Prog 2374 - A World of His Making!

[Colin YNWA]

Well it an interesting place to go to an over sized Prog that's being treated kinda like a jump on. But what the heck. This is largely an excellent Prog.

Dredd. BRILLIANT. Niemand on fire again with a superb story and Joe Currie's dreamy art is just perfect. Another brilliant Dredd loved this one.

Indigo Prime - lost me for a second there, not quite sure how we made the leap from where we were to the white hole of all realities but frankly who cares if all the joins aren't quite clear this was superb and a fantastic ending.

Full Tilt Boogie slips back to the story after last weeks delightful break and it great and a little chilling.

Deadworld this one has lost me - such a shame.

Thistlebone - yike it just continues to be what it is creepy, horrible and wonderful.

So next week we get Proteus Vex in for Deadworld so that's looks like being an upward trade and an exciting prospect. With added Rogue Trooper (guess we'll see a lot of that this year) could be a treat. As it is though we have quite enough this week to keep me happy.

[IndigoPrime]

What are you bribing Tharg/Royal Mail with to get all these Saturday Progs?

[Tjm86]

I'm with Colin for the most part on this prog.  There's definitely a lot to like about the quality of what we're being given.

Dredd's a cracking, albeit predictable one-shot.  Visitors to MC1 fall foul of the law. We've seen it from dimensional, alien, chronal ... pretty much every type of traveller going.  The city is stark staring bonkers and the Judges top the list.  Currie's artwork though really lifts the piece.  Loving the European vibes with shades of Moebius.

Full Tilt Boogie back on the core issues at play makes a little more sense after the last few weeks.  Well, insofar as we're sat staring at whatever is at the heart of the quest our protagonist has been gulled into.

Now Fall of Deadworld is an interesting one.  As the current run ends we find ourselves faced with issues that start to tie things together.  Ultimately this is about how Deadworld became the world we know from our first exposure to Judge Death.  Necropolis introduced us to the Dark Sisters who have featured significantly in more recent runs.  We see that they are far more significant to Death's development than we were first led to believe.

The 'errant sister, Enomia' is curious.  As the Greek goddess of law, good governance and order, it is curious that she is linked to Phobia and Nausea.  Then again, maybe it is worth considering that ultimately Deadworld is utterly devastated.  After all, the point of the Dark Judges is that they stand as completely opposite to Dredd's perspective and his world.

Certainly this is a series that merits a re-read.  There is a lot that just doesn't seem to work properly for various reasons.  Possibly because so much is going on?

As Colin says, Thistlebone delivers that earie, creepy, mind-alteringly queasy Hammer Horror style as always.  Davis is the perfect choice for this strip although Lee Carter would be a close second after his performance on Cradlegrave.  Where will this land?  Given the penchant of Eglington for rooting this series in deep, dark British mythology, my money is on plenty of blood and gore.

I'd be a little more excited about the return of Rogue Trooper if I knew the creative team but I think that is because we've had some absolutely dire runs over the years.  Here's to hoping it is up there with some of the stronger offerings we've had since they've tried to revise the strip. 

Overall though, this is a cracking prog.

[Tjm86]

What are you bribing Tharg/Royal Mail with to get all these Saturday Progs?

Given we're getting our progs (and Meg which is amazing) of a Saturday, it is clear that the bribes are on a randomiser. 

[A.Cow]

Wot?  Is nobody going to mention that stunning cover?!?  One of the best depictions of Death in recent years, in this cow's humble opinion.

And yet ... shurely misleading, given the prog's actual content?  (Where's that number for Trading Standards...?)

[Barrington Boots]

That cover is indeed totally awesome and does have very little to do with the story inside!

I found this a very quick read this week. News of more Rogue Trooper... yeah, reserving judgement on this one. The recent Goddard / Ennis tale was terrific and I'd be keen to read more from them, but otherwise its a big 'meh' from me: that story is done and has been diminishing returns for a long, long while.

Dredd - thought this was a pretty forgettable Dredd rehashing stories we've seen several times before. Not bad in any way, but very filler-y.

Indigo Prime - trippy installment that channels the weirdness of this series, but only really feels like it moves the story forward at the end. Great end to the episode though!

Full Tilt Boogie - slightish this week, but it's a middle of the story episode setting up next weeks episode, when a lot of the revalations from this week should presumably have more significance. 

Deadworld - feel like this is roundly back on track after losing its way a bit, and seems a good move to have the various factions at play join up: the fact that half the comments on this series show readers are confused are to whats going on highlights how the broader spread of the tale ended up showing us a sequence of events, whilst losing the actual story. Hopeful this comes back with a focus on what made it good initially: horror and not elseworlds or the Sidney version of Death.

Thistlebone - Very good again. It struck me today how this feels written for the weekly format, as opposed to, say, FTB which feels a lot more decompressed: almost every week on Thistlebone we've had a cliffhanger-esque ending which hints at something truly awful happening next week, only for the tension to relax a little before ramping up again. This time, things look a lot more serious however.

[The Monarch]

void indiga 

[M.I.K.]

I'm getting old annual cover vibes from the next issue preview.

[broodblik]

Cover by Toby Willsmer:

[broodblik]

....Davis is the perfect choice for this strip although Lee Carter would be a close second after his performance on Cradlegrave..... 

Cradlegrave's art was by the late Edmund Bagwell
 

[Jacqusie]

Crikey, Old Dredd's put on a bit of timber hasn't he?

Must be all those munce burgers and synthi sausage's...

[scrotnig]

Thistlebone is just geniuses at work! It never fails. Worth the price of the Prog on its own.

[AlexF]

Top Prog all round, agree that the cover is a stunner! And yes please to more Joe Currie artwork, it reminds me of classic Ron Smith one-off comedy shorts in tone, if not even slightly in style.

[broodblik]

.......And yes please to more Joe Currie artwork.......

From the Nerve Centre he is currently working with Mike Carroll bring a new series to the prog later this year
 

[IndigoPrime]

Weirdly, no Prog here yet, despite the Meg arriving on Monday. Boo @ reality.