Prog 2149 - 2000AD 18 September 2019
My prog arrived early and on time for a change , so here is a review
The Cover artwork is by Glen Fabry and Karen Holloway - and is very good
The Interior announcement is about the brand new stories -
Judge Dredd - Guatemala by John Wagner ,
return of Fall of Deadworld and Anderson Psi Div by Alan Grant
and Defoe by Pat Mills , and the welcome return of Brank - Hate Box
(https://i.imgur.com/aAjRxGk.jpg)
Judge Dredd - Fall of Barbara Grimm ( Last part )
This was really good and enjoyed it .
Sinister Dexter - Narrow Minded
- I found the story to be very entertaining and well thought out
Future Shocks - Congested Anna -
This was a good read and was welcome - a nice change
and the Finale of
Jaegir
Yet again , Gordon Rennie and Simon Coleby knocks the ball out of the park
and I can't wait for the return of this wonderful story .
(https://i.imgur.com/rp9fTtj.jpg)
For me a very enjoyable Prog and 8/10 for me .
(https://i.imgur.com/i9bRxN0.png)
Awesome cover by Fabry, great to see his work back in the prog. I think his last work was in prog 1847 - Slaine Book of Scars
Technically, it's a Karen Holloway drawing that's only been 'coloured' by Glenn Fabry.
Let the detailed, nuanced discussion of collaboration in art and the undervalued contribution of creators other than writers and artists begin.
Quote from: Frank on 14 September, 2019, 10:30:33 AM
Technically, it's a Karen Holloway drawing that's only been 'coloured' by Glenn Fabry.
Let the detailed, nuanced discussion of collaboration in art and the undervalued contribution of creators other than writers and artists begin.
I'd be interested to see the pencils of that, to see how much each creator brought to the finished product - there's something about the texture that reminds me of Glenn's Diceman covers from the mid-eighties.
That's a great cover, but it's a shame that the massive tag line obscures the car.
Barbarbara Grimm ends well. I may have already said this last week, but Nick Dyer's art is really good these days.
Sinister Dexter takes an interesting turn.
I enjoyed the Future Shock. Six pages instead of the usual four. A really interesting idea, and fabulous art by Fabry and Holloway. (The credit says colours by Adam Brown, so Fabry must have done more than just colour in. And it does look like his style. Pencils by Fabry and ink by Holloway maybe?)
I like Future Shocks, so I'm glad there's another one next week.
Finally, there's the last episode of Jaegir, in which the main character seems to have taken her recent captivity and torture rather badly. It will be interesting to see where her next story takes her.
Quote from: Richard on 14 September, 2019, 12:14:06 PM
That's a great cover, but it's a shame that the massive tag line obscures the car.
Barbarbara Grimm ends well. I may have already said this last week, but Nick Dyer's art is really good these days.
Sinister Dexter takes an interesting turn.
I enjoyed the Future Shock. Six pages instead of the usual four. A really interesting idea, and fabulous art by Fabry and Holloway. (The credit says colours by Adam Brown, so Fabry must have done more than just colour in. And it does look like his style. Pencils by Fabry and ink by Holloway maybe?)
From speaking to Karen, she did the pencils on the cover and Glenn painted it.
On the interiors, my understanding is she did the layouts on all but the first page (which Glenn did himself, baring colours) and Glenn did the inks.
Is this a first, the cover going to a Future Shock?
If they're all this good I'm bang up for more
Quote from: metcalfecarr on 14 September, 2019, 01:05:55 PM
Is this a first, the cover going to a Future Shock?
If they're all this good I'm bang up for more
Not the first, but there's not been many (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=covers&page=character&choice=FUTURE&Comic=2000ad)
Quote from: MacabreMagpie on 14 September, 2019, 12:34:09 PM
From speaking to Karen, she did the pencils on the cover and Glenn painted it.
On the interiors, my understanding is she did the layouts on all but the first page (which Glenn did himself, baring colours) and Glenn did the inks.
Cheers, Paul.
As much as the debate about the artwork on this week's Future Shock has been engaging, I would like to spare a moment for the writing. I can't think of a FS that has managed to find such a subtle, nuanced take on the subject matter in a long time. I don't think it is going to be appropriate to go into too much detail prior to the prog hitting the stands, even with spoiler tags, but for me this is the best one in a long time.
Each time I've re-read it (and that says something in itself) I've found something else. Knowing the punchline actually gives it greater depth and foregrounds aspects previously missed. I would also say that this is one of those occasions when the integral work of the letterer becomes so much more apparent. Altogether the writing and lettering draw out what appears on the surface to be a fairly mundane supernatural tale filled with pretentious psycho-religious rambling.
As I say, once this has been more widely distributed it is going to be interesting to see where the discussion leads, particularly given some of the viewpoints held by some forum members! ;)
Loved the Future Shock! Haven't said that before I think, at least not in modern 2000ad times. Super art, indistinguishable to me from Fabry on his own, but there we are. And then the tale itself, well crafted (you get it, just before, you get it) has a bit of a punch and makes you think. If only they were all like this...
Jaegir's also been very enjoyable. Coleby's art is great and the action packed story works. The ending is somewhat surprising though - such utter ruthlessness is a new development I think.
Although I'm not really a big fan of Sin/Dex, I'm enjoying it at the moment. Decent action/adventure that's engaging (and easy to follow/remember) week to week.
Dredd was the only real disappointment for me. I've quite enjoyed the story and I can live with the art but its ending turns this story into just another example of Dredd failing. He has avoided getting shot/beaten/captured or held hostage so I suppose the writer has let him off lightly, just (another) unsuccessful operation. I'll head over to the Meg and see how his operation against the Red Queen is going...
Quotesuch utter ruthlessness is a new development I think
Yes, but not an unwelcome one. It's about the dehumanising effect of war, and I wonder if the writer had this in mind for this character all along. I thought it was but odd that the Norts would bother to have a war crimes investigator, but now I think the point all along might have been to contrast what Jaegir was like in her earlier stories with what she is becoming.
I second Tjm86's praise for the future shock writing too.
Oh we're back to the bad old days of pre-launch Progs as we get a couple of stories wrapping up, a Dredd and Jaegir in this case, a Future Shock and Sinister Dexter (double sized) stuffed in as padding and they don't even have the decency to wrap up the S&D properly....
....just like in the bad old days*...
....AND IT'S BLOODY BRILLIANT!!!!
I mean this is a fine, fine Prog.
The enders, end, so, so well. Dredd is bitter and hard and then at the end throws us a line to make clear its all going somewhere. Just a genius downbeat ending. Love this. LOVE IT.
Then Jaegir is a bitter and hard and then throws us a line (or two) to make clear its going somewhere quite astonishing. So this is how villians are made. Just a genius downbeat ending. Love this. LOVE IT.
When we look at the filler the Future Shock is a bitter and har... okay, okay I'll stop this. Its just brilliant. One of the best Future Shocks we had in an age. The art - whomever did what i- s grotesque and wonderful. I half expected to come here and whitter about the fact that it was more a Terror Tale than a Future Shcok BUT its a Terror Tale AND a Future Shock with a great ending. You could argue this could be done in 2, 3 or 4 page BUT its not padded its build. Its constructed. It lead you down and dark, ugly atmospheric path, miraclously making you care for the person leading you down it. Its just wonderful. Love this. LOVE IT.
And finally we get a double sized Sinister Dexter which doesn't even finish. Except it does it just leads us to the next part. And again this is just superb. The action explodes as S&D are want to do, but it doing it it leads none of the building of its larger tales and brilliantly pulls them all together. So we now know (I think) what the voice in Ramone's head is. We know what's happening with the tattoos and all this is down with verve and character. Its action style AND the Mighty Yeowell ably aided by John Charles does wonders with the art. ... you know what comes next... love this. LOVE IT
What a Prog. I mean there's been some great Progs in the last year, two years, 10 years ... but by jiggery there's been few as good as this. And I didn't even whine about the fact that there was four thrills not five. Cos these thrill had enough fantastic for 5 thrill. Its a sure fire 5/4 from me!
