1398 - Dead Reckoning.

[DavidXBrunt]

Well, working the late shift has come in handy for that 'starttheweekwithathrillpowerboost' type thang. Nice.

Cover - It's getting to be that Clint Langley is the goto guy for horror covers. He turns in a respectable job here, but Finny and Ray are too shadowed for my liking.

Dredd - Wow. A great episode of a great story from a great writer and a great artist. Great.

Sinister Dexter - Plot takes an interesting turn this week with the revelation of Croaks ghost. Is this an apparition, a set-up from someone who knows their connection with him, or is this the alternate dimension Croak come back to take revenge? If it's the latter than means Holy Moses and the younger Sin/Dex might be lurking somewhere...

Tyranny Rex - Getting to be a minor highlight of the prog. If the tale concludes satisfactarily I'll be glad to say this is a sucessful relaunch. Special praise to Len O'Grady for colouring. You know there's a basic quality level that a strip by Smith and Yeowell can't fall below but O'Grady has really boosted the look of the strip.

Future Shock - Hmmm. I wonder if the name of the Diggle will boost sales in the states for this prog? Kev Walker's atmospheric art combines to make this a better than average F.S., even if it's not that shocking.

Low Life - manages to be simultaneously funny and intriguing. The cliffhanger puts Aimee in a tough situation and made me laugh out loud. If Terror weren't running this would be the best thing in the prog.

Droidlife made me smile, the lettercol is alwas welcome and the 2k books advert was appreciated. I know what I'm looking for now.

Shurely Shome Mishtake? A prog this strong shouldn't be at the end of a run, should it?

[Slippery PD]

Yeah good Prog

Cover - Is nice in that Langley Ghost way and I like his Sin and Dex, in fact his Sin Dex is a good depiction

Dredd - Best thing in the prog by man country miles, shock in the episode is class and a little unexpected.  Wagner is on top form with this.

SinDex - Ok, Like the art.  Dont like Sin Dex though the introduction of Croak is interesting

Tyrany - I want to like this.  But I find Smiths language difficult and the opening episodes have put me off somewhat.  But it picks up and is much better.

Future Shock - Well Diggle delivers an old style future shock with a SHOCK at the end.  OK its predictable, but its a reasonable twist

Lowlife - Funny, good story and I actually feel that the heroine is in peril.  I really like this and if Dredd wasnt so brilliant.  It would be the best thing in the prog..

A letter from Floyd and a good Droid Life.  Good prog all round.

Slips

[Bad Andy]

My turn -

Cover - very nice. Would be happy with this on my office wall. Even a little dig at Lucas which I like.

Dredd - Beautifully drawn and written, even if the deaths are bit Dillon-esque. It could end in this episode at it would be brilliant, but wait...there's more to come!

S&D - Not too sure about this story. Yet to be impressed by the artwork and the story seems uninspired. Can't wait to have my opinion changed though...

...which leads me nicely to Tryanny Rex. I always knew this would be good. Honestly. Yeowell can do no wrong in my opinion and the storyline is finally moving.

Future Shock - dark, dark, dark. But that's how we like our FSs. Dark and in bitesize chunks.

Lowlife - Like Aimee's orientation of her new body. Writing a bit clumsy at points - too much exposition and knowledge from teh Holly character. What's the odds on her being a bad gal.

Agree with the above sentiments. Considering its a winding down excercise the stories are hgh quality.

[Oddboy]

Brilliant prog.

Cover is a bit dark, though, but good picture.

Droidlife - supoib!

Dredd - Sheesh-o-rama! Brilliant as it can get.

Sinister Dexter - top fun entertainment.

Tyranny - Don't think the story is up to much, but the action rocks and I can't fault Steve Yeowell (No, really. I cannot fault Yeowell, ever.)

Input - Funkin' lashback against Pat's language, a Floyd, and "EVERY LETTER PRINTED WINS A ZARJAZ 2000AD HEROCLIX FIGURE".

