Wrap up prog with a decent Ben Willsher SinDex cover.
Judge Dredd one-off by Arthur Wyatt and Tom Foster.
One-off SinDexwith Yeowell again and final parts of the current books for Kingmaker, The Order and Kingdom all of which leave plenty of room for future stories as expected.
I wish there were more definitive stories that came to a very final conclusion in the prog but everyone seems way too busy building their own universes with never ending sagas.
Aah, Ant Wars.
Oh, just to mention, Kingdom has enough brutality for most Squaxx and next prog is as trailed but with Future Shocks and Deadworld (yayy).
Decent end of run prog , looking forward to most of next week's contents.
Ant Wars... :-X
Exactly. You could look in a mirror and say Candyman five times and have him turn up and ruin everyone's day, but why would you want that?
Final episode of Kingdom did not disappoint.
Great news for next week -- [spoiler]Wagner and Ezquerra on Dredd![/spoiler]
My point is valid, I believe.
Plenty of strips have either been one or two runs and done or managed to tell stories that were sufficiently discrete that they could be enjoyed in isolation. Rogue Trooper and Strontium Dog managed it.
The three stories this week have not been too bad in bringing things to some sense of closure but increasingly, unless you have read all previous stories things become impenetrable or simply offputting.
Good old uncle Pat is the worst offender with 12 episodes devoted to maybe killing someone off and advancing the overall plot a couple of microns. Compare with the profusion of ideas and compactness of storytelling in say The Cursed Earth.
Sometimes 2000AD just feels like it is getting a little flabby in middle age.
Still easily the best read out there, of course.
That is all true.
Really enjoyed the two one-off stories. And Foster's art is always a treat!
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/2022_zpsdutwguiq.jpg)
Dredd felt like an old school classic. Wacky premise, bizarre characters and everything building up towards the final bad pun, with a line lifted straight out of an old Robin Williams stand up show. Loved it!
Slightly different style from Ben Willsher on the cover, and I like it alot!
Good Dredd, raised by great art. Tom Foster, while clearly riffing on Bolland's style, always manages to come through on his own merits and not as a Bolland clone. This is a Very Good Thing!
Sin/Dex is always welcome, especially now that the bloody Tanenbaum/Clones/Alternate Universe stuff is seemingly done with (kind of). Not sure that Steve Yeowell is the best choice of artist, but John Charles' colouring is really bringing out the best from Steve's work. (Still got my fingers crossed for the return of Anthony Williams though.)
Kingmaker/The Order - haven't read yet, but will do very soon now they're finished...
Kingdom... ends. Ends very well, in fact. [spoiler]With ripped off heads and everything![/spoiler] Doesn't feel like the end of a book though, was hoping we would have a few more episodes. No matter, can't complain when the thrills are so good!
Quote from: Woolly on 11 March, 2017, 06:47:25 PM
Slightly different style from Ben Willsher on the cover, and I like it alot!
Good Dredd, raised by great art. Tom Foster, while clearly riffing on Bolland's style, always manages to come through on his own merits and not as a Bolland clone. This is a Very Good Thing!
Sin/Dex is always welcome, especially now that the bloody Tanenbaum/Clones/Alternate Universe stuff is seemingly done with (kind of). Not sure that Steve Yeowell is the best choice of artist, but John Charles' colouring is really bringing out the best from Steve's work. (Still got my fingers crossed for the return of the Mighty Anthony Williams though.)
Kingmaker/The Order - haven't read yet, but will do very soon now they're finished...
Kingdom... ends. Ends very well, in fact. [spoiler]With ripped off heads and everything![/spoiler] Doesn't feel like the end of a book though, was hoping we would have a few more episodes. No matter, can't complain when the thrills are so good!
Could've sworn that button said 'edit'... :-[
Quote from: Woolly on 11 March, 2017, 06:47:25 PM
Slightly different style from Ben Willsher on the cover, and I like it alot!
I did a questionnaire for Sniper Elite 4 and got a free PDF of a comic by Ben. It's all in that style and really striking, an amazing mix of photorealistic textures and Ben's own style. I hope he does his next 2000AD strip like this...
Well we're going to miss all that when we get to next Prog aren't we.
Don't get me wrong Brink returning is a singular delight, Scarlet Traces a treat and a John and Carlos Dredd hardly anything to knock. Hey who knows Deadworld might grip my heart more than it has up to now and Future Shocks can always entertain.... but its not going to be what we see out this Prog is it. We've had a brilliant run of stories to bring in the year and I've adored everything pretty much. The glory is it ends gloriously as well.
We see of this superb run of stories off well. Dredd is a neat fun one off, built around a punch line old skoolie. Tom Foster's colouring was really... interesting... curiously flat. KInda like it, like don't.
Sinister Dexter is a superb one off neatly parcelling off this run of stories with the intriguing promise of things to come.
Kingmaker ends its energetic and supreme first book with a crowning final episode. Again setting up more to come neatly.
What more can we add to the glory that has been The Order. Fantastic ending to a fantastic series, can't wait for this to be back. Again it leaves its doors open just as it closes. Though its cleverly a fitting ending if needs be.
... well actually one thing you can add to The Order is its astonishingly NOT the best thing in the Prog Kingdom is. Just the best comics and so very 2000ad. Again like all the series ending this week it closes beautifully and opens so much more possiblity.
Thank you Tharg.
Oh yeah looks like if we keep saying Ant Wars enough. All this chatter here is having an impact!
That Ben Wilsher shift in style is very lovely - Like to see a Dredd strip in that style
Quote from: Trent on 11 March, 2017, 01:42:24 PM
Good old uncle Pat is the worst offender with 12 episodes devoted to maybe killing someone off and advancing the overall plot a couple of microns. Compare with the profusion of ideas and compactness of storytelling in say The Cursed Earth.
Sometimes 2000AD just feels like it is getting a little flabby in middle age.
What book of the ABC warriors is next? XXXIX or somesuch? It's padding, pure and simple and trying to find the quality in it all is painful these days, that and characters I have sadly stopped caring about.
Still, you have to fill the prog with something and I doubt the current Tharg gets much of an editorial on the scripts that go on & on & on & on... :crazy:
[/quote/] trying to find the quality in it all is painful these days, that and characters I have sadly stopped caring about.
Still, you have to fill the prog with something and I doubt the current Tharg gets much of an editorial on the scripts that go on & on & on & on... :crazy:
[/quote]
I've been feeling that for a while to be honest. 2000ad is a tough read these days. There are some things where I go wtf happened two years ago when we last saw this strip and, most worryingly, do I care? Once more I'm questioning my subscription. Maybe I should just buy the trades? I hate that point of view, I like getting the prog through the letter box every week, but increasingly I find 2000ad is starting not to work as a weekly comic anymore. The things that keep me going are strips by John Wagner and Dan Abnett, which even if it's a book in an ongoing series that book will have a beginning middle and end and be a satisfying read (rather than just be a middle where not a great deal happened and the amount of story could have been done in 6 parts rather than 12). I may also put Kek-w in there too, I thought fall of Deadworld was great and I like The Order mad and all as it is. So I at least am in for a treat next prog.
I can't even contemplate how hard it is to get that amount of original material out on a weekly basis and not miss a beat. Seriously, hats off. I'm just not enjoying this current trend of writers writing for the trade or playing a long game when they seem to have forgotten about the short game.
My two pence.
JB
Quote from: Woolly on 11 March, 2017, 06:47:25 PM
Slightly different style from Ben Willsher on the cover, and I like it alot!
Sin/Dex is always welcome, especially now that the bloody Tanenbaum/Clones/Alternate Universe stuff is seemingly done with (kind of). Not sure that Steve Yeowell is the best choice of artist, but John Charles' colouring is really bringing out the best from Steve's work. (Still got my fingers crossed for the return of Anthony Williams though.)
Yes great cover by Ben Willsher. I would love to see him on Sinister Dexter aswell as more Dredd.
On John Charles' colouring - yes it is great, but<engaging nit pick mode > the Edsel should be black not red.
Quote from: Pete Wells on 11 March, 2017, 07:39:27 PM
I did a questionnaire for Sniper Elite 4 and got a free PDF of a comic by Ben.
Pretty sure I letterered that. If it's the same one then, yes, it's very nice to look at...
