Cover: Meh...take it or leave it...nowt wroing, but nowt special...however...it does hida rather a good interior. ;)
Dredd: Still a wee bit muddy on the visuals, but not so much that it detracts. Tale itself ain't doing much for me the now.
Sensetive Klegg insert: Lol, odd.....was just sat with Alex the other night looking at how he did this one! Had no idea how his process works....thought I did, but was VERY wrong! Man's a genius.
Interview 1 and 2.....yep, skipped 'em.
Realm of The Damned: Consider my attention grabbed.
Interview 3: oooh, Al Ewing? Might be inter....nah.....skipped.
Demarco: Think I must have forgot something from previous weeks....otherwise this tale just took a sharp left I was not expecting. Not sure how I should rate that yet.
Dredd Dust: Wilsher's art is just great. Tale is rolling along, nowt over mental this week....ambling along....fair one....will amble alongside. ;)
Thanks for the Meg today, Mr. Postie - and not bent through the letter box, this time!
Strange cover this month. I like that it's different but at first glance wasn't quite sure what I was actually looking at?
Loving the Gyre storyline. Percival's fabulous art always impresses and the attention to detail and lighting are fantastic. Very cinematic and moody. Feels like a Dredd movie, we will never get. Interested to see how this wraps up next month but get the feeling it could have been a longer story? Maybe next time
Interviews were great and I've always liked these. I've never minded the 'magazine' feel of the megazine, although I know it's a sore point for some folk.
Realm of The Damned was off to a good start. Very 'grey' ! but makes all that red stand out! Not the biggest fan of vampires but this looks like a different take on it all.
Going back to re-read the Demarco episodes. Good stuff but feel this will read better in one go.
Dust is OK. Artwork seems a little bit empty and has a 'rushed' look to it but I do like that we are getting to see more of the movie Dredd's world and hope this will be a semi-regular slot.
Whole issue kept me busy and entertained on a Saturday morning, so that's good in my book! :)
Didn't get my Meg today, joint sub not withstanding! Will be my first by sub too, so was looking forward to it :(
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/369_zpslmpcnfzj.jpg)
Armoured Gideon is back?!?
Or have I read the cover wrong too?
Cover: hides a rather a good interior. ;) not sure how many punters it will pull in.
Dredd: Still a wee bit muddy on the visuals, so much that it detracts. Could really do with a lot of different camera angles too, everything 'shot' at shoulder height POV. Tale itself fine.
Sensetive Klegg insert: Sitting with Dode C and spotted one in Edinbra...see other thread.. Man's a genius.
Interview 1 and 2....skipped 'em in recent Megas, but was interested in Dan's USA Dredd ... its not my favourite and would disagree wholeheartedly with the 'Boiling mass of neuroses' take on Dredd.
Realm of The Damned: No need for the C word here, its use reminds me of wee boys shouting rude words on the bus, its not big and its not clever... but a good start to the story
Interview 3: oooh, Al Ewing? could have done with more 2k and Whovian and less Double Gussetwearers.
Demarco: Think I must have forgot something from previous weeks....otherwise nice drawing of a DM
Dredd Dust: Best bit of the Megazine! art and story beautifully realised top hole stuff.
Dreddlines appears and yes the dreaded Watson appears brown nosing as I taught him
Cheers Ghost :wave:
At least you fixed the mistypes! I can go with that. ;)
Quote from: Proudhuff on 13 February, 2016, 09:19:37 PM
Could really do with a lot of different camera angles too, everything 'shot' at shoulder height POV. Tale itself fine.
[
Er. Not sure what art you're looking at. There's high angle and low angle 'camera' placements and the normal mid-shots, close ups, long shots, dutch angles, etc. Maybe Percival should ask your expert advice for layouts on the next Dredd story? ;)
Alec Worley is a better writer than I'll ever be, and Pye Parr a vastly superior designer and artist. And of course, as ever, we praise Tharg for his munificence. I'm all for the creator-owned slot, I know it is supposed to take a risk in supporting new and/or independent talent, and I know the strip looks great and is supposed to shock.
But that episode of Realm of the Damned has me questioning my subscription. It's vile, utterly horrid and hateful, and this is coming from someone with a complete set of Preacher and plenty of metal in my music collection.
Sorry, guys, but I simply want no further part of it my life nor in my home.
Know I've got to see this.
Well this could go either way for me. Roll on Wednesday I guess!
Enjoyed the Gyre and movie Dredd, but DeMarco's lost me. I'm not sure why, given that DeMarco plots aren't exactly labyrinthine, so that probably needs a reread. Nice to see Ewing isn't necessarily entirely lost to us. He clearly just needs to clone himself a couple of times. Easy!
Realm of the Damned... Mm. I'm not sure what to make of this either. Like Banners, I'm big fans of both of the creative team, but the opener didn't really grab me, and it did seem to be overly knowingly going for: Look! Adult comic! I'm willing to give it a shot. Hell, I even read all of Ostriches. But the opener feels like a grubby comedown after the bonkers Grist tale we'd had over recent months.
Quote from: Freddychopper on 14 February, 2016, 07:24:26 AM
Quote from: Proudhuff on 13 February, 2016, 09:19:37 PM
Could really do with a lot of different camera angles too, everything 'shot' at shoulder height POV. Tale itself fine.
[
Er. Not sure what art you're looking at. There's high angle and low angle 'camera' placements and the normal mid-shots, close ups, long shots, dutch angles, etc. Maybe Percival should ask your expert advice for layouts on the next Dredd story? ;)
I'll go back and have a deek, always happy to admit a mouthful of wrong, also entitled to (hopefully) constructive criticism.
That 'Realm of the Damned' is just screaming out 'Look at me! Controversial!' - For your money you get two 'cunts' and eight 'fucks' and a demon dude pissing blood into someone's mouth. Not offended just a bit disappointed.
Quote from: Buttonman on 15 February, 2016, 08:47:24 PM
That 'Realm of the Damned' is just screaming out 'Look at me! Controversial!' - For your money you get two 'cunts' and eight 'fucks' and a demon dude pissing blood into someone's mouth. Not offended just a bit disappointed.
So it's Big Dave then? :lol:
Quote from: Hawkmonger on 15 February, 2016, 09:32:00 PM
Quote from: Buttonman on 15 February, 2016, 08:47:24 PM
That 'Realm of the Damned' is just screaming out 'Look at me! Controversial!' - For your money you get two 'cunts' and eight 'fucks' and a demon dude pissing blood into someone's mouth. Not offended just a bit disappointed.
So it's Big Dave then? :lol:
No, it's offensive.
Not sure how I feel about it TBH. Intriguing, but maybe cliched. Controversial, or confrontational. But it's job is done as I'll read it next month, which is more than I did with the last few Demon Nics.
I hope the two aren't tonally similar.
FAILED EDIT: It had a 40 Days of Night vibe for me
Quote from: Buttonman on 15 February, 2016, 08:47:24 PM
That 'Realm of the Damned' is just screaming out 'Look at me! Controversial!' - For your money you get two 'cunts' and eight 'fucks' and a demon dude pissing blood into someone's mouth. Not offended just a bit disappointed.
Got to agree. I thought the house of Tharg had progressed past this sort of thing. I'll stick with it for a week or so but not a good start.
Reading this and the prog stories by the Carroll Droid makes me want a collection of his work. Please Thargy baby can you... er do this for me please :thumbsup:
Loved the various panel layouts in Dust this month. Gorgeous stuff!
Finally got the Meg, and jumped to Realm of the Damned just to see what the hub-bub was about.
Seemed okay, lots of curses and gooey amounts of ultra violence. Not too extreme really.
Then THAT moment happens, and I'm like [spoiler]"Bloody Piss, Good Song Title" - Nathan Explosion[/spoiler]
On the Realm of the Damned bruharhar. Reading the Interrogation with Alec Worley (and Pye) you get the impression he knows the violence and pissing and cunting is all a bit silly and immature but it part of the stuff they are going for. Its Black Death Metal (whatever its called its a circle of music I'm ignorant to) and the strip has been built to buy into it. Its all a bit of nonsense and for me nowt to get excited about either way. Alas that means neither is the strip at this point and while the first part has been very much scene setting I'm not overly optimistic as to where this will go, as all its done in 8 pages or so is spew out our baddy and set the the tone, neither of which struck me as interesting. Still plenty of time and space for it to turn things around, but when you compare it to Demon Nic, with its invention, charm and guile its pretty flat stuff.
As to be honest is much of the rest of the Meg right now. Judge Dredd is okay Mike Carroll but I'm not a big fan of the art and found a couple of storytelling problems with it. When you compare it to what he's just produced (Mike Carroll that is) in the Prog this just isn't as strong. Dredd is another quite flat and bland strip and DeMarco is really hitting any heights. My Meg experience had a really strong start, but issues like this are how I imagined it to be which kept me away for years. Still I'm sure things will pick up again soon and I enjoyed the text pieces... alas more than the strips right now which can't be right!
