Prog 2341 - Kill Shot

[I, Cosh]

Presumably, the lads got backed up into this particular VR prison around about the time they got stuck in that video game level.

[Proudhuff]

I wish I had Colins optimism re. Azimuth! The worry was there from the beginning - the joke names, the possible connection to the AI plot - and I don't think it's going to be bad from now on, but the story didn't need to be a SinDex spinoff imo - interesting concept and character and setting, which is all the things SinDex has pretty much played out. I guess we'll see where it goes.

The rest of the Prog I enjoyed. Good opening episode on Dredd - we know Asher likes to take responsibility for others and I have a feeling this lady could be the death of him. Portals a bit less promising: it does seem a bit unfocused and the vegetarian vampire was a bit cliche but it looks great - all the dark, nasty urban backgrounds.
Really enjoyed Void Runners this week, the story is absolutely belting along, and finally Hershey is an odd opening episode but some fantastic, atmospheric work from Simon Fraser especially on facial expressions both subtle and less so.

This^^^^ from me too. My heart sank when I saw SinDex, they were a one-off jape in the wake of Pulp Fiction but somehow got flogged on and on, then rebooted and resuited with diminishing returns each time, starnge how they haven't been showhorned into the Regened issues, I wonder why?

[JayzusB.Christ]

I know it doesn't move in real time like Dredd, but a lot has happened in the meantime - even Billi Octavo must be pushing middle age by now.

Well, they had that dimension/timeline hopping storyline a few years back, which ended with a reset...

I thought it was the universe(s) around them that reset, while they stayed the same. Admittedly I can't quite remember what exactly happened there.

It was the end of "The Taking of the Michael" (2015) - they wiped Moses Tanenbaum from reality - but it was the Moses from another reality. If they didn't kill him, reality itself would collapse. (Comics, huh?) When Moses 2.0 was killed, something weird happened and it was as if Sin & Dex had no criminal record anymore, and none of the Downlode people knew who they were.

They stayed the same, they didn't time travel - nobody de-aged.

THanks, that's kind of how I remember it.  Since then I haven't been paying too much attention to the details.  The last time I remember being hugely engaged was when it seemed Sinister would have to kill a paralysed Dexter, and I'd also thought that Dickensian Christmas one where they were skeletons was some kind of dark and portentous vision of their future, dripping with symbolism. 

Turned out Sinister's actual rescue of Dexter was just as daft as the fantasy one he'd dreamed up to escape from his sense of desperation, and the prophetic story only happened because Simon had asked Dan if he could draw them as skeletons for one story.

[scrotnig]

I'll go against the grain a bit here.

I still enjoy Sinister Dexter. And I'm enjoying this. And I love the reveal, even though it's out of sync with known timelines.

So there!

[Funt Solo]

Presumably, the lads got backed up into this particular VR prison around about the time they got stuck in that video game level.

That I don't remember. Can you recall which story?

---

I'm understanding some folk's disappointment (although - that's only a portion of "the board" - we're not actually a hive mind) that Azimuth isn't it's own thing, but looking on the positive side of things - you still have a hugely inventive set of new characters in a new setting. Suzi Nine is still with us.

I've had my moments of ennui with Sin Dex, but was interested to read how much fondness Dabnett has for the characters. That altered my outlook a bit, and then when it rolls high, you get some great output. The Gangbusters is a good example. Or Killer Serial in the last SFS.

Anyway - I just wanted to voice my support for the project. At the very least, it has my everlasting respect for helping 2000AD out of the dark days of the mid-90s.

[I, Cosh]

Presumably, the lads got backed up into this particular VR prison around about the time they got stuck in that video game level.

That I don't remember. Can you recall which story?

I wish I could! I might be misremembering but I'm thinking of the one with the biplanes which ended with Ray having visible thought bubbles.

[Colin YNWA]

Think the story in question is 'Gangbusters' Prog 2079-2081 with glorious Steve Yeowell art.

Happy to be corrected if that's wrong.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'll go against the grain a bit here.

I still enjoy Sinister Dexter. And I'm enjoying this. And I love the reveal, even though it's out of sync with known timelines.

So there!

A differing opinion? Get out.

[scrotnig]

I'll go against the grain a bit here.

I still enjoy Sinister Dexter. And I'm enjoying this. And I love the reveal, even though it's out of sync with known timelines.

So there!

A differing opinion? Get out.

I know. Edgy eh?

[Jim_Campbell]

They stayed the same, they didn't time travel - nobody de-aged.

Fair enough... I clearly didn't recall the specifics, beyond the series getting something of a reset.

[Funt Solo]

I should've said - I didn't have a good recall either - and had to check my back progs to see what had happened. (It's not as if it makes much sense for two people to exist - even to the extent that they have an address known to the police -  but have no history. Timey-wimey stuff.)

[AlexF]

Put me in the camp of being pleased to see SinDex back, but also hoping that the Azimuth setting may indeed get used again for its own, SinDex tangential stories. The whole evil vs good AI storyline was one that intrigued me but it was hard to work out where it could go unless one or other ended up taking over the world...
...and I guess that's what's happened!

Simon Fraser's art on this latest Hershey is unreal.

[Tjm86]

In all honesty I was undecided about Azimuth from the get-go.  Aside from the amazing artwork, too much of it read like a poor Cyber-punk novel.  I was hoping that it was going to turn into something interesting and confound initial expectations.

So the latest twist (regularly used, as has been observed) that ties into what has been a disappointing run of stories in Sin/Dex is not exactly helping.  How exactly it fits into the overarching narrative remains to be seen.  Will it turn all this around?  Not sure yet.

Where is Niemand taking us with Fallen Man?  It feels a little like he's playing into the inevitability of Asher's situation.  It has been noted elsewhere that there is a sort of predictability when it comes to any tale about the citizens of MC1.  Anyone that tries to 'beat the system' ends up crushed by it.  Asher has foes on all sides, not least Dredd.  So it is hard to see any other outcome really.

That said, you can't fault much else, especially not Foster's artwork...

Portals & Black Goo on the other hand, well if it weren't for Coveney this would be less appealing than it is.  Can't quite see how this is working, what the core concept is or why we should actually care about the lead character.  Sorry, not a fan I'm afraid.

Void Runners on the other hand, I most definitely am.  A nicely paced one-and-done (possibly) with Boo Cook allowed to let rip in his inimitable style?  What is not to love.

I would also have to agree with comments about Fraser's work on Hershey.  The man has always been amazing and he is keeping up that standard.  As the tale rattles on to (presumably) its conclusion we have a touching moment between Frank and Hershey before the fit hits the Shan ...

Overall a reasonable prog.  The flaws are minor, definitely outweighed by so much quality elsewhere.  As always at its weakest Tooth leaves too many competitors in the shade. 

[Bad City Blue]

We;=ll, I was ready to give up on Azimuth, it was so up it's own arse and smug with the over abundance of punny shite.

Now I'm back in.

[Magnetica]

I have been several weeks behind on my Prog reading and was doing a catch up. Unfortunately I saw next week's cover before reading Azimuth and so the reveal was spoiled for me.

But following Colin's earlier guess, that this was a SinDex spin off, I have been reading it with that in the back of my mind anyway.

It wouldn't surprise me if Dan Abnett had done it deliberately, along the line of "a load of you say you don't like Sinister Dexter, so let's put out a new thrill that people will rave about, only to reveal it's actually Sinister Dexter!".