Prog 2298 - The Nightmare Man

[broodblik]

Another good prog as all the stories are heading for the finale

Dredd – I like the way the story is told out of the droid’s viewpoint how he struggles to comprehend who he should be and what he should be doing. We are also getting closer to the big idea. Rob has constructed a great Dredd tale

3rillers – This is getting creepier and creepier, and we now understand how the Crawly Man gets summoned and what the real reason why the girl is important. This has been a great 3riller so far one of the best. Hopefully the ending can land it properly.

Skip(aroo) – Nolan saved by his daughter, and he is literally heading for Valhalla by sacrificing himself. Let’s see how this wraps-up next week. 

Sin/Dex – At last we find out what the speech bubble effect is in Ramone’s head is and this is most possible how the story will wrap up but not before we have a grand finale face-up between the two gun sharks. 

Jaegir – Another great episode as many secrets is revealed and we see the return of a familiar face. The episode ends will a real humdinger.

[broodblik]

Cover by Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague:

[broodblik]

Cover and Logo:

[Barrington Boots]

I like the cover, creepy and effective.
Two good stories in here, but too much I didn't care for to make this a strong Prog for me. However the highlights are real highlights, so I'm still happy.

Dredd – Another fun episode. Hilarious dialogue and two fantastic images this week that really stood out for me - firstly the massive robot strolling away with his little briefcase after the hit (and the later image of a huge stack of briefcases) and then over the page, the judge getting his head punched off is just amazing.

3rillers – I really dislike this thriller so far. Generic hardman central character, stilted 'banter' dialogue with the dog, cliche portrayal of rural community.... I did like the panel where the dog chases the doll and goes through the portal, and as per last week the final page has a big reveal. If we're having thrillers about a character and a talking animal, the ones with the girl and the snake were much better.

Skip Tracer – Looking forward to getting Paul Marshall off this.

Dexter – The though bubble is clever, although something my wife predicted aaaages ago. Good to see the story moving along, but I'm pretty ambivalent about this story and episode.

Jaegir – Terrific as ever. The story is moving very quickly and I've no idea how the cast will get out of this one.

[The Corinthian]

This is the first time in ages that a Sinister Dexter episode has really clicked for me and it's amazing how it lifts the rest of the Prog (not that Dredd or Jaegir need much lifting, but everything feels more bouyant than it has been recently).

Even Skip Tracer seems tolerable now that it's heading for a conclusion.

[Something Fishy]

Saw this in Smiths.  Love that cover.  Sub hasn’t turned up yet this week so nearly double dipped but held off.

[Goosegash]

So the end boss bad guy in Skip Tracer is defeated with ludicrous ease (what was even the point of him, then?)  and now the story is straining really hard to sell us on the idea of Nolan Skiptracer's noble sacrifice, except it's not clear what exactly he's sacrificing himself for or what the consequences are if he doesn't (possibly this was explained earlier in the story but I'm not invested enough to go back and check).

It just feels so contrived, like everything else about this series since day one. It wants us to feel like this is an ending on the level of The Final Solution or something, except Johnny Alpha was a beloved character that a generation had grown up reading and his death felt like it meant something. Skip Tracer ain't no Alpha that's for sure.

It'll be even worse if it turns out there's a last minute rescue and he doesn't actually die.

[IndigoPrime]

Right then. That’s a nasty cover. No Droid Life (boo!) but a Dredd story about a droid that is still fantastic. I’m really enjoying this. Top-notch script and art. Same goes for the 3riller, which ramped up the creepy level and then added a fairly obvious but nonetheless hideous twist. Like broodblik, I do hope it sticks the landing.

Skip Tracer continues. I honestly hope he wiggles out of the sacrifice, because orphaning a child the same age as my own isn’t exactly something that fills me with joy. Sin/Dex also does things, with a reveal that in hindsight should have been spotted, but I don’t think anyone did (bar Barrington’s wife). Nicely done, Abnett droid.

Jaegir wraps things up with its own cliffhanger. I imagine it’s going to be difficult for them to escape a superweapon that’s vaporised everything in the immediate vicinity. (Although we might get: “Actually, super easy – barely an inconvenience.”)

In all, a very enjoyable Prog.

Dredd > 3riller > Jaegir > Sin/Dex = Skip Tracer

[Colin YNWA]

For a Prog running into 2300, a run I feared would be a bit bobbins a while back this is cracking stuff.

