Solid Progage! Absolutely brilliant cover from Boo Cook, featuring Dredd and eldsters march through mega-city. It's superbly drawn, lovely colours and has that old school WTF? that is bound to make folks look twice,
Inside we have a great Dredd one off tale and the chapter ends of all the rest. Really enjoyed this run of strips, especially Outlier and Anderson, who rather strangel gets a final episode drawn by Ben Willsher instead of Nick Dyer. Shame really. No offense to Willsher, as I'm sure the artist swap was unavoidable, but Dyers done brilliantly on this strip.
So then, roll on next week! :D
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 17 September, 2016, 12:47:32 PM
Anderson ... gets a final episode drawn by Ben Willsher
In which she gains a full head of hair but loses forty years and most of her clothes?
(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/1999_zpsphv7ifgy.jpg)
Boo!
Quote from: Frank on 17 September, 2016, 01:00:58 PM
Quote from: Darren Stephens on 17 September, 2016, 12:47:32 PM
Anderson ... gets a final episode drawn by Ben Willsher
In which she gains a full head of hair but loses forty years and most of her clothes?
Heh, you're a bad man Sauchie. Sorry to hear Dyer couldn't finish out the story, this has been my favourite Anderson run since Hour of the Wolf, due in part to Dyer's smart redesign and characterful art. Hope he gets another crack at it.
Good prog. An enjoyable Dredd and Outlier had an unexpected and very final ending.
The Prog holds its ground so very well prior to next weeks biggie, a few little niggles aside.
Dredd is just a fun one off, its a good fun one off, but of course after what we've just had that's a bit of a dip. Still its a great high energy Dredd from the old skool. Really enjoyed it, just had a lot to live up to. Speaking of which so did Ben Wilsher taking over from Nick Dwyer on Anderson. Just like the Dredd, Wilsher hold his own, just feels a little light weight compared to Nick Dwyer's glorious work so far. Don't know whats behind the change but its a shame as the actual finale to the story is fantastic. This has been a top tale and I hope to see more Anderson from Beeby.
Jaegir does some nice character work and builds the over arching story nicely. Hopefully this will all lead to an exciting next story, one the series seems to have been building to for a while. Much like Rennie's Absalom I feel we're ready for the meat in the pie now. Lets see what we get served.
Scarlet Traces has a nice teasing conclusion, setting up more to come. While Outlier masters the far harder trick of providing an absolute conclusion and does so will chilling lack of mercy. Its a fantastic conclusion to a series I've enjoyed from start to finish. Its a strong Prog but this genericidal finale gets the the nod for thrill of the week for me.
Top stuff, now lets see what the biggie delievers after this fantastic warm-up act.
Agree with all of the above, except Outhere which I don't read so can't comment.
Anderson thankfully keeps her short hair and clothes on. However Thrills of the Future has her back in Belinda Carlisle mode and exchanging a lovers glance with a fellow Judge, hmmm whachaupto Mr Grant?
The B-by droid seems to have picked up Grennie's hanging chad habit too :D
Jagir and Scarlet T excellent.
No prog here in the North. Hoping for Monday but most stories are on my 'read when finished' list so I've got the whole of Outlier, Jaegir and Scarlet Traces to read.
Not so excited, the PJ tale kept me going the past couple of months so roll on Prog 2000.
Only a so-so Prog for me. Indeed it seems to me 2000AD is far stronger at beginnings than endings right now. All the focus seems to be on the next jumping on Prog to the detriment of the stories wrapping up.
Dredd - great epilogue to last week revealing how PJ escaped the Dark Judges and where the voice in his head came from. Rather poor (IMO) one off which all seemed a little pointless me.
Jaegir - best thing this week. Really looking forward to the next series.
Scarlet Traces - again it seems I am having difficulty following this. Hmmm it really shouldn't be this hard.
Outlier - now I have liked this series, but I am really torn by this ending. I feel the characters don't really get an ending to their arc other than the whole of humanity is either destroyed by a wave of radiation or gets assimilated by the Borg subsumed into the Hurde. On the other hand the idea that humanity might reassert itself over the Hurde is an interesting one - one that possibly deserves more one page - but I guess just asking the question is enough.
I do though have an issue with the mechanism by which those not subsumed into the Hurde are destroyed...a wave of radiation from an exploding star...really...so how long does that take to reach all human planets?(ok quick physics lesson - the nearest star from the Earth is 4 light years away, so radiation takes 4 years to reach here from there - and presumably Graegan is considerably further away). And won't the radiation have been considerably dispersed by then (physic lesson part 2 - inverse square law and all that).
Anderson - hmmm not sure about that ending...[spoiler]Anderson controlling the Chief Judge to murder a perp[/spoiler]??? Seems a bit of a departure.
I enjoyed the Dredd in the main (I mean, c'mon—kids tear through MC-1 on the back of a dinosaur composed of goo!), although given that Steve Jobs died several years ago, I found it a bit odd he was used as the basis for the inventor. The last panel seemed a bit mawkish, too, and didn't rally need spelling out.
QuoteSeems a bit of a departure.
Not when the whole city is at stake. Security of the City Act and all that.
Quote from: Richard on 19 September, 2016, 07:25:25 PM
Quote from: Magnetica on 18 September, 2016, 08:21:24 PM
Seems a bit of a departure
Not when the whole city is at stake. Security of the City Act and all that.
I think
Magenta means in terms of the nature of [spoiler]Anderson's psi-abilities. I can't remember her working someone like a remote control car before[/spoiler].
[spoiler]She might be able to use telepathy to influence the actions of others[/spoiler], but we haven't seen that before. Obviously it's all silly made up stuff and it doesn't really matter.
IT MATTERS MORE THAN THE REAL WORLD!!!
I primarily meant in terms of Anderson's character. The new PSI ability was secondary.
City under threat? Nah that was nothing to compared to the peril we have seen before...doesn't justify [spoiler]murdering a cit[/spoiler] (albeit it a perp) not to mention the disrespect of the CJ (well .. actually she DOES have previous for that....)
I rather like the long haired 'sexy' Anderson, as apposed to the (admittedly more realistic) shorter haired Dwyer version.
A double standard I'm sure...but having said that, Dredd's benefitted from the improved life expectancy and health/rejuve properties of the future, why not Anderson too..
I have to accept the painful truth though, that we'll never see her in the likes of Bolland's high heeled judge boots again 😢
I'm not fussed about Anderson's haircut, but I think it's important to show her as a relatively mature woman than some 20yo Gibson-drawn cheesecake (which some artists tend towards). As for rejuve, this was explicitly mentioned in an Anderson strip: Psis can't undergo such treatment because it knackers their abilities. So Anderson could presumably have basic cosmetic surgery (although you can't imagine Justice Dept allowing for such things beyond disfiguration – and even then, Judges have been shown to wear 'war scars' with pride), but not get a Dread-Style semi-reboot.
The problem there might be that artists are given pictures of a character as a reference or guide to how to draw them, and they're probably not updated. So artists draw a 50 year old woman as if she's a 20 year old girl. It's something the editor could sort out fairly easily.
That fella's nipples are all weird.
Great prog, including weird nipples.
I think the Anderson problem is more down to the fact that comic art is a process of simplification and abstraction.
It's easy to draw someone at 70 because the signifiers are so obvious and readily understood, whereas trying to communicate that a character is forty or fifty by adding a few lines around the eyes just makes them look a bit rough, like they've been out on the lash.
Quote from: Frank on 21 September, 2016, 07:26:59 AM
I think the Anderson problem is more down to the fact that comic art is a process of simplification and abstraction.
It's easy to draw someone at 70 because the signifiers are so obvious and readily understood, whereas trying to communicate that a character is forty or fifty by adding a few lines around the eyes just makes them look a bit rough, like they've been out on the lash.
As a fifty-odd year old who goes out on the lash I resent that! ...I think :D
I've bored the breeks off everyone with this but I think Anderson as a mature woman is one of the most interesting things that could be in 2000ad, Tharg should give her to Denise Mina to write...
