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Prog 2217 In a Crime-Ridden City... ...He is the Law!

Started by McNulty, 01 February, 2021, 02:46:54 PM

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broodblik

Dredd - After the last few weeks of more intense darker Dredd tale, we receive a stripped tale of disrobed proportions (please do not look down) This is the reason why Dredd stories are so diverse one week dark the next lighter. A good one-off again from Nobody.

Red – Although we are in familiar ground this story is well told and the art is great. The story ends with a cliff-hanger so next week will be interesting.

Vex – Some interesting turn of events as we delve deeper in the world of Vex. [spoiler]Now we know that he is a not only a flesh-pilot but the species body he occupies is not. So, is a flesh-pilot almost like a symbiosis rather than something as wearing a sleeve ala Alter Carbon?[/spoiler] Great storytelling from both Carroll and Lynch.

Slaine – Little bit of "superpowers" here as Slaine uses go full Green Arrow on us. The art as always are sublime the story feels like it is traying to stay with the art but just cannot get there yet.

Hershey – More of Hershey's state of mind is revealed and it all an internal struggle. Frank just had enough.  The story just got darker and bleaker as we roll out the weeks. Just some great storytelling.

Cover – As already mentioned this one is already early favourite for cover of the year.

This was a real bumper prog, enjoying this run.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Richard S.

I love Dan Cornwell's art so I delighted to see him on the front cover of the prog this week - if you're a fan too you might find my complete guide to Dan's work for Tharg useful - cheers!

https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.com/2021/02/updated-dan-cornwell-for-2000ad-megazine.html
For 2,500+ other posts about all aspects of British comics then why not check out my blog at
https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.com/

Follow me on twitter @richardandsheaf

TordelBack

Great cover, very hard to believe this Is Dan's first front-of-house, feels like he's part of the furnishings at this point.

Dredd is just plain silliness lifted by Cornwell's enthusiasm and a solid punchline.  Moe Hallam/Hallam Foe voyeur gag works well too. It's telling that I don't find myself irritated by the 'Dredd outdone by new sidekick' angle when it's this entertaining. Niemand is perhaps overusing the Chimpsky/The Samaritan magic-do-gooder template (I might have preferred a bionic-eyes-gone-wrong angle) but look, it's fun, well-told and well-drawn.

Durham Red remains a stylish actionner, no complaints here.

Sláine enjoys probably his best episode since the peeing Gog. Not only is Manco's art insanely good and ever-improving, but Pat absolutely packs the pages with plot,  violence, trademark heavy-handed commentary on ethno-nationalism and sexuality/identity, deep callbacks and thematic development.

It's great to see the threads of Sláine's long story pulling together like this, embracing the Skathan/Sepha/Estrella stuff from Carnival,  his own true nature from Lord of Beasts, Macha's teachings from Brutannia... even Ukko's tavern. Ah hey, it's just great chunky Millsy stuff.

Proteus Vex continues to keep things at boiling point with more flesh-pilot revelations...  although I was a bit surprised to see a Silent speak. See what you get when you make assumptions.

Hershey. I do find this series drawing me in (looking this good how could it not), but then we get Hershey wondering if Dredd has ever lost something that's a part of him. Well maybe his actual eyes. Or his clone brother. Or even his badge, multiple times. I don't like this Hershey,  I don't recognize her and I doubt I ever will. But it is skillful comics, no question.

broodblik

After your highlighting certain aspects of the Slaine story Tordel I feel a need (not for speed) but rather to re-read Slaine from a certain point.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Barrington Boots

I didn't get the Hallam Foe gag at all, nicely spotted Tordel!

Also I hadn't realised just how many callbacks were in this weeks Slaine. I've been critical of the writing of this series but this episode was a really good one.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: Barrington Boots on 03 February, 2021, 11:22:25 AM
I didn't get the Hallam Foe gag at all, nicely spotted Tordel!

Where's that 'Think that went over my head' thread...

broodblik

This weeks prog's title should have been "The naked truth of the bare necessities"
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

TordelBack

Quote from: broodblik on 03 February, 2021, 10:52:26 AM
After your highlighting certain aspects of the Slaine story Tordel I feel a need (not for speed) but rather to re-read Slaine from a certain point.

Never take my ramblings too seriously, BB, I enjoy dredging up whatever links/theories I can, but few enough stand up to later examination. Treating stories like a cryptic crossword is just a way of adding value for myself. Authorial intent be damned.

JimmyNailz

I'm loving the current line-up and this prog was particularly good.

Comedy, action, drama, it had it all, plus, Dredd's arse!

Woolly

I just want to say that Dan Cornwell is, for me, one of the most important new artists the Prog has seen in years. Watching his work just get better and better, and at an incredible page count when all his works are taken into consideration, is absolute bliss for this happy squaxx!

Extra oil rations, and a Dredd mega-epic for the Cornwell droid please Tharg :)

broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

TordelBack

I often think that one of the great skills in comics art is combining satisfying detail with absolute clarity - Cornwell has that nailed.

Barrington Boots

Agree with that and echo the praise of Dan Cornwell in general - he's so good and I think could be a 'big' artist for Tharg in years to come.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

JayzusB.Christ

I really enjoyed Dredd - Kenneth Niemand has brought something back to MC1 that I really missed, which was the citizen's point of view.  This gave me a bit of an 80s buzz, despite all the things that wouldn't have been printed in Dredd back then.  Wonder what Dredd's [spoiler]secret is?  Big?  Small?  Piercing?
Two?  None?[/spoiler]

Sláine - A nice, action-packed episode, and the artwork is outstanding.  I kind of think Sláine has been winding down to a finish for a very long time - the old Steptoe-and-son double act with Ukko was a huge part of it for me, and I don't know if I like the self near-omnipotence and self-righteousness that the main man is full of these days - but I could stand a few more rip-roaring episodes like this.

Red is a decent, action movie type thing - not much in the way of depth or nuance, but good fun.  She sounds very American for someone from Durham, but that's always been a Strontium Dog thing, hasn't it?

Hershey - I'm with Tordelback on this one.  If you really, really have to undo her incredible death scene, make her recognisable as Hershey.  It's a good story, well written and well drawn, but I still wish it had a different protagonist.  I suppose I'm just going to have to suck it up one of these days but I'm not there yet.  Sorry.

Proteus - I'm an idiot. I haven't read it since about the second episode of the first series.  I'm doing that more and more with the prog now - I don't know the story, so I put it in the 'I'll get round to it' file in my brain.  Really must go back and read it.

The damage report - heh heh.  I don't think Cyber-Matt's going to be getting too many complaints about political partisanship.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

sintec

What a difference a Dredd makes, the Prog feels like it's back to firing on all cylinders this week. It's a silly premise but it sets up some great gags which the are brilliantly realised by Dan's art. A great one and done and just the pallete cleanser needed after Desperadlands which just didn't do it for me.

Durham Red continues to be an action packed escapade. Proteus Vex delivers another twist in the plot which sets up the cliffhanger ending... looking forward to seeing how this gets resolved. And Slaine delivers possibly the best episode yet in this current story.  The only thing that's not really doing it for me is Hershey, love the art but I'm just not really gripped by the tale of Hershey and Franks boxing career.