Prog 2359 - Royal Heir Force

[Colin YNWA]

You know what to my eternal shame I'd forgotten Aquila hadn't finished and its feels like a Brass Sun age since it was last in the Prog so happy to see its getting finished off.

Deadworld I don't know anymore so far into needs a re-read territory its untrue.

Helium is quietly excellent another top episode.

Devil's Railroad I mean I get why folks don't like it, its not subtle is it BUT that makes Rufus Dayglo's art work for me and I really like its balls to the wall openess about what its doing.

Feral and Foe when you think this is by far Dabnett's weaknest modern strip and its still this much fun, well it says a lot doesn't it.

Okay all that out the way and I'm sorry to rush past some good stuff but holy fu*k how good was that Dredd! Poison is a real return to form for Rob Williams as he remembers a story can have real, REAL stakes without Dredd needing to be beaten half to death. It was smart, gripping and christ how chilling was Dredd, so perfectly juxaposed with Sinfeld's impedent ravings. Just superbly done and probably the best art I've seen from PJ and he's done some corkers before but this was next level.

This individual episode was a perfect conclusion, masterfully executed with a nice question to mark the end. Timing of the episode was as good as the timing in the whole series. It felt almost deliberately cinematic and yet played with so uniquely comic strip ideas. Absolutely top draw Dredd.

Good Prog all round but that Dredd alone knocks it up to great.

[broodblik]

Cover by D'Israeli:

[IndigoPrime]

I'm not sure that cover printed well. 'Big looming shape' isn't ideal in print or thumbnail. The high-res art online suggests those pinks could have been more vibrant. Oh well. (I do love Brooker's work, though.)

The Dredd was a bit info-dump, with a bragging villain outlining his victory, but neatly subverted with the sting of Dredd's sentencing. PJ's been on form throughout this run, and the Williams script has shone – the best Dredd he's done in a very long time. It didn't outstay its welcome at all, and I'd happily have read another eight issues of this.

Deadworld was fine, but Sidney just annoys me now, and – most importantly – he doesn't seem credible nor terrifying as a leader. He just comes across like a prick. Fear seems "fucking hell" scary. Sidney: nope.

Helium was again wonderful and although you knew full well where things were heading, that last panel was superb. I wish Tharg had found an extra page to give that a DPS. If Brooker's still working in vectors, I'd be sorely tempted to make that change in a collection.

Devil's Railroad has now completely lost me. I love the art, but can't stand the script. Palamon is just a massive arsehole. "I know thinks look bleak now. But they'll get better." I mean, really? Fuck off, Palamon, you inconsiderate, unsympathetic, selfish dolt. And I was done long ago with casual sexual assault being a motivator in comics for anything, be it the MAN SAVING HIS WOMAN, or the reader feeling anger towards a villain. We get it. Isaac is awful. It's all cardboard cut-out personas and comedy villains and for me the first strip from this line-up that's now slipped into bad territory.

Fortunately, we end the prog with Feral & Foe, which manages to lob two cliffhangers into the mix, and somehow balances being completely ridiculous with a measure of horror. (Something Deadworld to my mind isn't quite getting.)

Dredd > Helium > Feral > Deadworld > Devil's

[Colin YNWA]

I'm not sure that cover printed well. 'Big looming shape' isn't ideal in print or thumbnail. The high-res art online suggests those pinks could have been more vibrant. Oh well. (I do love Brooker's work, though.)

yes absolutely this. It pops so much more on the digital version. The yellows and purples sing on that (digtial version) on my physical copy its all so muted.

[Barrington Boots]

The cover is sadly a bit muted but the tagline is an excellent pun (far superior to 'Dad of Night' a few wqeeks back) so still a good one for me.

Dredd Nice ending to what has been a really strong Dredd. Been praising this week on week and this capped things off perfectly. Dredd is absolutely cold as ice here. I'd also like to take time to say how good the art has been throughout. This episode has some great contrasting images of Sinfield and Dredd himself. Loved it.

Deadworld I think this has been a lot better the last few episodes but have to agree about old Sidney: the strip has really robbed him of his aura by bringing in all the Young Death elements and having him usurped by a doofus like Casey, and in a strip where the other horror elements have been ramped up, he now seems by far the most rubbish of all the dark judges. The shorts we've had lately have worked better because they've been almost entirely relentlessly grim and I hope this strip can get back to that sort of feel.

Helium still also brilliant. I liked Hodge's willingness to sacrifice herself here, and the way it's expressed: this is the sort of low key heroics that makes one warm to a character over generic tough action man types. The last panel totally rules!

Devil's Railroad Not getting any more enjoyable for me. I agree that Palamon is a complete bellend, so I found the bit where he sells his soul to be pretty funny. Otherwise IP says it better than me above.

