1507 - Monsters inside. Or whatever it said. The one after Man Alone.

[DavidXBrunt]

Cover - Meh. My eyes slipped off it without noticing it.

Ooooh. Line up change. Effective. Chiarascuros first episode was equally effective. Interesting set up, lets see what follows.

Dante - Still glad he's back. Great last page. Suddenly 6 weeks feels like a long time.

Stone Island - This is the way the thrill ends, not with a bang but a whimper. Disappointed with this and not really fussed if we see it again. I'd like more Intercepter though. The first Edginton script I've not loved.

Dredd - Now that's a mutant. Masterful storytelling. I await twists and turns with interest.

[IndigoPrime]

It's a good Prog, although mine has a 1cm white stripe across the top of every page, presumably due to the cutting on my issue's batch being less-than-stellar.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Spoilers please
(you could have seen my topic)

[COMMANDO FORCES]

How dare the most eagerly awaited Dredd story in ages be shunted to the back of the issue.
It`s a bloody disgrace I tell you.

[Byron Virgo]

So, Chairoscuro...'Smudge' is Cam Smith, right? It certainly looks like Cam Smith, or is it someone else entirely with a touch of the Cam Smithery (and a teeny-tiny dash of Graham Ingels and Mike Ploog)?

Well, whoever drew it, I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it properly when I get back home tonight anyway - it looks movie snuff-spooktacular!

[ukdane]

How dare the most eagerly awaited Dredd story in ages be shunted to the back of the issue.

Disagree, for a while now there has been a voice of opinion that having read Dredd, the rest of the prog was, for the most part, not as entertaining (starts with a high thrill level, and slowly drops out the further one gets into the prog).

Placing Dredd at the end, effectively "saves the best till last", and with high expectations for Origins, I for one hope it stays as the final story, that way no matter how good or bad the rest of the prog is, I'll know that the final story is the "origin of Dredd" by Wagner and Ezquerra, and that has to be worth it's weight.

Having said that, the sheer excitment, and desire to read Origins, might lead me to some odd reading practices (starting at the back, and reading forward), but then there's always the chance of catching a spoiler, so maybe not.

[sixmo]

What the hell happened in the end of Stone Island? I was quite enjoying it until last episode where things went a bit bit peculiar, and then this episode... Well it really takes the biscuit. The conclusion reminded me of my growing sense of confusion over Black Siddha in the Meg.

Dante was wandering for a bit but this last episode was great, looking forward to it coming back soon.

Liked the opener for Chiaroscuro. I was watching The Ring last night, and I hope this story brings some more creepy freakiness with it.

I did nearly shred the prog trying to find Origins in the back, however. The confidence of the couple of "proper" street judges in taking on what looks like hundreds of baddies is a nice touch, reminds me a bit of Shanty Town with the judges defending the downed Strato-V bomber (prog *yearsago*). I am now going to resume hopping from foot to foot waiting for next weeks episode.

hop hop hop...

[The Amstor Computer]

Big thumbs-up from me for mixing the stories about a bit & giving Dante a centre-spread. The formulaic layout of the prog is one of the things that's niggled for a while, and anything that shakes it up a bit is to be applauded.

Chiaroscuro certainly deserved its place at the front of the prog - even if it seems a touch derivative at the moment - and Dredd closed it in style, so this particular shake-up worked a treat.

I'm amazed at how much ground Dante has reclaimed, and it simply illustrates why this story needs to be semi-regular again - and with the recent three-story run ("Usurper", "The Depths" and "Dragon's Island") and more just around the corner, it certainly seems that we'll be getting something like that.

Stone Island kind of fizzled out - one of Edginton's more unfortunate traits as a writer is that he can do set up incredibly well but sometimes doesn't seem to be able to tie everything together into a satisfying conclusion. Still, Simon Davis' remarkable artwork kept me going over the rougher patches of the storyline.

The 86ers are back? Will we have less tedious She-Rogue this time & a bit more of the future war from the pilots' perspective?

Can't say I'm overjoyed about the return of Sin/Dex, but with the conclusion of their last proper story & the recent Malone spin-off it might be interesting for a bit. Benefit of the doubt for now...

[ukdane]

Just didn't get the end of Stone Island (this or last prog)

I'm guessing 86'ers is only three parts long, as Dante is back in 1511. Wonder what the 5th story is going to be.

[W. R. Logan]

>reminds me a bit of Shanty Town with the judges defending the downed Strato-V bomber (prog *yearsago*)

Shanty Town
Progs 300 to 303
Script: John Wagner/Alan Grant
Artist: Ron Smith


Reprinted
The Best of 2000AD 40
The Best of 2000AD 41
The Complete Judge Dredd 29
Titan: Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 6
Quality: Judge Dredd 35

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c212/rico2074/Shanty01.jpg>

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c212/rico2074/Shanty02.jpg>

[wadew1]

Chiaroscuro and Dredd were the best of the bunch. Overall I liked this Dante story, but 'the end'? Eh....no.
I lost interest in Stone Island a couple of progs ago.

[ming]

A good Prog, but with Stone Island slipping into full-on WTF mode last week, it's down a notch.  Nice pace of change though, with thrills coming and going all over the shop.

Chiarascuro A good enough opening, and I'm sure there's a lot more gore coming up soon.  As for that big spiky pot thing - obvious?  Never!

Dante A great episode, reminding me just how much I like centre spreads - we just don't get enough of 'em these days!  And the last page says it all: Moan all you like, you'll miss me when I'm gone!.  *Sniff*

Stone Island I was really enjoying this up to last week, and now it just got worse.  Who the hell's the guy in the second-to-last page?  Have we seen him before, or did he just come out of nowhere?  Anyway, a disappointing ending, and I'm just going to pretend to myself that it was all something to do with an indian burial ground.

Dredd Does no harm having this at the back of the Prog.  I'm not a stickler for reading the thrills in order of appearance anyway, and sometimes it's good to save the best 'til last.

Sixmo, Logan: that Shanty Town call was a good one - looking forward to that coming up in the Case Files!

[sixmo]

Yeah Shanty Town is a cracking story all right. Ron Smith was a great man for the big crowd scenes, I reckon he must have drawn more MC1 cits than anyone else. I could never get my head around how Dredd was supposed to be holding his Lawgiver (the one with the weird design that went "Fizzz!") in some of Ron's art, but he was king of the unruly mob.

[opaque]

Cover: Looks nice but no indication what it's related to as that 'creature' certainly ins't in this weeks prog

Chiaroscuro: At first I read it thinking it was a crappy Future Shock not realising it was a new story, and on second reading it makes more sense and I'm looking forwards to seeing more.

Dante: Don't like the on the back foot storylines we've had since the Romanovs got beaten and although John Burn's artwork is growing on me in places this story and the artwork aren't going anywhere for me. And how on earth can you have a 'The End' and bring a chartacter back 4 weeks later? Have a Dante returns in 1511, not The End bit, I hope the new story is more interesting.
Hopefully in a year or two I'll be shown up as it's all some big thing that is being built up to that will only be noticable when the GN's are published but considering how good it was at the start for me Dante has really nosedived.

Stone Island: WTF is this crap? The artwork has degraded in the last 2 episodes and really it's all been an utter waste of space and time.

Dredd: Being at the back surprised me as well. Can't see why the few judges guarding the cargo aren't responding to a army practically right next to them! Surely a warning shot as the first one came over the ridge at least?

Beautiful artwork though and I can't wait for more of this.

[Trout]

Chair-obscura: interesting and mysterious.

Dante: There were no surprises, were there? It's become a bit standardised, although the last page was great. Hopefully it will be more exciting when it's back soon.

Stone Island: Nasty but great ending.

Dredd: wonderful. It's exciting and gross and fascinating. Wow.
And it's not the bastard child of anything. Who cares what it's similar to? It's Wagner and Ezquerra at the height of their powers and I can't get enough of it.

- Trout