredd movie's grounded nature being in terms of the reality of modern science, in that we're not going to have bipedal humanoid robots and flying cars, but drones and automated cleaners are going to rapidly proliferate, as will more powerful weaponry and, sadly, poverty. But the inference was weird things were happening to people living near the wall, and so extrapolating that, you end up with potentially bonkers things happening out in the Cursed Earth, more grounded Dredd or not.
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 17 March, 2016, 09:31:22 AM
Goldtiger: Didn't read the text article but the strip was interesting. Not something I'd buy but it was curious to think that's something that was ever potentially going to be in the prog, given how Flesh Gordon it all is and how relatively tame that side of things was in comics back then.
According to the separate Goldtiger thread, this is apparently all made-up retconned history - it's a new story. I also believed the article and I find this really rather annoying!
Quote from: Dandontdare on 17 March, 2016, 10:43:12 AM
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 17 March, 2016, 09:31:22 AM
Goldtiger: Didn't read the text article but the strip was interesting. Not something I'd buy but it was curious to think that's something that was ever potentially going to be in the prog, given how Flesh Gordon it all is and how relatively tame that side of things was in comics back then.
According to the separate Goldtiger thread, this is apparently all made-up retconned history - it's a new story. I also believed the article and I find this really rather annoying!
Facepalm, I was totally duped!
Having Tharg plastered all over the 2000AD app is quite a nice thing to have. So when my megazine isn't downloading properly I have someone to vent my anger at YOU GIGANTIC GREEN NOB HEAD!
Too far.
Bit of a struggle to get through the Meg this month to be honest, which is pretty disappointing to say the least. The Gyre was, by Mike Carroll's standards a pretty run of the mill affair, for me hampered by the art, which while I know Nick Percival has many fans, I found fussy and stilted.
Mike Carrol's other work this month has lost me. I'll be giving DeMarco a re-read and hope the story lives up to the art on a second go. Similar Dust I'm finding drifting by me and I'm just not engaged. Be interesting to see what the reaction there is having a crucified woman with her guts hanging out here is when compared to Realm of the Damned. I think there is a clear difference in that (the horrible stuff in Dust that is) than the stuff in RotD in that in Dust its feels driven by a need of the story where as at time in R0tD the nasty stuff feels like its driving the story a little and in that its so much the weaker. I mean what was ll the fighting and blows jobs in the church for? Anyway all that said, putting the silliness aside I really quite enjoyed RotD'd this month, probably the best thing in the Meg as it developed the story nicely and generated a bit of intrigue and character. So yeah while its cluttered with nonsense under that this story might actually have potential.
So yeah pretty weak comic all in all BUT I'm glad that the line-up seems to be improving next month. Carroll on Dredd with Henry Flint, for all of his misfires on the two stories for the last three issues (or so) is a pretty exciting prospect and the return of Lawless is going to be nothing but great so yeah after a lull like this things are looking up!
Realm of the Damned is coming along nicely. Fantastic art and I'm really not bothered by the swearing and nudity!
Dredd: Dust. Excellent.
De Marco. Didn't like this at all and I'm not a fan of the character. Would've preferred her being killed off rather than Travis.
Cheers
Quote from: Banners on 17 March, 2016, 04:17:39 PM
Too far.
Rest easy, Banners, for now after chassing up the Apple IT nerds it's been resolved and I now have the Meg safely in my hands. Blimey, you didn't have to put up with this shit for paper comics...
Good lad. No-one can be mad at Tharg for long ;-)
Cover: Dredd Vs Swamp Thing....Bit fuzzy
The Gyre: Kept jumping perspectives but an OK end to what has been an enjoyable run, art is great but would prefer it a little bit crisper
Goldtiger: The whoel forgotten classic schtick seems a lot of effort for not much reward not that interested to be honest
Realm of The Damned: After an intriguing first part this seems to have turned a bit Blade-esque, was hoping for something a bit more esoteric.
DeMarco:bit lost to be honest...
Dust: Keeps getting better and hands down the best thing in the Mega at the momement
Letters: The man said a bad swear etc.
Overall a fairly weak issue saved by Dust and some nice artwork in the Gyre
Quote from: NapalmKev on 18 March, 2016, 09:00:18 AM
De Marco. Didn't like this at all and I'm not a fan of the character. Would've preferred her being killed off rather than Travis.
I'm loving discovering Demarco the Dredd supporting character in Case Files 24 onwards - but Demarco the spin-off character is just not very interesting. Like you, I'd much rather be reading
Travis Perkins, Urbane Gorilla.
I'm a rare person who doesn't much like movie-dredd-in-a-comic. I'd much rather have movie-dredd-in-a-movie (or telly please if you are listening, tv execs.) I find it a bit boring because it's not as bizarre as the comic-dredd and when you have an unlimited special effects budget like you have in comics I can't quite see why you'd bother with a stripped down version. That argument earlier about making Dredd more accessible to readers put off by comic-dredd makes sense and I'm glad you made it. I probably will still sigh a bit but I'm glad people are getting a lot out of it.
I'm thinking that RoTD, whilst well written and very well drawn maybe doesn't quite fit in the Meg because it is mostly read by middle aged people who did the shocking so-called 'adult' comics thing in the 90s already. We maybe want to read something that has a bit more subtlety? If it was running in Terrorizer magazine or something I could see it being a subcultural phenomenon. I think Metallers might clasp this comic to their collective bosom with devotion - especially as it features elements of the scene they love. I am sure this will be released as a separate standalone comic/graphic novel and marketed well could become to people who like metal what the Sandman was to goths. You never know.
Anyway, some of it I don't like but other aspects I do so I won't mind it running alongside more traditional thrills.
This is assuming Terrorizer still exists. I haven't seen it in the newsstands recently. I hope it's fine - music fans need a bit of choice.
My comments make it look like there are NO metallers that read The Meg - of course you do, I'm sorry. It'll probably be your word of mouth that helps it succeed. Last time I had any connections with the scene everyone was reading Spawn and Lobo so forgive any generalisations....
The front cover design has been terrible for the last few issues and looks really amateur which is a shame as PyeParr had been doing sterling work on the design front.
ROTD however is just abysmal and is like watching Skins where you just thought the writers were trying to be really ruse because they thought it was contoversial when really they just looked crap. "Yeah let's say cu*t because it's radical and cool" " oh look he said cu*t. Maybe the writers should grow up"
Meanwhile been really enjoying the Meg for the last year or so with its new Dreddworld stuff from Strange and Dark on. Would rather have that than a lot of the creator owned stuff
Quote from: staticgirl on 24 March, 2016, 02:47:40 PM
This is assuming Terrorizer still exists. I haven't seen it in the newsstands recently. I hope it's fine - music fans need a bit of choice.
It's still out there, as far as I'm aware. I was a rabid devotee of the magazine between about 1995 and 2005, but now only pick it up occasionally. Iron Fist is more my speed these days (written mostly by ex-Terrorizer types.)
Quote from: staticgirl on 24 March, 2016, 02:47:40 PM
My comments make it look like there are NO metallers that read The Meg - of course you do, I'm sorry.
It'd be interesting to know what the overlap between metallers and 2000AD fans is these days. I'm pretty sure there was a time when it was quite substantial.
Nobody in this thread is talkining about Angel Zero - perhaps you have all read it before - but I thought it was very good.
Quote from: WhizzBang on 28 March, 2016, 04:22:18 PM
Nobody in this thread is talkining about Angel Zero - perhaps you have all read it before - but I thought it was very good.
Loved it when it was in the Prog. Shame it was a little over looked at the time. Still at least the creators teamed up again for The Order.
Yes I really liked Angel Zero and was pleased to get it collected. I remember loving that cover that looked like an oil painting. I thought it was beautiful.
Liked Angel Zero a lot. If "overlooked" at the time, TMO didn't miss a trick by teaming the creators up again.
Sadly as much as I adore The Order by Kek-W and Burns, Angel Zero did nothing for me first time around and did little for me kn a reread. It was OK, in hindsight, just not my cuppa which is odd because it really, really ought to be.
Well I'm absolutely loving Realm of the Damned.
Just as I can enjoy a thoughtful, arthouse cinema thinky-fest one day and a gory, expoitative shlock flick the next, I have zero problem wallowing in blood, swearing and tits in the beautifully drawn world that Alec Worley and Pye Parr are creating.
It's by far the best creator owned strip to appear in the Meg to date.