Well the good news was this was that rarest of beasts a Friday Prog - can't remember the last time one of them was seen.
The bad news is for one reason or another I've not had a chance to read it before today.
Oh cruel fate why do you mock me so...
...what when I got and read my Prog isn't important to you... you don't what... give a damn you just want to know how good it is... well really...
Okay okay. Well the first thing to note is this is an artist triumph. I mean you have Henry Flint, Lee Carter (all be it a litte dark), Eduardo Ocana, Dave Kendall and Simon Davis. I mean how good and how diverse is that. Just superb stuff.
The stories don't quite live up to that standard alas, I mean they're pretty good overall just not quite THAT good.
Dredd remains tensely superb, all be it the confrontation between Maitland and Hernandez gets off to a bit of a false start.
Indigo Prime slips back for a Prologue to set up why we have Tyranny Rex back. Cheeky fun stuff.
Full Tilt Boogie twists intriguingly without giving us too much but is very good... I think...
Fall of Deadworld lost me last time and to be honest doesn't do anything much to make me want to get back on board this time. We'll see but I worry about this one.
Thistlebone remains cruelly brilliant
Cover by Clint Langely:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/DoHtu2OXwUefDtiWDB_WHH8mwfk=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/ce/77/a434bb35bfb53d3bbfcf9d3c4d5e0b5b85ea.jpg)
Tell me lies sweet little lies cover – If I did not see the logo I would have though that I am reading the next installment of Ghost Rider
Nicolas Cage should voice Judge Fire in a movie sometime none the less.
Hmm. Bit of a slip in excitement for me with this one, primarily because of two series I really want to love but that I'm struggling with.
Dredd remains the standout. I hope it sticks the landing. Williams/Wyatt and Flint have created something that for me is properly top-tier Dredd, even if I still wonder what, if any, long-term impact the story might have. (Perhaps the one problem with Dredd now Wagner's largely off the strip.) I'm still concerned Maitland and/or her project will be defeated/removed from play, and we'll be back to the states quo, with a gruff Dredd sending Hernandez to Titan, nuking Glenn's sale (and chucking him into an iso-cube), and saying "At least she tried." (TBF, if this was a Wagner Dredd, you could imagine a satirical ending where the Chief Judge changes one very tiny thing in honour of what happened at 304. "In recognition, we're now increasing our spend on social services by 0.26%.")
Still, I'm very happy with the
now and am sure this series will warrant re-reads in the future. And a nice webshop HC, please, Tharg.
Indigo Prime was always right on the edge of being comprehensible when written by John Smith. But Kek-W flirts with crossing that line more than most. It too often feels like a strip that I'm sure he could explain in the pub over a pint and you'd be "Oh, right", but what's on the page remains opaque. I know all the names. But I'm still not quite sure what's going on. Maybe that's the point. And, honestly, I find it a strange decision to have Johnny Depp (in all but name) playing any major part of a 2000 AD strip, but there you go.
Full Tilt Boogie remains excellent. Good characters. Simple but compelling storytelling. I hope it won't be so long until the next book.
And then...
Deadworld:
Quotebut I worry about this one
It's such a strange series. I
loved those dreamlike reimaginings of the Dark Judges. That first proper Deadworld series was chilling. Finally, I thought, the Dark Judges are being done right. It felt focused and
horrible. I had to have it in collected form.
The most recent (third) collected volume was the first where I felt I was veering towards completism. By then, the strip was starting to unravel. A loss of focus. That shift from horror to references, like an Elseworlds Dredd. And in the Prog, Death is now just a dick. He doesn't feel like an authentic threat. This latest episode managed to combine the cliche of the big bad getting away because of a scuffle, and then ended with something that felt far too close to the 'comedy dark judges' angle that I loathe.
It still looks fantastic. Kendall is doing sterling work. But I wish I liked this a lot more than I currently do, and I hope it ramps up the horror and dials down the references and the camp again. I don't want a Prog packed with relentless misery and horror. But a strip veering between horror and silliness loses its ability to retain the former.
Speaking of horror,
Thistlebone remains nasty in the details (the crow's meal – and note its eye) and the backstory of the protagonist. Another five pages of
yikes. But this one does feel focused and works fully within its own reality. I don't feel two of the leads are suddenly going to don silly outfits.
So not quite a Prog with all guns blazing for me. But three greats and two 'readables' isn't bad for an anthology and I hope the Kek-W strips will win me back.
Dredd > Full Tilt Boogie > Thistlebone > Indigo Prime = Deadworld
Saturday Prog again here! I thought this was better than last week.
Dredd is still a brilliant, tense read and the real world parallels give it a nasty edge. I'm less confident about Maitland kicking ass and solving everything than I was last week. Part of the tension comes from the Dredd reader knowing her plan is almost certainly doomed due to the impact it could have on the status quo... but I really want her to succeed, things to be shaken up. I'm starting to think Major Domo will pop up and kill her. This is a terrific Dredd so far.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 19 February, 2024, 11:39:36 AMIn recognition, we're now increasing our spend on social services by 0.26%
This would be SUCH a Wagner ending.
