Prog 1427: Shadow Of The Vampire

[shazhughes]

Cover: Doesn?t really do anything for me.

Dredd: D?Israeli continues to give us some wonderful visuals but his depiction of Dredd feels like its lacking something but his views of the city are wonderful.

SCB: This one?s a slow burner and I?m really beginning to enjoy it.

TSDM: Story, Art and Colours have yet to make me want to read more but its early days and may be better read in one sitting.

Low Life: This one has lost my interest and never really had it to start with. Visuals are ok, but I still miss Henry Flint and Dirty Frank just doesn?t cut the mustard. I want Low Life to be grim & gritty, if I want humour and Mega City One I?ll read stories by John Wagner, Alan Grant & even Gordon Rennie.

Dante: At least the Prog ends on a story that has me interested.

For me the Prog starts well but has a real dip in the middle before rising at the end before I put it in the bookrack in the loo waiting to read it again when I?m in the bath tonight.

[DavidXBrunt]

Cover - It's...okay. Robinson makes the effort to make Nosferatu look like the D'israeli version.

D'redd - Enjoyed this. The return of Innocenti really piqued my interest.

2nd - I'm getting into this series. The comparativley long run really helps.

Moon - So this is a Dreddworld tale? Okay. Strangely dissapointed by that, it limits the possible outcomes.

Low - Very funny. Unusual cliffhanger,

Dante - And so it ends. Some intriguing character stuff that hints that Dante is being...extremely naughty.

Letters - Linton Porteus? Pah!

[The Amstor Computer]

Best thing in the prog? Easy:

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[,Mr. Nice]

Set 13 years hence from standard Dreddverse (which is always +122 years), not that Rennie or whoever will really care when the timelines intersect in 13 years ;).

[opaque]

Cover: Looks like the dredd has been pasted on. Good for the uniform but a bit of a grimace

Dredd: Very nice, but Nosferatu still not scary enough for me in the context of the story.

Second City Blues: Part 9? Really? So I'm guessing this isn't going to be a story that'll be coming back?

Tiger Soon Dragon Moon: Interesting, be interesting to see where it's going but would maybe be better to have it set in a obvious alternate Dredd universe (like Red Razors seemed to be)

Low Life: Very good once again. For BW artwork theres a lot of body in it, must be the use of greys.

Dante: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
What an utter waste of 60 pages of 2000ad.

[Eck]

TSDM got alot better in my eyes.

[Martin Jameson]

Very, very good prog.

Enjoyed this a lot. Dredd is great. SCB is okay - maybe I have been a bit harsh on this - not saying it's great but it guess it's veered off into a different path than I thought it would so credit for that. TSDM looks very good to me - a highlight of the week - looking forward to more of this. Lowlife good. Dante ok'ish - weakest story this week though.

So, all in all - some excellent, some good and some ok - put it in a pot, mix it up and it pops out 30 min later looking very, very nice!

[wrighty47]

Cover: S'alright!

Dredd: I'm liking this. Nice to see a certain Justice Dept get in on the act!  ;)

2nd City Blues: Not as great as last weeks ep but still enjoyable. Been a pleasant surprise after an unsure beginning.

TSDM: Excellent imho. A thoroughly enjoyable mix of Asian cinema and the Dredd Universe (i'm a fan of both). A good, action packed blowout!

Low Life: Nowhere near as good as the 1st outing for this strip but still okay. Not sure I like the digs at metal fans. We're not all Neanderthal's you know.

Dante: S'alrighth. Dante by numbers for me. Not bad, not great. Just is! Dante needs a shake up for me. Hopefully the last page hints at that.

Letetrs: Well the type is readable so there's an improvement. Pretty much disagree with both letters tho. Oh well, it's each to their own!  :)

Prog: Another good, solid prog let down by a predictable final strip.

Alan!

[thrillpowerseeker]

Cover--below average for Cliff

Dredd--Average..nosferatu is the worst Dredd villain for years..even worse than crystal skull

2CB--this has picked up a lot and now looks like its finishing ..like to see this back..soon

TSDM--This is EXCELLENT..Parkhouse has been on a roll lately (Milkman.Angelfire and add this!)

Low life--this is very good also..minor quibble tho..perhaps DF works better when dealing with the scuzzier side of life(organ leggers/sugar dealers etc) rather than the glamourous r&r business

Dante--this storyline has been just about ok..seems like a set up story line to me..the next arc should see Dante off his old bid and take over the pirate caper

TPS

[Rob1971]

'Not sure I like the digs at metal fans. We're not all Neanderthal's you know. '

A character voicing an opinion doesn't mean the writer shares it. David Larry was written as a cantankerous, miserable git who'd rather be anywhere than at the Geddy Lee ampitheatre reporting on music he obviously loathes.

