SPEED IT UP

Dandontdare · 04 February, 2009, 01:01:04 PM

Wow, he certainly touched a nerve there, and may have been wiser to settle in first and tone down the terminology a bit, but I agree with everything Faplad says about Greysuit, ABC Warriors and Defoe. The first two are routinely slagged on this board, as was Blood of Satanus III, but I've never really understood what many of you see in Defoe. Savage wasn't bad, but most of his recent output has been extremely disappointing.

He did write some truly amazing stuff at one time though, and as you say, created the whole shebang, but it seems no 'Tharg' is able to say NO to him because of this. However, if four pages of each Prog were to be rechristened "Pat's Corner" in perpetuity, giving free vent to any old ramblings he fancies, without thought for plot or storytelling; then I don't think I'd begrudge it him, however rubbish and nonsensical it was. He's earned it!

LARF · 04 February, 2009, 01:15:48 PM

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It would be 'nice' that when newbies join the board they introduce themselves first rather than just throw themselves to the wolves. I mean would you go over to a group of complete strangers at a comicon and start ramming your opinion into them (ooer), insulting a talented writer with some ill thought out ramblings and hope for a reasonable response? No.

Richmond Clements · 04 February, 2009, 01:24:42 PM

QuoteI mean would you go over to a group of complete strangers at a comicon and start ramming your opinion into them (ooer), insulting a talented writer with some ill thought out ramblings and hope for a reasonable response? No.

Well... I have seen that sort of thing happen, actually!

LARF · 04 February, 2009, 01:27:21 PM

LOL

Me too, but only on the Saturday night and only after a few sherbets... actually saying that I did see a fight breakout once in a signing queue in Manchester...

TordelBack · 04 February, 2009, 01:41:07 PM

Each to their own on Defoe, M. Danton, but I don't recall many examples of Faplad's assertion that "The lead characters spend vast portions of the tory giving the reader History lessons...". In fact, I find Defoe refreshingly short on historical spoon-feeding - unless Bendigo, Vizards, and the terrible events of '666 are aspects of history I've completely missed. There's plenty of clunky dialogue (although I find it works better in faux-olde-Englishe than in the contemporary or futuristic strips), but Mills has always been heavy on the clunky dialogue. Eddie Campbell he ain't.

While I sympathise with the idea that he gets too much slack from Tharg, Mills has always been a great man for throwing lots of crazy stuff at a canvas and seeing what sticks - keeping him on a tight editorial rein would curb his particular genius for piling on the crazy until something really works. Of his current output, I think Defoe is a prime example of his particular brand of adapting/mashing sources and making them work in 2000AD, and one of the best new strips in a while. Much of Savage has been excellent (the last 'book' less so), one of the best revivals of an early character in the comic's history. I've enjoyed ABC Warriors since they got back to Mars, and it really is no sillier than it was when it started, and a great deal less so than during the Khaos years.

It's not all good. Greysuit really isn't my thing, but the art is nice. Recent Mills on Dredd is a waste of both character and creator - despite their shared past, they don't work well together any more. As long as its only 5 or 6 pages a week, and those pages aren't Dredd, I'm happy to see Mills in the Prog no matter what he's doing.

Paul faplad Finch · 04 February, 2009, 07:05:27 PM

Well it sems I've upset a lot of people with my first atempt at posting but it seems to be dying down now (fingers crossed).
One thing that came up though was that I came out of nowhere without properly introducing myself and it's a fair point so here goes.

I started reading during Wilderlands and except for a brief stint where the money ran out I've been here ever since. I read every Prog but pick and choose Megs - harder since the bagging - and consider the state of the comic much better than when I started.

I think that Wagner, Abnett, Rennie and Morrisson have written some of the best stuff of recent years but I think Morrison is very variable. Dante is fantastic but I just don't get the apeal of Shakara and his Dreddworld stuff leaves a lot to be desired but fair play to the man, it's improving.
Carlos Ezquerra and John Burns are my favourite artists but the traditionalist in me finds the likes of Carl Critchlow and other more experimental artists hard to like, but that's just me.

Outside of 2000ad my favourite comics are Sandman, Preacher and Walking Dead. All big names I know but I tend not to read massive amounts of comics so I only really pick something up if lots of people rave about it.
Anyway, thats me.

SamuelAWilkinson · 04 February, 2009, 10:51:00 PM

Merf, I've had my bad times reading some Pat Mills, and now and then expressed such an opinion on the boards (although my posts ratio on-topic:off-topic must be one of the lowest on the board), so I can understand your issues, Faplad, but I'd pick my moments were I you.

Why not start by telling us something you love? Like your favourite biscuit or something.

Colin YNWA · 05 February, 2009, 04:42:10 PM

I'm personally a big Pat Mills fan. He's written some of the best thrills to grace 2000ad's pages. He's also written some absolute goof of course but given the amount he has written for the comic that's bound to happen. Sometimes I feel his political leanings show through too much, leaving him seem a bit monotoned, even if I often agree with him.

Of his new stuff I really like Savage and Greysuits and ABC Warriors, his Dredd I find a bit weak compared to the rest of the writers working on the strip recently and Dafoe I really don't get on with at all. All that said I'm very glad he's still working for the comic adding his distinctive voice to the choir

Dark Jimbo · 05 February, 2009, 04:54:24 PM

I love Pat.

I'm by no means blind to his faults, and can see all too well why other people might dislike him, but he's the only current writer whose work I'm always genuinely excited by.

He has the good grace to make even his less succsessful stories mad as a box of badgers - Greysuit's pretty dull at times, granted, but it's also pretty batshit crazy, whereas, say, Sin-Dex is merely dull. Even the Pat-haters get excited by him, working themlsevs into a fever-pitch of rage. The one reaction you can never have to Pat Mills is 'Meh' and if that's not a reason to keep him around, well...

Paul faplad Finch · 05 February, 2009, 04:59:37 PM

Fave biccie has to be bourbons - dull but true - although watching the waistline at the mnute so they're a bt of a no-no. Only eat them dumked in coffee though, it's the only way

TordelBack · 05 February, 2009, 05:04:16 PM

QuoteThe one reaction you can never have to Pat Mills is 'Meh' and if that's not a reason to keep him around, well...

Beautifully put.

TordelBack · 05 February, 2009, 05:08:58 PM

Yer bourbon is a classic, alright. Another of the great revolutionary biscuits of Italy!

Trout · 05 February, 2009, 08:40:17 PM

I've been guilty often enough of slagging creators, especially Pat Mills, but I agree the first post on this thread is very unfair on him. I think it's a very good policy to critique the work, as diplomatically as possible, and avoid making comments about people.

I consider some of his early work very special indeed - particularly the Robusters story with Charlie the robot - as among my all-time favourites.
Since then, he's produced good and bad, in my opinion. I hated Blood of Satanus III, in particular, as I said on this board.

In terms of his recent work, I'm finding Greysuit hard to get into, probably because the main character's lacking in human qualities. I expect that's a symptom of the type of story it is.
But I really love Defoe. It's tons of fun and full of great ideas.

I suspect a few years ago I wouldn't have missed him if he stopped writing for 2000AD, but these days I'm very glad he's still around.

- Trout

Paul faplad Finch · 06 February, 2009, 12:36:33 AM

In the interest of fairness I've been searching my memory for a Pat story - other than Charlies War that I enjoyed and I've got one. When I first started reading the Prog there were a couple of Finn stories. Didn't like the short chicken farm one which had all the elements that get me irate at Pats work but the big epic about the lizard dudes and the fight on the moon and Finn slaughtering loads of coppers was actually pretty good. Of course I was young at the time and my memory may be fuzzy. With my luck I've probably picked the one Pat story that everyone else agrees is shit and lost what little credibility I might have had left.

Roger Godpleton · 06 February, 2009, 12:53:11 AM

If I can just give the old tinfoil hat an airing I reckon this is Pat fishing for compliments.