I enjoyed the latest Prog , I must admit , I am glad THE ORDER is finished now - I lost enthusiasm for it
as it went on and on, the Highlights in the Prog for me , are the Dredd stories +Kingmaker ( art really well made and painted ) - Kingdom wasn't too bad either .
Looking forward to Deadworld - and return of the ' Dynamic Duo ' - the 2 Law-Masters
on a different subject - I can also say if anyone from editorial is reading this -
can we have a new Series of Jaegir and Strontium Dog commissioned , please ?
After all my moaning about having to wait until Tuesday for my Prog, I AM PROGLESS TODAY.
Sheesh, I've had enough, I won't be resubbing again which probably means I'll ditch the Meg (the floppies have NEVER been of use as a long term reader, perhaps the IPC/Fleetway catalogue may resurrect my interest if anything more than already mentioned makes the Meg) and only take the prog either in Smiths or digitally.
Quote from: Tjm86 on 11 March, 2017, 04:15:39 PM
Dredd felt like an old school classic. Wacky premise, bizarre characters and everything building up towards the final bad pun, with a line lifted straight out of an old Robin Williams stand up show. Loved it!
Now that I've read this week's Dredd - y'see that judge in the background of the last panel, with his head in his hand, groaning at that pun? That's me, that is.
Quote from: user2000 on 14 March, 2017, 06:44:01 PM
After all my moaning about having to wait until Tuesday for my Prog, I AM PROGLESS TODAY.
What did you think was going to happen? That the Royal Mail would be monitoring this forum, realise the error of their ways and miraculously deploy extra staff at sorting offices and on delivery routes to ensure that your prog arrived on time? Or that Rebellion, a very small fish in terms of bulk mail carriage, I'm sure, would be able to persuade them to do the same?
I'm not saying you don't have any right to be pissed off, I'm just not sure how you thought 'moaning' about it on here was going to magic up a better postal service...
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 14 March, 2017, 07:18:44 PM
I'm not saying you don't have any right to be pissed off, I'm just not sure how you thought 'moaning' about it on here was going to magic up a better postal service...
Really? You mean that moaning about it doesn't miraculously solve the problem? Well that's thousands of Daily Mail readers that'll need to find a new strategy (plus Jezza C). ::)
That cover is absolutely fantastic. It looks really crisp and clean and modern but best of all it has amazing depth. Just look at it - it's almost 3D!
Quote from: JamesC on 14 March, 2017, 07:51:34 PM
That cover is absolutely fantastic. It looks really crisp and clean and modern but best of all it has amazing depth. Just look at it - it's almost 3D!
It really is great isn't it.
The colouring is exquisite, with the black lines kept just for shadow.
Definately need this style in the prog.
Just noticed Finney's belt. What can I say other than :lol:
[spoiler](http://d1adzt5ywvzymo.cloudfront.net/artifacts/images/design_data/design-951-2013-06-24-11-36-53.jpg)[/spoiler]
Never thought I would get to use that one. :lol:
Zarjaz used that title ages ago... (http://www.futurequake.co.uk/imagebucket/Downloads/JD-TheRightToArmBears.pdf)
just sayin'
Three guesses what Steve Yeowell (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4GLwVxDsx88/maxresdefault.jpg) got for his Christmas. Also ...
(https://i.imgflip.com/1lh54y.jpg)
Arse, I thought, as I finished all the strips in this week's prog: there go some of the best runs of three of my absolute favourite stories, and one I've just started to love.
And then I read what we're getting next week.
You're just on fire these days, aren't you me old green mucker?
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 14 March, 2017, 07:18:44 PM
Quote from: user2000 on 14 March, 2017, 06:44:01 PM
After all my moaning about having to wait until Tuesday for my Prog, I AM PROGLESS TODAY.
What did you think was going to happen? That the Royal Mail would be monitoring this forum, realise the error of their ways and miraculously deploy extra staff at sorting offices and on delivery routes to ensure that your prog arrived on time? Or that Rebellion, a very small fish in terms of bulk mail carriage, I'm sure, would be able to persuade them to do the same?
I'm not saying you don't have any right to be pissed off, I'm just not sure how you thought 'moaning' about it on here was going to magic up a better postal service...
Well, no, I didn't mean that obviously but reading back I can see it looked like that.
