Prog 1886 - Race With the Devils

[judgerufian]

Great prog but this weeks Slaine left some questions.......

First off, where did he get this army of blob monsters?
Secondly, how did he get defeated as he is swinging his axe in the penultimate panel and then suddenly on his knees in the last panel?
Finally, when did all those extra weapons being pointed at Slaine come form in the final panel, the rest of the fight has him just fighting one baddie?

That all said, hope Book 2 moves at a faster pace and continues with Simon Davis on art duties, I wasnt sure at the beginning but now really like him on this character.

Looking forward to the end of Traumatown for an explanation as to what the spug is going on?! been an excellent read and I echo plenty of others views that this seems very much set post DoC.

[Dark Jimbo]

Great prog but this weeks Slaine left some questions.......

First off, where did he get this army of blob monsters?

Presumably from within the tower he fought his way into last week, where the Drune lords keep their 'experiments.' Agree that the storytelling fell down a bit here though, which is particularly odd in what's been quite a decompressed story. Not as though a bit of room couldn't have been found to take time to explain this!

Secondly, how did he get defeated as he is swinging his axe in the penultimate panel and then suddenly on his knees in the last panel?

The Slough's insuts hit home and he just gives up.

[Frank]

Mr Miller, Judge Dredd here. When you sold me this house, you forgot to mention one little thing. You didn't tell me it was built on an Indian burial ground! (Pause) No, you didn't! (Pause) Well, that's not my recollection! (Pause) Yeah? Well, all right, goodbye!

[Grobbendonk]

Marvelous Prog again this week. I'm getting tired of saying similar week on week! That was a lie! I'd never grow tired of singing Tharg's praises when the Prog is THIS consistently fantastic!

Dredd is spooky as hell and I'm loving it. I know it could be seen as a bit "obvious" that there are psychic/ghostly repercussions from so much death and destruction... so in a way it would be ace if this twists away from that explanation. But if it doesn't it is still an awesome thrillride. And that art!!!

Excellent art from newcomer Tom Foster in Terror Tales, and a nice little story. Straight horror rarely works for me in comics, but the pacing between pages 3 and 4 was really well handled. Nice stuff.

Ah, Slaine has really won me over in this story. Amazing art! New depth to the character. Some lovely axe swinging. Fab! And that final page! Nooooooooo! This is too much![spoiler] Slaine not just beaten by force but defeated by despair! [/spoiler]

Grey Area has really picked up pace for me this week! This is huge! [spoiler]Global invasion by evil gods/aliens! [/spoiler] Nice!

Oh, and a spot of [spoiler]religious heresy[/spoiler] in Indigo Prime. Wonderful! What is that naughty Nazi up to? And has it really been "[spoiler]sanctioned by someone higher up the chain of command[/spoiler]"? From total confusion (for me anyway) over the past few weeks, to tense drama. Masterful!

Jesus! My thrill circuits are going to need replacing early if this year continues to be this bloody good! 

[ZenArcade]

FP in Belfast hadn't the prog in today....try again tomorrow. Z

[Timothy]

A bit of a mixed bag for me. I'm not normally a fan of Slaine, but this series has really won me over so I was a bit disappointed by the continuity gaps that have been highlighted above. Not bad, but not up to the tight scripting that the rest of the series has shown. I felt the recent ABC Warriors series had the opposite problem in that it was woolly and meandering for the most part but drew it together for a strong finish.

Dredd is one that could go either way. It's a story with great potential and it's beautifully drawn, but I have a fear that it's heading down the Sector House 9 route. I hope to be proved wrong next week.

[Grobbendonk]

I have a fear that it's heading down the Sector House 9 route. I hope to be proved wrong next week.

I loved The Haunting of Sector House 9

[ZenArcade]

Timothy has a point however. I'm not averse to the odd bit of ghostly haunting but prefer the city and the manifold potential stories contained therein. Z

[Frank]

Indigo Prime remans the only thrill to really have me on tenterhooks to see what happens next, week after week. I have no idea what Viktor's up to but I can't wait to find out. My guess being something along the lines of [spoiler]replacing the genuine Jesus (a mere morta) with his anonybody copy so as to dazzle the locals with a few 'miracles' and ensure Christianity gets a good footing for the centuries ahead - either to annoy his former ATL buddies or because he's found God and wants to go some way to atoning for a life of sin.[/spoiler]

Wouldn't an old Nazi be more interested in the followers (and potential followers) of a Jewish Rabbi who was claiming to be the Jewish messiah? That wasn't the only bit of Christian-baiting going on in the prog, with the miscreated failures in Sláine chanting "dearly beloved", Grey Area taking its story title from the hymnal, and [spoiler]Louis Cypher[/spoiler] making a cameo in the Terror Tale. With MC1 doing a good impression of the Gospel Of St John, Tharg missed an opportunity to make this a Christianity themed issue - nineties Tharg certainly would have, and commissioned a Steve Cook photo cover of a young lady dressed as a saucy nun.

John Smith dropped a reference to The Silence of the Lambs, but did anyone else spot Lee Carter's homage to late eighties teatime telly?



CAN I HAVE A PEE PLEASE, BOB?

[ZenArcade]

That's quite insightful sauchie and I doff my metaphysical hat to you. Z*








*Heh heh he'll never reach Dirk Jambon's level of transcendant insight last week.

[Colin YNWA]

One thing I meant to say in my review was how impressed I was with Tom Foster's debut in the Prog. A really strong, confident first crack. I defo see what many have pointed out in the moments of Cliff Robinson in there (so panel 5 page 1 is a great example) but I also get others, particularly in the inking. So Dave Roach and Frazer Irving. Its testiment that I see so much but so many great artists in there and all the time it remains distinctly its own thing.

Great stuff and hope we see him back soon.

[Jim_Campbell]

Great stuff and hope we see him back soon.

As I've already mentioned on Facebook, I thought Mr Foster had destined-for-stardom written all over him when he illustrated Rich McAuliffe's 'The Inspection' for #1 of Conor & Lizzie Boyle's really quite excellent anthology 'Disconnected'...



Cheers

Jim

[Timothy]

I have a fear that it's heading down the Sector House 9 route. I hope to be proved wrong next week.

I loved The Haunting of Sector House 9

So did I, but I want Traumatown to be it's own story, not a reprise of a classic.

[judgerufian]

Secondly, how did he get defeated as he is swinging his axe in the penultimate panel and then suddenly on his knees in the last panel?

The Slough's insuts hit home and he just gives up.

Slaine, defeater of everyone he didnt think too many, ultimately bought to his knees by 'your dad is a loser' jibes.   

[Bad City Blue]

Firstly, I really liked Ben Foster's art, very much like John Higgins' early stuff.

We really are spoiled art wise this week, as it's all perfectly scrummy.

I don't read Indigo prime, because I have never liked it (or almost anything by John Smith for some reason), but that's some good art!

Anyway, great stories with great art - what's not to like?