A glorious Higgins cover adorns this month's as Dreadnoughts closes out the current story arc. I have to be honest, there are times when Mr Carroll's work leaves me feeling a little flat when it comes to conclusions but this series has really engaged. Of course having such a master on art duties doesn't hurt. I may well be tempted to have a look at some of his early years novelisations as this seems to be a real strength of his.
As the editorial notes, the series has garnered accolades from across the pond so something seems to be going right. The same editorial notes that Wagner and Higgins will be delivering a Dredd 6-parter in the summer!
In all honesty the meg is doing more for me than the prog right now. We've been here before where some of the stronger material is showing up in the monthly. The Niemand / Coleby (who's been a busy boy this month?) Dredd one-and-done is an interesting 'whatever happened to ...' tale. I'll leave it to readers to discover the connection to early Dredd lore.
Returners is the one strip I'm not getting on with although the last few episodes have shifted that a little. Assirelli's artwork is stunning but I'm just not gelling with it overall. Possibly since it is sandwiched between Deliverance and Dreadnoughts, a hell of a pair to fight for attention with.
... and of course in addition to the past of Dredd-world, Niemand gives us a fascinating alternate take on this world in Megatropolis, just one more challenge faced by Returners. Taylor's art is superb right now and the latest twists of the tale raise some fascinating questions around where this is heading.
This is what really gets me though. I mean, the Megazine was supposed to explore all the different dimensions of Dredd's world and for a long time it never really seemed to get that right. What we have right now is the present, past and alternative dimensions of that world. In addition we have distant realms of that world both physically and spiritually.
The quality of artwork would put the major American players to shame. The quality of writing is similarly impressive. Even at its weakest it fires on all cylinders. How many other titles can say that?
All round I have to say, I can forgive (almost) the absence of the prog. This month's meg is such a distraction.
