Prog 1633 - Fear Thy Neighbour

[M.I.K.]

It's the "shire" bit of the name that does it. Sounds all countrysidey.

[Mardroid]

Jusr because you've got an indoor toilet doesn't make you better than me.

Heh, heh. Is that what that thing with the taps in the kitchen is for?

[spoiler:33vsyg6d](I didn't really mean the 'northern git' bit by the way.)[/spoiler:33vsyg6d]

It's the "shire" bit of the name that does it. Sounds all countrysidey.

I think that's a large part of it.

[Van Dom]

Wow! What a prog!
Thats the closest thing to a "perfect prog" Ive read in manys a year. Not a foot wrong anywhere, love all the strips, all the stories, all the art. Fantastic.
This is the kind of prog you could give to your mates and say "here, read this, this is why I buy this comic, now go and get it!"

Loving Cradlegrave. Someone else here hit the nail on the head, it just has a really creepy vibe about it even though nothing obviously creepy happens.....theres a strange unsettling atmosphere about it. Brilliant ! I would personally like it NOT to involve Indigo Prime at all but since theres a very real possibility of this happening, Im just going to prepare myself for it, so I wont be as disappointed as I was at the end of Dead Eyes.

Super prog. Unfortunately, if rumours are correct, Dante will end next week (seems a bit abrupt) to be replaced by Slaine the following week and that might possibly put a damper on things for me, as Im not a big Slaine fan. Oh well...

[DavidXBrunt]

I could have swprm I'd hears that Dante:Army was a 13 parter. It'd make more sense for the art style/team to change for two parts in the middle of a long stroy rather than for the last two parts of a short one. But what do I know.?

[TordelBack]

A very fine prog indeed, set off by an awesome cover.  In fact Bagwell in general is a bit of a revelation - I'd noticed his stuff before but this work on Cradlegrave is really outstanding - a deceptively simple style with amazingly lush backgrounds.  I can see the Vertigo talent scouts champing at the bit.  And there's nothing I like more than the promise of a new John Smith story stretching before me.

Dredd:  Personally I thought Backlash ended up a bit on the straightforward side, although I really enjoyed the ride.  Some great art by Critchlow, and a tension-ratchetting promise of things to come.  At one level I want [spoiler:2rqeqxp5]PJ[/spoiler:2rqeqxp5] to be behind all this, at another I want it to play out independently. The idea of t[spoiler:2rqeqxp5]he mutants being kicked back out is almost too awful to imagine - how can Dredd uphold this Law?  And what of Beeny?[/spoiler:2rqeqxp5]  Such fun.

Zombo:  Even more promising with its second episode.  If I can just make it past the title, and Russell Brand...

Savage:  Pleasepleaseplease don't let the beast be some Greysuit-style superfreak.  I'd quite go for a rogue proto-war-robot myself.

Dante:  As others have said, Fraser goes all-out on the art this week, wow.  It's a great prog when you forget that something as good as Dante is even in it until you notice it lurking there at the back.

[MacabreMagpie]

Does anyone else think Critchlows work on this Dredd is shocking? :/ I've loved all his stuff in the past, but I dived into this prog today after taking some 2000AD time off and his art for Dredd seems really lazy. Bad line work and it looks more like hes taken a series of sketches to full presentation standard rather than actually drawing a strip.

My illustration tutor at Uni took a look at the issue and said "why have they employed someone who can't draw?", which he wouldn't have done had he seen his Lobster Random work, but this seems far from his best work to me. I'm actually surprised at how much praise the art for that strip has been getting..... but then maybe I've just been hearing about the techniques and identifying features of "professional standard" artwork for too long!

[WoD]

I thought his work on Dredd has been brilliant and well suited to the strip which surprised me a little.

[Richmond Clements]

Does anyone else think Critchlows work on this Dredd is shocking? :/ I've loved all his stuff in the past, but I dived into this prog today after taking some 2000AD time off and his art for Dredd seems really lazy. Bad line work and it looks more like hes taken a series of sketches to full presentation standard rather than actually drawing a strip.

My illustration tutor at Uni took a look at the issue and said "why have they employed someone who can't draw?", which he wouldn't have done had he seen his Lobster Random work, but this seems far from his best work to me. I'm actually surprised at how much praise the art for that strip has been getting..... but then maybe I've just been hearing about the techniques and identifying features of "professional standard" artwork for too long!

I think Critchlow of dredd is a double edged sword. With all the best will in the world, he can't seem to get the helmet right- especially when drawing it face on.
But he excells at page layouts and moody colouring. I absolutely love the texture he gives to Dredd's skin- making him look almost like he's hewn from rock (old Stoeny Face, indeed..!)

And I wonder what your tutor would thing of an artist like McMahon if he thinks Critchlow 'can't draw'..!

[Hoagy]

I concur, Doctor VonDom. I was even going to tell the shop assistant to have herself a look into this one, solely based on the cover. Now, that's how you do mainstream!

Carl Critch's art has been outstanding for the Dredd story, Backlash. The colours, for me, have been his best. Mega City design hase been tremendous in this 6 parter. Of course the ending was moulded off in terrifying skill, from the Wagner droid. Did anybody else have to catch their breath?

Yes the story-telling has been fantasic by both and the letterers have kept it tight too. This has had a lot of dialogue. I think the penultimate part was the most important episode in the story paling Savage's entrance in comparison.

But this week, the Savage shows that it is not just an annoying, arm slapping, "whatchergonna do about it?", bully with its defining of the beast against a murky Landan backdrop, defined brilliantly, by the Mills/Goddard/DeVille crew/squad/rebels.
Yes, it has exquisitely shamed me into reading both chapters again.

What a great contender the Ewing droid is as he competes with four 2000ad heavyweights this week. It must feel like Dreeno between the Team Tank, soapy boob job! He's doing a fine effort though and I'm glad there is so much Henry Flint influence in the story too. Yes, great spread, glad you got it off your chest so soon. It'll haunt me for some time. Thanks. Can I eat YOU?

A nervous opening of course non the less for Yom Jon Smith though eh? His character and environment give shades of feeling as that of walking on glass. Creepy/familiar. Is that a rotoscoping, inking onto, wicky-wicky wah wah, by the artdoid then? Impressed and curious.

And if Dante ends next week then I wish we hadn't had the trip down memory lane. How can it tho? Maybe it'll be split into 3,6 part instalments. I know WHY he did it though. It was to goad into that shock entrance. Great reaction by Dante. And then bubble!!?? Clockwork undead!

I don't reckon Slaine is gonna be a massive epic. Will it be more father and son stuff? Or its the one where he takes on THOR!

[MacabreMagpie]

I thought his work on Dredd has been brilliant and well suited to the strip which surprised me a little.

I don't know what his work has been like up to this issue but it just looks very badly drawn to me, for him. Figures look unfinished and the quality of line is just awful. It looks like a strip he didn't have much time to do. And I don't mean to be harsh or anything, it's just my critical view of the artwork, I'm a big fan of Critchlow, usually.

[Hoagy]

I actually think, and you'll be annoyed by this, that he does better helmet than Colin Wilson. AND, this is a lot better work than Lobster![/troll] Lobster's fun and all that but it makes the Critch-droids work a little vacuous. Vice versa to S.S.Droid's writing.

[MacabreMagpie]

To be honest, I have no quelms with his helmets or even character designs in that issue. I'm commenting more on the execution of it all, especially the inking. I swear, the middle panel on the last page is one of the worst things I've ever seen in 2000AD.

[Hoagy]

Technology, environment, layouts are all polished looking and the pace of his line speed the story along perfectly. I think your illustration tutor needs a lesson in sequential story telling rather than, one beautiful illustrative picture love.

[JOE SOAP]

My illustration tutor at Uni took a look at the issue and said "why have they employed someone who can't draw?", which he wouldn't have done had he seen his Lobster Random work, but this seems far from his best work to me. I'm actually surprised at how much praise the art for that strip has been getting..... but then maybe I've just been hearing about the techniques and identifying features of "professional standard" artwork for too long!

since when did teachers ever know anything?


Critchlow's Dredd work is brilliant, up there with the best.

[Hoagy]

Ah, the bed scene. See, I see that cinematically, as a sweeping reference to reactions to the results. Not an important picture as the dialogue or script is making the issue. The important one is Hershey's reaction. Which is moving to say the least.

That's my opinion anyway. Sorry if it comes in a bit strong armed on my last post.