I'd never have based the current Low life story around metal bands, and included a fair number of references, if I was just being dismissive.

Rob

[Trout]

Who is that with the four arms? I think we deserve to know, so we can deride him! :-)

Another good prog, with strong Dredd (Hooray for Psi Div! Finally!).

SCB is picking up, I think, Sun Moon is becoming more interesting and Low Life is still lots of fun.

However, I'm sad to say I was kind of disappointed with the cliche-ridden Dante. Hopefully it will be better next week.

Finally, I'm just up the road from Linton Porteous. Maybe I should go round and break his windows! :-)

There. Now this is a scary place!

- Trout

[Tiplodocus]

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A So so PROG I thought.  I didn't like the cover but I do applaud the idea of showing weird and wonderful things on the front. Nosferatu pretty much fits into this camp.

The actual Dredd story itself seems to be a bit unfocused - it started off looking as if it was going to be a case of Dredd chasing the beastie through one terror filled night but now days seem to have passed.

Dante no longer works for me.  I've found it hard to empathise with any of the characters so even a page long drawn out death sequence full of meaningful stares leaves me cold.  I really don't thing the art, or this sort of "Look after your Mum" triteness fits the b-movie monster plot. And whooh! How hard was Kraken to kill? Pour on a bucket of crude and light blue touchpaper. Pah!

Second City Blues seems to be shifting up a gear as well. I'm pretty sure I don't like it but again, I applaud the attempt to try something different.  There's a whole chunk of disbelief that I'm not willing to suspend for this strip though. Wouldn't a pro team have more than five kids in it? Who are the reserves?  It's a little niggle that stops me enjoying this particular bit of boys/girls/horses own adventure. Art still to thin and watery for my liking.

LOW LIFE, on the other hand, has some very well fed art. Robust stuff from Mister Coleby.  It's a slight but enjoyable tale with some good gags thrown in (I liked the "Oh, good" line in response to the voice chip being blocked.)

Highlight of the prog for me though was Tiger Sun, Dragon Moon.  I'm still confused as to the Judge world setting but I'm glad we seem to have introduced the main protaganists. Some nice action and lovely art and storytelling. Look how in control of their actions the characters are - contrast this with the dancing rag dolls of the Dante art.

I know Burns says he likes to have people looking disjointed and out of sorts in action sequences but it always makes me think they don't belong in the fight - but heroes do belong in fights and that's why I like Lt Konda posing in his armour. (I also like the way that the chick doesn't bother with armour).

The colouring style looks simple compared to the painted excesses of some strips but I like it - bold and brassy - explosions should be bright red and orange and yellow!

LETTERS
I'm not going to get into the playground debate above "My method of discussing The Galaxy's Greatest Comic is better than yours" but I feel we need to help out poor old Linton Porteus.

I know it looks like he's making gross generalisations based on a few postings but I think it's probably more of a case of him not keeping up to date with netspeak.

Doesn't he know that when people describe Slaine as SHITE they are simply being economical with their words. It's a common net acronym standing for:
Slow moving
Horrible anachronistic dialogue
Irritatingly preachy
Takes too long to get anywhere
Endless diatribes

I trust this clears matters up.


Phew - that was a long one.

[Trout]

Er, no. I think Slaine is shite because it's like a big jobby.

With more jobby on top.

I dislike it intensely because I don't find the story entertaining and feel that very little of value ever happens in it.

In my personal opinion, Slaine, which used to be great, is now dull and repetitive, with dialogue which makes the characters - already pretty disposable and forgettable - impossible to believe in or relate to.

The mystical pagan elements just aren't my bag, and don't improve the readability of the strip. Again IMO.

With your acronym theory, I think you're overanalysing, Tips - just like all those uptight Slaine fans do with their favourite strip!

AGH! Tips is a Slaine fan!

Note for Slaine fans: I'm just kidding. I don't like it, but I respect your right to like it because I know it does have a following.

However, I also have a right to describe it as SHITE!

I'm very disappointed that Linton hasn't recognise that in his letter.

- Trout

[Tiplodocus]

Trout,  we should both send in our SH*TE theories as letters and see which one gets printed.

[Trout]

I'm not speaking to you.

You're some sort of Slaine fan.