What I meant was that I have been moaning on in various threads about Tuesday being my "usual" prog delivery day and it just seemed incredulous to me that it had slipped past this.
In fact it never arrived today either but maybe I will get it the day after its in the shops...
First world problems yes, but disappointing all the same.
Really like the cover, very striking and eye catching
Dredd was great fun, really enjoyed it and the pun at the end was the icing on the cake
Sin Dex was another good one off as well, an interesting character there not sure if we have seen him before as I have not come across him in the Sin Dex I have read so far but I hope we see the devil again in the future...although I think fleeting glimpses for now would be best
Kingmaker ends well for now on an interesting note and looking forward to where we go from here
The Order I really enjoyed this run sometimes I get a bit lost with them but no such problems this time round
Kingdom is always good for me, so no complaints here
Another strong prog
Cover: Hmm... I'm going to go against the consensus here and say it's a bit underwhelming. I love Ben Willsher for his fantastic work in 2000 AD and Doctor Who Monthly but while this cover is technically impressive (sure, those firearm flares are expertly rendered) there's something lacking in sheer excitement. I think it's because, for a science fiction magazine, a picture of two pretty regular-looking guys firing regular-looking firearms doesn't really fit the bill (plus, as mentioned elsewhere on this message baord, doesn't Sin look a bit humdrum these days?). And like last week, the image doesn't have a lot to do with what's going on in the story. I don't have the prog in front of me right now but isn't the whole point that SinDex don't actually get in a firefight this week? I guess maybe Willsher's brief was just a bit unimaginative. I'd rather have had, I don't know, a recreation of the frame with the Devil kneeling by the corpse of Banjo Tigershark (NOT his real name) with SinDex looking on astonished and a caption "The Devil gets his due" or something.
Anyway. Rant over.
Dredd: I'm biased here because I do converse with the estimable Tom Foster on other social media but that's some freakingly good art. Sort of a cross between Bolland and Arthur Ranson, I'd say. I particularly like the incongruous moose corpse on the second page. Story-wise it's a bit of a slave to that horrible pun but the Grundy family looked great, I loved their mangling of various Mega-City legal codes to suit their own ends. Shame I guess we won't be seeing any more of them.
SinDex: Ongoing disclaimer - I haven't read any SinDex outside of the last few progs so the continuity references are beyond me. Still, this looks like something new is being thrown into the mix so I'm happy to see how it develops.
Kingmaker: Not so much a conclusion as an outset, really. Not much going on plot-wise except the revelation of Crixus's power, so looks like we'll have to stick around for the next chapters.
The Order: Baffling, utterly incomprehensible, no idea what on Earth was happening... only joking! Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly and it was bliss, just exquisite. The panel with the tentacles reaching into the cosmos inside Intuitor Browne's eye... perfect. Other script droids take note - although Wyrm War was part of a longer narrative it still felt like a self-contained story with a beginning, middle and very satisfying end.
Kingdom: Again, I would have preferred an ending... OK, the story goes on. It's just a pity that most of this, the final episode of the chapter, was concerned with setting up the next chapter. Still, that frame where Gene casually tosses away the head freshly ripped form its shoulders... no complaints.
Finally just want to reiterate that Kingmaker, Kingdom and The Order will be big losses, but... hugely looking forward to next prog. Yes!
Quote from: norton canes on 16 March, 2017, 10:14:09 AM
Dredd: I'm biased here because I do converse with the estimable Tom Foster on other social media but that's some freakingly good art. Sort of a cross between Bolland and Arthur Ranson, I'd say. I particularly like the incongruous moose corpse on the second page. Story-wise it's a bit of a slave to that horrible pun but the Grundy family looked great, I loved their mangling of various Mega-City legal codes to suit their own ends. Shame I guess we won't be seeing any more of them.
In case anybody's not aware of what happened last year: Bundy's occupy nature reserve (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge).
Aha. Thanks.
Quote from: norton canes on 16 March, 2017, 10:14:09 AM
The Order: Baffling, utterly incomprehensible, no idea what on Earth was happening... only joking! Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly
Ok so I am trying really hard to not take offence at this comment...just because someone finds a story not that easy to follow doesn't mean they aren't intelligent.
