1
General / Re: Forthcoming Thrills - 2021
« on: 01 March, 2021, 10:06:03 PM »
It’s a hardcover. I have that confirmed from a power-that-be.
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
2
Prog / Re: Prog 2220 Regened: Earth-Shattering
« on: 01 March, 2021, 06:02:39 PM »Whether this is to move things easier into more 'Dogman' sized volumesI don’t know. I part wondered if it was down to costs at one point. It’s pretty clear The Phoenix has had to make some tough decisions during COVID (hence the uptick in not-great text content, that short period of ‘remastered’ reprint, and the way the covers are now done.
However, I’ve been told the BvM chunkies are the way forward and the existing line might cease. Personally, I’d love to see an OS HC of that series, but I guess that’ll never happen!
3
Prog / Re: Prog 2220 Regened: Earth-Shattering
« on: 01 March, 2021, 04:25:47 PM »Quote
Sales data I can accept, "small but vocal minority", I'm not so sure.On that point, Rebellion is a business. If something isn’t working, it would stop. Given that Regened has continued, it must be working in a manner that 2000 AD is happy with, even if some of the readers aren’t. And, yes, I’m happy with some of these strips, in the same way I’m happy reading mini-IP’s Phoenix or blazing through Usagi Yojimbo and Lumberjanes. Good comics are good comics. My main disappointment with 2000 AD over the past year hasn’t been Regened’s existence, but that we haven’t yet seen more Dept K and Pandora Perfect. (Well, that and an OS HC of The Out doesn’t yet exist, but I suspect that’ll have to stay in my daydream wish list.)
Maybe on this forum, but for the regular readers who don't waste their spare time on here?
You'd have to wonder.
4
General / Re: Confused
« on: 01 March, 2021, 04:10:08 PM »
I don’t recall what the original schedule was nor if it’s changed, but COVID buggered up the best laid plans of many publishers. Rebellion has moved a lot around as has Image. Marvel’s distribution is, to put it mildly, shot. (Omnis aren’t even making it to the UK, in some cases.) DC cancelled a load of stuff.
So I imagine, yes, ideally these things would align, but reality has got in the way.
So I imagine, yes, ideally these things would align, but reality has got in the way.
5
Prog / Re: Prog 2220 Regened: Earth-Shattering
« on: 01 March, 2021, 03:23:14 PM »
Really, I think Rebellion’s damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. I’ve seen people furiously angry that the Cor/Buster specials weren’t reprint, as if that trampled all over their memories. Frankly, I thought it was bloody great Rebellion wanted to utilise old properties and commission new work rather than taking the arguably easier way out of just offering reprint. (Hell, The Dandy frequently does that, and think how high-profile that brand still is.)
But, again, like Jim keeps saying: there are many considerations beyond just doing the ideal, which often come down to distribution and market forces. And if the sales data for Regened suggests it’s working, bar for a small but vocal minority, it seems likely it would for the time being continue.
But, again, like Jim keeps saying: there are many considerations beyond just doing the ideal, which often come down to distribution and market forces. And if the sales data for Regened suggests it’s working, bar for a small but vocal minority, it seems likely it would for the time being continue.
6
General / Re: Confused
« on: 01 March, 2021, 03:14:01 PM »Full Tilt Boogie gets an exclusive limited edition hardcover, but Thistlebone and End Of Days don't?Thistlebone is HC. It’s (currently) wrongly listed as paperback on the 2000 AD store.
7
Prog / Re: Prog 2221 - Taking the Biscuit!
« on: 01 March, 2021, 01:40:16 PM »
A great cover, with those lovely chunky black edges that I miss so much. I just read the Ezquerra Hachette book last night and, well, *sniffle*. As for the story itself, top stuff, as expected.
Elsewhere, Proteus Vex continues to mildly baffle and Durham Red is suitably grim and interesting—even if I agree this feels now like a different take on the character from the one in the Strontium Dog stories. That said, there were plenty of times where she was vicious, and who’s to say those stories weren’t somewhat ‘sanitised’ so we could keep the sexy Smurfette Stront? (Red now seems terrifying, which is more interesting.) Thistlebone is in set-up territory, but I did like the first series and so am glad to see it return.
Sláine exists. My problem with it now is it’s just quite boring to read. It looks pretty, but for something with so much action, it’s kind of a trudge. And it never feels like Sláine himself is threatened in the slightest. It’s going to be a weird swansong if this is it. (Arguably, the strip could have finished on a high after Horned God, or after the surprising high of Book of Invasions 3 or The Wanderer.
