All relax, as you were, nothing to see here.
It may be 1st April bit Tharg ain't foolin' with the thrillpower, we continue on simply excellent form.
Dredd builds in the direction I was expecting, very, very well. Its great stuff and the question we have is were does it go from here. Its predictable, up to now but excellent.
Brink is just plain excellent, a story built quite fantastically on a conversation of the week basis and this one's just a doozy. Soomehow, almost imperspectively the tension is building and I adore this series.
Scarlet Traces is pulling a similar trick, its apparatus are more obvious but the tension its slowly building is great and there a Doctor Whoesque cliffhanger this week.
Future Shock does feel a little too familar which isn't a good thing in this type of story but its done effectively enough and ya know Steve Yeowell so this one is just about a pass.
Deadworld still continues to defy my expectations by being superb. Well done that expectation defying creative team.
Advert at the back is for the return of Defoe a strip I've never really warmed to BUT with Colin MacNeill taking over art I'm rather looking forward to seeing now he affects the feel of the strip.
All good Tharg you carry on old boy, you carry on.
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/image_zpsk6ylwgjh.jpeg)
Love the DPS that kicks off Scarlett Traces - and an engrossing story. Brink's real quality stuff too.
Getting into the Dark judges tale more this time round.
Wasn't keen on the Future Shock and I wasn't as impressed as I usually am with Steve Yeowell's art. I didn't even immediately identify the first page as his...not sure what it is..
I am most intrigued by how Dredd is going...McCrea's art is certainly lively but can be a bit scrappy at times.
Overall an excellent prog though.
Another superb prog!
Not much to add after Colin's post, but I was a bit more thrilled with the Future Shock.
The Yeowell droid is turning in some of his best work in years recently, and this is no exception. Script ain't shoddy either.
Covers one of Clint's best.
Wall to wall brilliance, this prog. Extra oil rations all round!
Quote from: Woolly on 01 April, 2017, 06:49:26 PM
Covers one of Clint's best.
Which
should read 'The cover is one of Clint's best so far'.
In Dredd I'm now actually rooting for the robot.
Quote from: Richard on 01 April, 2017, 07:36:51 PM
In Dredd I'm now actually rooting for the robot.
I always root for the poor rookie who gets Dredd as their examining Judge!
Damn just lost whole review, In brief:
Scarlet Traces Splash page the highlight for me.
Adapted Supercar, Eagle transporter Dan Dare space suit and Fireball XL5 all adding to the greatness of this story and art.
Deedworld no my cuppa.
Prog only turned up yesterday, so only read Dredd and Brink so far.
Dredd fairly predictable so far. I am waiting for it to all go horribly wrong. I don't really get all the love for McRea's art. Personally I think he has done better e.g. Trifecta and the IDW Anderson.
Brink is Dan Abnett doing what he does best. A good solid tale, told well and in a completely understandable way that gets on with it. I am going to make a prediction here: the "ghost" is going to turn out to be [spoiler][spoiler] Brinkman's spirit[/spoiler]
Quote from: Magnetica on 05 April, 2017, 09:24:02 AM
Dredd fairly predictable so far. I am waiting for it to all go horribly wrong. I don't really get all the love for McRea's art. Personally I think he has done better e.g. Trifecta and the IDW Anderson.
Err... Are you sure you've got the right man there?
Doh - that was Carl Crithlow!
Sorry didn't check it.
Quote from: Magnetica on 05 April, 2017, 09:58:14 AM
Doh - that was Carl Crithlow!
Should have mentioned that my sporadic amnesia is contagious.
I really love Dredd-assesses-Rookie stories, and this one's no exception. And I am really digging McCrea's art - everything has an immediacy and a worn-in character at the same time. There's not a dull moment in it.
Here's a thought: wouldn't it be cool if Dredd sought Beeny's opinion on this? She's worked with robot auxiliaries during and after Chaos Day, she has a keen sense of justice and of Justice Dept's failings. My guess is that second opinions aren't in an assessing officer's gift, and further that he might not want to embroil Ami in another of his controversies. I'd still like to hear her thoughts, though!
Sneaky mid-Prog letters page - the Beast sees all.
Good rounded Prog for me with lots of varied thrills.
Quote from: Woolly on 01 April, 2017, 06:49:26 PM
Another superb prog!
Not much to add after Colin's post, but I was a bit more thrilled with the Future Shock.
The Yeowell droid is turning in some of his best work in years recently, and this is no exception. Script ain't shoddy either.
Covers one of Clint's best.
Wall to wall brilliance, this prog. Extra oil rations all round!
I thought the grey tone worked really well on the FS art.
What's going on with the page format in this week's
Dredd? I'm guessing someone forgot to tell John McCrea about the difference between US comics and UK ones. (Looking back at last week's prog, it looks like the art was nudged around to hide it a bit.)
Quote from: Geoff on 01 April, 2017, 06:13:56 PM
[...] Steve Yeowell's art. I didn't even immediately identify the first page as his...
Am I the only one who doesn't get this week's
Future Shock? And I'm with Geoff on Yeowell's art being almost unrecognisable.
Not sure what there is to "get" - the guy who goes round to retrieve the stolen machine gets trapped in a 10 year dream. Not the greatest of twists, but a solid tale.
Why is Fairfax giving Elvis Presley a ride on the cover and what happened to Jess?
I feel sorry for Dredd. He's obviously dying for the robot to fuck up even though he's also impressed by it.
Really strong prog at the moment. I'm guessing Dredd will get a US release hence the formatting. John McCrea's inking has an energetic looseness that I'm enjoying. Dredd's clear frustration at the robot judge makes for a great strip. All the other strips are firing strongly. The future shock seemed a bit simplistic - but I'm enjoying seeing them back in 2000ad. Any chance of Absalom soon?
Great cover for me
Dredd is moving along nicely, like Harvey and want the big robot to do well but I got a bad feeling that isn't going to happen. Story and art are good and looking forward to seeing where it goes next week
Brink I really enjoyed this first time around and so this is ticking all the right boxes so far. The story is good, hope they stick with the creepy vibes throughout and the art is perfect for it.
Scarlet Traces is another good one for me, I have read the first two volumes in hard back and read the last run in the prog so fully up to date and just really enjoying it.
Future Shocks I like, some are better than others mind you but I don't mind them at all. Used to read a lot of Tales from the Crypt so I do like the single story with twist ending style
Cursed for me is a stand out love the art work and the story/setting puts me in mind of the Mad Max series which are some of my favourite films so it's a big win for me.
Another fantastic prog
I had a chat with the Langley droid at the 40th and he was a lovely chap and I bought a couple of prints from him. But that doesn't stop me entering nit-pick corner:
So anyone stopped the mistake on the cover? In the actual story it is Jess riding the bike, not Fairfax.
And definitely not Dredd.
Must say I enjoyed that FS greatly. Simple enough idea, but very well told, and I really liked Yeowell's art. I usually dislike Yeowell's take on colouring his own work, and find other colour jobs can overwhelm his line-and-space-built volumes, but his own application of grey tones is much better than either.
Cover: Superb. Brilliant composition, which gives it real impact. Nice take on Death (is it supposed to be a proto-Death?). Good to see some Langley art that doesn't involve photo captures.
But yes, not the best likeness of Jess. And point taken about the picture not fitting the events in the story. But that happens a lot now, doesn't it? There seem to have been a few similar remarks lately, about the Kingdom cover (why does Gene still have blades?), and I mentioned that Sinister and Dexter don't actually fire any shots in the episode in the prog that has them blazing away on the cover. I don't think covers are expected to be scenes from episodes in that prog any more. It's just a grab-image.
Dredd: Oooh, stoking the tension nicely. Damn but Wagner knows how to pace a story. My latest thinking on the twist (I won't put it in spoilers because it's utter speculation): the robot performs flawlessly but when it returns to the Grand Hall of Justice, it for no apparent reason flicks out a fist and splats Hershey's head.
Brink: It's blissful, isn't it. I swear I go into a kind of zen-like state when I'm reading it. Ian Culbard's art is such a perfect match, so beautifully warm.
Scarlet Traces: By comparison, I don't think D'Israeli's art is at all a good match for this story. The double-page spread, excellent. The rest is too cartoonish. And the story's tone is all over the place - one second you've got Alan Whicker reporting on an interplanetary armada; the next, it's devilish machinations in a space lab. Not bad stuff as such, but difficult to connect.
Future Shock: Disappointing. Forty years ago a twist like that would have been OK for an unsophisticated short like that, today I think we expect a bit more. I can only assume that the retro-stylings in Steve Yeowell's art (costumes, shoes etc.) were an attempt to make the silly idea of juke-box-sized 'dream machines' less anachronistic. And there seemed to be a very obvious category of 'dream' that wasn't represented at the start of the strip...
Deadworld: Liking this very much. Great, suspenseful last panel. And... those mutants. After decades of mutants in 2000AD being represented by silly things like hands growing out of the top of their heads, this was a terribly gruesome shock.
Overall, another outstanding prog. Wish I was getting a bit more from Scarlet Traces, it's such a wonderful concept.
And next week... for the first time since my return to 2000AD at prog 2011, we get...
a PAT MILLS story...
Looking forward to it with a mixture of excitement and apprehension :)
Quote from: norton canes on 06 April, 2017, 12:17:22 PM
And next week... for the first time since my return to 2000AD at prog 2011, we get...
a PAT MILLS story...
Looking forward to it with a mixture of excitement and apprehension :)
No need for any apprehension, I'm pleased to say. Defoe is Pat Mills best contribution to 21st century 2000AD, in my opinion. :)
Quote from: norton canes on 06 April, 2017, 12:17:22 PM
Scarlet Traces: By comparison, I don't think D'Israeli's art is at all a good match for this story. The double-page spread, excellent. The rest is too cartoonish. And the story's tone is all over the place - one second you've got Alan Whicker reporting on an interplanetary armada; the next, it's devilish machinations in a space lab. Not bad stuff as such, but difficult to connect.
That is a very unusual opinion. D'Izzy has drawn 'all' of the earlier work in this strip (right back to the cool Beanz days), so it is impossible for me to picture this looking different in any way...
I've loved all of Scarlet Traces, a real highlight for me.
Edginton and D'israeli are, for me, the current progs dream team. They're working on three different ongoing titles together and seem to be two sides of the same coin, complimenting each others finer points perfectly.
Christ, that cover is a work of art. I didn't think it possible but It's even lovelier in the flesh.
Quote from: aceface11 on 14 April, 2017, 12:52:14 AM
Christ, that cover is a work of art. I didn't think it possible but It's even lovelier in the flesh.
Cliff Robinson is the gift that keeps on giving!!! :thumbsup:
Quote from: dweezil2 on 14 April, 2017, 01:05:36 AM
Quote from: aceface11 on 14 April, 2017, 12:52:14 AM
Christ, that cover is a work of art. I didn't think it possible but It's even lovelier in the flesh.
Cliff Robinson is the gift that keeps on giving!!! :thumbsup:
Apologies, wrong thread!
But the Clint Langley cover is equally brilliant! :)