Messages

Didn't get my subscription prog this week, so I got a copy at the newsagents before it was too late.

[spoiler]I'm calling it now, Judge Giant is going to do something soon that saves everyone. We've had the Sovs and Ichabod both saying how useless and unnecessary he is. That's blatant foreshadowing.[/spoiler]

Sorry it anyone has said this before.

I don't think it's a good idea to evacuate citizens to the Undercity - it's got troggies, rogue robots, criminals evading arrest, werewolves, xenomorphs and vampires.

Thank you to everyone. It really does mean a lot.

It's been a while, but here are my thoughts on this week's prog.

Dredd: By far my most favourite story this week. The dark artstyle was very atmospheric and the writing was spot on. I enjoyed lots of elements of this story. Dredd brought the case up but left it to others to sift through the minutia in order to crack it. The use of the robot judges shows that Dredd is not above seeing their worth in certain areas. Dredd goes about his day while the painstaking process goes on. And in the end he isn't even in on the final bust. I really liked this story.

The Zaucer of Zilk: I like this colourful art and insane story. True, this is less of an action orientated episode, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Proteus Vex: This one has been harder to get into. Flint's art is excellent as always but the story is difficult to get into. However that is true of any original story when you have to balance universe building exposition, character motivations and action and drama from scratch. I can still find myself enjoying this but it will require re-reading.

Feral and Foe: Eight episodes in and I still can't emphasize with the primary characters. Frankly I can see Orsola's motivations a lot clearer than the other two. The art's great and I do like the story (been playing Warcraft for years now). So I will keep with it, unless it goes too far into Kingmaker territory.

Next prog we are getting the Regened takeover, which I wasn't in love with last time, but I will give it a chance.

I was especially fond of the Dredd story this week because it harked back to an earlier time in 2000AD's history. This was important for me because I lost my Dad last Sunday. It was Dad who introduced my family to 2000AD when it started back in the late 70s. I was a bit young for it then, I was only about 6 or 7, but I still remember the bionic stickers that came with prog 2 when it arrived. As the years went on I gradually started reading the progs that he would buy and eventually read the back progs he collected in earnest. Later my younger brother would read them as well. Happy memories included talks we had about things that Dredd, Rogue, Alpha and Slaine were doing that week, although my favourites of that time were more Robohunter and Ace Trucking. Eventually, the task of collecting the progs fell to me and it was one I was happy to continue. Dad would still read the progs but now he had to wait until I has read them. Even in later years when he was less fond of the newer stories and artstyles that were coming over, he still had good things to say about 2000AD. I can say that he read 2000AD right up until the end of his life. And for that I want to thank everyone at 2000AD for this shared memory.
I am going to keep reading 2000AD, mostly because I can still get enjoyment from the progs and partly because I want to keep those memories. 

Really sad to hear that Terry Jones has passed on. Really one of the greats of British comedy.

"He's not the Messiah - He's a very naughty boy!"

Nollaig Chridheil from Scotland everyone.

Here is something I honestly never thought I would be saying. If it wasn't for Judge Dredd, I don't think I would be continuing my subscription to 2000AD and the Megazine.
This week's Dredd was excellent, great story, great artwork, I can't fault it. By extension, Fall of Deadworld continued to be a solid story. We all know how it will end eventually, but that is true of all prequels. Still there are characters I genuinely care in this story and it is good to see alternate reality versions of established characters from the main universe being depicted in different ways.

But as for the rest.

I struggle with Hope, it is really dark, both in art and themes. I stick with it but it is hard work. With Defoe, this entire series is becoming unreadable. The art style from the start was always darkly black and white but the last series showed that Defoe could be drawn clearly without taking anything away from the ambience of the overall story. This series has gone too far in the other direction. The story as well has not progressed well either. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of Brink. Its bland story, its simple artwork and its glaring colours are not for me. I just don't like it.

As I have stated before, I understand that 2000AD is an anthology publication. It is supposed to field both established work from the masters in art and scripts as well as introduce the next generation of those aspiring to make their mark in this field. In artstyle and in various stories of action, horror, comedy and adventure, there should be something for every reader, young or old. That isn't happening now.
I have voiced my disappointment that 2000AD no longer runs more upbeat stories along with its depressing ones. Long I have missed the days when Ace Garp, Sam Slade and Dr & Quinch entertained us with high comedy along with beautiful artwork and memorable stories. Nowadays the best we can hope for is Survival Geeks, that started well but just ended up insulting the readership by trying to be edgy and "subvert expectations" (I really hate that expression).
Please Tharg, can you give us one or two stories that are set out to entertain us without having to preach a message of how Christianity is wrong, there are no heroes left in the world, and we all going to die unloved in a bleak meaningless universe? How about some optimism and less depressing endings that make us feel worse than when we started reading them? Is this really so much to ask for? Please?

Don't apologise, your views are as valid as the next person's.

Dredd: Very sad farewell. [spoiler]I wonder when the Judges will learn that the so called alien pathogen was actually down to Judge Fear?[/spoiler] Strange that her last request was to put down a robot revolution in a foreign country.

Sin/Dex: [spoiler]I am of the opinion that the sentient AI downloaded herself onto Ray's headcase in an act of self preservation.[/spoiler] We'll see how that plays out.

Future Shock: The ending was confusing and it didn't make sense.

Anderson: The art style wasn't for me in this one - I found some of the faces elongated. The story was fine though.

Hope has been away for a while now, so it'll probably take me a few weeks to get back into it. It's starting well.

I am afraid I didn't like the art in Defoe at all. It was hard to make out what was going on. The white handwriting script was almost impossible to read and the artwork and I didn't like the character designs. For such and exposition heavy opening episode I was completely lost by the end.

Brink: I skipped it. I've never warmed to the art or the story and I can't see anything in this episode to make me change my mind. I know 2000AD is an anthology publication and Brink does have its fans. I am not one of them.

In conclusion: Dredd was the best one for a long time. Sin/Dex and Hope were good, Anderson was okay, the rest were not for me.

I really don't like where Dredd is going at the moment. Dredd has always been a man driven by the law but importantly, he has also been one for justice as well. Of late Dredd is being portrayed as more and more hard hearted, less empathetic to those he is sworn to protect. If that was not disconcerting enough, he is also becoming more distant from his allies in the Justice Dept and beyond. Many of those he has interacted with in a positive way in the past have been killed off or are becoming disillusioned with Dredd. Giant, Maitland and Hershey being the prime examples. Other allies such as Beeney, Rico, Vienna or even Judge Anderson have not had recent stories with Dredd. This must increase the isolation he must be feeling. Dredd has always been a tough character, but there has always been those instances where we see his human side, even briefly. He has always done his duty no matter the circumstances, but he as has also shown us time after time that he show mercy, if not in deed, then at least in word. Above all, it is the instances when Dredd realises that he has been wrong about someone, that he will admit it. Dredd told Judge Nimrod, that he was wrong about him, He told the survivors of the Apocalypse Squad that he should have done more for them, After he felt betrayed by Judge Anderson and she returned from space, Dredd confessed that he had treated her badly. He told Hershey that he admired Chopper and didn't want to shoot him, He gave Kraken some words of consolation before executing him. He even tried to mend things with Hershey when he learned she has a terminal disease. I could go on but I think I've made my point - these instances, all in their contexts are where Dredd shows us his best aspects of his character. I'm not seeing anything like this in Dredd lately. I hope and pray that the writers are going somewhere with this

I know I don't contribute to the reviews very much but I would like to make my opinion known about 2000AD. 2000AD has become really depressing to read. The art and colour style has gotten a lot darker of late and the stories have lost their spark. If you read this week's Dredd and Jaegir the stories are telling you it doesn't matter if you are a good person and try to do what is right you will come to a bad end. Carrol and Rennie have crafted stories depicting formally good people, the Judges and the Southers as just as bad as organised criminals or the Norts. I understand that these stories never had black and white outlooks, there were always some bad judges and bad Southers, but this is relentless. I'm sure some commenters will just tell me to grow up and stop complaining but this is how I feel. 2000AD is usually an anthology of different styles or art and storytelling but recently they are seeming to converge on a specific worldview that everything is screwed and there is no point trying to be optimistic. This might be the writers and artists reflecting what is going on in the real world and I can understand this, but can we not have at least a few stories that reflect a better world, one that we might strive for?

"She understands all right. She knew now what the rest of us have known for years - that the Judges are just thugs who wear matching uniforms."

"Burn it! Burn the monster that stole our dreams!"

"You can't stop us. We're gonna take...this planet..."

"Y-you didn't have to do that. These others weren't even armed."

Outside or Sin/Dex I don't see any optimism in this week's prog. But then, when was the last time a series ended with any kind of upbeat conclusion? I truly hope this will change in the future.

I'm afraid I've got to disagree with you about this week's prog. Aside from the outstanding Cadet Dredd strip I found the rest of the prog's artwork to be simply average, with the Future Shock and the Rogue Trooper being the best of a bad bunch. This is not to be a criticism of any of the new artists in particular but the art styles seem to be a little...generic. These strips could have been drawn by those doing Marvel comics at present such as Ms Marvel, Squirrel Girl or Captain Marvel. I found Full Tilt Boogie, Finder & Keeper and the Judge Anderson stories to be unengaging and forgettable. I don't mean to be cruel, and I do not disrespect the new artists and scriptwriters for what they have done, but I would ask them to show their individualities in art styles and storytelling. Anyone reading old 2000ADs would have not problems identifying a Gibson art story, an Ezquerra, Dillon, Bollard, Gibbons, O'Neil or Belardinelli story. I understand that new artists and scriptwriters have to work for a long time to develop their own unique styles and I do hope that they persevere and come up with some work that truly reflects the potential that they have shown. 

they wouldn't specifically make a "super" one to replace Dredd.

They already did replace Dredd, when he took the Long Walk, Silver decided to use a replacement with the same genetic code to take Dredd's place. Dredd is more than a man, to many because of what he has done and what he stands for, he is a symbol of Justice. The criminals undoubtably see him in the same way.

Still waiting for mine as well. This must be the first time the cover art has changed on the homepage before I got my prog.

Damn, just finished my review and hit preview to make sure I didn't reveal any spoilers, and the box went blank!