Well, I must say I really really hated when Garth Ennis took over as the main Dredd writer - I thought his stuff was juvenile and cack-handed (I didn't even like Raider much) and i just wished he'd go away.
When he returned years later for Helter Skelter, I thought he'd actually got his shit together a bit, Dreddwise. Dredd actually sounded like Dredd (even if Cal didn't sound much like Cal). I know I'm in a minority but I liked it.
I've just reread Monkey on my Back, and I must say it's pretty darn good. Despite the mistake with the Wall existing before it was built, Dredd's character was spot on and the ending was powerful (even though it was the standard Ennis Unforgiven pastiche, and Dredd started saying things like 'lousy' and 'swell' for the first time since the first Ennis Dredds).
In any case, Garth has gone from being to one of my least favourite comic writers to one of my favourites, and I'd be happy to see him have one last crack of the Dredd whip.
I've said this before, but there's a point late on in his initial run - at some point after Judgement Day - when everything starts to click, and he has a great little spell of one-offs, like Last Night Out, A, B or C Warrior and Unwelcome Guests. To me, it felt like he'd finally cracked the formula. Monkey on my Back, when it finally rolled around, was largely excellent - I'd be more than happy to see Ennis return with a multi-part story, possibly in tandem with King Carlos.
I'd be happy to see some more one off Dredds by Garth Ennis (or anyone for that matter)
Funnily enough just re-read the Ennis run and while I've always defended it in the past I struggled with it far more this time. Its terribly inconsistent. There are great moments and the way he handled his elements of the democary vote was great. There were however dips throughout and while it does get better as it goes on, the ideas seem to dry up also and we get a string of very formulaic stories about hard men on venge missions of one form or other.
Shame as condensed to the good stuff he'd have cracked it.
Given the writer that Ennis has become I'd always be delighted to see hom back on the character however.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 29 August, 2018, 06:38:29 AM
Funnily enough just re-read the Ennis run and while I've always defended it in the past I struggled with it far more this time. Its There are great moments and the way he handled his elements of the democracy vote was great.
I'd forgotten about that; it was great - couldn't believe it was the same guy who had written the story about a mutant teddy bear with a big gun.
It wasn't perfect (including the same quote from an earlier Dredd twice; an abysmal mixed metaphor about the city being a sparkling jewel with an infected wound) but Dredd's brave, non-violent stand against the millions of marchers was absolutely outstanding.
I'd love to see a new Ennis Dredd story. I agree that the quality of his stories in the 90s was inconsistent, but he was in his 20s so we should make allowances. With 20+ years of further experience including Preacher, he'd be brilliant now.
I don't agree that he only became good after Judgement Day. He wrote some excellent stories before that too. I liked Death Aid, Return of the King, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Justice One, First of the Many, and A Magic Place.
Quote from: Richard on 29 August, 2018, 01:00:27 PM
I liked Death Aid, Return of the King, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Justice One, First of the Many, and A Magic Place.
Hmmm. Death Aid - nah. Made the previously-terrifying and well-organised Hunter's Club into a pack of buffoons; though the departure of Yassa from the city was very nicely done.
Return of the King - not for me. 'The ;aw is never wrong, Hershey.' Had Garth simply skimmed over the last few years, which was largely themed around Dredd's doubts about the system?
Twilight was great; and Justice One was ok.
The other ones were fine, but First of the Many could have been so much more - it simply showed Dredd arresting someone, then killing him later.
Ennis was part of the cabal that killed the prog for me, but I read a lot of his stuff outside of AD and he has certainly evolved in a great writer. I will really like him to take up Dredd again.
You can't really understand why the rubbish Garth Ennis stories were rubbish without reading them in the context of their time.
In Deadline, creators were pop stars, worshipped by pretty girls for referencing Rentaghost and writing little apologies in the corner of the page explaining that the drawings were crap because they were up all night drinking and did them at the last minute.
Those are the folk he saw as his peers; that's who he was trying to impress. In his answers to Ivor Goldkind's questionnaire in prog 705 (https://i.imgur.com/FHuQI3x.png), Ennis wants you to know that he drinks beer, was too cool to work hard at school, and is mates with Jamie Hewlett.
