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Prog 2137 : Mind how you go...

Started by Darren Stephens, 22 June, 2019, 08:59:56 PM

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Frank


athorist

I remember the Block Buddies one, because it seemed like a terrible story, but when they started fighting, it really brought me round.

Haven't got any theories on Kenneth, if I had to guess I'd say Gaiman. Abnett's maybe a good shout, if it was from a few months ago, when he had two strips in the prog (did it ever reach 3?)
You need light here even in the morning
Compared to this St Petersburg was nothing

The Fall - No Bulbs

norton canes


norton canes

Quote from: Frank on 25 June, 2019, 05:08:20 PM
Recent Dredd stories have been credited to Kenneth Niemand, leading to speculation concerning the identity of the author.

The stories are well-written enough that the author is clearly not a newcomer to comics and the level of engagement with the concepts and themes at the heart of the strip suggest they're unlikely to be a first time Dredd writer either.

As demonstrated by the list of 2000ad pseudonyms above, the writers most likely to employ pen names are members of editorial staff wishing to conceal their connection to the publisher, but both Nerve Centre employees with scripting experience have stated they're not Niemand.

The list of writers who've scripted Dredd for 2000ad is still pretty short, and the Niemand stories published so far don't exhibit the stylistic tics or thematical concerns of any of them. Niemand's either an infrequent contributor or an established author switching to Southpaw


I'm calling Wagner.

Reasons:

1. It's such a darn good story (which doesn't preclude other droids of course, but if it wasn't any good you'd know it wasn't Wagner).

2. It's an important story. Obviously no idea how long it'll run but in terms of character development, I can see this being pivotal. In fact I almost get a sense of The Dead Man about it - it's an under-the-radar prologue to something bigger.

3. It features robot Judges. Yes, I know the mechs are featuring more often and yes, I know that Wagner doesn't exclusively write them now (vis. Rory McConville's 'Technophobes' the other week); but the way Patsy is first surprised that humans are unaware how sophisticated it is, then caught out by a lack of such sophistication in humans, leads me to suspect Wagner's hand.

4a. Wagner's History of pseudonyms
4b. Why would any other writer use a pseudonym?
Seriously, I don't know why any other droid would be scripting under a pen name. If it were an up-and-coming writer they'd be too keen for recognition to conceal their identity. And of it were a famous writer coming into the 2000 AD fold, Tharg would be proclaiming it from the rooftops.

For what it's worth, I think the use of the Niemand pseudonym for the Starlord story was a diversionary tactic.

5. Wagner's comment, mentioned upthread, that Dredd would end his days in a back alley shooting. Dredd himself even repeats that belief in this installment!


The point about stylistic tics is interesting, and got me thinking - how many stylistic tics from long-term Dredd writers would we actually recognize? The only instance that sprung immediately to mind was Rob Williams' use of convoluted and contrived wordplay for humour. Could we honestly make a list of active Dredd scribes along with notes on what to spot?

Regarding 'The Samaritan', so far there are only a couple of things I picked up. The plot has a procedural feel to it which is characteristic of many Wagner Dredds. And last week the title character used the exclamation "crap" - does Wagner usually swap this out for 'stomm' or suchlike?

Anyway, I am preparing myself to be thoroughly embarrassed when next week Tharg reveals the mysterious Mr Niemand to be none other than Boris Johnson. 

norton canes

"Yers, s'what I do in my spare tiiime... I make Judge Dredd stories from old boxes....."

norton canes

As for the rest of the prog...

Cover: Faultless. The guy who works in the W.H. Smiths where I collect my prog put it on the counter while the bloke in front of me was still putting his wallet back in his pocket. The bloke saw the cover and exclaimed "What's that?!". I think he thought he was being given some kind of pornographic freebie*.

Scarlet Traces: Soapbox-tastic! Invaders from the Red Planet who don't kill Tories... what's the Edgington droid trying to say?!

Thistlebone: It's not quite hitting the spot. Not yet.

Anderson: Pff... your guess is as good as mine...

Absalom: ...although to be honest, this got a bit mystifying on the double page with the time loop thing (?)


* Not that the cover is at all pornographic, far from it. But suggestive of such a publication. 

Proudhuff

Quote4b. Why would any other writer use a pseudonym?
Seriously, I don't know why any other droid would be scripting under a pen name. If it were an up-and-coming writer they'd be too keen for recognition to conceal their identity. And of it were a famous writer coming into the 2000 AD fold, Tharg would be proclaiming it from the rooftops.

Or they could have baggage with a certain element of the readership?  Or not want to be seem to be hogging nearly entire issues of the prog to themselves?

