Hello from Canterbury

[Merlinnnnn]

Hello all! Rob here from Canterbury. I've been subscribed to 2000AD and JDM for about 9 months now and am loving it.

I've got a backlog of about 14 progs from when we moved house earlier this year, and am doing a zarjaz version of the Pomodoro technique during my workday - I work 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break to read a strip. Then back to work for another 25 minutes, etc. I've always had massive trouble focusing at work, but this is giving me some much-needed consistency.

Apart from Dredd, my favourite things since I subbed have been 'Tharg's 3rillers: The Crawley Man', 'Chimpsky's Law', and I'm really enjoying 'The Order: Heart of Darkness'. And over the last few weeks have grown to enjoy 'Joe Pineapples' and 'The Out' - though I'm a bit lost. I did not enjoy 'Hope'.

I've also bought JD Complete Case Files #1 and am struck by how entertaining the strip was right from the off, and how fully formed big Joe was when he arrived. Seeing a lot of presence already with the 'war with the robots' story.

[JohnW]

Glad to have you aboard, Merlinnnnn.
Are you sure you have enough Ns?

[Merlinnnnn]

Glad to have you aboard, Merlinnnnn.
Are you sure you have enough Ns?

Nnnnno!

[Trooper McFad]

Welcome aboard you have lots to catch up. You will hopefully enjoy the back catalogue.

[broodblik]

Welcome aboard. Good the see someone enjoying The Order. A very easy way (and cheaper) of getting back-progs are to do them digitally.

[Colin YNWA]

Welcome aboard Rob.

Its always interesting to see what folks starting to get into immediately gravitate to. The Order gets a lot of grief for losing regulars - I personally have always really liked it. So it great to hear a new reader getting on with it.

Have fun, enjoy catching up with both the recent stuff and the old stuff. So many great comics to explore.

[Merlinnnnn]

Welcome aboard Rob.

Its always interesting to see what folks starting to get into immediately gravitate to. The Order gets a lot of grief for losing regulars - I personally have always really liked it. So it great to hear a new reader getting on with it.

Have fun, enjoy catching up with both the recent stuff and the old stuff. So many great comics to explore.

Regular readers are put off by The Order? Weird! What is it about that particular strip that puts people off? Especially when a series like Hope is also very continuity heavy, and features historical/fictional characters brought to life, and - apparently - doesn't get a hard time.

All I see is some stunning artwork (which reminds me of the art in old Doctor Who annual strips), interspersed with earnest emotion and the usual zarjaz thrill power.

[broodblik]

One thing that people did not like was that The Order had a massive cast. If you read it from the first series (it started in the xmas 2015 - that stage the xmas prog's number was based upon the next year not the next prog no) you will know what I am talking about.

[Colin YNWA]

Yeah I'm not the person to ask really as I've always really enjoyed it. I think on the weekly basis folks got a bit lost who was who (as broodblik says) and when and where certain things were happening.

I also think there was some resistance to a classic character (Armouired Gideon) being recycled in the strip as well.

[Le Fink]

Welcome to the forum!

I'm still enjoying The Order (or I enjoyed the recent 'final' series) but did somewhat prefer the earlier stuff which had a bit more characterisation, a bit less frenetic battling. Art has been wonderful throughout. Everything bar the last series has been collected in one of the Hachette volumes I think.

Hope hasn't grabbed me either, but I'm yet to read the first series which probably doesn't help, and the realist portrayal of film star faces rather takes me out of the story. Otherwise I think I'd really appreciate the art.

[IndigoPrime]

I didn't warm to the last Hope outing. But the first two series were great.