Nobody wanted to give you a blowjob because you wrote Judge Dredd.
That should be the number one reason to give anyone a blowjob.
Quote from: Richard on 29 August, 2018, 05:51:48 PM
That should be the number one reason to give anyone a blowjob.
Rory McConville says to look him up at the next convention.
He was a bit of a pain in the arse back then, was our Garth - Guinness, the Pogues and Unforgiven all the way, and how great his comics were compared to everyone else's. Also gays. Loads of funny gay people buggering people. The man was obsessed.
Oddly, as his work has improved massively, so has his personality - he seems a way more pleasant chap these days and even admits that some of his work wasn't actually that good.
I used to hang round with a girl at university who was mates with him; I kind of hoped I'd never meet him because I couldn't possibly pretend to like his work. But these days I'd jump at the chance. I'm a fan and I never thought I would be.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 August, 2018, 02:11:53 PMHmmm. Death Aid - nah. Made the previously-terrifying and well-organised Hunter's Club into a pack of buffoons; though the departure of Yassa from the city was very nicely done.
I liked Death Aid... but I also agree with your criticism.
Ennis's Dredd was all over the place, but it had some magnificent
moments. That's what makes his run on the series so frustrating. You want to love him for the first and last page of the final episode of Judgement Day... and then there's The Magic Mellow Out.
Regards,
Robin
That was pretty much the culture back then though, wasn't it. Big Dave is very much a reflection of that mindset that was unfortunately running around a bit too much IIRC. Way too many folks were arseholes and proud of it.
Quote from: Frank on 29 August, 2018, 05:11:44 PM
Ivor Goldkind
It's pronounced Igor (https://youtu.be/nxxSIX3fmmo?t=23s).
Everyone thought they were Vic Reeves back then. Look at Millar's
Red Razors; it's
YOU WOULD NOT BELI-EE-EE-EE-VE WHAT'S GOING ON OUT BACK in comic strip form. Just referencing something you hadn't thought of since you were a kid - like
Swap Shop* - was sufficiently hilarious no story or character development was considered necessary.
I enjoy Ennis's
Crisis work and I can't blame the 19-year-old for wanting to hang with the cool kids, rather than Fleischer and Hilary Robinson. It's important to remember what a shambling embarrassment the comic had become at the time he was on the payroll. Ennis even told
Judge Dredd: The Mega-History he didn't grow up reading
2000ad (p 126), which as porkies go is a Mighty One (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/08/24/garth-ennis-when-2000ad-was-the-future/).
* It was the crap, British start of the Tarantino/Kevin Smith cycle that brought us to where we are today, where enjoying something new depends largely on the warm rush of familiarity as you recognise all the pieces of old things from which it has been assembled
Haven't reread much of it since it was fresh in the Case Files but I've almost thought Ennis's Dredd was a bit unfairly maligned on here. He was a young guy at the time, so I can forgive his excesses particularly as there was enough right about his take on the character. A Man Called Greener and Judge Who Lives Downstairs are classics.
Part of Ennis's take (as per his interview with Da Bish, which I ought to link here but can't be bothered) is that he had almost no editorial help. He doesn't give any details, but one gets the impression they were so busy putting the Prog/Meg various reprints together, they didn't have time to even stop and tell him 'actually Garth, this script isn't really good enough, can you have another go.' I guess in their defense they'd never had to say that to Wagner and Grant, so maybe Dredd was just in the folder marked 'good to go!' from the off?
What's good by him lately? I got tired about half-way through the Boys / Punisher Max, and haven't read any Ennis comics since. Always did enjoy his War Stories, though.
Quote from: AlexF on 03 September, 2018, 11:43:28 AM
What's good by him lately? I got tired about half-way through the Boys / Punisher Max, and haven't read any Ennis comics since. Always did enjoy his War Stories, though.
I've been meaning to resurrect the old Ennis thread for a while to ask exactly this question. He seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth. Are the royalties from Preacher and endless Crossed spin-offs really that good?
