Meg 355 - Ho Ho Drokkin' Ho, Creeps!

[ZenArcade]

Quite right Space ghost, Defoe is quite good. Z

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

There's a Pat Mills thread waiting to be started. I won't comment further here because I have neither purchased nor read this meg.

[IndigoPrime]

I think writer clout has a lot to do with this?

You say clout, I say a back catalogue unequalled in British comics. Anyone can name half a dozen Mills strips they don't care for, but you'd be a lot longer naming all the ones that thrilled your socks off.

If this was 1986, I'd agree. By 1996, not so much. Now: nope. For me, the rot set in when his strips shifted from crazy ideas and fast-paced action laced with black satire to being soapboxes for whatever he wanted to moan about. Sexy Ostriches is at least trying to do something a bit different from his norm (even if it's chock full of tiresome politics), but it's just so horribly boring. The art feels terribly static, and you get the feeling if it wasn't for the creative team, there's no way in hell this would have gotten past the first series — or at the very least, they'd have been told to tighten the bloody thing up. I can't wait for it to be over, and again if this had hit during my resub time, I'd seriously be reconsidering The Meg again.

Elsewhere, fortunately, was very solid, and I preferred this Meg to Prog 2015, despite Reaper. Dredd ended well, even if it was far too soon; DeMarco's always good, even if Yeowell's art has become rather spartan; and Ewing's 2089 Dredd provides a glimpse into an arrogant early Dredd we've rarely seen (and a city we've, as I recall, never seen) in 2000 AD. Meh at the floppy, although those stories at least weren't as bad as I recalled.

[Skullmo]

It has been pointed out that Mills had a massive creative patch in the mid to late 70's until the early 90's and it is the fervent hope of many on this thread that those heights of excellence will be regained. The gaps between his ultimate take on fresh original tales has widened hugely since then.  Those wonderful days, which we all loved and still yearn for will not be regained with the constant bombardment of boring interminable stories such as American Reaper or for that matter Savage and Flesh in the prog. However his recent revisiting of what, in my opinion, Slaine really meant, coupled with an invigorating, original artist ( Davis) does offer some hope. Z

It has been pointed out by people who do not like Mills' recent work you mean.

I think he is still doing great stuff, and I think Reaper is great. His stories are usually the first I read in the Prog.

'those wonderful days, which we all loved and still yearn for' - I don't yearn to see an artist repeat themself, I like that Pat is doing something new with Reaper.

[TordelBack]

'those wonderful days, which we all loved and still yearn for' - I don't yearn to see an artist repeat themself, I like that Pat is doing something new with Reaper.

This is it for me too.  I can't really comment on Reaper, having only read one part (which I enjoyed and which left me interested), but I think Pat still produces some of the best comics in existence, and if he's offering up a creator-owned project for that slot in the Meg the Mighty One would be mad to turn it down (I also imagine it's a relatively cheap way to fill 18 pages with full colour art that, while not to my taste, surely has its adherents).

A Simple Killing was my favourite comic of the year, I just couldn't get enough of it - but any time in the past 20 years I would have been insisting that he had run Slaine into the ground and should never have continued it past Horned God: where would I be if I had got my way? 

Similarly after what looked like a downward spiral recent ABC Warriors flashback stuff has been great, Defoe is always brilliant and Savage's shift into strange continuity rambles and Colin Farrell homages have been fun.  I also loved the new Flesh stuff (although I appreciate that this is a minority opinion), and was very sorry to see it grind to a halt the way it did. 

On the other hand, I think Greysuit is just awful, Visible Man feels like some sort of cruel parody of Pat Mills strips and anything he's done for Dredd in the last 30 years has been effectively unreadable (for me).  But again I bet there are people who hold the exact opposite opinion.  Pat Mills strips get a reaction, because he's always trying to do something new: look at the 9(!) series of Savage: no two (or maybe three) runs have even been in the same genre, flipping from US 'regime change' satire to 70's cop show to WWII spy drama to East End gangster caper to high-concept SF warfare to whatever the hell mutant beast it is now.  Wait long enough and Pat will do something you really, really like.

