Prog 2380 - By Steed and Steel!

[Colin YNWA]

Well the catch up is complete and I've not got much to say beyond what I did last two times. Damn this is a fantastic line-up.

Dredd - well the longer it goes on and I wonder more and more why its lasting so long, the more I'm actually enjoying this one. Weird!

Aquila - I mean you know what's coming, but still can't help punching the air when it lands!

Brink - Simply magnificent on every level. When did four people chatting in an intriguing lite room get quite this compelling?!?

Indigo Prime - just keeps ramming the wonderful ideas home hard. Loving this.

Proteus Vex - In any other Prog this would surely be the best thing by a mile but with Brink just chewing the pages up it has to settle for an astonishing second. Brilliant.

When a pretty damned decent Dredd is comfortably bottom of the pile you know Tharg is knockin' out the thrill park.

[broodblik]

Cover by John McCrea:

[Tomwe]

Another tasty McCrea cover!

[Barrington Boots]

Seconded on the cover, great stuff.

Dredd This is alright, digging the art, but the story is still lacking a lot of context and Dredd himself could be a different judge, flashback aside. It's not really sparking my interest beyond wanting to see the comedically large bear again - it feels more like an extended intro to an actual story, if that makes sense. We'll see where this goes next.

Aquila - With the story seemingly moving towards a climax, I definitely thought Felix was going to cop it here. Fast paced and brutal action, great stuff.

Brink - Some dudes talking in a room, setup stuff, classic Brink.

Indigo Prime - I really like this (agree that Depp is unwlecome though). It' the right side of incomprehensible, just one mad idea on top of another.

Proteus Vex - Highlight of the Prog again. One of my favourite episodes so far. There's a lot being told here, more than is narrated, I think. Love how the memory version of midnight mirrors the childs toy, and the little flesh pilot guys are amazing.

Strong Prog again for me.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Another tasty McCrea cover!

Yep... he's been on the go a very long time now, and just keeps getting better.  He can do fully-painted very well too - remember Chopper in the very first Megazine run? - but I'd take his line work any day.

[IndigoPrime]

Another good issue, I thought. Lovely cover. A funny Droid Life. What's probably going to amount to a slight Dredd, devoid of broader context, but, well, it's still Dredd vs Shako. Aquila gets bloody (or bloodier) and Brink and Proteus Vex both ramp up the interest. Only Indigo Prime has kind of lost me. Maybe it'd work if it was a precursor to handing a strand of it back to Smith, but I very much doubt that!

Oh, and a letters page. Albeit one in which Tharg confirms that the 'series finale' for Full Tilt Boogie really does mean the end of the strip. A pity, but I suppose at least it'll get an ending. *cough*Brass Sun*cough*

[broodblik]

A great prog again. Very difficult to choose what is the favourite this round


Dredd – I wonder if we will ever know what Dredd's mission was. The survival series continues unfortunately this one is not presented by Bear Grylls anymore since the big bad bear ate him in episode one. I still enjoy this for it is and Guera is one hell of an artist.

Aquila – This is like the previous episodes, an all-action episode with no mercy blood galore action-fest. Just awesome stuff. PS – I think Brink stole all the words in the prog nothing left.

Brink  – This is a letters nightmare with more speech-bubbles than number of progs released but boy this is great.  We are still very much in setup territory here. I do not think we will reach Luna everything will happen on Belleholme habitat.

Indigo Prime – (that like something or) story the get will you slightly up temperature the turn just and salt of bit little a add we If.

Vex – This was one awesome episode as Carroll adds much more backstory and nuances to the world of Vex. Lynch art as always helps to great this great world. This is the first time that the story focuses purely on Vex and we get shown some of his history. Top-notch story my fav by far.

[Grush]

Excellent line up of thrills at the moment (well, 4 out of 5, but it's an anthology), all wrapped up in another great cover from John McCrea.

Enjoying this Dredd story, as a relentless Dredd vs fake-Shako battle. As we still don't know why Dredd is there, or why he brought the hand-picked rookie with him, I assume this leads into the next story – although letters page says that is written by Neimand. Love the Dredd face at the bottom of page 5 "you ain't no animal!"

This is my first exposure to Aquila, and it is non-stop action, interweaved with excellent set-up of who the characters are, their situation and relationships. Indigo Prime is the complete opposite of this – totally impenetrable to me, no idea what anyone is doing or why (as usual for Kek-W). Others seem to see something I can't though.

Brink and Vex are both excellent – probably my favourite two thrills since rejoining the squaxx a couple of years ago. Having both in the current run of progs is quite a treat.

[IndigoPrime]

Indigo Prime is an odd one. John Smith gained a reputation for impenetrable stories, but I never really thought that. And the UC collections have their moments of batshit weirdness, but the plots that thread through them are possible to cling on to during even the most bizarre moments. Kek-W seems to often flirt on the other side of that line. I certainly don't begrudge it being in the Prog, but it'd be nice if it had a touch more coherence.

[Barrington Boots]

I know its a very unpopular opinion but I think I prefer the Kek Indigo tales to John Smiths ones: the level of deliberate obfuscation appeals to me, and the horror levels are dialled back a bit.
I totally get why a lot of people aren't fans though.

[broodblik]

It is not that I find Indigo Prime as bad it was always a strip even when John Smith wrote it that it is something that is not really to my liking. The power of anthology at play here anyway, the rest are top-notch.

[broodblik]

B/W Cover:



Alternative Cover:

[Colin YNWA]

Wow - have to say I LOVE that alternative cover. I think its miles better!

[Trooper McFad]

Wow - have to say I LOVE that alternative cover. I think its miles better!

It's a cracker and would be a great Webshop HC

[broodblik]

Here is another one: