- Welcome to 2000 AD Online Forum.
Recent posts
#71
General / Re: Mega City Book Club - a ne...
Last post by Richard S. - 18 April, 2024, 01:36:14 PMyes, I was involved with this. I did the proof reading on my Summer holiday one year - it was a very pleasant way to spend my evenings!
This is the only books I've ever backed on Zoop. It wasn't cheap either! £60? Anyway, well worth it.
Check out all mentions of Bryan on the blog here...
https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Bryan%20Talbot
This is the only books I've ever backed on Zoop. It wasn't cheap either! £60? Anyway, well worth it.
Check out all mentions of Bryan on the blog here...
https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Bryan%20Talbot
#73
Website and Forum / Re: List of issues
Last post by IndigoPrime - 18 April, 2024, 01:15:35 PMRe admin/spam, I've not been getting notifications for some reason. I've gone through some recent ones but will have to tackle the queue in chunks. If there's anything pressing, please email me.
#74
Film & TV / Re: New Alien Movie On Hulu?
Last post by judgeurko - 18 April, 2024, 12:38:35 PMQuote from: IAMTHESYSTEM on 20 March, 2024, 08:42:17 PMTeaser Trailer here.Oh maybe it won't be crap
https://youtu.be/GTNMt84KT0k?si=C-3ovs7wROFSUtnA
#75
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
Last post by judgeurko - 18 April, 2024, 12:37:49 PMQuote from: JayzusB.Christ on 17 April, 2024, 09:17:14 PMBoyle - boil, as in zit. Which you squeeze.Haha ty.
Took me a while too, as Boyle is both a fairly common name and a town in Ireland.
#76
Website and Forum / Re: List of issues
Last post by The Legendary Shark - 18 April, 2024, 12:22:19 PMI generally break my longer posts up into chunks under 3,500 words, if memory serves. I think that's always been about the limit, but I haven't posted anything super long for ages.
#77
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
Last post by The Legendary Shark - 18 April, 2024, 11:50:31 AMDarn it - now I have to do it again
Basically, I see what Jim sees. But why are we seeing this? Is it just mismanagement of the platform? Do Nazis have some form of generic anti-censorship software? Is TwiXter a Nazi entity? Just what is going on here?
You wanna know what I think? [YES - GO TO 01] [NO - EXIT]
01: TwiXter is currently allowing a lot of questionable content, from the Nazi content Jim mentions to truly disgusting comments from government sanctioned Israeli TweeXters glorifying, inviting, justifying, mocking and even denying the Gaza genocide.
What is more interesting is the content being suppressed or outright banned. No matter what one thinks, where is the logic in allowing fascism while simultaneously shadow-banning anti-zionist content? Why allow Eylon Levy to TweeX zionist propaganda and not allow Ryan Christian to TweeX links to factual official sources? Why are all the bad things that are properly bad promoted and the bad things that are narratively bad suppressed?
It's almost as if TwiXter was a mechanism for herding public opinion. But why herd the public mind towards inherently repulsive ideologies? Here's a thought - regulation. Where there's regulation, there's money (taxes, licenses, permits, fines, etc.), and where there's regulation, there's perceived legitimacy, cementation into the state (which provides legal and physical protection as well as tax deals and subsidies). A regulated industry is the Gold Standard of business (petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, banking, etc.).
So TwiXter allows all this vile content for ordinary people to get upset about whilst simultaneously shadow-banning content it doesn't want people to get upset about. Next come the regulators with all their restrictions for us and rewards for TwiXter to defeat this evil menace and make the web safe for us all - but will purposely throw out the baby with the bathwater. Censorship in the name of freedom of speech.
That's what I think TwiXter either is or is becoming.
To bastardise Martin Niemöller;
First they came for the Search Engines, and I did not speak out because I wasn't an academic.
Then they came for the videos, and I did not speak out because I didn't have a Youtube channel.
Then they came for the tweets, and I did not speak out because I wasn't on Twitter.
Then they came for the podcasts, and I did not speak out because I don't have a podcast.