You never know, just wait and see what Bisley does next time he's called upon. :D
Woops meant to quote a post from the previous page. (about drawing Anderson)
Cover: Nice one
Dredd: This was a bit underwhelming. It had all the ingredients of a nice one episode story, a crazy new invention, the [spoiler]Wrinkly Pride Parade[/spoiler], and still it all was a bit ho-hum. The ending was weak.
Jaegir: When this began a few years ago, I didn't like it much. But it has grown on me, and I liked Warchild a lot. Just the right length, the art not too dark, so you could follow it, and very well written.
Scarlett Traces: Edginton tends to loose me in later installments of his series. And frankly I can't remember much about the earlier STs. But this was well done. I liked how he took such a stock character like Iykaris and made him a bit more. Also thought this the best D'Israeli art in some time.
Outlier: I lost the plot somewhere in the second series and had no clue who was who when Survivor Guilt began. Strangely it hooked me and I began to read this with growing interest. There were some very well done sf-ideas (and some which didn't made a lot of sense, like this thing with the Gamma rays) and nice twists. Didn't see this end coming, alsways a plus. Just for once the Aliens win and humanity loses but adapts into something new. The art was consistently good, as much depended on the body-language. And Richardson delivered. Eglington is hit and miss for me, but this was well done.
Anderson: A new artist for the conclusion? Strange. But I had no problem with it. I really hated the Dyer art. There is nothing wrong with aging Anderson, but does it has to be this extreme Ugly-Anderson? Okay, I am prejudiced. I always loved the clean Ransom version, and in the last years I really liked the Cook version, as he really brought the Mega City to life. I am not a fan of the background-free school of drawing, and combined with the muted colours and this portrait of Anderson I thought this a failure artwise.
Also the story was so-so. Anderson "possessing" Hershey to pull the trigger? Seemed a bit out of character, frankly. Since when can PSI-Judges take over other people so easily? Also seven parts was a bit too long for the plot.
Still, the last weeks for me the Prog was a joy to read. I didn't enjoy it much this year, a lot of series which didn't do anything for me. Too long or downright boring, so-so art. But this was nice.
Quote from: GermanAndy on 21 September, 2016, 05:27:45 PM
Anderson ... seven parts was a bit too long for the plot
Nick Dyer could have finished the whole series if it had been trimmed. Willsher drew Anderson's parrot with the shield accessory too, so that's not just an individual artist's eccentricity.
Tharg solved Anderson's art problem when he hired Mike Dowling (
Dead End, Meg 343-349 (http://i.imgur.com/67E38Kw.png)). His Anderson was the same beautiful woman who went into the Boing
® forty years ago but didn't look like she'd been vacuum sealed ever since.
Willsher wouldn't have drawn Anderson any differently had this episode been set thirty years ago, but I haven't really bought the line that Dyer was drawing her
older. He just doesn't draw her
pretty [1].
[1] Not a criticism; that's a function of his style. Like McMahon, O'Neill, and Flint, Dyer's brand of stylisation involves rendering people as awkward gargoyles.
Dowling's take on Anderson has been the only one I have liked since Ranson packed it in.
I'm sure David Roach's Penthouse-esque rendition of Anderson will give certain readers cause to complain.
Personally I love his work and can't wait to see him in Prog 2000.
Quote from: dweezil2 on 21 September, 2016, 07:53:12 PM
David Roach's Penthouse-esque rendition of Anderson will give certain readers cause to complain
I don't have any strong feelings about cheesecake either way. As long as Tharg doesn't ask Andrew Currie to draw a storyline dealing with Anderson's childhood abuse*, it's not a huge problem.
In a fun action story, for example, Ben Willsher idealising and fetishising a character's anatomy is just as valid an approach as the idealisation and fetishising of a massive bloody tank or high velocity brain splatter.
Matching the artist to the
tone of the script is what editorial are for. Speaking of which, how perfectly did D'Israeli balance the fun and the drama of
Scarlet Traces? Speaking of porn and fetishes, who would have guessed Matt Brooker was into scat (http://i.imgur.com/cGa5o9i.jpg?1)?
