Prog 1874: 5 New Thrills

[Alski]

Pretty goos stuff, although as has been mentioned nothing really screams "ZARJAZ!".

Looks like Justuce Department is doing something "for the good of the people", but I can't guess what it is. Despite the lack of action this is well written, drawn and shows the depth of Dredd under Wagner.

Slaine was okay, although Simon Davis appears to have over ordered on the blue ink again.

SinDex had a nice idea with the "free gun" stuff (which happens in America), and hopefully we'll have a good small town bullies vs gunsharks tale to come.

Outlier has potential, depending on where it goes. Love KR's art either way.

Rennie's Norty Soldiers may also go one way or the other, but ep one didn't really do anything for me. got very bored with Aquila and these days only look forward to new Absalom.

[Frank]

Slaine was okay, although Simon Davis appears to have over ordered on the blue ink again

I thought the art was fantastic, with the vivid colours and high degree of finish dispelling any misgivings I had about Davis tackling the strip. I'm not sold on his inserting himself into the lead role, but the detail in that opening landscape and the kineticism of the fight with the Emo fringe guys more than made up for that. When it's done as well as this, painted art reminds you of the limitations of computer colouring.

It was a nice bit of writing too, with the framing structure of the anecdote lending an episode which is only really setting up the following story a pleasing sense of completeness on its own merits. According to that map, The Temple Of The Goddess appears to be located in Paisley; looking forward to seeing Brainbiter cutting a swathe through hordes of grannies in their early thirties and relegation-bound footballers.

[8-Ball]

I went into my local WH Smiths (Stirling) today and guess what? No prog! Not one. There were a couple of current Megs on the rack but not a single copy of Prog 1874. I thought it was just bullpoop but the tooth really has "sold out". Well I never.

[Jim_Campbell]

I thought it was just bullpoop but the tooth really has "sold out". Well I never.

It wasn't 'bullpoop' because that's not what the 'sold out' announcement referred to. The 'sell out' was because wholesaler orders to Rebellion had exceeded the total print run, necessitating an additional printing to meet demand. I have no doubt Rebellion will have some data on sell-through to the punters but not until the issue goes off sale next Tuesday...

Cheers

Jim

[Verence]

I wonder if Jaegir will end up investigating a coup attempt that turns out to be the one attempted by Stalov's (the guy from The 86ers who switched sides) Klan

[8-Ball]

I thought it was just bullpoop but the tooth really has "sold out". Well I never.

It wasn't 'bullpoop' because that's not what the 'sold out' announcement referred to. The 'sell out' was because wholesaler orders to Rebellion had exceeded the total print run, necessitating an additional printing to meet demand. I have no doubt Rebellion will have some data on sell-through to the punters but not until the issue goes off sale next Tuesday...

Cheers

Jim

Jim, I take your point but I was just being a wee bit cheeky. That's why I put the sold out bit in quotation marks. Maybe I could have phrased it better but I was just surprised that for the first time ever (probably) there has not been at least one copy of the prog sitting in its usual place on the bottom shelf hidden behind the Marvel stuff. Especially as I was quite looking forward to reading Mega-City Confidential.

[Fungus]

Lapped up this prog 

Dredd/Slaine/Jaegir were all pretty flawless - can include Slaine in that list for the art alone. Beautiful.

May have to re-read the thing whole again, before next week. Dredd and Jaegir so well-written it would be a shame not to. Work out where they're going...

[Moggot Lover]

I decided to subscribe so this is my first issue. An enjoyable read, I know Slaine and Dredd.  Sin/dex are new to me and Jaegir Outlier new to every one.
I liked hint of the murker side of MC1, Slaine is Slaine. Outlier love the artwork and interesting story. I like the look and feel of Jaegir, nothing was given away to much about the main characters so be interesting to see how this develops, being a Rogue Trooper fanboy, anything that delves into that universe is worth a look. 

[NapalmKev]

Excellent Prog!

Cheers

[Montynero]

I may be at odds with the pack but I've always liked the progs before a jumping on prog, 'cause you get all the done in one stories like last week's cool Flowers strip, and the one off Dredds. Sure, there's occasionally bilge but the rewards tend to outweigh the disappointments. Getting a satisfying story in four to six pages has always been the appeal of 2000ad for me.

