Best Regened issue so far, in my opinion.
Cadet Dredd - good to see Dredd and Rico as a team (though I do wonder why Joe gets a "Dredd" badge, and Rico gets a "Rico" badge. Is this ever brought up in Origins?) And is that a colouring error on the helmet in the 2nd to last panel? Also, the juves turning up to support Wasted Youth seemed to go unresolved. I was expecting Joe & Rico to win over the hearts and minds of the disenfranchised yoofs by winning the day. However, despite all my little grumbles, I thought it was a solid enough Dredd tale. More Rico in these Cadet Dredd stories please!
Pandora Perfect - highlight of the prog for me! Futuristic Mary Poppins with a rebellious streak and a robot side kick. Lovely art and genuinely laugh out loud #toaster
Finder & Keeper - I like the premise of this thrill and it always entertains. Never my favourite but great little mystery tales with plenty action and excitement.
Future Shocks: Boss Level - Twas ok. Felt like I'd read it before and the twist didn't blow my thrill circuits. So-so.
Department K - Really like the premise of this. Its Dreddverse but it's entirely own thing and I hope we get more interdimensional travels in the future.
All in all, my favourite Regened prog to date.
I agree, definitely the best Regened so far.
This Cadet Dredd felt like a proper Dredd story, instead of some other version of Dredd. That artist is really good and should be in the regular prog.
(I think the issue with the juves turning up outside was resolved, in the dialogue about how kids won't root for losers. And yes, Rico's badge is a bit annoying. His name is Rico Dredd!)
Pandora Perfect was a rarity: a comedy that's actually funny! I'd like to see more of this character in future Regened progs, or at least more stories from this creator team anyway.
Finder & Keeper is not my favourite, but it was alright.
The Future Shock was okay. I definitely approve of zombie dinosaurs!
Haven't read the last story yet because I don't want to finish the prog too quickly, but it looks promising.
I wasn't sure about the Regened thing when it started, but I'm sold!
I've now read Department K, it's another good one, with a colourful cast of characters not all of whom have been fully introduced yet, and I look forward to seeing them again.
Kudos to Jim for the speech balloon with a tail that goes around a corner.
Best regened prog but still can't get my daughter to read it argh
Still mulling over my pastie-mauled prog. Not sure why but something about is has left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
I mean I agree with the evaluation of this Dredd. It's starting to firm up in its own right and we can see the foreshadowing of Rico's drift along with some of the more extreme attitudes of the judges. I'm tempted to have a look at some of the ebooks set in this milieu.
Pandora perfect ripped off so many Mary Poppins tropes perfectly (sorry). I'd say it had far more mileage in it than Finder / Keeper which would doesn't seem to fit. Department K seems a little like a Dredd-verse 'Sliders' but not the worst I've read. Sorry that's not much in the way of praise.
The FS though ... definitely left me flat. Can't remember the FS from back in the day but the idea has been done before and far better. Colin Wilson artwork to boot. So much about it just didn't make sense.
I think I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that every couple of months one of these is going to come along, bite the bullet and see what comes of it.
I thought this issue was a lot of fun. Highlights, interestingly, were the new strips. It feels like Regened does better when it's not trying to figure out how to make Old Story X suitable for younger readers. Pandora was really funny and smartly written. I don't know how long it would last without losing its appeal, but I'd like to read more. Dept K reminded me of Black Science and although it works well as a set-up could easily run for a long time in an ongoing. Personally, I'd like to see both back for the next Regened, along with Cadet Dredd.
Yup def best of the regened progs
definate highlights are pandora perfect and department k i would like to see more of both of them
(https://i.imgur.com/L7cedQc.jpg)
Neil Roberts
Forgot to mention the incredible cover art!
It instantly makes me want to read Brothers Dredd stories.
That was a 'hoot' as I believe the younglings are about to stop saying. Many thanks young Joko!
Well I'm genuinely chuffed they've found the magic and got the Regened magic back after a couple of dull efforts.
