So managed to squeeze in prep and we are straight into Round 5. 32 thrills remain, so at this point there is little use going on about how tough this will now be, how we are going to lose great thrills and how mind melting some of the decisions will become. It's now pretty obvious. That said there is one tie this week which I had as an outside chance of the final... not to be anymore AND I might go into meltdown if we see the end of the done in one story... it's going to be interesting to say the least
I mean these two, at first glance at least, are at opposite ends of the thrill spectrum! They have more in common than you might think at first glance... but still it's a bit of a head scratcher to compare these two!
Form book (note none of the remaining thrill appeared in Round 1 - all getting byes; so the form book starts at Round 2)
Halo Jones: Timehouse; Numbercruncher; Mind of Wolfie Smith
Shakara: Stainless Steel Rat; Helium; Ichabod Azrael
Halo Jones - more info (https://shop.2000ad.com/series/halo-jones)
VS
Shakara - more info (https://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=SHAKARA)
Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.
Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 6th August and the winner gets a place in Round 6 (of 9!!!).
What on Earth is ALL of this? (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.0)
For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.msg1070150#msg1070150)
Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!
Shakara
Shakara
Much as I enjoy Shakara, I'm voting Halo Jones.
Yep, Halo wins this for me despite Shakara being a modern classic.
SBT
Shakara!
Oh wow - what I said on the other vote this morning... VERY interesting start, but early voting can be deceptive so I'll not get too excited yet...
Halo Jones.
Halo Jones.
For many reasons
Halo Jones
Got to be Halo
Well, we all know Halo Jones is going to win this. And it is a really strong strip, which did some important things for 2000 AD. Most notably, it gave the Prog a rare female lead, and provided a strip largely devoid of machismo. Even when it dipped into war, it did so in a manner that had the blackest of black humour – like the moon war in Dredd but taken to a dark and horrifying extreme. I'm fine with how it ended (well, IMO), and never thought it needed another six or so books.
Shakara gave the Prog a kick up the arse in a different way. Visually, it's stunning and striking. Wiping out humans from the off was entertaining and different. But also, what initially looked like a one-note Nemesis knock-off quickly evolved into something that could sit alongside the best of that strip – and in terms of consistency bettered it in all sorts of ways. Honestly, it probably nudges ahead in terms of the book I'd rescue from certain doom if one was destined to be shot by an arrow or something.
So: Shakara, by a nose. Heck, a sliver of a nose.
Halo Jones
Halo Jones
halo jones, obviously.
It's another head/heart battle. I encountered Shakara as a weekly reader and still carry the warm glow of joy that the first series provided. I didn't love everything that came after - it got VERY wordy at some points - but it's still a glorious piece of hard sci fi. And the horror stuff in it is really great.
Halo Jones I've only ever read as a much-revered classic, and while it DID manage to live up to its reputation that's always a bit of millstone round it's neck. How can it be as good as people say it is, because people REALLY love it.
On the other hand, the best thing, for me, about Halo Jones, is quite how well each individual episode works as a satisfying idea and character delivery machine. Whereas Shakara was more an exercise in telling the same story in as many ways as possible with added visual lunacy (well, for a couple of books, at least).
So even though my heart wants to go with Shakara, my head is telling me quite what an immense achievement practically every single episode of Halo Jones is, even as it's also a set of three very neatly plotted stories.
Halo Jones
Transvision Vamp never sang a song about Shakara, so I'm hanging out with Halo Jones.
Halo Jones
Dang.
Actually Shakara
Shakara
The Ballad of Halo Jones, please, Bob!
Shakara is good, but it's like off-brand Pringles next to Nemesis the Warlock. Halo is lasagne.
Hungry now...
Halo Jones
Halo, but it's a close call for me. Both tremendous.
Halo Jones
Shakara for me. Robot Dinosaurs in space. The World Engine. Some of the prog's best ever art.
Shakara is putting up a fine fight, as might be expected but as we enter the final day the voting will need to shift considerably before it over takes Halo Jones. Lets see what happens ahead of the result tomorrow morning.
Halo Jones, by miles. And Shakara is a good story.
Shakara
Shakara.
Cheers
VOTING CLOSED
This provides sure sign of how interesting things will become. Even the sacred cows are open to challenge. Halo Jones is brilliant, absolutely brilliant and deserves its place in 2000ad legend. What we need to do these days is constantly question that and just not fall back to old traditional views and reflect fairly as to how the medium has moved on and developed. Are the Beatles still the best band out there? And if we say no does that mean they are not still a great band. So Shakara, maybe more Nine Inch Nails than Beatles certainly helped shake things up. I mean it ultmately didn't get that close but it asked the the right questions. When it landed it was a shot in the comics are, just as Halo Jones was. And it went on to be even more, just as Halo did. In the end though
Halo Jones
Will be in Round 6, I mean they are sacred cows for a reason!
Quote from: Dash Decent on 03 August, 2022, 02:03:12 PM
Transvision Vamp never sang a song about Shakara, so I'm hanging out with Halo Jones.
Oddly, my mate (also a squaxx btw) used to hang out with Wendy James. She used to drink and play pool in the very small and unimportant midlands Irish town I come from; though she went there primarily to ride horses. To my eternal regret I was a tiny bit too young for the pub and missed the chance to
ogle meet her.
Not sure what the official count was, but I make that roughly 2:1 in favour of Halo Jones. Like Colin said, that in itself is quite interesting for the later stages.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 06 August, 2022, 11:30:39 AM
Not sure what the official count was, but I make that roughly 2:1 in favour of Halo Jones. Like Colin said, that in itself is quite interesting for the later stages.
Yep the final count was 16 : 9 to Halo Jones. All scores are on spreadsheets I will share when we are done.