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Prog 1886 - Race With the Devils

Started by JamesC, 14 June, 2014, 11:43:59 AM

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Frank

Quote from: judgerufian on 19 June, 2014, 09:28:40 AM
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 18 June, 2014, 04:44:16 PM
Quote from: judgerufian on 18 June, 2014, 02:35:12 PM
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.

That's kind of what the whole book has been building to so far though, isn't it? Gododin's wee soliloquies figured heroism as a form of disease, an unhealthy compulsion in which Sláine indulges without reasoning why. He doesn't have the clinical vocabulary to express it as such, but what Gododin and this story are doing is exposing the psychopathology of Sláine. A Simple Killing has presented a more reflective version of the character, but even so, the closest thing to laying bare his inner life to the reader Sláine's treated us to was the hilarious sequence where he's trying to decide where and how to despatch Sinead's father, Kark.

Sláine's supposed to be on his way to confront the central tragedy of his life ([spoiler]the death of Niamh[/spoiler]), but he keeps on stopping along the way and getting diverted by side quests which allow him to indulge in the mindless slaughter which has always been his way of putting off confronting who he is, where he came from, and why he does what he does. Mills has done a bit of mirroring between Sláine and Sinead - they're both rambunctious rebels who are ashamed of their fathers - and it's Sinead who articulates what's going on inside her male counterpart's head.

That scene on the shore where Sinead talks about the good for nothing men of her tribe and insults him by saying he's nothing like the Sláine who is the hero of the great sagas of the past (i) ends with him adopting her father's war words (ii) and recognising her as a version of his wild and wilful younger self. When Sláine abandons his journey to face up to the mistakes of his past, and indulges in his default displacement activity of gleeful hacking/slashing to rescue the maiden from the tower, he's really seeking to recapture his younger self.

I think it's seeing the way life has broken Sinead's spirit which does the real damage to Sláine, as he realise that the freedom and rebellious energy of his youth are lost forever. All Gododin's weasel words are doing is connecting the dots, showing Sláine what all the questing, quarrelling, and killing have been  keeping him from confronting (iii) - that he's an old man, whose best days are behind him, who got the woman he loved killed, and messed up his relationship with his kid. Finally realising you've turned into your dad is enough to mess with most folk's minds - and messing with folk's minds is exactly what Slough Gododin does for a living.


(i) Haven't we all felt that during more recent Sláine outings

(ii) We learn that the words of Slaine's traditional battle cry were his father's

(iii) In a very meta way, that's exactly how Mills has used Sláine's hacking, slashing, and side questing through time and myth - as a distraction from and way of prevaricating on making the really big decisions about where Sláine's life and the strip itself are headed

Grobbendonk


ZenArcade

Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

Woolly


ZenArcade

Just finished reading this weeks prog.

Cover: like many others I note the muted tones. I think it reflects well on the episode inside. Slaine feels mortality....well past his salad days.

Dredd: again the art work is exceptional; the direction of the story isn't my thing....more Judges scragged by the manifestation of the tortured Urban id, sigh.

Terror Tales: quite like this.

Slaine: this has been comprehensively covered by sauchie. I can add little more only my pleasure in reading this excellent story and adoring the artists verve. Bravo!

Grey area: -

Indigo Prime: story of the week again. This is a pleasure to both read and view. Again ISISauchie is probably not far off the mark....with the obvious caveat being John Smith's ability to suprise and deliver the tangential.

All in all a good prog. Z

Ps can't wait to see John McCrea's new work.
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

A.Cow

Quote from: judgerufian on 19 June, 2014, 09:28:40 AM
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 18 June, 2014, 04:44:16 PM
Quote from: judgerufian on 18 June, 2014, 02:35:12 PM
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.   :o

I actually thought that some pages were missing, such was the sudden shift in both tone and body language.  Pat Mills' general work can be hit-and-miss at times, but such an out-of-character moment smacks of amateurish storytelling that I wouldn't expect of a seasoned pro.

Frank

Quote from: A.Cow on 20 June, 2014, 02:06:30 AM
I actually thought that some pages were missing, such was the sudden shift in both tone and body language.  Pat Mills' general work can be hit-and-miss at times, but such an out-of-character moment smacks of amateurish storytelling that I wouldn't expect of a seasoned pro.

It's the same problem discussed with the start of this week's episode - a few extra panels or a splash page would have made the pacing and developments appear more natural. As remarked previously, some of the more languorous episodes could have been compressed to afford the finale the weight it deserved, and to allow Davis to indulge in some more of the character acting he does so well, where expressions on faces tell the story better than narration or expository dialogue could ever hope to do.


Fungus

A fine prog  :)  Not been doing it for me in recent weeks so a pleasant surprise.

Cover  Felt like a smaller image, blown up? Could be artistic licence of course. If it was a slight rush job (?), you can see why Tharg would chase up the Davis droid for this. Bit murky, but I like murk.

Dredd  Story progressed (slightly), art as stunning as ever. Great way to start a prog.

Terror Tale  Just wonderful. Being thick, I don't worry too much about second-guessing the twists in these, and so went with it. So, great short story. Tom Foster's art is online as already said so knew what to expect, what a talent! Elements of Bolland and Higgins, I hope we get more.
Quibble: I see why it was done, but the shadowy figure at the bottom of page 3 felt a bit forced - sitting on the bed, why? He could have, but disbelief was punctured slightly. Note: still the highlight of a strong prog.

Slaine  "...Class, Slaine. And you don't have any!". Perfect ending, and so effective as this series (barring some wobbly writing) has been pure class.

Grey Area  Hm, not for me usually, especially the unclear art. But both script and art flowed better this week, enjoyed it.

Indigo Prime  Really not for me, but another episode that I thoroughly enjoyed. Could be the first time I can say that. It was comprehensible, and a plot finally emerged. What an ending!


Printing question: pages 4 & 5 of Grey Area have the bottom page corner folded back on itself, for me. When opened, additional info for the printers, and page number. Am I just lucky? (Nothing is lost)




DrJomster

Yet another excellent prog for me this week. Loved everything! Fantastic stuff, good people and roll on next week's prog.

Special shout out for Mr Foster's art debut in the prog. Fine work, sir!
The hippo has wisdom, respect the hippo.

Frank


Spotted the Annie Parkhouse cameo which Burdis mentioned was coming up. Bathed in red and yellow :


TordelBack

Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 18 June, 2014, 07:59:59 PM
One thing I meant to say in my review was how impressed I was with Tom Foster's debut in the Prog.

In a Prog bursting with standout, Foster really stood out.  Love that early Gibbons feel, brilliant use of light and shade.  Yeah, that's the stuff for me.

Elsewhere, everything was pretty-much great.  I'm not sure putting your head down when wearing a crown of thorn is a great plan, but there you go.

Enjoying everything, but will just add: Pat Mills and SBD have worked miracles.

Proudhuff

Quote from: A.Cow on 20 June, 2014, 02:06:30 AM
Quote from: judgerufian on 19 June, 2014, 09:28:40 AM
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 18 June, 2014, 04:44:16 PM
Quote from: judgerufian on 18 June, 2014, 02:35:12 PM
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.   :o

I actually thought that some pages were missing, such was the sudden shift in both tone and body language.  Pat Mills' general work can be hit-and-miss at times, but such an out-of-character moment smacks of amateurish storytelling that I wouldn't expect of a seasoned pro.

Disagree entirely, in fact its the most subtle and layered Pat has ever been, its the sudden realisation that hits Slaine that brings him to his knees, Pat's best work for a long time.
DDT did a job on me

ThryllSeekyr

Slaine : A Simple Killing -End of Book One......

This is more epic than I thought and I renounce anything that I wrote in a negative light earlier about this chronicle when I noticed that the story seemed to move from scene to scene and a little broken in between.

This looks huge.....

Yet, I read the last too issues in the wrong order without missing a beat in the continuity until I got to the end of second last one. 

Thinking, that was a early start.

So, when is Slaine: ASK going to resume next?



Frank

Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 24 June, 2014, 04:55:01 PM
Slaine : A Simple Killing -End of Book One ... This is more epic than I thought and I renounce anything that I wrote in a negative light earlier about this chronicle when I noticed that the story seemed to move from scene to scene and a little broken in between

Those long, atmospheric scenes punctuated by sudden bursts of extreme violence and gore, and with sudden cuts to different time frames, reminded me of the dynamics of Inglourious Basterds. Not sure when it will be back, Thrylseekr, but I'm hoping the pickle in which Sláine finds himself with that cliffhanger ending isn't resolved by a King Of The Rocketmen cheat in the next episode.