Wrap It Up
2000 AD has had 82 wraparound covers, the JD Megazine has had 21 and there have been approximately (depending on what you count) 20 used for special spin-off publications.
Naturally, your greatest desire is to see a chart that shows how common they've been over the years:
(https://i.imgur.com/WuChamT.png)
01 - Conjuring Thrills
The first wraparound cover, in 1979's prog 144, sets a template whereby Tharg is conjuring up thrills for the benefit and amazement of humanity:
(https://i.imgur.com/NDh1y22.png)
It does that by borrowing (and acknowledging) a classic image from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (presumably rendered on the prog by John Burns from a photograph by Ronald Grant):
(https://i.imgur.com/tDhviED.png)
The top half is Bolland's rendition of the current (ish) thrill line-up. Oddly for a wraparound, the big-hitters are on the back cover, and Tharg shares prime position on the front with Ro-Jaws and Walter. Hammerstein and Mongrel (from ABC Warriors, but not in this prog) stand alongside Dredd, Slippery Jim DiGriz (from The Stainless Steel Rat) and Black Hawk. Wolfie Smith didn't make the cut:
(https://i.imgur.com/JJiWNlG.png)
---
David Hine provides another Betelgusian conjuration for 1993's Winter Special, which features some of the mid-90s less regarded thrillage. Top-right is Tracer (perhaps an inspiration for Skip Tracer?), sharing the front with Dredd and Maniac 5. On the back we get Maniac 6, Janus (the Psi we love to loathe), Brigand Doom (whiffy Turpin-hatted zombie freedom fighter) and Tao de Moto:
(https://i.imgur.com/KA0nvHr.png)
---
The Best of 2000 AD Special Edition [2] from (approximately) 1994 is a glorious affair from Colin MacNeil, that includes lots of familiar faces. Don't be fooled - that's not Zombo on the back next to Tyranny Rex, but The Visible Man!
(https://i.imgur.com/oab0qrc.png)
---
Later in '94, Paul Johnson splatters some blood over the horror-themed cover of the sixth Winter Special:
(https://i.imgur.com/NELBRlI.png)
---
Lastly for this collection, we project ourselves to 2004 and Clint Langley's cover for prog 1400. You can't keep a good thrill down, so Mongrel, Hammerstein and Dredd are still with us. There's something not quite right about Alpha's helmet, but then, there was only ever one artist who could manage that properly.
(https://i.imgur.com/TgwWALB.png)
---
Next: Dredd's under pressure!
Looking forward to seeing more of these, thanks for posting Funt!
Nice thread, most enjoyable so far Funt. That Colin MacNeil Mongrol is just great.
Quote from: Blue Cactus on 29 December, 2023, 10:04:43 PMThat Colin MacNeil Mongrol is just great.
Here's a close-up. (I love how embarrassed The Visible Man is.)
(https://i.imgur.com/bwyKSeG.png)
Oh this is going to be fun.
Yep agree its very cool how embarrassed Visible Man is.
Interesting the picture from Close Encounters is by John Burns (or presumed so). I assume that's based on the Barney credits (or similar source). I wonder how the work was split its hard to tell from the rendering as it so tight to the photo.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 30 December, 2023, 06:11:34 AMInteresting the picture from Close Encounters is by John Burns (or presumed so). I assume that's based on the Barney credits (or similar source). I wonder how the work was split its hard to tell from the rendering as it so tight to the photo.
Entirely based on the Barney credit, yes. That doesn't tell us much. I suppose for a lot of the early years, it's never entirely clear who's doing the coloring (either on the covers or on the center-spreads). I assumed that the Barney credit was referring to a splitting up of the line art.
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 30 December, 2023, 07:05:06 AMQuote from: Colin YNWA on 30 December, 2023, 06:11:34 AMInteresting the picture from Close Encounters is by John Burns (or presumed so). I assume that's based on the Barney credits (or similar source). I wonder how the work was split its hard to tell from the rendering as it so tight to the photo.
Entirely based on the Barney credit, yes. That doesn't tell us much. I suppose for a lot of the early years, it's never entirely clear who's doing the coloring (either on the covers or on the center-spreads). I assumed that the Barney credit was referring to a splitting up of the line art.
Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Would be fascinating to know for sure.