I wouldn't bother with the more expensive cover stock, it always feels wrong in my hands and has zero impact on whether I buy it or not. Great cover art though. And I like the way Bagwell draws Dredd's helmet - there's always been interpretation from different artists on how it all works, and this is his. More power to him.

Dredd's fantastic. Lot of mystery, social relevance, real human characters in the context of the mega city. Macneil and Wagner set the bar.

Slaine was great: funny and visceral. Some lovely painting, very skillful, but like Sauchie I'd rather Simon just draw Slaine's face without reffing his own handsome visage. It had great energy though, and Pat Mills is an object lesson in how to grow old without losing your edge, passion and verve. He's still the most dangerous and exciting writer in tooth - which is a mindboggling achievement. It would be a completely different comic without him.

Outlier was cool, the art and the script were great, but as a reader I'd have liked a little more mystery and a proper cliffhanger. Everything seemed a little too spelled out, lessening the impact of what was a very intriguing situation. Horses for courses I guess. It's great to see some proper sci-fi though, and Carcer looks a good character with a lot of potential. I really rate both these droids so I have high hopes for this.

Sin Dex was good, though the art was not my cup of tea. You always get a great bang for your buck with Abnett: there's always tight plotting, characterisation, and some entertaining dialogue in every ep.

Jaegir was ace. Rennie is without doubt one of the best writers around these days, and the concept of  a Kapiten of the Nordland State Security as heroine is fantastic: classic tooth, a little subversive and ripe with possibility. The art was superb too.   

So a great prog by any standards, bursting with old and new thrills, and a perfect prog to entice and keep new readers. Good work all round, gents!

[Prodigal2]

I loved this prog with Jaegir as my high point. The art, concept and story already has me in a magnetic grip. I have never been a huge "Sinister" fan but I feel ridiculous even alluding to that given my degree of enjoyment with the prog as a whole.

Beautiful stuff Tharg.

[Colin YNWA]

Finally had the chance to get my hands on the launch Prog and its mighty solid. Both Wagner on Dredd and Sinister Dexter give me a warming and wonderful returning hug. So happy they are both back and never really want them to leave. Just great.

The rest is more interesting... that is to say there is more to discuss. Both new thrills are good, technically great but still they lack a heart just yet. I enjoyed them both but neither had a character I warmed to. Its early days so nowt to worry about and their is much potential in both so the both sit firmly in the wait and see with positive overtones.

Slaine on the other hand has for years had a character I've enjoyed and wanted to like but I've just not enjoyed the stories. Both art and writing on Slaine I've not liked for a long, long time (in Prog years not my reading years). This one, well it felt like Dredd and Sinister Dexter. A lovely hug from an old friend, like they'd never been away. Is it my natural affinity for Simon Davis on art that's doing it? I'm wrestling with that one if I'm honest. I'd like to think its taking more than an artist on Slaine that is a perfect fit on the character for me. I'd like to think that Pat Mills wrote a blinder and it certainly was a fun, violent breezy read? Was it that different. Dunno but I bloody loved this.

Three lovely hugs and some interesting openning chats with a couple of new people I think given time I'll be getting on with. Not at all bad for a launch Prog that.

[ZenArcade]

Dredd. Slow but may have legs. McNeills artwork...wow!
Slaine: looking really interesting. Thanks be to Lug, no more photo realism!!!.
Outlier: could be good.
Sinister Dexter: as ever I hate this strip!
Jaeger: great, something set in the Rogue timeline but not on Nu Earth
Good start. Z.

[Mabs]

Excellent cover by Edmund Bagwell. If I were to compile a list of my favourite 2000ad artists then Mr. Bagwell would no doubt feature highly on that list. One minor criticism would probably be the way Dredd looks, either his face is too lean or the helmet is too big, I would probably go for the former. But the depiction of Slaine and Sin Dex are superb. Nice use of colour too, it's definitely eye catching and perfect to draw in new readers.

