Forthcoming Thrills!

[DarkDaysBish-OP]

I'd love it if Mr Smith could shed light on what should have been for Fetish and Darkside - and if they were considerably cut. I know he sometimes haunts the halls here.

From memory - and this is nearly 20 years ago, so the details are hazy - Darkside wasn't cut. Originally commissioned for the Megazine, it was written to different specifications: eight eps of nine pages each. But the Meg budget got guillotined and we had a shortage of ready Dredd for 2000AD, so Darkside got re-purposed into 12 eps of six pages each. As a consequence, two thirds of the episode endings seen in 2000AD were not originally intended as cliffhangers. But that was only a factor for episodic publication - any collected edition presents Darkside complete and uncut.

Fetish proved something of a monumental effort, with at least one artist starting but unable to finish [Ashley Wood, IIRC]. The opening scripts underwent radical surgery to get them down to a more manageable length [yes, that long opening was originally even longer]. Siku got asked to repaint parts of the art to make Dredd's chin less enormous [yes, that long chin was originally even longer].

Fetish is far from perfect, the story shape and structure are problematic - but I still have a lot of affection for it. There are some gorgeous double-page spreads in the art, and wonderfully John Smith touches to the script. Just a shame no version since the Hamlyn edition has truly captured the vibrant colours, etc.

davidbishop

[dweezil2]

I really enjoyed Fetish, and at a time when The Meg was on the wane, it was one of the few things that kept me buying it.

And yeah Siku's art was frequently gorgeous on the strip and he comes in for a lot of unfair criticism, in my opinion.

[TordelBack]

Cheers for that excellent info David, but it just isn't the same if you don't frame this stuff with "Bishop recalls...", or "the editor at the time confesses a fondness for...".   

While wondering wistfully what an Ashley Wood Fetish would have looked like, I also have a soft spot for the version we got, despite neither being a big Siku fan nor considering it Smith's best work by any stretch of the imagination.  It's different, it's unsettling, it has some great-if-static images, and as unlikely team-ups (Dredd, Devlin and... Tarzan?) go it's a lot better than most.   

I've probably actually complained about Fetish the past, and like many of the stranger Dredd tales, I wouldn't want it every week - but I'm glad we got it when we did.

[sheldipez]

Siku got asked to repaint parts of the art to make Dredd's chin less enormous [yes, that long chin was originally even longer].

Man! this is a chin I need to see. 

[Skullmo]

I didn't like Siku's art when I was reading it as a youngster but have grown to think it rather excellent. And the double spreads are quite amazing in it.

[Dash Decent]

Durham Red: The Bitch

144 pages, 16th September 2014

[Dash Decent]

Hondo City Law: Revenge of the 47 Ronin by Morrison, McNeil, & Parkhouse

Hondo City Justice

160 pages, 8th July 2014

[IndigoPrime]

Curiously both US titles, judging by the prices.

[radiator]

Looks like Case Files 08 has been added to the US schedule for next year also.

[Recrewt]

That Hondo City Justice story was in the Meg.  It was quite good and featured some really beautiful artwork.  My only criticism is that it ended very abruptly although it did suggest there was more to come. 

I know that amazon are not always accurate, but that 160 page count sounds a lot.  I think it was only a 4 parter - perhaps we are getting some more of this in the Meg before the TPB comes out?

[Fungus]

The art was fantastic...
But the recent run was a return of the story, according to Barney first appearance Meg 300.
Maybe other runs pad it out further too (also, are page-counts always reliable?)

[AlexF]

On another note, can anyone tell me what the fork the 'fetish' was and why it was called fetish?

Well, Dave, as any Tintin fan can tell you, a 'fetish' is a carving, usually of an animal, often associated with ritual magic. The story 'Fetish' takes its name from said object, as used by the villain of the piece in his rituals that help him commit long-range murders from his home in Africa. Obviously the word has other connotations which I'm sure Smith was keen to put in the readers mind (I have a vague memory of the villain having a pretty sexual reaction to blood and murder, and obviously Devlin Waugh, as a vampire, has a strong link to both of thise things as well. Perhaps Smith was implying that Dredd himself does, too, although he has presumably sublimated his own sexual release into violence). This is all a lot more thought than I've put into the themes of the story before! Frankly it's pretty hard to read, although many of the pages are gorgeous.

I've just re-read this and realised it's incredibly patronising. But I can't be bothered to rewrite now. Sorry all.

[Cactus]

New editions of the Great Game and The Courtship of Jena M will be released in 2014.

For real? Really for reals? Like, rilly? I want to have your babies.

As for Fetish I remember writing to the Meg at the time saying, amongst other things, how much I liked Siku's exaggerated chin. Did John complete the script before the art difficulties prompted the reduced in length? That would be an interesting read.

[Proteus4]

On another note, can anyone tell me what the fork the 'fetish' was and why it was called fetish?

Well, Dave, as any Tintin fan can tell you, a 'fetish' is a carving, usually of an animal, often associated with ritual magic. The story 'Fetish' takes its name from said object, as used by the villain of the piece in his rituals that help him commit long-range murders from his home in Africa. Obviously the word has other connotations which I'm sure Smith was keen to put in the readers mind (I have a vague memory of the villain having a pretty sexual reaction to blood and murder, and obviously Devlin Waugh, as a vampire, has a strong link to both of thise things as well. Perhaps Smith was implying that Dredd himself does, too, although he has presumably sublimated his own sexual release into violence). This is all a lot more thought than I've put into the themes of the story before! Frankly it's pretty hard to read, although many of the pages are gorgeous.

I've just re-read this and realised it's incredibly patronising. But I can't be bothered to rewrite now. Sorry all.

I didn't find that patronising at all, just very informative - I got the sexual suspect of the reference and the inclusion of DW (what with him being a vamp) but had no idea a Fetish was also a carving used for ritual magic.

Thanks dude
Dave

[Mark Taylor]

On another note, can anyone tell me what the fork the 'fetish' was and why it was called fetish?

Well, Dave, as any Tintin fan can tell you, a 'fetish' is a carving, usually of an animal, often associated with ritual magic. The story 'Fetish' takes its name from said object, as used by the villain of the piece in his rituals that help him commit long-range murders from his home in Africa. Obviously the word has other connotations which I'm sure Smith was keen to put in the readers mind (I have a vague memory of the villain having a pretty sexual reaction to blood and murder, and obviously Devlin Waugh, as a vampire, has a strong link to both of thise things as well. Perhaps Smith was implying that Dredd himself does, too, although he has presumably sublimated his own sexual release into violence). This is all a lot more thought than I've put into the themes of the story before! Frankly it's pretty hard to read, although many of the pages are gorgeous.

I've just re-read this and realised it's incredibly patronising. But I can't be bothered to rewrite now. Sorry all.

I didn't find that patronising at all, just very informative - I got the sexual suspect of the reference and the inclusion of DW (what with him being a vamp) but had no idea a Fetish was also a carving used for ritual magic.

Thanks dude
Dave

Really it can be inanimate object attributed with supernatural abilities or acting as a focus for ritual magic, not necessarily a carving. Due to my fascination with tribal culture and mysticism which goes back to my childhood, I encountered this meaning of the word before the more commonly used meaning as in sexual fetish.