Quote from: Magnetica on 16 March, 2017, 11:46:11 AM
Quote from: norton canes on 16 March, 2017, 10:14:09 AM
The Order: Baffling, utterly incomprehensible, no idea what on Earth was happening... only joking! Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly
Ok so I am trying really hard to not take offence at this comment...just because someone finds a story not that easy to follow doesn't mean they aren't intelligent.
Agreed. The Order, for me, remains a confusing soup of almost identical looking female characters with unpronouncable names, multiple versions of virtually identical robots, random time skips and re-written histories that I simply couldn't follow.
I will concede that it probably reads better in one sitting, but read weekly, it made little coherent sense to me I'm afraid.
Quote from: Magnetica on 16 March, 2017, 11:46:11 AM
Quote from: norton canes on 16 March, 2017, 10:14:09 AM
The Order: Baffling, utterly incomprehensible, no idea what on Earth was happening... only joking! Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly
Ok so I am trying really hard to not take offence at this comment...just because someone finds a story not that easy to follow doesn't mean they aren't intelligent.
Yes - i thought this board didn't allow personal insults, which that comment was by implication.
Quote from: sheridan on 16 March, 2017, 12:29:43 PM
Quote from: Magnetica on 16 March, 2017, 11:46:11 AM
Quote from: norton canes on 16 March, 2017, 10:14:09 AM
The Order: Baffling, utterly incomprehensible, no idea what on Earth was happening... only joking! Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly
Ok so I am trying really hard to not take offence at this comment...just because someone finds a story not that easy to follow doesn't mean they aren't intelligent.
What! The Order is supposed to make sense ? Lies.
Yes - i thought this board didn't allow personal insults, which that comment was by implication.
Ah, OK. I see what's happened. I said "Like any moderately intelligent person I understood it perfectly". A highly intelligent person, on the other hand, would be able to spot all the inconsistencies, and therefore it wouldn't make any sense.
See! In fact I'm saying that I am less intelligent than most of you!
Glad that's sorted, for a minute there I was afraid somebody might be seriously offended by a mild aside while they described the suberb work of Long and Burns as an incomprehensible mess of nearly identical female (all three of them!) characters with unpronounceable names (like Anna and Donna). That would have been rude.
Quote from: TordelBack on 16 March, 2017, 03:56:47 PM
That would have been rude.
Unintentionally though, I think.
As for the cover...
QuoteCover: Hmm... I'm going to go against the consensus here and say it's a bit underwhelming. I love Ben Willsher for his fantastic work in 2000 AD and Doctor Who Monthly but while this cover is technically impressive (sure, those firearm flares are expertly rendered) there's something lacking in sheer excitement. I think it's because, for a science fiction magazine, a picture of two pretty regular-looking guys firing regular-looking firearms doesn't really fit the bill (plus, as mentioned elsewhere on this message baord, doesn't Sin look a bit humdrum these days?). And like last week, the image doesn't have a lot to do with what's going on in the story. I don't have the prog in front of me right now but isn't the whole point that SinDex don't actually get in a firefight this week? I guess maybe Willsher's brief was just a bit unimaginative. I'd rather have had, I don't know, a recreation of the frame with the Devil kneeling by the corpse of Banjo Tigershark (NOT his real name) with SinDex looking on astonished and a caption "The Devil gets his due" or something.
Whilst I agree that it's certainly a stock pose for Finny & Ray, I also think that's the point of the cover. An image of 'The Devil' would have spoilt the surprise in the prog. This way, the reader will expect the protagonists to be the ones getting the Hit, and the twist remains secret till it's read. (I'm guessing that's the reasoning anyway, it could also just be to tell the reader that Sin/Dex is in the prog!)
And as for Finny's looks... I dunno. I like to think he dresses how he feels at any given time. Sometimes he paints himself up (and it definately is make-up, as proven in Malone), sometimes he can't be arsed and just gels his hair.
He's like Dredd in that respect - the uniform may slightly change, but as long as it's Dredd/Finny in there it doesn't matter!
Quote from: Spaceghost on 16 March, 2017, 12:25:13 PM
The Order, for me, remains a confusing soup ... it probably reads better in one sitting .
Two of the board's cleverest clogs confirm this to be so.
