Forum’s Favourite Thrill - Zenith vs. Harry Twenty Round 2 Heat 20

[sheridan]

I do have a prediction for the final IF (and its a blooming big if) the draw doesn't make it happen beforehand. I should write it down in a sealed envelop to see what happens!

Just don't get PricewaterhouseCoopers to act as tabulators!

[paddykafka]

Zenith

[Colin YNWA]

I do have a prediction for the final IF (and its a blooming big if) the draw doesn't make it happen beforehand. I should write it down in a sealed envelop to see what happens!

Just remember that The Killing defied your expectations.

Oh there are host of predictions I've made that are so far off the mark its frightening - though I'm doing okay with this one... so far... but no overall my tourney prediction record is a stinker!

[Colin YNWA]

Harry has put up a fight, but I don't think it will be enough to escape Round 2. Only today to hide those votes from the counting warden (what huh that makes no sense!) and I'll check the biorhythms of favour in the morning... christ better buck up my act there's a lot more of these bumps to do!

[Link Prime]

Happy to send it to you

G'wan so 

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

I've always disliked Zenith- not least because it is clearly Morrison apeing Alan Moore's work on Captain Britain. And I've never understood the plaudits it receives. Was the prog really so terrible at that time, that Zenith sees great in comparison? I've read it recently in the hardbacks, and it was like pulling teeth. Harry 20, on the other hand, was fun and didn't outstay its welcome.

Harry 20.

SBT

[moly]

Harry 20

[Funt Solo]

Was the prog really so terrible at that time, that Zenith sees great in comparison?

Zenith was good regardless of anything surrounding it in the prog. I wasn't aware of Moore's work that may have influenced it, so I can't speak to that particular effect.

I liked the alternative Earth setting, because it evoked mystery. I liked that we were coming into a world that had a rich backstory, which also provided mystery. Not being widely read, the dark gods of the story seemed entirely original  - although I now realize that they're just open source aspects of the Cthulhu Mythos, with some tweaks.

Masterman was a wonderful villain, and the heroes were all flawed individuals - liars, has-beens, vacuous popstars and ex-hippy Tories. It was everything lacking in superhero comics, and it was happening in my favorite comic. It also had the same appeal as something like GoT, in that favorite characters, or loveable characters, aren't safe. In that regard, it feels real: Red Dragon battles hard to overcome his weaknesses, so he should win, right? No ... real life is sometimes darker than that.

---

I can also argue that, just taking the first phase of Zenith, the prog was actually quite strong. Yes, there was Universal Solider - a difficult strip to love. Mean Team was ... not the best thing those creators ever did - but it wasn't utter pants. Alabammy Blimps and Oz are both classics. The Two Torquemadas was astounding - especially art-wise, and The Bewilderness was still at the better end of the Bad Company sequels. Check out my handy-dandy chart of the era!

[Colin YNWA]

VOTING CLOSED

In an already busy week we get the busiest vote yet, not just of this week, nor even this round, but indeed the tourney as a whole to date. This one really gives us a taste of what's to come. In Round 1 some folks rightly pointed out that it was tough to vote on such weak, ill remembered stories. Yet here is the other side deciding between two thrill you might love. In this one its not always the situation and the case has been made for both these thrills with passion. For me its clear cut. Harry Twenty, thiough it has nice art, has dated very badly and can no longer hide its weak plotting and dialogue. Zenith is a timeless classic and its that status that means

Zenith

punches through the chest of Round 2 to fly into Round 3.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I've always disliked Zenith- not least because it is clearly Morrison apeing Alan Moore's work on Captain Britain. And I've never understood the plaudits it receives. Was the prog really so terrible at that time, that Zenith sees great in comparison? I've read it recently in the hardbacks, and it was like pulling teeth. Harry 20, on the other hand, was fun and didn't outstay its welcome.

Harry 20.

SBT

Sorry,  but I'm with Funt here. I thought Zenith was an amazing piece of work, and it's not only in comparison to the other stories in the prog at the time.   I liked it then, when I was only 11 or 12, and I like it even more now.