Is the Bolland artwork in the recent max edition or is it one of the stolen.
I've had time to google the Bolland artwork above and it is one of his missing pieces
Guy Pearse WAS Sláine well before Harry Styles* was in the running.
(https://i.imgur.com/oab0qrc.png)
*Sorry, it's a 2015 forum thing.
Tech-report: you might have noticed that my Winter Special renders (up-thread) are a bit blurry. That's because I couldn't find any larger than 640 (pixels wide), and have posted them at 700. So, if anyone has any better renders of those, feel free to post 'em.
In the case of MacNeil's "Best of" (featuring Guy Pearce as Slaine, as noted) I couldn't find any online image that included the back cover or the spine art, so that's my own scan, hodge-podged together. (Again, if you know of a better one...)
02 - Under Pressure
1980's prog 169 provides our second wraparound, and it's an odd fish. Tagged as "A Scene From the Civil War in Post-Atomic America", it's got nothing to do with anything inside the comic, but is instead depicting a scene from an only hinted at past conflict.
(https://i.imgur.com/ndOSBp0.jpg)
Inside the prog we're in the middle of The Judge Child saga, in the middle of an unconnected conflict on a far distant world.
(https://i.imgur.com/4R5i2w0.png)
At the time, though, this cover was compelling because it spoke to a history and a depth that other comics didn't have. It's as if you bought the original Star Wars movie on VHS but the box had a scene from the clone wars. It doesn't hurt that it's a McMahon, either, with Dredd standing up in the middle of a hail of bullets, as if they can't touch him.
(https://i.imgur.com/fM76Dk7.png)
---
So, was Robin Smith thinking of the McMahon cover when he created the layout sketch for Bolland's classic prog 236 cover from 1981? This layout was presented in the floppy with Megazine 448:
(https://i.imgur.com/cR7w25g.png)
This scan is missing a sliver of the left side, and the crease is clearly visible:
(https://i.imgur.com/ibJCrzV.jpg)
This one fills in the missing part from the previous one, and has a less noticeable crease. Notice the detail on the Block Mania lettering, and the texture visible in the group of perps on the left - especially Siouxsie Sioux's hair.
(https://i.imgur.com/KF36IRC.png)
This tidied up version looks clean and neat, but loses a lot of the detail mentioned in the previous image. Also, the price is in the wrong place. It's such a surreal image, which marks it out as iconic. Why is Dredd standing on top of a block? The flying saucer things are great, but don't actually feature inside (like, ever).
(https://i.imgur.com/DQERJck.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/njdrAFz.png)
---
Next: slippery shenanigans...
My Grud, it's a stunning piece of work all the same, isn't it? Pure, distilled Mega City 1.
I've always loved how MC1 tends to use good old fashioned bullets rather than rubbish Star Wars lasers. They just feel a lot more dangerous and nasty, and Bolland nails it here as always.
So good. I had the mug, but it went the way of all things.
I feel like the McMahon Dredd pose is referencing something. It's an odd pose, yet familiar. Someone taking an oath, perhaps. While shooting a gun.
Now you mention it, there are a lot of old paintings of folk leading troops into battle with one arm raised. Maybe just more of a general trope than referencing anything specific.
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 03 January, 2024, 10:17:36 PMSo good. I had the mug, but it went the way of all things.
Hadn't really noticed Siouxsie Sioux before - aside from the fact that she's a stunner, the expression is perfect. Obviously taking a quick break from the wanton murder of her neighbours, but the demented chemical rage clearly hasn't gone anywhere just yet.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 30 December, 2023, 09:15:11 AMQuote from: Funt Solo [Rlink=msg=1109011 (tel:1109011) date=1703919906]
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 30 December, 2023, 06:11:34 AMInteresting the picture from Close Encounters is by John Burns (or presumed so). I assume that's based on the Barney credits (or similar source). I wonder how the work was split it's hard to tell from the rendering as it so tight to the photo.
I d
Entirely based on the Barney credit, yes. That doesn't tell us much. I suppose for a lot of the early years, it's never entirely clear who's doing the coloring (either on the covers or on the center-spreads). I assumed that the Barney credit was referring to a splitting up of the line art.
Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Would be fascinating to know for sure.
