Welcome to Round 2, week 1 . This is where things get really interesting. All the big hitters are in the draw and let me tell you there are some ties coming up that will get the hearts racing and the camera's out for live coverage. They will cover acres of print on the back pages. There are also ties that will barely get mentioned on their local radio news summary. Week 1 however does feel a little like a warm up however. It hasn't got any of the high profile draws I hoped it might to kick us off, but it does start to hint at what's to come...
Today brings the biggest ties of the week I'd suggest. First off a modern(ish) favourite that had a number of lead characters as it developed. Coming up against a mystery whodunnit that started life as a vehicle for two lead characters (and you could say didn't live up to the quality of either). Which gets under your cover?
Low Life - more info (https://shop.2000ad.com/series/low-life)
Vs
Nemesis and Deadlock - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=NEMESISD)
Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.
Match ends early on the morning of Friday 21st January and the winner gets a place in Round 3 (of 9!!!).
What on Earth is ALL of this? (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.0)
For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48011.msg1070150#msg1070150)
Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!
Low Life.
Because it gave us Trifecta.
Low Life - because it's consistently good and got better and better as it went along.
Pausing to acknowledge that I did love the idea of a murder mystery with Nemesis and Deadlock as detective partners, but did not love it as much when it turned out to be a genereal skewering of various concepts of magic, while still basically saying "my magick is better than yours, nyah nyah."
Nemesis and Deadlock both had finer hours than in their joint series, although Carl Critchlow's art was great. Low Life gave us numerous ongoing characters and threads for Dredd, and Frank is a brilliant creation.
Low Life.
Nemesis and Deadlock
Low Life
Low Life. Neither Deadlock nor Nemesis was particularly well-served by their joint series - and who could have believed how boring their team-up could be?!
Low Life, one of my favourite strips from the last 20 years or so. Great characters I really cared about with proper character arcs for the leads. Some fantastic art from Flint, D'Israeli, Coleby and Dayglo. Some of Disraeli's covers were wonderful too, that stained glass type one springs to mind.
Low Life
Nemesis and Deadlock was so throwaway, with a twist that was telegraphed to the point you may as well have skipped to the end. Low Life was packed full of intrigue and double-cross. An easy win for Low Life.
For me, Nemesis and Deadlock was kind of the beginning of the end of Pat Mills' glory years. I'm not a massive fan of Rob Williams' characterisation of Dredd, but Low Life is where he shows his skills most.
I can only echo what's been said by my fellow posters: Nemesis and Deadlock looked cool and promised an interesting murder mystery... but it didn't deliver.
Low Life was a pretty special bit of work, 100% gets my vote.
Nemesis was one of the stories that was running in my first few months as a squaxx (Book III if you're interested) while Deadlock was probably my favourite ABC Warrior (at least from a visual standpoint). I was familiar with Critchlow from the White Dwarf / Thrud days and think the art droid's work for IDW was some of the better offerings.
Nemesis Vs Deadlock however? A low point in the careers of all involved (not the lowest for Pat, but it was way before the second wind with Savage, Defoe and the like).
So Low Life. Probably the only time when I'd vote against Nem.
Low Life.
I've always liked stories involving the Wally Squad - I wonder how it got its name? - and 'Dirty Frank' is one of my favourite supporting characters in Dredd.
low life
Quote from: paddykafka on 18 January, 2022, 12:30:07 PM
I've always liked stories involving the Wally Squad - I wonder how it got its name?
Because its undercover judges have to dress and act like typical Mega-citizens - i.e. complete wallies.
Ah, yes. That makes sense now. Thanks, DJ!
Low Life
(https://i.imgur.com/Xeykv3f.png)
Nemesis and Deadlock
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 18 January, 2022, 01:08:11 PM
Quote from: paddykafka on 18 January, 2022, 12:30:07 PM
I've always liked stories involving the Wally Squad - I wonder how it got its name?
Because its undercover judges have to dress and act like typical Mega-citizens - i.e. complete wallies.
