A Friday prog! Ntot had one of those since I don;t know when, so lets have a quick look
Dredd continues to be interesting and derivative in equal measure (could ahve done without Senior Leadership Team intrigue again - get enough of that in real life!)
Pat couldnt have written a more PAt script for this one if its his last - evil wummin who we never heard of before is casually mentioned and is now super important to Joe's entire backstory (so now she just needs to tur up next week)
Hope: nope
The Out is pretty, but dragging its heels a bit - hope it gets a move on soon
Vex ... Vex I already feel like I need to reread the first few parts of this one, let alone the previous tales... frutstrating as an alien space opera should be right up my alley...
Quote from: Leigh S on 13 January, 2023, 11:44:46 AM
A Friday prog! Ntot had one of those since I don;t know when, so lets have a quick look
Wow a Friday Prog, impressive. They were like hens teeth even before covid and then Royal Mail going to pot!
Think I have only once received a Friday Prog before.
Not counting those that came the week after.😂
Friday prog has been the norm for quite a while - unfortunately it's the week before's!
Cover by Neil Roberts:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/1AtkQU-MSooUH7hKAZtoRMpjrn8=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/0b/a5/9d7dea15d926a66ba6655899c0677b2f0aef.jpeg)
Second Saturday Prog on the bounce... and I was chuffin' away so didn't get the chance to revel in it... am I being churlish to find that annoying.... WELL I DON'T CARE... BOOOOO!
Ha! No such luck here this week. No 2000 AD and also no Beano and no Phoenix. It's still all very random.
So a Sunday Prog it is then (silly whine and moan) and its not bad at all, once you pass a cover I'm just not a fan of. From the painting, finely crafted though it is to the font choice of the tagline. Everything feels so... artificial to my eye.
Unlike the art in Dredd which remains as wonderful as the story. Sure I can see why folks feel its a little too grounded but I love the way the crazy future world of Mega City One peaks through that and makes it all the more crazy in the context of the gritty normality that dominates.
Joe Pineapples the art is still miles ahead of the first two parts... the story... isn't
Hope even when needing a re-read its a horrible delight on the eye.
The Out well this one is all about how we look and its a dazing flash in the eyes to go with the wonderful close sutble story.
Proteus Vex how does Jake Lynch make his gritty, scratchy art, feeling so perfect for a crime comic (say) work so well in this gloriously crafted space opera epic. Its an incredible thing to pull off and he does it so well. The story continues to dazzle.
3 against 2 but those 3, wow those 3...
I know what you mean about Lynch's art on Vex. Things still seem kind of grubby and worn like in the closeup of whatshername on p1, but then you get something like the background of panel 1 p.2 which is all clean and beautiful. I'm sure Boswell's colours have something to do with it but this universe is sleek and shiny when it needs to be and dirty and pick-marked when you get in close to things. Works a treat!
A Monday Prog here. I'll take it. I liked the cover. It stands out. I like the Dredd more. Sure, folks can grumble about the dodgy senior Judge trope or the slight verbosity of the lead, but no-one writes Dredd like Wag—. Sorry, Niemand. Honestly, I've not been this excited about a bunch of Dredd strips since Al Ewing's run. There are other writers I've enjoyed – still enjoy – on Dredd, but there's something about Niemand's scripts that just feel right. And I bloody loved that twist on the last page.
After that, Joe Pineapples is like being repeatedly slapped in the face with a wet and rotten fish. I'll admit, I quite liked the lift bit, but the rest of it? Just no. The dialogue on the last two pages was woeful.
Hope was better, in that it ended and was quite interesting – and, finally, broadly coherent. I'm sure there's a great story fighting to get out of this strip, but this run was far, far too long. I'm not sure what happened here, because Hope was tight and horrific in its earlier series. This one just felt messy and muddled. Given how it does end, I think it'll warrant a re-read to see where it next heads. But it won't be at the top of my list.
The Out is good rather than great this week, and feels in search of its next thing, which is presumably set up on the last page. (Still, some nice playing with stereotypes there, in a manner that felt 2023, unlike Joe Pineapples living in the 1970s.) And then Proteus Vex continues to ramp up the epic.
In all, another solid Prog, with three hits, one almost, and one 'never darken my door again'. Although this issue, it felt like Dredd was ahead of the other quality thrills my some margin, despite them also being quality reads.
