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Messages - feathers

#1
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
01 May, 2019, 03:25:34 PM
Prog 1410 (or thereabouts) - Some brilliant Dredd happening at the minute with the Total War storyline.  The preceding Terror took me by surprise as the story was skilfully spun out to greater lengths - after a run of short or self contained tales it was great to be sucked deeper and deeper into one situation.  So much so that it was a regret when it did finally end with a bit of a 'here-we-go-again' wink to camera.  So to have it followed up so quickly is a delight, and the change in scale inherent in the pre-hidden bomb campaign feels a suitably daunting challenge with hopefully plenty of mileage in it.  I'm hooked.

Strontium Dog's search for King Clarkie also feels a cut above the earliest returning strips - I wasn't a fan of the too-meandering Roadhouse, but looking back the Kabob of Knob run felt like the creators were most of the way back into the groove with just the shrug of the ending feeling unworthy.  Traitor to His Own Kind seems to be playing more properly with a deeper level of the SD story, and the weight of history  has tipped the scales away from the feeling of inconsequentiality that the pre-death idea brought up - or maybe it's just that the reader has to get into the groove too.

I feel I have to bring up Rogue Trooper's far less successful resurrection - maybe it's the lack of good ancillary characters that made this another trial.  As far as Rogue revivals go it was far from the worst, but really, it feels like there's nothing there to salvage.  ABC Warriors too are in flashback mode with Mills pilling in more and more antagonist characters to less and less effect.  There's only so much jive talk and occult ecology nonsense I can take now before my brain starts trying to find a way out of my skull.  So the return of Robo Hunter has been a mostly pleasant surprise in terms of updating and refreshing.  I like the idea of Sam's head in a jar being reduced to an annoyance on the level of Hoagy and Stogie, and Samantha's regret at getting involved is refreshing too.  But why the previous job as an escort?  It's so unnecessary and belittling.

Low Life has been great, and Cabbalistics Inc has snuck up unexpectedly to being second best strip after Dredd - partly because of it's confidence in using it's characters, partly it's stubbornly clear yet atmospheric artwork, and only least of all because of the absence of the more established SinDex and Dante.

In input debates, I like Bec & Kawl for a bit of variety, and always look forward to a letter from Floyd Kermode.  Is it just me though, or is the autumn/winter lineup of any of these early 2000s years always better than the spring/summer?
#2
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
26 March, 2019, 05:17:56 PM
Prog 1379- been a long time since I posted, but after a great start to 2003 things at the other and of the year couldn't keep the pace going. There was nothing that prepared me for the idea that 2004 would see such a throwback to the worst of the mid 90s as Valkyries though.  Bleuch
#3
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
18 December, 2018, 09:34:34 PM
Ha, teaches me for trying to post on my phone. I hadn't clocked the writing credit and just assumed it was Mills. The caption boxes early on especially seemed a fair cop of his style on Flesh & it's derivatives. It was a good set up, I'm disappointed now to hear it doesn't come to fruition.
#4
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
18 December, 2018, 01:30:44 PM
Prog 1259 - It feels like there's been a huge change recently, a proper relaunch that tries, not unsuccessfully, to take the comic back to the growing up thrills of the late 80s but this time without dropping the edge of black humour that 2000AD has at it's best. It feels like there's suddenly a lot more gore, profanity, and in Durham Red Vermin Stars we reach the endpoint of the apparent dictate that the character my at wear less clothes with the first full nude panels as if this is now some space vampire Jane.

