Prog 2073 - Future Visions!

[Leigh S]

Yeah leaving it to John and Carlos seems to be the only situation that is practical or even desirable, though if John created more strip than Carlos could cope with (is that even possible - Carlos is a monster!) I would certainly be more than happy to see Chris Weston and or Colin MacNeil Stronts - both massive Stront fans themselves.  It would give the same impression as having Gibson/McCarthy fill ins during the starlord era. 

I suppose I just hoped/ am still hoping that Wagner will be so enthused by the "new status quo", if that is what this is after five years of set up, that he will have lots more stories to tell....

[Tjm86]

Personally I find that the artist is less of a problem than the writer.  Harrison and McNeil's (?) work on the Final Solution jarred a bit at first but has grown on me over the years (finally got the 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' line as well).  Similarly' Dobbyn's work suited the strip well.  Some of the Tales of the Doghouse and Gronk stuff just ... well, what can I say?

Ezquerra will always be my first choice but we do have to be a little realistic.  Like too many of us, he is staring his own mortality in the face.  Let's hope its for a while yet though.

[Jim_Campbell]

Ezquerra will always be my first choice but we do have to be a little realistic.  Like too many of us, he is staring his own mortality in the face.  Let's hope its for a while yet though.

Well, that's a cheery thought for a Sunday morning. Way to kill the positive vibes, sir. Congratulations!

[TordelBack]

Oh sure, no objections to MacNeil and S. Harrison, or indeed Jacob, Dobbyn (PLEASE CAN WE HAVE MORE JACOB AND DOBBYN IN THE PROG FULL STOP), Pugh and M. Harrison - in particular I think Colin's work on Final Solution was just incredible, as much a revelation as anything Bisley was doing at the same time. For new mutie art, we have a new Durham Red strip incoming that looks great, and who could object to more Middenface, or even more Strontium Dogs (bring back Maeve the Many Armed for a start!). 

Just for personal preference would rather we keep Johnny's adventures 100% Squirrel, as long as the master himself is willing. 

[moly]

Great prog hopefully a sign of a pick up in quality

[Jacqusie]

Some of the Tales of the Doghouse and Gronk stuff just ... well, what can I say?

I enjoyed 'Tales from the Doghouse, especially 'Maeve the Many Armed. Simon Jacobs B&W artwork was glorious stuff and although they were light hearted in nature, they told stories of the other stronts (who can forget 'Spud Murphy?), which now they have got the doghouse back, could be a good source of stories (Colin McNeil did a few of those too I recall).

The fanzine 'Dogbreath does this very well and it will be interesting to see how the new Durham Red plays out. There is the question too of where she is in the current Stronty set up/timeline?

Is she frozen / asleep in space or something? 

[Tjm86]

Well, that's a cheery thought for a Sunday morning. Way to kill the positive vibes, sir. Congratulations!

Hey, it's just stopped bloody snowing here again!!!  Where the hell did that come from?   

[Richard]

Colin MacNeil painted The Final Solution. Today, he would just do a line drawing and Chris Blythe would colour it in for him. I don’t mind that on Dredd, but for Alpha I’d rather stick with Carlos.

[Steve Green]

Colin painted Defoe.

[Jim_Campbell]

Where the hell did that come from?

I'm a fucking goth and I thought that

Like too many of us, he is staring his own mortality in the face.

was a bit gloomy, especially in a thread that's making a pleasantly positive change from the recent discussions on the state of the prog.

[Tjm86]

Where the hell did that come from?

I'm a fucking goth and I thought that

I was talking about the snow, mind.

[Jim_Campbell]

I was talking about the snow, mind.

Umm… OK…

[IndigoPrime]

Well, as someone who's been a bit down on the Prog of late, this one really hit it out of the park. A nice cover and a great set-up in Dredd, with some superb Weston art (apart from, again, this weird tendency from most 2000 AD artists to default to every Judge being a bloke). Here's hoping Gerhart gets through this, and Dredd continues to recognise he needs allies.

Jaegir's not put a foot wrong so far, and so it continues here. Coleby/O’Grady are in fine form on art duties.

The Future Shock and Sin/Dex were quite light in nature, but worked very well for a jumping-on Prog, adding some strips that were self-contained, smart, and amusing (if, in the Future Shock's case, very black humour).

Anderson: nice to see Roach back on art duties. Script-wise, good to see Beeby get another run at the character. Also, well done to Roach for not making Anderson – who's now, what, 50-odd? – look like a glamour model.

Judge Fear: I'm not too fussed about the change in art style. Cornwell provided some creepy stuff, and a good sense of pace and layout variation. It in some ways felt a bit old-school in nature, which worked well for me. Script-wise, it was good again to see Kek-W showcase the power of these undead foes, and make them genuinely scary.

Strontium Dog: almost feels like a return to the status quo, which I won't complain about. Honestly, I was not a fan of that entire war arc. This looks like it'll be some really solid Stront.

Next issue: Dredd/Anderson/Sin Dex/Jaegir/Strontium Dog. Nom.

[Magnetica]

So this Prog should go a long way to quelling talk of 2000AD being in decline. That was just cracking with both stories and art (mostly) on top form.

A Greg Staples cover always feels special.

That was the best episode of Dredd in a very long time. With art like that Chris Weston has truly reached the same level as Bolland. And I never thought I would say that when reading Killing Time or Canon Fodder.

Jaegir as always shows up the line that there are no good new stories. This one did though feel a bit more like an old Rogue Trooper story than before.

The Future Shock features some great art from Dylan Teague. I don’t recall him drawing  a story before, knowing him more for his colouring work. I am sure someone will be along soon to enlighten me.

Dan Abnett stretches out one joke to 5 pages in a way only he can on Sinister Dexter. I thought the unusual (for 2000AD) panel layout worked really well.

A strong opener for Anderson featuring a welcome return for the Roach art bot. I had a nice chat with him at the 40th last year and would like to see him feature more regularly again. But as nice as the art is, I do (just) prefer the black and white stuff that featured in Prog 2000, especially the panels that featured the pencilled look. With this episode I think Emma Beeby has found the correct tone for Anderson. (I say that having just reread Shamballa this week).

Quick couple of questions: can someone remind me who those girls are Anderson and Flowers go to see are and have we seen Ilsa before?

Dan Cornwell also shows progression in his art on Judge Fear. I can see shades of  McMahon, Flint, Bolland, Robinson (Cliff not Hilary ) and Lynch in this. Good story too. Who says there is no mileage left in the DJs?

And so we come to Strontium Dog. Firstly it is a cracking story, well told. But, and I say this knowing it will probably be controversial, but to my eye it’s not Carlos’s best art. Now I love his stuff but to me it’s not up to his usual standard.

There are some interesting comments earlier on the thread about other artists maybe doing Stront, but for me it is so ingrained as Carlos’ strip that I don’t want to see anyone else do it. If some one else has to do, then for my money no-one else has come close to the one Brendan McCarthy did in one of the Starlord annuals.

[Dark Jimbo]

There is the question too of where she is in the current Stronty set up/timeline?

Is she frozen / asleep in space or something? 

Last seen briefly at the end of Mutant Spring (prog 1821, I think?) in a silent cameo. I do wish we could end the coyness about these characters and just clarify where they are, even if it is to just remove them from play. Say what you like about Ennis/Hogan's Gronk stuff, but at least it gave some sort of direction and resolution to a once-major character that the main strip had abruptly dropped without mention.