PROG 1432... CASUALTIES OF WAR!!!

[petesbeats]

Cover:-Not done much for me.  Pretty bland and i don't think it would rope in new readers.  ?1.75 cover price also. Glad i subscribe.

Droid Life:- Cat Sullivan deserves an award. More please.

Dredd:-  I think Boo Cook is the most underated artist in the prog at the moment.  Brilliant depiction of mega city 1.  How sexy is Karyn. Cliffhanger left me wanting more more more!

TSDM:- HMMMM! Don't know what to say really.  Enjoyed lots of parts of this story but as already been said there seems to be to much crammed into the 7 parts. Nowhere near as good as the recent angelfire but maybe thats cos Parkhouse didn't write that.  Need to read in one sitting methinks.

VC's:-  I'm an old reader back to the prog and have missed out on the rest of the vc's stories.  Heard that there was hardly any continuation in the last arc so hopefully this will be different.  Art so-so but story had something there i liked.  Have to see how this one goes.

American Gothic:-  Yes. 2 thumbs up. If not for Boo Cook on Dredd this would have been my pick of the week.  I'm all for none futuristic tales (lovin The Bogie Man in the meg by the way)and this was a class first episode.  Like the scratchy art and the story looks like it will be a cracker. More please!

Overall:-  For 4 stories this was an over average prog thanks to Dredd and Gothic.  Vc's will have to pick up the pace quickly to grab me properly i think.

[Dudley]

Excellent artwork from Boo Cook, of course, but what's this I see?  A Dredd script that's actually the equal of his visuals?  Surely not?  OK, so it's week one of five and everything could go horribly wrong, but looking VERY good so far.  Very, VERY, VERY good, in fact.

Though I'm worried by Boo's decision to stop drawing feet altogether.   :p

In other news, American Gothic shows some great early promise, but I'll let the characters introduce themselves before making my mind up properly.  Great Western dialogue.  Tiger Sun, Dragon Moon was complete pish from start to end.  Don't think we'll be seeing that back in a hurry.  And it's a real shame to see Anthony Williams follow the Ian Gibson path of the non-existent background on the VC's, but at least the Arlington maze was a very nice touch.  I do look forward to seeing what they can do with the training sequences.

Overall, oooh, at least 73% Thrill-Powered.

[petemaskreplica]

Droid Life: Always good to see, even if this wasn't the best.

Dredd: hurrah for Boo!

TSDM: More Karate Kid than Kurosawa, I fear.

VCs: I have a theory that there are two Dan Abnets. One of them writes stuff like early SinDex and the first Vcs (redux) series, the other one writes stuff like latter day SinDex and the second series of the VCs. Occasionally the collaborate and you get stuff like the last series of the VCs. Which one's writing this time? Too soon to tell, but some nice touches suggest Abnet no.1 may be involved to some degree. Didn't mind the sparse backgrounds myself, thought it complemented the tone quite well.

American Gothic: Cowboys! Vampires! What's not to like?

[Oddboy]

Dredd was fabby.  JOHN PEEL BLOCK - *sob*

Okay, so after being all "fantastic!" about Tiger Sun this week, I think it's time to munch on my now famous flatcap. Shockingly unsatisfying final chapter, wasting all that was built up in the previous episode. Nice touch with the mutual suicide, but overall: meh.

The V.C.s - don't really have much of an opinion on this one yet, could go either way.

American Gothic: Wowzers!

[Oddboy]

...about Tiger Sun this week, I think...

LAST week, even.

[Bad Andy]

Mutual suicide? No no no. Don't think so.

She killed him, he killed her. Not very Romeo and Juliet. And, I must admit, garbage too. If the series had been as long as SCB would it have been a 10 chapter fight? Not enough objective writing involved here.

Normally enjoy Parkhouse stuff but you get the feeling this was more: "I enjoy drawing these situations, I'll write them in." Maybe a good read of Gordon's recent Meg columns is in order here. (Angel Fire is da bomb though)

I'm not usually one to care too much about artwork. As a writer, the story is the key and I only notice the artwork if it a) gets in the way of the story (I'm thinking Scarlet Cantos here) or b) is outstanding.

