2000 AD Online Forum

*First post on the new board, so bear with me if I arse it up...*

Someone once said that it's hard to review a prog when almost everything's going right, and the past few progs have proven the truth of that maxim. I can't say enough good things about Dredd, Defoe and Dante - you're on the way to a fairly perfect prog for me with those three - and the Vort is only struggling to make the same sort of impact becasue it's up against such stiff competiton.

Sin/Dex is, inevitably, the weak link, but even that's managed to get me interested for the first time in a long while.

Go Tharg!

test?

Test working.  

For em, this is a near perfect prog.

you have Wagner advancing the Dreddworld.

you have Mills being crazily inventive

you (seemingly!) have an interesting new writer on the block

you have an ongoing "new" success story in Dante, again hopefully advancing the refreshingly finite narrative

The only weak link is Sin Dex, which seems to be developing stuff, but feels to me as if its just rearranging the furniture once again "they don't want change, just the illusion of change"- the Pulp Fiction style missing at close range thing just hammered home to me how the strip seems to be caught in a loop - maybe it is changing, but bizarrely, it almost as if it has the illusion of no change for me even when things have moved on.

Replace sin dex with either stront or a new strip, and it'd be as near 10 out 10 for me as its been for a good while.

Quote from: "Leigh Shepherd"The only weak link is Sin Dex, which seems to be developing stuff, but feels to me as if its just rearranging the furniture once again "they don't want change, just the illusion of change"- the Pulp Fiction style missing at close range thing just hammered home to me how the strip seems to be caught in a loop - maybe it is changing, but bizarrely, it almost as if it has the illusion of no change for me even when things have moved on.

I genuinely can't understand how something can have so many episodes and yet there be so little ever really happen.

How long ago was ...No Dumb Minions?

Since then we've seen Billy leave; Finny lose (and then regain) his memory; Dexter 'die', be brought back to life, lose (and then regain) the use of his legs; the Mover and Croak endlessly threaten and cajole Cal and Isobel to no visible end; Tracy's defection and hints of coming betrayal; the Mover and Apellido endlessly gathering forces and moving pieces into position for what seems to be a big face-off; Cal work for the Mover, and then betray him, but then change his mind and work for him again, and then betray him again, and then be forced to work for him again... and yet what's really changed?

This new story could just as easily have happened at any point in the last three or so years. The boys are just doing the same old sorts of jobs as they always do, the only real difference being Ray's loss of accuracy. Exactly how long can a strip build up to big events and go through the illusion of world-shattering change without ever actually making good on any of it?

Baffling.

The popularity of Sin/Dex must be stronger than people think. The characters have been in 2000AD for over a decade which proves how popular they are.

Quote from: "nameuser"The popularity of Sin/Dex must be stronger than people think. The characters have been in 2000AD for over a decade which proves how popular they are.

I don't dislike it as much as that post makes it sound like I do.

It used to be one of my favourites, slipping gradually from that position as I realised there was not much more to it than whacking and wordplay, bouyed again by the Moses/No Dumb Minions/Malone stuff, then slipping once more as things like Ray's paralyis were backtracked on to get it all back to square one.

just hope marvel uk realise the humourous homage to cappy is just that! WAIT! im reading dante!!!!!

hang on.... whats with the tea bot wotsits?

Quiet or I'll anihilate you with my heavy weaponry!

I enjoyed the prog but Dredd was pretty much a hundred times better than anything else. Mr Goddard's art did confuse me a little on the last page however.

"you (seemingly!) have an interesting new writer on the block"

I'm almost certain that it's Dave Bishop.

JK.

Quote from: "Jared Katooie"Quiet or I'll anihilate you with my heavy weaponry!

I enjoyed the prog but Dredd was pretty much a hundred times better than anything else. Mr Goddard's art did confuse me a little on the last page however.

"you (seemingly!) have an interesting new writer on the block"

I'm almost certain that it's Dave Bishop.

JK.

