Cover by Dave Kendall:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EnvjWR2XEAEPzsg?format=jpg&name=large
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EnvjWR2XEAEPzsg?format=jpg&name=large)
Cover plus logo:
(https://images.rebellion.co.uk/productVersion/ba/9f/00.large.jpg)
A creepy good cover by Kendall and another story ends as we really now in filler world. The prog yet again is solid and highly enjoyable.
Dredd – As the simps start making their move, Dredd is taking his own action. Some nice action too boot as well.
Stickelback – The finale: but a more what really happened and who is behind it all and why. This is in some sense the beginning of the return of Holmes. The story ends with a good introduction to a new character.
Deadworld – A creepy reflection on the world of Deadworld with some striking imagery from Dave Kendall.
Sin/Dex [spoiler]– Sin = Dexter – With the title change [/spoiler] Bulletopia continue with the next chapter. This chapter does not only about Dexter going solo but also the return of Steve on art duties. This is all about the escape plan with no time for our heroes to rest. The biggest problem I have with the series currently is that it is being told in all these small chunks and is used as a filler rather than one big story-line.
Fiends - Ian continues to spin his magic. The story is just awesome as Constanta continues his transformation into the monster he will become. Before we forget Tiernen's art as always gives the story an extra dimension.
Fixed broken spoiler tag — IP
The nerve centre also mention the upcoming series Proteus Vex and why Henry Flint is not on art duties. Glad to hear is working on a top-secret project for next year.
Quote from: broodblik on 02 December, 2020, 08:39:09 AM
The nerve centre also mention the upcoming series Proteus Vex and why Henry Flint is not on art duties. Glad to hear is working on a top-secret project for next year.
"End of Neighs: The Horse Strikes Back"
Quote from: broodblik on 02 December, 2020, 08:39:09 AM
The nerve centre also mention the upcoming series Proteus Vex and why Henry Flint is not on art duties. Glad to hear is working on a top-secret project for next year.
The final Hail Mary for Skip Tracer popularity.
Another in good long run of excellent, original covers. The Statue of Tooth is beyond freaky.
Dredd still looks amazing (love the subtle differences of Patsy's lawmaster), and there's plenty of fun things to look at, but I do feel the story itself is dragging its feet a bit now: there's not much happening that couldn't have been fitted-in last week, or alternatively a conclusion could have been reached his week. This may just be a personal bias for punchier humour stories, and it's hardly The Ecstacian yet either.
Speaking of unfortunate Wagnerian pedigrees, I'm not a fan of the casual use of the stun-shot: that's what Grud gave us daysticks for, and I was pleased when Dredd finally put the boot in. Remains a fun read, but with a bit of compression I feel it could have been a wee classic.
Stickleback. Now here's a story that didn't outstay its welcome. Initially I was a bit irritated to learn that all the mystic hoops that we jumped through were smoke and mirrors, but on reflection that works well thematically. This is a transitional story about alternately deploying and shedding illusions, and as the shade of Hastur hoves into view at the dockside I'm more than keen to see this reworked strip return.
Sinister Dexter. Ugh, green not-zombie consumers and blandly rendered shopnames. I was glad to see Yeowell retake the reins, but this is a pretty uninspiring backdrop for some soul-searching. I'd feel better disposed towards this episode if I didn't suspect that any momentum that may be regained is promptly to be lost in another too-short run. Give SinDex the Skip Tracer treatment please, Tharg.
Fiends. Didn't expect that! Constanta continues to over-egg his origin (descendant of a shape-shifter, usurped by a patricidal brother, raised by magic wolves, prophecised by a dragon, trained by a troll, transformed by witches/goddesses, [spoiler]who he then slaughters and drains..[/spoiler].), but the effect is still somehow completely delicious. What did happen to Skade, then? Wasn't Constanta's plea for healing so that he could go back and save him? Great stuff altogether.
But best in show is Deadworld. Kek-W and Kendall return to the grand-scale worldbuilding Dreams that got us into this mess in the first place, describing a future for Deadworld more terrible than even the endless plain of bones we know. It's a long strange road from the bees to here. (My money's on [spoiler]Fairfax[/spoiler]).
Oh, and is this a Survival Geeks epilogue I see? Excellent.
Shockingly, I actually forgot to buy the prog today. This is literally the first time since I returned from my 27-year hiatus in February 2016 that I've forgotten to buy my prog on a Wednesday. I am appalled with myself.
I love that the Behemoth is potentially a sister ship to The Leviathan, doomed by an entirely different type of strange passenger.
Quote from: norton canes on 02 December, 2020, 04:13:28 PM
Shockingly, I actually forgot to buy the prog today. This is literally the first time since I returned from my 27-year hiatus in February 2016 that I've forgotten to buy my prog on a Wednesday. I am appalled with myself.
Don't worry we're all appalled at you to. 10 rosette of Sirius and 10 hail Mighty Ones my son.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 02 December, 2020, 05:16:51 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 02 December, 2020, 04:13:28 PM
Shockingly, I actually forgot to buy the prog today. This is literally the first time since I returned from my 27-year hiatus in February 2016 that I've forgotten to buy my prog on a Wednesday. I am appalled with myself.
Don't worry we're all appalled at you to. 10 rosette of Sirius and 10 hail Mighty Ones my son.
There's some things you just don't admit to!!!
It's right up there with saying that you voted for
Brexit!!! :o
Glad to see the return of Deadworld. Top Thrill for me!
Enjoying Dredd and Fiends... a lot and would be happy to see Sticklepath return in the future.
Cheers
Wasnt particularly looking forward to this prog, as I'm no fan of Deadworld, this Stickleback hasn't been doing it for me and the Dredd is a bit drawn-out.
However, I ended up very much enjoying every page. The surprise (to me) quick return of Dexter was the highlight- as I was sort of expecting a six month wait and then a time jump when it eventually returned. To have it back so soon, and starting off directly following the last episode was a shock. I absolutely love Sinister Dexter, am completely invested in all the characters, and trust whichever of the Abnett avatars works on this, implicitly.
Deadworld was wonderful- it looked gorgeous and read clearly and cleanly. Fiends continued to be just very good indeed, Stickleback ended on a high note and I am now interested to see where it goes next- which if you'd asked me last week would have not been my expected response... and Dredd is still drawn-out, but entertaining.
Does this mean we don't get a filler issue next week for a change? But I admit, all my attention is now on the xmas prog and the return of Slaine.
SBT
I have on criticism against the current Dredd story and I believe the story could have been done in 3 parts. I still think Niemand is doing a great job on Dredd and I like his more satire/humour type of stories. With the combination of Carroll and Williams who might do more your darker hard-hitting stories Dredd is in good hands.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 December, 2020, 09:30:41 AM
Quote from: broodblik on 02 December, 2020, 08:39:09 AM
The nerve centre also mention the upcoming series Proteus Vex and why Henry Flint is not on art duties. Glad to hear is working on a top-secret project for next year.
"End of Neighs: The Horse Strikes Back"
I like inside trading, is this going to start at Episode V or jump right into Episode I ?
The only problem i have with current sinless dexter is the all too short stop and starts its supposed to be a megaepic for godssake make it feel like one tharg!
My subs Prog showed up today, FWIW.
So that's just a week late for this one. 2209 was a week and half late, and 2208 was two weeks late. So at this rate the Xmas prog might actually arrive on time!
Deadworld was good. The thing[spoiler] about the statue[/spoiler] was pretty chilling even by Judge Death standards.
Quote from: Southstreeter on 05 December, 2020, 03:18:11 PM
So that's just a week late for this one. 2209 was a week and half late, and 2208 was two weeks late. So at this rate the Xmas prog might actually arrive on time!
As the progs are running a week late in the peoples republic of Sheffield, I'm guessing the Christmas prog will follow suit and will arrive just before Xmas 2021!
Good soild prog again and sad to see the conclusion of Stickleback Holmes, but it was lovely fireside chat and set up nicely for more capers... lets just hope we don't have another 6 year gap!
Deadworld works so much better when it doubles down on unthinkable horror like this, rather than trying to become a warped mirror of the Dreddverse. More of this, please, and less of the "here are the Sovs in slightly different uniforms" thing.
Elsewhere, Fiends is a highlight, Dexter is fine (and I hope heading towards a conclusion rather than a reset), Dredd was fun (and I quite like it having room to breathe) and Stickleback has kind of lost me, and so will need a re-read.
The [spoiler]teeth statue[/spoiler] was a (not) nice touch, though it really should have been of the father rather than the son....
I've now caught up...
Dredd is top notch. I don't think this is running too long at all - it covers all the Simp stuff nicely with both a jokey and violent tone and sets up what I guess will be a three way meeting between Dredd, Daisy and Pansy and the bad guys next week - the real drama will be, presumably, how Dredd reacts to Daisy's breaking the law to get here. Patsy and Wrexler are still great and a lot of love for the creative team on this one overall.
