Prog 1893 - The Deep End

[JamesC]

Cover - I really like this image from Ian Culbard. It has a nice ominous feel and then, when you read the story, you'll see it illustrates a nice character moment. Having said that, I'm not sure if it has a massive amount of shelf-appeal.

Dredd - A fun, if rather sudden, ending to A Night in Sylvia Plath (I reckon it could have lasted another episode or two). As I said last week, I'm not fan of Mrs Gunderson but I have a real soft spot for Walter so it balances out. Lovely MacNeil art again but am I the only one that thinks the apartment seems incredibly spacious?

Aquila - A turning point this week as Aquila realises that a crazed wannabe god-emperor may not be the best person to trust (duh!). The episode ends with an interesting omen. I'm really enjoying this strip and the artwork and colouring are really something else.

Brass Sun - This is a return to the status quo after last week's odd interlude. There's probably more going on than I realise this week but, as I've forgotten where they're going, why they're going there and who all the characters are the whole thing is washing over me while I sit in a state of semi-confusion enjoying the pretty pictures.
I think it would help if I read the whole thing in one sitting but in weekly instalments the glacial progression is a problem for me as is the lack of character development (Edington's major weak point in my view).

Black Shuck - This story has more flashbacks than a synchronised drowning team. I'm not sure they're really necessary, or that they work terribly well. This strip suffers from the authors reluctance to just tell (and show) the reader exactly what is going on. I think I'm up to speed with what's happening but It doesn't seem like a great deal at the moment and I'm not sure why I should care either as I have no feel for any of the characters. This story needs to get a move on.
Reading it back, that sounds incredibly negative. There's a lot to like in this story, and there are some good ideas being hinted at - let's just get on with it!

Jaegir - Another class act from Rennie with some stunning art from Colby (he's had a busy few months with this and Royals but his art hasn't suffered at all). This is an interesting set up with a bit of ass-kicking thrown in for good measure.

A good prog all in all but a couple of thrills feel like they're harder work than they need to be.

Extras - An add for a new Anderson series from Matt Smith with some ace looking art from Carl Critchlow. This is part of the IDW line.

A couple of little tid-bits in the letters page. The Winter Special is going to be horror themed and there's a new Dredd on Lawmaster model coming from Dark Creations.

[Frank]

Cover - I really like this image from Ian Culbard. It has a nice ominous feel and then, when you read the story, you'll see it illustrates a nice character moment. Having said that, I'm not sure if it has a massive amount of shelf-appeal

I remember reading somewhere that magazine art departments avoid green themed cover images because the colour produces calming, pastoral and passive emotions in the viewer. Provoking the atavistic fight or flight responses that translate into impulse purchases by consumers is apparently best done by colours to which we have extreme (even negative) emotional responses, like red. By that logic, prog 1884 should be this year's best seller.

I like the cover a lot. Somewhere between the poster art for Jaws 2 (with extra eyes and teeth) and the end of Fight Club:

[ZenArcade]

Need to see it in the flesh so to speak, it is certainly different in tone. Thanks for putting it up. Z

[Dark Jimbo]

I'm not fan of Mrs Gunderson but I have a real soft spot for Walter so it balances out. Lovely MacNeil art again but am I the only one that thinks the apartment seems incredibly spacious?

Always has been - when we first meet Mrs G she already has one lodger and is taking on a second, and it later it houses the whole of Mrs Gunderson's Apartment of Horrors (which, judging by this episode, has presumably closed in the four years since we last saw them?)

[Colin YNWA]

Well two Progs in two days and ... well what a difference a day makes. I adored last weeks Prog, this weeks, not so much. Which is not to say its a bad Prog, its not, but not quite up to last weeks (yesterdays for me). As ever with these things its all in the detail.

I feel largely the same this time about Black Shuck and Aquila like the first a lot, not massively fussed (why, oh why) about the latter. No difference there then.

Dredd finishes absolutely fine, but wrapped up easily enough leaving it feeling a little slight after last weeks great opener. So this week a smidge behind already.

Then we get to the bigger changes. Now this next one I suspect gets me run out of town... or in my case chased out dancin'... Jaegir replaces Sinister Dexter and while I quite like Jaegir it doesn't engage me the way S&D did and the change is a real down turn in gear.

Last we have Brass Sun, now there's nowt wrong with this weeks episode, far from it great solid episode and loved the moment between our two questing youngsters, just wonderful... but it wasn't last week was it... if we're honest it was never going to be.

So there you have. It much in it but every little counts.

[Trout]

Five out of five from me, with that wonderful little Dredd story the best. My favourite part is when Dredd actually leaves the apartment, then realises he's missed something and goes back. Before that, he's ignored a ton of screaming. Ah, what a silly old man.