Then they came for my emails, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
EXIT
#78
Website and Forum / Re: List of issues
Last post by Colin YNWA - 18 April, 2024, 11:18:43 AMI'm having problems posting longer ... well posts I guess. Used to be able to add things of up to 20000 characters and am regularly trying to add posts be around 15,000 - 18,000 character but lately I'm having to break posts of these lengths into 4 or 5 parts ... now many would say I should go on less but I'm on a role here and stubbornly determined.
Has the character limit been reduced - is this something that could be increased again or is it part of anti spam measures or similar?
Has the character limit been reduced - is this something that could be increased again or is it part of anti spam measures or similar?
#79
Books & Comics / Re: Completely Self-absorbed T...
Last post by Colin YNWA - 18 April, 2024, 11:14:40 AMPart 4
Copyright - Rebellion
Kenneth Niemand produces Dredd stories that are as distinctive as they are diverse. He's humorous and whip smart when the story needs it, able to generate real tension and emotional punch when it's required. He plays in Dredd's 50 year old (almost) world in a way that is fresh and compelling, as if he created the series himself and is using it to tell all his own story ideas and to deal with the themes he wishes to bring on board. He's bold and innovates and yet immediately comfortable at the same time. He's been consistent in the quality of his output. Knows how to write a perfect Joe Dredd himself, yet will play cheeky with the character and the tropes of the long running series. He isn't afraid to push Dredd to the background as he builds Mega City One in new and fascinating ways. In short he is the perfect Dredd writer... well near perfect, maybe one more will get a call out, we'll see.
In short I have absolutely no doubt that Kenneth Niemand's Judge Dredd stories are completely worthy of their place on this list.
Where to find it
Well reprinting of his work is a little patchy to say the least at the moment. I'm aware of the following collections of his work.
Megatropolis
A Penitent Man - the Kyle Asher story arc.
And I think that's it. He has other bits and pieces in some other Graphic Novels but these are the two that feature his exclusively that I know of. No Chimpsky hardcover special edition yet I'm horrified to report.
Basically if you want to keep up with Kenneth Niemand's work for the time being you'll need the original Progs and Megs, which is no bad thing. I'm sure this will change over time but for the time being that's where we're at.
Learn more
No Obligatory Wikipedia page for Kenneth Niemand yet, you'll have to make do with and incredibly short biography on Simon & Schuster webpages.
2000ad Thrill-Cast has an interview with him from 2021. Though many will speculate this was produced to continue to mask our mystery writers true identity. I go with who'd have the time and energy to do that, but who knows for sure. It's well worth listening to regardless.
Normally reliable sources for all things 2000ad are of little use for Niemand. Both Barney and the 2000ad webpage have pages for him but they are both now very out of date and only deal with his earliest work for Tharg. I used the ever brilliant 2000ad in Stages - A to Z for a number of things for this one. It's not designed to list works by creators though so it took some poking around and scribbled calculations.
I can point you to Good Reads Kenneth Niemand page for the reviews there. At this point, as far as I'm aware however that's your lot, so odds and sods a Google search will unearth aside.
What is all this?
Conscious that this is becoming a long thread and if you're wondering what the heck you've just read and can't be arsed (quite sensibly) to search back to find out I'll link to my opening posts that try to explain all this.
What this all came from
And of course a nerd won't do a list like this without setting 'Rules' / guidelines
Some thoughts on what will not be on the list.
Copyright - Rebellion
Kenneth Niemand produces Dredd stories that are as distinctive as they are diverse. He's humorous and whip smart when the story needs it, able to generate real tension and emotional punch when it's required. He plays in Dredd's 50 year old (almost) world in a way that is fresh and compelling, as if he created the series himself and is using it to tell all his own story ideas and to deal with the themes he wishes to bring on board. He's bold and innovates and yet immediately comfortable at the same time. He's been consistent in the quality of his output. Knows how to write a perfect Joe Dredd himself, yet will play cheeky with the character and the tropes of the long running series. He isn't afraid to push Dredd to the background as he builds Mega City One in new and fascinating ways. In short he is the perfect Dredd writer... well near perfect, maybe one more will get a call out, we'll see.