The thing is, across he prog it all seems to be working. It feels coherent, and this time less adolescently try hard. The Vermin Stars artwork improves on the Scarlet Cantos in its clarity. Garth Ennis is writing Dredd that rewards long term readers with continuity call backs that initially seem flimsy but drops the Armoured Gideon pretense and actually succeeds in building an epic feeling into the story. Satanism Unchained won me back by the end after a sceptical beginning, Nikolai Dante is landing a compulsively powerful conclusion to the Tsar Wars run after the meandering detour of it's vampire episodes. Carver Hale was not a favourite, but now that it and ABC Warriors (which seems to have nothing new to say, and nothing old worth repeating) have moved on there's the deliciously old school Banzai Battalion to balance out the more mature thrills. It feels like the best things have been for ages.
#5
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
29 November, 2018, 05:09:42 PM
Forgot to mention over the last hundred or so progs how nice it's been to have the real voice of Tharg back in the Nerve Centre and Input pages. It gives everything an endearing coherence.
#6
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
28 November, 2018, 08:18:58 AM
Prog 1232: It's been a long time since I found time to post, but things are still moving along. Of the new thrills thus far in the 21st century there's not much that stands out though. Vanguard might be the best of them, or at least have the most potential as an updating of 18/19th century naval stories. Rain Dogs was a dismal action led blend of familiar ideas with little to add, and Red Fang seemed a bit out of time, as well as finding an annoying rythm with it's insistence on identical scene transitions, a device that also popped up a bit in...

'...Steve Moore's Future Shocks'. It's nice to have Future Shocks back. Good or bad they don't outstay their welcome. I also enjoyed Tales From Telguth a lot, but not sure about it running as longer stories.  Roadkill I really liked, and Button Man III is as good as ever. It was nice to see a proper end to Nemesis, although the continuation with Deadlock spouting off tediously about khaos tarnished the warming sense of closure. Glimmer Rats was hard work. The mainstays of Dredd, Sin Dec and Dante all keep going strong, but it feels like something else needs to stick soon.
#7
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
06 September, 2018, 04:12:21 PM
Prog 1160 - For what feels like years now Tharg's opening comments have described 2000 AD as 'a weekly fusion of sci fi and fantasy'.  For a long time this might as well have said 'sci fi and Slaine'.  Then they stopped running Slaine.  So it's been an unexpected pleasure to have the pendulum swing back the other way and remember how good fantasy thrills can be thanks to Devlin Waugh and Mazeworld.  Mazeworld has always been a great showcase for Arthur Ranson's work, and while the conclusion didn't have anything revelatory in it, it was no disgrace either, and the journey was well worth taking.  I'd begun to think that I wasn't a god fit with John Smith after his last Tyranny Rex outing, but Devlin Waugh takes the best elements of his inventive mythology building and sticks it around a protagonist who seems to have a touch of Zenith's semi-pompous egotism and relatable jadedness.  It's a good mix, and a nice slow pace is allowing a very distinct atmosphere to suffuse the strip, drawing it more into it's own with each instalment.

Downlode Tales has been giving a nice shake up to Sinister Dexter, and exploiting the depth of their milieu in the same way as the post Apocalypse War Dredd strips did - very nice.  Speaking of which, Dredd's encounter with Orlok was fun and nostalgic without being a cheap cash in on former glories.  It's a shame that Rose O'Rion's full length outing didn't give her a more recognisable situation to work in, or more characters to work with, and the second series of Mercy Heights fell completely flat for me.  The original was an intricate space opera of competing motivations following a raft of interacting characters - so why did the sequel throw that out to focus so heavily on the desires of a bland megalomaniac?  Was it the suggestion of a connection between Tor Cyan and Rogue Trooper (Ambassador, with this suggestion you are boring me) that drew him in from the periphery to a dull centre stage?  Anyway - pfft.  I'm not even sure it was better than Balls Brothers, whose name was half right.
#8
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
02 August, 2018, 10:55:48 AM
Quote from: Greg M. on 19 June, 2018, 05:12:05 PM
]No, Hope was introduced in the Anderson story Engram in 2000AD. Crusade is indeed a spectacularly terrible story though.
Quote from: AlexF on 22 June, 2018, 02:21:49 PM
Crusade does read better in the collected Anderson Psi Files, when there's a clearer link to both Engram, which introduced the Psi-Baby, and indeed Helios (or was it Triad?) that introduced the twin girls who take centre stage in Crusade. But it's nowhere near the best of Anderson's stories.

Thanks both - I looked into this and saw Engram was the 2 part story separated by 40 weeks or so, so I'm not surprised it didn't leave a big impression.  I was tempted to look up the numbers, go back and reread it, but then...I didn't.  The whole return run of Anderson sadly seemed to be missing something (I think the fantasticly memorable bodybag cover was probably the highlight).

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 19 June, 2018, 09:27:46 PM
2000ad went through a long time of trying to be the lastest cool. Before it relaxed and realised it didn't matter if it was cool as long as it was good. And of course by doing so became cool again.

You're completely right there Colin - and I think it's happened over the last stretch as things are in very fine form where I am now at...

Prog 1122.  Dredd, Sinister Dexter, Pulp Sci Fi and Sancho Panzer might represent the strongest line up the Prog has had in ages.  Missionary Man I can't get into, and for me is less successful than Red Razors as a transfer from the Meg (Al's Baby having been the most seamless, and only fully successful import).  It feels like the various factions and stakes have never been established, and I can't wait for it to end.  Still, 3 strong strips, an anthology, and 1 weak one feels like classic 2000AD.

While the experiment in extended page counts worked (particularly) for Sinister Dexter, I missed the variety while it was happening.  And giving a whole prog over to a single Dredd or Slaine story is just a no - not enough density, less thrills per page, and less than half the time to read.  So the current set up is giving a lovely warm glow of rightness that's almost nostalgic.

Something else making me smile is that I haven't had to read Rogue Trooper for a very long time now.

It's been on my mind because 'future war' Sancho Panzer felt in concept like it shouldn't work, but it's just so light and enjoyable that it does.  John Wagner back on Dredd is conquering all imitators with his casual picking up of didn't-realise-they-were-coming-back-to-that plot points and real sense of progression and development.  It's a delight to read.  Only a year to go until I find out what Tharg changes the name to on new year's eve 1999 (thankfully they seem to have stopped printing the letters now.  Dear God.)
#9
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
19 June, 2018, 03:25:02 PM
Addendum - forgot to mention Anderson, whose recent Crusade storyline of kidnapped children was baffling to me.  Was the baby behind it a character from the Megazine?  Either way, a bit more context as to who they were would have been welcome, but the story seemed a bit disjointed (including what felt like rewriting the state-of-play and removing character knowledge between some installments) and then just ended, without having much impact, or me being able to tell what reaction they were aiming for.  I'm not a fan of the artwork either...
#10
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
19 June, 2018, 02:50:09 PM
Prog 1066 - soooo....what started as a stumble has turned into a full flat-on-face fall as 2000AD seems happy to shed it's recent good form in favour of...I'm not sure what.  Laboured, unfunny comedy (Teenage Tax Consultant, Space Girls), peril-of-the-week, characterless fantasy (Witch World), and diminishing returns on past-their-best thrills (Vector 13).  Against this background, the more explicitly humorous Dredd stories (Mr Cube) lose the edge a contrast would have given them seeming weaker than they are.  (The Fast Food run though was great because it played a bit straighter with emotions of the central characters).

At the apex, or should that be nadir, of this is Prog 1066.  I lightly themed grab bag of one off stories that would have made a weak Summer Special instead masquerading as the real thing.  Only Sinister Dexter, by not rising to the bait of the brief, comes out with it's reputation in tact.  What's doubly galling about this is the increasingly desperate tone taken by the editorial pages, trying too hard in talking up the worst aspects of the current prog and beseeching readers to "tell your friends!" before producing something that's then  labelled as not for sale to children - are they trying to build the readership, or diminish it?

It's a huge mis-step.  Hopefully it's over and done with now for good.
#11
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
15 June, 2018, 02:07:18 PM
I think 2022 will be when I catch up too Colin. I think this being the point I finished school is probably adding to the sense of the early years being over, but yes, I'll be in the middle for a bit yet!
#12
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
12 June, 2018, 02:48:22 PM
Prog 1053 - rattling along at the moment with relatively little to report.  1997 was going great, but the hit of new summer thrills has it stumbling on I Was a Teenage Tax Consultant and the first three episodes of the looked-interesting-when-it-was-trailed Witch World - part 4 has started telling a recognisable story, but it's hard to see what the early parts did other than blunt interest.  One other recent no thanks is Outlaw...madly contrived, and I'm not convinced the tension of who-will-draw first exists the way it's supposed to in the first place - definitely not repeatedly.

