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So is it worth it? Meg 275

Started by Alski, 19 August, 2008, 04:13:08 PM

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The Monarch

Let it go, man, you've won, it's over. Isn't it enough that Tharg is weeping in a corner after crying 'uncle' at the eleventh hour? Must you rub your triumph in his rosette-filled face?
Ah I guess you are right

Soo err how about that complete taxidermist gn idea?

Dandontdare

If this comes out and you say "actually, it's not as good as I remembered..."

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: "dandontdare"If this comes out and you say "actually, it's not as good as I remembered..."

My only exposure thus far to Canon Fodder is Monarch's talking up of it during his campaign for the reprint, so he's got a lot to answer to if it falls short of expectations. Then again, it's Chris Weston, and I really don't see how you can go wrong with that.
@jamesfeistdraws

Van Dom

Well, it works for me. Since my return to the world of 2000ad with prog 1500, after a 12 year absence, I've been unable to get back into the Megazine, despite being once again hooked by the weekly. I've sure picked it up and leafed through it a few times over the past 2 years but there was never anything that grabbed me and inspired me to purchase it. But I had to give this issue a try, and it was well worth it. The four strips are all enjoyable, the inclusion of Tank Girl is genius, and the free 'graphic novel' (if thats what Tharg wantsto call it then who am I to begrudge?) is a lovely touch. Okay, sure, you cant stand it on a bookshelf and its not perfectbound but still, getting a nice collection of these together on their own will be neat enough. And since I've missed a period of 12 years of 2000ad, the period from which the reprint stuff will most likely be pulled, its working out kind of perfect for me. Havent read Canon Fodder or Snow/Tiger so thats all good. I'll be able to catch up on some of the stuff I've missed, good and bad, (though hopefully mostly good) without having to shell out for the bound editions. I just hope they will put some 'classic' stuff in these freebies and not just reserve them for the lesser stuff that isnt quite good enough to qualify for a proper perfectbound trade release...

As for the cards. Well bugger. I had absolutely no interest in these damn things, and had no intention of even slightly considering checking them out, until I opened the free pack and scored a few beauties that really made me go "ooohh, ain't they purteeee". I got a Samantha Slade (yes, I'm one of the few fans), a Strontium Dog, a Slaine, a Durham Red - favourite characters all. No Sketch Cards unfortunately but I don't really fancy them anyway.

So yeah now I'm thinking I might have to invest in a box........bugger it all anyway!!!!! Must....resist....the.....urge....!

As for the meg, yep Ill be picking it up again next month and probably for the next 12 months now at least while Tank Girl is running and these freebies are around. So its one new reader earned anyway!

Cheers!
Van Dom! El Chivo! Bhuna! Prof T Bear! And More! All in Vanguard Edition Three, available now. Check the blog or FB page for details!

VANGUARD COMIC!

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House of Usher

Heh! You put inverted commas round 'graphic novel', but you forget to put them round 'free'.  :lol:

Enjoy Canon Fodder - it's great! I loved it too.
STRIKE !!!

JOE SOAP

To me the meg is no different than before except it has a "free" separate reprint. I'm no fan of Tank Girl, although the art is gorgeous, the character or the stories I feel don't have any substance and are not engaging. So what am I supposed to be paying more for? The crap movie reviews are still there too.

The Monarch

QuoteIf this comes out and you say "actually, it's not as good as I remembered..."

nope that won't be happening with me I recently dug out my old issues and the first series is still as great as I remember it what shocked me was how much better the second series was in both writing and art

Mardroid

I don't usually get the Meg... but I confess I succumbed to the temptation of the extra comic today.  Partly because
a) my prog didn't come today and
 b) my Dad's wife was blaring music downstairs and it gave me an excuse to get out of the house. (Her idea of playing music is to turn up the portable (yes portable) CD player in the front room... then she works in another room. Did I say the CD player is portable? As in with a handle you can pick it up and ... oh never mind....
c) I just wanted an excuse for an excuse anyway to be honest. (So I was actually quite glad for b)

OK:

Judge Dredd:  Obviously I've missed the first episodes (wondering if it's worth getting back issues? I think this really should have been a jumping on prog, what with the changes but never mind.)  I enjoyed it though. Nice art, decent episode.

Tank Girl:  I've read a couple of the earlier graphic novels, and whilst I found it amusing I kind of missed the storyline, and I wasn't all that keen on the 3rd wall stuff. However, I was still curious about an all new story... and I enjoyed it. Nice art too. First glance I thought "no colour?" but then I went with it, and it worked very well. Lovely in fact.

