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Hasnt it been previously stated that Niemand is Keith Richardson?

though I think we have a different artist next time. Given what I figure will be a significent time slip that's all fair really. This has been brilliant and can't wait for Prog 2111.

Accordinf to Ian Edgington at Ice this year Tiernan Trevellion will be drawing the next Fiends

And is it me or is there a real Ron Smith vibe to Tiernan's Kingdom cover this week?

My problem with the cover is that the Dark Judges look about as scary as Squirtle and Pikachu especially when you look at Nick Percival's version in the Meg

Am I blind or is there no creator credits box on Storm Warning because I really preferred the art to Tom Fowler's first story and would like to know who did it.

What I have read of it I've loved.

More importantly I have to say that this is the best work by Coleby in years.  I've not been a great fan of his new style, I liked it but much preferred his original style as it had more clarity to it with it's open spaces and
clear line.  His shadows and heavy blacks sometimes confused me.  This works so well, it's more accommodating for O'Grady's colours and easier to read even at the smaller page size. 

I also love the way that He's managed to pay tribute to Vanyo and Mike Western without aping their style

Has anyone else who's received the Slaine issue got one with the inner pages upside down and back to front?

Be bang up for a bit of Slaughter Bowl.  And Really and Truly though my dream is a collected Big Dave

The front cover design has been terrible for the last few issues and looks really amateur which is a shame as PyeParr had been doing sterling work on the design front.

ROTD however is just abysmal and is like watching Skins where you just thought the writers were trying to be really ruse because they thought it was contoversial when really they just looked crap.  "Yeah let's say cu*t because it's radical and cool" " oh look he said cu*t. Maybe the writers should grow up"
Meanwhile been really enjoying the Meg for the last year or so with its new Dreddworld stuff from Strange and Dark on. Would rather have that than a lot of the creator owned stuff

Really enjoying most of the weekly's current run.  Dark Justice is great and I dont mind about the plotholes.  Im putting it down to d jump technology they've used previously meaning they can jump back to MC1 so they may as well deal with it in the confines of the ship.  Looks lovely though there's the odd bits where I have trouble making things out. I aklso hate that font Annie's using fir the dark judges with it's crossbar I's and it's wobbly letters. It's not nice to look at at all.

Savage is ace, the best Mills has been in ages and the most like he was in Invasion Savage has been.

The Order is proper 2000ad and Burns is excelling as usual.

Orlock - love the story hate the art.  Its hard to define quite often and just taking the piss in trying to be retro when really it's just nasty in places.

Ullyses Sweet however is the opposite. Paul Marshall does his usual slick job but it's polishing a turd.  I cant find anything positive to say about the story at all.

That cover is ace mind.

3.5/5 is good enough for me   

I don't think anyone should have a free pass, even the greatest of writers.  You don't stick Carl Lewis in the 100 metres just because he won a load of gold medals in the 80s.

Pat Mills should have his work assessed on the same criteria as Rennie, Morrison, Wagner, Grant or newer writers like Wyatt and Worley.  If it's good enough, fair enough, if it's not then it's not good enough end of.

I love Savage, I find it funny, action packed and preachy.  It's basically Third World War without the burgers, but it's great fun.  I dont mind Greysuit, even if it is just typical Mills.  Dafoe I can take or leave but it's got something to it.

However AR is scandalous.  It's boring, uneventful, cliched to hell and badly written.  It's construction on all levels, plot dialogue, art is just not good enough and it is creator reputation that's got this through.  It's not just AR, I hate Flesh as well which is the worst drawn series in 20 years to appear in the weekly. Unless you want to spend half an hour working out what has been drawn in a panel, then it's perfect for you. I also detest ABC Warriors and Slaine, but agree Slaine picked up with the Brutania Chronicles back to what I liked about it originally.

But these are my opinions, and its why I'm not buying the Meg at the minute, which is a shame because I usually love it.  Just don't get me started on Alec Worley's stuff though or I'll be here all day.

1 - 1911 Which is odd as I really never took to Stickleback
2 - 1889 Proof Mr Weston is a genius
3 - 1884 Brilliantly vivid cover

Dave

Nothing, Eric Bradbury died in 2001 at the age of 75

I think some judges work and some don't but find them all very stereotyped, the drunk Irish judges, tribal pan african and laid back Oz judges.

I really liked Calhab Justice, it may have been unbearably dour at times but at least it was trying to do something different with the judge concept.

Felt very light this issue.  Ignored the floppy as it contained two stinkers IMHO.

Dredd - reasonable parody, but just goes to show why Ezquerra doesn't do superheroes.  The story was ok.
Snapshot - Good looking, decent story, but a 2 minute read.
Hondo City - intriguing start, but will need more time to get into the strip. 
Samizdat Squad was my favourite thing this issue.  Good old school thrill and the art was excellent.

Interviews - How many pages long was Steve Pugh interview, and how much was actual text.  Way too many illustrations, we could have had another interview in there.  The Batman puffpiece again came across as a rewritten Press Pack rather than the culmination of two interviews
Haven't read the prose story as I'm not a fan of Worley's writing.  I take it the budget's been cut so the text story is in there to lower outgoings. As are the four pages of promo images. 

The issue left me feeling a bit robbed this time around.  There was plenty of room for a stock pile story like Black Museum, but it seemed like the issue was the print equivalent of the faces of half of the cast of The Only Way I Essex -  padded out with cheap filler

Thought the cover was average.  There's a trend with Marshall's covers at the minute of them just being big head shots.  The text was too big as well so we got even less of the image making it less interesting.

Dredd - excellent on all levels, even the colouring.

Flesh - best episode yet, but that still made it tosh.

Zaucer of Zilk - a really good series in the classic tooth tradition.  Completely bonkers stuff, and I liked the way it was openly a comic in the narration.

Terror Tale - Wasn't impressed and without IndigoPrime's prior post and explanation of Kisume I wouldn't have a clue.  Don't like Mark Harrison's art, too reminiscent of his over reliance on green from Glimmer Rats, a story I couldn't follow at all.

Anderson - enjoyed the simplicity of this and Yeowell improved in spades this issue.  The colouring is really nice too.

Dave