Prog 2050 - Epic Thrills!

[Steve Green]

Thanks Steve.[spoiler]I did wonder if they had it wrong as I didn't remember it.[/spoiler]

You're welcome!

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

Of late, I've been running a bit hot and cold on the prog- skipping The Alienist, bored of Dredd, only really liking Hope and Greysuit. You know how it is, it's the lament of the long term Squaxx.
This one though, was fantastic. A jolt to the circuits, with nearly every strip Thrilling in a way they haven't done for a while. Only Indigo Prime didn't float my boat, but that's because I really can't remember a sodding thing about the last series and have no idea what's going on.
Top Thrills: SiniDex, Grey Area, Slaine.
Bubbling under: Rogue- the art was phenomenal and I've not enjoyed a Rogue strip as much as that in years. Also Dredd, which seemed invigorated after that last one.
Better than I expected: Deadworld, which made sense and featured characters I recognised for a change, and Zenith, which wasnt an insult to the original and made me smile.
Indigo Prime will improve once I've reread the last series. Anyone remember which progs it was in?

Great prog, better than #2000 I reckon. Hope it's similarly successful for Rebellion.
SBT

[DrJomster]

Very strong prog. Praise be to Tharg! Message ends.

[Richard]

Last series of IP was in progs 1880-1887.

[norton canes]

So, what to think of this epochal embarkation edition?

As I was reading it, I realised that for each story there were two questions which needed to be addressed: 'Is it any good?' (thankfully the answer was a resounding 'Yes' in all cases) and 'Is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog?' (here the answers were less conclusive).

Cover: Impeccable work, as always from Simon Davis. Phenomenally good use of colours.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? No. It might sound like a cliche but for me, an effective jumping-on cover needs to have a collage of characters exploding from the page, it needs to proclaim "Look at what we've got in here!!". This is beautiful but way too subtle.   

Dredd: The statue thing is a decent idea, which serves well to give us a window on the citizens' attitudes to Dredd. The vulture-like news team are far too blatant a lift from Jake Gyllenhaal's 2014 film Nightcrawler, though. Still, interesting to see where this one goes, and I much prefer Colin MacNeil's caricaturist lined artwork to the fully-painted stuff he did for Defoe.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Not really. We're straight in with a reference to a storyline from five years ago. Might have been better with some slightly more standard 'this is how Dredd works the streets' vignettes.

Rogue Trooper: Stunning. The art is great enough but good Grud, the story is a belter. The fact that the Commander knows he's doomed right from the first frame - and remains calm and analytical even as his deputy becomes steadily more panic-stricken - is so chilling. Immense.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Emphatically YES. Infinitely better than the first episode of the original run, or any of the re-boots and tie-ins. Even though Rogue hardly speaks and the biochips don't get a look in, it's perfect first-timer fodder.

Grey Area: Great start to what will presumably be a major new plot. Nice to see ETC moving out of their comfort zone. Bring it on.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Yeah, good enough. We get the gist, no need for major re-introductions. But yes, probably a good idea to refer in the first instance to 'Resting Bitch Face'.

Slaine: WOAH, THAT FONT... Soth! How did that get through? Horrible! No more! As expected from Pat these days there's not exactly dialogue, simply treatises and hypotheses delivered by the characters. The second and third page double-spread was nicely drawn (did I mention I love Simon Davies' art?) even though it seemed a bit weird that all the adversaries were facing in the same direction rather than attacking Slaine and Sinead. Then... what happens between pages three and four? They're being attacked by a giant wielding a stone axe, then, they're suddenly on the run on a plain outside a city...? Perplexing.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Nah. Hopping in right in the middle of a story. No attempt to bring new readers up to speed at all. Must do better.

Indigo Prime: Having been away from 2000 AD for the best part of 26 years I haven't read any Indigo Prime  (unless he was part of the Tyranny Rex stories?), so this was pleasant, if a little bewildering. Great artistic take on Burroughs. And the Zoom lolly.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? John Smith's stuff is pretty bewildering even for seasoned 2000 AD readers, isn't it?

Sinister Dexter: Again, I stopped reading the progs a couple of years before these two joined, so the only S/D I know is from their few episodes earlier this year. Abnett is just about my favourite 2000 AD writer though, so I'm enjoying it despite a lack of knowledge.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Perhaps Tharg would have been better holding the episodes from a few months ago over, to begin here? That represented more of a (re-)starting point, didn't it.

Deadworld: Did I say Abnett is just about my favourite 2000 AD writer? I meant joint-favourite, along with Kek-W. Loved the last run of Deadworld and the quality is just as high here. Those 'dogs'! Ew.

But is it any good as part of a jumping-on prog? Well, it's an on-going story, so in that sense it's a bit wanting. I guess one mitigating factor is that returning readers from the heyday of 2000 AD should at least remember The Dark Judges and their world of origin, so it might not seem too unfamiliar.


There you go then, prog 2050. Jump on board, take a ride. As long as you're prepared to fill in the blanks.

[Frank]

The vulture-like news team are far too blatant a lift from Jake Gyllenhaal's 2014 film Nightcrawler

Wasn't the most jarring reference.

When extolling the virtues of comics as a medium, it's common to note that while a film's journey from page to screen may take years, comic creators struck by inspiration can share their thoughts with their audience in a matter of weeks.

Judge Dredd: Icon and Zenith suggest we might need to revisit that in light of the increased churn rate of social media. Statues and punching standing up to Nazis were all anyone was talking about in August, but that feels like a lifetime ago.

By the time Mike Carroll brings us Judge Dredd: Rocket Man or How Do You Survive A Hurricane Like Maria?, we'll have moved on to round two of Brexit and the US mid-terms. I'm sure Icon will be more than a refutation of civic art as trolling, but still.