Anderson:  Again with missing the earlier bits, but I enjoyed it just the same. Is it me or is she a bit more stern in her old age though? Aged remarkably well though hasn't she?

Black Museum:  Sick stuff. I loved it!

Articles:  The first one dragged a bit for me if I'm honest. The rest were ok, fairly interesting. To be honest I'd prefer the comics stuff. I'm curious that the Meg is described as the last of the Adult comics though. Isn't the Prog pretty adult too? I guess he means that the Meg was created with an adult readership in mind whilst the Prog was originally aimed at kids, but evolved through time.

Comic as a whole: I prefer the more strips we get with the Prog. (Then again, I noticed these tend to be a bit longer so I guess it's all swings and roundabouts.) I like the focus on Dreddworld though. I'm glad the Prog is more expansive though. Point is, it's good to get a different flavor with each comic.

Jock collection: This is more of a novelty for me than for many of you as I only started reading the Prog last year. I've caught up on quite a bit of Dredd history since then in library GNs but there are a lot of gaps, so this pretty much made for me, if that makes sense.

 I'm only a few pages into this so maybe more on that later. I'm enjoying the story I've read so far though. The fountain bit was sick. Hyuk hyuk. Art itself is decent although some of the faces look a bit asymetrical. Maybe that's intentional though. Flicking to the back I've seen changes in style. I'm curious to know if that's his evolution as an artist over time or change of colourist etc. (Bit of both I think.) And from what I've seen of Jock's work in the prog, the style was quite different. (That was a while back though, and my memory is sketchy.)  More after I've had a more informed read.

Worth the money? A fiver still seems pricey to me, although plenty of magazines go for that price (they tend to be pretty big.) Considering the price of other comics and the fact you get two for that price, I'd say it's about right. Not expensive, but not particularly cheap.

TordelBack

I was pretty negative about the idea of adding reprint supplements (again), and only more Ratfink (what a monster!) is offsetting the ennui inspired by the prospect of owning a second version of SnoreTodger, but the Jock collection... that was a great read.  All of it is lurking in the attic somewhere, but grouped like this it was a surprisingly good introduction to MC-1.  And the art... mmmm, nice. Is this really all of Jock's Dredd work (except for Lenny Zero)?  

And I am genuinely looking forward to Canon Fodder, a strip I've never read a single episode of.

Pete Wells

Quotethis really all of Jock's Dredd work (except for Lenny Zero)?

Nope, he did at least one Episode of Doppleganger, a great Dredd mini-epic that would make a fantastic Magazine suppliment/GN. Pleeeeeease Meg-Tharg?

Leigh S

Quote from: "Pete Wells"
Quotethis really all of Jock's Dredd work (except for Lenny Zero)?

Nope, he did at least one Episode of Doppleganger, a great Dredd mini-epic that would make a fantastic Magazine suppliment/GN. Pleeeeeease Meg-Tharg?

Seconded - about the only thing wrong with that story is its too short.

mechanix81

If they're gonna publish a story about priests, I'd quite like to see John Smith & Dom Reardon adapt The Exorcist.

Any other takers?
Dawn of the first day. 72 hours remain.

eggonlegs


Mardroid

OK. I've read the Jock collection now.

What a good set of stories!  The long ones were a great read. The short ones had great gags. I even found myself laughing out loud on occasion, something I rarely do in a Dredd tale. (Not that the humor in past stories was necessarily bad. Often I'll find myself smiling, but of late most of the Dredd stories I've read have been a bit more serious.)

As for the art, I hope my mention of 'faces being asymmetrical' didn't come across as negative. That was mainly something that I noticed in the first story. However, that art isn't bad even there, and it gets better. (A couple of the ladies look darn ugly though but maybe they are ;) )  It's particularly interesting seeing the changes in style in different stories. Lovely work.

Mardroid

Oh, yes, and the spine for the collection:

I can see people point on this, but to me the comic seems to thin for that. No doubt it's doable, but I wonder if it would be superfluous and would just push the price up more.

Overall I thought the presentation with the slightly smaller (than other Megs/Progs) glossy pages was lovely. And I don't mind too much if I can't stack it sideways on my bookshelf. I'm out of space there for that anyway, and I can just stack it on my side (although this'll probably end up in a box at some point with other comics.)