Topics

1

General / Five years since returning to the prog

« on: 02 February, 2022, 03:34:12 PM »

Well... five years and a day, to be precise, since I took the plunge and returned to the 2000 AD fold after 27 years by purchasing prog 2016 from the campus branch of WHSmith's. What a line-up! Still one of my favourites.

Er, that's all I wanted to say really. Five years!

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General / Tharg's 2021 in Review - Best 2000 AD strips (non-Dredd)

« on: 27 December, 2021, 03:10:48 PM »

Okay, here we go with the annual procession to victory by a huge margin by Dan Abnett's latest strip non-Dredd (and Cadet Dredd) 2000 AD strip of the year thread.

Please rank your favourite three 2000 AD strips from 2021, choosing from the list below. Your top choice will be awarded three points, your second choice two points and your third choice one point.

I've compiled the list from the prog breakdowns on the 2000 AD shop pages - please let me know if I've missed anything. According to my calculations there are 32 strips in the running this year, their numbers bolstered by Regened newcomers. Actually I was wondering if it might be worth running a separate poll for the Regened stories, so they get a chance against each other on a level playing field, so to speak? Feel free to start a voting thread if you agree!

I've grouped Future Shocks, Terror Tales and any other variation on one-shot stories together, but included the various 3rillers as separate strips. In an annoying volte-face from last last, I haven't included the strips which started in this year's Xmas prog. Don't worry, they're ongoing, so you'll get a chance to vote for them next year!

[Edit: sorry, should say - 'Visions of Deadworld' includes all Deadworld stories - I can't remember if they were all 'Visions']

I'd be grateful if you could only vote using this format (although obviously feel free to add comments!):

1. [Favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
2. [Second favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
3. [Third favourite strip - name of strip as in list]

No reverse orders please as it invites mistakes on my part. Also no joint rankings, thanks. My Excel skills are being tested to the limit as it is!

A reminder of previous years' results: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017

The result is in your hands! Get voting!

Action Pact
Anderson, Psi-Division
Aquila
Chimpsky’s Law
Chopper
3riller: Chorus & the Ring
Department K
The Diaboliks
Durham Red
Enemy Earth
Feral and Foe
Future Shocks/Terror Tales
Hershey
Intestinauts
Jaegir
3riller: The Mask of Laverna
Mayflies
Mechastopheles
3riller: Nakka of the S.T.A.R.S
The Out
Pandora Perfect
Proteus Vex
Scarlet Traces
Scooter & Jinx
(Sinister) Dexter
Skip Tracer
Sláine
‘Splorers
Strontium Dug
Thistlebone
Visions of Deadworld
Viva Forever

3

General / Thought Bubble 2021 submission question

« on: 23 October, 2021, 05:22:02 PM »

Silly question alert...

The instructions for the 2021 Thought Bubble submissions (writing challenge) say "all you need to do is write your own Future Shock and pitch it in a video to an online panel of 2000 AD creators" and "Write your two-minute pitch for a Future Shock. Record a video of yourself reading out your pitch in two minutes or less. Email BOTH your finished video AND your written pitch".

I just wanted to be absolutely sure - you don't email your script?

And if not, should your pitch give away the whole plot, including the twist? I usually take a 'pitch' to be something that teases a story but doesn't give everything away.

4

General / Re: Tharg's 2020 in Review - Best 2000 AD strips (non-Dredd) - RESULTS!

« on: 08 January, 2021, 11:20:47 AM »

The results are in, and The Out has shaken it all about...

	1	2	3
The Out	13	6	2	53
Fiends of the Eastern Front	4	4	2	22
Brink	2	3	2	14
Feral and Foe	1	3	3	12
Deadworld (Visions of Deadworld)	2	1	1	9
Full Tilt Boogie	2	1	1	9
Proteus Vex	1	1	4	9
The Diaboliks		2	3	7
Hook-Jaw		2	2	6
Stickleback		1	2	4
Hershey		1	1	3
Sinister Dexter			1	1
Survival Geeks			1	1

2020 Best 2000 AD strip (non-Dredd): The Out




Yes, Brink's run of victories finally comes to a halt, but the top end of the table is dominated by Dan Abnett stories, with only Fiends of the Eastern Front managing to prevent him sweeping the podium. Fittingly, in a year that saw most of us confined to our homes for long periods, his tale of galactic exploration and discovery, tempered with observations on the very nature of our existence, resonated with us most. Perhaps its main strength was its sheer unpredictability and for that reason, the second chapter is eagerly awaited and will undoubtedly be a strong contender in next year's poll.

Fiends clinches the runners-up spot with a stunning chapter that also went in some unexpected directions, delivering thrills every step of the way. And remarkably, even though 2020 only saw a handful of instalments at the end of a chapter, Brink still managed to pip several other strips to third place.

13 strips were given points but I'm sure that of the 28 up for votes, all of them would have received something if the voting had been for a top 5. It's been the hardest of years, but once again Tharg has sent the thrill-o-meter off the scale, truly serving up a delicious smorgasbord of stories for all tastes.

