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2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2018

Started by Tomwe, 19 June, 2018, 09:31:12 AM

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Frank

Quote from: Leigh S on 21 June, 2018, 10:13:13 PM
I enjoyed Babb Tarr's Dredd art more than I thought I would from the previews but think it would have worked much better with an on model (or at least off Stallone model) Dredd

I enjoyed Tarr's art, too, the characterful design of the three perps being a highlight.

Tarr's version of the uniform is that of someone who definitely remembers seeing something about Judge Dredd, once. Stallone's a reference point, but if you try to identify specific elements that look like 1995, you realise only the eagle is a little I-knew-you'd-say-that* and there's at least as much Dredd3D.

It reminded me of JOE SOAP's manga-Dredd; the product of a visual version of Chinese Whispers.

Tarr's open-sided eagle is a detail I can't remember seeing before; the bars on the left shoulder pad running forward-to-back instead of left-to-right, likewise. The arse pockets on Dredd's trousers and the little bit of Fargo flesh on show in the gap between cuff and matinee gloves were more why not? than WHY?!!!

Tarr's art was in service of a perfectly respectable story, written to a formula of which, by now, I am sick.


* And the Stallone film eagle is, of course, also The Kev Walker Comic Eagle. I'm pretty sure Tarr was copping a riff from Danny Cannon's Magnum Horriblis, but that eagle's graced some of the best and/or most important stories in the history of the strip. Although seldom (if ever) spoken of in those terms, Kev Walker is a defining Dredd artist in the same way and for the same reasons as an artist like Cam Kennedy; both are among the most talented storytellers and stylists ever to grace the strip with their presence.

Richard

The oddest thing about Tarr's version of Dredd's uniform isn't that it's based on the film version, but that she thinks the armour plates are made of fabric. She's drawn creases in them.

However, my main objections to her style of art are all the dots everywhere and the weird, warped Manga-mouths.

Frank

Quote from: Richard on 24 June, 2018, 03:29:07 PM
... my main objections to (Tarr's) style of art are all the dots everywhere and the weird, warped Manga-mouths

She'll never use Douglas Carswell and Laura Kuenssberg as life models again.

T-Rex[1]: I thought this was a prequel to the first published story, rather than a variation on it[2]. It's an idea, not a story, and seeing another of John Smith's characters passed around like Lynx: Africa after 5-aside is distasteful, especially in a title encouraging a welcoming environment and fair treatment of creators.

I don't think the ending of Tillie Walden's Future Shock was unclear, but it might have undersold the Shock part of the premise. Maybe a greater sense of fear from the shut-in homeowners and a line about deliveries from couriers[3] keeping them alive during the curfew would have underscored the irony[4].

In my ideal world, all comics would be the work of writer-artists, because when that works, the result is a distinct product of a singular vision. That's the case here, with even the lettering forming part of the atmosphere and character of the story.

It's difficult to imagine Walden's idiosyncratic style working on classic 2000ad strips, but that's a good argument for letting those characters remain where they are, fondly remembered, and telling stories that suit today's most talented creators.

Walden was the highlight of this special, for me, and I bought her autobiographical Spinning on the strength of it. So, if Tharg's aim was to have me sitting up until 2am reading a book about lesbian ballerinas in Texas, mission accomplished.


[1] It's pronounced tir-ANNIE, right? She's a female dinosaur, not Stalin.

[2] It's supposed to be how she met her accomplice (nerd with glasses) from the debut Smith/Dillon story, with the line about music leading into that original story. No?

[3] Both it and the Future Shock revolve around duplicitous home delivery services. Maybe being a creator working from home means a visit from an Amazon courier is the highlight of your day.

[4] Or maybe that would have bludgeoned the reader over the head with THE POINT (TM)

Frank


james newell

Loved the Dredd & Anderson cover, all the stories ware really great, standouts ware Judge Death, Dredd & the Future Shock , will give them a "FRESH" rating for both stories and art.

Would love to see more Tyranny Rex in the Prog by the same team.

IndigoPrime

I approached this special with positive thinking regarding the intent but also an open mind regarding the creators, many of whom are new to me. Overall, I think it's a broadly successful special, with no outright misfires, and I'd happily see more from a number of these creators in the Prog. I don't really follow Frank's line here, on the successes only being the new content – for me, there was a good mix of novel ideas and reinterpretations.

I got these standard newsstand edition, and the cover is pretty great. Dredd was a fairly by-the-numbers script, and the art had great energy, but I'm not sold on the judge uniform. Perhaps we've got too used to a lack of variation, but these seemed a step beyond – almost reminiscent of Lawman of the Future. Still, I'd happily see Tarr on Dredd again if she was perhaps nudged in the direction of a more 'standard' design for that one thing.

