A surprising arrival today, given recent Royal Mail shenanigans. The first Biz cover in yonks is quite nice, and then inside we get a single panel preview of an upcoming Hine/Cook strip that looks suitably weird.
Strips-wise, Niemand kicks off another Dredd in fine style. This one looks much darker than his usual fare. The Out is, predictably, superb – following the Unanima investigation into Cyd – and Tin Man is predictably predictable. It's not bad in an old-school way, but feels like you've opened a time warp to 1993. Hope picked up a notch, primarily because I could figure out what was going on. And then Proteus Vex continued fizzing with its own brand of awesome.
So: three crackers and two not-bads. A solid start to 2023 for the Prog (even if I got mine a little early)!
Dredd = The Out = Proteus Vex > Tin Man = Hope
Cover by Simon Bisley:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/Tx1T0cayT97tVzsFjCLQeMeEQ5A=/trim/fit-in/777x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/e5/44/ce21d1c8a11d5277a0edd8ddc288e07d0fd0.jpeg)
The start of another year and the prog is off to a good start.
Dredd – This one is darker tale from the pen of Niemand as the focus is on immigration and passed sins.
The Out – The interrogation continues as Cyd try to understand what happened to her with no clear answers. Great stuff so far let's see how Abnett peels of this onion.
Joe Pineapples – So far, I am not sure what to make of the story but let's see how the story unfolds. Not bad but certainly not rocking the boat.
Hope – We are back with the misses as she finally decides that the reel is too dangerous, and the world needs saving.
Proteus Vex – We focus on Midnight as she continues her "escape" from the Citheronian authorities, but she might be in for a surprise as the Scorchers takes notice. Really enjoying this thrill.
The art on Joe Pineapples seems quite different from last Prog. And not in a good way. It's not really to my taste, and given who the artist is and how long this strip has taken, it's a bit disappointing so far. Not sure how many Bisley episodes there are before Clint Langley takes over.
I think Bisley only did 2 episodes
Quote from: broodblik on 04 January, 2023, 11:31:58 AM
I think Bisley only did 2 episodes
And took about 4 years to do them.
Impressive stuff.
Quote from: GordonR on 04 January, 2023, 01:04:24 PM
And took about 4 years to do them.
Makes Brian Bolland look like Steve Dillon. :-)
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 04 January, 2023, 01:17:13 PM
Quote from: GordonR on 04 January, 2023, 01:04:24 PM
And took about 4 years to do them.
Makes Brian Bolland look like Steve Dillon. :-)
From what I hear, Bolland nowadays makes Simon Bisley look like Steve Dillon.
"My greatest fear - nanobots eating my brain!"
Quote from: The Corinthian on 04 January, 2023, 06:01:10 PM
"My greatest fear - nanobots eating my brain!"
Things to say at a job interview.
First Prog of the year!
The cover is, in my opinion, pretty poor. I've not seen too much Bisley since his heyday but this is far from it.
Dredd – Excellent start to what looks to be a grim tale. Loved the pacing in this one, and the virtual judge (Judge Pal I assume?).
The Out – Another great start. No clue what this arc will be about, looking forward to finding out.
Joe Pineapples – As IP says, this feels like a window back to 1993. That's not a good thing imo: ironically, given the creative team, it feels like the sort of Bisley / Mills derivative stuff that made me stop reading the Prog back then. It's only episode two though I suppose and Clint Langley in next week..?
Hope – Far better episode than recent ones, but it's too late for me to be invested or enjoying it really.
Proteus Vex – Just totally excellent.
Three great thrills, I'll take that.
Thursday Prog, which given resent form from Royal Mail I guess I'll settle for!
Its a good un, on the whole.
Dredd is magnificent Niemand at this characterful sinister best more than ably supported by Nicolo Assirelli an artist who goes from strength to strength after a very good start in Tharg's kingdom.
The Out is toying with being magnificent. This one retains the delightful interplay between Cyd and the world she travels and the characters that inhabit it. This one is in the early stages and still needs to settle into its ideas but its great.