Indigo Prime Interesting. I wasn't impressed to see Depp and thought this episode started a bit eyeroll-y but the shift to Bateman and subsequent direction made things a bit more interesting. I don't care about Tyranny Rex but I'm hoping for a good, slightly confusing story here: I think Indigo Prime works when you can follow the story, but there's masses of unexplained stuff going on in the background, so there's potential here. Oh and great to have Lee Carter back!
Full Tilt Boogie Unlike Indigo Prime, very clear storytelling. Doesn't move along much, but looks great.
Fall of Deadworld I have similar feelings to IP above: I loved the early, horror-heavy stuff on this strip and at some point it all got a bit... derpy. Death is useless in this episode and finishes it by zooming off riding pillion on a motorbike dressed as a dentist. It won't take much to get this back on track to being great again, but this episode wasn't it.
Thistlebone is also really strong. The backstory is horrific, but that panel with the crow is the top skincrawler this episode: the eye in the flesh staring out whilst below Callum is effectively one-eyed from his stitches. Horrible stuff, can't wait to see what happens next.
Interview with Kek-W on Deadworld:
https://geekculturereviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/crafting-apocalypse-with-kek-w.html (https://geekculturereviews.blogspot.com/2024/02/crafting-apocalypse-with-kek-w.html)
it does explain why rex was acting off in the last episode of indigo prime we had. so thats fun
A strange type of prog where we should feel refreshed with new stories on board, but everything feels so mid run. Not bad but not great as well just hovering in the middle.
Dredd – A lot of focus on talking which feels more like a delicate chess game where no one wants to communicate its next move, but we do get some hints here. Hernandez looks like he might have been involved in the whole Mojo Domo saga. Cannot see that this can wrap in the next 2 weeks or so.
Indigo Prime – Not sure what to make of this episode maybe it is the fact that the series is returning after a long absence but let's see how it unfolds. Lee Carter is always a joy to have in the prog.
Full Tilt Boogie – This episode focuses more on exploring the ship and some hints of something sinister waiting for Tee. Another good episode.
Deadworld – At this stage De'ath does not feel like we should fear him, he feels more like a creep. I just want the story to go back to what it made good in the first place. It does feel like it is a little bit directionless.
Thistlebone – The plot is not moving forward as we are more focused on the backstory of Callum. Just a slight dip here for me.
I believe that next week Dredd, The Better World will warp after I have read the following statement: Rebellion are definitely fanning the flames for 2000AD Prog 2371, out at the end of this month (28th February), and the Press Corps of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic have given us strict orders, perhaps from Dredd himself, that blabbing anything comes with harsh penalties...
I'm with IndigoPrime on this prog - 'A Better World' and Thistlebone spot on, Full Tilt Boogie pretty lovely, Deadworld sadly straying from its USP. Ironically I'm not with Indigo Prime in this prog - in fact I've never really liked it, not in its John Smith or Kek-W incarnations. Sorry.
Rob says A Better World is nine episodes. So BIG THING in 2371 and presumably fallout and/or wrap-up and/or "to be continued" in 2372. Fingers crossed, eh?
A slightly disappointing Prog for me this week. I used to really look forward to reading 'Deadworld', but I feel it has lost its way and a lot of it is confusing to know who is who and what is going on. Definitely room for improvement with this one. Even the two better strips this week, 'Dredd' and 'Thistlebone', I felt were not as strong as usual.
I now have literally no clue what's happening in Deadworld.
Sidney's inhabiting his fathers corpse? Hmmm I must have missed that. I have 3 collected volumes and could reread them; not sure how much enthusiasm I can summon up for that.
And oh joy Indigo Prime is back. Let's see how many weeks it will be before I'm totally lost on that too. Up thread was a comment on Tranny Rex's last appearance. I can't remember that, so I'm off to a bad start.
Elsewhere FTB and Dredd continue with average episodes.
As for Thistlebone well I didn't see that coming. Not sure the flashback art needed to be that basic, but the story was truly horrible. Which I guess was the whole point.
Quote from: Magnetica on 23 February, 2024, 09:20:21 AMSidney's inhabiting his fathers corpse? Hmmm I must have missed that. I have 3 collected volumes and could reread them; not sure how much enthusiasm I can summon up for that.
Prog 2355 the first page talks about his reborn into his father's body. You have to go way back to prog 2162 in the story Sidney where in the last page he possess his father's body.
I get that J Depp is not a person one wants to give airtime to - but I confess I couldn't resist the charm of Kek-W taking the absurd premise of the Sauvage Ad (which I had to endure a LOT this XMas season for some reason), and turning it into a Indigo Prime story hook. Fun!
And the whole use of actual(ish) famous people does take me right back to that first Tyranny Rex story in which Prince was basically co-lead.
I'm fine with the premise, FWIW. And, yes, it does feel like a callback to those early strips. It's just... almost any other famous actor...
