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Prog 2242 - Judging The Judges!

Started by Goosegash, 26 July, 2021, 10:17:58 PM

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IndigoPrime

Dredd was great, but Skip Tracer fridging was a low. I mean, come on. Dept K was fun, but frankly putting 75% of a swear word (with it being very obvious what the next letter would be) in a strip that will ultimately be collected for the young market is a terrible idea. I hope that gets edited for the trade. If not: oof. (And, yes, that might sound daft, but it's the way it is. You stick swear words in these things and they're dead to a great many parents and *they won't trust your publication again*. If 2000 AD really wants to widen its appeal, it needs to stop doing this—at least in the Regened strips.)

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 30 July, 2021, 11:24:21 PM
And, yes, that might sound daft, but it's the way it is.

Doubly hilarious because parents imagine their little darlings don't have a quite extensive range of profanity in their vocabulary. Certainly, I recall having a comprehensive grasp of the vernacular long before I went to comprehensive.
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IndigoPrime

I have a 2K (as in, KLF) "fuck the millennium" T-shirt. I wore it while exercising. Past tense, because the 7yo saw it and told me off. It's not like she doesn't know these words, but she knows they are wrong, especially for kids. She knows that if they let one slip at school, they'll be sent to the headteacher. Many parents of younglings in her age bracket have little time for publications that use such language BUT are these days a lot more tolerant of (even demanding of) things like diversity, child-led books and anarchic humour, so that's a solid trade—and a big step forward from my childhood.

The point remains that Rebellion is on very thin ice if it puts "SHI—" in a children's book. Their call, obviously, and they might think my comment absurd, over the top and ridiculous. But I guarantee that it would obliterate trust from that point on with parents of a big chunk of their target market.

broodblik

Actually there was 3 times in the story wording used which was out of place for the strip and I felt that this was not the intent of an "all-ages" story.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

The Corinthian

Quote from: SmallBlueThing(Reborn) on 29 July, 2021, 07:07:16 PM
*If I have to mention Brink/ Lawless/ Dante to another hairy-arsed Farage-follower with an England flag profile picture when they ask for examples of 'stuff as good as Sam Spade Robot Hunter' or 'that Dredd where he fights Russians'

I imagine they're thinking of 'Frankenstein Division'.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 31 July, 2021, 12:25:15 AM
The point remains that Rebellion is on very thin ice if it puts "SHI—" in a children's book.

I'm not disagreeing with you, IP. It's just one of the things, like the level of violence that is tolerable in just about any mainstream medium compared to sex, that makes very little sense objectively but which producers of entertainment content have to navigate their way around.
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

sintec

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 31 July, 2021, 12:25:15 AM
The point remains that Rebellion is on very thin ice if it puts "SHI—" in a children's book.

Given it's a Dreddworld strip surely a nice child-safe Drokk of Grud would have been a better choice.

Back to topic it's a mixed bag of a prog for me this week. Wagner Dredd is, unsurprisingly, the top thrill. Aquilla is following the old school formula episodic formula and I'm looking forward to seeing what new challenge each week brings (even with the certainty that they'll breeze through it somehow). Dept K is charging to it's conclusion and has been great fun (best thing to slip across from Regened so far imo). But then we have another episode of exposition from Sin/Dex and Skip going for an 80s action film plot of "hard man left holding baby" - meh.

IndigoPrime

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 31 July, 2021, 09:21:58 AMI'm not disagreeing with you, IP. It's just one of the things, like the level of violence that is tolerable in just about any mainstream medium compared to sex, that makes very little sense objectively but which producers of entertainment content have to navigate their way around.
Yeah—there is a lack of logical consistency. That said, I would say that parents of this generation are less keen on violence but more open of relationships (and varied relationships) in children's fare at this age group. Regened seems to be, what, targeting the same kind of age group as The Phoenix, so 7+? Perhaps it skews a little older, but not by much.

Also, I agree with this:

Quote from: sintec on 31 July, 2021, 10:41:43 AMGiven it's a Dreddworld strip surely a nice child-safe Drokk of Grud would have been a better choice.
Thinking about it, modern-day swears have crept into Dredd more often in recent years. With Dredd being a strip for adults now, that doesn't bother me per se, but the original "get around the censors" Drokk! and Grud! in the end became a part of world-building. And profanity does evolve. On that basis, it actually made a lot of sense that these words extend a century into the future.

QuoteBack to topic
Having read the rest now, Sin/Dex is still going and going and going. I don't mind the strip, but it does feel a bit like wallpaper and the story that will never end. Aquilla feels really old-school, akin to the Strontium Dog  Hell arc. I'm quite enjoying it.

So: yeah, mixed bag for me. Dredd was fab; Skip Tracer was FFS fridging; Dept K was nice enough but "SHI—"; Sin/Dex exists; Aquilla was fun.

SmallBlueThing(Reborn)

I will just point out that as long ago as 2005, children's television programme Dr Who was using "Oh boll-" for comedic effect. Cutting off 'naughty words' is a standard technique- and even adverts broadcast during the day use it (see Green Flag's current campaign, "you're first words after an accident may not be Green Flag but maybe they should be your second", complete with "Ffff..." and accompanying mouthing- which is now covered/ blurred out when censoring swearing elsewhere on the box).

But yeah, I still prefer 2000AD to keep away from swearing- and sex. Don't mind the violence though. We are hypocritical as a species.

SBT

Sean SD

My Top 3 for Prog 2242

1st - Aquila - Big action scenes with use of silent panels (hooray!!) to tell the story give this thrill first place this month for me

2nd - Dredd - Wagner knows what he's doing but felt a bit busy text wise at times

3rd - Department K - the art and colour add so much to this thrill

Hard to do in 5 and 6 page comics I'm sure but love it when silent panels are used effectively.