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Spoilers => Prog => Topic started by: Colin YNWA on 23 October, 2021, 08:52:28 PM

Title: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 23 October, 2021, 08:52:28 PM
The Prog hits the Regened next week and so we get one of this end not end Progs. Three thrills - kinda - end and two go into a break.

Dredd The Hard Way ends and its gone from the moment it does really. I mean its not bad, in fact it was great fun, but its no more than that. Maitland's final "We're going to make the Red Queen pay..." line is all action  movie forboding ... but not real forboding.

Diaboliks kinda ends really well and then plays straight into the next story which will present what Solomon Ravne has been up. It ends the present story really well, with a clink of light for Jennifer. The problem with the cliffhangers it uses to pull into the next story is when see Ravne [spoiler]lying victim on the floor[/spoiler] I'm kinda glad not worried cos he is such a dick!... mind looking forward to seeing how it all got there so its worked!
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 23 October, 2021, 08:58:27 PM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 23 October, 2021, 08:52:28 PM
The Prog hits the Regened next week and so we get one of this end not end Progs. Three thrills - kinda - end and two go into a break.

Dredd The Hard Way ends and its gone from the moment it does really. I mean its not bad, in fact it was great fun, but its no more than that. Maitland's final "We're going to make the Red Queen pay..." line is all action  movie forboding ... but not real forboding.

Diaboliks kinda ends really well and then plays straight into the next story which will present what Solomon Ravne has been up. It ends the present story really well, with a clink of light for Jennifer. The problem with the cliffhangers it uses to pull into the next story is when see Ravne [spoiler]lying victim on the floor[/spoiler] I'm kinda glad not worried cos he is such a dick!... mind looking forward to seeing how it all got there so its worked!

Whoops premature posting and no 'Modify' to wipe up the mess so I'll just have to hammer on a second and hope that makes up for it.

Pandora Perfect has the perfect ending for this series. Brisk, fun and it perfectly wraps up the 6 parts - JUST 6 PARTS! Its testament to the wipe smart pace of this one when so much has been done - such fun.

Scarlet Traces nice way to cut to the break - in fact excellent way. This another good part and looking forward to seeing where it goes.

The Out okay that was interesting. In it own right that was another fantastic episode. Brisk, funny and charming. However it did the one thing this series doesn't do it repeated itself. It was another delight selection of short, entertaining and insightful insights into Humans on the Edge - we did that a couple of weeks ago and it felt kinda weird to return to it.

Decent Prog - let's see what the next Regened brings.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 24 October, 2021, 04:54:46 AM
Cover by Alex Ronald:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCNopceXEAcRcNK?format=jpg&name=large)
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 24 October, 2021, 04:55:11 AM
Cover and Logo:

(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/D7fAKpTERuViij8gwnU9UgbSRxU=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/01/ed/b53a2e3362fe80ef94e5559de189d8098436.jpeg)
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Barrington Boots on 25 October, 2021, 12:06:14 PM
Cover + tagline get full marks from me this week.
The prog within:

Dredd I've enjoyed this story a lot, but the ending didn't really land it for me. After what was quite a breakneck story of crazy ultra-violence it wrapped up on a very sombre note with the bulk of the antagonists unaccounted for. I guess it's leading onto the next story and we'll see how that goes. That aside everything about this tale was satisfyingly old school. Superb art again and a nice little tribute to Bolt as well, I think?

Diaboliks Not a fan anyway, but I thought overall this was far weaker than the previous Diaboliks run which I rather enjoyed despite the cast. Agree with Colin about Ravne, not really a cliffhanger when you hope he's had it!

Pandora Perfect Great ending to wrap things up. Especially digging Pandora's evil laugh at the end. An awful lot happened over these six episodes and I've found it a bit less concise than I hoped but overall this was a very enjoyable run and I'd not object to it being back in the Prog: a bit like Full Tilt Boogie was it's been a pretty unique strip within 2000ad (in a good way) and if we're to have Regened strips crossing over this is what I'd want them to be like: fun.

Scarlet Traces - This is terrific. The action scenes I find a bit dreamlike: they don't have the sort of movement and grit of, say, Patrick Goddard's stuff but I feel like that wouldn't suit this. Nice to see plot threads coming together here. Feels pretty excellent all round.

The Out - I also thought we were done with the vignettes about humans so was a suprise to see it return. The cock joke reveal was a bit naff but the second section with the door I thought was excellent. You really can't predict what you're going to get with this week on week and I think that's fine. Strong episode that played to the writer and artists strengths.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: IndigoPrime on 25 October, 2021, 04:09:44 PM
Cock joke was indeed naff, but I'm sure we can forgive the team for that. As for your comment about Full Tilt Boogie, Boots, where did that go? I figured we'd have got more of it. Oh well.

For me, Dredd wrapped up fine, if in downbeat manner. Atlantis has been little used, but surprising to see Williams trash it. (Although I suppose it could be repaired, not that you'd really want to live there now.) Diaboliks felt like tidying up at the end of a party. Pandora was breezy and gross. I'd happily see this back in the Prog. Scarlet Traces continues to be excellent, as does The Out. 5/5 again, Tharg.

The Out > Pandora Perfect > Scarlet Traces > Judge Dredd > Diaboliks
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 27 October, 2021, 04:18:35 AM
A good prog still a five on the rating scale. The cover is a reminiscence of the great Steve Dillon especially Dredd's face.

Dredd – This was a good old-school-feel to it and well done to the creative team by bringing us something that is just a pure fun classic Dredd actioner. The last instalment did not disappoint as we are promised retribution.

Diaboliks – As this part of the arc comes to a closure we are introduced to the next arc. This continues to be an interesting story with a lot of possibilities in the future. Good work from Rennie and Fuso.

Pandora – All in all this was an enjoyable first outing and would not mind if we have more of this in the future.

Scarlet Traces – The action has now shift from space to the inside of a spaceship and ends with an interesting twist at the end. As always this is a great story by our creators, and I can feel the end gaming is starting to form.

The Out – As always, the story shifts to another direction as we are introduced to more "humans".  This episode feels like we have been there and was less intriguing.

Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: norton canes on 27 October, 2021, 01:27:20 PM
I would be collecting my prog round about now but sadly the rain is lashing down in a manner reminiscent of the way it did when Dredd's squad commandeered a Strato-V in The Apocalypse War, so it looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Barrington Boots on 27 October, 2021, 04:24:09 PM
Excellent point about the Dillon-ness of the cover - that's a Dillon Dredd face for sure and a lovely homage.

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 October, 2021, 04:09:44 PM
Cock joke was indeed naff, but I'm sure we can forgive the team for that. As for your comment about Full Tilt Boogie, Boots, where did that go? I figured we'd have got more of it. Oh well.

For me, Dredd wrapped up fine, if in downbeat manner. Atlantis has been little used, but surprising to see Williams trash it. (Although I suppose it could be repaired, not that you'd really want to live there now.) Diaboliks felt like tidying up at the end of a party. Pandora was breezy and gross. I'd happily see this back in the Prog. Scarlet Traces continues to be excellent, as does The Out. 5/5 again, Tharg.

The Out > Pandora Perfect > Scarlet Traces > Judge Dredd > Diaboliks

Great comments as ever IP. I didn't even register on first read really how destroying Atlantis is actually a fairly big deal.
And I hope we'll see more of Full Tilt Boogie: I know it wasn't universally popular, but it was different and had some really interesting ideas. Has it been binned off for future series?
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: IndigoPrime on 27 October, 2021, 05:31:58 PM
I don't think we've heard anything either way. But just from a pure momentum standpoint, it would have been good to get something else by now.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: SimonBowland on 27 October, 2021, 06:01:52 PM
Pretty sure Alex has already written the second series of FTB, so it's definitely on the way.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 27 October, 2021, 07:36:27 PM
Quote from: SimonBowland on 27 October, 2021, 06:01:52 PM
Pretty sure Alex has already written the second series of FTB, so it's definitely on the way.

This is certainly very good news.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Jacqusie on 27 October, 2021, 11:23:30 PM
I found the letter by Nic Freeman to be interesting, as it echo's some of my own concerns, albeit I wouldn't go so far as to call the Regened issues 'unreadable tosh'

What I do agree with however is that when the Regened strips were contained in the one-offs, they were aimed at a kids target audience and I didn't have to engage in reading them, so fair enough.

As many of these strips are now firmly established in the prog, I'm starting to disconnect from it somewhat. When I started reading 2000AD in 1988, comics were in a boom time of attempting credibility for adult readership and so became more 'mature in content. As a 13 year old, reading Crisis and 2000AD was great for my adolescent brain.

The prog is now going the opposite way, lowering it's age bracket and fair play if that what it needs to do to survive. I've nothing against Pandora Perfect per se, but it's clearly aimed at teenagers and not an greying 46 year old such as myself who has now started listening to Radio 4 (crikey!)

So I think as I'm growing older and 2000AD is growing younger, after 33 consistant years of collecting it week after week, it might be time to let go of a relationship, where we've both changed so much from when we started.

There are the odd gems here and there such as Scarlet Traces and I had decided to leave when Wagner penned his last Dredd, but I'm not sure I can keep reading after my subs runs out next summer dining on one or two scraps of quality.




Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 28 October, 2021, 09:47:53 AM
The cover as a  3D model:

(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Zbrush1-1024x783.jpg)
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: IndigoPrime on 28 October, 2021, 09:57:54 AM
Seems an overreaction to me to quit over Regened. 2000 AD is an anthology. During 2000 AD's entire run, I'd say I on average I've cared about three of the five strips. There have been plenty of clunkers. But only during 2000 AD's nadir period did I consider binning the Prog (John Smith being the reason I didn't).

It's not like every Prog is becoming 100% Regened. Now and again, a strip gets a run to enable larger collections to be viable, which might provide greater longevity to the brand as a whole. As for this:

QuoteAs many of these strips are now firmly established in the prog, I'm starting to disconnect from it somewhat.
'Many' seems to be doing heavy lifting. Perhaps I've lost count, but we've had, what, three strips in total? Pandora's not unlike plenty of other humour strips throughout the Prog's history (with the exception that I actually like it). Full Tilt Boogie blazed along, with plenty of stuff happening. I was less keen on where Dept K went and it and Boogie do both feel a bit 'Phoenix' in terms of target audience. But they're perfectly readable stories, which is what I want from a Prog.

Or, to put it another way, I'd much sooner have another series of Pandora than more Skip Tracer or, I dunno, Greysuit.

But it's all personal taste, right? I've really enjoyed the recent run: five out of five for this set, every week. I get that others don't feel that way. Similarly, I don't have much nostalgia for the old days. Reading through the Hachette collection has been pretty interesting. Robo-Hunter was a chore. Nemesis I–IV still clicked. Quite random. Yet The Red Seas and Brink? Lovely.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: wedgeski on 28 October, 2021, 10:01:05 AM
Quote from: broodblik on 28 October, 2021, 09:47:53 AM
The cover as a  3D model:

(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Zbrush1-1024x783.jpg)
That's very cool. Did you do that?
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 28 October, 2021, 10:07:47 AM
No way I do not have that talent, it was done by Alex Ronald. Here is the article on how he did the cover: https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-alex-ronald-tests-his-hag-reflex-for-2000-ad-prog-2255/ (https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-alex-ronald-tests-his-hag-reflex-for-2000-ad-prog-2255/)
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: norton canes on 28 October, 2021, 10:58:57 AM
I thought the most telling line in Nic's letter was "my kids prefer the classic violent stuff". I don't think even the most ardent proponent of the Regened strips would argue that they aren't extremely sanitized in terms of removing violent content, or in fact content of any controversial or potentially contentious nature. It's all, sadly, far removed from the era when Action and 2000 AD would actively provoke outrage. And it's creating a huge schism with the regular content, which over the past couple of weeks has included face-fryings, cock jokes and all manner of depravity in The Diaboliks.

Still, if you can scare kids with Words and Pictures, perhaps there are a generation of children who'll grow up with traumatic memories of Finder and Keeper (I know a few adults will...)

Anyway...

Love me an Alex Ronald cover, and that 3D wireframe looks wonderfully Harryhausen. In fact I'm looking at the final part of 'The Hard Way' now imagining Keeper Hag moving like a stop-motion puppet. It's a bit of a hectic conclusion (does Dredd know he's going to be swept straight into the airlock?) but I guess that's in keeping with the breakneck pace of what's been a very enjoyable story.