Aye, it's a wee bit dated now - calling people wallies was the in thing when the Wally Squad got its name. Though I don't think it was ever used across the Atlantic even back then, let alone 122 years into the future.
I suppose there's also Where's Wally? (Although, in the US it's called Where's Waldo?)
Things I never tire of telling Americans: that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was censored to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the UK because of a moral panic about the yoof getting tooled up.
Getting wildily off-topic, but I believe it's specifically James Ferman, long-time head of the BBFC, who had a problem with the word 'ninja' (automatica 18 rating for including that word in the title!). He also hated chainsaws, nunchuks and, I think, flick knives.
To his credit, there is soemthing about the appeal of certain weapons. I have a very vivid memory of seeing Face/Off while on holiday in Greece in 199whatever year it came out, and there's a scene that was definintely NOT in the UK version where evil John T shows his daughter a butterfly knife opening up - and it was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I immediately wanted to buy one and stab all my friends.
(All of which is less funny than an epsiode of Low Life, but more interesting than an episode of Nemesis and Snoozelock)
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 18 January, 2022, 10:25:48 AM
For me, Nemesis and Deadlock was kind of the beginning of the end of Pat Mills' glory years.
Not for me. Those Millsian hooks were still in deep, and I was extraordinarily eager to find out what happened after The Black Hole.
As it turns out, nothing ever did top that particular Thrill, but it's the memory of the frisson that carries
Nemesis and Deadlock through for me.
Low Life was one of the strips that was new to me in the Mega Collection and I lapped up every volume! Fond memories of reading N/D in my brother's bedroom but it doesn't compare really.
Individually, Nemesis and Deadlock are great characters, however their team ups were really dull. Lowlife was one of the great Dredd spin-offs.
Quote from: AlexF on 19 January, 2022, 08:02:00 AM
Getting wildily off-topic, but I believe it's specifically James Ferman, long-time head of the BBFC, who had a problem with the word 'ninja' (automatica 18 rating for including that word in the title!). He also hated chainsaws, nunchuks and, I think, flick knives.
To his credit, there is soemthing about the appeal of certain weapons. I have a very vivid memory of seeing Face/Off while on holiday in Greece in 199whatever year it came out, and there's a scene that was definintely NOT in the UK version where evil John T shows his daughter a butterfly knife opening up - and it was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I immediately wanted to buy one and stab all my friends.
(All of which is less funny than an epsiode of Low Life, but more interesting than an episode of Nemesis and Snoozelock)
Interesting - thanks.
Last day on this one, its been active but there still a final chance to vote if you haven't yet. I'll announce the result in the morning.
VOTING CLOSED
Cut and dry this one and little surprise. Low Life is a magnificent thrill that introduced so much that weaves through Rob Williams' Dredd world work. It's initital ensemble cast really gave so much and is masked a little by what a breakout star Crazy Frank became. And that art by D'Israeli - wow. Deadlock and Nemesis in contrast took two established characters and managed to make them less interesting - quite the reverse and the vote kinda show that as
Low Life
goes undercover into Round 3.
Low-Life is one of the great Dreddworld spin-off strips. Has a great cast of characters and wildly different tones. Doesn't matter if the latter is more about Williams responding to the unexpected popularity of an early supporting character. The Hitler babies story would be my vote for funniest thing Tharg's ever printed.
I remember there were vague promises that we'd get another D'Israeli illustrated series to wrap some things up. I assume that boat has sailed and dangling plot threads were swept up in Williams' later Dredd stories.
Nemesis and Deadlock are two cool looking characters, so a story starring both of them must be doubly cool? Not really.
Low-Life by a distance.
Quote from: AlexF on 19 January, 2022, 08:02:00 AM
...evil John T shows his daughter a butterfly knife opening up - and it was just about the coolest thing I'd ever seen. I immediately wanted to buy one and stab all my friends.
Ha! Thinking back, teenage boys going on school trips to France were always bizarrely obsessed with the idea of buying and smuggling home butterfly knives and flick knives. I didn't even know what a butterfly knife was.