I dug out Prog 144 and inside is a competition to win a poster of the cover signed by artist Bolland and colourist John Burns
Would that be the late, great Dante artist John Burns? Or a different one?
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 02 January, 2024, 03:14:02 AM02 - Under Pressure
1980's prog 169 provides our second wraparound, and it's an odd fish. Tagged as "A Scene From the Civil War in Post-Atomic America", it's got nothing to do with anything inside the comic, but is instead depicting a scene from an only hinted at past conflict.
(https://i.imgur.com/ndOSBp0.jpg)
Inside the prog we're in the middle of The Judge Child saga, in the middle of an unconnected conflict on a far distant world.
(https://i.imgur.com/4R5i2w0.png)
At the time, though, this cover was compelling because it spoke to a history and a depth that other comics didn't have. It's as if you bought the original Star Wars movie on VHS but the box had a scene from the clone wars. It doesn't hurt that it's a McMahon, either, with Dredd standing up in the middle of a hail of bullets, as if they can't touch him.
(https://i.imgur.com/fM76Dk7.png)
---
So, was Robin Smith thinking of the McMahon cover when he created the layout sketch for Bolland's classic prog 236 cover from 1981? This layout was presented in the floppy with Megazine 448:
(https://i.imgur.com/cR7w25g.png)
This scan is missing a sliver of the left side, and the crease is clearly visible:
(https://i.imgur.com/ibJCrzV.jpg)
This one fills in the missing part from the previous one, and has a less noticeable crease. Notice the detail on the Block Mania lettering, and the texture visible in the group of perps on the left - especially Siouxsie Sioux's hair.
(https://i.imgur.com/KF36IRC.png)
This tidied up version looks clean and neat, but loses a lot of the detail mentioned in the previous image. Also, the price is in the wrong place. It's such a surreal image, which marks it out as iconic. Why is Dredd standing on top of a block? The flying saucer things are great, but don't actually feature inside (like, ever).
(https://i.imgur.com/DQERJck.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/njdrAFz.png)
---
Next: slippery shenanigans...
Two of my favs there!!!
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 05 January, 2024, 03:03:50 PMWould that be the late, great Dante artist John Burns? Or a different one?
I would assume so.
Quote from: Swerty on 05 January, 2024, 01:35:15 PMI dug out Prog 144 and inside is a competition to win a poster of the cover signed by artist Bolland and colourist John Burns
Thanks, Swerty - I had (wrongly) assumed the art was split, because the lower part looks non-Bollandy - I guess that's just due to it being such a direct rendition of the source photo.
03 - Stainless Steel Staples
Three of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat novels were adapted into comics (https://2kstages.github.io/AtoZ/StainlessSteelRat/data.html) by Kelvin Gosnell and Carlos Ezquerra. We got three wraparounds...
Prog 171 (1980):
(https://i.imgur.com/aeWi7OU.png)
I dunno - that guy on the left looks like maybe he shouldn't be trusted.
Prog 393 (1984):
(https://i.imgur.com/l0LRnBH.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/W8VyhRP.png)
Prog 400 (1985):
(https://i.imgur.com/sT2QnpG.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/YBTldXf.png)
---
Next: he knows, you know...
The cover to Prog 400 should of course be labelled 'After Irv Novick' very promanently.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 05 January, 2024, 07:11:47 PMThe cover to Prog 400 should of course be labelled 'After Irv Novick' very promanently.
Ah - I didn't know! Dave Gibbons has some fun with that over here (https://laurenvaughandesigns.wordpress.com/).
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 05 January, 2024, 07:16:22 PMQuote from: Colin YNWA on 05 January, 2024, 07:11:47 PMThe cover to Prog 400 should of course be labelled 'After Irv Novick' very promanently.
Ah - I didn't know! Dave Gibbons has some fun with that over here (https://laurenvaughandesigns.wordpress.com/).
Yeah Dave Gibbons has always been very vocal about this and rightly so. All of Lichtenstein's famous 'pop art' pieces using comics are plagiarised from some original creator or other.