Love it.

[Proudhuff]

Five out of five from me, with that wonderful little Dredd story the best. My favourite part is when Dredd actually leaves the apartment, then realises he's missed something and goes back. Before that, he's ignored a ton of screaming. Ah, what a silly old man.

Love it.

Indeed, agreed with JamesC's Aw Shucks comments but looking forwrad to seeing what the Matt driod does with Anderson, (I hope its the menopause)

[Spaceghost]

looking forwrad to seeing what the Matt driod does with Anderson, (I hope its the menopause)

More likely to be her battle with acne. It's a 'Young Anderson' story.

[Proudhuff]

looking forwrad to seeing what the Matt driod does with Anderson, (I hope its the menopause)

More likely to be her battle with acne. It's a 'Young Anderson' story.

doh! I'll dig out my bumper book of Debbie Harry pics...

[Grobbendonk]

Dredd was a sweet little tale. The "Hold on..." moment was gold!

Finally Aquila has some interest beyond the go here kill that, go there kill them of the last few weeks.

Apart from the touching "I'm glad you're here with me" moment Brass Sun still seems to be coasting along at snails pace.

I'm liking the way the two mysteries in Black Shuck are weaving together. I don't see them so much as flashbacks interrupting the flow, but rather parallel tales leading (hopefully) to a neat joint climax.

Its funny, I never was a huge Rogue Trooper fan (though I'm currently enjoying Message From Milli-Com in my epic Prog read through). And I wasn't totally sold on Jaegir last time. But seeing old blue bonce this week sent thrills through me. Loved this opener! Best thing in the Prog for me.

[Frank]

What does everyone make of the question posed by Tharg on the letters page, wondering whether they should bring back readers' art to the prog?

[Grobbendonk]

What does everyone make of the question posed by Tharg on the letters page, wondering whether they should bring back readers' art to the prog?

Do it! I wonder though, what the quality will be like. I'm doing an epic re-read from Prog 1 (currently in the 370s) and mostly the readers art reflects the age of the readers. Some of it is pretty good for all that. Would we expect a better standard these days given the increased age, and modern technology etc?...

[Grobbendonk]

Would we expect a better standard these days...

Hmmm, though if I submitted some art it would definitely be reminiscent of some of the poorer attempts of the past...

[Muon]

Great prog for me. It's picking up steam again after a period of not engaging me much.

Dredd was one of the better "comedy Dredd" stories for me. Taken on their own the old lady and Walter might be pretty irritating but together they're a pretty good double act. Some of their exchanges had me cracking up.

Brass Sun is back to the usual this week but the time out in tha last prog seems to have invigorated the story a little. The double-page spread was lovely, with the nice juxtaposition of the monster gliding past and the tender moment between wren and the young lad. I guess it's not the most original bit of storytelling to have characters share a tender moment when they're in mortal danger but I thought this was done really well, with all the information communicated through little gestures and the big grin on the boy's face when he realises he's pulled. The monster gliding by was rendered almost as a beautiful spectacle, like they were watching a spectacular fireworks display rather than something that could gobble them up and shit them out in a second.

Aquila was good fun as ever and it's good to see the story being pushed along after a few weeks of almost non-stop action (which I really enjoyed). For the past few weeks Aquila himself seemed to be on autopilot, nothing more than a monster fighting monsters, so it's good to see him engaging other characters in conversation rather than chopping their heads off.

Black Shuck is still intriguing but the flashbacks were a little confusing for me this week. I'm looking forward to seeing the direction this story takes.

Good to see Jaegir back. I was expecting a drop in quality but this one picked up exactly where the last story finished, with dense storytelling and really immersive art. I Like it when characters have a chat while they're slicing enemies up. Reminds me a bit of the "sexposition" in Game of Thrones. "Sliceposition"? That whole sequence was pretty satisfying, with the first layer of the pure action, the second layer of the "joke" the guy says that shows their awareness of the moral ambiguity of what they're doing, and the third layer in the captions, which appears to be Jaegir's thoughts about the people they're fighting.

[Keef Monkey]

What does everyone make of the question posed by Tharg on the letters page, wondering whether they should bring back readers' art to the prog?

Do it! I wonder though, what the quality will be like. I'm doing an epic re-read from Prog 1 (currently in the 370s) and mostly the readers art reflects the age of the readers. Some of it is pretty good for all that. Would we expect a better standard these days given the increased age, and modern technology etc?...

My first thought when I saw that was incorporating the forum art competition somehow, there's always some quality stuff in there and if some of that stuff got printed in place of a letters page now and then I'm sure we'd all enjoy looking at that.