Prog 2189 - Hunger Strike

[Colin YNWA]

Oh that sub-tag line 'He is the jaw!' work it Tharg, work it.

Anyway Monday and no review thread - what's going on? I'm guessing folks didn't get it until today like myself. Anyway we're much as you were, which is no bad thing.

Dredd brings the first story in this arc to a suitably horrific ending. And like that we've off to our next big bad. Its solid and Dredd's reaction at the end worked well.

Full Tilt Boogie is a fine, fine comic, maybe not quite as good as last week but as our lines are drawn we head towards the major conflicit one suspects.

The Diaboliks is still all the better for Dellamore.

The Order continues to be sublime as robots march, cannons are fired and the dog has its day. Superb.

The Out continues to be so refreshing as language becomes a barrier and 'human-world person' becomes a refugee. Its fantastic stuff.

All in all it might have taken me a few issues but I'm loving this line-up.

[Eamonn Clarke]

Neil Roberts with a high street cover that will appeal to a very specialist, niche market.

[Eamonn Clarke]

Oh that sub-tag line 'He is the jaw!' work it Tharg, work it

Could also have used a bit of Joe's medical history and gone with

"Gaze into the GIST of Dredd!"

But that's so obscure that probably only I would get it.

[Richard]

Full Tilt Boogie becomes more serious this week, and although I have enjoyed the earlier, lighter episodes, the shift in tone works and is welcome, possibly because it feels like a natural development and is not forced or clunky. It's moving away from its Re-gened origins and belongs to the prog proper.

If Dredd only has nine more episodes to go, and three more baddies to fight, then the pacing is going to pick up pretty quickly now.

The Out has suddenly introduced some peril and the prospect of some action, which I assumed would happen at the end instead of now.

Diaboliks introduces the next villain, who seems pretty threatening.

Four different strips have all simultaneously changed up a gear!

(And I've just read Eamonn's post, and I think Tharg should give him a job.)

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Never mind the links in the badge chain... where's the zip, man?

[broodblik]

Cover with the logo:

[JayzusB.Christ]

Haven't read the prog yet, but that's truly horrible (and possibly a bit of a spoiler).

Also reminds me of the reason Godpleton was banned. Less said the better, really.

[DrRocka]

A good prog for me, though not a great one.

Dredd is fine, but feels as though it's on rails. I'm not really feeling the sense of threat, almost as though once Death is defeated (wonder who that could be), it'll all be back to normal.

Full Tilt Boogie is warming up nicely, as is Diaboliks.

The Order continues to annoy me, simply due to its presence, taking up room in the Prog that could be used for a strip that isn't beautifully drawn gubbins. I genuinely hate it. Who's the enemy? Is it still worms? Why do The Order have worms? WHO CARES.

The Out I really like. I wonder if it's related to Grey Area? Or if the oncoming baddies are [spoiler]something to do with what's happening in Dredd, Trifecta style. [/spoiler]

And I thought Droid Life was being utterly filthy, till I got the magnifying glass out. There's a reason Herr Flick never got a comic book spin off, you know....! Top gag.

All in all, a nice prog. Ace cover.

[TordelBack]

Dredd has almost nothing to offer me underneath all the super atmospheric art and gritted teeth. Despite being part of a global superstorm and supernatural heating-up (?) of nuclear warheads (which are surely every bit as soulless as Jonas) this particular personification of an intrinsic property of the universe's operating system can be quickly stopped by a robot and a cowboy shooting it. Might as well have brought along the Boing® and vacuum traps while you're at it. Meanwhile, a snarling Dredd watches, incapacitated, as usual - at least Millar would have had him punch the bad guy. This'd want to improve, so far it's very weak beer for my tastes. 

Full Tilt Boogie confused me a bit by having an opening shot of what looked an awful lot like the titular starship, but then settled down to a solid episode that balanced character and exposition deftly. Liking this a lot, bright and fresh.

