Always nice to get an early Saturday prog read just after lunch. Wonderful.
Over on last weeks review thread there's a good discussion about the virtues of what was a fantastic Prog it is, without any second, or third generation writers. That drifted into chatter on how lucky we are to have the talent pool in Tharg's capable hands and how as well as this new(ish) talent we have greats like Dabnett to hand - well as if to underline that point we get double sized DanA this week and its makes for a delightful Prog.
We open with one of our newest Droids however as Kenneth Neimand shows that one of this many talents is stcking that ever tricky landing as the latest Chimpsky adventures ends really nicely. The well presented juxtaposition between Dredd and Chimpsky end this wonderfully and position our favourite detective chimp in the perfect place to move him onto his solo adventure scheduled for June we now understand. Super excited for that one AND to see we have a new Neimand adventure starting in Dredd next week, this time with Tom Foster.
Is Neimand now the regular Dredd scribe with others filling in around him? I certainly wouldn't complain if that was the case.
Thistlebone still feels a long way from its ending but it wonderfully continues to raise the creepy and seed the past with motive.
3riller - Nakka of the S.T.A.R.S. stickies its landing amidst the toffee apples. It delightfully whimsical stuff and I hope Roger Langridge and Brendan McCarthy can bring us more of this stuff.
Good as all that is with practiced ease Dabnett and Richard Elson manage to remind us what talents they are as Feral and Foe blast into action, but with fantastic hilarity, as opposed to the edge of the seat excitment of last time. The consequence of the magic explosion at the end of the first outing are felt in a touching way... but maybe not touching in the way we'd have expected. Its funny and brilliantly sets up what's to come.
The Prog might be in fine hands when we don't have Dabnett and his co-creators are on board, but there's little doubt that its even better when the mighty Dan is with us.
Cover by John McCrea:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwwVZMJXEAMvcWp?format=jpg&name=large)
Cover and Logo:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/BES2MRQwTCHoNxEMTjyndReKD80=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/3d/40/37c702cb33f9bcffbfa9010cfad8b9d456d5.jpg)
we are so lucky we have so many good writers and artists in the prog at the moment not a single dull moment at all
After PJs ace recent cover we now get this. Norn Iron representing.
A good prog with a very good start by the new thrill. Looking forward to the return of Mechastopheles as well.
Dredd – We are handed a nice and positive ending the adventures of Chimpksy as he is going solo. The story setups what is possible in his own arc.
Thistlebone – This round we have a lot of building the narrative which focus on what happened before. Good slow burn story.
Nakka – The inspector gets his man/robot/clone and as we all suspected it is not all as it seems Would not mind for Nakka to turn up in the prog again.
Feral and Foe – Great to have Feral and Foe back in the prog the last series ended with a real cliff-hanger and we sort off start from that point. The story starts with a tall tale told by one of the survivors. We soon learn what is the fate of our heroes and I can how interesting the journey will be. Great script and great art.
Ah what a cover. McCrea can do no wrong.
Speaking of infallible, the warm breeze of guaranteed quality blows Feral & Foe our way. Normally I harrumph about double episodes and their visible seams, but this works so well that there's nothing to gripe about. All-round cheeky fun, and seriously, how is Elson still working for the prog? There ought to be a socially-distanced queue of US editors clutching International Fund Transfer apps.
Nakka ends a bit softer than I'd hoped, in that it's exactly what it appeared to be. Still extremely enjoyable, and most importantly there was no tired revelation that the good inspector was a robot/clone/robo-clone. More please, and be quick about it.
Chimpsky has a clever concept in lieu of an ending. Unless I'm missing something, those hoodlums Chimpsky incapacitated in the warehouse are just going to rat on the kids as soon as they wake up. Overworked or not, I don't buy Dredd just riding off and leaving obvious loose-ends in the hands of a judge he just put on review. A truly glorious panel of Dredd dispensin', and the redressed Paine statue was brilliantly realised. Nice sound effects early on too.
Thistlebone is doing its thing, really excited to meet Hillman. Not quite sure why Malcolm is holding a spirit level as a scale (what size is a spirit level?), makes me wonder if there was a quick text edit following miscommunication of Level Staff somewhere along the way (archaeologists are ways looking for someone to hold a staff for a minute). But that's pedantry of an entirely regrettable if predictable level. This is fine work from everyone, made better by having a focus on Malcolm as a recognisable character. And I remembered Seema's name this week, which is a good sign.
Agree with all about this great cover.
This was a fairly light hearted prog I thought, with three strips leaning more towards fun with Thistlebone lurking between them.