* I'm sure Currie could suppress his natural instincts, but why bother asking him not to do something he's very good at and obviously enjoys?
Quote from: Frank on 21 September, 2016, 09:03:02 PM
Quote from: dweezil2 on 21 September, 2016, 07:53:12 PM
David Roach's Penthouse-esque rendition of Anderson will give certain readers cause to complain
Matching the artist to the tone of the script is what editorial are for. Speaking of which, how perfectly did D'Israeli balance the fun and the drama of Scarlet Traces? Speaking of porn and fetishes, who would have guessed Matt Brooker was into scat (http://i.imgur.com/cGa5o9i.jpg?1)?
Who doesn't love a bit of Scat!?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y6oXW_YiV6g
Quote from: Frank on 21 September, 2016, 07:26:59 AM
I think the Anderson problem is more down to the fact that comic art is a process of simplification and abstraction.
It's easy to draw someone at 70 because the signifiers are so obvious and readily understood, whereas trying to communicate that a character is forty or fifty by adding a few lines around the eyes just makes them look a bit rough, like they've been out on the lash.
I think there's a great many artists who can make quite clear distinction between people of a rich variety of ages. I'm not sure if I'm missing the gag here, can so often be hard to tell, if I am sorry, but the simplification is certainly in the comment, not in any number of artists ability.
.
I am, as usual, issuing a deliberate and calculated insult to all 2000ad artists, Colin.
Depends on the artist and their aesthetic. Painted, naturalistic art by face acting specialist Simon Davis or Fay Dalton can convey every worry line or gently sagging facial muscle.
Line art by stylists like the excellent Willsher or the peerless Colin MacNeil is going to rely much more on overt signifiers to convey information about the character's age.
Making Anderson a bit jowelly, thick around the middle, or balding isn't really an option, and neither are wrinkles for an artist like Willsher, who deals in idealised forms like nobody since Plato.
* MacNeil's characters' faces in particular aren't much more than half a dozen lines these days, expertly arranged to convey emotion and character with maximum economy
Quote from: Trent on 21 September, 2016, 07:45:22 PM
Dowling's take on Anderson has been the only one I have liked since Ranson packed it in.
Boo Cook is my man, personally speaking.
What's up with the double eagle shoulder pads for Hershey? I don't recall seeing this before. It's normally two of the other shoulder pads for the Chief Judge.
I too thought that they missed a trick with that cover - being 1999 and all that - maybe a return from the Tyranny Rex / Prince type thang could have worked - but after all 2000AD doesn't do convention & a big pink Triceratops it was... with a bit of a limp JD story to see us over the line so to speak...
I'm loving Jaegir as usual and am heartend to hear in the 2000AD Rennie's pod cast thingy, that he has plans for another character to make a come back in the Nu-Earth cannon fodder. Colby's art is brilliant as always, but I do find myself getting a bit irked with the colouring. I know in this world it's all dark greys/browns/greens - I get that bit, but does everything in the one panel have to be the same colour?
The clothes are the same colour as the sky, which is the same colour as everyones hair/boots/chairs/guns/floors/walls... maybe just a hint of difference would - ahem - make all the difference to the story - some subtle changes of shades would lift Simon Colby's great art from the muddiness. I do think this story would be great in black and white too - which is not the way forward I know these days.
An average prog - looking forward to Nemesis next... maybe in good old B&W hopefully!
:)
Not feeling it in recent weeks, notable exceptional highlights being the stunning PJ caper and joys of more Edginton/d'Israeli inventiveness. Neither quite nailed the finish, and in the latter case it's very probably my fault, after some lovely early episodes. I really need to get into that habit of re-reading strips when they complete. At 5 pages a week (often longer) Edginton's creations deserve a closer reading than my addled brain can manage.
Should mention Jaegir too, it's a classy strip and always a dark and enjoyable read.
So, need some New Thrills and next week is welcome. Stupidly happy at the prospect of some Bolland...
So, fair play to Willsher in the Steve Dillon role, he clearly had to lash that Anderson out in jig time and yet he paid close attention to everything Dyer had done with the uniforms and characters and rendered it perfectly consistent, albeit in his own style. Very impressed, if still disappointed that Nick didn't get to finish out the story: this was the next best thing.
