MEG 258 - Fallen angels

[Jim_Campbell]

"The Satanus story was again dreadful."

I have to admit I'm not even trying with Satanus ... I had a bash at the first part but there's something in the combination of script and art that causes my brain to bounce off the pages like a sparrow off a double-glazed patio door.

Cheers

Jim

[JOE SOAP]

I find the art in Satanus so off putting and amateur that even the small press looks more professional and readable. It has killed the story for me.

[Keef Monkey]

Agreed. When I look at it the word "amateur" is what springs to mind immediately. I hate to say that because I know the guy has probably put a lot of work into it(and God knows I couldn't do any better) but it's just not up to snuff.

[JOE SOAP]

I know, it's a terrible thing to say about any experienced artist but even his old Nemesis stuff is streets ahead of his work in Satanus. He can't even lay out a page properly and those double page spreads are a disaster.

[Noisybast]

Not much to add, really. Best bits: Flint on Dredd and Taylor on Anderson. Worst bit: Mills & Hicklenton on Satanus.

One minor spoddy gripe: is that a movie-style Judge helmet I spy in the Mean Machine reprint...?

[Funt Solo]

Dredd:
I was prepared to be disappointed (because of recent Megs) but this blew my socks off.  Fantastic art and a thrilling story.  As the opening, core strip of the comic, it's important that the Meg gets Dredd right, and this month it delivered in spades.  Fantastic.


Anderson - Big Robots:
A great wee tale, this.  I find the art slightly hit and miss, but I'm keen to see the artist's style develop - primarily here and now on this strip, but hopefully later as well.  I've said this before, but when you look at early Gibson, McMahon et al, they're a bit ropey in places - it's cool that they got time to develop.  Can't wait to find out what's prompting a Block to gain sentience and mobility.


Satanus:
I don't really get the level of vehemence being levelled at this strip.  I'd agree that Hicklenton is a bit rusty compared to his work on Nemesis way back when, but his art is still incredibly imaginative and (for me) highly entertaining.  O'Neill didn't get such a vicious reaction when he delivered well below par in the last episode of Nemesis, Book X, and everyone seemed to be going out of their way to be polite about Ramon Sola's recent Flesh work.  It's one strip in the comic - so calls to cancel subs and other such vehemence seem incredibly reactionary.  If it was an all-Satanus issue of the Meg, I'd see where you were coming from, but if it's just this you don't like, then skip it and enjoy the rest. I just showed the strip to a non-scrot and they reckoned it was "sloppy but cool".  I'd have no problem letting people on the bus see this.  It's oozing with anarchic imagination - it's got a flaming, demonic tyrannosaur - it's very 2000AD.  (Now I feel like the rebellious teenage son of a grumpy parent.)

As for the script, I'm really enjoying it - very pulp, insane horror sci-fi.  The original Blood of Satanus had a guy drinking blood and turning into a human-dinosaur hybrid.  It's not as if Mega-City One can't handle such a bizarre storyline.


Small Press - Boar War:
Fantastic production quality here - beautiful art and a good, if highly predictable and slightly muddled, twist.

Mean Machine:
A fantastic butt.

The Angel Gang:
I wasn't initially a big fan of Roberts on this, but it gets better the further through the story we get, until the last page is just excellent.  The story is really good - and  I wasn't looking forward to this at all. I love that they torture the guy for no reason - hysterical - as is Pa Angel's response.  Whoever complained about it on moral grounds - it's only a comic, grandad.

Overall:
The Meg's on a strong upturn. Excellent.

[Noisybast]

"Mean Machine:
A fantastic butt."

He works out...

[Bart Oliver]

Even if it's noncommissioned small press material, Nick Dyer's artwork has made it into the pages of the Meg.

I remember meeting him last year at Bristol and seeing his original pages for the Rogue Trooper strip he did for Zarjaz and thinking for someone with such obvious talent he was criminally modest about his work.

It's about time he's got the exposure to wider audience he deserves.

[Tiplodocus]

Yeah - lovely to see Nick's artwork given the wider audience it deserves.  

Main Dredd was good, as was Big Robots and Angels.  In fact, apart from SATANUS (which I find practically unreadable in as many ways as you can imagine) it was pretty good stuff.

[radiator]

'is that a movie-style Judge helmet I spy in the Mean Machine reprint...?'

Yeah, cos its from the 1995 scifi spesh, right when the film came out, (vividly remember reading this strip on a long coach journey back in the day....). Even Carlos drew the movie style helmet for a while, remember?

So whatever happened to Rob McCallum? Always liked his stuff.

[bobman46]

Someone mention me ?

This is Rob McCallum - facebook actually had a use for once in it's otherwise useless existance. A friend told me I got a mention on here.

Anyway, cheers- glad you liked my work. After a bunch of crap happening to me while working in comics, I got out.

I'm now over the water storyboarding and doing concept work on such films as Land of the Dead, Resident Evil Apocalypse- I designed the nemesis as well as storyboarding, Hairspray and a load of others.

Anyway, would like to do some comics again one day when I can find the time. I get the odd enquiry now and again so maybe one day.

[Funt Solo]

That's right - dredge up a thread where I defend Blood of Satanus III.

[bobman46]

heh:)

My Pleasure...........so.......tell us all what you liked about it again.....I missed it the first time

[bobman46]

heh:)

My Pleasure...........so.......tell us all what you liked about it again.....I missed it the first time

[chris_askham]

Not read the issue yet, but flicking through the Hicklenton interview reminds me of just what a blinding artist he can be. Just such a shame about Blood of Satanus 3.