In short I have absolutely no doubt that Kenneth Niemand's Judge Dredd stories are completely worthy of their place on this list.
Where to find it
Well reprinting of his work is a little patchy to say the least at the moment. I'm aware of the following collections of his work.
Megatropolis
A Penitent Man - the Kyle Asher story arc.
And I think that's it. He has other bits and pieces in some other Graphic Novels but these are the two that feature his exclusively that I know of. No Chimpsky hardcover special edition yet I'm horrified to report.
Basically if you want to keep up with Kenneth Niemand's work for the time being you'll need the original Progs and Megs, which is no bad thing. I'm sure this will change over time but for the time being that's where we're at.
Learn more
No Obligatory Wikipedia page for Kenneth Niemand yet, you'll have to make do with and incredibly short biography on Simon & Schuster webpages.
2000ad Thrill-Cast has an interview with him from 2021. Though many will speculate this was produced to continue to mask our mystery writers true identity. I go with who'd have the time and energy to do that, but who knows for sure. It's well worth listening to regardless.
Normally reliable sources for all things 2000ad are of little use for Niemand. Both Barney and the 2000ad webpage have pages for him but they are both now very out of date and only deal with his earliest work for Tharg. I used the ever brilliant 2000ad in Stages - A to Z for a number of things for this one. It's not designed to list works by creators though so it took some poking around and scribbled calculations.
I can point you to Good Reads Kenneth Niemand page for the reviews there. At this point, as far as I'm aware however that's your lot, so odds and sods a Google search will unearth aside.
What is all this?
Conscious that this is becoming a long thread and if you're wondering what the heck you've just read and can't be arsed (quite sensibly) to search back to find out I'll link to my opening posts that try to explain all this.
What this all came from
And of course a nerd won't do a list like this without setting 'Rules' / guidelines
Some thoughts on what will not be on the list.
#80
Books & Comics / Re: Completely Self-absorbed T...
Last post by Colin YNWA - 18 April, 2024, 11:14:18 AMPart 3
I'm not going to make this an exhaustive list of other Dredd writers, who has the time! But I will flag a couple of others I really like. Carroll and Edginton have both done a number of great stories. Neither has the consistency of Niemand. Al Ewing was a big favourite of many and I love a number of his stories, but it never coalesced for me in a way I had a real sense of what he was doing with Dredd. How his Dredd stood out beyond just well written Dredds. Niemand does that for me as I will get to. Our own lovely Gordon Rennie gets as close as anyone and he did some amazing Dredd's and developed a real niche in characters and corners of Dredd's world he 'specialised' in. Again though for me he played with the existing toys really well, he didn't add to that pool in quite the same way Niemand has.
Basically what I'm saying here is my admiration for Niemand's Dredd takes nothing away from how much I enjoy the good, often great work, of a number of other Dredd writers. It's just he brings something new to the party and for me is so much more consistent. I will discuss that in a wee bit, when I try to sum up what I admire about Niemand specifically, not in comparison to others. Suffice to say I have considered those others and I feel confident, for me, Niemand stands above them.
Copyright - Rebellion
Finally is the fact that he's the latest shiny toy, the fact that he is the latest great Dredd writer, does that artificially inflate my view of his work and that will wane over time? I genuinely don't think so, I genuinely think he's that good.
I mean firstly he's not that new anymore, he's been writing Dredd for 5 years now. I've thought about other contemporary writers, as listed above and think his work stands out. I think his output has been consistent over the years and as he increases that output the quality isn't dropping, his work is still exceptional. Lastly even if we do consider him new and relatively speaking that's understandable, should that mean I miss his comics off this list, which is after all my option at a specific point in time. I've already said and I'm certainly experiencing as I write these things, the list is flexible and my options will change. The very act of writing about these comics has changed my view on where I might put particular titles or runs if I did the same thing again, even now.
So should my view of Niemand's work diminish over time, and I've no reason to expect it will, that shouldn't take away from the fact they got their place at the point I made this list.
