Prog 2356 - Thrill-power reaches new heights!

[Colin YNWA]

Sigh. Its as I expected alas... it really is. The Regened continue to be pretty damned poor.

Okay let's find some positives. The cover is pretty much aces.

The Dredd is okay, I mean its not great, but its not terrible.

The Future Shock has some LOVELY art Joe Currie really is a catch. The story is... well muh, its kinda okay I guess, its not terrible.

Bladers doesn't look to bad and the story... well its okay, its not terrible.

This is all so average... I mean that means for 2000ad its well below par. But its no Lowbrow High. We get another 20 pages of that BUT at least that seems to mean the trade is filled. Its advertised and ready to go. So that's over... except that closing line from Mr OneWalrustusk (who the heck thought that was a good look. It just looks so silly) is 'And so it begins'... christ I don't think I've ever wanted a Rebellion product to fail like I do this. I mean if no one buys the trade does that mean we can get rid of this series and the Regened at least has a chance of getting back on form.

I've ranted before and seems I'm ranting again. The Regened simply need to be better comics. I don't mind if its not aimed at me we can still see the craft when its there and its just not here in the last what, 4, 5 of these. Come on 2000ad just do better. Give us better comics.

[broodblik]

Cover and Logo:

[Colin YNWA]

christ I don't think I've ever wanted a Rebellion product to fail like I do this. I mean if no one buys the trade does that mean we can get rid of this series and the Regened at least has a chance of getting back on form.

Not my finest hour. Its a pretty silly statement and of course hyperbolic nonsense aside I don't want the trade to fail, good luck to all concerned. Just the strip wasn't for me and I'm happy for it to move on.

So yeah while I doubt anyone has seen this or cares if they have that was daft and I'm sorry to all concerned.

[broodblik]

I think a lot of us are really frustrated with the current run of regen issues. The regen prog has such potential. It is  almost like a batsman struggle to get runs altough he has a good track record of getting those runs.

[NapalmKev]

I'm not a fan of the 'Regened' Progs but I thought Lowborn High had a fairly decent episode this time around.

Cheers

[Colin YNWA]

I think a lot of us are really frustrated with the current run of regen issues. The regen prog has such potential. It is  almost like a batsman struggle to get runs altough he has a good track record of getting those runs.

Very pertinent if you follow English one day cricket at the moment!

[broodblik]

If it makes you feel better ZA will pull an Ireland in the CWC 

[Trooper McFad]

If it makes you feel better ZA will pull an Ireland in the CWC 

Now your mixing sports on a comic forum 😳

[Jacqusie]

Thrill-power reaches new heights!


Does it? Really?

What higher than Judge Dredd America, Stront Dog - Rage or even Zenith (a real high point - yok!)

Which begs the next question, if Lowborn High is the new Zenith and this is good as it gets - the creme de la creme what passes for the lower grade stuff?


I get it, it's a strap line. But I'm not sure 2000AD has been reaching new heights for a while. Or more likely I'm loosing my interest in the new style of art and story telling. There's a definate shift in the narrative these days and in my humble opinion, a lack of character development.

I'm getting old & grumpy and maybe it's time for me to leave the new heights of Thrillpower to the next generation now.

[IndigoPrime]

Hrm. So I'll fully admit Regened for me a few issues back switched from 'willing to defend and often enjoyed' to 'actively dislike'. Low expectations, then, going in.

Dredd was strange in that it doesn't seem to fit within its own continuity, in terms of tone. Joe is less of a prick here and willing to break the rules. Rico is a bit of a dunce. It has more life. Even if Dredd's calculation is insane the second you think about it, the broader nature of the way this strip is presented felt a lot better than many other Cadet Dredds.

Lowborn High was one of the better episodes, but still suffers from melting pot syndrome. There are too many ideas. It flicks back and forth between various strands of storyline. The characterisation needs to be stronger. And they blew a chunk out of the frikkin' polar bear (which in itself would probably have had my 9yo down the comic and never read it again). Shoot into the air to scare it off! Come on! For a strip that rocks up sporadically, there's a lot going on here, but it mostly works as a standalone. But of course it's just the beginning!

