Was inferno any good?

[IndigoPrime]

I last read it in the Mega Collection. It's just awful. I get why Matt felt it needed to be included, but I wish it hadn't been. Bar some of the art (despite what's happening), it has no redeeming features whatsoever. Then again, Morrison and Millar are on record as saying they didn't care about Dredd or 2000 AD's history. It showed. It still does.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Purgatory was tripe.  Inferno - it's complicated, for me at least. 

I really disliked Garth Ennis' mouthy, trash-talking Dredd and how the clever, dark comedy of Wagner's MC1 was being misinterpreted as Bad Taste-style splatter 'comedy' and little else. 

I loved Morrison at the time, though - Zenith was absolutely mind-blowing.  The first few episodes of Inferno gave me a bit of hope - Dredd was terse and menacing again instead of shouty and sweary.  As Mega-Epics went, I much preferred it to Judgement Day, and to be honest I still do.  But then I really didn't like Judgement Day.

All in all, at the time I thought Inferno was ok.  In hindsight, though, it's clearly the work of a writer who doesn't give much of a shit.

[IndigoPrime]

And that's the key problem. Wagner and Grant had spent 15+ years creating a complex, intriguing world populated by a range of interesting characters. Morrison comes alone and does interviews in the press denouncing the old guard as past-it and he and Millar as some kind of second coming. What also clear is that he either doesn't get Dredd or just doesn't care about it. It's one thing to have the city's entire structure massively change—it's not like other writers are hugely consistent on that score—but to have the basics of character be so off just kills it for me.

Dredd under Ennis was poor but frequently had some good bits. Under Millar and Morrison, he was a one-dimensional slice of dull. (And the less said about what they did to Grice, the better.)

[Leigh S]

The incredible self aggrandizing quote I recall most from Morrison when talking about his "I couldn't think of anything to do with this tedious character so decided to make it like as brain dead a Schwarzenegger action movie as I could" was the one that was most telling of just how little he had a clue:

It went something along the lines of "at least Batman has two dimensions".  It's a pretty insightful quote to my mind, showing that like his little mate, Morrison thought there was more "merit" in capes and cowls than thrill power.

[milstar]

Funny how almost every famous British comic creator tackled Dredd, each from different angle and polarized success. Inferno definitely wasn't good arc at all, it's just poorly written and it doesn't live up to premise. At least Ennis Dredd had some wit, Inferno has none. In Inferno's case, I am greatly fond of Mark Millar as creator, much more than psycho-looney Morrison (although I love early Morrison), but here Grant beat Mark by a mile, and I don't mean it in a flattering manner. As if both writers said "well, I got to write Dredd. Nothing else matters".

[maryanddavid]

It's a while since I read them, but I do recall enjoying Purgatory, IIRC Carlos art wast stunning?

[Funt Solo]

I was certainly stunned:

[IndigoPrime]

Sums up everything, really.

Morrison: Who was Grice? Some bloke that tried to kill Dredd? Should we research him?
Millar: AHAHAHAHA!
Morrison: AHAHAHAHAHA!
Millar: I've got a great idea—let's make him [deep in thought] a muscle-bound one-dimensional villain!
Morrison: THAT'S GOLD!
Millar: I've got another great idea too, which involves a conveyor belt.
Morrison: Mark.
Millar: What?
Morrison: Seriously?
Millar: What?
Ezquerra: Hello. So I've been looking at old issues with Titan in and the uniforms and breathing mask—
Morrison: Gonna have to cut you off there, Carlo!
Ezquerra: It's... Carlos.
Morrison: Whatever. You know the rules. What is the first rule?
Ezquerra: We don't do research.
Millar: Now go and sit in the corner and think about what you've done. You're lucky to be here anyway, given that you're one of the OLD GUARD. Think about that.
Ezquerra: Sorry. *phones Wagner*
Wagnerphone: I'm not here right now, because fuck 2000 AD, so please leave a message after the tone.
Ezquerra: Please come back, John! I know about the merchandise problems and the, well, everything else, but these guys are wrecking the place.
Morrison: What are you doing over there, Carla?
Ezquerra: ... ... Drawing.
Millar: Good job. Make are the bad guys look much more like nazis, too, or there's no way the readers will be able to tell they are the bad guys. I'm also plotting a six-episode convertor belt battle that's going to be fucking epic!
Morrison: MARK.
Ezquerra: *sigh*

[Bad Andy]

Inspired

[Max Headroom]

Were Morrison and Millar really so derogatory about 2000ad? And if so, why? What would be their reasoning behind being so disrespectful about Britain's flagship comic?

[Colin YNWA]

Were Morrison and Millar really so derogatory about 2000ad? And if so, why? What would be their reasoning behind being so disrespectful about Britain's flagship comic?

They rather cast themselves as Enfant Terribles - the next generation brushing away the past and lashing out. Not really to attack the old, rather to try to elevate themselves in the mediums mindseye. To be fair they did a job of it!

Grant Morrison has been quite open about being a bit embarrassed about it all looking back.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Millar too, in fairness, admitted to only really getting into 2000ad after he'd written for it.  Both seemed to be more into the American comics from the start, but both got a leg-up from 2000ad en route. 

Zenith makes up for all of Grant's sins in spades, in my book.  And I have to admit I was glad to see Garth Ennis taking a break for a while - he's one of the best in the business these days, but I just couldn't stand his work on Dredd.  At least Inferno was only for a few months - Ennis was on Dredd every single week for years.

[Funt Solo]

And there was a sense in which 2000 AD was, somewhere around that time, and for whatever reason, running out of steam a little. So, some new blood coming in to shake things up must have seemed like a great idea.

Always be reading Millar's own comments (as Jayzus was saying) about his time at the Toothface (from Meg 323):

It is funny actually because I only got into 2000 AD after I began working on it ... I didn't realize how good 2000 AD was until much later on - and I hate to say this but I think I wrote some of the worst 2000 AD stories ever. I was lucky to get in there because [established writers] were busy working in the States ... It was really difficult for me because a good half of what I wrote was rubbish and the other half was just okay.

[milstar]

In retrospect, Millar imo seems as more appropriate writer on Dredd, than Grant. Then again, it seems that many were digging into US comics at the time, because the medium simply exploded to unsung lengths back then, and giving very little attention to 2000ad. It may also be with the size of the wallet, considering many stories I heard about lousy treatment creators had from financial perspective at 2000ad (compared to the US publishers), but that's just me talking.