There might not be quite the level of thrills we had last week in Week 5, but it exemplifies just how tough this tournament is becoming. A middling week quality wise and we still get some right interesting ties and some really top draw thrills. It's only going to get harder folks!
I can't call this. I know which way I'd go, but I'm not sure that will be a commonly held view. Both are very good thrills. But have either set the world absolutely on fire? Simping Detective hasn't been seriously challenged, though made hard work of Hap Hazzard. Does that suggest the form is with Ampney Crucis which had a stronger performance against the stronger Sooner or Later? So if we read the form guide...
Simping Detective - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=simping)
Vs
Ampney Crucis - more info (https://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&choice=AMPNEY)
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 10th June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (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
Ampney Crucis
Ampney Crucis
The Simping Detective had some great puns, and the Trifecta idea was great. Presumably Point is still around but other than a couple of appearances in DeMarco stories is he likely to return?
Also some great ideas in Ampney Crucis, and I think of the two I'd like to see this return more.
Ampney Crucis.
Ampney Crucis did not really finish? I also would like its return
Simping Detective
I really should reread The Simping Detective, as I've discovered a previously unexplored love of Noir in the last year. Erm... but I have to go with Ampney, as it stands.
SBT
Simping Detective for me. Not really a fan of Ampney: some very cool ideas but I find the 'what ho' sort of character cliche and annoying. Jack Point on the other hand felt like a fresh take on noir and very 2000ad - serious but also borderline farce.
Simping had really played out all its leads and Trifecta was its last hooray, I enjoyed Ampney especially the easter eggs ( roads signs etc) and I have a soft spot for PG Woodhouse so...
Ampney Crucis it is.
Simping Detective is one of those thrills that stood out at the time as fantastically clever, beautifully drawn, and just the sort of thing the Megazine needed. But I don't find myself tempted to re-read it much. Ampney Crucis didn't light my world at the time, but reading through the Hachette complete collection is a real treat, one I'll definitely go back to. The art on both is glorious throughout, but I think Davis's painted grosteques and liberal use of nudity sways it for me even more.
Ampney Crucis investigates...
I don't recall a huge amount about Simping Detective, although am I right in recalling it reduced DeMarco to 'girlfriend' status? In any event, I don't recall much about it at all beyond the art, which isn't the case for Low Life, say. I did like Ampney, though, so that wins for me, even if I doubt it'll get much further.
The Simping Detective was a favourite way back but I re-read it recently and just found it boring.
Ampney Cruius for being daft fun.
Ampney crucis
Simping Detective!
Both great characters with their own unqiue styles. Davis' art is the clincher for me so it has to be Ampney Crucis
The Simping Detective was a lot of fun at the time, which was when the Megazine felt really alive and polished and part of the community. It does suffer a bit from that era's penchant for placing the art of writing so much front and centre that it's difficult to get immersed in the story. It gets points for the zany, and for finding something useful to do with the Raptaur alien. And beautiful art by Frazer Irving.
Partly because Simon Davis is an art god who strides the Earth, my vote goes to Ampney Crucis Investigates...
The Simping Detective remains one of my 3 favourite Megazine strips.
It's probably the best noire detective story Tharg's ever published. And it's the point when I got Frazer Irving's art.
Not too keen on either of the main characters here. Both artists did great work on the strips. I didn't love the Simping Detective's portrayal DeMarco much. Hmm. I'm not leaning towards either of these very strongly...
Ummm Ampney.
i really like both. so a positive abstention.
Quote from: The Mind of Wolfie Smith on 07 June, 2022, 11:39:46 PM
i really like both. so a positive abstention.
We need to watch this or we'll lose you Wolfie. We're about to hit a period where we will love both strips more and more and MORE. The decision just get harder from here!
I can't vote against S.B. Davis twice in one day - Ampney Crucis Investigates.
I really dislike Ampney Crucis the character. He's an insufferable prig, and a pretty ineffectual hero. (Witness the end of the first series, where he and Cromwell literally just hang around and wait for the army to show up and dispatch the plant monsters). He frequently gets lost in the cracks of a wider narrative happening around him, and at his worst actually gets people killed through nothing but his own pig-headedness. Which is a shame, because on the whole I quite like Ampney Crucis the strip, even when it does threaten to devolve again into a lot of floating purple heads. And just as it got really good, it trotted out a fairly terrible ending and then vanished, with plenty left unresolved. And if that counted against Helium, it has to count against AC.
Anyway - Simping Detective.
This one seems to be a bit nip and tuck, though a couple of sprints seem to have given this to one thrill. Today could change it, tomorrow will defo announce it so we know. See ya then!
It's actually a pretty decisive lead and has been from the start.
And not for the one I've chosen 🥲.
Simping Detective.
Simping Detective.
VOTING CLOSED
As is often the case what might look like a close tie with a quick scan simply isn't with a count. Simping Detective did okay, got votes and some good comment but in reality Ampney Crucis got twice as many votes in the end and as such
Ampney Crucis
will be woodhousing in Round 4.