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Everything comes back after 20 years: The Prog's New Dark Age

Started by The Enigmatic Dr X, 13 February, 2018, 09:58:53 AM

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JamesC

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 14 February, 2018, 10:19:25 AM
To elaborate on what i was saying earlier :

As proven by the rapid improvements after the 90s slump, a good dredd is a good prog.  In a perfect world, John Wagner would be rejuved, and write Dredd  forever,  but it's not going to happen.

When Al Ewing arrived, I thought the Dreddverse had been saved. His one-offs were as good as any Wagner had ever written, and his characterisation of an ageing, tough-but-still-human Dredd was absolutely perfect. His crazy and violent Mega City 1 brought back the good old days of bizarre crazes and a half-cracked citizenry and he kept his eye on the wider sense of continuity and socio-political change in dredd's world.

He was a perfect fit for 2000ad and then he was gone.  Mike Carroll and Rob Williams were great writers but Ewing was unique,  and I'm pretty sure if he returned my doubts about the prog would disappear.

I'd like to see Ewing back on Dredd too. But if he came back it's unlikely to be for financial reasons. He might come back for the love of the strip I guess. If I was in his shoes though I'd feel disheartened having written an excellent, well received story only to have it, along with its dangling implications, completely ignored by the strip's 'lead' writer.
Trifecta would ave been even better if we'd had loads of juicy follow up stories exploring the various threads. It would have been lovely if Wagner had picked up the baton.

Prodigal2

I haven't bought the prog in a couple of months ( I feel vaguely dirty and disloyal not toughing it out) but will be back in due course when the line up changes.

Still buying the meg though. I love the mix of strip, floppies and creator interviews.

13school

The thing is, when Wagner writes Dredd these days it's either stand-alone stuff or maybe following up on his own plotlines. Since DOC he hasn't messed with the status quo in a way that would affect anyone else's Dredd stories, and we've had loads of Dredd stories from other writers with big ramifications.

The problem with Dredd (if there is one) isn't that Wagner is preventing everyone else from telling the stories with Dredd that they want to tell; they're clearly telling those stories.

jabish

David Bishop said recently in the great interview he gave on the Working Comics podcast that because he had a Wagner Dredd every issue he knew he had at least one terrific story and of course in this anthology that's 20% of the work done already. That unfortunately is not the case any more. Interesting that the perceived 'Dark Age' of the 90s corresponds to John Wagner not being the regular Dredd writer and I feel that this is what's happening again. That first story every prog should give you a buzz for the rest of it. The problem recently is that Dredd just hasn't been very good. You can argue whatever about the character being out of the city, stories not referencing each other etc. but in my opinion they just haven't been good stories. I'd be all for resting Dredd every now and again in the prog. Never going to happen of course. But something does need to happen. 2000ad should lead with its best strip unfortunately that hasn't been Dredd for quite a while. My heart has been sinking each week after reading it so I'm going to start skipping it when I see certain creators attached. That way I won't have to see him surfing a feckin dog again. Whither Dredd goes, so goes the prog.

I punched the air when I saw that Strontium Dog is coming back. Something to look forward to.

Just my 2 euro.

JB

James Stacey

I think the lack of Robbie Morrison and / or Simon Fraser are part of the problem  :D

TordelBack

Quote from: James Stacey on 14 February, 2018, 11:19:55 AM
I think the lack of Robbie Morrison and / or Simon Fraser are part of the problem  :D

STRONGLY AGREE.

norton canes

These mentions of... not exactly a dearth, but a shortage of scripting talent, is another compelling reason why the upcoming all-female special can only be a good thing.

Magnetica

Quote from: TordelBack on 14 February, 2018, 11:54:13 AM
Quote from: James Stacey on 14 February, 2018, 11:19:55 AM
I think the lack of Robbie Morrison and / or Simon Fraser are part of the problem  :D

STRONGLY AGREE.

Possibly also a lack of Robbie Morrison and John Burns.

JamesC

Quote from: norton canes on 14 February, 2018, 12:12:16 PM
These mentions of... not exactly a dearth, but a shortage of scripting talent, is another compelling reason why the upcoming all-female special can only be a good thing.

Definitely.

Swerty


JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: JamesC on 14 February, 2018, 12:20:58 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 14 February, 2018, 12:12:16 PM
These mentions of... not exactly a dearth, but a shortage of scripting talent, is another compelling reason why the upcoming all-female special can only be a good thing.

Definitely.

You won't be so agreeable when they're herding us straight white males onto the cattle trucks.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

JamesC

Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 14 February, 2018, 01:22:41 PM
Quote from: JamesC on 14 February, 2018, 12:20:58 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 14 February, 2018, 12:12:16 PM
These mentions of... not exactly a dearth, but a shortage of scripting talent, is another compelling reason why the upcoming all-female special can only be a good thing.

Definitely.

The Two Ronnies did try to warn us.

You won't be so agreeable when they're herding us straight white males onto the cattle trucks.

I, Cosh

We never really die.

SIP

I was going to cancel my subscription (.....after close to 40 years of reading) after the Christmas prog. I just struggle to read any of it now and find 10-15 progs building up at a time. I've been seeing it as an obligation rather than a joy.

The only thing I've really wanted to read in the last year or so are the deadworld stories. In the magazine it's Lawless. But I'm finding it hard to shell out that much money for so little that I actually enjoy.

I was leaning to cancelling, and then i saw the Strontium Dog (arguably my favourite 2000ad story) teaser....so I'm hanging in there just a little longer.

My thoughts are just to keep on with the Dredd case files and dump everything else. Wagner and Dredd are inseparable for me. Without him, I'm just not that interested.

Colin YNWA