Prog 2226 - Enter the Nunja

[Colin YNWA]

I mean have we got this story just so someone can do that pun Nunja - I love a puin but come on...

ANYWAY

Dredd is another masterclass dfrom Neimand with Tom Foster at the absolute top of his game acompanying on art. The scene is well and truly set. We have SJS crushing the will of ex-Titan cons and now on a collision course with Dredd. Fantastic I'm so bought into this already and completely on edge about how this might develop.

Thistlebone remains creepy and wonderful and creepy again.

Visions of Deadworld another horrific beaut.

3riller - Chorus and the Ring not sure about this. Just seems like a standard ubercapable figher getting a mission to so their kick ass stills. I means its all dressed up with fancy words from 90s Vertigo and lovely Mike Collins art but ... well lets see how it goes from here.

Feral and Foe is getting broader and broader in its comedy - I mean the 'man eater in the back of the Wagon' just feels a little too far. Still damned entertaining stuff and its always played for laughs so...

Overall decent Prog with some real highlights.

[broodblik]

Cover by Mike Collins:

[broodblik]

Cover and Logo:

[Leigh S]

It was a groan from me to have Dredd vs "evil SJS" once again... I mean, fair play to Niemand, I sense hee may have missed the grinding number of tales that have made this beyond a trope and if I forget all those other "corrupt Justice Dept Depts who think they are above the Law" this is well told.... so, I;ll try and put that ot one side and take it on its own merits.

Talk of battle sisters means I also have to put aside my only peripheral knowledge of WH40K, but even ith a cursory awareness of those sisters of Battle, cant help but feel this is another generic sci-fi outing ala Skip T.  Always good to see Mike Collins though, so again, let's see how this goes.

Feral and Foe is welcome - it's all a bit silly and meta, but looks great and is breezy enough.

Need to read Visions and need to reread the first Thistlebone before I start on this one

[Tjm86]

If I'm honest, this week's Thr3rller strikes me as one of those that I'm not likely to be overly impressed with.  Nothing about the opener inspires.  The same goes for Feral and Foe.  I'm sure that there is something clever and interesting going on but I'm blown if I can say what it is.

Deadworld is another of those one-offs that does pique interest though.  As an interlude until we get back to the main story these do open up that world bit by bit.  The same goes for Thistlebone.  A slow burner to be sure, it is peeling its way back bit by bit.

I would agree with Leigh on the old 'corrupt judges' trope but as he says, this one is well executed.  Foster's art is something else which helps.  The irony of corrupt judges standing in judgement over corrupt judges ... o, I get that there are a lot of elements that we've seen before but certainly as things stand there are a few fresh elements being added to the mix.

Overall I have to admit to feeling a bit undersold by this week's prog.  Not least with having to wait for the mangled postal delivery today.  How much of that is because my prog slog is taking in some corkers from the early 1800's though?

[broodblik]

This prog felt for me when you watch a show, and the show is mid-season. The plot is just lingering there waiting for something to happen. One of the weaker progs this year.

Dredd – After last weeks great opening this episode felt like a cliché. SJS is bad corrupt and above the law. Hopefully, the story will bring more to the party than the usual SJS storylines.  So, a bit disappointed in the story.

Thistlebone – Well this feel like one off those filler episodes the plot does not move back or forward. It is time to unleash the beast.

Deadworld – Another twisted dark tale. As always Kendall’s art is tailored made for the world of the Dark Judges. There is nothing wrong with these one shots but why not continue with the Deadworld series?

Chorus - A solid start to another 3riller series. The world does feel like a Warhammer world.  Great art from Mike Collins. Let us see where the story goes next

Feral & Foe – The highlight of the prog. Enjoyed the humour of the story. Good stuff all around.

[TordelBack]

Cover: great to see Mike Collins on the cover, but the kewl-mohawk-katana subject does nothing for me.
 
Dredd: Lots of nice Mandroidy interaction, glorious Foster art, but oh dear corrupt judges again? Hoping for a twist before we're done, and preferably one that isn't "Fargo/Sinfield/Hershey instituted the Welcome Wagon programme".

Deadworld: Re-skinned or not,  Mortisss is still the best DJ. Love the fate of the golden samurai. Kendall really sells rot and decaying meat.

3riller: Reserving judgement.

Feral & Foe: did I stumble into a secret Survival Geeks crossover? The farce and Whedon-speak went a little far this week. I appreciate that this is often a humorous strip, but where's the prevailing sense of dread and failure to give it an edge? Next week,  hopefully.