Hmm interesting theory - at first i dismissed it but...

on the plus side, he's no stranger to pseudonyms, and there is the futuro swearing thing, that I think might be the big  giveaway - did he use "shiv" and "frikk" in that Dead Man Walking?  Did someone else use them before him... darn the database being down! If G. Powell is made up, it'll be the shivs that reveal the truth!

Quote from: "mogzilla"hang on.... whats with the tea bot wotsits?

You think you've got problems...

Oh wonder what mine is?

Enjoy this Prog!! Big question, is White Army, good or reallly bad???? as Dante working for Tsar?

oh yeah it based on how many you has posts! oh crap, as 1,000 sounds like posting room???

Quote from: "Leigh Shepherd"Hmm interesting theory - at first i dismissed it but...

on the plus side, he's no stranger to pseudonyms, and there is the futuro swearing thing, that I think might be the big  giveaway - did he use "shiv" and "frikk" in that Dead Man Walking?  Did someone else use them before him... darn the database being down! If G. Powell is made up, it'll be the shivs that reveal the truth!

Interesting. I think you're right about there being "shiv"s in Dead Man Walking, but a couple of Mr Brooker's comments lead me to believe it's not David B.

In fact, I'm increasingly convinced it's D'israeli himself, if only for his sly comment that the scripts came accompanied by page layout guides*. I can't think of an existing script droid who works this way, and I simply cannot imagine Matt Smith allowing an untried writer to get a multi-part series and then to exert such level of control over one of the title's regular (and top, IMO) artists.

Cheers

Jim

* See here: //http://disraeli-demon.blogspot.com/2008/05/vort-preview.html

Quote from: "Jim_Campbell"

Quote from: "Leigh Shepherd"Hmm interesting theory - at first i dismissed it but...

on the plus side, he's no stranger to pseudonyms, and there is the futuro swearing thing, that I think might be the big  giveaway - did he use "shiv" and "frikk" in that Dead Man Walking?  Did someone else use them before him... darn the database being down! If G. Powell is made up, it'll be the shivs that reveal the truth!

Interesting. I think you're right about there being "shiv"s in Dead Man Walking, but a couple of Mr Brooker's comments lead me to believe it's not David B.

In fact, I'm increasingly convinced it's D'israeli himself, if only for his sly comment that the scripts came accompanied by page layout guides*. I can't think of an existing script droid who works this way, and I simply cannot imagine Matt Smith allowing an untried writer to get a multi-part series and then to exert such level of control over one of the title's regular (and top, IMO) artists.

Cheers

Jim

* See here: //http://disraeli-demon.blogspot.com/2008/05/vort-preview.html

It being D'Israeli himself is my dream scenario... if only because I remember how good his "Molly Eyre" future shocks were, and could never understanfd why we didnt see anything else from him

Wow. What a joyless wretch that Tanenbaum parallel is. He could at least get a less morose chair.

Are there two Zliks?

Armani Legg cheered me up a bit tho.Ant's putting in some good collaging.The carpet. The wall hangings.

Nice chatroom punning. Any anacronym experts here, who can tell me what R.O.T.F.L means and they can have copy 3 of my Aliens- Earth War saga.

Dante was great as ever but there is a lot of sequences.You can only admire the audacity of how the team cram it in Dante's and Jen's partnering and the introduction of a whole new outfit, Then resetting with the Tsarist artery.


I think admiring D'Isreali's art is becoming second nature now. The guy is just beyond any catching up with. The hallucination subject was dealt with brilliantly. Could the writer please step forward so I can thank him personally  .

Is anyone else aware that in the current Sinister Dexter stories drawn by Anthony Williams, Finnigan Sinister is a dead ringer for Bee Gee's singer/songwriter Robin Gibb:

(//http://www.culture.sh.cn/images/upfile/2006/05/20063101756161145.jpg)

  They could be twins!

Yeah, good prog all round this week, my only complaint was that bloody stupid sticker over the Bar-Code which almost had the kid in the Newsies charging me £1.95 for it...

..Seriously Krom, you must know Rolling.On.The.Floor.Laughing?

As in ROTFLMAO...

My prog has the sticker over the barcode. I tried to remove it and sort of ruined my cover.  

I hope it's a one-off occurrence and not something to endure every week. Why would you need to put a barcode over another barcode? (rhetorical question)

**Could the writer please step forward so I can thank him personally."

I figured it was Matt Smith using a psuedonym like Diggle did on Lenny Zero.

QuoteI figured it was Matt Smith using a psuedonym like Diggle did on Lenny Zero.

Blimey, that'd be a scary thought - editing five magazines a month (dunno about the EE) and writing a strip!  Who would he think he is, Pat Mills?

Like the idea that it could be the incomparable Brooker (although I'd expect more splashes and less tiny panels if it was an artist writing), although "Shiv!" does suggest Bishop to me too for some reason, but whoever it is (maybe even G Powell - Google notes a serial Amazon reviewer form Seattle by that name who has reviewed Understanding Comics (among others) and loads of non-fiction war/naval books... hmmm...), it's damn fine stuff.

Quote from: "TordelBack"

QuoteI figured it was Matt Smith using a psuedonym like Diggle did on Lenny Zero.

Blimey, that'd be a scary thought - editing five magazines a month (dunno about the EE) and writing a strip!  Who would he think he is, Pat Mills?

Like the idea that it could be the incomparable Brooker (although I'd expect more splashes and less tiny panels if it was an artist writing), although "Shiv!" does suggest Bishop to me too for some reason, but whoever it is (maybe even G Powell - Google notes a serial Amazon reviewer form Seattle by that name who has reviewed Understanding Comics (among others) and loads of non-fiction war/naval books... hmmm...), it's damn fine stuff.

"He" appears to be an (online) book company.

**"He" appears to be an (online) book company.**

If you're speaking of Powell's, I have been to "his" "house" in Portland OR. Five stories high and takes up a whole city block. A religious experiance for a book lover.

QuoteIf you're speaking of Powell's, I have been to "his" "house" in Portland OR. Five stories high and takes up a whole city block. A religious experiance for a book lover.

{HomerSimpson}Argle{/HomerSimpson}!

Quote from: "nameuser"Is anyone else aware that in the current Sinister Dexter stories drawn by Anthony Williams, Finnigan Sinister is a dead ringer for Bee Gee's singer/songwriter Robin Gibb:

(//http://www.culture.sh.cn/images/upfile/2006/05/20063101756161145.jpg)

  They could be twins!

Please fuck off Scojo.

Well I did mean this guy  //http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1M2T0J45TTE64/ref=cm_aya_pdp_profile, not these guys //http://www.powells.com/, but I'm not sure that the former is any more probable...

And garageman, no, surely not, it can't be!  Which is to say, it almost certainly is...

Quote from: "TordelBack"Well I did mean this guy  //http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1M2T0J45TTE64/ref=cm_aya_pdp_profile, not these guys //http://www.powells.com/, but I'm not sure that the former is any more probable...

And garageman, no, surely not, it can't be!  Which is to say, it almost certainly is...

I got the info from his nickname "GPowellBooks"

Quote from: "TordelBack"Well I did mean this guy  //http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A1M2T0J45TTE64/ref=cm_aya_pdp_profile, not these guys //http://www.powells.com/, but I'm not sure that the former is any more probable...

Having looked through G.Powell's profile and reviews I'd say it was a less than improbable possibility. Still, if it IS the same man then we know a few things about the items that the writer of the Vort keeps in his house: Many books on Pirates and military campaigns, pocket knives, bluegrass CDs, biking enthusiast accoutrements, cornbread pans shaped like little fishes, and a lemon juicer that resembles Modesty Blaise's favorite weapon of choice, the kongo. Intriguing!

If The Vort is written by an established writer (Abnett/Bishop/Edington/Spurrier) I reckon its the best thing they've done.

I really like it.

Its the first weekly strip in years I can pick up and remember what happened the previous week.

The Vort reads as Si Spurrier. If it's not him, then the writer is very similar.

First person narration,

New swear words,

Bit of introspection,

Colourful prose,

And I reckon the cameo by Lobster Random gave it away.