I really like the fact you have to look twice at the cover to get some idea what it is. It's not immediately apparent, but the bloody bones are a clue...
The Gyre is just OK for me in that I was really looking forward to it given the creative team. I love the tone and mood of the art and there's enough to keep me engaged story wise, but feel it will be more significant down the line. I like how Mr Carrol is ploughing his own furrow with Dredd that's building into a solid set of stories, and the more procedural aspect works well for me.
Like others I feel Demarco comes across as a bit rushed through for some reason. I wonder if it's the effect of super easy reading of Yeowil's art? Anyway, it's fine altogether.
Now Realm of the Damned I entirely loved! Perhaps it was the interview giving a bit of insight, or maybe I've never got rid of that part of me that was drawn to the more extreme end of metal , but I didn't find it self conscious or deliberately courting controversy at all. Lush art and an efficient set up of an entertaining horror story - great stuff in my book! Best story in this issue fir me. I also mostly enjoyed Demon Nic, so there's room for all round mine.
And Dredd - Dust is great stuff too. I'm enjoying seeing this subtly different version of ol stony face and if Willsher's drawing, I'm all eyes.
Overall, maybe the Meg isn't hitting the mark quite as it has been doing for the last couple of years, but still a good read.
Cracked me up that "big f**cking eagle" had to be censored in the Dan McDaid interview and yet it was deemed ok to show a demon's todger (and clockweights) peeing blood onto some guy's face.
Quote from: SuperSurfer on 24 February, 2016, 04:49:09 PM
Cracked me up that "big f**cking eagle" had to be censored in the Dan McDaid interview and yet it was deemed ok to show a demon's todger (and clockweights) peeing blood onto some guy's face.
Ha! I missed that. That's gold... and no not that kind...
I am not sure at the moment that Realm of The Damne will have a particularly interesting story as I am a bit vampired out but the artwork is vividly gruesome and excellent. Nice work Pyedroid.
Although i'm not a fan of the Black Metal genre I thought Realm of the Damned started promisingly.
Cheers
Quite surprised to find the
movie Dredd strip my favourite thing in this month's Meg. An interesting attempt at bringing the Cursed Earth and some of the wackier elements of Dredd into the more grounded continuity of the film.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 20 February, 2016, 05:59:46 PM
On the Realm of the Damned bruharhar. Reading the Interrogation with Alec Worley (and Pye) you get the impression he knows the violence and pissing and cunting is all a bit silly and immature but it part of the stuff they are going for. Its Black Death Metal (whatever its called its a circle of music I'm ignorant to) and the strip has been built to buy into it.
I think this just about captures my own thoughts on
Realm of the Damned. I agree completely that a bit more of a nod and a wink in the script would've made things more interesting but the bits of the interview I skimmed indicate that playing it straight is a deliberate choice. I suppose I'm just too old and jaded to find that either remotely offensive or like totally awesome, dude! If anyone's remotely interested in reading about some of the stuff that's being referenced here I'd highly recommend the book Lords of Chaos (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lords-Chaos-Bloody-Satanic-Underground/dp/0922915946/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456572361&sr=8-1&keywords=lords+of+chaos). What I definitely wouldn't recommend is listening to any of the music mentioned in it.
Don't think I've ever seen Pye's strip art before so that was a very pleasant surprise.
A vast agglomeration of smaller vessels lashed together around an old aircraft carrier and drifting along the Pacific coast before attempting a mass landing on the California coast. Unless I'm misremembering Snow Crash, the setting for
The Gyre is definitely one for the 2000AD sci-fi swipe file.
Quote from: SuperSurfer on 24 February, 2016, 04:49:09 PM
Cracked me up that "big f**cking eagle" had to be censored in the Dan McDaid interview and yet it was deemed ok to show a demon's todger (and clockweights) peeing blood onto some guy's face.
The Meg has had a bit of a schizophrenic attitude towards self-censorship for a long time. Fucks, and now cunts, in the stories; while asterisks in the interviews.
Enjoying Percival's art on the Gyre and the Dust story is intriguing. Demarco is choppy but always a pleasure to see the Yeowell droid's work. No interest in the Realm of the Damned.
The Gyre - Beautiful art and really cool premises but I wish it would kick things up a gear
Realm of The Damned - A good start but I am maybe target audience a being a metal fan, that enjoys some OTT gore and horror. Lets se how it goes nut certainly intrigued.
Demarco - was enjoying but like a few othe folks i am now a bit lost, art is a bit start for my taste
Dust - I love the movie Dredd stories in fact I wish they were a constat part of the Mg's make up. Dust is really building nicely, and the art is great.