The Order suffers from lacking a clear sense of where everything is happening, and I think giving Burns a splash page or two to pull the battle together might have been an idea. Sorry to see [spoiler]Simeon[/spoiler] go so soon,  Kek-W really doesn't give us much time to get to know these people!  Still, exciting stuff: if you can't enjoy Paul Bunyan clones shooting down French Revolution dive-bombers with hand-held cannon barrels, you've come to the wrong strip.

The Out is just glorious to look at, and I really enjoyed the dialogue and the sense of momentum this week. The dates already given preclude any connection to Grey Area, but the setting, theme and even the events would fit that universe perfectly: I wonder was this originally planned as a GA spin-off and then Dan & Mark decided to push for creator-owned so cut the strings?

I am enjoying Diaboliks, but the Five Sisters set-up is maybe a bit too reminiscent of Aquila. 

Good prog, would have liked the very striking cover more if there'd been a zip!

[Keef Monkey]

Great prog for me this week!

Dredd feels really weird for a Dredd story for some reason, but in a way that really works for me. Such a surreal apocalyptic tale, and the art is just incredible. Feel like every page I turn to I'm aghast at how good it looks, Colin MacNeil is at the top of his game on it.

Actually enjoyed Full Tilt Boogie way more than usual, I didn't feel as confused as I have previously. I mean, I still don't know what any of these people have to do with any of those other people but I at least feel like I know what these people are up to, so sticking to them for an episode helped for me. No doubt I'll be lost again next week.

The Order I'm still completely lost with, but I think because my brain just isn't engaging with it at this point that's largely down to me. It certainly continues to look very nice so I can't say I'm not enjoying looking at it through my forgetful confusion.

Diaboliks was great, I think I'm over my previous 'this isn't quite Caballistics!' hang-ups and it's clicking for me now. I'll probably read back from the start now that I'm into the swing of things and can see me really enjoying it.

And last but definitely not least, The Out continues to be a real highlight for me, second only to Dredd in terms of how pleased I am to see each new episode. Love the set-up and the way it's depicting something seemingly massive but from the point of view of a confused outsider on the ground trying to make sense of it all, it works brilliantly and the art is perfect for it.

[judgeurko]

I'm finding this new Dredd epic rather, lass than epic. It all feels rather rushed & inconsequential I'm not feeling the sense of world ending doom in the story. The villains seem rather bland & faceless. It looks great of course, just hope it picks up.

[Theblazeuk]

Solid prog!

I'm enjoying Dredd but agree on the comments about a lack of Dread. Still v.much appreciating the unexpected team-up.

Full Tilt Boogie is still full tilt fun. I like the grimdark holy war background mixing with the vapidity/irreverence of the 'modern' world. 

I still enjoy The Order, mad as it is. Lost track of exactly who is who and what happened to which version of this timeline or that clone or whatever, but feels pretty apt with the plot. Look forward to seeing how much more gonzo it will get.

Diabolik is a nice return to the world of Caballistics but I miss the 'old team' more with Solomon and Jenny.

The Out is my favourite too, I'm enjoying this semi-reversal of the Grey Area. I like the lighthearted approach, even as we enter heavier territory (perhaps). Reminds me of Halo Jones.

[Arkady]

Maybe I missed something, but... where were all the Brit Cit judges in Brit Cit? Felt like a missed opportunity. Is everyone meant to be dead?

[Buttonman]

A letters page! Oh mummy daddy! More HERE!

[broodblik]

A good solid prog.

The Out is proving to be another solid hit by Abnett.  As always I like the history-mesh-up roller-coaster ride that The Order provides. Full Tilt Boogie is coming together quite nicely as well. Now that Famine is sorted let's see who waits for Dredd in the arctic.

I am not sure if anyone noticed that the art of Diaboliks is done by Antionio Fuso and not Dom Reardon since last week. His art is very similar to Dom's art.  Do anyone know if he did anything else in the prog or is he a prog rookie ?