Thanks for voting, everyone. Here's to 2021 - may it bring us old favourites and thills as yet undreamt.

5

General / Tharg's 2020 in Review - Best 2000 AD strips (non-Dredd)

« on: 27 December, 2020, 04:19:59 PM »

Hi, and welcome to the new, fully-integrated-into-Tharg's-2020-in-Review version of the annual best non-Dredd (and Cadet Dredd) 2000 AD strip of the year thread.

Please rank your favourite three 2000 AD strips from 2020, choosing from the list below. Your top choice will be awarded three points, your second choice two points and your third choice one point.

According to my calculations there are 28 strips in the running this year. I've taken the list from the strip breakdowns on the 2000 AD shop pages, so please let me know if I've missed anything.

I've included all the strips from the year's Regened progs: Finder & Keeper, Anderson Psi Division, Pandora Perfect and Department K, Gronks and Rogue Trooper. I've grouped Future Shocks, Time Twisters and Terror Tales together, but included the 3riller 'Saphir' as a separate strip. And unlike previous years, I've included strips that had jut one instalment, in the year's Christmas special. Hope that's all OK.

I'd be grateful if you could only vote using this format (although obviously feel free to add comments!):

1. [Favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
2. [Second favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
3. [Third favourite strip - name of strip as in list]

No reverse orders please as it invites mistakes on my part. Also no joint rankings, thanks. My Excel skills are being tested to the limit as it is!

A reminder of previous years' results: 2019 | 2018 | 2017

Will Brink finally be knocked off its perch? Get voting!


3rillers: Saphir
Anderson, Psi Division
Aquila
Brink
Deadworld (Visions of Deadworld)
Department K
The Diaboliks
Durham Red
Feral and Foe
Fiends of the Eastern Front
Finder & Keeper
Full Tilt Boogie
Future Shocks/Terror Tales/Time Twisters
Gronks
Hershey
Hook-Jaw
The Order
The Out
Pandora Perfect
Proteus Vex
Rogue Trooper
Sinister Dexter
Skip Tracer
Sláine
Stickleback
Strontium Dog
Survival Geeks
The Zaucer of Zilk

6

General / Best 2000 AD strips of 2019

« on: 03 January, 2020, 11:26:40 AM »

It's that time again when I make a lot of work for myself 

Please rank your favourite three 2000 AD strips from 2019, from the list below. Your top choice will be awarded three points, your second choice two points and your third choice one point.

There are 21 strips in the running this year. I've taken the list from the strip breakdowns on the 2000 AD shop pages, so please let me know if I've missed anything. As with last year I've not included Dredd - that's because as an ever-present strip with multiple writers I think it would be better off with a story-based vote of its own (feel free to step into the breach!). But if you think it's better that in future Dredd's included with the rest let me know, I'm happy to go with the general consensus!

I haven't included any of the new stories from the current Xmas prog as I think it's better to let them bed in for next year's vote. I have included Finder & Keeper and Full Tilt Boogie from the Regened prog as I guess they're strips in their own right even though they were one-shots. I've lumped the 3rillers and Future Shocks together.

Absalom
Anderson - Psi Division
Brink
Defoe
Fiends Of The Eastern Front
Finder & Keeper
Full Tilt Boogie
Grey Area
Hope
Indigo Prime
Jaegir
Kingmaker
Max Normal
Scarlet Traces
Sinister Dexter
Skip Tracer
Survival Geeks
Tharg’s 3rillers
Tharg’s Future Shocks
The Fall Of Deadworld
Thistlebone


Important note on voting! So that I can total the votes accurately, please only vote in this format:

1. [Favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
2. [Second favourite strip - name of strip as in list]
3. [Third favourite strip - name of strip as in list]

No reverse orders please as it invites mistakes on my part. Also no joint rankings, thanks.

A reminder of previous results: 2017 strips | 2018 strips

Can anything break Brink's vice-like grip? Get voting!

7

Prog / Prog 2159 - The Thrill Of It All

« on: 22 November, 2019, 11:34:09 AM »

OK, I know it's not the done thing for one to start a prog review thread when one has nothing to actually review, but...

I met Rob Davis at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal last month - he signed and illustrated a copy of his excellent graphic novel The Motherless Oven for me and mentioned that he'd recently completed a 2000 AD cover. Which character did it feature, I asked. 'Tharg The Mighty!' was his jubilant reply.

So here it is, and it's ruddy wonderful. Chapeau, Mr Davis.

8

Prog / Prog 2148 - Fear of the Machine!

« on: 05 September, 2019, 12:36:02 PM »

Never started a prog thread before. Hope no-one minds.

Anyway - What. A. Cover.

9

General / Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?

« on: 07 August, 2019, 05:05:29 PM »

Just wondering if people think 2000 AD could benefit from another strip like 'Dredd'? By which I mean an ever-present strip where a roster of script and art droids take turns to create short to medium length stories centered on the same character and their 'universe', self-contained but often part of their own 'continuity bubble' of developing plot arcs. 