Firstly the cover is fascinating. I've hated it everywhere I've seen it. Its looked like a terrible mid 90s computer generated advert. The kinda thing where folks found Word Art and got very carried away with it all. Yet in the flesh its just lovely and very striking.
Inside things get to a slow start. Cadet Dredd is solid, but there's not enough spunk to it to really mark it out as Regened. Its a solid, slightly toned down Dredd story. Perfectly enjoyable but lacking the fizz these things need in the Regened issues and the art while fine didn't help the feel.
But if it was fizz and spunk I was after Pandora Perfect has it in spade. Everyone who approaches a Regened story needs to read this as the model of what's needed. Its cheeky, as just enough edge, damned right funny - seriously hilarious but keeps it thrilling. This had better come back as its a beauty. The art is perfect too... I'm going to check the toaster.
Finder & Keeper has its best outing too. Good art and a bouncy story that had far more traction than previous efforts.
Now that's how to start a Future Shock. ! Karl Stock and Tom Newell set up a story I'd happily read and then spin off in a different, but related direction. Its fun zips along and okay the 'shock' at the end isn't too shocking up its a great conclusion and this is a ripping success.
We get the best saved for last... well okay second best nothing was topping Pandora why the comic didn't finish on that escapes me, anyway Department K is another near perfect example of how to do these stories. The tale bounces along, introducing characters that grip you straight away. An exciting concept with LOTS of scope all wrapped in a loving Jack Kirby tribute. And PJ Holden delievers on the art front as Roy McConville does on the story.
Another one we need back and the ending feels very like a beginning and we'll have this one back please.
So all we really need to do is get a Dredd like that in the first couple of these Regened issues (the Chirs Weston and that dino fight one in the FCBD), add in a game page like that one Henry Flint did and we'll have the perfect formula.
For the absolute highlight though we have to go back to the Pandora Perfect story of course. Regened perfection AND with a nod to the Flaming Carrot. Please tell me that's not a coincidence?!?
Well done Jago keep it up for the last one please and we'll let you stick around.
Enjoyed it all, to varying degrees. Best bit was seeing the colour work of Mr Soffe on Dredd. Bloomin' marvelous!
Re: Cadet Dredd. At the risk of being a stickler, I thought Rico got off easy [spoiler]saying his finger slipped having killed an unarmed Judge in a cold blood. I thought Joe could have used The Law to say firing on a cadet judge carries a death sentence, or something[/spoiler] This is just me overthinking it though. I really enjoyed Rico in this and think he makes a perfect foil for stickler brother Joe.
Quote from: JimmyNailz on 25 August, 2020, 06:24:27 PMThis is just me overthinking it though.
[spoiler]They were using stun shots, weren't they?[/spoiler]
This is the best regen prog so far. I can say that I enjoyed everything. The two new thrills are great new additions and I will want to see more of this in the future. The art for these two new stories works as well. I will say that a toaster has now taken on a new meaning for me.
5 out 5 Jargo
The cover and logo:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q9yics4KrBk/X0S_hR7zGJI/AAAAAAAA9ck/RoLRjXEJYlQc6jKRUFiC8J4N7giaheJJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s945/2k-2196.jpg)
okay, I usually enjoy these progs and this was no exception.
Art throughout was first class.
Dredd was pretty good, although I really would have had them remove their shounder pads to get through the hole, as with them they were no smaller than other judges.
Pandora Perfect is fantastic. A prefect script with jokes, in jokes and a final line that NAILS it and had me laughing.
Finders Keepers is the best one they have done so far, with a good concept. The story doesn't really feel like 2000AD though.
Future shock was good with a poor ending.
Department K I like, and it really sets it up for a Sliders style series as they bounce around the megaverse.
Overall 8/10
Can't fault it, best one yet.
Most importantly it feels like it has a stable of strips and characters any of which would be welcome back, without leaning too heavily on diluted versions of the regulars.
