FFT - ROUND of 16 - Kingdom vs Sinister Dexter- Heat 05

[Sean SD]

Sinister Dexter

[AlexF]

Like, Sinister Dexter are famously based on the two hitmen from Pulp Fiction, but actually apart from chatting a lot and being somewhat cool guys, they're not really alike.
So I was pleasantly surprised to see Bullet Train in the cinema recently, a massively Pulp Fictionesque film of ever there was one, only the whole thing felt a LOT like a fun mini-arc of Sinister Dexter, right down to the Black/White hitmen duo at the centre of a hitman / gang boss free for all.
Anyway, if I needed any more reminding, this reminded me that Sinister Dexter is a ton of fun, even the meandering story arcs I've all but forgotten (Generica, you are so aptly-named...)

Kingdom may also take cues from classic movies, but I guess I'm in a chatty hitman mood today.
Sinister Dexter.

[Funt Solo]

Props to Sinister Dexter for lots of things, not least half of my board nom de plume (or was that Urban Strike)? All of the puns swimming around in Dabnett's heid have to land somewhere, and it's probably best that it wasn't Insurrection. You can't accuse Kingdom of relying on puns...

Maybe best to just lay the pun argument to one side here. Anyway - you know the drill - Sin Dex injected some much needed chutzpah into the Thrill Bafflers in the mid-90s. Sure, The Pit was re-firing Dredd, which was all to the good, but the other things in the prog of the time were ... not helping matters. Sinister Dexter (with Nervous Rex) shared their first prog (981) with Canon Fodder: Dark Matter (yes, not the good first series), Janus Psi Division (a Mark Millar joint - but of the purely herbal, non-effective kind, so don't get your hopes, like, up) and Venus Bluegenes (not awful but part of the rinse 'n' repeat mil-pr0n era).

By the time we hit 1998 SinDex are doing-a-Rogue and appearing in every issue, often in double-taps and occasionally crashing the whole prog. They had their turbulent, exciting early years, then they reached the valley floor and started some wide, meandering loops (even forming, over time, some ox-bow lakes), and now there's an argument that they've reached the delta to the sea - we're somewhere in the fens. But the fens are an interesting place to visit - there's still a lot to see there.

Kingdom came out of the gate swinging, and (for a time) it was perhaps the most exciting thing in the prog. Certainly - a new series was always cause for excitement and anticipation. The constant forward-momentum, though, means that some scenarios are lightly drawn. No sooner are we introduced to a mega-city of survivalists than the entire place is wiped out (off-screen, ffs!) before we get a chance to appreciate it. By the time we ended up in the boundless space station the plot holes were being gradient-filled and we were bumped away again into what seems like an endless cycle of evolving threats.

This argument that Sin Dex is any more guilty than Kingdom of teasing things out, I think is difficult to maintain. The nature of sequential entertainment seems to beg for a little water-treading - otherwise you might talk yourself out of a pay packet. (Or be required to come up with new ideas and characters at a rate that's difficult to maintain.) Both puntastic. Both reliant on catch-phrasing. Both with excellent artwork.

Who deserves the most respect? SinDex. Who would I want to see in next week's prog? Kingdom. Who wins the character morality argument? Kingdom. Who helped un-slump the prog? SinDex. Who's stuck in an arms race? Kingdom.

Today, the respecting your elders argument (and the broader ability to tell almost any story) is winning: Sinister Dexter

[davidbishop]

Sinister Dexter.

[Pyroxian]

Kingdom

[BPP]

Sinister Dexter - the stuff before War of the Moses was top tier fuelled by great Simon Davis art and brilliant scripts. Since then art choices and pacing issues have worked against it but it remains a series that has highs that beat kingdom.

[Funt Solo]

A hot contest here, with (by my count) Kingdom leading by two votes! Who will win: Abnett or Abnett?

[dan200]

Gotta be Kingdom. Can't say no to Richard Elson art

[sintec]

Two great thrills from Abnett but only one can go on. Been struggling with this one. Much as I'm loving the recent SinDex in the UC for me Gene dog has this. Kingdom

[Huey2]

Kingdom

[Colin YNWA]

This tie has been a lot closer than I expected but Kingdom had a slight lead by Funt Solo's count and then has backed that up with a few more votes Its not an insurmoutnable lead so as we go into the final day of voting I guess things could change. Get um in and I'll settle this battle of the Dabnetts in the morning.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Kingdom

[Blue Cactus]

Struggling with this one but I'm going with Sinister Dexter.

[Proudhuff]

Kingdom

[Colin YNWA]

VOTING CLOSED

Have to say I thought this would be more clear cut than it was in the end. I adore Sinister Dexter as I've wittered about here at length and so really pleased to see it doing so well here. In the end though Kingdom is almost the defintion of a 2000ad thrill. Its superb and has lead this, relatively comfortably beginning to end and as such

Kingdom

is the first quarter finalist this week.