Feral & Foe remains great. Whilst I'm never sure if Devils Railroad is supposed to be a serious or silly strip, the balance is perfect here between action and comedy and you actually do care about th characters. Another classic D&D monster pastiche at the end.

[Grush]

Top thrill at the moment is Helium for me. Really enjoying this, and the ante has been upped two episodes running. I liked the line about the surprisingly violent behaviour of people who make nice pastries.

Dredd Poison has also been top notch. A bit of a farewell tour around a whole bunch of locations (space, east meg, cursed earth) with a satisfying denouement. And Dredd being full-on Dredd too.

Deadworld picked up the last two progs. As a newly (ish) returned reader I have struggled to find a way into both this and The Order (lots of seemingly unrelated characters and threads with no explanation). But these last two episodes were fun, and brought things together.

The Devils Railroad is fast moving and on-the-nose, and Feral and Foe is a lot of fun, with fantastic art.

The current set of stories are properly tickling the old thrill sensors.

[broodblik]

A good prog with only real meh story

Dredd – This was a very good series and thoroughly enjoyed this one. What I liked about this series was the focus was not on action but rather investigation as Dredd went everywhere, "talked" to everyone to get his answers.

Deadworld – As things starts in a direction the series will take a break. Art as always is excellent, gory, and "fiendish".

Helium – Another great episode as we head into the next climax. Really good stuff from creative team.

Railroad – I continue to feel disengaged with the story maybe because I just do not like the characters. I just do not find this compelling enough, even the art is just not working for me.

Feral and Foe – This is great as Abnett takes us from scene to scene at a breathtaking pace. Art as always by Elson work fantastic for the strip.

[nxylas]

Dredd – This was a very good series and thoroughly enjoyed this one. What I liked about this series was the focus was not on action but rather investigation as Dredd went everywhere, "talked" to everyone to get his answers.

Yeah, you don't get to see Dredd doing actual detective work that often, but it's part of his job description.

[Magnetica]

Great Prog, despite one story I don't really like and one I don't really understand.

Dredd: after last week I didn't see how this would wrap up in just one week, but it does it really well. And I have to say this is PJ's best ever art for me. Previously it was a bit too cartoony for me, in a sort of Anthony Williams kind of way. But now it just looks great.

Deadworld very soon entered Order levels of incomprehensiblity for me, but having really tried to  pay attention for the last few weeks, I'm getting it more than previously. But not completely. And I think my switch to digital a year ago helps with that, as I can very easily bring up previous episodes. 

Helium: this is probably the most I've enjoyed an Egdington-D'Israeli strip.

Devil's Railroad. Not for me. Sorry. I just don't care about any of the characters. And if it's meant to be a comedy, I'm not getting any of the jokes.

Feral and Foe. I just love this. Always have done. It's pretty much a perfect 2000AD strip. Colin has described this as DAbnett's weakest modern strip. I can't agree with that - there's no such thing, they're all great and this is as good as any (apart from Brink obviously).

[Funt Solo]

The Dredd was really good - but I have some nit-picks:

1. "AFTER MAYBE POISONED ME" is an inadvertent garden path sentence because it's not abundantly clear that "MAYBE" is a name without context, which doesn't necessarily kick-in until after the first scan. Not a huge deal, but maybe Maybe would be easier to contextualize if the M was emboldened.

2. "TOOK DOMINO AND HER TEAM A WHILE TRACK HIM DOWN" - missing "TO".

3. "THE LAST I SAW OF GRAVES WAS ON TITAN BEFORE THE SOVS ARRIVED" - the Sovs didn't arrive on Titan, they arrived on Enceladus. Rob must know that, so this must have been a storytelling choice, but it grates a bit.

[Funt Solo]

Does Deadworld in the printed prog also have no title, credit card etc?

[Richard]

link=msg=1107507 date=1700706624]
Does Deadworld in the printed prog also have no title, credit card etc?

Yes.

Another mistake in Poison was when Sinfield said Hershey sent him to Titan. She didn't; that was Francisco.

[Funt Solo]

Another mistake in Poison was when Sinfield said Hershey sent him to Titan. She didn't; that was Francisco.

I missed that one! (No wonder George can't write another Game of Thrones book - too much continuity spaghetti to unravel.)

[Magnetica]

Maybe he was misremembering after the horrors of being on Titan.

BUT


does that mean his whole revenge plot was targeted the wrong person / based on an incorrect premise?

[Richard]

Yes if we take him literally. But no, off his real objective was to punish Dredd by proxy, by killing his friend (I think he said that's what he was really doing). Hershey meant much more to Dredd than Francisco ever did.

It's a bit like when Edgar punished Dredd by getting DeMarco fired.