Meg 260 - Family Feud

[dweezil2]

Tharg you beauty!! Thanks for the freebie Judge Death GN, it made my pigging day it did!

[TordelBack]

Read the Dolman story with interest.  Doherty's best-ever art, lots of great Dredd "Hmmphs", but on a re-read, one thing strikes me:  Dredd was wrong.  There was no need whatsoever for that last shove against the wall, even for a Judge.  Could Dolman be a wrong'un after all?

[Robin Low]

"Read the Dolman story with interest. Doherty's best-ever art, lots of great Dredd "Hmmphs", but on a re-read, one thing strikes me: Dredd was wrong. There was no need whatsoever for that last shove against the wall, even for a Judge. Could Dolman be a wrong'un after all?"

I've had a couple of looks at this, too. I have a slight problem with another bit of the story, but I'll come to that later.

Looking at the art, I think you might be right - I can't see how Dolman is justified in the second attack. However, is this a problem with the art? Was Doherty meant to draw the perp looking like there was a little more life in him?

The question arises, though, what story is Wagner really trying to tell? Is this a story setting up a plotline concering Dolman going bad? Or is it a story about Dredd, his family and his ongoing concerns about the system he operates within? Or is it both? On the face of it, I think it's definitely about Dredd, family and the justice system, but it's too early to tell about Dolman yet.

What concerned me more was Dredd's final line of dialogue to McGinn. I like the idea of Dredd arguing his case and persuading McGinn to release Dolman. However, the last line sounded threatening, bullying even, rather than reasoned argument and persuasion. This slightly spoiled the ending a for me.

Overall, though, what really stood out for me was McGinn. He came across as an intelligent, reasonable and capable Judge, rather than the usual faceless or crooked or thuggish ones we usually get. And there was something fun about seeing him eat a sandwich. More of this guy, please.

Regards

Robin

[GermanAndy]

Dredd: Great story, good art. And of course was Dredd bullying McGinn with his promise to overturn it on appeal. Still, this was a lot shades of grey. Could be a field day for an SJS overview. And Vienna is wrong into assuming that Dredd could do whatever he wants. Dredd is the law, he isn´t above the law :-)

And McGinn was a great character. Bring him back.

Critchlow: An okay article.

British horror: I am in the minority here, I guess, but I like most of the text pieces. I alwyas thought House of Hammer was a reprint comic of Marvel stuff :-) now I know better. And I guess to have to search for the Bolland Dracula.

Anderson: the idea is kind of cheesy, and Anderson pulled the plug awfully fast, but on the whole I like this.

Second invasion: I like the articles, but this was rather blah.But I have to second Molchers opinion, the "british" voice has been americanized.

Satanus: unreadable. Just terrible.

Small press: I often skipp this, but this was some interesting artwork.

God Fish: Okay, nice ending. But it reminded me awfully of a recent future shock I have forgotten the details about.

Angel Gang: this I am lukewarm about. Spurrier is hit and miss with me (more miss I have to confess) and the art isn´t really my cup.

[Smiley]

Articles in comics are like articles in porn mags; destined to be read last, if at all, after the (ungh!) instant gratification is out of the way.

So, surprised to be reading everything in order this month (and even agreeing with the "best line" bits in the Dredd Files for once) and thinking that can't be right. Should be skipping all these and going for the strips.

Could it be just a case of the subjects, such as Horror Comics or the progress of Brit creators in Superheroland, being of infinite more interest to readers of comics than, say, which home brewing kit's best or the performance of the Morgan Aero 8 engine is of interest to the gentleman onanist? Maybe, but stretching the tasteless and unoriginal analogy further, the rest of The Meg does seem a bit like a porn mag gone wrong.

Now, there's Dredd. Bland Dohertyness and an amusing final caption. Not a grabber. This is the vaguely familiar American who's the only one to have done a video and is gamely undergoing another cosmetic lift. The latest Anderson's often good for a centrespread and doesn't disappoint with nice big robots this month, only slightly spoilt by stiff noodly artwork. (In hindsight, how much better would Detonator X have been if it had Big Robots' set-up? Instead of Anderson coldly striding along we could've had a Terra-Meks for the noughties, there.) This is the best thing in The Meg.

Blood Of Satanus is the one that makes you go WHOAHUNHOLYMOMMA at the sheer wrongness. Both story and art resemble that fat fifty-plus dinnerlady who was quite the lass in her youth, but is now reduced to dressing up and wallowing in mashed cake, while grabbing her folds and winking "I've still got it!", fooling no-one but herself.

