Alas regardless of what others may have wanted this is the tag line for this week's Prog. Damned fine Prog it is too. When the line up is this strong as I wittered last week its the tiny margins that make the difference and here they are almost all positive.
Dredd some how manages to get better, with Mike Carroll revealing a plot from the Justice Departments past quite brilliantly and Mark Sexton continues to be an art god.
Kingdom is a slight disappointment... well its not, its just not the Mad Maxesque chase home I was expecting as Dan Abnett decides to cut straight to the point and starts all out bloody war. The scale of which is quite exquisitly presented in a double page splash from Richard Elson.
Ro-Buster is in much better form and The Order is just plain superb, a fantastically crafted little number that builds things in a way I wasn't expecting. The caper continues a pace in Strontium Dog too and with Savage promises for the future overall a quite fantastic Prog. Keep it up Tharg, keep it up.
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/1966_zpssacdg2yn.jpg)
Neil Roberts
Cover: Nicely reminiscent of old scjhool covers. Like it a lot.
Dredd: So it sorta IS a internal Judgey sorta thing then! Kinda like Judd but without the religious aspect I suppose. I say it week after week, but it bears repeating. The art is feckin' brilliant. Nice suprise at the end!
Kingdom: Excellent stuff, simple, and to the point.
Ro-Busters: Still nice to look at, still tinfoil hattery of the highest order.
The Order: Wait...I'm confused...I understood this weeks episode!!! Great stuff again here.
Strontium Dog: And that higher gear I hoped for looks to be engaged. Should be a good one! Although I'm not sure what's the biggest surprise...someone nicked the brain, ar Middenface grew back his arm on the first page! ;)
I'm enjoying the prog at the moment. A solid 8!
Cover: Really like this, it has a bit of action and is not just a big head.
Dredd: It's good, but it feels like the Judda again. And I am still smarting from the shootout where Dredd was left nearly dead and then he suddenly recovered. The art is lovely but once again we have that 'easter egg' where the old Judge suits are depicted in the retro style. I am of the opinion that the judge outfit has not had an upgrade, it's just the way different artists have drawn it.
Kingdom: This is a great series, even an episode where not much happens is really good.
Ro-Busters: I find this hilarious, all of the conspiracy stuff makes me laugh. The art is gorgeous.
The Order: I stopped reading thsi last week as I was lost, I will read the whole thing when it's complete.
Strontium Dog: Best thing in the prog. I am sure the mystery of the returning arm will be explained :P
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
And I am still smarting from the shootout where Dredd was left nearly dead and then he suddenly recovered.
Didn't he spend the entirity of the last episode encased in a progressive series of futuristic medical apparatus while the investigation went on around him?
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
Ro-Busters: I find this hilarious, all of the conspiracy stuff makes me laugh. The art is gorgeous.
Completely agree, I find the conspiracy theory subtext equally hilarious and it proves uncle Pat hasn't lost his mojo one iota!
Quote from: Tordelback on 31 January, 2016, 01:46:06 PM
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
And I am still smarting from the shootout where Dredd was left nearly dead and then he suddenly recovered.
Didn't he spend the entirity of the last episode encased in a progressive series of futuristic medical apparatus while the investigation went on around him?
Yes, because it's the future and and all wounds are healed except no other judge can have that future healing equipment. We will kill all the other judges, but dredd, the best judge, we will just shoot him and leave him to die, not even realising they have the futuristic healing things.
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 02:31:10 PM
Quote from: Tordelback on 31 January, 2016, 01:46:06 PM
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
And I am still smarting from the shootout where Dredd was left nearly dead and then he suddenly recovered.
Didn't he spend the entirity of the last episode encased in a progressive series of futuristic medical apparatus while the investigation went on around him?
Yes, because it's the future and and all wounds are healed except no other judge can have that future healing equipment. We will kill all the other judges, but dredd, the best judge, we will just shoot him and leave him to die, not even realising they have the futuristic healing things.
Yup, I did think 'Grayden's' actions in Part 2 were daft: I know he's a dangerous bugger to approach without a weapon, but considering the risk she just took to kill him in the first place, I can't see why she doesn't even try to finish him off. But that aside, I thought the healing process was well handled.
Quote from: Tordelback on 31 January, 2016, 02:40:00 PM
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 02:31:10 PM
Quote from: Tordelback on 31 January, 2016, 01:46:06 PM
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
And I am still smarting from the shootout where Dredd was left nearly dead and then he suddenly recovered.
Didn't he spend the entirity of the last episode encased in a progressive series of futuristic medical apparatus while the investigation went on around him?