Quote from: AlexF on 23 February, 2024, 09:59:05 AMI get that J Depp is not a person one wants to give airtime to - but I confess I couldn't resist the charm of Kek-W taking the absurd premise of the Sauvage Ad (which I had to endure a LOT this XMas season for some reason), and turning it into a Indigo Prime story hook. Fun!
Aha! I'd never seen that ad before but now I get it. The guy at the end is Christian Bale, isn't he?
I really liked
Dredd this week, and
Thistlebone is smoldering away nicely with a truly horrible flashback scene - I was genuinely grateful for the kids'-drawing style sparing me the full horror.
Deadworld is fine, though like others I've lost track a bit of what's happening. Also, having effectively re-mystified the Dark Judges, I feel that Kek is in danger of undoing his good work by giving Death's generals the fairly bland personalities they had in
Young Death. The artwork remains outstanding, though.
Can't agree more on Deadworld. Some sterling work was done in making these guys horrific again in the early days of this strip but Death is in full on Skeletor mode by this episode, being driven away by a henchman shaking his fist. "I'll get you next time, Eastwood!"
Let us not forget he was reduced to this state when he got outfoxed and replaced as top dog by a goofy tech nerd.
It feels like we've moved from Hellraiser to Hellraiser 3.
Perhaps there's an inevitability about the dark judges, in that the horror becomes overwhelming or tedious and so writers always feel the need to head back to comedy. Wagner has in the past talked of his trouble with the characters.
But, yeah, the tonal shift here feels off. And it undermines the earlier series. Perhaps it's also a matter of focus. Kek-W doesn't strike me as the most disciplined of writers, in the sense his work quite often turns into sprawling universes packed with ideas. But they quite often meander and lack narrative coherence. I do wonder how strong Deadworld could have been had it wrapped up in that third collection, say. (And I do bristle a little about his interest in the Elseworlds angle. The thing he's keen on is my least favourite bit. Oh well.)
What I understood from the interview with Kek-W is that their is only 2 more series left but you never know
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 23 February, 2024, 01:13:20 PMPerhaps there's an inevitability about the dark judges, in that the horror becomes overwhelming or tedious and so writers always feel the need to head back to comedy. Wagner has in the past talked of his trouble with the characters.
Oh well.)
Seems to be the way it often goes with horror characters in general when they get well known - Freddy Kruger was once a genuinely disturbing onscreen presence but is pretty much a pantomime villain now.
John Wagner showed in
My Name Is Death that the balance could be redressed, but then showed with its sequel in the Megazine (where Frazer Irving's creepy artwork was completely unsuited to the comedy plot) that maybe it couldn't after all.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 21 February, 2024, 05:34:34 PMRob says A Better World is nine episodes. So BIG THING in 2371 and presumably fallout and/or wrap-up and/or "to be continued" in 2372. Fingers crossed, eh?
From Rob's X (the entity formally called Twitter):
We're enormously proud of all of JUDGE DREDD: A BETTER WORLD which has come out far better than we could've hoped - but these final two episodes are a bit special, I think.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 23 February, 2024, 11:57:08 AMAha! I'd never seen that ad before but now I get it. The guy at the end is Christian Bale, isn't he?
Yep - in
American Psycho, a film I used to appreciate, but struggle to get through now. The characters are so vile!
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 23 February, 2024, 11:57:08 AMI really liked Dredd this week, and Thistlebone is smoldering away nicely with a truly horrible flashback scene - I was genuinely grateful for the kids'-drawing style sparing me the full horror.
Agree - I liked it a lot more this week than the last couple. Didn't mind the cartoon style, I think it's a good device.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 23 February, 2024, 11:57:08 AMDeadworld is fine, though like others I've lost track a bit of what's happening. Also, having effectively re-mystified the Dark Judges, I feel that Kek is in danger of undoing his good work by giving Death's generals the fairly bland personalities they had in Young Death. The artwork remains outstanding, though.
Yup, well said.
I completely agree with everything people have said above about Deadworld. Good art though.
Wasn't Jonny Depp exonerated? Or was there some other scandal which I've missed?
Lost a libel case in the UK; won a case in Virginia. The New Yorker offered a lengthy take (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-depp-heard-verdict-is-chilling) that outlined the... 'issues' with the latter verdict, let's say.
Denis Rodman has Kim Jong Un. Segal has Putin and now Johnny is best buds with Bin Salman :lol: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/johnny-depp-mbs-saudi-arabia
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 23 February, 2024, 03:30:02 PMLost a libel case in the UK; won a case in Virginia. The New Yorker offered a lengthy take (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-depp-heard-verdict-is-chilling) that outlined the... 'issues' with the latter verdict, let's say.
Summary, just in case tl;dr (or you can't hack your browser through the sub-wall): older man gets paid $13 million for drunkenly raging and beating on a much younger woman. Then scores a perfume commercial as a troubled, sympathetic loner.
(All: allegedly.)
B/W Cover:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DEADWORLD-2024-R-773x1024.jpg)