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Forum’s Favourite Thrill - Dan Dare vs. Robo-Hunter (Sam) Round 3 Heat 3

Started by Colin YNWA, 10 May, 2022, 06:15:00 AM

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Colin YNWA

Well a very significant week in the tournament as we enter Round 3 after the seemingly unending Round two. We're down to the last 128 thrills and from here the quality will step up, but the choices start to get harder. But the lovely thing about this round is there is still plenty of room for mis-matches...

Two classic thrills known for having distinct periods. Dan Dare who conquered Hewligan's Haircut in Round 2 (after a bye in the 1st round) time in the Prog was more condensed, with Belardinelli madness, quickly followed by 'Space Fortress' which led into Space claw. We each have our fav. Robo-Hunter - who s.l.a.y.e.d. Bob the Galactic Bum - has its classic period, which is surely 98% of folks memory of the series; Millar muck and Hogan healing. The key question here I suppose do folks just ignore the eras they don't like?

Dan Dare - more info

Vs

Robo-hunter (Sam) - more info

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 13th May and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN


broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.


Tjm86

Ho boy, this is definitely an interesting one.  Two classic but also sometimes flawed strips.

Dare ... Belardinelli's batpoo crazy aliens, Gibson's technically smooth machinery ... Space Fort ... Mekon ...

... then that cliffhanger that still hasn't been resolved decades later (admittedly since the strip hadn't so much 'jumped the shark' as tried bungee jumping the damn thing and wrapped itself around the beast a dozen times ...)

Robo-Hunter ... Gibson art, totally insane robot world, crazy robots, ... did I mention Gibson art? ..., Rhian Clark on art ...

... casual racism, homophobia,  annoying robot side-kicks, less said about a certain writer who shipped off to the states the better, fat-sl**s rip off ...

If this were just the early Robo-Hunter vs Dare then it would be pretty clear cut.  The Verdus strip and God-Droid strips were amongst the best the title had.  Just comparing the RH / Dare strips that ran alongside each other then, Slade definitely slays it. 

After that it became a serious case of diminishing returns before cutting the head off and performing unspeakable acts on the decaying corpse ... (okay, maybe a harsh description of some of the more 'controversial' 90's tales ...)  It is hard to get past the 'please, rinse out my brain with bleach and caustic acid' memories of those years.

Adding this into the mix, Dare winds up in a much stronger place.  Ultimately Dare's greatest sins are the final 'superhero' style strip and its abrupt ending.  Even then, the "Servant of Evil" tale does have a number of redeeming qualities, largely as a result of Gibbons' work.

In some respects then this comes down to which of the two is least offensive to a degree.  On that score, Robo-Hunter is far more problematic.

TL:DR ... Dan Dare ...

sintec

Robo-hunter starts strong with Verdus but then quickly looses the magic for me and at it's worst leans into lazy stereotypes and casual racism. Dan Dare manages to avoid those lows and is supported by some glorious art. Dan Dare it is


Magnetica

I didn't get the Prog when Dan Dare was in it and I've not read it all, despite having bought both hardback volumes when they came out.

Ian Gibson Robo-Hunter is easily a top ten thrill for me. I've wiped the others from my memory.

abelardsnazz

Classic-era Sam has its problems but still enough wit and great art from Gibson to get my vote.

Robo-Hunter.


AlexF

So yes, I have to overlook the racism of the early run and then the extreme awfulness of the reboot, but there are so many RoboHunter tales that are so amazingly amazing I can't ignore them, and not even the gonzo spacewhips of Belardinelli or the terrifying monsters of Gibbons can hold a candle. Seriously, Verdus, Day of the Droids, Beast of Blackheart Manor, Filby Case, Farewell my Billions - these are all serious contenders for top 20 stories 2000AD has ever published. Nothing from Dan Dare comes close. (And never mind that e.g. Serial Stunners and Return to Verdus might be among the worst).

RoboHunter

Barrington Boots

Everyone highlighting the bad points of Robo Hunter has very valid points, but when I think abut it I'd still rather read it than Dan Dare - the early stuff anyway, I wouldn't touch the latter bits...
So on the strength of those alone, it's Robo-Hunter for me too.
You're a dark horse, Boots.


rogue69


IndigoPrime

I was surprised how much I disliked Robo-Hunter when I re-read it in the UC. I get that it's a classic. Some of the Gibson art is inspired. But, yeah, it's packed full of casual racism, homophobia and sexism and these days I can't look past that. Even if I could, there were entire runs that were a horrible chore to get through. (As for the reboots, Millar's effort is obviously hideous, but I thought Hogan/Hughes made a good fist of it.)

Dan Dare... hasn't dated that well either, but it gets the nod for me here, and Belardinelli's art was relentlessly wonderful.

Link Prime