Joe Pineapples I'm no longer a fan of Bisley, even at his peak he doesn't impact me they way he did back in the day, so this newer style leaves me absolutely cold. The story... well its everything modern Mills does when indulging and that's not a good thing.
Hope needs a re-read but I keep thinking that will expose how great it actually is, as it is I'm a little lost week to week.
Proteus Vex returns us to magnificence. I mean the more Midnight we get the better clearly and this one is chock full of that amazing character, or more to the point the refection of her from those who aren't her, which is jusy as good, so its a result.
Yeah good Prog.
Dredd is excellent. Niemand has, so far, managed to do what 80s Dredd did so well - make Dredd a looming but always tangible background presence in stories about the city. These days, I'm not mad about Dredd being an action hero - it's partly him getting old, and partly me doing the same. I like him either as the aforementioned omnipresent if not always seen soul of the city, or as a politician butting heads with other judges, or as a brooding old-timer. Anyway, good work, Ken, whoever the feck you are.
The Out is great of course, and the only other one I've read so far is Joe Pineapples - Man, I don't know. Nothing of any real interest going on, for me at least, and while Bisley is still always a good artist, I'm not a fan of this current style. I shouldn't compare everything he does to The Horned God, I know, but I'm going to anyway - his stuff then was like nothing I'd ever seen, while what he does nowadays is (with the caveat that it's better than anything I could do, and I paint for a living) nothing particularly special.
Late to the review thread, because I'm late to the prog, because after much procrastination I've gone digital. 'New year, new start', as Damage Report suggests.
So this is my first prog in shiny hi-res CBZ format and it's a good one. 'The Night Shifter' tantalises us with a glimpse of Dredd as a genuine good guy before remind us that the letter of the law comes before all else. The Out exemplifies Dan Abnett's knack of framing dialogue-heavy scenes in the most wonderfully abstract ways. Hope... is grisly and shocking and stupendous, and Proteus Vex is just an exhilarating thrill-ride. Finally Joe Pineapples provies a salient reminder that we should savour the halcyon days of all Tharg's droids, because however good they are, they won't last.
Right! I'm an ctrl-tab away from a re-read!
Quote from: norton canes on 09 January, 2023, 10:37:23 PM
Late to the review thread, because I'm late to the prog, because after much procrastination I've gone digital. 'New year, new start', as Damage Report suggests.
I'm about to go digital myself. I've not renewed my physical combi sub and am getting my last few Progs and one more Meg before it runs out. Then I'll be taking out digital subs. It's a shame, but I just don't have the room anymore. If I could magically swap my physical collection for a digital one, I would at this point.
Pity you can't get the subscriber gifts with the digital subs, but that's not incentive enough to keep the physical one.
I can see a few other advtanges to going digital as well, such as much quicker and easier access to back Progs. It might mean I'll buy fewer trades in future as well.
My wife yesterday reading this issue: "Is this the same Bisley everyone loves, or a different guy?"
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 10 January, 2023, 10:51:16 AM
My wife yesterday reading this issue: "Is this the same Bisley everyone loves, or a different guy?"
😂
The Bisley art reminds me of the Dredd by someone famous, with the clumpy boot that was rejected.
As in, you have to ask if it's good enough for the prog...
You're all being a bit harsh on The Biz.
He has used the looser, marker-heavy art style for at least the last 10-15 years (as far back as his occasional issue of Hellblazer if I recall).
This was never going to match his best work, even of he hadn't lost interest early on in the project (which in fairness is something I have noticed before with some of his other non-2000AD work).
Still a 2000AD hall-of-famer for me.
And I liked his cover this week too.
I'd have liked it better of he hadnt drawn it on A4
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 10 January, 2023, 03:16:19 PM
The Bisley art reminds me of the Dredd by someone famous, with the clumpy boot that was rejected.
This? I mean it is ridiculous, but sort of fascinating at the same time
was it rejected because of the beard??? :)
(https://i.redd.it/mk39e3635bw11.jpg)