Judge Dredd: Mega-City Confidential (Part 1)

When I first heard John Wagner and Colin MacNeil would be teaming up for this new Judge Dredd story, I was overjoyed. It's been a while since we saw both of them together in the Prog, and everytime they do work together you are guaranteed to have a solid story. And this certainly was a solid opener as we are introduced to the secretive Sector 7 (part of the Justice Department). One of the Sector's workers, Erika, is under suspicion from her superior officer by the fact that she may be mentally unstable/ sharing information about her work. It's clear the nature of the work is putting a big strain on her and she wants to share it with her husband but cannot do so, afraid of what Sector 7 would do to her (i.e, lobotomise her). It definitely makes us the reader intrigued to know the actual nature of her work and what she has seen, and the fact that Dredd is called to the case when we learn that she has disappeared shows the length they will go to to keep things quiet.

Let me just say that Colin MacNeil's artwork is just gorgeous to behold. The opening page alone with the shot of the work place with its work cubicles and shadows gives it an almost noirish vibe, not to mention the close up of the Sector Chief's glasses. The first thing thing that entered my head was L.A Confidential when I saw the title of the story, and just like the film, here we also have dirty secrets related to the Justice Department, and those that would go to any length to cover up their secrets. It's a fascinating opener and I can't wait for the next episode.

Slaine: A Simple Killing (Part 1)

Slaine is back (the recent Book of Shadows doesn't really count, as it was just re-enactments from some of Slaine's famous exploits). And this time he stumbles upon some Glibbes, i.e thieves trying to nick the treasures of the Goddess Danu.

I'm not normally a fan of Simon Davies, but I thought his work here was excellent, although it looked like he overdid it with the blue ink. But what it does do, is make the reds more prominent and eye catching, as is the case when we see blood splatter on the following pages. Like Dredd, I really enjoyed this and look forward to more in the next Prog.

Outlier (Part 1)

This is a new Thrill to 2000ad by T.C Eglinton and Karl Richardson, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. We open on Graegan: an Alliance planet (the first panel reminded me of Joss Whedon's excellent Serenity for some reason). Here we are introduced to Private Investigator Carcer. He's here to investigate a gruesome murder of a grotesque Jabba-esque billionaire. We get a glimpse of the assailant but what were his motives?

I'm a big fan of Karl Richardson's artwork and his style is very suited for a strip like this. The murder scene was especially a treat, both gruesome in its detail and very Se7en-ish in context. It's early days but I'm already looking forward to the next part.

Sinister Dexter: Gun Shy (Part 1)

Last time we saw Sinister Finnigan and Dexter Ramone, they were sent on a Witness Protection Programme on Generica. On the run from Holy Moses Tanenbaum, they arrive in the town of Bluff Butte (what a name!), and Finnigan is busy loading as many guns into his car trunk as possible (free guns from the bank a la present day America). But one problem, they don't have any bullets!

I'm not a big fan of Sin Dex I'm saddened to say, but the last series was outstanding, and this new series seems to be going in the same direction too. I love Smudge's black and white art here, his style is quite humourous and suits Dan Abnett's storytelling very well. This was a fun opener and I'm looking forward to seeing what our trouble prone pair get up to next episode.

Jaegir: Strigoi (Part 1)

This is another new Thrill set in the same world as Rogue Trooper, but concentrating on the enemy (Nort) side of the divide. We are introduced to Atalia Jaegir, Nordland State Security Police, working on behalf of the Office of Public Truth, sort of like the S.J.S in Judge Dredd. Her fellow soldiers are not too keen on her and see her as a traitor, but Jaegir makes it clear that she's after war criminals.

I thought this was a good introduction to the character and the world she inhabits. Simon Coleby'a artwork is very impressive, especially the opening chase panels and the introduction of the main character. I love how we don't see Jaegir's facial scar at first, the right side of her face is obscured by shadow but not so in the final panel. There's an orangey/yellowish hue to some of the panels giving it an almost sickly look. And seeing as it's set on a planet ravaged by war and disease, I thought Len O'Grady's colour work was perfect.

So a solid jump on Prog then, Judge Dredd was the highlight for me, but Sin Dex and Slaine were also great fun followed by the two new Thrills. I'm looking forward to seeing how each story develops in the next Prog.

[Montynero]

Good review that Mabs

The reveal of her full face and scar would have been so much more effective if they hadn't shown it on the cover!