Stickleback. Mildy disappointed that last weeks cliffhanger confrontation didn't happen. I'm good with the Holmes reset - although it seems like a big reset - but I can't be the only person who inwardly groaned at the [spoiler]Moriarty[/spoiler] reveal which is something i feel I've encountered too many times in other stuff. Still, interested to see what happens when it's back, and it looks great as always.
Deadworld Incredible this week. Unbelievably bleak, a stark reminder that the characters we've been reading about are totally on a hiding to nothing and hinting at some of the horrors to come. The thing with the [spoiler]teeth[/spoiler] is just awful. This is really great stuff.
Lonesome Dexter. After the shock of the last series I really didn't enjoy this. The zombie / shopping mall has been done and done to the point that it's no longer clever, and worse there is already discussion about [spoiler]how Finnegan could still be alive[/spoiler], imo reversing the first really exciting thing that's happened for ages. I really don't think it helps that the story is broken down into tiny chunks which makes it seem all the more filler-esque. I assume this another two week run?
Fiends is one of, if not my favourite thing this year.[spoiler] Incredibly dopey move by the witches to vampire Constanta up so he can immediately kill them[/spoiler] but fits with the fairytale vibe. The art is so good.. the blood looks so thick and grotesque, and I love the frames of Constanta [spoiler]sleeping in the earth and then awakening[/spoiler]. I'm still thinking unreliable narrator here (how would the priest know all this stuff?) but I hope not because this has been so cool.
Finally got round to buying my prog, may the Hotshots of Rigel singe my fundament if I forget again.
However, I think I may have made an even more catastrophic misjudgement. The Fall of Deadworld, right - I haven't read the first couple of chapters, so I don't know the story from the start, but from the subsequent chapters, I always assumed it was the story of the creation of Deadworld, i.e. how the world that came before was transformed into Deadworld through the rise of the Dark Judges. But reading this prog's interlude, it actually seems to be the story of how Deadworld, the world already subjugated by the dark forces, came to its end... how it met its Fall.
I always assumed the series would end with something like the Four Dark Judges standing triumphant over their new domain, ready to wreak the same destruction on new dimensions. Did I get this wrong..?
Elsewhere, Simply Normal is dawdling a bit, perhaps, but is still great. SinDex absolutely needs am uninterrupted run to its conclusion, if that's where it's headed. I should mention that "The only parts of Ramone Algonquin Winnebago Dexter that aren't empty are the mags in his nines" is a gorgeous line. And Fiends continues to be an absolute gem, every panel is glorious.
Who's 'Funny Tummy'?
Quote from: norton canes on 07 December, 2020, 02:53:27 PM
Who's 'Funny Tummy'?
Internet-famous pop-portraiturist, I believe (>adjusts half-moon spectacles, taps pipe on side of armchair<). I rather like his Dredd, it's a bit off-model, but it has definite oomph. He's clearly no Simon Davis, but neither is it a style you see in the Prog these days, and a bit of novelty is no harm in our weekly boys' paper.
JOVUS H DOK, WHERE'S THE EDIT BUTTON.
Continued: As to Deadworld, you're right about the timeline - this is a flashforward to a time shortly before Death shows up in MC-1, long after the 'current' events of the series.
So this is an interesting Prog. There's much to love but its also full of little niggles and frustrations.
Dredd is pretty good but unlike all previous Neimand Dredd's it feels stretched and padded. I'll talk about that next time (i.e. in a few minutes when I've done this).
Stickleback end really well... kinda... its been great to have this back the ending opens even more possiblity BUT how long will we wait for next time? This felt like it openned worlds and Ian Edginton and D'Israeli have some many of this open already I do wonder what will be knocked of the list if this one takes hold again. I shouldn't anticipate a frustration but... well experience does speak to us here... lets see. In and of itself this was great and a nice ending and I should be happy with that.
Visions of Deadworld - Interesting start to a series of shorts... but lets get back to the main event soon huh.
Dexter... two funting episodes... we get two funting episodes. Tharg don't kill this PLEASE. One of the biggest events in the series history (even if its been set up to be reversed). Then a break. Then the aftermath in two episodes then a break... damnit. I mean really Tharg damnit. Stop treating this epic like this... I'm sure there are reasons ... but damnit Tharg why are you using a Sinister Dexter epics as your mop up? Please don't. You got Slaine now, or whatever can you give Steve Yeowell the time to get this done and done to the quality of some of the career best stuff he did for the majority of his run on this strip... PLEASE - look you made me use all caps...
... oh I enjoyed this episode in and of itself...
Fiends - No frustration here this is superb.
That Star Scan is an interesting choice...
This is in many ways a good Prog... but in many ways it did my head in!