Prog 2208 - The Powers of London!

[broodblik]

 

- Edginton and Campbell sneak some very naughty words into this week's luminous Stickleback. Very naughty indeed.

Well, I'm quite proud of myself - I managed to work it out without having seen your transcription or knowing what script it was.  But I probably wouldn't have tried if you hadn't mentioned the naughty words - I once got a week's ban here for calling Nigel Farage one of them 

Now I get it . It's all due to a trauma I suffered when I was a schoolboy. I was attacked by a bat

[Southstreeter]

Just seen on soshul meeja that there are big postal delays this week, and please don’t hassle the droids about it. Tharg will provide (eventually).

[IndigoPrime]

No paper Prog here either. I think it’s only once ever been this late. Oh well.

[Jacqusie]

Does this prog even exist?

Not in my house it doesn't, but then it may exist OUTSIDE of my house, but as I have no proof of this I am in an Existential crisis!   

[Something Fishy]

Just seen on soshul meeja that there are big postal delays this week, and please don’t hassle the droids about it. Tharg will provide (eventually).

That makes sense then. Cheers.

[TordelBack]

Here, ye don't think there's any chance Edgy is positioning Fiends as part of Sláine's universe, in advance of Pat's alleged swansong in the upcoming Manco-drawn series?

(I ask more in a spirit of fun speculation than anything serious, and don't mean to impugn Ian's professionalism in any way at all).

I know there's no shortage of triple goddesses (there's 2 (or 6) in the current prog alone), but this wonderful run has had such a heavily fantasy bent that I can't help wondering if it's laying groundwork. If you remember,  Myrddin describes the Nazis as an incarnation of the Cythron's plan, so Constanta and his fiends could fit right in there as immortal enemies of the Goddess.

I can't believe Rebellion could leave Sláine fallow,  as a Top Three Most Widely-Recognised Character, and it's not like Ian is a stranger to linking worlds that initially appear entirely unconnected (hitherto just his own - which neither Fiends nor Sláine are). Could this tall tale be a tentative backdoor into Sláine-related shenanigans, a sort of proactive Strontium Dogs? 

[Jim_Campbell]

I can't believe Rebellion could leave Sláine fallow,  as a Top Three Most Widely-Recognised Character, and it's not like Ian is a stranger to linking worlds that initially appear entirely unconnected (hitherto just his own - which neither Fiends nor Sláine are). Could this tall tale be a tentative backdoor into Sláine-related shenanigans, a sort of proactive Strontium Dogs?

Pat has said, repeatedly, on Twitter of late that he has assurances that no one else will write his characters or create in-universe spin-offs. I have no inside information, but I find that mildly surprising given the direction that most of the bridge-burning seem to have come from… although he also seems to have modified his stance from "done with 2000AD" to "no current plans to write anything" so perhaps the two things are not unconnected?

[TordelBack]

I've read Pat's statements, and while I understand and respect his feelings re: one of the greatest (and my favourite) of his creations, I can't believe it'd be sustainable for Rebellion to retire its top IP as soon as creators no longer want to, or can't, write it. Again the clusterfuck of comics rights rears it's head: if there was a proper royalty situation for creators, Pat & Co could step back when they wanted to, and still benefit from the monetization of their genius.

But I didn't want to divert the review thread into this overcrowded siding yet again! Apologies! 

Rather, I wondered if anyone else thought how easy and natural it would be for the Ever Living Ones, or even the Guledig, to pop up in this story and describe Wilson or Constanta in terms of their respective trans-time causes. And how if you were going to set up a universe of fantasy spin-offs that eventually spiralled (geddit) back to the big man in an otherwise drear post-Pat future, this might be how you start.

[CalHab]

I remain convinced that the supposed existence of this prog is a cruel hoax.

[Jim_Campbell]

I remain convinced that the supposed existence of this prog is a cruel hoax.

If it makes you feel any better, I haven't had mine yet, either.

[CalHab]

I remain convinced that the supposed existence of this prog is a cruel hoax.

If it makes you feel any better, I haven't had mine yet, either.

Proof that my theory is correct!

[AlexF]

Look, can we talk about Fiends of the Eastern Front for a minute?
It's lovely to look at, and I appreciate the playful way Edginton is introducing new layers of mythology in each episode to create a ridiculous yet fitting origin tale.

AND YET.

The original Fiends was the same length, but that story somehow felt more like pure thrills - a protagonist who basically faced the spectre of death at the end of each episode. It's like a totally different strip, moodwise.

I'm guessing in the final chapter there'll be that thing where one of the two tale-tellers turns out to be Constanta in disguise, a bit like the end of the first strip. But is it too much to ask to have some soldiers being menaced by vampires (as well as bullets and boredom) in my 'What if there were vampires in the two World Wars' series??

[Jim_Campbell]

Proof that my theory is correct!

Well, I can confirm that about 20% of the contents definitely exists…

[IndigoPrime]

The original Fiends was the same length, but that story somehow felt more like pure thrills - a protagonist who basically faced the spectre of death at the end of each episode. It's like a totally different strip, moodwise.

Which I’m quite happy about, because I already have the other story on the shelf. I don’t want a retread. (See also: Hookjaw.) Fiends is currently by some margin my favourite thing in the Prog.

[TordelBack]

But is it too much to ask to have some soldiers being menaced by vampires (as well as bullets and boredom) in my 'What if there were vampires in the two World Wars' series??

It's a good point, that was the USP of the strip, but the we have already had another WW2 run through (Bishop & MacNeil's Stalingrad one), the Durham Red one-off, the WWI Black Max run, and a trilogy of WW2 prose novels that apparently still buy Bishop the odd refill of staples. I think the diversions of this and the Napoleonic story are very worthwhile additions, but I certainly wouldn't mind if we circled back to the Eastern Front at some future point.