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Messages - Barrington Boots

#1
Prog / Re: Prog 2374 - A World of His Making!
18 March, 2024, 02:42:23 PM
That cover is indeed totally awesome and does have very little to do with the story inside!

I found this a very quick read this week. News of more Rogue Trooper... yeah, reserving judgement on this one. The recent Goddard / Ennis tale was terrific and I'd be keen to read more from them, but otherwise its a big 'meh' from me: that story is done and has been diminishing returns for a long, long while.

Dredd - thought this was a pretty forgettable Dredd rehashing stories we've seen several times before. Not bad in any way, but very filler-y.

Indigo Prime - trippy installment that channels the weirdness of this series, but only really feels like it moves the story forward at the end. Great end to the episode though!

Full Tilt Boogie - slightish this week, but it's a middle of the story episode setting up next weeks episode, when a lot of the revalations from this week should presumably have more significance. 

Deadworld - feel like this is roundly back on track after losing its way a bit, and seems a good move to have the various factions at play join up: the fact that half the comments on this series show readers are confused are to whats going on highlights how the broader spread of the tale ended up showing us a sequence of events, whilst losing the actual story. Hopeful this comes back with a focus on what made it good initially: horror and not elseworlds or the Sidney version of Death.

Thistlebone - Very good again. It struck me today how this feels written for the weekly format, as opposed to, say, FTB which feels a lot more decompressed: almost every week on Thistlebone we've had a cliffhanger-esque ending which hints at something truly awful happening next week, only for the tension to relax a little before ramping up again. This time, things look a lot more serious however.
#2
Quote from: Fortnight on 17 March, 2024, 01:19:09 PMThere's no such thing as peak, er, impactful? music, only peak preference. And I don't think anyone actually has said that.

Yeah sorry, sent on my phone and typing gibberish with my stupid fat fingers!

I disagree with the points made here re.innovation and impact in music vs other art forms.
Could comment more when not on phone!
#3
With respect, if you guys think impqctdul music development and innovation peaked in tbe 60s and 70s you're listening to the wrong stuff.
#4
General / Re: Forthcoming Thrills - 2024
14 March, 2024, 09:57:56 AM
The Crime Genie is such an awesome name.
#5
My run of Saturday Progs has come to and end and this dropped yesterday. Nevertheless I really enjoyed this Prog.
Really great, moody cover. A touch of Akira on the red bike, or is that just me?

Dredd was indeed very slight but perfectly enjoyable, whether it leads to a recurring character or not. Was always going to be a bit of a 'death slot' following a depressing mega epic so this story was well placed to handle that.

Indigo Prime Good episode. I'm following this just fine - IP's never been one of my favourite strips but one thing I've always enjoyed about it is that it feels ever so slightly incomprehensible in the way events and things are referenced without explanation and that adds to the uniqueness of it. This was weird, violent and looks beautiful, digging it.
Agree about the Scanners reference though! Needled me too and not needed.

Filt Tilt Boogie Enjoyed this a lot more than last week. I also am not sure on the scene with the coin (blind luck or something else?) but appreciated the slightly comedic aspect of the assassin missing and getting beaten up. I've enjoyed this so far - and it feels like this is a perfect all ages strip, especially with its bright, manga-influenced art which is likely to appeal to more younger readers than put off older ones based on what I know. My only complaint is how decompressed the storytelling has been so far.

Deadworld feels a lot tighter since we shifted back to Jess & co and away from the Sovs and Skeletor Sidney. This is grotesque and exciting stuff, especially as I'm more invested in these characters and we don't know who the protagonist is (Jess? Fairfax? Whatever Byke is?) so anyone or indeed everyone could die here - although I suspect Fairfax won't, from what Jess said. 

Thistlebone Cool as ever, although I was hoping for more happening after the tree page last week. Atmosphere building and building to something dreadful.

As to the Regened debate... NGL, I'm happy it appears to be done but I don't want the Prog to bleed readers without bringing in more until it fades away. As when it launched I just have to trust Rebellion who should know more about marketing strategy than anything anecdotal I might have. The format - having the issues so spread out - definitely had me thinking it was more of a try out for strips with a view to moving them into the Prog and then getting a collected edition out of them meaning the best stuff consistently vanished from its pages to be replaced with stuff that often felt filler-y, especially in the latter issues, and fwiw I found the content of a lot of the stuff weirdly pitched: seemingly unsuitable for younger readers in many ways whilst being unengaging for an older reader. I was very surprised that more established or veteran creators in the kids comic field weren't used.
At the end of the day I hope it did some good!
#6
Film & TV / Re: Nostalgia TV
11 March, 2024, 05:23:26 PM
One king. Wan-King!
I think they got in more hot water for the apostles sketches than the sneaky swearing. I'm sure one of the most complained about things they did was the sketch where someone slaps Jesus (although that might have been on Fist of Fun).

My wife, who didn't see it at the time, hates it: she doesn't like the fact that by the time you're a few episodes in, half the jokes rely on repetition of earlier jokes. This is one of my favourite things about it.
#7
Film & TV / Re: Nostalgia TV
11 March, 2024, 02:53:01 PM
Huge fan of this as well. It's amazing what they got away with on daytime TV. Used to watch this every week with my gf and some mates and I remember when 'Rod Hull' dropped his pesky meddling twats line we were all shocked and delighted.

Some of it has definitely dated and I don't know if it's the nostalgia but some of it is still amazingly funny. I still make Histors Eye jokes to this very day. And cress.

#8
Unpopular opinion I know, but I found Brass Sun to be something so unengaging I would read it each week but then have the contents of each episode slip from my mind like water. I literally can't remember seeing any of those pages before.

