Prog 2320 - Birthday Blitz

[Colin YNWA]

I mean that cover in the context of the Dredd inside is just wonderful.

The Dredd inside is just wonderful as well. A bit like when Eisner took a gun, or a clock, or the sound of a dripping tap and made a wonderful story, here Niemand and Kieran McKeown take a Dredd trope - kicking down a door - and turn it into a wonderful piece of insight. Feels like it could have been one of those episodes that introduces Dredd in a jumping on Prog but done with real guile. Brilliant.

Joe Pinapples - isn't, brilliant that is... still its there.

The Out brings the BRILLIANT back 7 pages later though. If last weeks episode was good this is superb. Just what made The Out some wonderful and perfect.

The Order keeps the brilliant going. Just such a smart way to drive things on. Love it.

And Proteus Vex wraps the Prog up with more brilliance. Just a superb episode that lets us wallow in the glory that is Midnight. AND with a punchy devine ending. Just fantastic.

So yeah 4 brilliant thrills and one... not ... make this a brilliant Prog. Loved it.

[broodblik]

Cover by Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague:

[Leigh S]

I know IP mentioned Pineapples as ChatGPT Mills, but I still say Niemand's Dredd have a strnger whiff of AI about them. It's the eternal dilemma of the Dredd fan - they want their Dredd to be Wagnerian, but when it is it can raise more questions than answers about comics as a franchise. 


Neimand's usually is pretty spot on (aside from the wordy speech which gvies it that teasing hint of Grennie to keep us guessing). That's better than the alternative, but do I love Dredd or do I love Wagner - I suppose you can love both, so let;s not go off on  Millsian creators rights tangent.

Especially when Mills is... oh dear.
I wasnt particularly enjoying this, ut I wasnt grinding my teeth at its inclusion and ask me most days and I;d say Mills would always be welcome in my prog - I was slightly miffed that Tharg had turned down  last book of Flash as the most recent example.

But on the face of this weeks, I'm kind of glad its all over.  Maybe I'm misreading an Anti-Vaxxer message into the "fake nanobots" narrative - maybe the real metaphor is that the Russian - I mean Volgan - bots represent how the West make up fears of Volgan - I mean Russian bots that we are told are propogating fake news but are actually just telling us the reality our own fake media darent reveal ... erm, not thats just as bad.  No subtext to see here is the best we can hope for.

[broodblik]

A good birthday prog and all strips deliver with only one just phoning it in.

Dredd – A good one-shot but this feels like real life where you done something (yes, I am talking about work) so many times you can not even recall the first time and it has become repetitive. 

Joe Pineapples – Great art as always, the story certainly not that engaging for me.

The Out – So Cyd journey as a girl-on-the-run has started. It is always fascinating to see where Abnett will take her journey next, brilliant as always.

The Order – Looks like we now are moving towards the grand showdown. My favorite new saying: Trojan Octopus. 

Proteus Vex – Brilliant just brilliant. Vex continues to deliver the goods and Midnight delivers the perfect ending to this episode: Vive la revolution.

[Barrington Boots]

Tuesday Prog!

Dredd – This was an alright Dredd - interesting concept, but not especially funny or exciting in its presentation. Not bad, but not up to the usual Niemand standard imo. 

Joe Pineapples – I thought this had picked up the last couple of weeks, but final panel reveal aside, this was not good at all.

The Out – Another change of tack of the story. Big fan of the way The Out does this. The new character is well-written as being a bellend and unlike the strip that preceded it, the dialogue feels like actual speech. Art as ever is top notch.

The Order – Trojan Octopus! I'm enjoying this and it's moving at a fair crack, although I confess to being a bit muddy on what the shadows actually are and may need another reread. My one gripe is Belair and her crew isn't a bunch of characters we've been especially invested in and could perhaps do with fleshing out more, but I think we're beyond that in the story now.

Proteus Vex – This is the finest thing in the Prog. It feels epic, it looks brilliant. Love it.

[Jim_Campbell]

Neimand's usually is pretty spot on (aside from the wordy speech which gvies it that teasing hint of Grennie to keep us guessing).

This isn't the first time you've mentioned this, and I did have to raise an eyebrow at your assertion that Niemand Dredd is more verbose than Wagner Dredd...

[nxylas]

Maybe I'm misreading an Anti-Vaxxer message into the "fake nanobots" narrative

I did wonder about that, but then I remembered that this was written in, what, 2015?

[Proudhuff]

In the first time since the dark days of the nineties I'm questioning my subbie, Dredd is top notch, and Vex a healthy read if awkward in a weekly bite, but everything else feels overstretched and indulgent. This mixed with the wildly fluctuating delivery days/weeks, I'm mair than scunnered. Still there should be seven fat calves along shortly...   