With the rest of the prog featuring creator-owned strips generally served in long chapters and where art droids will spend a long stint, Dredd is something of an anomaly. What's the likelihood that a writer would want to create a character, start it off in a new strip then hand it over for others to develop? How would payments work practically? Would it effectively mean a return to the not fondly looked-upon days of the publishing company taking more profits?

Would the prog even benefit from such a strip? How difficult would it be to create an appealing character with defining characteristics that was nevertheless flexible enough to be cultivated by other writers? Would the prospect of such a major launch being a flop put Rebellion off trying?

Got any ideas about what this new 2000 AD hero(ine) could be like?

Just a few questions that popped into my mind

10

General / Script droids with three strips in a single prog

« on: 04 April, 2019, 11:49:08 AM »

I was just reading the latest entry in alexf's excellent Heroes of 2000 AD blog where he highlights the excellent work of Chris Lowder, aka Jack Adrian.

This bit caught my eye:

"By 1978, he was near the top of Tharg's 'on-call' list - he's one of the few droids credited with three strips in a single Prog! Prog 78, fact fans. Off the top of my head, there are four others who've achieved this feat..."

I know Dan Abnett had three strips the other week, but who might make up the remainder of this elite group? Wagner, Mills and Grant must be obvious guesses but I couldn't pin down the actual progs. I guess some of the very early progs must be a good bet for Pat Mills as he was writing a lot of the material.

Anyone able to give an authoritative answer, in whole or part?

11

General / Collected Megazine interviews?

« on: 17 January, 2019, 10:49:51 AM »

Just read the fantastic interview with the much missed Ron Smith from issues 288-289 of the Megazine, kindly posted on Facebook. I've only ever bought the Meg once - it was the issue a while ago that contained a fascinating interview with erstwhile Dredd artist Kim Raymond.

Not being a Meg regular, I've been missing out on all their interviews. Is there a chance that the interviews with 2000 AD creators might be collected in a reprint volume?

12

General / The 2000 AD random prog game

« on: 09 January, 2019, 01:05:08 PM »

How to play: using a random number generator (e.g. Google's online version) generate an integer between 1 and the number of this week's current prog (2113 at time of writing).

You are only allowed to do this once! Do not cheat!!

The number you get is the number of only back prog you will ever be allowed to see. If necessary, check its contents with Barney. Are you satisfied with your lot?

My prog: 578 (11^th June 1988)

A typical slice of mid-to-late silver-era proggage here. I get a nice Gibson Dredd cover and an impressive Brett Ewins Star Scan of Sheeva from Bad Company II on the back. Inside, the Dredd story is episode one of Full Mental Jacket, a minor classic. The A.B.C. Warriors epic The Black Hole is hurtling towards its climax with Bisley (I think) on art duties. The Krool Heart was a decent enough sequel to the admittedly superior first book of Bad Company and Back-to-Front Jones makes for a reasonably diverting Tales of the Doghouse filler.

(Only four strips? Did I miss something?)

Overall I am pretty happy with my random prog and would award it a satisfaction score of 8/10.

Over to you. Hope you get lucky!

13

Website and Forum / How to add an avatar?

« on: 04 January, 2019, 11:45:55 AM »

Hi, I've just tried to add an avatar to my profile bit it doesn't seem to like the Imgur link; and it didn't want to upload a 21k jpeg because it was 'too large or not an avatar'.

What should I do? Cheers!

14

General / Best strips of 2018

« on: 03 January, 2019, 11:23:35 AM »

This thread should be an annual event, like the excellent Best Covers ones. I’m looking forward to Best Strips of 2018 already!

Well you need look forward no longer, because here it is   

Yes, once again it's time to vote for your three favourite 2000 AD strips of the past year. Please rank them, it's three points for your 1st place choice down the one point for 3rd place. Please don't do joint placings as the scoring gets too complicated.

Here's the list of candidates, compiled by looking through the 2018 section of the online shop. I've omitted Dredd, as it seems a bit unfair to compare the comic's weekly fixture against the rest of its ever-changing roster. I've also left out one-shots from the year's specials, and Future Shocks. However I've left in Infestinauts because even though it's a 3riller, as a 3-part story it's long enough to judge. Please let me know if I've missed any other non-single-issue strips.

A.B.C. Warriors
Anderson
Bad Company
Brass Sun
Brink
Durham Red
The Fall Of Deadworld
Fiends Of The Eastern Front
Grey Area
Infestinauts
Jaegir
Kingdom
Mechastopheles
The Order
Savage
Sinister Dexter
Skip Tracer
Strontium Dog
Survival Geeks


A reminder of last year's top 3:

Brink   (51 pts)
The Fall of Deadworld   (25 pts)
Hope ...for the Future   (17 pts)

This time round, will even half a Brink strip prove too much of a match for the competition?

Only you can decide!

15

General / Which other old 2000 AD characters would you like to see reappear in new strips?

« on: 08 August, 2018, 03:50:40 PM »

Following the shock reappearance this week of [redacted] in [redacted], which other characters from 2000 AD's past should make a shock reappearance in current stories?

I'd quite like to see Rick Random make a shock appearance in Skip Tracer.