Meg 223 - Big Bother

[Leigh S]

Not much to say at the mo, cepting I'm really enjoying Dave Taylors art on the Dredd despite (or perhaps because of) the glaringly obvious influences....

[Bad Andy]

This edition left me slightly flat and I'm struggling find out why.

Dredd was okay, but not as coherent as it should be. Koburn's little trek seems a bit pointless but it looks good.

Anderson has a creeping uneasiness about the witchcraft people which is promising and the way Jack Pot deals with the big Raptaur made me laugh out loud.

Black Siddha has lost its way somehwere. I was quite enjoying it, but I haven't really got a clue what's going on anymore and sadly I don't give a toss either.

Charley's is entertaining enough. Hell trekkers finishes on a strange downbeat note and the Metro Dredd is like an introduction to MC1. Absolutely nothing in it for regular readers, unlike some entertaining recent ones.

I think the cover is a bit pedestrian too, with no relevence to any of the storylines. Still there's the good news of an extra strip every month now.

Anyone else been left cold with this issue?

[thrillpowerseeker]

I see from the next meg there will 8 more pages and only Charleys War as reprint..EXCELLENT...uh hang on does this mean an extra price hike?..

[The Amstor Computer]

Nope - same price.

[The Amstor Computer]

OK, once more from the top:

COVER:

A nice, strong image of Dredd that's a real step up from the run-of-the-mill stock Dredd images - and the milling crowd in the background is a lovely touch. It's a shame about the naff cover line, though - "Big Bother"? Why not just go for "Big Brother"? Ah, well.

JUDGE DREDD: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BIZNESS...

Interesting. The art is *very* reminiscent of D'Israeli at points, but without the flair that the D'Emon D'Raughtsman brings to his work. The palette is very muted, which is something that works in places, but tends to leave sections of the strip looking muddy.

The story itself isn't much to shout about, and it's odd to see another tale with Dredd vowing to find a psychotic, diary-keeping criminal who's just committed mass-murder so hot on the heels of SIX. I also can't help feeling that, as with the Crystal Skull, this is going to be another villain that Alan Grant won't revisit for a long time, if ever.

A fairly throwaway tale, made interesting by the art - though not for all the right reasons!

CURSED EARTH KOBURN: KUSS HARD

A solid finale to a solid strip. Not much has happened in three episodes, but Rennie & Ezquerra have provided a strong launchpad for future adventures. It's hard to get as excited about this story as I was about Koburn's first appearance, but I expect that - now the scene-setting is out of the way & an expanded cast introduced - we'll see more entertaining adventures in the future.

Not a two-smoke strip, but definitely one I'll be re-reading :-)

ANDERSON: WMD

The expedition into Anderson's brain begins to collapse, and this strip gets a lot more interesting. The hints of a darker agenda from Psi-Division's witches is tantalising, and the freedom the setting gives Grant lets him conjure up some thoroughly entertaining scenes - Orlok in a smoking jacket, seducing Corey?

As always, Arthur Ranson turns in a solid performance, and while he's not being given a great deal to do here, he does it well. And that final series of panels is a killer!

THE SIMPING DETECTIVE: CRYSTAL BLUE

Now, *this* is what Si Spurrier is capable of. I know some of my dislike of Bec & Kawl is just down to personal taste, but I sometimes feel like he's not pushing himself & it shows in the strip.

Here, he's flying, and with Frazer in the co-pilot's seat, this is a Megazine highlight. The subtle - and not-so-subtle - touches that R-Ving brings to the story are just the icing on the cake (keep an eye out for the SFX during the confrontation between Point & Daveez...)

I'm looking forward to much, much more from this series...

BLACK SIDDHA: KALI YUGA

Possibly one of the more contentious series in the Megazine at the moment, but one that's got me hooked.

The plot is thin, exposition sometimes seems to be all the characters can talk in, and some of the story veers some sublime to ludicrous, often in the space of a single panel.

But... it's ridiculously inventive, the mish-mash of Indian mythology, soap opera & superheroes actually *works* and Simon Davis' artwork is gorgeous. It's Spiderman, written in an opium daze & it's one of the best things Pat has written in years.

THE DREDD FILES:

This edges into a patch of Dredd history that I'm less familiar with, having only read the reprints of these strips in the Complete Judge Dredd once or twice. I still can't quite see what value this has for the fan who's read these stories before, but they're certainly a comprehensive look at early Dredd for newer readers.

CHARLEY'S WAR / HELLTREKKERS:

CW continues apace, and I'm enjoying this more now that it's reprinting parts of the series that I've never read before - much as I enjoy it, it's a familiar story in parts, and it's a welcome change to see "new" episodes.

The conclusion of Helltrekkers comes as something of a mix between relief & disappointment. It had a bitter, manic edge that I enjoyed, but stretched over so many episodes it did begin to drag. I can certainly see why, at 21 episodes, it upset the readership first time around.

JUDGE DREDD: CODE 99 RED:

A bit of a non-strip. It rehashes several old & recent Dredd tales & strips them of everything that made them interesting. I don't know quite how well this is being received by readers outside 2K, but I can't see what the point was in this strip - IMO, you wouldn't lose anything by just reprinting the original Daily Star Dredd tales, and in some cases, you'd end up with a far better series.

COMING NEXT:

I don't usually mention this, but there are a couple of points of interest. First, the return of Shimura. Though it's fairly obviously linked to the collection of his previous adventures due to be released, it's quite nice to see him back. His world was always quite interesting, and while it was never a classic, at best the series made a solid second-tier strip. Andy Clarke's version of the character looks interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Second - what's this? "Judge Fear's Big Day Out"? Am I mistaken, or is this not the story Si Spurrier wrote for Logan's Class of 79? That had spot illos by Henry Flint, but this is going to be drawn by Cam Smith. Is it the same tale?

Finally, there's "The Heatseekers". This doesn't seem to be a new strip, rather some kind of text feature. Any clues, Nerve Centre folks?

Anyway, while this issue falls below the past couple of Megs, it's still a fantastic read.

RIDE THE TIGER! RIDE THE TIGER!

;-)

[Mr D]

I really enjoyed this meg! Very violent though (highlight in this respect had to be the end of Anderson!) but not in a bad way.

I'm excited to hear that there will now be more new material in the meg, hell almost TOTALLY new material, but I do actually enjoy reprints. I'm not alone here, I'm sure, so is anything going to happen with regards to the Extremes? They've now got a whole lot more material (anything that might be 'meg reprintabe' is available) so could we see them a little more often than 4 times a year??

Does the Simping Detective return next month? I blurry well hope so!

I was quite amused by the letter complaining about the spelling in the PJ Maybe story ;-)

Will Koburn be back? Hope so! Longer and slightly more satisfying adventure too I hope.

[The Amstor Computer]

Mr D - The Simping Detective is back next issue, like it says in the back of the Meg ;-)

AFAIK, there are plans to move the Extreme to bimonthly instead of quarterly. That'd be six issues a year, and with both the Rebellion Euro & Rebellion/DC graphic novel lines picking up pace, I'm sure finding an outlet for reprints won't be a problem!

[VampiraJen]

Does the Simping Detective return next month?

i think frazer said in an interview that ther's another three part story, or that simp will be with us till about christmas...



can i make a confession?

i haven't been reading charleys war.  i don't even feel bad aboout not reading it.  i don't even think about it.  but everyone keeps going on about how good it is.  i'm not one for 1970's boys comic war stories, and the though off reading a preachy mill script is kind of off putting.  and yet when i was reading that mills interview the other day, it suddenly seemed very alluring.  so tell me - is charleys war any good?  SHOULD i be reading it???

[Mr D]

Yes.

[VampiraJen]

i was kinda looking for more than that.  WHY should i.  is there more to it than just a preachy war story?

[Mr D]

It is actually rather well written. Although it does seem to be the same. Old. Thing. Week. After. Sodding. WEEK. the monotony is used to show you how the soldiers felt. The stories are ufficiently diverse to hold your attention, and while he witters on about 'War being hell' a lot (Yes, yes we KNOW that thanks) he doesn't back down from the harsh realities.

Charley himself changes so much as the story goes on.... Jes' read it ye fool!

[VampiraJen]

okay, i'll give it ago...now, about helltrekkers.....

[VampiraJen]

i'm only half joking about helltrekers.  what happened to the good old days when the reprinits looked like something you wanted to read.  like slain, or button man, or something...

[The Amstor Computer]

...except for readers who already *had* read Time Killer, and owned the original strip, the Best of... reprints and the Titan collection :-)

The problem with comic reprints is that, unless it's something like Lazarus Churchyard or some foreign strip, you're bound to find that many of your readers will have read & maybe own the strip already. Of those, some will love it & want to read it again, some will love it but would rather read something else & some will hate it and wish you'd printed something "better".

I think the Meg has done a great job of picking relative rarities like Helltrekkers and the Visible Man, and mixing in some more widely available classics like Bad Company & Slaine. It's not always to my taste, but I recognise that reprints are a necessity & I try and get as much pleasure out of them as possible.

[VampiraJen]

as a newer reader i'm for old 2000ad reprints, but i get that a lot of people have already read them.  i can't help but be cynical and see it as a way for the writers to make a bit more money.  why must there be re-prints at all, why not more origional work.  or more space for dredd files so that we can get over with it quicker...?




p.s.  i really liked the visible man, even if it got kinda preachy