Add that to his unfailing ability to inspire artists to produce their greatest work (even when the script might not be doing the lifting), and a back catalogue with over 200 entries on Barney, and Pat is 2000AD - the prog is never healthier than when Tharg and the Gaffer are working in harmony.  There should always be a slot in Prog and/or Meg for whatever Pat wants to write.

[ZenArcade]

Skulmo, you rightly point out that it is people who aren't enamoured with Pat Mills recent work  why else would I have made the post. You like his recent material and fair play to you, many however don't. The intent of the post isnt to nostalgically hearken back to the mid 80's and expect Mills to simply rehash the wonderful material he penned back then ad infinitum (It could be argued that it is the very rehashing of stories like Flesh, Savage etc that has led to the evident discontent and dare I say disconnect we find amongst posters on here); no, instead I mearly want the excitement and creative imagination put to use on new storylines. As Space Ghost says Dafoe is a pretty good attempt at this; banality such as reaper and greysuit isn't. Z

[Skullmo]

Skulmo, you rightly point out that it is people who aren't enamoured with Pat Mills recent work  why else would I have made the post. You like his recent material and fair play to you, many however don't. The intent of the post isnt to nostalgically hearken back to the mid 80's and expect Mills to simply rehash the wonderful material he penned back then ad infinitum (It could be argued that it is the very rehashing of stories like Flesh, Savage etc that has led to the evident discontent and dare I say disconnect we find amongst posters on here); no, instead I mearly want the excitement and creative imagination put to use on new storylines. As Space Ghost says Dafoe is a pretty good attempt at this; banality such as reaper and greysuit isn't. Z

'many however don't' I have only seen 20 or so people at most complain about Mills' work, and it is usually the same comments levelled: 'I don't like the way he writes dialogue', 'I don't like Reaper','I don't like him changing continuity', 'It's not as good as when I was a kid'.

I like that people express their view on this, although maybe it's just that you, sadly, don't like Mills' style of writing anymore. Writers change and develop and you cannot expect someone to always write the same way.

I agree that can be a pain when such a big chunk of the Meg is taken up with his work

[ZenArcade]

Well we agree on the people putting their point across which is the essential thing in these discussions.    20 people in terms of this forum is a substantial percentage of the number of posters at any given time. Yes, in respect of much of Pat Mills work over the past 2 - 3 decades, I don't feel drawn to it or engaged with it. It comes across as preachy and (as much as it pains me to say this) pedestrian as well. This is of course my personal opinion, but it is an opinion none the less. Z

[Jim_Campbell]

This is of course my personal opinion, but it is an opinion none the less.

In your opinion.

Cheers

Jim

[ZenArcade]

I have only my own to offer Jim. Z

[Jim_Campbell]

I have only my own to offer Jim. Z

There should possibly have been a smiley after my previous post. :-)

Cheers

Jim

[TordelBack]

Absolutely, well-argued politely expressed opinions are what makes the forum go round!  And I think many (most?) have been there with Pat at one time or another, I know I have.  My point would be that Pat, along with Wagner and Grant, has earned the right to have a slot in 2000AD/The Megazine for new and ongoing work, and that he often delivers the goods, even (especially) if his work divides the audience.  However, there is an issue with one strip taking up such a large chunk of the Meg if it affects the overall experience of the comic when readers don't take to it.

[ZenArcade]

 Jim there is no absolutley no need for a smiley, I respect Skulmo's opinion and the right of my fellow posters to take the micky out of me. I dont take myself too seriously (I hope). The forum is well argued but mannered. The very thing I admire about it and the posters on it. Z

[Fungus]

Fight!    Fight!    FIGHT!!!!

[Jim_Campbell]

Absolutely, well-argued politely expressed opinions are what makes the forum go round!

[spoiler]Insert your preference of obvious and scatological rebuttal here.[/spoiler]

Cheers!

Jim