Step forward Mr Boo Cook for slapping himself down on my radar. This guy should be given Dredd indefinately. And the story is the business too. Let the good times roll.

[Roger Godpleton]

Cover - A good concept, rendered poorly.

Droid Life - It's not much more than filler, and is an entertaining diversion. But at it's height, Droid Life was so much more. I miss those days.

Dredd - Really fantastic. Yet another top-notch Rennie script, nasty yet not gratuitous and cheap (how does he keep doing that). But as for Boo... The introduction of Dredd was brilliant, the images of the pit and the juxtaposition between evil and nice pit was amazing. His Karyn rendition was one of the best. And the monsters were handled well, leaving just the right amount of gaps for us to fill with our imagination. I really liked this.

TSDM - The total lack of character development in previous episodes means I didn't care about these characters copping it. The art is typically unexceptional. Glad it's gone to be honest.

VC's - I was dreading this, but I thought it was okay. Shorn of rubbish jokes, DAbnett shows that he can produce enjoyable work. Numerous macho cliches were present, but they weren't grating, and that intensely irritating Ryx character has at least been toned down. The badness of the art in the fighting scenes feels ominous though...

American Gothic - Reliably creepy Edginton script, great Collins art. Great concept, can't wait to see how this all plays out.

Overall - Two examples of greatness, one example of averageness, one example of tediousness. Good prog then.

[Bart Oliver]

Art is right..

http://www.sapere.it/tc/img/Arte/Percorsi/America/america11.jpg>


And Boo's artwork is particularly lush this ish.


B.

[Lord Running Clam]

Cover-was not the best ever.I feel now with the  price increase the covers really need to pick up in quality to grab passers by so they wont just put the prog back down when they see the price.

Droid Life-Not the best,but always raises a smile.

Dredd-The great art by Boo Cook sets well with the start of Gordon Rennies story.Cant wait to see what happens next.

TSDM-This last part is just a mess,it seems rushed and forced and i hope this is the end of it if the best he can do writing.Also if your going to have a dragon as last weeks cliffhanger it might be nice to have the samurai fight one this week.

The V.C.s-A nice start with some good art even if I prefer Henry Flints art on it.I just hope it doesn't turn into Smith leading a bunch of fresh recruits against a surprise Geek attack.

American Gothic-Some Great work to be seen here by both Ian Edginton & Mike Collins.Looking forward to reading the rest.

All in all a solid prog with a stand out start to a new story.

Belows a sketch of Smith by Henry Flint.http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/12345clam/mypictures0042.jpg">

[Funt Solo]

2000AD has failed to reach the shops this week in my town...boo wahhh!

Tis always here on a Thursday...oh whatever shall I do?

[Jared Katooie]

"I enjoy drawing these situations, I'll write them in."

Nah, he actually said he prefers to do plots and stuff nstead of violence. Apparently that's all we 2000AD fans want.

[Oddboy]

I was just thinking: American Gothic is the first time Mike Collins has been involved with a brand new project, rather then taking on existing characters.
I'm thinking American Gothic is probably the best thing in this week's prog.

[Banners]

Mike Collins' style on American Gothic is very reminiscent of Steve Pugh's issues drawing Saint of Killers - which is a good thing! But maybe the comparison is obvious given the subject matter?

M@

[Carlsborg Expert.]

Well as soon as I opened the prog,I could tell I was going to like the dredd story.
It is beautifully rendered and its always nice to see good sky in Meg 1.
Upheld by the return of those foulmouthed droids of Droidlife. Aha. Hilarious. Certainly some good ideas for future obscenities.(joke)
Flashing blades of tsdm stayed as long as Vaughn at the stumps,setting the innings for a good home win.
Nice story meld with views of space spread across two pages,to the VCs.I like the mazework of the list of heroes.Looked over it but no,swing to it.
Well thats the lot,only 4 strips finished with American gothic,that could be an ink landscape of what it says on the tin.

[the3rdman]

aren't these threads always over analytical bullshit? no one ever agrees totally, we all like what we like.

personally i prefer art work like on this dredd and the tiger sun stuff, which i thought was pretty cool as an intro to a series.

ahhh shit..... now i'm doing it