Messages

1

General / Re: Forum’s Fav Thrill - Nikolai Dante vs. Caballistics Inc Rd 3 Heat 32

« on: 03 June, 2022, 07:51:25 PM »

Coming out of lurk mode for this one...

I really want to choose Caballistics here. It's right up my street, and pays all the right homages to all the right properties. Dom Reardon can do no wrong, and Gordon Rennie is clearly passionate about the entire project.

But then it just kinda... fizzled out. Tharg, for some unfathomable reason, commissioned a Cabs novel from a different writer, and Gordon appears to have lost his steam for it from that point on (read his blurb in the complete edition for more on that).
So, if Cabs had continued then I'd be voting for that!

But it didn't. And Nikolai Dante has one of the greatest completed runs in the progs history, for reasons already noted in this thread.

So I have to vote for Nikolai Dante. Even though I kinda love Cabs a bit more.

2

Prog / Re: Dredd: The Citadel

« on: 26 April, 2022, 06:00:31 PM »

The Citadel is a victim of Tharg's over-enthusiastic plugging in the Prog. We all seem to have been waiting for one of Wagner's shake-ups, and naturally are a bit disappointed when it didn't happen.

But taken on it's merits as just a Dredd 9-parter then it's great! Nice, solid, Wagner action, and beautifully drawn by the major new talent Dan Cornwell. I don't think we were ever meant to dissect this one looking for meaning.

It'd be good to know if John Wagner has any thoughts on Tharg's selling of this story (assuming he cares about that sort of thing!).

3

Prog / Re: Prog 2278 - Descend Into The Dark...

« on: 20 April, 2022, 07:05:34 PM »

I can’t believe that Dredd offing a clone is the big reveal. He does that on an annual basis!

I'm thinking that Tharg's 'Everything changes' tagline for this story is the actual problem with this story.
That said, one episode to go. And John Wagner can fit a lot into one episode....

4

General / Re: Sideshow Vote: I swapped a tea for coffee

« on: 11 April, 2022, 06:31:14 PM »

Best for the Prog: Grant Morrison, even if it's just for Zenith.

Outside the Prog: Garth Ennis, even if it's just for Preacher (for me, anyway!)

The one who has actually had the most success: Mark bloody Millar. Further proof that we're living in the wrong timeline.

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Prog / Re: Prog 2277 - Dredd Reckoning!

« on: 09 April, 2022, 09:28:32 PM »

Alas I'm not a subscriber anymore, so I'll have to wait till Wednesday, BUT... isn't that a massive spoiler in the cover tagline?

6

Off Topic / Re: RIPs

« on: 04 April, 2022, 10:37:54 PM »

June Brown, 95, actress, best known as Dot Cotton (though her career went back to the 1950s).

35 years she spent as Dot Cotton. Even at 95 that's a third of her life!
What a fantastic legacy to leave behind x

7

Prog / Re: Prog 2276 - House of the Unholy

« on: 04 April, 2022, 10:01:44 PM »

what a fantastic cover!
and the text overlay, for once, augments and intrigues.

A rare example of the Logo and text actually enhancing a cover image!
Top marks to the Trevallion droid there.

Edit: And editorial design droids too!

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Prog / Re: Prog 2276 - House of the Unholy

« on: 04 April, 2022, 10:00:46 PM »

what a fantastic cover!
and the text overlay, for once, augments and intrigues.

A rare example of the Logo and text actually enhancing a cover image!
Top marks to the Trevallion droid there.

9

General / Re: Sideshow Vote - To warp or not that is the question

« on: 22 February, 2022, 11:54:36 PM »

Books of Invasions had a proper ending, as his tribe passed into legend. And then Slaine pissed about for another decade or so.

This.

The end of Books of Invasions was the closest we've had to a proper end point for Slaine, so for me I'm happy it extended beyond Horned God.

10

News / Re: Ian Kennedy RIP

« on: 08 February, 2022, 08:44:58 PM »

Very sad to read of this. RIP Ian.

11

Prog / Re: Prog 2265: Worlds at War

« on: 25 January, 2022, 09:26:47 PM »

Basically, I'm saying they need John Smith back. Or someone with the equivalent feverish imagination.

ISTR a recent Tharg Input-response in which he said Smith was welcome back anytime.

Can't see John Smith returning somehow, considering his two biggest ongoing stories were handed over to other creators. (That's not a knock on Matt Smith BTW, I totally understand the reasons why he had to make that decision.)

Probably best I leave that one there.

As for 'Eras' of the prog, I'd say we've been mid-era for about 10-15 years now. The Matt Smith Era is still onging, and probably the strongest we've known overall, but then that encompasses alot of thrills over it's years so has it's fair share of stinkers too (an anagram of one of them is 'Creak Strip', as is 'Crap Strike'. Have fun with that one!)
Point is, the prog is strong and has been for years. The ups (Trifecta, Titan/Enceladus, The Out) have been such massively awesome ups that they can sometimes make damn good thrills (Sinister Dexter) seems a bit less so in comparison.
I think the Prog's OK is what I'm trying to say!

That said... Dredd needs a shake up.
We nearly had it with Day of Chaos, and the loosening of the Mutant laws, but it's all led to nothing in the long run. I worry that having Dredd running in both the Prog and the Meg at the same time has weakened the impact of any mega-epics, considering that all the crossover epics (Doomsday, Judgement Day) ultimately failed upon publication. I fear that the 'illusion of change' rule is seeping into Dredd a bit too much these days, and would definitely agree that someone needs to be a creative director of sorts with Dredd, try and keep a bit more of a flowing narrative going.*




*Moon on a stick, in purple.

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Megazine / Re: Meg 440: Fully Loaded!

« on: 21 January, 2022, 08:41:44 PM »

It's also worth saying that I donated the 2000AD Ultimate Collection as well. That was to The Special Branch in Sheffield, a charity and sanctuary for injured birds. They're on Chesterfield Road.
It's essentially everything up to about 3 months ago (except Dante - I kept him!), so if you're in Sheffield and fancy a bargain, seek them out

13

Megazine / Re: Meg 440: Fully Loaded!

« on: 21 January, 2022, 08:35:03 PM »

Only reading Dredd and Surfer in the Meg itself

You really need to give Lawless a go, if nothing else. I know I work on it, but I've been a fan since long before then…

Bit of a problem there....

I had all my paper Megs stacked up - for reasons unknown I'd lapsed reading Lawless after the first series, but was planning a big catch-up read.
I then had to move house. With limited room.

Sooooo... I donated all my Progs and Megs to the Ben's Center in Sheffield, which is a homeless shelter and charity run by a good friend.
It felt genuinely great to finally offload all the thrills I knew I was never going to bother reading (The Order, I'm looking at you!) but the down side is I've missed nearly all of Lawless.

I await my Rigellian Hotshot, and promise to buy the collections when I can afford them!

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General / Re: Things that went over your head...

« on: 21 January, 2022, 08:27:02 PM »

To me it was always about the Mach scale, Mach 1 being "hyper"sonic - although technically hypersonic relates to speeds above Mach 5 (I didn't know this when I was 11 years old, though, but the idea kinda' stuck).

Y'know Sharky, I think you might have just explained the pun....

15

Megazine / Re: Meg 440: Fully Loaded!

« on: 21 January, 2022, 07:57:21 PM »

Confession - I've not been following the Meg for about a year now, but restarted last month what with yer Wagners and yer MacNeils. I'm not missing out on Hawky-Flinty goodness either!

Only reading Dredd and Surfer in the Meg itself:

Always a pleasure to see Staz Johnson's work, and I found this easy to follow considering I've missed the story it's referencing. Always a pleasure to see Logan too - best Chief Judge yet IMO.
Looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

Surfer is comics bliss - Wagner and MacNeil are a match made in heaven, no-one here needs me to tell them that. Every panel, every line of dialogue is just so perfectly economical. Again, looking forward to where this goes.


And then we get issue one of Hawk The Slayer for free!
I absolutely adored every page and panel of this, and once again cannot wait to see where this goes!
Best thing about it? Henry Flint is doing his own colouring again. And it's so fucking good!
It all seems so simple at first glance, and yet there's a depth to those colours that I can't even start to explain. The Flint droid is an absolute genius, and Tharg should do everything in his power to keep said droid welded to his desk for as long as possible.

And that last splash page..... I would happily sell a kidney if I knew it would guarantee me that page!