Well, he's not long done a 'World of Tanks' mini with PJ...
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 03 September, 2018, 02:54:48 PM
Well, he's not long done a 'World of Tanks' mini with PJ...
Strange that PJ never tweeted about doing that.
More than ten times a day, I mean. ;)
Quote from: TordelBack on 03 September, 2018, 03:26:03 PM
Strange that PJ never tweeted about doing that.
I'm assuming there must be another one in the offing, since he was tweeting about new methods for 3D modelling tanks as reference...
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 03 September, 2018, 03:33:32 PM
I'm assuming there must be another one in the offing, since he was tweeting about new methods for 3D modelling tanks as reference...
Like a dog with a bone that one. Not sure he needs any further techno-assisto-gubbins, it looked bloody amazing! Garth and Paul seem like a dream team for this kind of stuff.
(http://www.outrightgeekery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-of-Tanks-Citadel-1-Page-1.jpg)
Garth still on the auto-buy list - he turns in a solid 4/5 series a year including war stories. As well as the PJ World Of Tanks offing his A Walk Thru Hell is great. Jimmys Bastards (bond comedy pastiche where his bastard children all hunt him down) was ya'know.. okay. Dastardly & Mutley had some solid jokes but not really an IP I dig.
Really good Garth stuff from the last decade includes Rover Red Charlie (dogs in the zombie apocalypse) and The Last German Winter (War stories #7-9 ) (reminds me of his greatest story to date - Dear Billy.)
His two Red Team series are also really good and worth picking up.
His Johnny Red for Titan was also great stuff
The ongoing War Stories from Avatar has finished a few months back now. It had some really great stories but wasn't the best of his war work. Not helped at all by some horrible art.
That said well worth checking out if its ever on sale anywhere.
EDITED to add: we used to have a thread for this Ennis chappie didn't we...
Nthing any recommendations for A Walk Through Hell. That's shaping up to be really quite something.
Even as a fan of 2000ad, I do find it unrelenting how many talents do their best work almost straight after leaving the prog.
I do think there the episodic nature, short page count and house characters that are all great training.
But can you imagine if Preacher had appeared (first time around) in 2000ad rather than as a reprint in the Meg. Or The Invisibles. Or Enigma. Or Sandman. Or Walking Dead. Or Marshall Law.
But then we did get Nikolai Dante, Mazeworld, Button Man to name but a few.
2000ad really does have some close relatives that didn't stray too far...
Quote from: matty_ae on 07 September, 2018, 04:55:51 PM
... can you imagine if Preacher had appeared (first time around) in 2000ad
It would have been painted by Siku. And written by Alan McKenzie.
Wonder where Siku went? I really liked some of his painted stuff. He did a very short Sláine and was perfect for it.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 08 September, 2018, 10:07:19 AM
Wonder where Siku went? I really liked some of his painted stuff.
The Manga Bible, BBC TV's
Merlin, and - that old faithful of absolutely
everyone who painted something for Tharg in the nineties - character & concept design for the game industry.
http://www.theartofsiku.com/
I loved the Dastardly and Muttley book. Lots of laughs.
Quote from: Frank on 08 September, 2018, 10:24:46 AM
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 08 September, 2018, 10:07:19 AM
Wonder where Siku went? I really liked some of his painted stuff.
The Manga Bible, BBC TV's Merlin, and - that old faithful of absolutely everyone who painted something for Tharg in the nineties - character & concept design for the game industry.
http://www.theartofsiku.com/
Thanks!
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 August, 2018, 02:11:53 PM
Return of the King - not for me. 'The ;aw is never wrong, Hershey.' Had Garth simply skimmed over the last few years, which was largely themed around Dredd's doubts about the system?
I read it as another ruse by the ever canny Dredd to gain Zombie-Silver's confidence, make him confess to having broken his vows as Chief Judge by hiding and not protecting the city, so that he can then be judged unfit to hold office - which Silver is demanding he still has the right to as he never officially resigned.
Return of the King is a highlight of Ennis Dredds for me, and spot-on characterwise, and of course it's Necropolis era Ezquerra.