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Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection discussion thread

Started by Molch-R, 10 December, 2014, 03:30:20 PM

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Spikes

Another cracking little book. And a nice collection of stories. But no Trapper Hag?  :(

Especially nice to reacquaint myself with the Ian Gibson drawn tale. Surely this was his best period on Dredd? Certainly that's my feelings. And not too bad repro for a black and white tale - which does seem to be this collections Achilles heel at times.

And of course; Howler.
I'll not pretend that I didn't scratch my head a little, when I first read it. But looking at it in 2015, every panel looks to be somebody having a great deal of fun (and it is a fun tale), whilst at the same time being an absolute genius.
Each to there own, of course...


And it is a real shame that Mick is choosing to close down his blog, but he obviously has his reasons and we have to respect that.
Many have stopped by to leave comments wishing him the best for what he'll be doing in the future, along with thanking him for starting such a wonderful blog in the first place.

Fungus

Quote from: Spikes on 08 August, 2015, 12:04:00 PM
And it is a real shame that Mick is choosing to close down his blog, but he obviously has his reasons and we have to respect that.
Many have stopped by to leave comments wishing him the best for what he'll be doing in the future, along with thanking him for starting such a wonderful blog in the first place.

Yep, completely. My comment about commenting further was a bit silly, strike that.

M.I.K.

I think I must be one of the few folk who really liked the art on Howler the first time I read it, even though I was very familiar with McMahon's previous style.

Dash Decent

I've managed to keep up with the Rebellion trades for Dredd and related titles so I'm really umming and ahhing over whether to go for these.  Having them in hardback is an attractive proposition, as is the idea of themed collections (e.g. Democracy Now) but a lot of these seem to duplicate trades that are already out there - America, Mandroid, Shamballa, Mechanismo, Dead Man, Day of Chaos, Devlin Waugh, etc.

What do other Squaxx see as the pros and cons of this collection?  I've seen some negative comments about the quality of reproduction, but also other comments about material being touched up and corrected.  Apart from the extras are there any other improvements in these over, say, the Case Files?  E.g. colour spreads printed in colour here vs black & white in the Case Files.
- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Apestrife

Outside the fact that I'm reading Dredd in HC, I like that each book can feel like a new layer or puzzle piece to the character.

They'v also retooled some of the books a bit. Some having thematic extras, while others having stories that -for at least- makes for a new ending. For example Origins ending with "The Spirit of Christmas" (taken from Tour of duty) and America with Judgement Call (from MEG300).

I also like the texts that comes with the books. Everything from introductions, longer write ups on characters  to interviews with creators.

Frank

Quote from: CrazyFoxMachine on 08 August, 2015, 10:06:33 AM
... there's a genius to those shapes, once you realising he's boiling everything down. I will agree going from Block Mania, to The Howler, to now is a jarring transition ...

Well put, Owen. Being introduced to McMahon with *Howler* is probably a bit like beginning Breaking Bad at Season 2, episode 12. Following the development of McMahon's style over the last 38 years allows you to understand what he's constantly striving to achieve (in different and always completely original ways):









IndigoPrime

#1251
Quote from: Dash Decent on 09 August, 2015, 04:48:43 AMWhat do other Squaxx see as the pros and cons of this collection?
The format is a big pro. These are beautifully produced volumes, equal to the best I have elsewhere. For the most part, Matt's also done a great job in providing themed and/or logical volumes of content. At 80 volumes, it'll also be pretty exhaustive (if not actually comprehensive) by the end.

Cons: there are occasions where DPSs aren't catered for (which has also happened in some trades), and some of the volumes could do with more context. A good example is Democracy Now, where you see Dredd leading the brutal takedown of the marchers, but then seemingly doing an about-face out of nowhere when the vote happens. That would have been a great place for a few paragraphs of introductory copy about what happened in-between.

QuoteApart from the extras are there any other improvements in these over, say, the Case Files?  E.g. colour spreads printed in colour here vs black & white in the Case Files.
No. The paper quality is better when it comes to the thick case files (and also the first Anderson volume), although the repro is seemingly from the same files. So colour spreads are in greyscale. Some stories also have the common problem of losing some of the detail in the art. That said, I've 'paused' collecting Dredd and Anderson volumes now, purely because I like these volumes a lot more. I hope the series runs the course, and if it does, I can't see me picking up the Case Files from this point on.

abelardsnazz

#1252
I'd been a lapsed reader for 19 years and had sold all my old progs etc., so when this came along i um'ed and ah'ed for a couple of days and thought, well, a couple of quid for America in hardback, what's to lose? I loved it and haven't looked back. It's brilliant to re-read all the old stories and catch up with what I've missed in a really high-quality format. For me personally, I don't notice the reproduction quality as long as the stories are good and I can tell what's going on.

Standouts for me so far: Origins, Mandroid and Day of Chaos. I can't seem to get into the Shimura/Hondo City stories but some of the artwork is fantastic. The Alien Nations collection hangs together much better than the Heavy Mob one. Maybe if Father Earth had appeared first in that volume it would have given it some context?

Plus they look great on the shelf. The only problem is finding enough space :-)

Jade Falcon

I didn't mind both Shimura and Hondo City.  I had never read either collections stories before, though I preferred Hondo City.

Howler is NOT my introduction to McMahon's art.  I was reading 2000AD in the days of Cursed Earth and stopped round about the time of latter Slaine.  It was before McGruder took the long walk anyway.  It's just the art style was too chaotic for my liking though the story was..amusing.

It's just I have preferences.  Another example was the Dark Horse Star Wars Dark Empire.  I wasn't a fan of the two or three colour palette look that seemed to be a common thing at that time, though certain piecs themselves weren't bad.

Anyone know what the next book is?
When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there, but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Lies. - Valery Legasov

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: Jade Falcon on 10 August, 2015, 05:26:18 PM
Howler is NOT my introduction to McMahon's art.  I was reading 2000AD in the days of Cursed Earth and stopped round about the time of latter Slaine.  It was before McGruder took the long walk anyway.  It's just the art style was too chaotic for my liking though the story was..amusing.

It's brilliant. It arguably works better in the Case Files, within the context of the era - just as the strip began to pull itself free of the Morrisson/Millar tripe. It's as though Wagner is saying 'I can do dumb action too, but my dumb is good.'*


*I think I missapropriated that from someone on the forum - Greg M, maybe?
@jamesfeistdraws

IndigoPrime

Quote from: Jade Falcon on 10 August, 2015, 05:26:18 PMAnyone know what the next book is?
According to Hachette, the next volume is [spoiler]Doomsday for Dredd, although I've no idea if this incorporates Doomsday for Mega City One as well[/spoiler].

Subsequent volumes:

[spoiler]
17/v31: Oz
18/v50: Day of Chaos: Endgame
19/v03: Total War
20/v21: The Simping Detective
21/v04: The Dead Man (which I'd assume will include some of Dredd's 'doubts' arc)
22/v30: Target: Judge Dredd (attempts to assassinate Dredd)
23/v15: Devlin Waugh: Chasing Herod

The thread adds that "Oz will contain the colour spreads in the centre", and confirms volumes on: Judge Death/Dark Judges (v06); PJ Maybe (v28); Mean Machine (including Three Amigos); Judgment Day (bleurgh); Necropolis; some stories with Ron Smith art; Fetish; Insurrection; City of the Damned.[/spoiler]

The Monarch

Well thats where trapper hags going if theres an entire volume about attempts on dredds life

Tjm86

Considering that there was a sequel to Trapper Hag (Siku on art duty IIRC) and there are still a large number of Dredd alien encounters tales out there (Kiss of the Spider Woman for instance) I wonder if there might be a second alien encounters volume out there.  After all can the collection really be called 'mega' without 'The Starborn Thing' or the recent hairy satire?

IndigoPrime

Oz and Doomsday for Dredd just showed up here. Oz has colour spreads, NOT black and white! Also includes covers and a BMC interview. Doomsday for Dredd is specifically listed as a companion volume to Doomsday for Mega City One, and so it's surprising the latter isn't scheduled for a while (it'd be volume 24 at the earliest). It includes Beyond the Call of Duty, Return of the Assassin, The Trial, War Games, a handful of covers, and a text piece on villains.

Mattofthespurs