Dredd Rob Williams back to his best on Dredd and glorious art. Top notch.

Crawly Man David Barnett and Lee Millmore produce probably my second favourite 3riller ever (Ghostship Mathatica will take some beating). This is cracking, creepy and brilliant. Hope it sticks the landing as that final page drop really gives us quite a lot to wrap up! Oh and has blatant exposition ever been done so blatantly and so brilliantly. Doggies recap is pure fried genius!

Skip Tracer well its nearly done and as ever the art is something else.

Dexter how good is this. To be fair to myself and despite Indigo Primes claims I did call this a few weeks back on these very review pages. Now given how often I get these things wrong its super nice to get one right for once so I'm going to allow myself a brag. The way they are taking about getting to Mangapore still I reckon things won't wrap up as such next week. Rather we'll get to the next phase of the story set there? ... given my normal predictions this one will be way off!

Jaegir as ever my thought remain this is grimmy superb!

Really looking forward to how all of these wrap up next week. Its going to be a fascinating exercise in seeing how thrills stick - or not - their landing from seeming very high heights. Really looking forward to it.

[norton canes]

A fantastic cover - that hand really pops out, with its talons going off at crazy angles. But ultimately, what difference does it make? Is the prog actually displayed anywhere these days where the cover can be seen? In WH Smiths here it's on one of the lower shelves, stacked in the middle of a whole line of other magazines so that it's completely overlapped. It's difficult to find, let alone appreciate the cover (though I guess we should be grateful it's there at all). The only place I can think of which stocks 2000 AD in full, plain view is Forbidden Planet, and chances are that if you're buying it from FP you don't need to be persuaded.

(Given that Smiths stacks copies of the prog with only their very left (staple-side) edges showing, should Tharg consider the tactic of running the tag line vertically down there?)

Anyway the contents aren't too bad for a pre-pre-jumping on prog. 'Sentientoid's Big Idea' maybe over-eggs the narrative pudding a bit with some offbeat ideas but not to its detriment. Nice flashbacks to kick off Dexter and the Lilith revelation is good though it takes up most of the episode. This is shaping up to have the best end of the pier based denouement since Alpha Papa. Jaegir ends on quite a tease too.

Sorry, but The Crawly Man isn't really clicking for me - though I'll add my usual disclaimer that I've never had even as much as an idea that would be worthy of inclusion in the prog, let alone been able to write a whole script, so it's really not my place to be so dismissive.

[Proudhuff]

Another good prog as all the stories are heading for the finale

Dredd – I like the way the story is told out of the droid’s viewpoint how he struggles to comprehend who he should be and what he should be doing. We are also getting closer to the big idea. Rob has constructed a great Dredd tale

3rillers – This is getting creepier and creepier, and we now understand how the Crawly Man gets summoned and what the real reason why the girl is important. This has been a great 3riller so far one of the best. Hopefully the ending can land it properly.

Skip(aroo) – Nolan saved by his daughter, and he is literally heading for Valhalla by sacrificing himself. Let’s see how this wraps-up next week. 

Sin/Dex – At last we find out what the speech bubble effect is in Ramone’s head is and this is most possible how the story will wrap up but not before we have a grand finale face-up between the two gun sharks. 

Jaegir – Another great episode as many secrets is revealed and we see the return of a familiar face. The episode ends will a real humdinger.

THis^^^ cover all bases for me

[NapalmKev]

I enjoyed the first part of The Crawly Man but this episode not so much. I have an idea that the child is not the actual sacrifice in question - It will probably be the Demon.

It’s early and I’ve had little sleep.

Cheers

[Southstreeter]

Still not got this (Calhab) :-(

[moly]

Still waiting to get this in Essex

[AlexF]

Fascinated by the marmite reaction to 'The Crawly Man'. I'm in the love it camp. Partly it's the art, but also it's the mashing-up of various very different sorts of horror stories.
Obvs the Wicker Man, but also the 'crazy family who kidnap children for horrendous purposes' (See Mum&Dad - or rather don't, it's seriously unpleasant), and then the 'magician and his demon on a mission' story (OK so I can't think of a film to match that one has such, unless you count the adaptation of Constantine) - and for good measure the 'monster in the cupboard' story, coupled with the 'child is secretly a conduit for demons' story, which are both basically Stephen King staples.

That's like 5 tropes mashed into one 3-part story, and somehow it's all coherent and fun!

It might even be better than this week's Dredd, although by gosh are Lynch and Williams having so much fun.