[The Corinthian]

Can I nominate the Hive Regalian doing the "hands covering a gasp" gesture in the bottom right-hand panel of the penultimate page of Proteus Vex as this Prog's Most Valuable Supporting Player?

[Jacqusie]

Tuesday Prog!

Dredd – This was an alright Dredd - interesting concept, but not especially funny or exciting in its presentation. Not bad, but not up to the usual Niemand standard imo. 

It was a bit clunky for sure. I'm really scratching my head as to why 4 judges would kick down the door, fire all their guns at once (at what?) whilst telling the perps to put down their weapons or face erm, the Judges opening fire on their perhaps now injured or already deceased arses...

[Funt Solo]

Niemand is ChatGPT - film at 11!

[nxylas]

Niemand is ChatGPT - film at 11!

No. Just no. Just for comparison, here's an actual Judge Dredd story written using ChatGPT:

Deep in the heart of Mega-City One, Judge Dredd was on patrol in the notoriously dangerous sector of East Meg Central. This was an area known for its high crime rate and lawlessness, where the citizens were struggling to survive in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

As Dredd made his way down the desolate streets, he could see the signs of neglect and poverty all around him. The buildings were crumbling, the roads were pitted with potholes, and the air was thick with pollution. But Dredd was not there to inspect the infrastructure. He was there to enforce the law.

Suddenly, he heard a scream coming from one of the nearby alleyways. Without hesitation, Dredd sprinted towards the source of the sound. As he turned the corner, he saw a group of thugs harassing a terrified citizen. They were demanding that he hand over his valuables, and one of the thugs had a knife pressed against the man's throat.

"Drop the knife, scum!" Dredd barked as he drew his Lawgiver. The thugs turned to face him, sneering and laughing at the sight of the Judge.

"You're not welcome here, Judge," one of them said. "This is our territory, and we don't take kindly to interference."

Dredd didn't flinch. He knew that he was outnumbered and outgunned, but he was confident in his abilities. He fired a warning shot into the ground, and the thugs hesitated for a moment. That was all the time Dredd needed.

He charged forward, using his combat training to take down two of the thugs before they even had a chance to react. The remaining criminals scattered, knowing that they were no match for the Judge.

Dredd turned his attention to the citizen who had been attacked. He was badly shaken but unharmed.

"You're safe now," Dredd said. "But you should be more careful in this area. It's not safe for law-abiding citizens."

The man nodded gratefully and scurried away. Dredd knew that his work was far from done. He continued his patrol, keeping a watchful eye on the streets and alleys of East Meg Central.

As the sun began to set and the streets grew darker, Dredd felt a sense of satisfaction. He knew that he had made a difference in the lives of the citizens of Mega-City One. He knew that he had upheld the law and protected the innocent.

And he knew that he would be back on the streets tomorrow, ready to do it all over again.

[Funt Solo]

...the streets and alleys of East Meg Central.

ChatGPT has been influenced by Mark Millar!

[Leigh S]

Neimand's usually is pretty spot on (aside from the wordy speech which gvies it that teasing hint of Grennie to keep us guessing).

This isn't the first time you've mentioned this, and I did have to raise an eyebrow at your assertion that Niemand Dredd is more verbose than Wagner Dredd...

I;d point to three things

The example there is "reported by an unreliable narrator" Dredd, so thats a factor. It's also a long speech designed for a certain effect.  You can take as long as you like when its building to a point - so long as every word feels like it is there for a purpose

The verboseness I get from Neimands are just some redundancies and repetition or wordy phrases in one or two sentence balloons

To point to a few this week::

"Showing him the ropes as part of his pre-assessment street exp"

"and all the rest of it I havent even told you about yet"

"Wanna lead on this one, with us as your back up?"

It's in these smaller but slightly chewy sentences that I find the verboseness rather than blocks of text

Dont get me wrong, I am usually more than impressed by the Neimand, and I;m sure there are lots of examples of redundancy in Wagner stuff, but somehow he just seems to have a wy with words that makes everything he write seem economical, weven when he has a lot to say!

I did think about the long gestation of Pineapples potentially making the anti-vax reading a bit of a stretch, but the MMR vaccine nonsense has been alive and well for a good while before Covid - either way, I dont think its a good look for the story to say theres no "killer bugs" and that we should do our own research based on what we feel.

[M.I.K.]

I did think about the long gestation of Pineapples potentially making the anti-vax reading a bit of a stretch, but the MMR vaccine nonsense has been alive and well for a good while before Covid - either way, I dont think its a good look for the story to say theres no "killer bugs" and that we should do our own research based on what we feel.

Also, just because the bulk of it may have been written some time ago, doesn't mean there haven't been alterations made to the script since.