Prog 1325 Review

[Smiley]

Just finished the prog and I must be getting old and jaded, and too much a fanboy by half. Obviously, the big event was what happened in Sl?ine. But rather than be shocked and appalled, I was more gobsmacked by niggling trivia! Niamh's fate was too reminiscent of Marshal Law. And the 'pleasing form' Moloch suggested looked very much like Pat Mills, didn't it? I must be losing it.

[Mk13]

>though I'm probably wrong.

You are.

[Oddboy]

Oddboy is confused by multiple negatives

So is this (Sl?ine's missus) the promised death as fortold?

[paulvonscott]

Gah!  Seems so Oddboy.  I thought Slaine himself would be the one to go, or maybe they meant orlok.  Oh well.

[Mk13]

>Oddboy is confused by multiple negatives

If I was to say that one would be wrong in saying that Niamh wasn't the aforementioned death, then you would be wrong in saying that I was wrong.

Hope that clears everything up...

[Oddboy]

Yup.

[Tiplodocus]

At Dreddcon, Old Thargy reckoned that a major artist would be back this year.  That's definitely BOLLAND now judging from this weeks input page.  

So if I was Tharg, I'd have him drawing the cover of the death of a major character. So I think it's that ORLOK what's gonna get it and BB will do the cover and Cam Kennedy will do the gorgeous insidey stuff.

This prog:
Dredd:  It's the usual aliens routine so far, I'm just waiting for the big reverse that Wagner and Diggle must have up their sleeves.

CABAL: Ticking along nicely - though I agree with PVS, I thought the stiff upper lips should have survived rather than the flippant yanks.

DANTE:  This felt longer than it actually was (a good thing).  I am enjoying this tale and I liked the confusion over who captured who.  But yeah, what happened to Kraken/Rasputin's eye? That John Burns sure can draw purty pictures (but I still don't like his "Look and Learn" style of vehicle, monster and secret base design)

SIN/DEX: This felt longer than it actually was (a bad thing).  Can anybody explain the difference between pastiche, homage and rip-off to me? I'm sure this was the ending of the first Stronty Dog/Dredd crsossover (TOP DOG from an annual, I think).  And I'm pretty sure it was used as a get out in one of the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies.  And that's me just quoting mainstream titles - I'm sure all of you proper SF readers will be able to quote endless examples of the same "Note to future help" get out clause being used. SIN/DEX have done this sort of homage before - I remember them fighting a T2 - Terminator (except it was a little girl)  

SLAINE: Slightly disturbing but going somewhere for a change. That MOLOCH is starting to give me the creeps. "Take... My... Breath... Away"; loved it - is this a regular Slaine catchphrase that I've forgotten.

Well done to Floyd for getting on the input page but, Jock, your nephew can't paint for toffee I'm afraid. What is it with people and their kids paintings? It looks nothing like Dredd (except one drawn by.....).


BACK ON HOMAGE/RIP OFF/PASTICHE; I saw Dog Soldiers at the weekend which I enjoyed immensely despite the fact that just about every idea in it was ripped off from another action/horror movie.  And The Matrix gag near the end was inspired!
Guess I'm just picking on Sin/Dex then.

[DavidXBrunt]

I'm really enjoying this run of progs. Best it's been in ages.

Cover - Nicely horrific. Mrs. Irvings little boy can really draw hands. A rare but vital skill.

Dredd/Aliens - I'm enjoying this as well. I don't mind anywhere near as much as I thought I would that it's going to take four months for this story to run. Looking forwards to Dredd taking on the Queen.

Cabalistics Inc. - Strong opening serial, hope we get a lot more of this. The art is deceptively simple, yet detailed and expressive. Interesting twist. Will Ms. Simmons survive/return, in which case how will that affect her? And if she dies that'll make for an interesting group dynamic. Great cliff-hanger.

Sin/Dex - I'm one of the few still enjoying this strip, but even I thought this tale wasn't up to scratch. Maybe a rest would be good for this one.

Dante - This is such a good strip. One of the very best strips ever to appear in 2k. And this story has been a lot of fun. Hope this one last for a decent length.

