Prog 2256 - Total Excitement Overload.

[The Corinthian]

Strontium Dug is the first time I've felt that a Regened take on a standard Tooth character has captured the tone of the original.

Though I question if any of The Young People will get the Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy cameos.

[Beaker]

No sign of my copy yet. (

[Funt Solo]

I keep scanning the title of this thread as Total Excrement Overload.

That is all.

[The Corinthian]

What's with the use of "excitement" instead of "thrill" anyway?

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

I am feeling particularly grumpy at the moment, due to viral overload (thankfully not the one that apparently doesn't exist, according to several disappointing Facebook friends) and so was all prepared to pour scorn, disdain and woe upon this week's Regened.

Surprise! I really liked it.

Look, I'm not a big fan of the chosen art styles (barring Mr Colin, who can do no wrong, and Mr Willsher- whose more, er, is 'simplistic' the word? The style he uses here and when drawing Roy Race, anyway- as opposed to his usual prog Dredd work- which works stupendously for me) but on the whole this Regened was one of my favourites. Especially Enemy Earth and Scooter & Jinx; both of which were strong enough even with art I actively disliked, to be welcome back anytime. I found Scooter & Jinx strangely touching and complex actually- adult in a way I didn't expect, but in the sense of being 'emotionally developed' rather than 'crude'.

So yes, good stuff. Every time I look at Regeneds though, I'm reminded of my parents' reactions to Carlos Ezquerra, Mick McMahon and Ian Gibson back in the late seventies: that they were rubbish in comparison to the comics of their youth. C'est la guerre.

SBT

[Bad City Blue]

Not bad at all.

Dredd was a good, solid entry.

Scooter and Jinx was utter shite, someone trying to appeal to kids waaaaay too hard. What? It's from the guy who writes Shit Tracer? Fair enough... STill waana know how he's blackmailing Tharg.

Enemy Earth was pretty good, I imagine a second part has already been approved.

Time Twister was spot on, a fun tale with a neat twist.

Strontium Dug will confuse MANY with the language, but as an old fan I enjoyed it although some of the plotting was, I felt, quite weak. No problem seeing Dug again, though.

[Southstreeter]

No sign of my copy yet. (

Me neither. Glad it’s not a regular prog, so it won’t matter when I get next week’s first!

[I, Cosh]

Thought Strontium Dug was laugh out loud funny and probably the best Regened strip to date. Two important aspects of that: it can only ever be a one-off rather than a pilot for a series and Colin MacNeil. Not sure how it'll work for the Non-Scot bairns but I don't really care either. Impenetrable Scottish accents have been part of 2000AD since I was a lad.

Enemy Earth was yet another pilot but I felt it worked better than many others because it had some actual nastiness. Not quite Please Kill Me Before the Giant Scorpions but a good old-fashioned eaten little brother. Good stuff.

The most interesting thing about Scooter & Jinx is that it finally proves beyond reasonable doubt that Skip Tracer is named after a Sonic Youth song and the occupation came later. And one of them is a Bone Machine. Looking forward to seeing what relatively obscure musical references our man comes up with next.

Not convinced by the Time Twister. Pleasant enough but it seems like every Future Shock in Regened has centred around the idea of social media. Not sure the kids give as much of a shit (or would be as shocked by the idea of it being bad) as teh knicker-twisting adults writing this stuff.

Dredd was fairly nothingy but actually highlights my own reservation about the Regened Progs. Wouldn't it be better to try and get material from the best  creators into these issues? I'm not sure many people are running to their local Thrill merchant for 12 pages of Liam Johnson's Dredd. Of the current top flight writers I think only Rennie has had a strip in this year. Of course new talent is always welcome but how do you attract readers without a core of strong material?

[Colin YNWA]

The most interesting thing about Scooter & Jinx is that it finally proves beyond reasonable doubt that Skip Tracer is named after a Sonic Youth song and the occupation came later. And one of them is a Bone Machine. Looking forward to seeing what relatively obscure musical references our man comes up with next.

Or they could be a  Bone Machine

[norton canes]

So, here we go again, time for me to get my curmudgeonly, 53-year-old head around the sort of stories the kids are... digging? Down with? Whateva!

A nice fast (and furiously) paced Dredd to kick off, a good opportunity for the Willsher droid to display his action drawing skills. Not sure the resolution would convince even a child though - there's no way two bikes would have enough traction... oh never mind. It appears to be a familty of Myrkas eating at Mondos in Scooter and Jinx, and that's about the most intersting thing in the strip. Enemy Earth much better, loving the mutant rats, good twist, this one's clearly got full-run potential (though surely not in the regular prog?). Really liked the Time Twister too, some of the expressions Tom Newell gave the protaginsts were fantastic. Really not sure what to make of Strontium Dug - I think possibly the worst thing a Regened strip can do is try to cater for the tastes of kids and seasoned 2000 AD veterans, and this was sitting on the fence with a foot in both camps, if I can multi-metaphor.

That cover for next prog, though. Worth £4.99 just for the sneak preview. 

[norton canes]

I tell you what though, good as that Dredd story is, wouldn't it have been even better if some innocent cits had been caught in the cannon fire and splattered across the sked? I mean, wouldn't it?

[The Corinthian]

I tell you what though, good as that Dredd story is, wouldn't it have been even better if some innocent cits had been caught in the cannon fire and splattered across the sked?

Not for the innocent cits.

[Sean SD]

My Top 3 for Prog 2256 Regened

1st - Strontium Dug - My pick from this Regened issue. Great to see MacNeil in action in a fun tale from the SD universe. The Scottish accent stuff is a wee bit tricky tae understan at times though 

2nd - Scooter & Jinx - I enjoyed this one but would like Scooter to keep her powers in future eps should the story continue.

3rd -  Cadet Dredd - CD is always a bit forced imho but this one was fine maybe because it was action aplenty on Lawmasters

Not the strongest Regened overall but hopefully Tharg will bring back Finder and Keeper in future issues

[M.I.K.]

I'm pretty sure it's only Scooter's healing ability that doesn't work anymore.

[Sean SD]

I'm pretty sure it's only Scooter's healing ability that doesn't work anymore.

Yep good point