Three weeks and counting and some interesting thrills appear. Ones that I think are great and widely loved but might have one factor or another that might stop them going as far as they otherwise might? This Round I'm not sure this will be tested toooo much but good to see how they will fare.
Maelstrom isn't Vanguard, Maelstrom isn't Vanguard, Maelstrom isn't Vanguard. I mean neither is The Taxidermist that's a wonderfully off-centre JD world thrill by Wagner and Gibson, but then I didn't mix those two up in the first round... Maelstrom isn't Vanguard....
Maelstrom - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=maelstro)
Vs
Taxidermist - more info (https://shop.2000ad.com/series/the-taxidermist)
Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.
Match ends early on the morning of Sunday April 24th and the winner gets a place in Round 3 (of 9!!!).
What on Earth is ALL of this? (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.0)
For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.msg1070150#msg1070150)
Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN
Taxidermist. Return of... remains one of my favourite Wagner comedy serials, and such lush colour Gibson art!
Taxidermist
The original outing was as succinct a piece of storytelling as you could ever wish for; The Return of...(crass racism aside) expanded the world beautifully; Revenge of...was both weird and charming.
Combined with one of the greatest covers of all time:
"You wanna end up in a tin, Sardini?"
Gold medal goes to The Taxidermist
Maelstrom- which wins by default, as I've never been a fan of any of Wagner's 'comedy' strips.
SBT
Taxidermist
I assume we're only counting 'Return of the Taxidermist', but as Bishop says it may just be Wagner's finest comedy story, and it's definitely Gibson's best colour work. Certainly superior to Mael-whattheHELLisgoingon-strom. (Although I do have a soft spot for that one, miles better than Vanguard)
Taxidermist
Explosion in a bus Q... it has to be The Taxidermist.
I like Maelstrom more than any readers I think but in this case it's got to be Sardini. It's not all comedy - there's some touching humanity to it too.
Taxidermist
Taxidermist
Maelstrom
Taxidermist
Comedy strips are more miss than hit in the prog, but Taxidermist was a rare exception. It was fun but also had genuine tension. A solid balancing act by Wagner.
Return of The Taxidermist is one of my favourite Dredd-world serials. Take note, all you 'world judge' stories - this is how you develop the universe.
Quote from: Blue Cactus on 21 April, 2022, 09:34:39 AM
I like Maelstrom more than any readers
Many, more than
many readers!
Return of the Taxidermist is a classic - Olympic Staring, and that bit where an axe-wielding maniac sets about the synchronized swimmers and gets awarded top points from the judging panel. Taking the supporting act of Jacob Sardini out of Dredd and into a 72-pager was masterfully done.
(https://2kstages.github.io/AtoZ/ReturnOfTheTaxidermist/ReturnOfTheTaxidermist.png)
Maelstrom was just too much a space-LARP. The best we can say about it is that it's a sort of proto-Insurrection. It *looks* good, but it turned the melodrama up to eleventy-stupid, and the hybrid pterodactyl-Judges didn't really work, visually or conceptually.
(https://2kstages.github.io/AtoZ/Maelstrom/maelstrom.png)
Taxidermist
Has to be Return of the Taxidermist.
Witty Wagner script + Lush Gibson art = Olympic gold.
Quick question.
Has the tourney ever thrown together two strips that were in the same Hachette book?
I ask as The Taxidermist was close-ish to Darren Dead, who appeared in Heat 98.
They weee both in Judge Dredd Mega Collection volume 72.
I'm really not sure. I've only cherry picked the Hachette stuff so don't really have a clear view of that. Sure there's smarter folks than me might be about to tell folks. Certainly happy to provide a list of all the ties to date.
John, Paul, George and Ringo agree. It's the Tax(idermist), man.
With a day to go there won't be any surprises here either. Final day votes will of course be embraced and I'll count up in the morning.
Taxidermist for me. Sardini's version of animated stuffing was inspired.
Voting Closed
Strong performance here for Sardini and Co here. Good vote count, epsecially for a Thursday vote. Maelstrom wasn't without its fans, but was stuff from start to finish as
The Taxidermist
Beatles* his way into Round 3
*Look it makes perfect sense if you read Dash Decent's comment below