Prog 2139 Sympathy for the Devil (Aneke cover)

[Frank]

Indigo Prime ... Best bit was the Nerve Centre summary, comedy gold.

Did make me guffaw too.

It only makes sense as a piss-take, especially since the most important information is already recapped alongside the other synopses on the same page. I did a BIG TEXT summary at the start of the previous series - all that needs adding is the information that Arcana was pulling a sting^*

Indigo Prime is always a really simple story; it was the way Smith festooned that framework with entertaining characters, wild concepts, and opening ceremony firework displays of language that endeared the man and his work to fans.


* Technically, the arch-villain whose appearance has been trailed for years finally showed up and Revere was brought into the story, but it turned out neither of those things made any difference to the story at all.

[Frank]

THISTLEBONE CREATOR COMMENTARY (edited highlights)


TE: The inspiration for Thistlebone’s look came from a deer bone mask found at Star Carr in Yorkshire. Although we’re a bit further North in “Thistlebone,” it seemed like a perfect fit. The deer bone masks have an unnerving aspect to them.

The rest of Thistlebone’s outfit is roughly based on shamanistic clothing. Even if the gods are not real, the people believing in them are, and that can have consequences.

SD: Thistlebone’s size is maybe exaggerated or maybe not. The essence of folk horror is not necessarily an actual manifestation of something malevolent. It often is a human construct of fear that is contrived to exert control over others.

So at this stage, I wanted the reader to maybe question “did this really happen?” Avril is the epitome of an unreliable narrator.

Page 5 was full on Wicker Man homage and I wanted to have the masks realistic, as if the characters really were these animals. Almost like that Beatrix Potter ballet from the 1971 film that really freaked me out. Because this part of the story is Avril recounting it, there was a latitude with the scale of the forest spectres, as she was a child and maybe drugged, so she could be exaggerating or even lying.

So whether or not what she is recounting is true or not gave me freedom to ignore any continuity with what follows in the rest of the story.

TE: Having events filtered through a single character’s recollections allowed us to play around with what was seen and heard, especially since the original experiences were already distorted due to her compromised mental state.

Before we began “Thistlebone,” we talked about various things we wanted in it thematically and visually. Simon had this vision of giant animals in woodland that he wanted to include. This was such a great image I worked this into the script from the beginning. As it turned out, having the totemic animals of stag, fox and hare was the perfect way to refine the story as a sort of shorthand for the major characters.

For the speaking-in-tongues by the cult members I used a Burroughs style cut up technique, chopping up words from famous phrases into smaller sections to create a convincing glossolalia. Some of the source material for this was lines cadged from famous folk horror films, then boiled down into babble.

TE: A few weeks back I went to Simon’s birthday party and was introduced to the real Avril. I only realised Simon uses models for characters when I met the lady who had been posing as Avril. It was extremely disconcerting, like I was having some meta-breakdown where one of my characters had come to life and had stopped by for a pint and a chat.

SD: I use models for my comics for continuity purposes. The two main characters are friends of mine, Sofia and Vaishali, and it also adds to the fun, getting them to act out the scenes. It was funny to see Tom meet Avril/Sophia and disappear into a warm hole (sic) of his own making!

[sheridan]

But what’s this in Damage Report, Windows for droids... what ever next?

Windows for droids - that's just asking for BSoD!

[sheridan]

Indigo Prime returns with a re-cap that is one of the funniest things ever to read aloud. It also has a typo in the second line.

It does?  I've read and re-read that panel and can't figure out where the typo is?

[Richard]

There's a letter missing from "recruited."

[TordelBack]

Y'know, thinking about it over a re-read, stuff like this week's Thistlebone is what makes 2000AD for me.  I know I've said that I'm not sold on the story so far, and it's definitely overshadowed in those stakes by this week's Dredd, but the inventiveness and impact of the imagery just bowls me over.  It's that magic you get when a top-tier artist like SBD is so obviously completely engaged with what he's drawing, and you get the feeling of something truly unique being created that you absolutely would not get anywhere else in English-language comics. I'm thinking Firekind, Necronauts, The Dead , Necropolis or Shamballa here: perfect confluence of script and artist = alchemy.

I'm not saying I want every strip to do this, or even that there always has to be one like this, but when it does happen it's the 'why' of 2000AD.

[Robin Low]

Spoiler blocked in case someone's playing catch-up

Just gonna throw this in there, but I wasn't impressed by Rico in the Dredd story. She was running, but she wasn't a killer and the story could easily have been written so she was taken down with a leg shot. I don't think we've seen anything to suggest that Rico is that brutal. Sure, she has to go down bad to enable the shock ending, but another Judge could have used.


Just a tone thing, I guess.

Regards,

Robin

[JayzusB.Christ]

Spoiler blocked in case someone's playing catch-up

Just gonna throw this in there, but I wasn't impressed by Rico in the Dredd story. She was running, but she wasn't a killer and the story could easily have been written so she was taken down with a leg shot. I don't think we've seen anything to suggest that Rico is that brutal. Sure, she has to go down bad to enable the shock ending, but another Judge could have used.


Just a tone thing, I guess.

Regards,

Robin

I thought the same. Though Dredd has done similar things in the past - 'So my aim was off.'

[Robin Low]

I thought the same. Though Dredd has done similar things in the past - 'So my aim was off.'

Yeah, that's true enough. It never quite sits right with me though, even less so these days.

Regards,

Robin

[TordelBack]

It was a bit brutal, but he is a vlone of Dredd and Dredf's done plenty worse. I toughy it was lampshaded quite nice by Dredd's explanation of the Judges's SoP.  And at some point Rico has to get fed up searching for his ctitically injured and secretly abducted Pops.

[TordelBack]

Jovus but my fingers are extra fat today!

[Richard]

It had to be Rico, to explain why the psi mistook him for Dredd when she foresaw it. As for the brutality, the judges have always been bastards. Also, Rico was emotionally invested in the case, since it concerned the abduction of his nearest relative. I didn't have any problem with accepting how things turned out.

[Frank]

Reboot Rico has another 7 years on the mean streets before he turns into a whiney, emo, lib - like his dad.

[broodblik]

If you want happy endings then maybe Dredd is not the story for you.......

[Frank]

If you want happy endings then maybe Dredd is not the story for you.......

Robin gave John Wagner the idea for Origins, so he's probably fine with the concept of ambiguous endings: