Prog 2252 - Depth Charge!

[Colin YNWA]

So if last weeks Prog was a bit of a steady Eddy second part plateau we learn a little more about or thrills this time and where they are heading and how they will get there.

Dredd hhmmmm not too sure, its just more FIGHT. Rob Williams need to do a Dredd were he shows that he knows you don't need to smash Dredd with bigger harder baddies to make a good story. Its fun, action packed and has some good crankin' up the tension... I'm just not sure what it has to say and why it feels a need to say it.

Diaboliks shows us how its done, chilling, yet amusing, a quick dose of angelic violence to keep us thrilled and then blister end to keep us driving through. Wonderful stuff, gets the balance just right and is moving along nicely.

Scarlet Traces stunning, stunning art and while the two scene tale is still very steady we do seem to be going somewhere.

Pandora Perfect is blistering along, as we've seen in previous stories just as Pandora seems to have it all in hand, the tale has a sting in it and the heist has a hitch. And since this is a big and longer story the hitch... well it shows it can be upscaled. This is fantastic, fun, frolicing and delightful and agains wonderous visuals.

The Out - arh The Out, its not changin' for anyone and it has no reason to do so. This episode is just brilliant as the new theme of exploring humans escaping to the edge is quickly explored and its done in a darkly hilarious way. In three tiny vignettes we see what Cyd gets what she wishes for and might just regret it. Fantastic, FANTASTIC stuff.

So yeah three triumphs and the other two ain't bad - so I think we're happy with this one. Its got a real punch compared to last time.

[IndigoPrime]

Lots of good this issue, but I think my favourite thing was Tharg’s reply about John Smith. Nice to see he’d be welcomed back if he so chose to start writing comics again.

Pandora Perfect > The Out > Scarlet Traces > Diaboliks > Dredd

Again, all well beyond the line of doom.

[Bad City Blue]

Nice to see Droid Life being funny for the first time in bloody ages.

[Dark Jimbo]

Lots of good this issue, but I think my favourite thing was Tharg’s reply about John Smith. Nice to see he’d be welcomed back if he so chose to start writing comics again.

He's always been really clear about that whenever it comes up. The second Indigo Prime volume from the UC goes into a lot of detail about what happened with the Smiths (Matt and John) and where everybody stands.

[Barrington Boots]

Swift thoughts from me. Loved the cover on this weeks Prog, that's exactly the sort of thing that'd make me pick it up on a whim.

Dredd I'm enjoying this, it was always going to boil down to Dredd vs a novelty hitman each week. This is a fun story that's balancing horrible violence and black humour very well. Just sheer enjoyment.

Diaboliks Not enjoying this sadly.

Scarlet Traces Storytelling episode. I'd forgotten a lot of this bit of the plot but this caught me up nicely. I know the quality of art on Progs is generally high, but this is just absolutey top tier stuff.

Pandora Perfect takes a bit of an unexpected turn (not the double-cross, we all saw that coming). It feels a little like resetting the setup, and I'm not finding the pacing quite as good as the shorter stories, but that's a minor thing as it's a fun, easy read and I've confidence this will unfold into a good tale. Looks great.

The Out - This just does what it likes from episode to episode. Not in a bad way. Whilst I'm not as high on this as others, I think it's a great story.

[norton canes]

Dear Tharg: Please release a compendium of the best Robinson/Teague covers.

[The Amstor Computer]

He's always been really clear about that whenever it comes up. The second Indigo Prime volume from the UC goes into a lot of detail about what happened with the Smiths (Matt and John) and where everybody stands.

Really? I haven't been picking up the UC so that's passed me by entirely - what was said?

[Dark Jimbo]

He's always been really clear about that whenever it comes up. The second Indigo Prime volume from the UC goes into a lot of detail about what happened with the Smiths (Matt and John) and where everybody stands.

Really? I haven't been picking up the UC so that's passed me by entirely - what was said?