So this one for me is Durham Red > Dredd > Thistlebone > Proteus Vex > Sláine.
Elsewhere, Proteus Vex continues to mildly baffle and Durham Red is suitably grim and interesting—even if I agree this feels now like a different take on the character from the one in the Strontium Dog stories. That said, there were plenty of times where she was vicious, and who’s to say those stories weren’t somewhat ‘sanitised’ so we could keep the sexy Smurfette Stront? (Red now seems terrifying, which is more interesting.) Thistlebone is in set-up territory, but I did like the first series and so am glad to see it return.
Sláine exists. My problem with it now is it’s just quite boring to read. It looks pretty, but for something with so much action, it’s kind of a trudge. And it never feels like Sláine himself is threatened in the slightest. It’s going to be a weird swansong if this is it. (Arguably, the strip could have finished on a high after Horned God, or after the surprising high of Book of Invasions 3 or The Wanderer.
So this one for me is Durham Red > Dredd > Thistlebone > Proteus Vex > Sláine.
8
Prog / Re: Prog 2220 Regened: Earth-Shattering
« on: 01 March, 2021, 01:32:25 PM »I am equally unconvinced that kid's tastes have changed too dramatically in the past 40 years, based on nothing more than first hand experience with every child in my family / circle of friends that I have ever known. Like ever.And yet if we look at The Beano alone, that comic has changed subtly but noticeably from just a few years ago. Although the strips and artists are intact, the tone is wildly different from how it was in the middle of the last decade. Readership is up. Also, given that many adults won’t touch B+W comics now, good luck getting kids to.
Ultimately, as Jim patiently and repeatedly points out on this forum, Rebellion is limited by the realities of commerce, publishing, distribution and now also COVID. So it’s trying something, in the hope it will work. So far the result has been significant sales bumps. Quite why they’ve occurred and whether they’re sustainable, who knows? How well the collections will do, who knows?
Quote
But c'mon - who could put their hand on their cholesterol clogged heart and say they actually want to read this stuff?I couldn’t give a stuff about Cadet Dredd. I’d be happy if it was dropped entirely. But I’d love to see a Pandora Perfect series start next week in the Prog. Dept K was superb. I’ve enjoyed some of the ‘young character’ strips enough to justify their presence (such as that initial Strontium Dog test one, which was pretty funny).
The storytelling needs to be tighter sometimes (something that’s noticeable if you compare Regened to action strips in The Phoenix) and I’d prefer it if they were scheduled before a jumping-on Prog. But I can, hand on heart, say that I’m perfectly happy reading these issues—and I like what they represent.
9
General / Re: Bisley does Zenith - all very odd
« on: 01 March, 2021, 09:59:08 AM »
From the era where Quality Comics entirely dispensed with quality as far as its covers went.
10
General / Re: Dredd Epics Ranked - Better! Vote for positions 52 - 45
« on: 01 March, 2021, 09:58:08 AM »
1. Mega Rackets
2. Raptaur
3. Luna City
2. Raptaur
3. Luna City
11
General / Re: Dredd Epics Ranked - Better! Round 3
« on: 01 March, 2021, 09:57:31 AM »
Mechanismo: solid action but with greater repercussions
I don’t really understand why Mechanismo is a combined epic, but Mandroid is not. On that basis, I’ll bring through two from the previous round:
2. Doomsday
3. Chief Judge’s Man
I don’t really understand why Mechanismo is a combined epic, but Mandroid is not. On that basis, I’ll bring through two from the previous round:
2. Doomsday
3. Chief Judge’s Man
12
Off Topic / Re: Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.
« on: 28 February, 2021, 01:45:29 PM »
I find that bizarre. When I was in the current equivalent of year 9, the people in my form were split across four different bands of maths and French, and three in science and English. Quite how teachers are currently dealing with that, I’ve no idea then. Also, my school had specialist rooms for every subject, and so that in itself required a certain amount of movement.
As for kids mixing, I see that a lot in town. Our local skate ramp always has young teens on it. In town, you almost never see anyone under 18 wearing a mask anywhere. Mind you, parents are often little better. Last time I took mini-IP to school, I’d say about 10% of parents wore masks on the single-lane 1m-wide path to and from two schools with a total of around 600 kids. I realise risks of infection are greatly reduced outside and in fleeting moments, but when there’s the morning crush, I wish people would be more cautious.
As for kids mixing, I see that a lot in town. Our local skate ramp always has young teens on it. In town, you almost never see anyone under 18 wearing a mask anywhere. Mind you, parents are often little better. Last time I took mini-IP to school, I’d say about 10% of parents wore masks on the single-lane 1m-wide path to and from two schools with a total of around 600 kids. I realise risks of infection are greatly reduced outside and in fleeting moments, but when there’s the morning crush, I wish people would be more cautious.
13
Off Topic / Re: Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.
« on: 28 February, 2021, 10:50:54 AM »at present apparently unlikely to get long covidUnlikely but not zero. There are cases.
Quote
... and yes, at secondary level it is an absolute bloody joke. In year 10 and 11 when kids have to move to other classroomsWhen I was at secondary, class movement began in the first year (now year 7). So we would move between 6–7 rooms per day. COVID doesn’t follow the infected—it sits in the air. Things then only get worse. (We had sets from year 8, not year 10.) So for a secondary school, the bubble is effectively the population of the entire school. But then even in primaries, there are risks. If that new variant gets in, it blazes through kids and families, as we saw locally in December.
As for freedoms, I see COVID sceptics now being offered jabs are going with “I was forced to take this jab against my freedoms and beliefs, but I urge you to push back against being jabbed”. Because they are arseholes.
14
Prog / Re: Prog 2220 Regened: Earth-Shattering
« on: 27 February, 2021, 01:40:38 PM »The cartoony, kid friendly approach has no longevity - kids will grow out of it pretty quickly. It doesn’t have the staying power that has kept me reading the prog for 35 years.What kept you reading the Prog is presumably that it evolved. Ultimately, it’s now aimed at old gits that comprise most of the readership of this forum. If it’s to survive — if Rebellion’s comic line is to be more than catering to a dwindling pool of adults and a small number of nostalgics — it needs to broaden its scope accordingly.
So I don’t disagree that the kid-friendly approach in and of itself doesn’t (necessarily) have longevity (although I’ll happily read Lumberjanes, Usagi Yojimbo, Phoenix, etc, all of which are in that space), but it’s supposed to provide an entry point to youngsters that the current Prog cannot do.
Quote
2000ad is working already as it is. I get that that it’s good to try out new concepts or writers and artists, but there must be better than this out there. Or maybe not and that’s the problem.For very young children, there’s loads of choice, assuming you want a magazine full of generic puzzles bagged with plastic tat. Oh, and there’s Hey Duggee, which on transforming into a sticker magazine to save money actually massively improved the entire product. Even so, it still only has two comic strips. There are the Lego comics, too, which are, objectively, a bit shit. But you’re really buying that for the covermount.
In terms of traditional comics we’d recognise, that leaves The Beano (humour; currently aimed at a slightly broader market than before, which is both genders and 5–11 or so) and The Phoenix (mixed strips; skews a couple of years older) and… that’s basically it. Plus The Phoenix is hardly sold anywhere and so hardly anyone knows about it.
That’s not to say I think Regened is perfect. I think it has a number of problems in terms of frequency, strip rotation, writing, and impacting on the momentum of existing 2000 AD strips. But I do like the concept and think it has a role to play. It’s good to know it sells well, and I hope Rebellion can make it work. (Ultimately, I’d like to see the company figure out how to spin off a separate publication, but, well, £££££.)
15
Off Topic / Re: Day of Chaos 2: a.Covid-19 thread.
« on: 27 February, 2021, 01:19:58 PM »The thing is, schools are like any other premises. Owners / management can set out what is worn.That’s only true to a certain extent. Our school’s head was forced to write to all parents to ‘clarify’ her previous demand about parents wearing masks at drop-off and pick-up, and state that this wasn’t mandatory and instead was voluntary. Enough people had complained over her head. So who is the owner/manager at that point? The LA? Once you’re above the headteacher, you’re well beyond anything you can seek to influence.
Because the UK government is so gutless, and because it’s only made a recommendation, this means the school could 1) only make a request, and 2) state it cannot even do much about people who refuse to comply. (This is the bullshit our local gym came out with when herding parents into a tiny viewing area when our kids were at a gymnastics session, and I complained because only 30% were wearing masks.)
Perhaps things are different elsewhere, but that’s the case at least in England. And at secondary schools in particular, this will be a fucking disaster. Again.