Dredd was solid stuff, lovely Wilsonesque art. This war they keep talking about, presumably the overthrow of Booth? WWIII itself seemed to be a long range affair that J&R had more of a martial-law enforcement role in.
Finder Keeper continues to engage, although I wish it could have included some agency for the Pharaoh himself, and maybe not been rather oddly set in a Natural History Museum. Art is so full of life, it's a tonic.
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
Future Shock certainly wasn't dull, but maybe once too often to that well for me.
Department K would have been the best thing out of most of the Regened progs, but Pandora was unassailable this time. Good story, great designs, nice setup. Terrific art throughout, but I'd expect no less. Am I right in thinking we've seen these locust dudes before in the main Dredd strip?
Congrats to all scribblers, sketchers, colourers-in and balloon-fillers, that was a top bit of work.
Quote from: TordelBack on 26 August, 2020, 02:45:27 PM
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
What was his last work for the prog ? I am not familiar with his work
PS - Forgot to add how much I enjoyed PJ's work on Department K
Quote from: broodblik on 26 August, 2020, 03:00:19 PM
Quote from: TordelBack on 26 August, 2020, 02:45:27 PM
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
What was his last work for the prog ? I am not familiar with his work
PS - Forgot to add how much I enjoyed PJ's work on Department K
He used to do work in White Dwarf back when it was an RPG magazine (IIRC). Barney has him (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=ROGERL).
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 03:42:43 PM
Quote from: broodblik on 26 August, 2020, 03:00:19 PM
Quote from: TordelBack on 26 August, 2020, 02:45:27 PM
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
What was his last work for the prog ? I am not familiar with his work
PS - Forgot to add how much I enjoyed PJ's work on Department K
He used to do work in White Dwarf back when it was an RPG magazine (IIRC). Barney has him (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=ROGERL).
Really think you've got your wires crossed about Roger and old White Dwarf work. He would have been a teenager in New Zealand at the time you're talking about.
(Mark Harrison and Carl Critchlow are WD alumni from that era, though.)
Possible confusion with Lew Stringer?
This was definitely my favourite of the Regened Progs so far! Thought the standard was really high throughout, with Pandora and Dept K my favourites. Felt really luxurious as a comic, I know I would have loved it as a kid too.
Roger's previous House of Tharg work was The Straightjacket Fits in the megazine.
Quote from: GordonR on 26 August, 2020, 04:21:46 PM
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 03:42:43 PM
Quote from: broodblik on 26 August, 2020, 03:00:19 PM
Quote from: TordelBack on 26 August, 2020, 02:45:27 PM
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
What was his last work for the prog ? I am not familiar with his work
PS - Forgot to add how much I enjoyed PJ's work on Department K
He used to do work in White Dwarf back when it was an RPG magazine (IIRC). Barney has him (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=ROGERL).
Really think you've got your wires crossed about Roger and old White Dwarf work. He would have been a teenager in New Zealand at the time you're talking about.
(Mark Harrison and Carl Critchlow are WD alumni from that era, though.)
I expect I've got confused, yes. I remember Carl Critchlow because of Thrud - didn't know that Mark Harrison worked on WD, though.
I wonder if it's another Langridge I'm thinking of ... or another magazine ... or ... Toby? Toby Wong? ...
According to Wikipedia, and Barney, Roger Langridge's last work for Tharg was 'Whatever Happened To... Cookie' in 2004. Before that he did Straitjacket Fits, two strips for Lawman of the Future and a strip in the the 1993 Dredd Yearbook.
SBT
2000 AD Regened
This is the fifth Regened issue after the 2018 FCBD, then progs 2130, 2170 & 2183.
The entire Regened experiment seems like Marmite if you're masochistic enough to read online commentary. On the negative side, there's frustration about the context of it interrupting normal programming, complaints about cost, criticism of the entire concept of trying to appeal to a younger audience (either because they just don't like that idea because they're not young, or because the younger reader can't then necessarily get into the older version that comes along the next week) and then also just some monkeys throwing their own faeces around in their Internet cages and saying it's shit without offering any kind of reasoning (and, taking a cue from the old Mary Whitehouse playbook, sometimes without actually reading it).
On the plus side, apparently it sells very well, it's only 0.25p pricier per page, there's a positive in trying to appeal to a younger generation because (sorry if this comes as a surprise but) we're all going to die! That idea that older people can enjoy things aimed at kids is evidenced by things like the original Star Wars, Frozen (it's Citizen Kane for kids) and so on. I think it's a grand experiment that they'd ideally have launched as a sister comic, but that's probably an economical pipe dream (even without coronavirus effing with everyone's physical distribution).
The previous one (2183) illuminated something for me, because whereas Dredd is clearly framed in the canon timeline (so it's Cadet Dredd, right?), conversely the Anderson story was just plonked down there, without all that baggage. And that must be pretty freeing for the creators - never mind the year, never mind Cass's age (I mean, she's been getting artistically younger and younger since we first met her anyway, to the extent that I now refer to her as Anderson's Daughter), never mind the state of Mega-City One: the story just happens.
We have to be open to this idea that a canonical Mega-City One and Judge Dredd is going to become (perhaps already has become) impossible to manage. Each current writer on Dredd has to invent their own stable of side characters (leading to multiple secret force within the Department storylines running on top of each other) and it's impossible to schedule something like Chaos Day with so many cooks. I did love growing up a with a character that ages, but then we all aged, the original creators have (sadly, but naturally) either shuffled off the mortal coil or retired and we're left with an old stony face that should be using a zimmer.
We had our time. We had our "for every year that passes in real life" timeline. We had our "he never removes the helmet". But it's been forty-three years. It's okay to revisit those constraints and rethink them. It's okay to pass the baton. (Although that Santa Dredd stuff in IDW is for da boids.) Food for thought.
---
The cover is good but I slipped into seeing the Lawmasters as unicycles and now I can't unsee it.
The thrills, in order of most to least ghafflebette...
Pandora Perfect
S: Roger Langridge, A: Brett Parson, L: Simon Bowland
Just so well put together - and I'm not a fan of Mary Poppins, so this making the top of my list means it's taken me over that hurdle. There are so many nice little touches - the robot's name being an homage (The Day The Earth Stood Still), his accent already being cockney but then getting more cockney when he does his Bert impression. It's got at least two wonderful pieces of foreshadowing, a Bag of Holding and it passed the eight-year old Seal of Approval test (getting the edgy award for its pay-off joke). Top drawer.
(https://i.imgur.com/PsMLNxG.png)
Department K
S: Rory McConville, A: PJ Holden, C: Len O'Grady, L: Jim Campbell
Afua is the alt-name of the character Fern in Once Crazy Summer (Rita Williams-Garcia, 2010), so that made me smile. This concept is great - I'm not sure I enjoyed the blurry Galactus wannabes (because they were too aloof), but the omigod omigod frying-pan-to-fire aspect of the storytelling was frantically fun, and I loved the sky-whale things at the ends. Also: Nerdachismo is good Mechanismo. Department K could definitely be in the other prog as well, but with more grit.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZSPeXGm.png)
Finder & Keeper: The Curse of Kreepindeth
S: John Reppion, A: Davide Tinto, C: Jim Boswell, L: Simon Bowland
This has charm but I struggled with some of the storytelling - like where the flaming eyeballs came from - and felt like there was too much prose for a comic. Still, it had a strong beginning, middle and end. That ending manages to avoid a scene where Dennis the Menace gets slippered for his shenanigans.
(https://i.imgur.com/mcVHBqX.png)
Future Shocks: Boss Level
S: Karl Stock, A: Tom Newell, C: John Charles, L: Annie Parkhouse
I liked how the beats had things going from bad to worse on this one, but it wasn't clear at the end why the graphics had simplified.