Onto success: Sinister Dexter makes comics look easy, and Nikolai Dante is fantastic at gradually revealing extra possibilities in it's set up rather than being constrained by it.  Looking forward to more of this.  Mercy Heights was a slow burn, but worked, Al's Baby didn't outstay it's welcome - and unusually for a Meg crossover didn't feel like it was missing the first half of the story.  I'm less sold on the art for the new Anderson series, but it's good to have her back. 

In other news I'm pleased to have crossed the mid-way barrier, over half down, half to go!
#13
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
30 April, 2018, 03:00:16 PM
Prog 1018 - So I've decided that this year I'll cut back to aim to read only 400 Progs, so updates may be slower coming, or may be easier to fit in.  In the current run, Mazeworld sees the very welcome return of Arthur Ranson going further in to fantasy than he did with Shamballa.  The leisurely story feels slightly reminiscent of old thrills like Meltdown Man, but I don't mind it being spun out to similar length if Ranson's going to draw it all.  I'm pleased to see Mambo back, and surprised at the return of Time Flies - maybe being in colour suits it, maybe it's the context, but I'm finding this run more enjoyable than the first series.

More surprising still is Rogue Trooper -with Dan Abnett and Steve White writing it's actually turned into something enjoyable again.  It's amazing to see the contrast against the last however many years of never-to-be-read-again stories of this previously most skippable of thrills, and to realise that I'm actually <i>pleased</i> to see it's first page within each Prog.  I hope it lasts.  Unlike the Vector 13 takeover of the Input/Output pages.  Un-fun one note tedium.  Genuinely awaiting Tharg's return.
#14
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
19 April, 2018, 12:12:31 PM
Quote from: Bolt-01 on 18 April, 2018, 09:15:28 AM
Feathers, you've got so much good stuff to come.

Don't rush and remember that TPO is a real thing.

Thanks Bolt-01!  I am planning a deceleration in future so I can cope with the eventual reality of 1 Prog a week, but can always re-read some highlights to stop the shakes if things get bad.  I'm aware that it's a dangerous game at this rate!

Quote from: AlexF on 19 April, 2018, 10:28:10 AM
that 'more, but sexier' note on Durham Red is going to keep applying btw... :-[

Eep  :-[
#15
Other Reviews / Re: Another 2000AD read thread
17 April, 2018, 04:00:34 PM
Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of me reading 2000 AD.  This morning I was very pleased to hit my goal or the last year  by reading Prog 1000.  Hooray!

Maybe it's psychological, but ever since AlexF told me I was over the worst patch already, things have been great.  Following the film tie-in relaunch of Prog 950 Dredd has been firmly back to the forefront - and rightly so to. The brief run of double strips was a great showcase for the character's versatility, and The Pit sequence has conversely demonstrated a consistency and depth that it had been missing for a couple of years.

Second to this is the fantastic Sinister Dexter, a thrill which is unusual compared to it's recent contemporaries for not (currently, at least) having an overarching plot, just a world and consistent characters within it.  It's really refreshing, and each instalment has something to delight.  Contrast this to the limp RAM Raiders, which feels by comparison like a leftover from a year or two back.  Talking of which, Cannon Fodder's return did not disappoint - great art, expanding scope, funny, inventive, and the with its straightfaced use of pop culture icons gaining a feeling akin to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  I'd love more.

Vector 13 regularly hits the right spot, although a its return was marred by a run of linked conspiracy themed outings that crassly overstepped the mark - happily this now seems to be over.

Slaine is still Slaine, Finn and Strontium Dogs bob along nicely enough with the latter seeing the welcome reintroduction of Middenface McNulty and hopefully reaching the end of the Gronk-led Ferral's mutation storyline.  It's been going nowhere for a long time, but it feels like a corner might have been turned.

In related thrills, Durham Red seems to be getting editorial notes asking for 'more, but sexier' between each installment - surely this has to reach a limit soon as it's getting silly already - but the character is still hugely engaging, enough even to raise interest in the well-worn death match set up she's embroiled in, which has the potential to be a high quality exemplar of the form.

It may be psychological, it may be the pleasure of looking inside the covers of Progs I remember as a 15 year old seeming slightly forbidding in my local record shop, but right now it feels like good times