Thistlebone: I fear folk looking for horror action are going to be disappointed: this is the action. Which is to say, creeping tension, unsettling imagery and odd incidents is what this strip does, and it does it brilliantly. That Strachan's a wrong'un and no mistake. Saves a rather lacklustre prog for me.

[Barrington Boots]

Not the strongest prog for me either this week.

Dredd Tom Foster's art is fantastic but as others have said I could do without another story about evil judges going up against Dredd when Asher himself is a more interesting character. Hopefully there's more of a twist here than just Dredd fights the SJS.

Thistlebone Whilst I'm behind the slow build, in a weaker prog the unhurried pace is more obvious. After last weeks creepy end a bit of momentum lost, I think something needs to happen here.

Visions of Deadworld Not as good as last week, but grotesque as ever. I think I said last week that these little oneoff snapshots give us a cool bit of world building away from the main plot and I like that. Are we supposed to know who Mortis's mate was? This strip is true horror, long may it continue.

3riller Yeah... this looks really nice but it comes across as completely generic. Let's see where it leads. Doesn't feel Warhammer-y to me.

Feral and Foe Feels like it's getting sillier? Very lightweight this week but still very enjoyable, highlight of the prog for me but needs to be careful it doesn't become too meta imo - no references to armour class or anything.

[Colin YNWA]

Folks not liking the whole Dredd vs SJS angle in 'The Penitent Man' is interesting. I'm fine with it cos its established and so while others are finding it a cliche I seeing it as making sense in the world we know.

That said if I was going to hold up a flag of - oh no not this again - it would be on the whole system grinding down the citizen that's trying thing. It feels, as Tordelback points out - very Mandroid and so soon after 'The Fall of Barbarbara Grimm' (in particular) makes this feel well trodden to me instead.

That said as I mentioned in my review since I've been skillfully engaged with the character in question this time I don't mind as I'm invested in this story as a specific.

[Barrington Boots]

I think (at least for me) it's more that a story about a returning Titan inmate has all sorts of cool directions it can go and to have the focus be on corrupt judges again is a bit 'oh well'

Do we know how many parts this story is? There's been definite work crafting sympathy for Asher so I'm hopeful there's still time for there to be a good tale constructed around him.

[broodblik]

It is six episodes.

Here is an interview with Tom: https://2000ad.com/news/interview-tom-foster-on-judge-dredd-a-penitent-man/

[sintec]

It's a good prog but the Nunja doesn't quite manage to fill Nakka's shoes. Thistlebone also feels like it's stalling a little (one of those I'm sure this will read better collected episodes where not much really happens).

Feral and Foe was the star of the show for me - looking forwards to seeing how the team manage a fiight against a more serious foe. Visions coming in a close second - Kendall's art really sells the grim grotesque world this inhabits. Still making my mind up about this Dredd, I think it has plenty of potential interesting to see where it goes next.

[TordelBack]

Taking on board criticisms of the slow pace of Thistlebone, but I'm not personally finding it a flaw.

This week we had the results of Malcolm poisoning Not-Mick Aston, his acquisition of the deer mask and the implication that Strachan may not (just) be a paedophile but has been pulling Malcolm's strings. That's plenty for me. 

It's a gradual build-up to be sure, but it's the build-up itself that's the point of the strip. Thistlebone, insofar as it exists, isn't going to emerge from the woods as a 30ft tall bone-golem and do battle with the USMC, at any point: this is a tale of odd people people touching and perpetuating weird and ancient traditions that may have an independent eye-gouging reality. 

It's Summer Magic if Uncle Elias had actually just gone nuts after reading Alfred Watkins.

[broodblik]

The slow pace of Thislebone is not a flaw at all it is part of how the story progresses. This week felt just at first that nothing happened but on the second re-read I can actually see that more is going on.

[TordelBack]

Yup!

More Thurday re-read musings: I'm intrigued by the gold bullet thing in Deadworld. We've never seen this before, have we?

 My thought is that Mortissss can't affect/is affected by gold because it doesn't rust (or oxidise) or otherwise react to most things in a terrestrial environment, due to its funky electron shell arrangement: in other words, there's no way for Mortis to rot it, as the alt.SinoCity judges say.  A gold slug in the ol' sheep's head disrupts the flow of whatever forces of corruption keep Mortis going.