Slaine - Oh, what a surprise. Interesting that there's been no outrage over what happens in the strip. If it had been a male character would there have been more raised voices?

And I liked the painting on the input page. Bolland this week, Shakara last time. Tharg is dropping some interesting tidbits through the letters page at the moment.

[Proudhuff]

Hey, a good issue, but the Dredd story is still too short. Cal Inc trucking along nicely.

Isn't the Slaine story just an old werstern film without the hats?  

If Bolland is coming back, can somebody try and get him to draw female judges without the high heels? slingbacks or kitten maybe, but silettos never. (you try running in them)

Middenpus

[DavidXBrunt]

Oh, and would I be right in thinking that with Sin/Dex ended and Slaine at this point in the story then next weeks line up will be Dredd/Aliens, Cabalistics Inc., Dante, and a double dose of Slaine to end this chapter of the 'Book of Invasion' or have I done my sums wrong?

[Queen Firey-Bou]

"Slaine - Oh, what a surprise. Interesting that there's been no outrage over what happens in the strip. If it had been a male character would there have been more raised voices"

hello hello !DxB..(Bou waves hand in air). see my previous post...I'm not against portrayal of rape, or outraged, but i do question Mr Mills'es grasp of the celtic warrioress character... 'ohh she wore bikinis & wielded a sword, my how sexy but then ..oh dear....without a man to save her, just another victim,.... well, she was asking for it dressed like that'
No i'd happliy have a raging debate with mr mills over this one. (tho i did still enjoy the story)

[W. R. Logan]

>"Slaine - Oh, what a surprise. Interesting that there's been no outrage over what happens in the strip. If it had been a male character would there have been more raised voices"

Bou. its Pat Mills. If any other writer had put in a rape scene there may have been more said about it but as its Pat Mills its all been said before.

La Placa Rifa,
W. R. Logan.

[paulvonscott]

I think it was pretty rough stuff, I know someone who isn't letting their annoyed ten year old read the prog.  It's pretty distasteful, but perhaps that is the point.  

It's an awful end to a major character in Slaine's world, a cruel world where we know life is fairly cheap and often ends badly.  Men, women and children having their noses removed, people dying in countless vile and extremely painful ways, abused and violated by Sea Demons and Cythrons.

Missed any similar events in Slaine, I don't know if this stuff has been used casually (like Dan Dare getting constantly beasted by Grand Morrison, I forget the irony of it).  I don't think it's used casually here, or it's meant to be a casual scene.  The more you think about it, the worse it is really.

'ohh she wore bikinis & wielded a sword, my how sexy but then ..oh dear....without a man to save her, just another victim,.... well, she was asking for it dressed like that'

Well, Slaine and all those naughty celts wear bot-all at times, and he out of all the people was the only one who could beat Moloch and even then, it was a toughie.  It's fairly explainable in the story, but at the same time I couldn't disagree with you.  Depends how you want to look at it I suppose.

[Yoda]

Just my twopence worth but as a new reader I was pretty shocked by the rape in Slaine. Not offended as after all I am an adult (allegedly) reading it but I certainly wouldn't let my kids read it.

And if anyone's interested in my opinion of only my 2nd prog (discounting the old progs that I've got hold on to catch up on some history)...

Dredd - Loving this. I like the writing, the art (even if Dredd's chin does look like a potato), everything. I'd buy it for Dredd alone at the moment.
Caballistics Inc.- I'm liking the art more this week. It's something I think would suit the likes of a 100 Bullets story. I'm pretty much enjoying the story but this weeks doesn't grab me as much as others out there.
Nikolai Dante - I'm still liking this. Even more so this week.
Sinister Dexter - I'm sorry but I do still like this. I really like the art but then it does appeal to my tastes. Although I can understand some of the comments about the story I don't have a problem with it. A shame it's finished.
Slaine - I still don't like it. Still dull in my humble opinion but then again it's not the sort of thing I would normally choose to read. I can appreciate the art but I'm just not keen on it in comics.

Overall I really liked 1325 and it's certainly better than most of the comics I read this week. Still glad I finally started picking it up but annoyed at all the Dredd I've missed over the years.

[McNulty]

I didn't like the rape either. I think the story would have worked without it. It was pretty distasteful.