A portentous wrap for another excellent run for The Diaboliks. I feel it's been a rather underrated strip lately; perhaps it's languishing slightly in the shadows of Caballistics, Inc. and Absalom but it always gets on with the job of being discreetly brilliant. The Pandora Perfect strip has been much better than I anticipated - a thought just struck me that maybe it could run as a one-pager, like the old Captain Klep and Dash Decent stories? Scarlet Traces has lost me plot-wise (I say 'lost', I haven't read the chapters so never really found the plot in the first place) but I love its weird aesthetic.

And... The Out. The Out is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get - but sometimes you get the same chocolate from the bottom layer as you got a couple of weeks ago from the top one.

Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: norton canes on 28 October, 2021, 11:00:39 AM
Quote from: norton canes on 28 October, 2021, 10:58:57 AM
Scarlet Traces has lost me plot-wise (I say 'lost', I haven't read the chapters so never really found the plot in the first place) but I love its weird aesthetic

the *early* chapters
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 28 October, 2021, 11:17:12 AM
But let's examine this idea that the old violence and anarchy has been sanitised. The three strips that have moved over to the regular Prog have been:

Full Tilt Boogie - plenty of all sorts in there. Good high octane thrillage, entirely comparible to older thrills, but agruably better written than many.

Department K - Kirby inspired action adventure, with as much violence and daring do as in any comparible strip back in the day

Pandora Perfect - yep this one isn't awash and is a much more slapstick strip, more a parallel to an old Robo-hunter story in tone I'd suggest and glorifies a thief and ne're do well I'd suggest.

The Regened issues themselves - 4 a year lest we forget - are I think slightly violent overall BUT does that reduce the quality of the storytelling, I don't think so. Does it shy away from violence, again strips like Mayflies strongly suggest otherwise, They just don't rely on it as a default (neither did strips from earlier days as well - there was more no doubt though). They simply open up other avenues of storytelling. Avenues that kids today are exposed to and seem to enjoy - I'll not pretend to have done the market research to know this for sure.

None of that invalidates Jacqusie (or Norton Canes that's landed as I type so not properly read that - but will say 'creating a hugh schism with the regular content' is a good thing for me. The Prog has always been about variety and being exposed to stories you otherwise might not) point. If its not working for them, well there's no point trying to disagree with that and the cliche, ya pays ya money ya makes ya choice is in full affect. Its just to say there are different views, different ways of seeing this and the Prog has always evolved and if y evolving it opens itself to new, different readers then for me that's a plus.

As long as the craft, good storytelling and energetic art is still there I suspect I will be too.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: norton canes on 28 October, 2021, 11:24:08 AM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 28 October, 2021, 11:17:12 AM
'creating a hugh schism with the regular content' is a good thing for me

Looking forward to the first run of 'Hugh Schism' : )
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Link Prime on 28 October, 2021, 11:33:04 AM
Quote from: Jacqusie on 27 October, 2021, 11:23:30 PM
they were aimed at a kids target audience

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 28 October, 2021, 09:57:54 AM
I'd say I on average I've cared about three of the five strips. There have been plenty of clunkers. But only during 2000 AD's nadir period did I consider binning the Prog (John Smith being the reason I didn't).

A key distinction here - even the worst 2000AD strips from the so called "dark days" (not looking too dark right now) were at least aimed at the core audience.

It's a graph we will never see, but I would be interested to review a bar chart some years down the line comparing the sum total of new readers that Regened gained Vs older readers that just thought "fuck this".
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Colin YNWA on 28 October, 2021, 11:37:01 AM
Quote from: Link Prime on 28 October, 2021, 11:33:04 AM
It's a graph we will never see, but I would be interested to review a bar chart some years down the line comparing the sum total of new readers that Regened gained Vs older readers that just thought "fuck this".

The fact that they are still pushing Regened so hard suggests that that gains outweigh losses? Unless they are looking at a long game and prepared to risk a short term loss for a potential long term gain I think Regenes most be working on some level.