Quotehow many stylistic tics from long-term Dredd writers would we actually recognize? The only instance that sprung immediately to mind was Rob Williams' use of convoluted and contrived wordplay for humour. Could we honestly make a list of active Dredd scribes along with notes on what to spot?

I think that would be an interesting game to play, someone would have to define 'stylistic tics' would that include the Car-Roll Droid's Emerald Isle focus? or the Grennie droid's hanging chads and Sino-Cit threat?
or would it just be their short-hand and troupes?
Also it might take us all back onto Tharg's Thin Ice List, just ask Cosh :-X
DDT did a job on me

Proudhuff

Quote
Absalom: ...although to be honest, this got a bit mystifying on the double page with the time loop thing (?)

There are two demons each masquerading as the other team member, hence the demonic smiles to the other demon behind the humans back
DDT did a job on me

norton canes

Ah, of course. Put the Rennie droid in charge of Doctor Who forthwith!

Richard

It's not Wagner. He had reasons for using pseudonyms on the previous occasions, but I can't see a reason now. And I don't think it reads like him. But I bet KN would be flattered to be mistaken for him!

broodblik

I agree with Richard that it is not Wagner. I thought it might be Matt Smith but I think someone defunct this as not true.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

athorist

Another possibility is that it's Matt Smith (Tharg or the former Doctor Who, either one). That would also make sense (if it's Tharg) with the Starlord story, and if this is important continuity.
You need light here even in the morning
Compared to this St Petersburg was nothing

The Fall - No Bulbs

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: athorist on 27 June, 2019, 05:29:08 PM
Another possibility is that it's Matt Smith (Tharg or the former Doctor Who, either one). That would also make sense (if it's Tharg) with the Starlord story, and if this is important continuity.

As has been said before: there is literally no chance that the editor would be handing himself prime writing jobs on his own title under a pseudonym. That would be a thing unheard of since the dark days of Alan MacKenzie and the sheer outrage from the freelancers would make your average Pat Mills blog post look like a summary of The Archers.
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: athorist on 27 June, 2019, 05:29:08 PM
Another possibility is that it's Matt Smith (Tharg or the former Doctor Who, either one). That would also make sense (if it's Tharg) with the Starlord story, and if this is important continuity.

Quote from: Cyber-Matt on 06 January, 2019, 10:30:47 PM
Quote from: Leigh S on 06 January, 2019, 03:52:02 PM
Presuming the Dredd is a Matt SMith pseudonym (and why not - it has the pitch perfect ear for Dredd he has demostrated elsewhere)

Thanks, but Ken Niemand isn't me.


https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=45628.0

Frank

Quote from: norton canes on 27 June, 2019, 10:44:20 AM
I'm calling Wagner.

1. It's such a darn good story

4b. Why would any other writer use a pseudonym

5. Wagner's comment, mentioned upthread, that Dredd would end his days in a back alley shooting.

I've never heard Wagner say that*

As I say above, Niemand's almost certainly an experienced Dredd writer. The answer to why they might not sign their work is probably answered by the suggestion that enjoying a story is evidence that it's ©John Wagner **

In a game of Dredd Writer Top Trumps, The Samaritan beats McConville on execution but loses to Ewing or Williams in terms of original ideas. I liked The Crazy's wee riff on Mafia and thought Starlord was funny, but neither fit the interests of Dredd's creator. ***


* Like Niemand's riff on the impossibility of organised crime in Megacity One (The Crazy, Meg 408), it's the kind of thing fans say on t'internetBurdis mentioned the organised crime thing just a few weeks ago and I remember Stephen Watson, of Paisley, making a similar observation. We can probably discount the possibility that Tharg's so hard up he's started handing assignments to fans, although TordelBack has been quiet, lately.

** Writing a strip that's been so dominated by a single, beloved author for over forty years is a mug's game. For what it's worth, John Wagner's written more awful Dredd stories than anyone else. From The Satanist to the recent one where the Cal clones put Dredd on trial (again) there are a ton of stories where it's clear Big W doesn't know why he's writing this crap or what to do to get himself out of the hole he's digging. By the same token, he's written more fantastic Dredd stories than anyone else. Writing a character dominated by one author for over forty years is a mug's game.

*** In the interest of board harmony, I'd identify the signature features of Tharg's Finest (in only positive and anonymised terms) as a wonderful ability to reappropriate obscure and incidental details of golden age stories as springboards for superb new adventures; the fantastic tendency to conceive strips primarily as thematic sudoku puzzles; starting from a brilliant pun and backwards-engineering story and character to support that wordplay; and virtuoso bricolage construction of narrative from golden memories of genre fiction of yesteryear, where every character speaks in the faux-grandiloquent manner of a Hammer horror villain or Damon Runyon character. Which is great.