Maybe when some describe
t'Order as confusing, they mean the strip hasn't gained enough grip on their imagination to invest neurons remembering week-to-week developments
(or commit to a re-read). Like
Kola Kommandos (http://progslog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/prog-756.html).
The Order seems popular with the majority of readers, so the unconvinced have to remind ourselves that Tharg's peculiar brand of communism forces its fans to subsidise our enjoyment of strips that inspire indifference in them*.
* ... and remember there are always a small number of weirdoes who don't like stuff everyone else enjoys. There are some out there (in Wales, specifically) who don't think America is any good.
Grud know were I stand on the Cleavercloggs scale...
I just can't be arsed following The Order's timey-wimey stuff, and yes, on a purely personal taste level I'm not keen on Mr Burns work. Does that make me a bad person? :'(
Quote from: Proudhuff on 18 March, 2017, 12:55:35 PM
Does that make me a bad person?
Yes. Now go to your room and think about what you've done.
Not only have I let my school down and I've let my comic down, but most importantly I've let Jim down....
You are not the only one.
Quote from: Proudhuff on 18 March, 2017, 12:55:35 PM
.....on a purely personal taste level I'm not keen on Mr Burns work. Does that make me a bad person? :'(
Yes, yes it really does! :)
Yeah I'm afraid I'm going to have to join this chorus of condemnation of Proudhuff. Having met him he seemed such a fine upstanding, pleasent chap. Just smoke and mirrors it would seem.
I just hope his reflection on his behaviour is genuine and he learns from this. We must do all we can to help him find redemption.
um... I really like The Order- it's been the first story I read every time it's in, it's awesome sauce and I'm a thicky. As I don't look in on the review threads very often I wasn't aware there was so much anti- for it.
Part of its appeal for me is the mad, apparent incoherence of it all. Mrs Deever and I had a similar conversation about Legion on the telly- she's into detective show stuff (I hate that kind of talky drivel) where it engages by allowing you to try to 'solve the mystery' before the protagonists do. She found Legion frustrating and confusing, whereas I'm not trying to 'figure it out', I'm just along for the ride and enjoying the dream-like quality and the mad jumble of incomprehensibility.
I feel the same way about The Order (though it's much less jumbly) , the quality of the art helps too, but it's not just the art that keeps me interested- there's a real 'old school comics fantastical' feel to it for some reason. Superb stuff, love it- more please, Kek-W, Burns and Tharg.
I've been enjoying The Order and Kingmaker most recently (Hope (for the future?) was great too- please come back). All else is just there (even Dredd has been relatively ho-hum for a bit, for varying reasons) and gets read, with the exception of Kingdom- I stopped even looking at that several series' ago and just skip past entirely.
Quote from: Dog Deever on 18 March, 2017, 04:44:55 PM
um... I really like The Order- it's been the first story I read every time it's in, it's awesome sauce and I'm a thicky. As I don't look in on the review threads very often I wasn't aware there was so much anti- for it.
Part of its appeal for me is the mad, apparent incoherence of it all. Mrs Deever and I had a similar conversation about Legion on the telly- she's into detective show stuff (I hate that kind of talky drivel) where it engages by allowing you to try to 'solve the mystery' before the protagonists do. She found Legion frustrating and confusing, whereas I'm not trying to 'figure it out', I'm just along for the ride and enjoying the dream-like quality and the mad jumble of incomprehensibility.
I feel the same way about The Order (though it's much less jumbly) , the quality of the art helps too, but it's not just the art that keeps me interested- there's a real 'old school comics fantastical' feel to it for some reason. Superb stuff, love it- more please, Kek-W, Burns and Tharg.
I've been enjoying The Order and Kingmaker most recently (Hope (for the future?) was great too- please come back). All else is just there (even Dredd has been relatively ho-hum for a bit, for varying reasons) and gets read, with the exception of Kingdom- I stopped even looking at that several series' ago and just skip past entirely.
I agree with most of this but I love Kingdom too! I just love Gene the Hackman though - I could read a comic about him peeling potatoes and be quite happy.
I was about to say how much I like Kingdom, then realised my avatar has been Gene this entire time...
I am a bit sad about poor [spoiler]Lizee. I hope things turn out...ok... for her clone at the least[/spoiler].