Future Shocks - really enjoyed this one, great to have Kev back in the prog too.  I didn't see the twist coming at all, well impressed with this one. Does this mean Andy D & Jock are free from their exclusive DC contracts now?

Low Life - great episode, really building on the previous Low Life tale (although Nixon saying "It'd be worth life on Titan to off that sonofabitch..." isn't exactly helping her 'undercover' status - where's a thought-bubble when you need one?

Odders.

[test 4 echo]

great prog, but dont rate the cover at all. To similar to at least 2 other covers Clint has done recently(ish).

[Mr C]

Cover-langley really is good on horror covers. Will we be getting more strips from him other than Slaine?

Droidlife-Hope this stays with the prog for a long time.

Dredd- Hot damn, I really, really don't want to spoil this, but... oh hell, just go read it!

Sin/Dex- good lord! Continuity! The addition of the rookie has been a turnaround for this. I liked the whole Moses/Demi/History thing. Gives the characters a sense of place, rather than just being a cartoonish gangster strip.

Tyranny Rex- Good action, love her ice gun. Fantastic vista as well there by Steve Y. Smith is keeping his powers of garble from overrunning, so it's a thumbs up from me.

Input-Go Floyd-san!

Future Shock- Viscious twist. Kev is starting to become drastically Mignola like. Not that I'm complaining.

Lowlife- I'll agree with what's been said before, this would be the highlight of the prog if it weren't for Dredd.

Back Cover- "What if the screen was no longer a barrier? If horror wasn't something you watched, but somewhere you went?" Funny advert for Dreddcon.

[VampiraJen]

there's a new free gift for the letter page!!!!  everyone get writing!!!!  lets see how long it takes for floyd to collect the full set

[madgirl]

Havn't had a chance to read it yet. Not allowed to till hubby's read it. Judging from the noises coming from his corner it's a stonker!

[Max Kon]

noises? he must have found the beach babe page, don't be supprised if he's taken it out befor u get your hands on it

[The Amstor Computer]

"Does this mean Andy D & Jock are free from their exclusive DC contracts now?"

I suspect this FS is one that has been hanging around the Nerve Centre for a while, pre-dating the exclusivity deal. Gorgeous art aside, I'm not particularly impressed with it - it's solidly written, but dull, I'm pretty sure I've seen a similar story before, and the twist doesn't work very well.

[madgirl]

"noises? he must have found the beach babe page, don't be supprised if he's taken it out befor u get your hands on it"

Yep their gone! Damn I was loking forward to seeing that!

[Trout]

I say boldly:

Cover: creepy and powerful, if a bit familiar;

Droid Life: hilarious, as ever;

Dredd: shocking and gripping - with an unexpected death and a real manhunt going on, this one's accelerating well;

SinDex: intriguing, because for once I'm really enjoying it and I'm trying not to guess the end;

T-Rex: engaging and beautifully drawn, with plenty of SF gubbins;

Future Shock: genuinely surprising and a bit horrible - perhaps the best Future Shock, IMO, for months;

Low Life: All sorts of fun, with splendid art.

2000AD: It's ALL good stuff!

- Trout

[Smiley]

Cover's a bit dodgy with those sharp outlines and blurred details / textures. Makes it look like a screen shot from a game.

Colin MacNeil's always had a thing about wanting to make readers flinch at the violence but in the past it's been Peckinpah style overkill, so this is a pretty nasty Dredd episode by comparison. The story is still as perfectly paced as you'd expect and there's characters you really want to care about (even though we knew from the outset their cards were marked.)

The FS was by-the-numbers but effective (unlike the last fortnight's mess) but apart from Dredd this is really the prog on autopilot. Roll on 1400.

[Endjinn]

With my copy of Photoshop on the blink, I've had to resort to a 2-minute job on Paint to show how the DC deal has infiltrated the prog:

[Endjinn]

Funking picture-hosting.

Link: http://img21.photobucket.com/albums/v62/Endjinn/joker2000ad.jpg" target="_blank">The Joker in the Big Meg.