An oddly paced-conclusion, essentially dropping Flowers at the last minute and not really successful in explaining 'why Hershey?'. However, this story took Anderson in new directions, and I loved it: the uniform tweaks, the punky haircut, the new powers (I see this as building on the astral projection that Grant was developing in the last few stories)... a lovely fresh take. As to Dyer's Anderson being 'ugly', well even allowing that you thought she was (and I don't think she was), is a pretty face so essential to the character? I was just glad to see a confident take-charge psychically-and-physically powerful Anderson replace all the moping and angst. If Beeby could incorporate the early quippy side of Anderson into this mature pragmatist, I'd be a very happy squaxx. And bring back Dyer for another run, he's just ace.
More strange pacing in Outlier, which abruptly jettisons all its characters and subplots for an instant wrap-up worthy of an 'exciting news for all our readers!' issue. Not really sure why a gamma burst propagating at lightspeed would necessitate such a snap decision on the part of an interstellar human civilsation (must be several years at least until it would affect even the closest systems to Creaggan), but I really liked the central idea of the Hurde as a means of survival. More time to explore this endgame in terms of the competing factions within both species (maybe this run should have started with the extinction event problem rather than saving it for the climax?), and less time spent in interrogation rooms with broken characters who will never get the chance to change or really do much of anything, would have suited me better - but then getting 3 series of this enjoyable 'proper' SF tale was a pleasant surprise anyway, so asking for more from it may be churlish.
Scarlet Traces... I dunno, it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, but this 'book' needed to cover twice as much ground to be as satisfying as it should be. And it does seem to be settling into an overly familiar Edginton pattern. But it's fun, and did I mention looking at it is likely having my eyeballs bathed in luminous joy? Also: an uncircumcised willie in the prog, whatever next? It only took a Jewish artist to deliver.
Dredd was a perfectly fine one parter, with lovely bouncy art from Marshall, although why Steve Jobs was there I've no clue. My son suggested Yu-Gi-Oh references in the art, but sadly I've no idea what that might look like. Hawkmumbler?
Jaigir is just the usual top quality work from all concerned, but I'd definitely like to see a longer run as well as these rather short choppy chunks.
Boo's Cover was gorgeous, and I liked Tharg's gloss on its theme.
Quote from: Frank on 19 September, 2016, 07:45:40 PM
, but we haven't seen that before. Obviously it's all silly made up stuff and it doesn't really matter.
If memory serves, we've seen something like that in the Undercity story that ran in the Daily Star (which will be reprinted later this year).
Jaegir was the best thing in this prog by far, though I wish the artist didn't give every character facial scarring, at times--not so much this story--it's hard to tell who's who. I do really like the way it looks so that's a minor quibble.
Outlier ends with a fantastic idea, just a shame we got a handful of panels to explore it, it felt rushed, like a TV series that's been cancelled but gets a final episode to wrap everything up. As others have said its surely going to take that radiation wave years/decades/maybe even centuries to wipe out humanity? I've never quite got into the series, it doesn't help that we have Carcer and Caul which I thought was a poor decision from the start. The finale shows there was more to this story than it seemed, shame we never really got to see it until this final part.
Scarlet Traces looks good, not always sure what's going on however, and as for Anderson, I think I need to read it again because I'm not entirely sure wtf happened here? Were the other judges stopping her taking the shot herself so she had to use Hershey? Just how many hands had senator woman shaken?
Quote from: Starkers on 22 September, 2016, 11:21:09 AM
Jaegir was the best thing in this prog by far, though I wish the artist didn't give every character facial scarring, at times--not so much this story--it's hard to tell who's who. I do really like the way it looks so that's a minor quibble.
Probably not an art decision, makes me suspect they're supposed to be Mensur scars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dueling_scar), tying in with general Germanic styling.
Quote from: Proudhuff on 21 September, 2016, 11:50:23 AM
I've bored the breeks off everyone with this but I think Anderson as a mature woman is one of the most interesting things that could be in 2000ad, Tharg should give her to Denise Mina to write...