*[Normalfontsize] Which actually weren't all that bad but the illusion of a rant wouldn't have worked if I'd told the truth would it [\Normalfontsize]
Loving the development of Jaegir, the poisoned fruit not falling far from the tree...
Artwork on this pitched perfectly.
Dredd finishes well and its been a joy to see this seedy side of the system.
Looking forward to Judge Dredd - Guatemala by Wagner and McNeil, hinted at previously I believe.
SinDex charges along nicely and the Futureshock's a great idea which could have ben striped back a bit on text and art IMHO
Great Prog and can't wait for the jumpyonprog
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
Brilliant cover, although criticism about the tagline placemnet is valid!
Dredd is great, I've really enjoyed reading this one and Nick Dyer gives good value as usual. She'll be back!
SInDex has been interesting, a bit different to usual, and it's a cracker. I have a feeling we havn't seen the last of that computer.
the Future Shock was good on the first read, great on the slower second one. A disturbing, graphic tale with exemplary art. So good to see Glenn back in the prog, and Karen's layouts are spot on. Deserved the cover.
Didn't read Jaegir as I never have enjoyed it.
Yeah, seriously, not to join on the pile-on but what is going in with that cover layout? Fabry covers are always popular with the Mature Readers Only comics set, and this collaboration with Holloway is a nice one for Tharg to snag - a passing non-scrot might mistake it for a Preacher or Hellblazer spinoff and throw a few denarii his way. So why did he (presumably) sign off on pointless text obscuring so much of it?
On the hard-hearted Dredd front, we've seen the man's goals suffer terribly lately (and arguably as far back as Necropolis) because of his ideas of justice, and attempts to fulfill Fargo's vision. His barely-disguised compassion for mutants saw Hershey replaced by the weak Francisco (and corrupt Sinfield), with the fatal failure to stop Borisenko at least partially the result. Then his opposition to extra-judicial assassination brought him into conflict with Hershey, leading to her resignation. This lead to further conflict with Logan over his unswerving belief that only a Judge should have the right to administer justice, with the result that robots are the streets after all - opposition to which had cost him his relationship with McGruder. One by one he alienates himself from friends and allies by insistence on upholding his own moral code, and things only get worse for his city.
Is it difficult to believe that he might be getting harder and colder as his isolation and sense of failure grows?
Great prog 5/5 or rather 4/4
Dredd - Carroll likes to tell a bigger story arc over multiple smaller parts. This is the second part of his crime syndicate story arc. A good solid story and would like to see where this is going. The last part feels less grim than the preceding parts.
Sin/Dex - This week's double length episode was a very good read. I must admit that I was very critical of the current run but just shows you what a difference a week can do to a story. A few unexpected events happened, and a previous story-arc was brought back into the fold.
TFC – This was one intriguing tale. Love the whole damn thing from end to beginning. So glad to have Fabry doing something for the prog again.
Jaegir – The best thing that hit the Rogue-verse in a long time. The story just gets better and better. We should not forget the contribution the art brings to the story - Coleby is one of the new masters.
Superior Future Shock this week. Coincidence that it was given a little extra space to breathe?
Wheras the last 3hriller was given too much space for a thin story.
Excellent prog on all fronts - I'm enjoying this sin/dex storyline more than any for a long while.
I hope Kapiten Jaegir regains her moral compass at some point, but it's certainly great character development.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 18 September, 2019, 08:06:10 PM
I hope Kapiten Jaegir regains her moral compass at some point, but it's certainly great character development.
Jaegir's Good German premise doesn't appeal to me, but a Bad German story could be interesting. No luck for poor
McNulty and his request for happy endings - maybe it'll turn out to be the good kind of genocide?
Best Future Shock for YEARS. I didn't guess the end, which is a compliment. I liked every story in this prog - the last one before a jumping-on prog. A rare and wonderful thing.
Can't wait for next week!
