Prog 1866: Jail Break!

[DrJomster]

Very much enjoyed the four thrills I read this week. Storming cover too.

Dredd wins the prog again for me. Nice n gritty. Awesome art. Great cover too.

I'm really pleased how Grey Area's coming along. Goddard doing great work as always.

As for ABC and SD, they're going strong too but I think would be gorgeous in a trade. ABC would be particularly nice in a hardback edition.

Cheers, Tharg and droids! Top thrills! Roll on the next prog!

[Link Prime]

Don't you reckon that tormented inner monologues are bit Marvel / DC and a bit antithetical to the spirit of 2000AD though?

Yeahrrh, get with it Hoo-Haa, this isn't like those dumb American comics where beloved icons are resurrected from certain death in particularly eye-rolling circumstances! 

[Goosegash]

Love that cover. Dredd 'presenting' on all fours to Aimee's massive weapon. Oh my!

Dredd is really brutal this week. I found myself wincing as I read the list of his injuries. Poor old sod.

A part of me wonders if this whole 'Aimee as bad guy' thing has been one long undercover Wally Squad assignment and she's somehow on Dredd's side. Far fetched I know. Mind you, suddenly re-grown limbs and crooked Chief Judges being allowed to take their uniform to Titan are far fetched too.

I hope there is a bit more to this than what we've seen so far. I'd hate to see Nixon turned into another one-dimensional psycho like Grice. She's always had a bit more light and shade than that.

Also it doesn't really make sense for her to want revenge on Dredd specifically, because as far as I can recall, they've never interacted before(I think). This makes me think there must be something else going on other than just a simple trap.

I am enjoying "Titan" though. Feels like the first time in a long while that Dredd's been in genuine danger.

[Greg M.]

Yeahrrh, get with it Hoo-Haa, this isn't like those dumb American comics where beloved icons are resurrected from certain death in particularly eye-rolling circumstances! 

Yeah, but... all right, but the point is... I mean, keeping in mind...

Oh balls, I can't think of a comeback.

[Mabs]

Yeahrrh, get with it Hoo-Haa, this isn't like those dumb American comics where beloved icons are resurrected from certain death in particularly eye-rolling circumstances! 

Yeah, but... all right, but the point is... I mean, keeping in mind...

Oh balls, I can't think of a comeback.

[HOO-HAA]

Ahaha!

All we need now is a parallel dimension and we're home dry

And, yeah, don't get me wrong. I am enjoying this strip but it does feel a little Battle Action Force at times, no?

[Spaceghost]

Love that cover. Dredd 'presenting' on all fours to Aimee's massive weapon. Oh my!

Dredd is really brutal this week. I found myself wincing as I read the list of his injuries. Poor old sod.

A part of me wonders if this whole 'Aimee as bad guy' thing has been one long undercover Wally Squad assignment and she's somehow on Dredd's side. Far fetched I know. Mind you, suddenly re-grown limbs and crooked Chief Judges being allowed to take their uniform to Titan are far fetched too.

I hope there is a bit more to this than what we've seen so far. I'd hate to see Nixon turned into another one-dimensional psycho like Grice. She's always had a bit more light and shade than that.

Also it doesn't really make sense for her to want revenge on Dredd specifically, because as far as I can recall, they've never interacted before(I think). This makes me think there must be something else going on other than just a simple trap.

I am enjoying "Titan" though. Feels like the first time in a long while that Dredd's been in genuine danger.

As it happens, I just this morning read a story in my recently purchased copy of Mega City Undercover vol 2 in which Dredd and Nixon do interact with each other. Nothing particular happens which would create any level of animosity between the two of them though.

[The Cheat]

Judge Dredd - Decent chapter. Hmm'ed a bit at the old 'despite being near death, Dredd can still easily take out four Judge trained opponents' bit, but I guess you could argue they were malnourished, or that Nixon was starting with the easy opponents, or something. Forgot who Sinfield was until I read the 'Chief Judge' bit, then my memory joined the dots. Not sure why he's in his Judge's uniform though, complete with name badge.

Ulysses Sweet - Ready for this to finish. Liked the toaster reference (Red Dwarf?), and the guy getting cut off before he can count down from ten.

A.B.C. Warriors - Nice art, nonsensical plot and terrible dialogue. Flashbacks/imaginary scenes were a bit confusing, could have done with being a bit clearer.

Grey Area - No strong feeling either way. Disappointed with last weeks episode now I know it wasn't a two parter.

Strontium Dog - Urgh, not Ezquerra's best work. Thought we were in for a 'Johnny underestimates the opponent' bit, with the Nazis guessing it was a trap.

[TordelBack]

Cover: Nice.

Dredd:  Some good stuff, with fantastic art, but... swap the art for Nixon for Grice and couldn't this be a lost episode of Inferno?  Can't decide whether the things that niggle (Nixon and her arm on Titan, how McIntosh is involved) are going to be key parts of the plot or not (still expecting a reversal, with Nixon's tormenting of Dredd a way of stalling his execution by the other inmates).  Still, stylish, atmospheric and intriguing.

Ulysses Sweet:  Not doing it for me, I'm afraid.  There are moments to be sure, but not enough to justify the shockjock humour and page count.  As before, I reckon this creative team have a good fun story in them, but this isn't it.

Previously on ABC Warriors: Damned if I'm not enjoying this run.  Turns out that a bit of structure for the sprawling storyline is no bad thing.

Grey Area:  It's a sharp script with art to match, but somehow the whole continues to be so competently middle-of-the-road that I find it actively frustrating. At this point I'm almost (almost) nostalglc for the days of ludicrous boobarmour and gratuitous naked tussling.

Strontium Dog:  Just finished volume 3 of the S/D Agency Files in my ongoing re-read and there is nothing in Johnny's demeanour or actions here that seem at odds.  Johnny fought in the Mutant Army from age of 12 for more than 5 years, he was literally raised by General Armz on a guerilla battlefield every bit as brutal as this.  When his best friend was killed he systematically murdered everyone involved, some in particularly cruel fashion.  He handed his own father over to be gunned down by a Stront lynch mob in front of him.  He's a stone cold killer, as we are repeatedly told, and he always has been.  Now his entire race has been condemned to extinction, and he's reacting exactly as Johnny Alpha would.

Which is by way of saying that this current run has me completely gripped, and I think the art is fab too.

[Dark Jimbo]

Can't decide whether the things that niggle (Nixon and her arm on Titan, how McIntosh is involved) are going to be key parts of the plot or not...

Thankfully, both are addressed next prog.

[Mabs]

Cover - Excellent work from Henry Flint, I saw an edited version of it on Facebook a week or so back, but it's pleasure to see it up close in full detail. Dredd looks in quite a state, bloodied and cowering. I thought the shot of Jupiter behind Nixon was a nice touch, it echoes Flint's Samurai cover for the Meg a while back.

Judge Dredd: Titan (Part Five) - Dredd finds himself at the mercy of Nixon and her fellow inmates, but even when he is bloodied, tooth missing and under the forced influence of drugs he still manages to come out fighting. He must have some steel balls that Dredd! We also get a surprise at the end when a well known face shows up. This was a visceral episode, full of bone crunching action, and there's a panel on page 3 (Dredd warning the creeps to get back in their cells) which reminded me of a moment from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns...



Stylistically it looks very similar to that particular panel: both men with teeth gritted, menacing and slightly hunched. Henry Flint's work is superb here.

Ulysses Sweet: Centred (Part Six) - Dear grud, Ulysses really is as useless as they come isn't he? He's too busy having flashbacks while everything around him goes down the metaphorical toilet! Again, excellent artwork from Paul Marshall. It'll be interesting to see how this one ends - which I'm guessing isn't too far off now.

ABC Warriors: Return to Mars (Part Six) - Another fun episode this, with Clint Langley going back to his traditional style (which works for this strip). I loved the set up of some of the panels, with a lot of stuff going on even in the background. For example, Mek Quake listening on intently in the background as Hammerstein and Happy Shrapnel discuss his 'retirement'! The shot of the Broadband Asylum on page 4 was also awesome. Being quite new to the whole ABC universe there were a few things which were difficult to follow but overall, it's been a ball. I can't wait for its return in Prog 1868.

Grey Area: All God's Children (Part One) - I'm really enjoying the episodic and one off nature of this series, it reminds me of the recent Damnnation Station and Sinister Dexter. And I'm definitely enjoying it more than the former, not only for Dan Abnett's engaging script but Patrick Goddard's artwork, which suits the story really well. This episode was also enjoyable as a group of human 'Samaritans' enter Grey Area, trying give comfort to their 'alien brothers'. Of course, we know it won't be too long before things go pear shaped...

Strontium Dog: Dogs of War (Part Six) - The Muties led by Alpha, lie in ambush as they wait for the Norm Brotherhood. This episode was maybe a little light on talk, but the action sure made up for it.

A solid Prog overall.

[Frank]

Judge Dredd: Titan (Part Five) ... This was a visceral episode, full of bone crunching action, and there's a panel on page 3 (Dredd warning the creeps to get back in their cells) which reminded me of a moment from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns...



Stylistically it looks very similar to that particular panel: both men with teeth gritted, menacing and slightly hunched. Henry Flint's work is superb here.

That's a phenomenal comparison, Mabs. Thematically certainly, but the looser, blocky inking style Flint employs in places has been reminding me of something I haven't quite managed to put my finger on before. Janson's inks over Miller is the itch my visual memory hasn't been able to scratch until your perceptive post. Cheers, neebs.

There's something inordinately pleasing about the way Flint treats the red and black of Dredd's helmet as satisfying slabs of flat colour, and I could look at them for hours on end or months to come. The generous proportions of the image you mention makes it one to luxuriate in, and Flint's superb art on this strip might represent his definitive work on the character, in the same way Blockmania was for McMahon.

[TordelBack]

... Flint's superb art on this strip might represent his definitive work on the character, in the same way Blockmania was for McMahon.

Agreed.  I've always marvelled at how Flint squeezes great art in around Wagner's event-filled scripts (thinking of his runs on Total War and Day of Chaos here) with their constant rapid scene changes, crowd-filled vistas and mountains of dialogue, but here with Williams' more roomy and distinctly sparser tale Flint gets to give Dredd the full Shakara treatment and really linger on the main man.  And it pays off wonderfully.

[Mabs]

Glad to have offered my assistance, sauchie! 

That panel (by Miller/ Janson) was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Flint's work on page 3. He is an exceptional talent, that bloke.

[Pop Culture Bandit]

Dredd - Oh my...Poor Old Joe. With Rob Williams' emphasis on his age and general weariness, this particular beating feels all the more painful and debilitating for him. I have a feeling this storyline will have repercussions on the lawman's health for a long time.

Ulysses Sweet - This felt a bit too much like filler to me. It's been seven parts (if you count the double-sized intro as two) and not much has happened. I'd have preferred this to have been a series of mini-stories in the same vein as Grey Area.

ABC Warriors - I'm continuing to love this series, especially the sequence between Hammerstein and Shrapnel as they casually discuss destroying Mek-Quake. Shame it's taking a break for a week, but I look forward to its return, possibly with a bit more forward momentum after the flashbacks?

Grey Area - Top stuff. I liked the concept of the Samaritan aid workers getting into a bit of sticky bother, by offending an alien race. This 'day-in-the-life' aspect appeals to me more than a major multi-part arc and feels right for a series set in an immigration zone.

Strontium Dog - The Dogs bite back! Johnny and the gang manage to ambush the Norms and we're seeing the tide turn on the Mutant War. I am looking forward to this story-arc ending so we can move onto more character-focused stories - the traditional bounty adventures. Assuming of course that this story ends in a place for that status quo to be maintained.


For a more detailed review of the Prog, check out my blog here > http://www.popculturebandit.co.uk/2014/01/2000ad-prog-1866.html