Prog 1835: Backblast!

[Darren Stephens]

Loved the cover. Absolute beauty!

Highlight of the program was Dredd for me. Really enjoyed this tale ands PJs art has been superb. I think Blythes colouring really works well here, too.

Sin/Dex leaves me a little cold overall, but the rest of the prog was aces.

[DrJomster]

Bit surprised nobody's commented on the semi transparent cadet in panel 2, page 1 of Anderson...

Good prog though!

[TordelBack]

Bit surprised nobody's commented on the semi transparent cadet in panel 2, page 1 of Anderson...

Possibly they'd noticed her before, say in the previous two parts?   

[The Adventurer]

Still curious if that's some kind of adaptive Camo, or if the kid's Psi power is making themselves invisible to others.

[Dark Jimbo]

Let's see - MC2 Judges aren't noticeably different - Texas City are mostly the same uniform apart from a belt buckle and a cowboy hat.

I'd prefer that route than increasingly unlikely animals to stick on a shoulder pad.

But conversely Hondo, Emerald Isle and Oz Judges are all totally distinct designs from the Big Meg and not one makes use of animal shoulder pads, so that argument could be flipped either way.

A certain similarity in uniform makes sense, but Sherman's right in that an exact copy just seems lazy and uninspired.

[Hawkmumbler]

Could swear Hondo judges Day Stick/ Lawgiver/ Beaty thing was initialy snake orientated?

[TordelBack]

But conversely Hondo, Emerald Isle and Oz Judges are all totally distinct designs from the Big Meg

None of those derive from the pre-war United States Judge system.  Look at Las Vegas, MC-2, even Texas City: all follow the MC-1 uniform closely, because all were originally part of the same American system.

[JOE SOAP]

I'd prefer that route than increasingly unlikely animals to stick on a shoulder pad.

I wonder which nation/city-state could go for the horn of the unlikely unicorn?

[Mabs]

I thought the ending to Dredd was rather poignant, a sort of innocence lost kind of thing. The image of the Cadets in happier times makes their horrifying ordeal which was to follow all the more gut wrenching. Great stuff from Mike Carroll and P.J!

[DrJomster]

Bit surprised nobody's commented on the semi transparent cadet in panel 2, page 1 of Anderson...

Possibly they'd noticed her before, say in the previous two parts?   

Ha! You might be right!

[Bat King]

My review... I need to work harder on the Proof reviews, find myself holding back on spoilers. Will consider what to day about next Prof more deeply.

 http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/2000ad-prog-1835-general-release-050613-spoilers/

[radiator]

Aimed more at people who are more familiar with dredd continuity than me i think

Hmmm, personally I think the failing of a lot of non-Wagner Dredds in the past has been that they seem to get hung up on the minutiae of Dredd continuity (for instance a lot of these post DoC stories), whereas Wagner himself has a knack for avoiding that trap and always writing accessible stories that don't feel like they're particularly written for the hardcore fans.

[Richmond Clements]

Aimed more at people who are more familiar with dredd continuity than me i think

Hmmm, personally I think the failing of a lot of non-Wagner Dredds in the past has been that they seem to get hung up on the minutiae of Dredd continuity (for instance a lot of these post DoC stories), whereas Wagner himself has a knack for avoiding that trap and always writing accessible stories that don't feel like they're particularly written for the hardcore fans.

Really? Origins and Life and Death of Johnny Alpha are pretty much nothing but continuity.

[TordelBack]

I don't think the issue is continuity itself (as RAC points out), it's more a case of writers looking for handy elements to tie their story into the Dredd universe and give it relevance (thus dodging the hateful fanboy term 'filler') without pointlessly tinkering with the character of Joe Dredd or altering the MC-1 status quo too much.  We have an odd situation with the Dredd strip where all rightly defer to Wagner's vision, since even when he's not writing it's not like he's passed the baton to any one writer, but where so much that is good has come from other creators. 

It's a grounding counterpoint to the business of introducing your own characters and long-running plotlines.  Looking at Young Master Carroll, you can see the way he's pursuing these two directions: his East-in-the-West MC-2 Sovs sequence being his own, and his Dolman: Clone in the City stories depending much more closely on existing Wagner elements. 

It's playing with the toys already in the Wagner sandpit as well as your own, rather than digging a giant hole and burying everything (you can tell I'm looking after kids in the sunshine, can't you).

[radiator]

Really? Origins and Life and Death of Johnny Alpha are pretty much nothing but continuity.

Someone who had never read a Judge Dredd comic before could pick up Origins and enjoy it. The only thing that might throw them slightly would be those goofy robots form The Cursed Earth. It's in no way continuity-porn - in fact I remember certain people grumbling at the time because it didn't just dryly recount the creation of Justice Department in great detail. Likewise Life and Death - it's pushing the wider story forward - if you ask me the pre-Life and Death Strontium Dog flashback stories felt more guilty of what I'm talking about as a lot of the time they just seemed aimed at nostalgic fans of the original run rather than new readers.

it's more a case of writers looking for handy elements to tie their story into the Dredd universe and give it relevance (thus dodging the hateful fanboy term 'filler')

Personally I'm not keen on strips that hinge on obscure bits of Dredd lore and trivia as it can, in my opinion, feel a little self-referential and fan-service-y.

I'm not referring to any writer in particular and haven't got round to reading the current Dredd story yet, so I'm not commenting on that either, I'm just making a pretty broad observation.