Dredd – This Chimpsky fell flat for me and I've been mulling over why. I think in the main the story wasn't much of a story: Chimpsky immediately found the killer, invented some gas and defeated the bad guys and it all wrapped up without any real twists or peril. Dredd was peripheral, which I don't mind in Cit-based tales, but here as others say his behaviour isn't quite right. I think also i'm a bit chimped out, so whilst I'm looking forward to solo Chimpsky, there's mild monkey fatigue settling in.
Aside from that plot, the stuff with the statue was nicely done and I think this would have been better as the focus of the strip - on ideas, the supression of them in MC1 and Chimpskys own moral compass.
Art as ever was magnificent. BOPP!
Thistlebone – Super slow but that's ok because it's building and the weekly breaks between episides enhance that. Something awful has happened and is going to happen. Digging it.
Nakka – Wraps up nicely. No suspense, as the culprit was telegraphed last week, and surprisingly low levels of peril which if anything made this all the better. Unlike Bix Barton, which had a cynical and sometimes nasty streak, this is completely straight and hugely enjoyable and I would love to see it back.
Feral and Foe – Absolutely loved this series the first time around. The change in status quo is interesting but I'm not sure about the [spoiler]wank joke[/spoiler] - I'm not adverse to this kind of thing but here it felt a bit.. off? Dunno. Otherwise this great as ever, characters, setting, dialogue all rules - I much prefer the profanity-laden dialogue here than I do when it crops up in Sindex - nothing feels tired and it's a joy to read. Richard Elson is brilliant.
Also Mechastopheles is back and with Boo Cook? Looking forward to that.
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 24 March, 2021, 02:35:33 PM
Dredd – This Chimpsky fell flat for me and I've been mulling over why. I think in the main the story wasn't much of a story: Chimpsky immediately found the killer, invented some gas and defeated the bad guys and it all wrapped up without any real twists or peril.
The thing about Chimpsky is that up to now he's been like a "good" version of PJ Maybe: someone who's constantly in danger of falling foul of the Judges (and Dredd in particular) but manages to run rings round them through a combination of careful preparation and mad improvisation. And that doesn't really happen here, even though last week's cliffhanger seemed to be setting up precisely that. Especially compared to his last appearance in 'Three Kings', Chimpsky gets away with it too easily this time.
Here is an interview with Dan Abnett and Richard Elson on the return of Feral & Foe. You might have missed it in the news section since for a strange reason it was released on the 19th February:
https://2000ad.com/news/interview-dan-abnett-richard-elson-on-feral-foe-series-two/ (https://2000ad.com/news/interview-dan-abnett-richard-elson-on-feral-foe-series-two/)
Certainly a smaller prog in terms of the total stories, but still equally as entertaining.
Dredd -- I would have been happy for this to be longer, but Niemand prioritizes an efficient narrative and doesn't waste a panel. Who Killed Captain Cookies? might not have been the murder-mystery I was looking for, and yet that subversion was most welcome. Noam is a suitable heir to Cookies' thrown. I'm excited for A Penitent Man.
Thistlebone -- Simon Bowland is the dark horse of this series, with some of his best lettering since ABC Warriors: The Volgan War. Everything else is great, of course, but it's definitely the lettering that sells this novel being written about something inherently sinister lurking within the woods.
NAKKA of the S.T.A.R.S. -- Gloriously silly, delightfully simple. Penny won the raffle!
Feral & Foe II -- I'm totally unfamiliar with this story but, despite it being twice the length of a typical story, it flowed nicely and was a gentle introduction to this bizarre world.
Quote from: The Corinthian on 24 March, 2021, 06:45:51 PM
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 24 March, 2021, 02:35:33 PM
Dredd – This Chimpsky fell flat for me and I've been mulling over why. I think in the main the story wasn't much of a story: Chimpsky immediately found the killer, invented some gas and defeated the bad guys and it all wrapped up without any real twists or peril.
The thing about Chimpsky is that up to now he's been like a "good" version of PJ Maybe: someone who's constantly in danger of falling foul of the Judges (and Dredd in particular) but manages to run rings round them through a combination of careful preparation and mad improvisation. And that doesn't really happen here, even though last week's cliffhanger seemed to be setting up precisely that. Especially compared to his last appearance in 'Three Kings', Chimpsky gets away with it too easily this time.
My problem with chimpsky came in the Xmas prog where it's revealed he's a rich as fuck so why is he risking his sub-normal mates like the fat kid to death by judges for whacky plans. Seemed an obvious character misstep.
Quote from: broodblik on 24 March, 2021, 07:05:22 PM
Here is an interview with Dan Abnett and Richard Elson on the return of Feral & Foe. You might have missed it in the news section since for a strange reason it was released on the 19th February
I think the date on that must be wrong — maybe it should say March 19th, because I
definitely hadn't lettered those pages from Bk2 that are shown in the interview on Feb 19th...
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 24 March, 2021, 10:45:40 PM
Quote from: broodblik on 24 March, 2021, 07:05:22 PM
Here is an interview with Dan Abnett and Richard Elson on the return of Feral & Foe. You might have missed it in the news section since for a strange reason it was released on the 19th February
I think the date on that must be wrong — maybe it should say March 19th, because I definitely hadn't lettered those pages from Bk2 that are shown in the interview on Feb 19th...
I will let the web droids know
Quote from: Wilko10 on 24 March, 2021, 08:49:44 PM
Feral & Foe II -- I'm totally unfamiliar with this story but, despite it being twice the length of a typical story, it flowed nicely and was a gentle introduction to this bizarre world.
The original did not run so long ago from prog 2162-2174:
https://shop.2000ad.com/series/story/feral-foe (https://shop.2000ad.com/series/story/feral-foe)
Quote from: broodblik on 25 March, 2021, 04:23:42 AM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 24 March, 2021, 10:45:40 PM
Quote from: broodblik on 24 March, 2021, 07:05:22 PM
Here is an interview with Dan Abnett and Richard Elson on the return of Feral & Foe. You might have missed it in the news section since for a strange reason it was released on the 19th February
I think the date on that must be wrong — maybe it should say March 19th, because I definitely hadn't lettered those pages from Bk2 that are shown in the interview on Feb 19th...
I see it has been fixed
I will let the web droids know
More on the cover:
https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-john-mccrea-rides-with-dredd/ (https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-john-mccrea-rides-with-dredd/)
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/judge_dredd_cvr067_zip_lores-768x1024.jpg)
Sooo goood. Some people droids were just born constructed to draw Dredd.
'Who Killed Captain Cookies?': An excellent way to wrap the story. There was speculation that Chimpsky's conflict with Dredd might come to a head here, paving the way for a spin-off series where the simian hero continues his crusade against crime unhindered. Instead, it looks like his solo outing might be a further chronicle of his run-ins with Mega City One's most troublesome lawman. If that's the case, then this concluding instalment provides an ideal segue. Because Dredd knows now, I'm sure of it. That throwaway line about the 'big monkey monster' did it. He knows.
Thistlebone: For all the magnificent artwork and a plot with more twists that a gnarled oak root, four episodes in this isn't quite hitting the spot. It's definitely throwing all the right ingredients into the cauldron but the result isn't quite as spellbinding as it could be. It perhaps needs... I don't know, more weird, and less investigative journalism. It's certainly not coming up short for wont of effort though.
Nakka: Yeah, it's been a fluffy little confection, and perfectly weighted at three instalments. Would be more than happy for it to return in tripartite form again some time.
Feral & Foe: Crikey! I feel like some kind of lewd gibe is in order here, but nothing springs to mind. I was waiting for the return of this with bated breath, and it doesn't disappoint. I presume the final five pages were intended as the second instalment, so it's nice to see them come early. The malchemical body swap's a real masterstroke, but the disclosure of what Bode gets up to with Priya's private parts is a bit near the knuckle! Full marks to for the excellent rendition of Gyre on the final page - it has shades of classic Belardinelli and provides a fantastic climax.
Probably best to stop now.
What an amazing cover 👍⭐️👍⭐️
Absolutely stunning cover - and the contents really don't let down.
More great endings as Chimpsky and Nakka wrap up. Thistlebone keeps building up - bit of a slow episode this time but I suspect the horror is coming. And Feral and Foe brings us all back up to speed with the events of the last series and then throws a curve ball with the body swap of the main protagonists. Tharg is really firing on all cylinders at the moment.
From PJ site some Captain Cookies:
https://www.pauljholden.com/2021/03/25/so-farewell-then-captain-cookies/ (https://www.pauljholden.com/2021/03/25/so-farewell-then-captain-cookies/)
My Top 3 for Prog 2224 :)
First of all what a cover by John McCrea and colours by Enrica Angiolini. The action really jumps off the cover well done 👍🏼 A strong contender for cover of the year along with 2215.
All stories were fine so one unlucky thrill will miss out.
1st - Feral and Foe - great to have this thrill back and the 'open mic night' was a great way to get us back up to speed with what happened last time out. Great storytelling DAbnett and co
2nd - Thistlebone - tension is building and love the different art style for flashbacks as well as the lettering styles
3rd - Dredd - not as strong as the previous Chimpsky series but still a good finish to this one. Especially the quotes on the last page
3riller - Nakka of the S.T.A.R.S - did nothing wrong and as per last week would like to see this more regularly in the GG