Ultimate Not Wagner Tournament - Winner DAN ABNETT (+ what's next?)

[JayzusB.Christ]

He wasn't who I voted for but he's a worthy winner.  And even though Pat was my choice, he's definitely not the powerhouse he was in the 80s and early 90s any more. So I'm cool with the result and loved the tournament.

[sintec]

The main thing I discovered from this tournament is just how highly I rate Summer Magic!

I grabbed Andy's copy of Summer Magic in his big clearout (see Classifieds thread) largely on the strength of the love it was shown during those votes. It's clearly rated very highly by many boarders so I felt I owed it to myself to go and check it out (especially at a bargin 2nd hand price).

These competitions have been a great source of discussion and have already highlighted a few strips I need to track down - thanks for your work organising this Colin.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Yes, thankyou so much for running this. It's fired up my interest in the board and made me again come here for the good stuff rather than make do with all that guff on Facebook. I dont think it's a coincidence that I've been going through my boxes of Megs and reading a lot more trades than usual while the tournament(s) have been running.  Looking forward to more of the same.

As for it coming down to Abnett and Mills... I must admit I felt unsure about even including Mills in it- as far as I'm concerned if John Wagner was out, so was Pat. And probably Alan Grant too, to be honest. But Pat especially, seeing as he basically *is* 2000AD as far as I'm concerned.
But I think it all worked out perfectly- Pat gets second place, with everyone singing his praises and commenting on what an impossible choice it was- and Dan wins, showing that the modern prog is just as vibrant and important- and *loved*- as the classic days were. That's good for the comic, good for the future of the comic, and reflects well on the readership I think.

I now look forward to the cover of a near-future prog with the strap line "Featuring THE OUT by Dan Abnett- WINNER OF THE GODPLETON CUP!" in huge letters.

SBT

[IndigoPrime]

Looking at the reasons people gave for their votes, Abnett seemed to edge it primarily because he's very, very consistent, and very, very prolific. Many voters seemed to count Pat's less successful outings against him, as if writing Dinosty somehow made Nemesis less brilliant.

Arguably, they both have that kind of thing going, albeit in reverse. Pat had explosive amazingness at first, and settled into very variable output. Abnett started off variable, but became far more consistent. But in terms of stories I want to read now, Kingdom sits up there with Nemesis. Brink is up there with Sláine. Lawless sits up there with the best of ABC Warriors—and far beyond the worst. Sure, they are very different series, but even by shaving off the crap from both writers, Abnett has the edge for me, even if he's not as 'mad' as Mills—not least because he keeps trying new things. Too much of modern Mills feels like recycling and remix rather than something new. (He's inferred as much in interviews, on the basis of losing creator's rights.)

I'm perfectly happy Mills has come in second, and wouldn't have been annoyed had he won; but there's something nice in the win being more about the future of the comic than its past.

[Funt Solo]

Moore was robbed! Nah, just having a laugh. I mean: it's a house of talent, and choosing one over another is such an ephemeral thing that I could just as easily have voted otherwise in many of the rounds. Especially the later ones.

I suppose what's surprising from one of the long-term readers, is how entrenched the Rebellion era is, and how lost in the mists of time the golden age has become. Would Wagner have walked it?

Big thanks to Colin for all the hard work - and I was very impressed with the laid back, ambassadorial approach to the rules.

[Greg M.]

I'm perfectly happy Mills has come in second, and wouldn't have been annoyed had he won; but there's something nice in the win being more about the future of the comic than its past.

Abnett has been writing for 2000AD off and on for about 30 years, around 25 as a regular. He does a good job and if you want to call him the 'present' of 2000AD, that's fair enough. His work certainly epitomises the current incarnation of the comic - take that any way you want - but with such a long tenure, I'm not sure I'd call him the future.

As for the idea of Mills recycling - you hit a certain age, and your creative processes become more about refinement of your existing ideas than generating brand new ones. I don't think it's realistic to expect a man in his (very) early seventies to start a process of radical innovation now. He's innovated plenty in the past, far more than most! The fact that he has just created a whole swathe of brand-new properties for his creator-owned Space Warp title, many of which sound like they're full of potential, is impressive enough in its own right.

[Funt Solo]

Reading Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! (Mills 2017), there's a strong argument that it's not a lack of ideas that has him retreading existing characters, but rather a twofold issue of the lack of creative ownership and the lack of research pay.

(Those cogent reasons don't make it any easier to have the same characters dance around the same themes without actually moving forward a plot or an arc. ABC Warriors: I'm looking at you.)

[Colin YNWA]

In case anyone is interest here's a linkie to my spreadsheet where I've logged the Tourney and the scores

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rDmOmEOdRRQF4GQRvfvKCDo7HrvNdf2EigjEbkIo_wk/edit?usp=drivesdk

[Buttonman]

Good job Colin!

Have you approached Dan for a comment? I'd be chuffed if it was me!

[Colin YNWA]

Good job Colin!

Have you approached Dan for a comment? I'd be chuffed if it was me!

I'd lvoe to but haven't the first clue how to get in touch with the chap - which given how much I love his work is probably the safe thing for both of us!

[IndigoPrime]

Reading Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! (Mills 2017), there's a strong argument that it's not a lack of ideas that has him retreading existing characters

For me, the issue is when he recycles existing concepts again and again. We don't need to see a disbanded ABC Warriors get back together again, for example.

As to Greg's point about Abnett's longevity in the comic, I get he's not a new contributor. But he's regularly providing new series and ideas. That's the point I'm making about the future of the comic rather than its past.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Have PMd you Colin.

SBT

[JayzusB.Christ]

In case anyone is interest here's a linkie to my spreadsheet where I've logged the Tourney and the scores

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rDmOmEOdRRQF4GQRvfvKCDo7HrvNdf2EigjEbkIo_wk/edit?usp=drivesdk

Great work.  Never enjoyed a spreadsheet so much in my life

[Colin YNWA]

Have PMd you Colin.

SBT

Can't see that its landed? I'm intrigued now...

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Hang on, will try again. Had this problem the other day.

SBT