Quote from: Trout on 20 September, 2019, 03:54:29 AM
Best Future Shock for YEARS. I didn't guess the end, which is a compliment. I liked every story in this prog - the last one before a jumping-on prog. A rare and wonderful thing.
Can't wait for next week!
Seconded. Obviously the artwork is a huge factor, but that ending was outstanding. I was wondering until then why it was a Future Shock and not a Terror Tale.
All good stuff this week, standout being a corker of a Future Shock. I especially liked when the priest refused to help, great way of building atmosphere.
The excellent Dredd had a solid ending, perhaps not quite as much of a miseyfest as I had hoped (not very Iso these Cubes), but a very welcome direction. And how beautiful is Nick Dyer's Dredd.
Sin/Dex a precision mix of bloody action and subtly worrying plot. Poor Laura, that lone leg..
Jaegir. Kill them. Kill them all. I do hope this isn't building to a conclusion.
Only four strips and I didn't feel robbed!
This was a pretty decent prog, although it didn't knock my socks off the way it has others. I felt like the Dredd story took too many weeks maybe, a shorter punchier version of that tale would have appealed to me. I'm also not personally big on the art but I know a lot of people are and that's just a taste thing. It's definitely very good, just not my cup of tea.
Jaegir was the highlight for me, I love it a great deal and it feels so good to still be getting a fix of the Rogue Trooper universe. It's a brilliant use of that world and I hope it's not going to be wrapping up anytime soon.
One of the biggest thrills I got this week was seeing the line-up for the jumping on prog, because as far as strips that I really enjoy it's pretty much cover to cover bangers and it's probably the most excited I've been for an upcoming issue this year. Bracing myself for an exceptionally enjoyable prog next week!
Yeah, it's a times like this I wish the digital sub came out on Saturdays! I am absolutely buzzing for the next installment of Brink.
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 20 September, 2019, 10:17:39 AM
Jaegir was the highlight for me, I love it a great deal and it feels so good to still be getting a fix of the Rogue Trooper universe. It's a brilliant use of that world and I hope it's not going to be wrapping up anytime soon.
Yup, it's just the perfect solution to the problem of Rogue Trooper. It's a bit mystifying that previous creative teams thought the solution was to take Rogue (the least interesting character) away from Nu-Earth (the
most interesting character)! This is how you do it - accept that Rogue's story is done, and find new stories to tell about new characters, in the same evocative world.
I suppose it's people finally realising that, like Judge Dredd can survive without Dredd, the Rogue Trooper can survive without Rogue.
Echo everything said above; a really enjoyable prog from first to last for me. Every tale was a punchy, fun science fiction tale with great visual story telling but also asked bigger questions.
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 20 September, 2019, 10:17:39 AM
This was a pretty decent prog, although it didn't knock my socks off the way it has others. I felt like the Dredd story took too many weeks maybe, a shorter punchier version of that tale would have appealed to me.
I know what you mean. Still, I liked it a lot. Kind of in the vein of the first Taxidermist story - an ordinary citizen getting way out of their depth in the nastiness of MC1, with Dredd an occasional threat in the background.
More of this kind of thing would be welcome; it kind of makes sense to avoid citywide epic events which can only be anticlimactic after the colossal events of 2012. Or 2134, I suppose.
Not really the right thread I suppose...but did anyone get their prog 2150?
I've had a really good run of it with my sub lately and then with this weeks eagerly anticipated prog (Wagner back on Dredd) it's a no show!
Quote from: Geoff on 22 September, 2019, 02:20:43 PM
Not really the right thread I suppose...but did anyone get their prog 2150?
I've had a really good run of it with my sub lately and then with this weeks eagerly anticipated prog (Wagner back on Dredd) it's a no show!
https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46047.0;topicseen (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46047.0;topicseen)
Nothing in North Warwickshire 😔
Thanks guys - seems we're all in the same boat!
This was an excellent prog! Everything was good. What more can I say?
Oh yes..
Well done those droids, keep up the good work!
A list of Demands from the readers of 2000AD:
1) We want a Future Shock of this quality in the Prog every week.
2)
3)