That leaves me with the final thing to unpick, why do I like his Dredd work so much. Well there's a few reasons. I've discussed the fact I think his output has been more consistently great than others who work alongside him. Sure I prefer some stories more than others, a few I felt are average, never less, but that could be said of even Wagner's work. Overall though the exceptional highs are far, far, more common (of the other not Wagner writers I should make clear!).
Secondly I think he's brought something fresh and new to Dredd's stories. He has a keen focus on the one thing that really makes Dredd and Mega City One such an inexhaustible story engine: the citizen's of Mega City One. Now of course he's not the first to do that. Wagner has done it brilliantly so many times, and others have too, but none have done it with quite the same exceptional skill as Niemand. He introduces new characters at a great rate and almost all the times he does that I'm left wanting to know more about those characters. Chimpsky is the obvious example and really is one of the best supporting characters, not only of recent times, but in the history of Dredd. The fact that he's spun out into this own, superb series, with its own fantastic supporting cast, so quickly and each of those has been simply brilliant speaks volumes to this.
Chimpsky isn't the only one. Kyle Asher I've mentioned already and his trilogy was superb. Mona, the skysurfing delivery mum, Mor Hallam, the security officer who sees folks naked, the occult shop owners, the list goes on. The fact that I can't remember names there is a failing of my addled memory not Niemands. Even characters who won't return are all fully fleshed out, engaging and add something new to the billion stories in Mega City One. He does this in a way that makes his tales feel cohesive. There's a tone and feel to his output that is clear and distinct - the main reason I don't buy into the idea he's an established 2000ad writer using a new pseudonym.
He does that while never losing sight of Dredd as a character. He might drop Dredd into the background, make him a supporting character in his own strip but that's not a bad thing, it widens the scope of the series' potential wonderfully. When he does write Dredd its with a voice that is spot on, that gets Dredd perfectly. He just uses him as a character as much a particular story needs, but when he's there he's absolutely spot on. That feels like a really brave thing to do for a relatively new writer in the Dreddverse.
His wider use of the Dreddverse has also been delightful. Mega City 2099 is great fun and so well executed. The crossover with One Eyed Jack is very effective and seems to have already spurned a spin off that I look forward to reading. Megatropolis was an absolute triumph, so much so that I bought a hardcover which I rarely do if I have a series in a different format. One of the best new strips in the Meg for a long time. Niemand has had such a positive impact on Dredd and this wider Universe, indeed universes in such a relatively short time I really don't think another writer compares favourably to their output.
I should also note that while this post is clearly very focused on the writing side of things, as Kenneth Niemand has had his strips drawn by a number of artists, he has been very well served on the art side of things. Artists as great as PJ Holden, Dan Cornwell, Tom Foster, Dave Taylor, Colin MacNeill, Patrick Goodard to name just a few, the list goes on and on, have all provided superb art for his stories. It's testament to the depth of talent in the 2000ad stable that Niemand has done so many diverse stories in tone and feel and Tharg has always, always, been able to match him with an artist who has done brilliant work to elevate his work. But this one is really all about the writing so please excuse me for talking so little about the great talents that have worked with Niemand.
I'm not going to make this an exhaustive list of other Dredd writers, who has the time! But I will flag a couple of others I really like. Carroll and Edginton have both done a number of great stories. Neither has the consistency of Niemand. Al Ewing was a big favourite of many and I love a number of his stories, but it never coalesced for me in a way I had a real sense of what he was doing with Dredd. How his Dredd stood out beyond just well written Dredds. Niemand does that for me as I will get to. Our own lovely Gordon Rennie gets as close as anyone and he did some amazing Dredd's and developed a real niche in characters and corners of Dredd's world he 'specialised' in. Again though for me he played with the existing toys really well, he didn't add to that pool in quite the same way Niemand has.
Basically what I'm saying here is my admiration for Niemand's Dredd takes nothing away from how much I enjoy the good, often great work, of a number of other Dredd writers. It's just he brings something new to the party and for me is so much more consistent. I will discuss that in a wee bit, when I try to sum up what I admire about Niemand specifically, not in comparison to others. Suffice to say I have considered those others and I feel confident, for me, Niemand stands above them.