Dredd > Vex > Out > Hope > Rotten fruit
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 16 January, 2023, 10:43:36 PM
... no-one writes Dredd like Wag—. Sorry, Niemand.
About a year ago, it finally dawned on me who Niemand probably is. In the past I wasn't the biggest fan of this particular writer, but I've been won over by the sheer quality and passion. All I can say is, "Bravo" and thank you for proving me wrong. It's a joy to read these stories.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 16 January, 2023, 10:43:36 PM
The dialogue on the last two pages was woeful.
Is it just me who feels that nowadays Mills targets his writing at the translated editions? Probably sounds much better in French or Italian, but unfortunately shite in English.
I also got a Friday Prog, which was a crazy surprise but not complaining.
Still enjoying Dredd, the political angle isn't unwelcome for me and I assume will spin this off into something more than Dredd just dealing with this perp. The stuff with the robot was excellent.
Not really enjoying Joe Pineapples. Not much else to say here.
Hope concludes at last - the last couple of episodes have been better, but overall this arc has dragged and dragged where previous ones have been a horrible delight. I felt the art focusing on real world people was a real detriment sadly. For me, the Hope is that the next series is better.
The Out felt slight this week. Quick to read. Looked great.
Proteus Vex is my favourite thing in the Prog at the moment. This is epic, outstanding stuff. The little beetle guy rules.
Good solid prog.
Dredd – This is some good Dredd. I always enjoyed when the focus is the more on the investigation side of things.
Joe Pineapples – It's better to burn out than to fade away and unfortunately the last works of Mills are the latter.
Hope – This was a long run maybe too long and maybe it could have been done in a single book. The story does end in a very much open-ended type of ending and depends on your interpretation it could end. Hopefully we see more and the series can continue.
The Out – This episode is very much an in-between episode where the only real change is the change in locale. Still the story is keeping my interest in what is happening next.
Proteus Vex – Really enjoying this series. Lynch is nailing the art and Mike is giving is a proper space opera. My number one in the prog
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 17 January, 2023, 10:08:38 AM
The stuff with the robot was excellent.
Niemand does great robots, no mistake.
I like Tharg bigging up "the extra-length finale to Hope" when it gets two more pages than usual and is the same page count as this week's Joe Pineapples.
Borag Thungg Y'all!
Haven't been on here in ages due to house moves and an ever increasing backlog of progs. But, after a catch-up of the current runs thought I'd return to the forum and give my half-creds worth of opinions.
Dredd - Always like a Niemand Dredd tale and very much enjoying this one. My only critique (and its not a problem as such) is that since the kidnapping attempt last prog, its not looked very 'Mega City One', and just looks a bit contemporary (from the van the kidnappers used, to a lot of the general architecture). It reminds me more of the 2012 movie version of MC1. To be honest, it adds to the gritiness of the tale so by no means a bad thing. Overall, a thrilling thrill. I do worry things will pan out badly for poor old Citizen Aguerra.
Joe Pineapples - Personally not really a fan. Very Mills. Clunky dialogue with an occassional song thrown in to up the word count (a bit harsh that perhaps, but I do find a lot of his stories include at least one old blues or folk lyrics in them)
Hope - I think I've accidentally skipped an entire book somewhere within my backlog. That being said, despite feeling confused, I'm hung on to the plot (I think) and look forward to the next one.
The Out - Think I missed an entire book of this too, but it's kind enough to let you know what happened previously so I feel like I'm on track. Best thing in the prog!
Proteus Vex - Suffers only to being the second story in the prog featuring an epic intergalactic space-war, otherwise I'm a big fan of the way the story is always told as a history lesson. Probably missed a previous run of this too. Is there still a little guy inside him? If so, I'd like to see more of the wee fella,
All in all, a decent crop of thrill power (albeit with a mouldy old pineapple)
Yes! More Neil Roberts PVC (Proteus Vex Cover), just what I want to see. Anyone get shades of this..?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dc2cjBwXkAAgOwF.jpg)
Look it's a busy day so I'm a keep things suck-sinked here: it's a five out of five prog. 'The Night Shifter' continues to build the tension and intriguingly explore whether Dredd's ultimate motivation is a mechanical adherence to the law or a genuine desire to protect innocent citizens. Hope winds up with what is, yes, the most coherent and enjoyable instalment of '...in the Shadows' (I realise now I've been putting the ellipsis at the end of 'Hope' all this time when they actually belong with the chapter titles). The Out serves up an entertainingly quirky episode and Proteus Vex continues on its imperious course. And... look, say what you like about Joe Pineapples (oh, you are), at least it's idiosyncratic. I liked the 'slave names' explanations for the sniper droids' awful monikers and the [spoiler]Bob Hoskins[/spoiler] line was priceless. So for things like that, I can forgive its faults.
Typical, innit - just after I go digital, there are two spectacular double-page panels...
Quote from: norton canes on 19 January, 2023, 11:52:57 AM
I liked the 'slave names' explanations for the sniper droids' awful monikers and the [spoiler]Bob Hoskins[/spoiler] line was priceless. So for things like that, I can forgive its faults.
Just don't ask how Joe Pineapples would know who [spoiler]Bob Hoskins[/spoiler] was.
I mean, it's a great contemporary reference. For the 1980s. (Comics tend to date with this stuff. It's another thing for the thing to already be dated on publication. But there you go.)
I guess. The trouble is, if he'd used a contemporary reference then chances are I wouldn't have known who he was on about, what with me being middle-aged and out of touch with who's on TV and in movies these days. At least I know who Bob Hoskins is!
It's why I'd tend towards writers avoiding such things unless writing contemporary fiction. We see the same weirdness in Dredd sometimes, with Judges – who at most having a passing knowledge of popular culture – chatting about sometimes obscure bands from a century in the past. I mean, streaming music has transformed the industry to the point everything is now to some degree, but still.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 19 January, 2023, 01:38:59 PM
It's why I'd tend towards writers avoiding such things unless writing contemporary fiction. We see the same weirdness in Dredd sometimes, with Judges – who at most having a passing knowledge of popular culture – chatting about sometimes obscure bands from a century in the past. I mean, streaming music has transformed the industry to the point everything is now to some degree, but still.
I guess it's of a piece with city blocks being named after C-list 20th century celebrities. It's best not to question it too much. Alan Grant said it was based on the American habit of naming things the Bob Hope Memorial Hospital or whatever. But when I lived over there, I found that more often than not, things tended to be named after local civic dignitaries. So my explanation for that is that when you see a Terry Wogan block or whatever, it's actually named after Alderman Terry Wogan of sector 27 as a reward for 50 years of loyal service on the sector council, or whatever they have in Mega-City One.
I also dislike current stuff being directly referenced in futuristic comics, but it depends how its done. Usually the block names are just little jokes in the background, but that scene where the ABC Warriors talked about their favourite metal bands is appallingly cringey (and I own music by most of the bands they referenced).
I didn't actually mind the Hoskins reference this week but I'd sort of tuned out on the strip already.
Dredd – Enjoying this, was a bit wary at first, thinking there might be some serious stereotyping coming down the line, but no! A great story, great art and a great Dredd. Not too verbose for me: the action he takes blasting kidnappers away etc then giving a stock 'we're investigating' reply made me chortle.
Joe Pineapples – glanced over, just comes across as dated, tired and nonsensical.
Hope – read and enjoyed, but would like it rested for a bit now.
The Out – glanced over, but have lost interest, feels like its fumbled the ball a bit.
Proteus Vex – glanced over, just want to see some resolution to all this!
So not top proggage for me, where's the GRennie droid when we need him!
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 19 January, 2023, 02:03:51 PM
...the ABC Warriors talked about their favourite metal bands ...
The Warriors did
what?I knew I was justified in tuning out back when Kev Walker was still doing the art, but knowing what's lying in wait for me, there's now no way in heck I'm going to attempt a catch-up.
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 19 January, 2023, 02:03:51 PM
I also dislike current stuff being directly referenced in futuristic comics, but it depends how its done. Usually the block names are just little jokes in the background, but that scene where the ABC Warriors talked about their favourite metal bands is appallingly cringey (and I own music by most of the bands they referenced).
I didn't actually mind the Hoskins reference this week but I'd sort of tuned out on the strip already.
Yeah, I think "rule of funny" applies here. The Hoskins line, and the idea of city blocks in a future sci-fi megalopolis being named after people like Jimmy Clitheroe, make me laugh, so I don't mind them.