As you say we'll never see the figures but the one piece of evidence we have, they are still coming and I think will continue to do so next year (why do I think we know that???) suggests something about them is still working.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: IndigoPrime on 28 October, 2021, 11:48:36 AM
Quote from: norton canes on 28 October, 2021, 10:58:57 AM
I thought the most telling line in Nic's letter was "my kids prefer the classic violent stuff". I don't think even the most ardent proponent of the Regened strips would argue that they aren't extremely sanitized in terms of removing violent content, or in fact content of any controversial or potentially contentious nature.
Markets change. But also, I wonder how much of the "my kids prefer" is down to parental influence. I know that's the case with my daughter and some of the things she loves — although less so with reading, since she's a voracious reader and very much finding her own path.

On content being sanitised, I'm not so sure, much like Colin outlined in his replies. Modern comics are certainly less violent and less likely to go for the visual shock. But they're also often smarter. They're certainly more representative and inclusive. I grew up in an age of comics written by when men for white kids — or white men for white girls, but very much from the male gaze. I look back at Robo-Hunter now and it's cringeworthy. Some of the old 'girls comics' reprints are dodgy in terms of representation — very stereotypical and sexist at times. Not that this has been eradicated from modern comics, but it's less apparent, and I'm happy that's the case for my daughter.

QuoteAnd it's creating a huge schism with the regular content, which over the past couple of weeks has included face-fryings, cock jokes and all manner of depravity in The Diaboliks.
Again, I keep coming back to this being an anthology comic. 2000 AD has had a huge variety of strips throughout its history. Horrifying strips frequently sit alongside funny ones; violent strips sit alongside thinky ones. I don't see Pandora Perfect as being much different from a whole bunch of humour strips the comic has run in the past, bar — as I've said before — me actually wanting to read it.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: dweezil2 on 28 October, 2021, 12:01:33 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 28 October, 2021, 09:57:54 AM
Or, to put it another way, I'd much sooner have another series of Pandora than more Skip Tracer or, I dunno, Greysuit.
And yet I loved Greysuit!
You see the Prog really is the epitome of something for everyone!!! :)
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Link Prime on 28 October, 2021, 12:03:10 PM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 28 October, 2021, 11:37:01 AM
Unless they are looking at a long game and prepared to risk a short term loss for a potential long term gain I think Regenes most be working on some level.

As you say we'll never see the figures but the one piece of evidence we have, they are still coming and I think will continue to do so next year (why do I think we know that???) suggests something about them is still working.

My guess is the obvious one; it's a cost effective means of producing kid friendly material that can be reprinted for the Regened collections (which can be more accurately marketed thereafter).

The only tax that our Green Overlord is willing to pay is some core reader dissatisfaction (to what degree outside the Forum I guess we will never know) and perhaps some credibility as a respected publication of sophisticated comic strips.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: IndigoPrime on 28 October, 2021, 12:07:31 PM
I don't see why making more comics people like would impact on 2000 AD's "credibility".
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Link Prime on 28 October, 2021, 12:08:21 PM
Word on the street is 2000AD be actin like a beeyotch.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: broodblik on 28 October, 2021, 12:50:51 PM
There is only 4 regen episodes a year basically its represents 8% of the published progs. So if you do not like them just skip them it is not like it is a 50/50 split.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: scrotnig on 28 October, 2021, 07:29:10 PM
I'm 53 and I think Pandora Perfect is awesome.

There's a place in the main prog for stories like that.
Not everything has to be all dark and serious.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Darren Stephens on 29 October, 2021, 06:43:41 PM
Quote from: scrotnig on 28 October, 2021, 07:29:10 PM
I'm 53 and I think Pandora Perfect is awesome.

There's a place in the main prog for stories like that.
Not everything has to be all dark and serious.


Agreed!
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Jacqusie on 31 October, 2021, 06:43:01 PM
Yup, I agree it's ALWAYS been about personal tastes and I'm pleased that the prog is mixing it up to keep healthy after all these years and like I said, if The prog is needs to lower it's age bracket to survive then fair play. I'd rather it do that and carry on, than have old farts like me dictate to what it should publish and it go down the pan.

Again I've nothing against Pandora Perfect or some of the others and glad people like those younger types of strips whatever their age, but coming back to the the personal taste thing... nope, I really don't.

This isn't a last few weeks sort of head scratcher, as I've grown older I'm not really feeling it when I open the pages of 2000AD anymore and the arrival of more lightweight cartoony strips and the departing of stories such as Absalom and a few others has made me reappraise where I'm spending my money and time really.

All good things come to an end I suppose, even after 33 years and things change don't they. I would have loved to see a Wagner / McNeil Stronty Dog, but I don't think with the spin off's that will happen and I still might buy the odd collection if it's the right story.

I might also be interested to pop in now and again just to see how old Dredd is getting on and indeed how old he gets!   :)

Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Richard on 01 November, 2021, 10:40:32 PM
Giving up reading the prog as some kind of protest or disillusionment with Regened seems to me to be a massive overreaction. Personally, I've enjoyed some of the Regened material, especially FTB, and Pandora Perfect was a perfectly good six-episodes of silly comedy that did not outstay its welcome. And anything that helps keep the comic going must be good.

But I do agree with the criticism that the art is usually too cartoony, and the overall feel is that the whole Regened prog is too safe, neutered and bland. When I was a kid I was reading comics which my parents would not have approved of, like Scream and (1980s) Eagle. They were violent, with stories like Doomlord, Bloodfang, One-Eyed Jack, The Thirteenth Floor, and reprints of MACH One. I would never have bothered with Cadet Dredd if it had been around back then.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Sean SD on 03 November, 2021, 11:20:22 AM
My Top 3 for Prog 2255

1st - The Out

2nd - Scarlet Traces    

3rd -  Dredd

the other strips were fine, no real weak links lately
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 03 November, 2021, 08:13:46 PM
Quote from: Richard on 01 November, 2021, 10:40:32 PM
I would never have bothered with Cadet Dredd if it had been around back then.

It bears repeating that the kids' media landscape of the 2020s is VERY different to that of the late 70s/early 80s. We largely subsisted on a tiny amount of media directed at us, and then picked the bones out of the westerns and war movies that populated the daytime schedules at the weekend.

Now, kids expect their media to be tailored to them. It's just not the same as it was for us.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Tiplodocus on 27 November, 2021, 09:52:09 AM
Nice finish to a great run of Progs.

I'm not going to add anything of value to the regened debate (I'm for them) other than to say I wish only 8% of the output had been not to my taste during the dark days.

I was lucky enough that money was not an object at the time so I just stuck with the prog even though there was barely one story a prog to like. But I can see how if something isn't appealling to you and you have better things to spend your money on, it might be time to move on.
Title: Re: Prog 2255 - Hag Reflex!
Post by: Funt Solo on 28 December, 2021, 06:41:58 PM
Ironically, Pandora Perfect is in some ways objectively better than Dredd's The Hard Way. Yes, I said objectively.

Do I know who all the characters are? Does it make sense within the constraints of the story? Does it hold true to the spirit of the canon? All are yes for Pandora and no for The Hard Way.

I think they're both trying to be comedies, but, whoo boy, does The Hard Way fail miserably at that. It's like a 90s fever dream channeling the worst excesses of Pseudo-Slade, Millar-Vision and Skuzz III.

Why do none of the assassins (except the bland ringleader) care about their own survival? Why is there a circus troupe of assassins anyway? Or - what are the Suicide Squad doing in Judge Dredd? Where is Dredd's cape? What happened to the loose end of citizens hypnotized by the computer virus? Who is Dumbledwee and why haven't they done anything for several episodes, then (later) - why are the conjoined twin assassins (a terribly stupid concept) not conjoined anymore when they leap stupidly from nowhere at all at Dredd & Maitland? Who is Chongan? How was the bland ringleader able to watch everything through his magic binoculars when they're in a submarine facility that one would assume had things like doors and ceilings and so on?

Oh, it's just such a bucket of pants. There are lots of reasons to keep reading the prog, but Dredd isn't anywhere near the top of the list. (People keep excluding Dredd from votes as if he'd be a shoe-in, but it's just not the best strip in the prog anymore. It's like Futsie Shocks now.) I'm really looking forward to the Red Queen (Bond supervillain) just not being a thing anymore, with her bucket of unlikely Orlok clones and invisible pet cat.

[/rant]