Interviews - I am one of the few people it seems that not only reads but generally enjoys them, an actual "feature" rather than continual interviews would be good, but in general i like em.
Dredd- Good fun, this is the second time in one month though that Carroll has brought back the Lawlords story arc from yesteryear. Could have done with spreading them out a little, IMHO but it's a great revelation none the less.
RotD- Offended? Really? We had 3 god damn years of American Sheeter infulting out inteligence and people are up in arms over a little itallian style guro? Really? I actually digged this a lot, BTW.
Dredd Dust- Continues to be just OK. Wilshers art is imence but sadly the story itself is somewhat 'same old, same old' despite being a change of pace from the conventional movie Dredd canon.
Demarco P.I.- Is sadly also just alright.
Similarly I'm a Rock/Metal fan, but the appreciation in all things Black Metal eludes me, however I found part 1 of Realm Of The Damned was a very strong one as regards to quality and it has got me most intrigued to see how the story progresses.
Fantastic art too!
Now all we need is for The Meg to commission Derek Riggs or Graham Humphreys to paint a suitably horror soaked cover! ;)
If you want to hear some black metal while you read the strip this is my favourite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXu8M6q6v84
Really enjoyed the Floppy this month, gorgeous artwork by David Roach on Synnamon, and it was good to re-read Tyranny Rex: The Comeback in one sitting, I enjoyed it a lot more than I remembered.
Nice bonus having Systems of Romance included too, I remember it unnerved me a little bit when I was a wide-eyed sprog.
Nod of approval this month for Pye Parr, fantastic stuff.
I am lukewarm on Realm of the Damned. Let's see where it goes! Certainly nothing particularly offended me.
Solid stuff all round, interested in seeing more of Dredd, much as I love, errrr, Dredd, I'm hoping for slightly less crazy stuff than fatties and so forth.
Realm was OK, art was very good, so Ill give it a chance.
I like Mikes Dredd, Demarco too is decent, but suffers from mid story slump, probably will read better in one go.
The Film Dredd, well written and fantastically drawn, but not my cuppa, I have a mental block when it comes to reading versions of versions. Give me '2000AD' Dredd by the same team and Ill be happy!
Should this Saturday 12 March be Megazine 370 day? it seems an ago since the last one...
and it was!
The Meg was way below recent standards I am afraid this month.
Judge Dredd had a bit of a "was that it?" feel to me. Stuff just seemed to happen. Normally I am a big fan of Michael Carrol's Dredd but this was a bit flat. Not helped IMO by Nick Perceival's "I should like it but I just don't really" artwork.
Goldtiger. Don't think I will buy the GN on the strength of this.
Realm Of the Damned. Story and art ok. Please cut out the swearing ( I know it was down to just one F word this week). And please, put some clothes on.
Demarco. Again normally like this, but the last two parts have lost me a bit. Re-read required.
Movie Dredd. As with Demarco the last two parts have lost me a bit and a re-read is required. Also sad to see the totally unnecessary F word. What is wrong with "drokk"?. And put some clothes on.
Quote from: Magnetica on 16 March, 2016, 08:29:50 PM
The Meg was way below recent standards I am afraid this month.
Judge Dredd had a bit of a "was that it?" feel to me. Stuff just seemed to happen. Normally I am a big fan of Michael Carrol's Dredd but this was a bit flat. Not helped IMO by Nick Perceival's "I should like it but I just don't really" artwork.
Goldtiger. Don't think I will buy the GN on the strength of this.
Realm Of the Damned. Story and art ok. Please cut out the swearing ( I know it was down to just one F word this week). And please, put some clothes on.
Demarco. Again normally like this, but the last two parts have lost me a bit. Re-read required.
Movie Dredd. As with Demarco the last two parts have lost me a bit and a re-read is required. Also sad to see the totally unnecessary F word. What is wrong with "drokk"?. And put some clothes on.
Wrong topic mate, but I do agree with you about the nudity tis month. Twas too much man!!!
Quote from: Magnetica on 16 March, 2016, 08:29:50 PM
Movie Dredd ... sad to see the totally unnecessary F word. What is wrong with "drokk"?
"Movie Dredd" ... "
movie Dredd" ... "
MOVIE Dredd (https://youtu.be/B4CrE6IwlLg?t=1m10s)" ...
Quote from: Batman's Superior Cousin on 16 March, 2016, 08:42:17 PM
Wrong topic mate, but I do agree with you about the nudity tis month. Twas too much man!!!
Ooops - sorry obviously my comments where meant for the Meg 370 thread folks - thanks for pointing out. :-[