Yes, because it's the future and and all wounds are healed except no other judge can have that future healing equipment. We will kill all the other judges, but dredd, the best judge, we will just shoot him and leave him to die, not even realising they have the futuristic healing things.
Yup, I did think 'Grayden's' actions in Part 2 were daft: I know he's a dangerous bugger to approach without a weapon, but considering the risk she just took to kill him in the first place, I can't see why she doesn't even try to finish him off. But that aside, I thought the healing process was well handled.
Taken individually they are fine, it's all a bit James Bond though. Dredd is clearly not going to die in a non-Wagner story, having this peril just seems unnecessary to me - the story could have worked fine without it.
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
Strontium Dog: Best thing in the prog. I am sure the mystery of the returning arm will be explained :P
Had a brand new arm fitted for the holiday, and one of those seagulls nicked it.
Cover: interesting take on Alpha, and some eye-catching colour and composition.
Dredd: I really like the shift between uniform styles. I think over 40 or so years we would have seen evolution in the kit and uniform, just like you do in current times. So to me it's great to see Sexton using both styles. It makes the historical aspects seem more authentic. I do very much hope to see more Sexton Dredd.
Kingdom: Echoing Colin, it would have been great to see an issue or two of Mad Max craziness, but there you go. Regardless, Kingdom's still one of my favourite things in 2000 AD. It does feel like we're heading towards something of an ending though.
Ro-Busters: Irks to some extent as Mills goes on yet another ret-con rampage combined with conspiracy-nut overload. I really like the original Starlord strips. This feels overblown.
Cover: Do you think that strapline is why Mr W wrote the whole thing? :D
Nerve Centre: damage Report: Sons of Archie? How very dare you! Move straight onto Penny Dreadful now Sir!
Dredd: So it sorta IS a internal Judda sorta thing then! and that final reveal made my day - punk!
Kingdom: War what is it good for? Splashpages!! Say it again! War what is it good for? Splashpages!!
Ro-Busters: Skippity-skip La-la-la-la can't hear you...
The Order: Wait...I'm actually enjoying this, WTF! It nicely mad now.
Strontium Dog: Harmless fun for us kiddies. I think I preferred the dark, brooding Johnnie with the Iron in his soul. But a bit light relief can't be a bad thing can it?
Another cracking Prog.
Good prog! Like the cover image and strap line but a bit digital and 'shiny' for my taste.
Small gripe though, agree with Skullmo a solid 8 of a prog, the Order's making more sense to me now, enjoying Kingdom - I do like a DPS. SD has got some pace going too.
Quote from: Proudhuff on 01 February, 2016, 11:50:56 AM
Kingdom: War what is it good for? Splashpages!! Say it again! War what is it good for? Splashpages!!
And the award goes to PROUDHUFF for his Prog 1966 Kingdom review 'After Edwin Starr'.
Not finished the prog yet but want to point two really rather brilliant things about Sextins art.
One, he managed to brilliantly differentiate the early judge uniforms with particular emphasis on the smaller, rounder shoulder pads. Brilliant attention to detail. Second, Hershey actualy looks her age for once! At this point she must be pushing 60 so to see a few wrinkles in their is brilliant as a detail many artists overlook.
Quote from: Hawkmonger on 03 February, 2016, 09:49:29 AM
At this point she must be pushing 60 so to see a few wrinkles in their is brilliant as a detail many artists overlook.
She's about 55 - aging with Anderson.
Who was the first artist to do the 'old shoulder pads/helmet' thing for flashbacks? I have a suspicion it was Simon Fraser, but that (Blood Cadets) seems very recent to be the first.
Quote from: Tordelback on 03 February, 2016, 10:07:21 AM
Who was the first artist to do the 'old shoulder pads/helmet' thing for flashbacks? I have a suspicion it was Simon Fraser, but that (Blood Cadets) seems very recent to be the first.
I'm pretty sure you're right, and that it was Fraser in 2000 - I remember it seemed a very novel approach at the time. It's hard to think of many other stories prior to that which involved significant flashback elements - maybe there's something in The Cal Files? Higgins definitely did the retro-uniform a few years later in 'Monkey on my Back'.
That is an interesting question.... I suppose the first starting place would be flashback stories/ stories that required a flashback... I'm thinking A Case for Treatment has some flashback scenes... Oz does....
In oz I know Brendan McCarthy Drew dredd with a wider helmet, I hope we will now see a story which explains that he was trailing a new type of suit.
