Prog 1354 - I'm not embarressed

[WoD]

Cause it's another goody.

WoD.

[Slippery PD]

Heh

Cover - Simon Davies cover of Bec.  But its missing something.  Love the thought balloon

Dredd - Theyve upped the ante all of a sudden.  From a slow investigation to a capture.  I still cant belive that Dredd would fall for it.  But Heck Im willing to go for it.

Bec & Kawl -  Its funny in places, but Si does a Si and pulls a deus ex machina off panel.  Apart from that Quibble a  few mroe Bec & Kawls would go down prett well.

Leviathan - Love the art.  The stories good and the visit down below gives teh story a seedy sinister edge.  Great stuff

Slaine - Its has a rather ominous tone.  But the capture by the Formorians is a little contrived.  Its rolling along nicely, but after this story maybe that should be it for Slaine.

Stont - Fecking great.  Mystic underpants indeed.  A real laugh out loud moment and a cracking read.

Ive probably been a little negative (Ill blame it on my hangover) but it is a good prog

Yer Slips    

 

[Tex Hex]

first thoughts....

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dredd: Hits a little below recent form but only because all the good investigating stuff goes tits up and he (spoilers!) gets caught by mad monks. Groan...

B&W: A good end for the bestest B&W story so far. Anti-french jokes and gratuitus nudity! OK OK no nudity.

Leviathan: After some eerie information from the ships captain, David Jason embarks on a journey to the engine rooms but first must navigate steerage!  Magnificent! Leviathan strides forward and lifts the summer assault annual trophy! Hurrah!

Slaine: I had issues this week. The (spoiler) sky chariots that dissapeared returning as ghost ships now and then? Wernt they just defeated, like, last week or something!? And Slaine finaly gets round to telling everyone that he malkyed Moloch. The tribe are in shock and awe at this news so why didnt slaine just say so weeks ago? Did no-one bother to ask him how his suicidal mission to avenge Niamh went? And what is the frigging connection with the Fomors, the sea demons, Balor, the golamh thingys and these buggering albino sods! Someone answer please!

SD: Skimmed through it. Some Gnobian history and the true motive of the righteous brothers. Read more later.

Dosnt let the recent run down but isnt the best of recent times :o)
Hex.

[paulvonscott]

I enjoyed the prog (except the Bek and Kawl aspects) this week a lot.

Leviathan has been a *great* read so far and doesn't need this character nicking business, nor does it make sense.  Why put late 20th Century TV icons into an early 20th Century ship?  I'd rather this story was just about an incredible ship, adrift in fantastic circumstances with a insidious murder mystery at it's heart, than a parody of late 20th century TV.  I don't honestly understand why it's been done, can someone please explain?  

I now have to actively try and put David Fucking Jason out of my mind every time I read it now.  Because it just spoils it for me, hearing his voice.  The appearence of Yosser Hughs again just spoilt the moment.  It'll probably all be solved by Scooby Doo and Snowy at the end.

Anyway, all that detracted from a great story for me, making Strontium Dog the thrill of the week.  Slaine and Dredd were both fine.

[Tiplodocus]

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I'm with PVS on the jarring insertion of characters into LEVIATHAN - unless there turns out to be some bizarre reason for it (and the only one I could think of would entirely ruin the plot). That aside, it continues to engage me in many ways - I even liked the hooker saying "Rub y'tummy, guv'nor" as it's something I've been using for years - DAMN! maybe that's a pilfered TV quote as well.

DREDD set me thinking that we might be in Wicker Man territory again. (Spoilers) Is DREDD actually a virgin? Has he had a shag?  Does he ever use his, ahem, nightstick or is there a very good reason he doesn't have prostate cancer.  

I wasn#t entirely convinced by DREDD walking into the  trap either but I di think the reasoning sort of worked (especially a lot better than a poorer writer who might have just had DREDD being to dumb to know he was in danger in a "Bring it on" style).

Slaine - getting a bit yawnsome and talking heads, And I'm beginniong to doubt that the style of art is suitable for a long strip.  So was she hoping for a necklace of pearl when she went diving for sunken treasures?

Strontium Dog - Gnob gags, sacred underpants and Carlos Ezqueurra art - could the world be any finer?

Bek And Kawl - I'm so glad that some of you like it. I'd hate to think that all 26000 of us were pulling our hair out when we come across this.

[JamieB]

"Does he ever use his, ahem, nightstick"

I don't know if this has ever been addressed, actually - not the issue of Dredd's, er, "nightstick" per se, but how Judges - who, after all, are forbidden 'unjudicial liaisons' *do* er, "relax". Maybe something in the sleep machines for mandatory 8?

J-Bo-1

[Tiplodocus]

Exactly!  15 minutes in a sleep machine would barely be enough for me to have contrived a reason for Juliette Binoche and Kelly Brook to have popped round to my house to help wash my motorcycle...

[paulvonscott]

I wrote up some ideas on a Dredd spin-off where they used Bro-plus tablets (synthi Bromide, Bromide being what Victorian Housewives poisoned their husbands with to avoid sex, or is it bromine, anyway, you get my drift...) in their synthi-synthi-caff to keep such desires at bay.

This would be available to judges on request.  Although it isn't unfeasable that judges could be doped without their knowledge.

Anyway, it was a jokey one line gag in something that hasn't yet made it to light yet, but basically I imagine it's willpower, finding somw non-partner based form of relief, or a good dose of Bro-Plus.

As the Sector House story shows however, human nature usually finds a way...

[Slippery PD]

Heh maybe they are Eunuchs or maybe they have some sorta treatment that stops them feeling desire.  Like birth control implants :)

Yer Slips

[Dudley]

If they can get a whole night's sleep in one 15-minute burst every 48 hours, surely they could fit in a programme for a quick [censored]?  in fact, given the future technology, they could [censored] 2 or 3 times, maybe with a special [censored]-like suction cup to collect the [censored].  Or, in the case of female judges, maybe a [censored] with various possible [censored]s?
Holo programmes could convincingly allow them a fanstasy environment, where they can [censored] any numbers of [censored] [censored]s.  Joe Dredd [censored] a [censored], with Hershey [censored] his [censored]!!!  You know it makes sense!

[paulvonscott]

I don't think we should dwell on this subject :)

Incidentally in a Bolland drawn pic for the boardgame, Dredd has nowt :)

[The Amstor Computer]

"Leviathan has been a *great* read so far and doesn't need this character nicking business, nor does it make sense. Why put late 20th Century TV icons into an early 20th Century ship? I'd rather this story was just about an incredible ship, adrift in fantastic circumstances with a insidious murder mystery at it's heart, than a parody of late 20th century TV. I don't honestly understand why it's been done, can someone please explain?"

I have no idea, but it's beginning to grate. I had the same problem with Scarlet Traces - a single cameo is amusing, but at the moment it just makes the strip feel like a poor man's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Why the out-of-place characters? Couldn't be bothered to do research and drop in some appropriate figures? Going for some "ironic" humour? Taking the cheap route for character-building (looks-like-Frost = The Grumpy But Noble Detective)?

I'm buggered if I know, but it's a blemish on what is otherwise a fine strip.

[Leigh S]

To be fair, what have we had so far? The Good Life and Yosser?  Some obscure characters from books that I've nevr read?  The David Jason thing is just coincidence to my eyes - actually, its stretching it a bit to see a resemblance.

[Tex Hex]

Ill be honest, Ive not even noticed one nicked name so far. And Ill thank you not to tell me who they are. I said David Jason earlier just because I saw similarities. Ho hum.

[ukdane]

VC's Book III...
Anthony Williams on art...
Why Tharg, Why?