Turned up today along with the birthday special.
Cover confused me somewhat. Lovely painted Dredd image by Ryan Brown with the exception that Dredd looks like he is smiling (at least to me). Bit offputting.
New Dredd story starts with some decent and at times very gruesome art by Boo Cook. Based on Nerve Centre mention that 2023 is a jumping on prog (with Bink returning) this is, at nost a 3 parter. Feels a bit cliche at the moment with the old sacrificing victims to preserve the villain's youth trope but I may be wrong. We'll see.
SinDex wraps quite nicely with usual humour and dubious taste.
Kingmaker and The Order both move towards their respective climaxes and Kingdom gives another curveball cliffhanger which could potentially have huge ramifications for the strip.
Letters page and Droid Life round out another excellent prog as has been the case all year.
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/2020_zps53olv4yl.jpg)
Letters page ruined with that ghastly photo ;)
Kingdom! :o :o :o
What. The. Unholy. Fuck.
Next week's episode will be very interesting.
Come back John Wagner, or Rob Williams... please :|
The Prog is fantastic at the moment, it really is, but I have to say I'm ready for a new lineup. These stories have all been throughly enjoyable these last 2 months, with barely. A bad episode among them, but I am ready for something a bit different to make an appearance.
Quote from: Jacqusie on 25 February, 2017, 03:04:20 PM
Come back John Wagner, or Rob Williams... please :|
I think new Williams story is just around the corner since we had Act of Grud as a prologue for (another) bigger story.
Quote from: Jacqusie on 25 February, 2017, 03:04:20 PM
Come back John Wagner, or Rob Williams... please :|
Just out if interest what didn't you like about This week's Dredd? It seemed perfectly OK to me.
Clearly Wagner can't go on writing Dredd for ever so I think it is good to give others a chance.
And don't worry I don't think Rob Williams is going anywhere judging by what he had to say at the 40th.
Overall a good Prog this week, even if The Order continues to be as impenetrable as ever. I think only a complete re-read from the start of series one will help. Thing is I'm not sure it is worth it / I have too much else to read.
Loving Leigh Gallagher's art, which I never thought I would say, but with this he has joined the top echelon of art bots.
Hold on forget the Prog for a moment did we know that Leopard From Lime Street was second on the reprints blocks after One Eyed Jack???? Well even if you did I didn't so this throw away line at the very end of the letters page is probably the best thing in the comic. WONDERFUL NEWS...
... okay the best thing in many Progs but in the current line-up it has the still devine Kingdom, Kingmaker and The Order to contend with. Each still as superb as they've been to date.
Overall though the Prog has a slight dip in form. Sinister Dexter has a fine ending, if a little off the fine form of last weeks first part. Loved the last three panels mind. Dredd doesn't match the standard of the last few weeks. Its a solid start nowt more. By current standards a good solid Dredd is the weakest thing in the Prog. Which just goes to show we might be a little down on the last few weeks but its nowt to worry about the comic is in very very good form AND Brink is back in a couple of weeks.
We are well treated little monkeys aren't we. ... Leopard From Line Street... so excited by that!
Quote from: Mattofthespurs on 25 February, 2017, 09:32:55 AM
Letters page ruined with that ghastly photo ;)
Not only that, but I took it and didn't get a credit!
I'm clearly being a massive idiot, but I didn't get Droid Life. Can someone explain it to me very slowly?
Took me a while as well. Not the clearest of gags. It's 'Droid Life, not Druid Life.'
What's unclear about that?
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 25 February, 2017, 08:45:02 PM
Hold on forget the Prog for a moment did we know that Leopard From Lime Street was second on the reprints blocks after One Eyed Jack???? Well even if you did I didn't so this throw away line at the very end of the letters page is probably the best thing in the comic. WONDERFUL NEWS...
[snip]
We are well treated little monkeys aren't we. ... Leopard From Line Street... so excited by that!
I'm with you, Colin. Brilliant news!
Quote from: Richard on 26 February, 2017, 05:39:14 PM
What's unclear about that?
Nothing. It just didn't click with me. I was thinking of telly shows due to panel two, going bwuh, and for some reason didn't think of druids?
Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 February, 2017, 05:05:41 PM
Took me a while as well. Not the clearest of gags. It's 'Droid Life, not Druid Life.'
Thanks for explaining - I'd assumed they were generic pagans and that the pun was based around the sun / moon / solstice / equinox and couldn't figure out what that had to do with droids...
Quote from: sheridan on 01 March, 2017, 01:05:34 AM
Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 February, 2017, 05:05:41 PM
Took me a while as well. Not the clearest of gags. It's 'Droid Life, not Druid Life.'
Thanks for explaining - I'd assumed they were generic pagans and that the pun was based around the sun / moon / solstice / equinox and couldn't figure out what that had to do with droids...
had me scratching my head for a few minutes too
I reckon spotting the 'druid' connection comes from lurking on the 'wrong side' of the Severn now. Use to taunt one of the guys on the squadron back in the day about being a 'pseudo-trot'. How much grief would he give me now if he saw where I ended up? ::)
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 25 February, 2017, 08:45:02 PMthe current line-up... has the still devine Kingdom, Kingmaker and The Order... Each still as superb as they've been to date.
This. Three consistently excellent strips (though I can't believe people are still calling The Order 'impenetrable'). It really will be a great shame if they all finish their current runs in the same week. The following prog will definitely have its work cut out.
I thought the Dredd strip harked back to classic Wagner/Grant stories of old - a gruesome premise followed by just enough explanation to keep the intrigue.
Sin Dex was OK but it's lightweight stuff. The sort of thing that gets an airing in the weeks running up to a 'jump-on' prog, I suppose.
Another great Dredd cover, though yeah, that expression is unsettling. I wonder if the scene of many melting cits will be played out in the next couple of weeks?
Great prog. Kingdom just keeps on giving juicy new stuff.
But seeing Cosh's trademark film review referenced in "Druid" Life was brilliant.
Hey, my autocorrect tried to change DRUID to DROID. Truly this is a zarjaz time to be a fan.
The cover didn't work for me, Brown's work is great, but the expression is all wrong.
Dredd on the other hand was a solid old-school T. B. Grover opener, and I like that. Did Boo really draw little fluttery penants on his uber-butch Lawmasters? Arsom!
Sin Dex is short, sharp and funny. Good to see a new status quo being slowly established. Like the colouring job too.
Look, when you set up a dragon vs. spaceship aerial ruck, you have to deliver, and on Kingmaker Gallagher really does. Dragon designs are fabulous, action is clear and dramatic, just superb. I do worry a bit at similarities to other Edgy tales and Helium in particular, I'm still not on board with the dialogue, but when an episode is this breathlessly great, I can put any doubts aside.
The Order continues to be amazing. I'm not sure Kek-W and Burns have any more of an idea of what a superstring is than Star Trek TNG did, but blimey I want to see Iron John 2.0 take that axe to its beanstalky goodness!
Oh but how wondrous is Kingdom, jumping jeebus that was a shock reveal! I knew something was going on with Leezee, but not that..!
Quote from: norton canes on 02 March, 2017, 10:56:24 AM
I can't believe people are still calling The Order 'impenetrable'
Ok hand on heart, can you honestly say you understand which time period each different Rittertahl is from and what their motivation is?
Not a fan of that cover, all I can see now is Dredd and his big horse dentures
But inside oh inside is totally different
Dredd is off to a good start, love the art work I have never seen Dredd done in this way and I think it's excellent
Kingmaker I have been enjoying from the start and an issue about dragons fighting space ships, yes please.
Sin Dex I enjoyed, thought it was good fun maybe a bit on the light side but still very enjoyable
The Order is rocking at the moment and I can't wait to see the big robot smash things with its big axe
Kingdom was tremendous, great sense of danger and what an ending
Roll on next week, the prog is on damn fine form
Quote from: Pegasus P Artichoke on 02 March, 2017, 06:23:31 PM
Not a fan of that cover, all I can see now is Dredd and his big horse dentures
Great artist, but not a fan of Dredd's face on this cover either :(
QuoteDredd is off to a good start, love the art work I have never seen Dredd done in this way and I think it's excellent
Boo did Student Bodies a year or two back (two-parter, post-Chaos Day story).
QuoteKingmaker I have been enjoying from the start and an issue about dragons fighting space ships, yes please.
True that!
Kingdom: [spoiler]So is that the original Lezee?[/spoiler]
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 02 March, 2017, 10:34:43 PM
Kingdom: [spoiler]So is that the original Lezee?[/spoiler]
My guess is a [spoiler]clone of the tick-infected Leezee (some kind of DNA melding between them) used to control the horde. Of course you could be right, and the current Lee could be a 'pure' clone and this monster what became of the original.[/spoiler]
Its great that we're guessing. I think Tordelback is right but the way its been built up as a big reveal does make me wonder. Fantastic stuff either way.
Kingdom cliffhanger is exactly what cliffhangers should look like. I was expecting something with "this character" but what I saw on page was still unexpected.
Good work mr Abnett.