Copyright - Rebellion
Finally is the fact that he's the latest shiny toy, the fact that he is the latest great Dredd writer, does that artificially inflate my view of his work and that will wane over time? I genuinely don't think so, I genuinely think he's that good.
I mean firstly he's not that new anymore, he's been writing Dredd for 5 years now. I've thought about other contemporary writers, as listed above and think his work stands out. I think his output has been consistent over the years and as he increases that output the quality isn't dropping, his work is still exceptional. Lastly even if we do consider him new and relatively speaking that's understandable, should that mean I miss his comics off this list, which is after all my option at a specific point in time. I've already said and I'm certainly experiencing as I write these things, the list is flexible and my options will change. The very act of writing about these comics has changed my view on where I might put particular titles or runs if I did the same thing again, even now.
So should my view of Niemand's work diminish over time, and I've no reason to expect it will, that shouldn't take away from the fact they got their place at the point I made this list.
That leaves me with the final thing to unpick, why do I like his Dredd work so much. Well there's a few reasons. I've discussed the fact I think his output has been more consistently great than others who work alongside him. Sure I prefer some stories more than others, a few I felt are average, never less, but that could be said of even Wagner's work. Overall though the exceptional highs are far, far, more common (of the other not Wagner writers I should make clear!).
Secondly I think he's brought something fresh and new to Dredd's stories. He has a keen focus on the one thing that really makes Dredd and Mega City One such an inexhaustible story engine: the citizen's of Mega City One. Now of course he's not the first to do that. Wagner has done it brilliantly so many times, and others have too, but none have done it with quite the same exceptional skill as Niemand. He introduces new characters at a great rate and almost all the times he does that I'm left wanting to know more about those characters. Chimpsky is the obvious example and really is one of the best supporting characters, not only of recent times, but in the history of Dredd. The fact that he's spun out into this own, superb series, with its own fantastic supporting cast, so quickly and each of those has been simply brilliant speaks volumes to this.
Chimpsky isn't the only one. Kyle Asher I've mentioned already and his trilogy was superb. Mona, the skysurfing delivery mum, Mor Hallam, the security officer who sees folks naked, the occult shop owners, the list goes on. The fact that I can't remember names there is a failing of my addled memory not Niemands. Even characters who won't return are all fully fleshed out, engaging and add something new to the billion stories in Mega City One. He does this in a way that makes his tales feel cohesive. There's a tone and feel to his output that is clear and distinct - the main reason I don't buy into the idea he's an established 2000ad writer using a new pseudonym.
He does that while never losing sight of Dredd as a character. He might drop Dredd into the background, make him a supporting character in his own strip but that's not a bad thing, it widens the scope of the series' potential wonderfully. When he does write Dredd its with a voice that is spot on, that gets Dredd perfectly. He just uses him as a character as much a particular story needs, but when he's there he's absolutely spot on. That feels like a really brave thing to do for a relatively new writer in the Dreddverse.
His wider use of the Dreddverse has also been delightful. Mega City 2099 is great fun and so well executed. The crossover with One Eyed Jack is very effective and seems to have already spurned a spin off that I look forward to reading. Megatropolis was an absolute triumph, so much so that I bought a hardcover which I rarely do if I have a series in a different format. One of the best new strips in the Meg for a long time. Niemand has had such a positive impact on Dredd and this wider Universe, indeed universes in such a relatively short time I really don't think another writer compares favourably to their output.
I should also note that while this post is clearly very focused on the writing side of things, as Kenneth Niemand has had his strips drawn by a number of artists, he has been very well served on the art side of things. Artists as great as PJ Holden, Dan Cornwell, Tom Foster, Dave Taylor, Colin MacNeill, Patrick Goodard to name just a few, the list goes on and on, have all provided superb art for his stories. It's testament to the depth of talent in the 2000ad stable that Niemand has done so many diverse stories in tone and feel and Tharg has always, always, been able to match him with an artist who has done brilliant work to elevate his work. But this one is really all about the writing so please excuse me for talking so little about the great talents that have worked with Niemand.