There's also the old Future Shock. A plump sepia-toned Edwardian strumpet, often included to allow teenagers to snigger and wonder how their tenement-dwelling ancestors could ever have found this arousing. (Can't we have Charley's War back, like, now?) And then there's Freak Show. Amateur, glum and unlovely, fumbling attempts at titillation inspiring only mild depression, like a Reader's Wife nursing a black eye. And Before They Wuz Dead, the struggling bit-part star that fancies itself but tries way too hard. Sorry, but these last two are just not very good fan filler. And it shows.

The Meg should be the comics equivalent of good porn mags. They have more letters, too.

[JOE SOAP]

***Now, there's Dredd. Bland Dohertyness and an amusing final caption.***

You talk balls, Doherty is one on the few decent original Dredd artists in recent times. He has a subtlety all his own.

[Pete Wells]

What makes me laugh is that the appalling mess that is Satanus is, if I remember correctly, a result of Mills spitting out his dummy because Andy Diggle used the very deep character without his consent.

I suppose Mills has got his wish. No one in their right mind would go anywhere near the character after this pile of steaming shite. Pointless, ebarrassing crap that is wasting page after page of the meg. Ugh.

Give me Diggle and MacNeil's strip any day of the week, what on earth is Pat trying to prove?

[nofuture]

BEST MEG I'VE READ IN YEARS

[Byron Virgo]

"Diggle and MacNeil's"

Gordon Rennie was the writer - Diggle was editing the comic at the time.

[Pete Wells]

Aye, you're right Byron, I didn't remember correctly! Still, it could have been written and drawn by Brother Billau and it still would have been better than the current offering...

[Tiplodocus]

"Dear Tharg,

I was enjoying a jolly good read with my beautifully drawn, dark episode of DREDD when unexpectedly, blonde flatmate ANDERSON: PSI-DIV came in...

... right between them.

I wonder if any other of your readers have had similar experisneces they would like to share.

yours
Lucky Git etc."

[Noisybast]

Dredd: A worthy addition to the "Dredd Family" saga. Liked it. Quite intrigued to see where Wagner takes Dolman. Will he learn his lesson? Nice art by Docherty, too.

Anderson: Lovely, if sometimes overly busy artwork from Dave Taylor. The story's OK, if a little improbable. How did nobody notice the old dead guy building a shitload of gigantic robots on the middle of the city? Were PSU on their day off? Also, why didn't Anderson hold off on the execution 'til the old dead guy had given her some hints on how to stop them? Mind you, I guess he didn't have to be alive for Anderson to ask him...

Satanus: Risible

Angel Gang: Fairly lightweight, throwaway stuff, but inoffensive enough. I might have judged this more harshly, but coming after the abortion that is Satanus, it's a Gruddamn masterpiece.


"why do they keep printing it?"

"Is there a reason why Satanus III is being printed? Seriously, I wonder if there is something contractual about it, or if a hand is being forced somewhere and there is no option to print it"

Pretty much, yeah. The question was raised at the 2000AD panel at Bristol.
Matt Smith looked uncomfortable, looked at his shoes a bit, shrugged slightly and offered an explanation to the effect of "Don't blame me - it was commissioned before I took over and we've kinda got to print it".
I do feel slightly sorry for the poor sod, as he's copping all the flak for an albatross someone else commissioned.
Still, it'll all be over soon, eh?


Won't it...?

[Noisybast]

Arsebiscuits!
Web-fu schmeb-fu...

[johnone]

C'mon Satanus isn't that bad (Pause for laughter, there is feedback from the Mic as the single audience member coughs with embarrasment)
  No seriously , I know the Meg has contractual obligations but could you not just forget to publish it, or better still just pay Pat NOT to write such shite!

To Mike Collins
Chuffed you commented , I like the God Fish just why the Meg why not Extreme?
 Oh and as for Action Force , thanks a bunch Mike , now I'm fighting back tears of Nostalgia  thinking of the Old Action Force ( They were never GI JOE to me) ahh happy days of reading classic lines such as " no , no aieee!" seriously  though they really were the stories I read as a kid so thanks.

[dweezil2]

How good was The Meg Dredd story this month?
It was a blinder and sets up some interesting plot developments hopefully to be explored at a later date.
Peter Doherty, great to have him back drawing Dredd, he's up there with my fave artists and his artwork is a lot better than his musical output!


Also........"Articles in comics are like articles in porn mags".

Don't know about you, but it's the only reason I read them.