Well, to paraphrase a bit - Matt Smith explains that the first script for A Dying Art was delivered in July 2014. The second in October 2015. Then complete radio silence, and no reply to emails. In 2016 MS learned that JS had suffered a personal tragedy and gave him some breathing space. Conscious that he was sitting on 'the best part of three grand's worth of unpublished material', (Lee Carter had already done the art) MS tried to contact JS again from late 2016 onward, resorting to texts and postal letters. Everything went unanswered, so MS told JS that he's welcome to submit stories again any time but he has to give Indigo Prime to someone else to finish, and Devlin Waugh too (as JS had been promising the next DW story since 2008). At the end MS reiterates that JS would be welcome back any time, but that as far as he knows JS hasn't written a comic script since 2015 (which seems to be true).

[norton canes]

Apologies if this has been mentioned already, but Judge Barrow is Geoff Barrow from Portishead, right? Also one half of the duo Drokk, who released 'Drokk: Music inspired by Mega-City One from the movie Dredd'.

[JayzusB.Christ]

He's always been really clear about that whenever it comes up. The second Indigo Prime volume from the UC goes into a lot of detail about what happened with the Smiths (Matt and John) and where everybody stands.

Really? I haven't been picking up the UC so that's passed me by entirely - what was said?

Well, to paraphrase a bit - Matt Smith explains that the first script for A Dying Art was delivered in July 2014. The second in October 2015. Then complete radio silence, and no reply to emails. In 2016 MS learned that JS had suffered a personal tragedy and gave him some breathing space. Conscious that he was sitting on 'the best part of three grand's worth of unpublished material', (Lee Carter had already done the art) MS tried to contact JS again from late 2016 onward, resorting to texts and postal letters. Everything went unanswered, so MS told JS that he's welcome to submit stories again any time but he has to give Indigo Prime to someone else to finish, and Devlin Waugh too (as JS had been promising the next DW story since 2008). At the end MS reiterates that JS would be welcome back any time, but that as far as he knows JS hasn't written a comic script since 2015 (which seems to be true).

It's a shame; I really miss his stuff.  Both times I was on Eamonn's podcast I was talking about John's stuff - I always thought he was easily up there with the best in the business.  I mean, Mark Millar wrote Judge Frankenstein, and he's one of the most successful comic writers in the world.

Still, though, at least I can say that one of John's scripts was adapted into a blockbuster movie.  Though I preferred his version of Avatar.

[IndigoPrime]

John Smith is the reason I continued buying 2000 AD. During the dark period, his stuff alone was worth the entry fee. But we always knew he was… sporadic in his scripts. As for the UC, I’ve not read that. I know Matt was clear at the time online when people were, frankly, really shitty to him about the decision he had to make, but to see similar words in print was just really nice. So I’ll dig out the UC later too.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next with the strips John Smith created. Indigo Prime should just rest now, in my view. I’m not convinced Tyranny Rex needs anyone else writing it either. Devlin Waugh is – currently – an exception, but only because Kot has done such a great job.

[norton canes]

Five quality strips on the go at the moment, which always makes the prog a particular pleasure. 

'The Hard Way' is a great knockabout story that's thankfully adding a bit more depth than just throwing the antagonists at Dredd one by one. Diaboliks continues to mine a rich vein of shock and awe. Scarlet Traces is luscious but did lose me a bit with the references to ongoing sub-plots. Pandora Perfect is perfectly readable but I wish the tone had been shifted to make it a little less juvenile.

The Out was another mini-masterpiece which had me laughing all the way through. 2000 AD has so many talented script droids but it does constantly amaze me that Dan Abnett's unique talent for dialogue hasn't seen him seized upon by television.

[Colin YNWA]

...it does constantly amaze me that Dan Abnett's unique talent for dialogue hasn't seen him seized upon by television.

Shhh don't be giving him ideas - we need to selfishly surpress any ambitions he might have!

[norton canes]

I should add that there are at least half a dozen other script droids I'd love to see turning in efforts for television.

[broodblik]

Cover by Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague: