The Meg

[Trout]

Finally, with apologies for four posts in a row:

I also dislike Manley's stuff. It got serious compliments here when he was doing Juliet November and I was a bit puzzled.

I agree Dredd deserves better, with apologies to the feelings of a new artist.
I'm all for new talent, but I don't think he's developed his enough to tackle Dredd.

- Trout

[longmanshort]

"I also dislike Manley's stuff. It got serious compliments here when he was doing Juliet November and I was a bit puzzled."

You and me both. The latest Meg Dredd just isn't right and, certainly at this point, I don't think the artist has what it takes to do Dredd. That's not to say he'll NEVER be able to, but I think it was a poor choice for a cracking Wagner script.

On the whole tho Alan, the Meg looks, feels and reads the best it ever has. Keep it up (but with less Slaine)!

[Proudhuff]

Alan, Thanks for that, that is about the most helpful forward looking thing I've seen in ages.

It does give a feeling that there is good reasoning behind the set up and that someones listening, far from ++long-winded and defensive++.

 Nothing less than 8-page chunks!!! yahoo !

Glad I included the Meg in my new subscription

Yoiur may seem a thankless task at times, so Thanks!

HuffDaddy

[Tiplodocus]

Blimey - we've had loads of creators chipping in on the site this week.  They normally pop up just after a say something was a bit rubbish!. .

However, I wasn't going to say anything was lame about the Meg.

I'm enjoying it quite a bit at the moment.

I thought the cover was excellent - my only complaint was that the "pulp" image didn't refelct the style (writing and art) of the Dredd story inside.  This actually was a bit of relief because when I say it I thought "Cripes - we're in for some bad Raymond Chandler parody here".  I'm not overly keen on Manley's art - too comedic for me but at least it was clean and clear.

Everything else I enjoyed pretty much. Like a lot of people I'll be rereading FAMILY in one sitting and I do worry about the pacing of Black Siddha (exactly how LITTLE has happened?) but I think it's a refreshing change to include such a story.

Darkie's Mob was starting to repeat itself but with this months episodes we break out of the mould slightly with the new recruit arc and the cliff hangers.

I was enjoying slaine so I was abit miffed that it's finished. What's the point of reprinting the middle bit of a story?  What happened next? Was it the roleplaying tie-in?

 

[Trout]

Yes, that was next. I suppose they could reprint the story related to Tomb of Terror, the roleplaying game, but I forget if they are.

I doubt it.

- Trout

[Matt]

Yeah, Tomb of Terror came next.

[Bolt-01]

RE: Slaine, tomb of terror.

I read that when it came out, and I cant remember it for the life of me. Bloomin Ada! Nope still cant think of it.

Mike Manley on Dredd: Manley has been around for a long time (IIRC) he used to work for knockabout? I like his stuff and think it is fine for the moment.

Text pieces: Shame you cant reprint Alan Moores Night Raven stories, they were aces. Haven't read the recent tales yet though.

Meg in general: I have only been reading for the latest incarnation and have no problems with it. It is nice of Alan to say hi though. Even if he did whet my appetite for the future.

Rotts

[Art]

The main thing I can remember is Slaine being able to fight Cthulhu like beasties that would drive other warriors insane because hes too thick to comprehend their true macrocosmic horror. I liked that.

[The Monarch]

One of the three old characters you mention may well make a reappearance - perhaps sooner than you think

hmm interesting kinda backs up my thoery that it's armitage showing up in that dredd in brit cit story mentioned recently

[GermanAndy]

I like the reprints. Unlike for many readers the stuff is new to me, it is interesting to actually read the old Slaine, but as the character does nothing for me I would never buy him in the GN format. On the other hand I would hate to see reprints from Vertigo as I have most of the stuff sitting on the shelves. I guess the first Hellboy is the third edition I now have.

Personally I liked the last format better, it had more of the magazine approach, but it?s not that important.

As for the tales, I thought them 50/50. I liked Family much more then Bendatti, which was a very tired concept to begin with. But it had some often complained story-telling problems. But at least it had some interesting ideas. Which I miss in other stuff. Siddha isn?t for me, I find it plain boring, Middenface also can?t capture my imagination on the whole, even if the last story was okay. Regardless I like the idea of mixing the old with the new, it keeps the Megazine fresh.

I also like the prose-stuff. Bishops history war marvelous, the Dredd storys range from good to mediocre, but I am the first to admit that this is a matter of taste.

On the whole I enjoy the Megazine.

[paulvonscott]

I'm a bit late to all of this, but I enjoyed Manley's Art on on the Megazine Dredd this week.

Nice to see some nice crisp line art.  Not overly stylised which was fun for the artist, but not for the reader.  I always think some nice crisp line art adds a certain quality to Judge Dredd and Mega City and when I read this it reminded me of Dredd from the 400's, in art and story.  The first page is exaclty what I epect from Judge Dredd and Mega City.

Strangely enough I think something like Burns or Ridgeways art works really well when Dredd is in the Cursed Earth.

I have a lot of problems with art on Judge Dredd myself, but this was perfectly decent stuff.  Much better than an artist more interested in his 're-invention' of Dredd rather than telling us a straight Dredd story, featuring a character we recognise.  

A problem which has plagued the strip for a long time.  But I suppose we have to blame the people who were able to produce a stylised Dredd and do it well, Bolland, McMahon, Carlos, Ewins, McCarthy for the people who have done it badly.

I appreciate this isn't a very trendy view.

[Paul Cornell]

Dear old Al said:

>You need the courage to publish a few off->beat 'love em or hate em' strips which you know >are going to divide your readership - Black >Siddha being an obvious example (I warn you now, >XTNCT's another).

Being the writer of XTNCT (hello, first posting, still getting the hang, what are all these knobs?) I hope more of you will like than dislike. Disraeli's art is lovely. It's not so much an anthology series, more six stories about the same characters.  It's a very heartfelt piece for me.  It may upset a lot of people, but I hope enough will speak up for it (in the online polls, etc.) to get me a second run with it!  

[Leigh S]

*first posting, still getting the hang, what are all these knobs?*


Don't worry about it, them's just us boarders...  :)

[Bolt-01]

Paul: Welcome aboard and good luck with XTINCT.

More blood for the masses.

Rotts

[Paul Cornell]

Thank you, Watcher and Rotts.  'Boarders', eh?  As opposed to day pupils, presumably.