Hmmmm, Harsh looks 60. We're all rapt by the colour of Dredd's uniform, do we really wanna go back to the age retarding tech in year 2238? Z
Quote from: Leigh S on 03 February, 2016, 03:47:50 PM
That is an interesting question.... I suppose the first starting place would be flashback stories/ stories that required a flashback... I'm thinking A Case for Treatment has some flashback scenes... Oz does....
You're right! Case for Treatment has the 'he ain't heavy' scene as a flashback, and Dredd is wearing the helmet with the curvy visor surrounds (the pads aren't very clear). Might be more a case of a straight homage to the original McMahon image, but I reckon it counts.
Great Prog this week.
As with others I really like Mark Sexton's art on Dredd and would definitely like to see him become a regular. I think Skullmo is correct about the uniform - the changes are due to artistic impression changing and it has not under gone any actual changes (except when it changed from blue to black material...er sorry..I'll get my coat).
I have always liked the smaller shoulder pads and eagles and think they make more sense in the real world, as evidenced by the movie uniform. I also think there is something cool about showing the stars on the shoulder pad...every much early Ezquerra & McMahon (which was actually before I started getting the Prog).
The story is great too. I am hoping this will feed into a longer ongoing story thread.
Always great to see [spoiler]DeMarco [/spoiler]in the Prog. Not sure why others have spoiler tagged it, but I will follow suit.
Top thrill this week has got to be Strontium Dog. What was a good story just hit top gear and his heading toward "great".
Kingdom - another slice of what Abnett does best. The Order - ok seems we are getting to it now.
Ro-busters. Ok so what is up with the art this week? I don't understand the glaring change from last week. Does anyone know?
I had totally forgotten Nurse Angel, so it was good to be reminded.
Quote from: Greg M. on 03 February, 2016, 10:05:06 AM
Quote from: Hawkmonger on 03 February, 2016, 09:49:29 AM
At this point she must be pushing 60 so to see a few wrinkles in their is brilliant as a detail many artists overlook.
She's about 55 - aging with Anderson.
Hopefully when she hits the menopause she'll stop all that stomping off in the Huff by Dredd and tell him what's what.
When Anderson hits it, there will be blocks levelled I tell ye!
Excellent prog! Dredd, The Order, Stronty Dog and even Kingdom where on form, whilst Ro-Busters was tinfoil hattery of the highest order and actually rather boring.
Flashback in the Dredd story. Shouldn't the elbow pads be Yellow?
V
Quote from: vzzbux on 05 February, 2016, 09:56:01 PM
Flashback in the Dredd story. Shouldn't the elbow pads be Yellow?
Not necessarily. A quick flick through Case Files One 1 tenth anniversary edition shows that in the early days the elbow pads where sometimes shown as yellow but were also shown as green on other occasions, so I guess either is valid for a flashback.
Loved the flashback in Dredd, more importantly a very decent peg to start my subscription :) love getting it through the door on a Saturday morning
Prog even. Bloody autocorrect
Quote from: Skullmo on 31 January, 2016, 12:03:21 PM
once again we have that 'easter egg' where the old Judge suits are depicted in the retro style. I am of the opinion that the judge outfit has not had an upgrade, it's just the way different artists have drawn it
It's
fun, and you can treat it as shrewd visual shorthand denoting the passing of time - see the panel depicting the decrepit head of Sector Zero reflecting in his quarters, with his still-shiny Bank Raid-era helmet large in the foreground - or disregard it as artistic whimsy, as you please.
If Ghosts was a Dan Abnett story, Cheyenne's surname would definitely turn out to be Autumn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRqz-1qxUb8). Instead, Mike Carroll gives us the brilliantly named arch villain,
Judge Badger, who conspired with Tek Judge Peter Rabbit to bring down Chief Judge Mrs Tiggywinkle back in prog 26. Carroll myxomatosises his metaphors, with a Badger telling his flock they need to become ghosts to protect the sheep from wolves (http://i.imgur.com/qB3LPPk.jpg?1).
Badger's Just So story is filched from American Sniper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxZ0UZf0mkk), which is exactly the kind of sly subversion that tickled the young Pat Mills. Elder statesman Mills has abandoned coyness, but I agree with Skullmo that the effect is comedic. I don't buy conspiracy theories, but the baroque logic that underpins them is a fantastic hook to pin some puns, jobbie jokes, and classic Rojaws & Hammerstein dialogue upon.
Kingdom's the best thing in the comic.
Bone Idol ...
Badger is also the name of Mike's badge making app.
Uniforms in the real world change over time, I like the distinction between the three versions.