I assume Rebellion must have some data that this strip is adored by a lot of kids, because otherwise its page count genuinely baffles me. It's not outright bad, but it's not that good either. And most action strips in The Phoenix trample all over it (and yet also get through storyline more rapidly and with more coherence).

Anyway, on to the Future Shock, which is usually the highlight of these Regened issues for me of late. Unlike Colin, I really liked this one. The art is lovely. The story works. The twist was amusing (and reminded me of that lottery win in the UK years back, where all the winners got naff all, because the numbers were all on a central strip). My only criticism is I felt it could have done with one more draft to rejig the story and make things a tough tighter. Those first two pages feel awkward. Still, that's a minor grumble.

Finally, Bladers. Nice art. Good to see a bunch of female characters in a Rebellion children's comic. But... I dunno. To be fair, I've never been a big fan of sports comics anyway. There is the odd exception – Rok, say, or some bits of the original Harlem Heroes. But contact-sport speed skating? It doesn't do a lot for me. The strip itself is... fine. And I'd certainly sooner see it as a fixture than Lowborn. But I think I'd rather the comic brought back some of the more interesting strips. Perhaps they didn't land with the kids either.

As ever, the next prog house ad seems bizarre and out of place, as does the subs one. Oh well.

So not a stinker for me, but also over 50% (in terms of page count) something I kind of trudged through, with only one shining light and one other thing I somewhat enjoyed. Are there any more of these this year, or are we finally done until 2024?

Future Shock >>> Dredd >>>>>>> Bladers > Lowborn

[Max Headroom]

Do these Regened issues still outsell regular 2000ad progs as I think I read somewhere in the past?

[Richard]

Cadet Dredd was better than usual. Lowborn High was better than usual.
I liked the art on the Future Shock, although I thought the story was a bit weak; the ending was okay though.
I hated Bladers so much last time that I doubt I'll read this one.
The cover was the best thing in this issue for me. I'd like to see this artist in the regular prog.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Cadet Dredd was better than usual. Lowborn High was better than usual.
I liked the art on the Future Shock, although I thought the story was a bit weak; the ending was okay though.
I hated Bladers so much last time that I doubt I'll read this one.
The cover was the best thing in this issue for me. I'd like to see this artist in the regular prog.

Wait, what...?

[Le Fink]

Yes good cover.

"Four epic sci-fi stories inside"

Harrumph. A pedant writes - there are three sci-fi stories inside. Lowborn High - half the prog! - is not sci fi IMO.

Still - an improved Lowborn High. It benefits from being set mostly outside the school and they're not dressed in boring uniforms all the time; there is peril and things happen at a rate of knots; the art has definitely improved; finally the reason for the coven is explained, they felt unnecessarily wedged in before.

Alas the fate of the protagonist should be gripping and scary but doesn't really land because... I don't care about him. Oh well, perhaps others do!

The baddie... is a bit crap. They should have gotten the be-tusked fellow from Halo Jones book 3. The unitusk look is too fey.

Cadet Dredd is expertly drawn. The story is OK.

Future Shock one of the better ones, mainly due to the very appealing art.

Bladers I remember nothing of the first episode so I guess that's a sign. Surely with a future sports drama there should be something exciting about the sport itself? The artist gets a few individual panels to try to convey something, but as the writer is more interested in the behind the scenes shenanigans, it doesn't work. Nothing wrong with the art mind.

Why did Enemy Earth (and others? I can't remember) get moved out of regened and into the prog? It looks like regened is a bit short of content and would benefit from keeping these decent series rather than 'promoting' them. Yeah I know Enemy Earth took a while to get going, but it was getting pretty decent in the second series, I thought.

[Richard]

The first Bladers was in prog 2306.