Prog 2351 - Sam vs The Lawman

[Colin YNWA]

A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).

I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻

That would be crackin'

Him or Henry F might well be the one to break me!

[Magnetica]

BTW, did anyone else get their subscription gift? Mine arrived with the Prog (unlike last time). A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).

Having swapped to a digital subscription at the start of the year, I no longer qualify for these; which is a little annoying. But only a little as I probably own all of the content anyway. But still it would be nice if there was a way for digital subscribers to get these.

[IndigoPrime]

At least as digital editions.

[IndigoPrime]

Having now read it through, that was a fantastic issue of 2000 AD. A fun cover and then the opener of a Dredd tale that wastes no time lobbing us into the action. Great art, with a Dredd seemingly carved from granite.

Feral & Foe's double parter was excellent from start to finish. For me, this is kind of tier-B Abnett, but these ten pages were packed with great moments and typically fantastic artwork.

Skipping to the end, I've already mentioned that I enjoyed what Garth Ennis did with Dredd vs Robo-Hunter, even if it makes no sense from a continuity standpoint. JayzusB.Christ said:

After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.

Agreed. Fully. But I also hugely respect Ennis for being so honest and thoughtful about his time on the Prog. Millar and Morrison seemed to consider it a stepping stone and something to be squashed by their genius when they outgrew it. Ennis appear to still hold deep fondness for British comic as a whole (after all, Battle!) and his work now is the strongest it's been. So, yes, great to see him back in the Prog, and it won't hurt the Prog to have his name properly associated with its present rather than just its past either.

Finally, Helium. Was it worth the frankly ludicrous eight-year wait? Only you can be the judge of that. What I will say is that when I read through the freebie PDF, I'd forgotten how bloody great this strip was, and how it blazed through a strip set in an interesting and new 2000 AD universe. And then it stopped. For eight bloody years. So I'm very happy to see it back, even if this basically fills in one blank from the first series and to some degree feels as much like the second half of that's kicking off than a brand-new book.

Looking forward to the next book of Brass Sun in 2026.

No arrows this week. Four crackers. Nothing to separate them at all.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Again, I'm looking forward to this.  After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.

I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!

[IndigoPrime]

The Gronk was in the Strontium Dogs run and it is best left unread. Spud guns is presumably a reference to his Emerald Isle Dredd strip. Mutant teddy bear rings a bell but I might have blocked that out of my mind.

[Richard]

That's Teddy Bear's Firefight in prog 737.

[O Lucky Stevie!]

But does it? I do t recall it ever explicitly naming the US location. We did get a start year (2140) and Slade later moving to Brit-Cit. And if this is MC1 at the start, although the timelines add up, what we see doesn't. Just the police alone in Day of the Droids don't scream Judge Dredd.</geekcontinuityhat>

I stand corrected. Sam & Kidd leave for Verdus from Mega-City 1 spaceport which does give Tharg a bit of wiggle room here. Any deviation between the two strips in subsequent stories we can put down to leakage of Time Radiation from Thoth buggering about in the Time Wastes as well as Helter Skelter 

[Funt Solo]

Again, I'm looking forward to this.  After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.

I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!

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[Le Fink]

Finally, Helium. Was it worth the frankly ludicrous eight-year wait? Only you can be the judge of that. What I will say is that when I read through the freebie PDF, I'd forgotten how bloody great this strip was, and how it blazed through a strip set in an interesting and new 2000 AD universe. And then it stopped. For eight bloody years. So I'm very happy to see it back, even if this basically fills in one blank from the first series and to some degree feels as much like the second half of that's kicking off than a brand-new book.

Being newish to the prog, after a 30 year absence, I couldn't say if it's worth the wait as I caught the first series in the Meg floppy not so long ago. But I loved it and I'm happy it's back. This writer/artist team have produced some crackers. And while I appreciate the greyscales of Leviathan and Stickleback, I really love D'israeli in full colour. Scarlet Traces is a marvel.

Rest of the prog also great. It's really on a high at the moment. I'm slightly missing Azimuth though.

[IndigoPrime]

I stand corrected. Sam & Kidd leave for Verdus from Mega-City 1 spaceport which does give Tharg a bit of wiggle room here. Any deviation between the two strips in subsequent stories we can put down to leakage of Time Radiation from Thoth buggering about in the Time Wastes as well as Helter Skelter 

Ha! Naturally, none of this stuff lines up. Strontium Dog isn't Dredd's future. Flesh and Harlem Heroes aren't the strip's past. They're just fun things. But I do like seeing how the lines between the strips might link up – and how fully.

I didn't spot Mega-City One being mentioned at all when I flicked through those early episodes just now, but I might be missing it. (Those early pages are hard work today, though. Some casual sexism on page five and then followed up on page six with casual racism. Although both are perhaps in character with an old git.

[Richard]

From Verdus episode 2, prog 77: "One day I'm a robo-hunter working Megacity." That story is set in 2140.

[matty_ae]

I thought the art on Sam Slade was brilliant but the story was pretty much just like a Marvel movie post-credits scene.

So a neat conversation with a very slight twist

but I'd much rather see them team up to solve a case (or fight).

Just seemed a bit throw away unless there's more.

[IndigoPrime]

Richard: aha! So 'Megacity'.

matty_ae: I always find these things can outstay their welcome, and so the quick one-episode thing works for me. Top Dog was the one that had a bit of extended play that seemed to work the best.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

The Gronk was in the Strontium Dogs run and it is best left unread. Spud guns is presumably a reference to his Emerald Isle Dredd strip. Mutant teddy bear rings a bell but I might have blocked that out of my mind.

That's Teddy Bear's Firefight in prog 737.

Again, I'm looking forward to this.  After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.

I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!

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Thank you all, much appreciated!!