Messages

[Necropolis]

Wondering whether my previous top 3 will now fall by the wayside...hmmm...ok then:

1. Necropolis. As this includes The Dead Man, it had to take the top slot. Wagner expertly bringing together numerous threads, King Carlos drawing the whole main epic, and a huge impact on Dredd and the city. A timeless classic.
2. Oz. The variety of artists suits the episodic nature of the story, the race itself is exhilarating, and Brendan McCarthy's designs of the Judda are fantastic.
3. Tour of Duty. I did think about The Pit here, but again ToD's tying together different threads and its impact give it the edge.

I do like The Small House, but for me it isn't as big a hitter as those above.

1. Fetish
2. Every Empire Falls
3. Dark Justice

Indigo Prime volume 1 is a joy. I don't think I'd read The Issigri Variations since it was in the Prog, and can't remember what I made of it back then - I may even have skipped it. But now it's absolutely brilliant. Killing Time is magnificent, and Dead Eyes would be a great conspiracy thriller on its own without the final twist.

[Mechanismo]

Well, now Fetish has been knocked out, I think I need to revert to my vote before last. I really liked Every Empire Falls, but, as has been said, the threads of it haven't really been picked up, which is a shame. So...

1. Mechanismo
2. Tour of Duty
3. City of the Damned

[Fetish]

Ooh this is getting interesting. After some thought....

1. Fetish. Although I'm not entirely sure what's going on, it's John Smith weirdness, Siku's unique take on Dredd and Devlin, and some spectacular imagery.
2. Tour of Duty
3. Mechanismo

The first time I haven't voted for City of the Damned. My nostalgia for it is now outweighed by the quality of the stories above.

1. Wilderlands
2. Chief Judge's Man
3. Sin City

1. Mechanismo
2. Tour of Duty. PJ Maybe becoming Mayor was a brilliant idea, and the whole thing fits together really well.
3. City of the Damned

The crossovers, while fun, I don't see as essential. I haven't read End of Days yet.

[Mechanismo]

1. Mechanismo
2. Wilderlands. One of Mechanismo's legacy stories, at position 2 as I'm not sure the Prog/Meg crossover entirely worked, but a significant "event" story.
3. City of the Damned

HM: Trifecta

1. Darkside
2. Doomsday
3. Judgement Day

Talking about PJ I would love a complete collection of his misadventures.

The Rebellion paperback is going for hugely elevated prices, but is available digitally from the 2000AD shop, and the Hachette version just came up on Amazon at a reasonable price.

as wagner gradually stepped back, and a slew of new writers came in and developed their own epics and shorter stories, things have become a little frustrating again - the strip often reads as a series of spin off shows, seemingly (but not actually) outside official wagner continuity, each writer's stories and arcs apparently having little to do with every other writer's take. the inevitable consequence of this is a loss of that development, consequence and consistency. The answer would probably be to have an annual writers' room summit of the dredd writers (marvel and dc style) to loosely plot out a year's storylines.

I agree with this - writers such as Michael Carroll and Rob Williams have had some great ideas in their long-form Dredds, but the consequences of these seem to be lost until these writers come back to the strip.

Another question - could a long-term character's storyline such as PJ Maybe be said to be an epic - I know PJ appeared in Tour of Duty and Day of Chaos, but could all his shorter stories over the years be said to be an epic in their own right?

[Mechanismo]

1. Mechanismo
2. City of the Damned
3. Judgement Day. I have time for Garth's epic and haven't read or can't remember much about the other additions to the list.

[Mechanismo]

1.Mechanismo. A huge legacy and some magnificent art.
2. City of the Damned; For reasons stated before.
3. Darkside. Not necessarily John Smith's finest work on Dredd, but it's still Smith and a sequel to 2.

1. Robot War
2. Raptaur
3. The Mega-Rackets

Thanks for the responses and insights on BoS III. I'm even more intrigued now! For something to cause so much comment and debate there has to be a uniqueness about it.