I keep thinking about going back to the progs for focused a re-read of the whole thing. It's so highly rated by so many that I must be missing out.
#9
Prog / Re: Prog 2372 - Escape Pod!
08 March, 2024, 10:02:54 AM
This is a really good discussion!

I really wanted some change coming out of this story and what we got was the jackboot - it left me feeling quite down, but reading all this has cheered me a lot.
The ending is bleak, but there's still the possibility of some hope. That's tempered by the fact that we didn't really see too much change after stuff like DoC and the IP is presumably too valuable to mess with too much. But 2000ad has never been a publication to shy away from risks with its tales.
What's very interesting about this time around is that I feel Dredd is not part of the solution but part of the problem. His inaction in tackling the larger issues, time and time again, whilst slinging his judgement at those who do is grating.
I don't know how much of this is shaped by being seen through the lense of a longtime reader though. It'd be interesting to get a new readers perspective on all of this.

It's the hope that gets you, I suppose.
#10
Those who are better versed, whats the 'peak' point for Asterix? As a kid I found the series less fun around the time of Asterix in Belgium, possibly because I didn't get a lot of the jokes. I later recovered the books from my parents loft and I think that one reads a lot better but Black Gold / Asterix and Son were both weaker and that's when my experience finishes. Worth reading any after that?
#11
Prog / Re: Prog 2372 - Escape Pod!
04 March, 2024, 04:53:03 PM
Can't agree more on Dredd. Mrs. Boots read the Prog yesterday and said something along the lines of why doesn't Dredd become Chief Judge then, and if there isn't a good reason, why does he keep moaning about Hershey, the council etc?
There's no satisfactory answer to that I think, beyond 'it's the story setup'.
#12
Asterix rules. Three great jokes just in those two panels.

I was a big fan as a kid but it wasn't until I reread a bunch as an adult I appreciated how much clever wordplay and literature jokes they contain. You can really enjoy them on multiple levels.
#13
General / Re: 2000AD Original Art Thread
04 March, 2024, 04:07:18 PM
Necroposting here but finally got my hands on a Carlos original!



An 80s Ezquerra Stront page is my holy grail: now that I've finally got the money together for one, the prices have gone up and up to the point where whenever I see one that's not absolutely perfect, I end up dithering and don't buy it. This was a lot more affordable and may be as close as I get. This would look grand on my wall although full bleed and the lettering on laminate, so it'll be a devil to frame.

(oh and if you've got a Carlos Stront page and want to sell it, drop me a line!)
#14
Games / Re: Gamebooks
04 March, 2024, 02:25:51 PM
I've finished book 4 now as well. Again, playing online has felt like the less than ideal way to enjoy the book but it did mean I didn't have to track down an expensive copy of it!

Anyway, not many spoilers, but its a good one and far better than book 3: Grey Star and Tanith return to the material plane to discover seven years have passed. Shasarak has both his Shadakine horde and an army of demons at his disposal. I quickly reunite with Samu, who is now king of his tribe and fighting a valiant resistance against the demons, then lead them to link up with the rebellion, led by Sado for some epic battles. Eventually finding a very novel way to counter the power of the Wytch's Kazim stones, Sado, Samu and I lead the rebellion to the gates of Shasarak's fortress where I teleport in for a final battle with the villain.
It's a lot of fun, although the final battle is INSANE in its difficulty. The Moonstone from book 3 gives Grey Star a huge power boost with a number of new magical powers and a vast increase in willpower meaning you can throw magic around like confetti which is a lot of fun!
Tanith is a bit sidelined, although its possible I missed a bit of her plot, only appearing at the start and then popping up at the end for a happy ending. Lots of Samu though. The battles are fun - less detailed than Way of the Tiger as you rarely take the field yourself although I had a good bit fighting some chariots.

Definitely recommend these, and given you can play them all free online, why not.
#15
Prog / Re: Prog 2372 - Escape Pod!
04 March, 2024, 11:30:59 AM
Dredd What to say about this one? It wraps up one of the strongest and most impactful Dredds for a while - between this and Poison we've had a couple of real good ones lately - although after last week it all felt slightly anticlimatic. The board is set for the next series of plots with Hernandez, Glenn, Logan and this reporter dude all set up for more, plus potentially Domo as well (would have preferred him killed here, as he doesn't add much).
Moodwise, it's all the more depressing for the real world analogies, which gives it more impact but sure doesn't make for a cheery read!
I remember first reading Dredd as a teenager in the late 80s and finding a lot of stories ran with downbeat endings that I found powerful for being a real downer and I got that feeling again here. It all feels a bit hopeless doesn't it? Hernandez and Glenn will get theirs at some point but nothings going to get better.
Brilliant final page.

I was a little muddled by Indigo Prime this week but only because I'd completey forgotten who some of these characters are. That aside this was perfectly fine. I have to say I'm not a fan of Kek's style of writing where he sets up a cliffhanger and then jumps elsewhere, only to later return and resolve that cliffhanger when you've got invested in a different plot. This happens a lot on Deadworld, and it happened here (I wanted to see what happened next with Bateman)

Thistlebone amazing again. There seems to one 'omg' page almost every week from this and that page with the tree is magnificent. I agree that this is, for me, the strongest series of Thistlebone so far.

Deadworld I actually feel this episode was getting back on track. I want the story to focus on these characters. Nails all the creepy / grotesque beats, stick with it please!

Full Tilt Boogie Have to admit I found this one a bit hard to follow storytelling-wise and I'm not really sure what happened. It did seem like a claustrophobic, chaotic rush and perhaps that was the idea - Tee escapes and we don't really know how in a flash of crazy images?
I'm enjoying reading this but as someone said the other week, the pacing is starting to make it feel a bit lightweight.