Prog 2157 - Red Army!

[Colin YNWA]

So its the small things that make a difference.

Dredd - Okay this is probably just me, and I don't know what I expected, but Dredd didn't completely stick the landing. Everything finished perfectly satisfactorily. The commentry on Dredd as the survivors flew back was just wonderful. The end reveal allowed a legacy without tainting a record, which was really neat. The art was stunning... but for some reason - and I think it was simply that this has been so good - I greedily wanted more. I wanted this to amaze me and turn on a sixpence ... or something. Instead I got what I should have expected a gloriously crafted masterwork with nice resolution and a great character moment.

Defoe - Well I'll be I see improvement. I'll be honest I've almost entirely dropped off the story by this point but I think the art is much improved this week. Last time I whined and cried for the art to express moments of calm and quiet when required and here we get this. Its has all the talent but dialled back enough to allow it to be appreciated. You know what it might be as simple as more panel boarders?? One really striing moment is the cutout. Now it has the same problems as the art to date. Too  much going on to really be able to pull anything useful out but in this context it looked like a 17th Century cutout of a spaceship would in my minds eye and the splash of colour was very effective.

Not going to say I liked this I didn't but was very happy to be able to appreciate the art this time out.

Everything else as you were sir (or madam).

Brink is a character masterclass. For folks who complain about talking head we get a very clear lesson in its not just the words, this strip is as much about what is conveyed in the art and here it is masterful.

Hope - might just be a cliche baddie being bad to a bunch of this up til then baddy peers but jeepers creepers its done well.

Deadworld kinda spins off on one but I enjoyed it and its really comics turned up to 11. But a good eleven.

Its a great Prog and has the Art Stars Winner Star Scan - which looks wonderful but for me doesn't quite have the impact and imagination of a couple of the entries but its hard not to be bowled over by the technic

AND wonderful confirmation that Full Tilt Boogie is heading our way in Thrills of the Future.

[Richard]

I loved Dredd. I feel sorry for my favourite chapter though -- the little note-taking robot. He deserved his own 50-episode series.

Hope was brilliant. I have no idea where this is going next, but if this had been the last episode it would have worked perfectly well.

The star scan looks fantastic. It's the entry I wanted to win, and it looks gorgeous. In full size, I now notice for the first time that the artist's signature blends into the artwork itself, which is a nice touch.

[broodblik]

The cover:

[Tiplodocus]

So lovely as it is  it doesn't exactly scream DEADWORLD  to me.

[TordelBack]

Goblins versus, I dunno, a Mean Arena team, possibly the Bolsover Bolsheviks?

[Greg M.]

I think I'd probably enjoy Deadworld a lot more if it looked like that! (Not intended as a dis against the supremely-talented Mr. Kendall's art - just that the cover has the sort of old-school, rough-and-tumble, boys-adventure-comic vibe that appeals to me.)

[TordelBack]

Heh, good points!

[73north]

Tuesday . Still no Prog . 😕

[broodblik]

Good prog for it is another fiver for me.

Dredd although it ends in a more predictable fashion, I really enjoyed Wagner and MacNeil’s tale. It is almost liked I wanted another twist in the tale, but I just like the way Wagner spins his Dredd stories.

[Magnetica]

Is it just me or does anyone else think the art in Defoe has a bit of a Kevin O’Neill feel circa Nemesis book 1 about it? Not quite as good mind...

Great to see the cylindrical tank from the Judge Child turn up in Deadworld (even if it was never an Earth thing). Dave Kendall had asked for references to it on one of the Facebook groups back in July.

[Frank]

Is it just me or does anyone else think the art in Defoe has a bit of a Kevin O’Neill feel circa Nemesis book 1 about it? Not quite as good mind...

When some were complaining about the density and complexity of Moore's art and storytelling, I was going to post a page of O'Neill from Nemesis, but that would have been the cue for lots of replies pointing out (correctly) that Moore's art isn't as good as O'Neill's.

Which isn't the point you or I are making. Most people - even clever people - are incapable of discussing a specific point* without spinning out into irrelevant generalities. This episode's cutaway of the spaceship reminded me of the olden days ...





.. as did the density of both story and art. In a comic showcasing the leisurely storytelling of the very good Brink and Hope, Defoe used up 60% of the plot Tharg allotted for the entire comic.


* That the density, which they've identified as the reason they have a problem with the art or the storytelling, isn't the sole reason they don't like the art. Internet doesn't do nuance.

[Dandontdare]

I found the page with the spaceship cutaway totally impenetrable - had a squint at it but did not even bother trying to decipher the ilegible text. The story itself was more interesting this week though.

Dredd sows the seeds for more - who is the father of the unborn child?

The rest were all great - giving Defoe a rare half point this week, it's 4.5 out of 5 for me.

[Frank]

Dredd sows the seeds for more - who is the father of the unborn child?

There's the question of what happens to Elinora and, maybe more interestingly, Mariella in MC1.

Do they repeat the Vienna beat of unwanted family Dredd feels bound to help, or is Mariella given the Giant Jr pass to the Academy despite her advanced years? That'd sort of be replicating the Dredd/Beeny relationship, too.

Not sure Wagner has that many Dredds left in him^*, so if The Garcias ever become a regular fixture on MCTV, someone else may be running the show.


* John is now free to do the work he likes, although he does dabble in writing the occasional Judge Dredd story. But he added: “I’m not intending to do many more.”  LINK

[JayzusB.Christ]

So... was the thing that Hershey gave Dredd just information about where to find her granddaughter?

[titchard]

Tuesday . Still no Prog . 😕

Me either - hoping it is on the mat when I get home tonight, its been a terrible week and could do with a pick me up.