I must have been exposed to Colin MacNeil's art in the womb, because every feathered area of shadow and rampant rabbit citi-block floods my brain with serotonin. I love the way he's decided Tim Burton stripes go with everything*, and Chris Blythe's understated colours and textures are the perfect complement to MacNeil's more graphic approach to inking.

I'm glad Sector 123's finally been redeveloped, but it's been 25 years since Jimmy The Brit, Garth Ennis, and Carlos Ezquerra demolished the Jackson Five blocks**. McGruder should never have given the reconstruction contract to Axl Rose, Malick & Partners.


* Linus looks like Danny DeVito's Penguin. Love the cameos too - in a fight between Captain Kirk and Elvis, my money's on the one wearing the tightest corset.

** The Taking Of Sector 123, Meg 2.11

[Steve Green]

Tom Eglington said on the Thought Bubble 2000 AD panel that Icon was planned before Charlottesville.

[McNulty]

Guys, I still haven't had my 2000ad delivered yet. Have the subscription department changed their email address as I've sent them an email three days ago, but they haven't replied yet.

[IndigoPrime]

Best bet these days is to use the form here: https://shop.2000ad.com/contact-us

It's unusual to wait more than a couple of days for a response.

[dweezil2]

The vulture-like news team are far too blatant a lift from Jake Gyllenhaal's 2014 film Nightcrawler

Wasn't the most jarring reference.

When extolling the virtues of comics as a medium, it's common to note that while a film's journey from page to screen may take years, comic creators struck by inspiration can share their thoughts with their audience in a matter of weeks.

Judge Dredd: Icon and Zenith suggest we might need to revisit that in light of the increased churn rate of social media. Statues and punching standing up to Nazis were all anyone was talking about in August, but that feels like a lifetime ago.

By the time Mike Carroll brings us Judge Dredd: Rocket Man or How Do You Survive A Hurricane Like Maria?, we'll have moved on to round two of Brexit and the US mid-terms. I'm sure Icon will be more than a refutation of civic art as trolling, but still.

I must have been exposed to Colin MacNeil's art in the womb, because every feathered area of shadow and rampant rabbit citi-block floods my brain with serotonin. I love the way he's decided Tim Burton stripes go with everything*, and Chris Blythe's understated colours and textures are the perfect complement to MacNeil's more graphic approach to inking.

I'm glad Sector 123's finally been redeveloped, but it's been 25 years since Jimmy The Brit, Garth Ennis, and Carlos Ezquerra demolished the Jackson Five blocks**. McGruder should never have given the reconstruction contract to Axl Rose, Malick & Partners.


* Linus looks like Danny DeVito's Penguin. Love the cameos too - in a fight between Captain Kirk and Elvis, my money's on the one wearing the tightest corset.

** The Taking Of Sector 123, Meg 2.11

Coincidentally, I had an idea for a Dredd story born out of a fever dream several years ago about a statue being erected in Dredd's honour, being hit by a hover-taxi, the head rolling down a skedway while mowing down cits, with the punchline being, "even an effigy of Dredd is lethal!"
Of course, I Was far too lazy to pitch it! 

[Steve Green]

Death by chin.

[dweezil2]

Death by chin.

[MacabreMagpie]

I won't go into strip-by-strip detail as it's all been gone over plenty, but - as a lapsed reader - I thought it was a decent jumping-on prog, if lacking a bit of punch that I was expecting.

Favourite strip was Indigo Prime (my first exposure), least favourite Slaine (great art but I felt dumped into the middle of a story) and I was also very fond of the Rogue and Sin/Dex strips. Never read the original Zenith so I'm going to catch up before reading the article.

I'm going to buy the next prog so job done!

[TordelBack]

Don't really see the appeal of the Rogue Trooper story - it's nothing that hasn't been done better before (most recently by Rennie), it's basically a prologue for a story we'll never see, and while it had its moments I found the B&W art overworked and a bit... slavish.  No problem whatsoever with Rebellion running this as a fluffer for their Rogue refresh/platform-jump, they do it rarely enough, but I'm not feeling the unbridled love.

Elsewhere the Dredd was an unexpected but welcome continuation of the Sons of Booth story (which badly needed it, being a great idea that went nowhere) - some unusually poor computer lettering embellishments though; similarly the lovely-looking Slaine was only let down by the return of That Font (no wonder the Cythrons rebelled against the Archons, some things cannot be borne), and repeated confusion of who actually caused the Deluge (wasn't it the Drunes and their weirdstones?).

Too soon to say much about the new Grey Area, but this is a strip that just gets better and better, so I have high hopes. By contrast, the familiar excitement of a new Indigo Prime story is undermined by real worries about the strip's future.  This so good already, amazing to see Foundation again: please Tharg, don't stuff it up.

Sinister Dexter was basically perfect, and it's great that we've finally found a colourist who works with Yeowell's art, which hitherto has been on my list of Bad Ideas From The Start.  Looking forward to more.

Loved the Zenith piece, really believable extrapolation, and funny to boot.

But as is so often the case it was Deadworld that stole the show, a terrific example of a strip that feels like it has places to go and things to do, and isn't messing about in getting there.  My only reservations are that this would have worked better as a direct epilogue to the last run, and that maybe the arrival of Death could have been given a bit more space.  But it was still great stuff.

[ZenArcade]

John Smith (The real John Smith) back; great Rogue story; C McNeil on Dredd; Slaine a colorful episode; Zenith, great to see this iconic character back; Dave Kendall on fire.  What's not to like about prog 2050??  Z