Tyranny Rex felt more like a pilot than a standalone, and ended accordingly (in the sense it kind of didn't). There were some really good bits (not least what came out of that printer – urgh in a very John Smith way). Bar her arm on page three, I quite liked the art, too, which felt very Rian Hughes – someone who I very much miss from the Prog. However, I'm still a bit hmmm about how many John Smith characters are now being sent over to other writers, when he was such a distinctive voice. (I suspect by this point, whatever relationship the Prog and Smith had is broken, but I hope not. It would be a crushing shame if he never penned anything for the Prog again.)

Rogue Trooper: I really liked this. I'm sure people will bellyache about a lack of innovation, but... it's Rogue Trooper. Had Tharg removed the author's name from the credit card, I'd never have known this was a newcomer to the strip. And that sting in the tail was perfect 2000 AD. The art did the job nicely, too.

Delivery really annoyed me, purely on the basis that I feel like a massive idiot for not fully getting what was going on. The idea is superb, though, and it reminded me a little of those Bob Byrne strips that ran a while ago. Perhaps it just needed a touch more signposting for thickies like me. On a re-read, it's properly creepy stuff. I've no idea what Tharg's plans are, but it'd be interesting to see some more Walden one-offs.

Judge Death again had a nice scrappy energy about the art (and I mean that in a good way), echoing the nature of the script. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on with Death (a manifestation?), but I suppose that doesn't matter in a one-off. It felt suitably daft and, again, 2000 AD in nature.

DeMarco PI is, as others have said, a character that needs to be mined. The way she was sidelined as Jack Points girlfriend really irritated me, although I did enjoy some of her other solo adventures. I'd happily see a Bailey/Dani series (perhaps as a set of single-prog one-offs or two-parters) to see where they could take the character.

Terror Tales felt very old-school 2000 AD in the way it was constructed, and had some great lines. And then Anderson, which perfectly did the job.

Overall, for me, this was a solid special, which I think did what it was supposed to – showcased newcomers and (hopefully) opened the door to them and others.

TordelBack

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 June, 2018, 11:04:42 AM
Rogue Trooper: [....] Had Tharg removed the author's name from the credit card, I'd never have known this was a newcomer to the strip.

Very good point! 

On the DeMarco subject, we do go all on about the (much-missed) Travis Perkins, Urbane Gorilla, and Jack Point's Main Squeeze days, but there's a whole run of Carroll post-DoC/Trifecta strips over in the Meg that head off in other strange directions where she's effectively a plainclothes Judge again, or at the very least an agent of the City.  I still don't think any of the solo incarnations worked particularly well for the character.

TBH I think the whole thing went off the rails in her very first post-Judge story, Doomsday, where after some brief and engaging gumshoe establishing sequences, DeMarco is right back into saving-the-city mode in a couple of pages, in order to anchor the non-Dredd half of the story.  We have plenty of heroic judge types - what we don't have is private detective stories set in the Meg (Simping Detective's whole schtick is that Jack is wally squad, so that doesn't count).

DeMarco's edge should be her judge training and experience, and possibly her connections with the Dept that let her operate a little more freely than most, but beyond that, she should be down in the Blocks and streets helping the little guy for a little green.  The version we get in the Special is pretty much this, a return to those opening pages of Doomsday.  No billions, no Sovs, no Justice Dept conspiracies.  Love to see more (but maybe Travis had a brother/son/clone?).


sheridan

Quote from: Frank on 24 June, 2018, 11:45:50 AM
Tarr's version of the uniform is that of someone who definitely remembers seeing something about Judge Dredd, once. Stallone's a reference point, but if you try to identify specific elements that look like 1995, you realise only the eagle is a little I-knew-you'd-say-that* and there's at least as much Dredd3D.


My immediate thought with all the current riot-police / motorcycle armour was of the 2012 Dredd, so was surprised that there were so many references to 1995 in this thread (unless I missed it, the post I'm replying to was the first mention of the better film!)

sheridan

Quote from: sheridan on 25 June, 2018, 02:46:31 PM
Quote from: Frank on 24 June, 2018, 11:45:50 AM
Tarr's version of the uniform is that of someone who definitely remembers seeing something about Judge Dredd, once. Stallone's a reference point, but if you try to identify specific elements that look like 1995, you realise only the eagle is a little I-knew-you'd-say-that* and there's at least as much Dredd3D.


My immediate thought with all the current riot-police / motorcycle armour was of the 2012 Dredd, so was surprised that there were so many references to 1995 in this thread (unless I missed it, the post I'm replying to was the first mention of the better film!)

p.s. we only get two shots of the lawmaster, but both look more like Urban's LM than any other depiction I've seen.

sheridan

Quote from: Frank on 24 June, 2018, 06:26:02 PM
[2] It's supposed to be how she met her accomplice (nerd with glasses) from the debut Smith/Dillon story, with the line about music leading into that original story. No?


It's been a while since I read the original story, but I read is as meeting the accomplice as well.

Richard

Quote(but maybe Travis had a brother/son/clone?).
Let's not go there! That would be naff!
I agreed with everything else Tordelback said.

Frank


Richard


Max Headroom


sheridan