I agree that the most interesting thing that can be done with Cass nowadays is to show her maturing. Looks like the other Judge in that preview is Corey, so I wonder if next prog's story will be a flashback...
Quote from: sheridan on 22 September, 2016, 11:35:20 AM
Quote from: Starkers on 22 September, 2016, 11:21:09 AM
Jaegir was the best thing in this prog by far, though I wish the artist didn't give every character facial scarring, at times--not so much this story--it's hard to tell who's who. I do really like the way it looks so that's a minor quibble.
Probably not an art decision, makes me suspect they're supposed to be Mensur scars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dueling_scar), tying in with general Germanic styling.
Ah interesting, I hadn't thought of that but it would seem like a very Nort thing to do!
Quote from: Starkers on 22 September, 2016, 03:56:08 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 22 September, 2016, 11:35:20 AM
Quote from: Starkers on 22 September, 2016, 11:21:09 AM
Jaegir was the best thing in this prog by far, though I wish the artist didn't give every character facial scarring, at times--not so much this story--it's hard to tell who's who. I do really like the way it looks so that's a minor quibble.
Probably not an art decision, makes me suspect they're supposed to be Mensur scars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dueling_scar), tying in with general Germanic styling.
Ah interesting, I hadn't thought of that but it would seem like a very Nort thing to do!
And I seem to recall Gordon Rennie saying somewhere that one of the underpinning ideas for Jaegir was sparked by the thought "why do all the Norts have scars", leading to the whole dodgy genetics angle that Jaegir is steeped
.
Vearing facial scars and lounging in ving back chairs is just vhat wery, wery, ewil willains do:
(http://i.imgur.com/vtzhJLs.png?1)(http://i.imgur.com/uhYJRqR.png?1)(http://i.imgur.com/TBAXwiu.jpg?2)
Quote from: Snivelling Earthquake on 22 September, 2016, 10:00:07 AM
However, this story took Anderson in new directions, and I loved it: the uniform tweaks, the punky haircut, the new powers (I see this as building on the astral projection that Grant was developing in the last few stories)... a lovely fresh take. As to Dyer's Anderson being 'ugly', well even allowing that you thought she was (and I don't think she was), is a pretty face so essential to the character? I was just glad to see a confident take-charge psychically-and-physically powerful Anderson replace all the moping and angst. If Beeby could incorporate the early quippy side of Anderson into this mature pragmatist, I'd be a very happy squaxx. And bring back Dyer for another run, he's just ace.
This ^^^
with a bit of Menopause chucked in :D
I believe the digital version of this prog that's downloadable from the Rebellion site* is corrupted.
I have had issues with my internet lately, so I thought it might be that. But after downloading it several times over wifi and over my phones 4g, and the same thing happening, it would seem to be the file. Both CBZ and PDF files seem to be affected.
Is anyone else having this issue? Apologies if it's been brought up earlier, I haven't read through the entire thread.
*Where those of us who digitally subscribe but don't use the app download our comics as opposed to the program shop.
Okay, the app version is okay. I think I have to use my phone to read that unfortunately, my tablet being an Amazon device. (I used to get round that by side-loading but that stopped working with updated versions of the app, last I checked.)
Quote from: Mardroid on 23 September, 2016, 08:28:23 AM
Okay, the app version is okay. I think I have to use my phone to read that unfortunately, my tablet being an Amazon device. (I used to get round that by side-loading but that stopped working with updated versions of the app, last I checked.)
Have you tried downloading from the rebellion portal rather than from your account history in the shop? I think that has the same version as the app.
Everything was tip top in the prog, a pleasantly light hearted Dredd after the previous 2 months grim (but exciting) fest. Very, VERY mega-city 1 tale. Giant pink Tricerotops, good stuff!
Jaiger and Scarlet Traces end on the promise of more, brilliant! Outlier's climax hits like a brick wall (a genuine 'what did I just read' moment) but is excellent to say the least! And Anderson concludes it's run much likeness. Very good story but I doub't it'll have any long term incrimination's.