(https://i.imgur.com/slQwr3m.png)
Judge Cadet Dredd: Bad Seeds
S: Mike Carroll, A: Luke Horsman, C: Matt Soffe, L: Annie Parkhouse
Some muddled art (everyone looks like they've been chasing parked cars) and strangely stupid villains, and unclear storytelling let this down a bit. That Dredd has to be neutered by stun shots and such makes me wonder if Cadet Dredd really belongs in the Regened slot. I know it's a big name, so maybe that's not possible - but everything else feels fresh. Perhaps my perspective is spoiling it for me.
(https://i.imgur.com/ozxit4t.png)
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 08:39:05 PM
On the negative side, there's frustration about the context of it interrupting normal programming, complaints about cost, criticism of the entire concept of trying to appeal to a younger audience (either because they just don't like that idea because they're not young, or because the younger reader can't then necessarily get into the older version that comes along the next week) and then also just some monkeys throwing their own faeces around in their Internet cages and saying it's shit without offering any kind of reasoning (and, taking a cue from the old Mary Whitehouse playbook, sometimes without actually reading it).
TBH I'm still trying to make up my mind. Each issue brings out something new. I would prefer to see it as a quarterly standalone rather than interrupting the schedule but if I'm honest that is more because I think it would do a better job in that format.
Then again, the need for flesh blood is something of a given and for me the strength of the concept. The fact is that there is an attempt to find a voice that will attract that blood whilst building on the history and stable of tooth characters makes sense. So in that respect I get the approach.
I think it is fair to say that in these parts it gets a fair hearing. Granted we include our personal opinions but it feels like at the very least each strip is evaluated on its own terms. Some of them have been quite successful, others show promise and there are some that will no doubt have been chalked up as valiant efforts.
Ultimately though we're not the target audience. I'm not sure if there is anyone here that is not a subscriber or regular reader, quite a few who have been for decades and could put there hand to literally every prog if needed.
So if I've been guilty of any of the faecal-flinging I'm going to apologise.
Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 August, 2020, 09:15:00 PM
So if I've been guilty of any of the faecal-flinging I'm going to apologise.
That was entirely a reference to other locations on the Internet.
Quotemakes me wonder if Cadet Dredd really belongs in the Regened slot.
Would anyone miss Dredd if he wasn't in the Regened progs?
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 07:19:49 PM
I expect I've got confused, yes. I remember Carl Critchlow because of Thrud - didn't know that Mark Harrison worked on WD, though.
I wonder if it's another Langridge I'm thinking of ... or another magazine ... or ... Toby? Toby Wong? ...
Harrison did the Travellers (http://www.2000ad.org/markus/travellers/image.php) strip.
I do not mind the regen prog like it exists currently, would still prefer a separate publication but that is a different can of worms. What I would prefer if the regen can be used as a natural break between series. So far two regen progs more broke the natural flow of events where one has been used as a point where the next prog is a jump-on-prog. Getting the schedule right is gonna be the trick here.
Quote from: Richard on 26 August, 2020, 09:46:35 PM
Quotemakes me wonder if Cadet Dredd really belongs in the Regened slot.
Would anyone miss Dredd if he wasn't in the Regened progs?
No, I do not think is should be a requirement to have a Dredd story. The regen can be use the explore new worlds and possibilities. The two new strips as I read it from the comments are by far the most popular.
Quote from: I, Cosh on 26 August, 2020, 11:40:50 PM
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 07:19:49 PM
I expect I've got confused, yes. I remember Carl Critchlow because of Thrud - didn't know that Mark Harrison worked on WD, though.
I wonder if it's another Langridge I'm thinking of ... or another magazine ... or ... Toby? Toby Wong? ...
Harrison did the Travellers (http://www.2000ad.org/markus/travellers/image.php) strip.
Dave Langford! :D
Man, that's taken me all day to remember. I can see where I went wrong now. (Lang may yer lum reek!)
Quote from: broodblik on 27 August, 2020, 05:09:52 AM
What I would prefer if the regen can be used as a natural break between series. So far two regen progs more broke the natural flow of events where one has been used as a point where the next prog is a jump-on-prog. Getting the schedule right is gonna be the trick here.
I'm going to go full stats nerd on you - so, sorry in advance. The average number of 100% jump-ons per year, in the last ten years (2010-2019) is 2.4, which isn't enough to get four Regened progs out in a year.
(Average over the entire span of the comic is two per year. The most in one year was nine in 1998, so it is possible, but you end up throwing together lots of three and four story progs to make it work.)
Yes the scheduling off this my not make it a practical thing to do. I am sure at one point you will sit with a break of 3 to 4 progs between jump-on points.
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 09:41:10 PM
Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 August, 2020, 09:15:00 PM
So if I've been guilty of any of the faecal-flinging I'm going to apologise.
That was entirely a reference to other locations on the Internet.
There is one page on Facebook were the vitriol over how someone has tried something different in drawing the eagle shoulder pad is quite something to behold.
Quote from: Funt Solo on 26 August, 2020, 09:41:10 PM
Quote from: Tjm86 on 26 August, 2020, 09:15:00 PM
So if I've been guilty of any of the faecal-flinging I'm going to apologise.
That was entirely a reference to other locations on the Internet.
Ah, thank you for clarifying. Thought it was a bit odd for a comment about this place. Didn't the Mills thread have a comment about the level of discussion? Mind you, folks have commented a couple of times about how weird this place can be at times.
On the other side of the coin, some of the comments have prompted me to go back and give the Regened prog another go. It does read better on a second run although I'm still not sold on the Future Shock. Partly since its a riff on the idea we've seen before but also the deus-ex ending that is sprung out of the blue. Not the worst example but there we go.
TBH I always find things like Facebook and Twitter a big disappointment. Apparently its full of psycho conspiracy nuts and lunatics but I only ever hear about their rantings in the MSM. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 27 August, 2020, 06:19:18 AMThere is one page on Facebook were the vitriol over how someone has tried something different in drawing the eagle shoulder pad is quite something to behold.
That's clearly the first time anyone's ever drawn the eagle pad differently. It's always been so consistent before, right back to 1977.
I love different artists trying new versions of the eagle, it's part of the charm of the whole design that such a monstrously awkward thing can be such a focus of individual creativity. There have been some great ones lately. I'm less keen on the 'practical holster' movement.
I really enjoyed this prog. And I gave it to my 10 year old, who really enjoyed it.
In fact, it made me realise how much I am not enjoying the main prog.
QuoteI'm less keen on the 'practical holster' movement.
I suspect that the original impractical holster may be the reason why Americans have never warmed to 2000AD Dredd.
Quote from: broodblik on 26 August, 2020, 03:00:19 PM
Quote from: TordelBack on 26 August, 2020, 02:45:27 PM
As others have noted, Pandora Perfect was on fleek, well-structured story, naughty gags, memorable characters and a solid payoff. Bravo to Roger Landridge in particular, quite the comeback after 25 years out of Tharg's clutches.
What was his last work for the prog ? I am not familiar with his work
PS - Forgot to add how much I enjoyed PJ's work on Department K
Not the prog, but the work of his I'll always remember was in the Red Dwarf Smegazine. I was lucky enough to buy a page of art from it when I saw him at Thought Bubble in 2017.
Quote from: Richard on 27 August, 2020, 10:46:11 AM
QuoteI'm less keen on the 'practical holster' movement.
I suspect that the original impractical holster may be the reason why Americans have never warmed to 2000AD Dredd.
I reckon it's because Americans view the Judges as not violent and authoritarian enough to be believable law enforcement officers
Enjoyed this Regened a lot.
I'll just echo what everyone (?) Has said about Pandora. It's bright, full of energy and likeable. Worked as a pilot and a self contained one off so a practically perfect in every way Regened strip.
Definitely the best Regened yet. I found some aspects of the Dredd story frustrating, but in some ways I liked it the most because it dared to explore the idea that the Justuce system might not be a good thing, and made a point of putting children into the 'bad guy - but not really' role, which seems to me is a great way to engage younger readers. Finder and Keeper does that a bit too - and feels most like a strip from, say, Whizzer and Chips, but with more gorey moments. Not entirely my thing, but for sure would have been when I was 8.
Mostly I like the funny robots. More funny robots please, Joko.
Maybe my brain hasn't kicked in yet (it's early-ish Sunday) but there is a serious narrative weakness with the Cadet Dredd story
The part where it falls apart for me is on page 10 when Duval says to Chaplin, "Oh, sweet grudd, the site is under attack by academy cadets". Now, we've hitherto seen Chaplin and Duval working together very closely on the hostage siege and it seem unlikely to me that she would not already know about Dredd and Rico's infiltration.
I think the strip tries to set this up earlier when Chaplin orders Duval to analyse the holotape. The intention here, I think, is that Duval is off doing this while Chaplin and Zand hatch the plan to send in Dredd and Rico, and when she says what she says on page 10 she's just returned and hasn't been briefed on recent events. Fair enough but I think on a first read it's unlikely the the reader would have picked up on it, particularly as she actually returns on Page 9 and overhears Chaplin say "Cadets you have the green light take them down." but for some reason it's still a surprise to her Dredd and Rico are in there a page later.
It's not even established it is Duval until the last page when Chaplin says she will be reprimanded for failing to inform him the Wally Squad were involved. We see no badge, her name is not used, we only know it to be a helmeted female judge. It's also never established why Duval never tells Chaplin about the Wally Squad involvement at the start. As the story begins we see them leading the operation and discussing what to do, so it seems inconceivable she would not share this very important detail.
Unless I'm missing something very major, the story just doesn't work. It's not sufficiently established that Duval is unaware of the Cadets' mission, it's not obvious it's Duval who tells Chaplin about the Wally Squad involvement and its not explained why she chose to keep this from him in the first place. You can kind of just about fill in some of those gaps in a second read through, but that's about it, I think. Hope I'm wrong though and I've just missed something glaring or got the wrong end of the stick.
I had the same problem with it. On a re-read, it did have enough logic behind it, but the pacing/script/art weren't clear enough.
Not just me then!
Enjoyed the rest of the prog though - the best Regened so far for me. Just a shame it starts with a hard to follow story whose purpose (Megacity law does bad things to get the job done, causing Rico to become more cynical and foretelling the seeds of a rift with Joe) gets buried a bit.
Regarding the Cadet Dredd story, although I like the art generally, I thought the Dredd brothers were portrayed a bit on the big size for lads who should physically be about 12-13 years old sized. The cover image is closer to what I was imagining. On the cover they're clearly kids, but really focused, determined, and very intimidating because of that. Other than that the art had a really good Colin Wilson-esque detailed linework vibe to it as has been pointed out already.
Pandora Perfect and Department K are cracking reads and I look forward to seeing more of these. Finder Keeper is still a decent caper. I quite liked the Future Shock to be honest. So overall a definite winner for me and my comic reading young fella.
As above, very much enjoyed the Dredd story despite some unclear plotting and occasional errant artwork. Apart from that though I think I'll gracefully bow out of this week's prog review as none of the other stories really clicked at all for me. I'm not part of the Regened target audience and despite all four of the remaining strips being perfectly laudable efforts, they didn't hold my attention.
Sorry! That seems like a really grumpy addendum to what's been a generally positive thread.
Playing catch up. Best regened so far for me. This is really starting to work well. Credit to everyone involved.
I wonder what the future state for this is though? Once per month? It's own spin off comic? Who knows but we're definitely on a good path here to my mind.