Those Stainless steel rat covers are simply glorious
Quote from: Swerty on 05 January, 2024, 07:53:31 PMThose Stainless steel rat covers are simply glorious
TBH, most attempts to shoehorn another IP into the Prog (which, to the best of my recollection, only consists of 'A Life Less Ordinary' and 'Urban Strike') were not
terribly successful, but the 'Stainless Steel Rat' stories were properly great.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 05 January, 2024, 08:04:22 PMTBH, most attempts to shoehorn another IP into the Prog (which, to the best of my recollection, only consists of 'A Life Less Ordinary' and 'Urban Strike') were not terribly successful, but the 'Stainless Steel Rat' stories were properly great.
In general agreement, but then I remembered that Shaun of the Dead (There's Something About Mary) - from prog 1834 - wasn't bad as these things go. Not on the same scale and joy-of-reading as the Rat, though.
Excellent thread Funt!
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 03 January, 2024, 10:17:36 PMI had the mug, but it went the way of all things.
iirc you could buy the mugs retail or the 2000AD shop but mine came as a combined Tooth/Meg subscriber gift, I'm guessing 2005 or 2006?.
Always hand washed with regular use but still going strong.
It's the glowing Zarjazness of Bolland art that keeps it together :-)
(https://i.postimg.cc/rpRDkbkw/IMG-20240106-070743.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SXqSLgRB)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FRj1fL1t/IMG-20240106-070752.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9RQcKzG1)
(https://i.postimg.cc/cChHhGQX/IMG-20240106-070803.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9w4CXSg7)
(https://i.postimg.cc/vTbT5Z64/IMG-20240106-070828.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/njSnJZ2x)
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 29 December, 2023, 07:09:53 PM2000 AD has had 82 wraparound covers, the JD Megazine has had 21 and there have been approximately (depending on what you count) 20 used for special spin-off publications.
Technically gatefold covers, but would the softcover Annuals/Yearbooks from the early to mid 1990s be included in a Tooth wrap-around list?
https://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=specials&choice=2000AD92
https://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=specials&choice=DREDD92
Unfortunately Barney just shows the front and no detail of the wrap-around/gatefold covers.
Quote from: lincnash on 05 January, 2024, 09:15:18 PMiirc you could buy the mugs retail or the 2000AD shop but mine came as a combined Tooth/Meg subscriber gift, I'm guessing 2005 or 2006?.
Thanks for posting the pics - gave me nostalgia kicks. Figure mine must have been a sub-gift, as I don't tend to go out of my way for the merch.
Quote from: lincnash on 05 January, 2024, 09:15:18 PMTechnically gatefold covers, but would the softcover Annuals/Yearbooks from the early to mid 1990s be included in a Tooth wrap-around list?
I have those for a later post - and I had to scan them in because I couldn't find any images of them online. Here's a sneaky peek of one:
(https://i.imgur.com/tRQojfK.png)
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 05 January, 2024, 09:39:52 PMI have those for a later post
Aha! misread the chart, there they are in 'specials' colour-coded grey.
I sold all my hardback Annuals (including rare Rogue Trooper 1991) to a fellow Squaxx but did keep the floppy Yearbooks. You seem sorted for images so I'll leave mine in their plastic bags inside the cardboard coffin.
:D
04 - Gift-Wrapping the 80s
This is a small collection of three festive wraparounds - the first of which takes the form of the classic idea of Tharg dispensing gifts (from 1980's prog 192 by Carlos Ezquerra):
(https://i.imgur.com/oh7Alr2.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/udmOQag.png)
---
Next we skip forward to 1984's prog 398, and a belter of a cover from Kevin O'Neill. His Santa seems to be sitting on (and squashing) an odd cross between Grobbendonk and Bonjo. I'm not sure what the evil cat at the back is doing, but it seems like a mole-like creature has come a cropper.
(https://i.imgur.com/434z68M.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/K0x10eZ.png)
---
Finally - it's another classic - this time from 1985's prog 450, and a visual summary of the exploits of D.R. & Quinch from the masterful Alan Davis. Again, it's the little details that matter - whether it's pterodactyls from their first Time Twister, or a copy of Mind the Oranges, Marlon. Note, as well, the subtle but dangerous difference between Quinch's Santa-hat and Crazy Chrissie's.
(https://i.imgur.com/3RsLrAK.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/mr2JEVt.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/19xmOPK.png)
---
Next: lesser-spotted...
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 08 January, 2024, 07:17:41 PM(from 1980's prog 192 by Carlos Ezquerra)
IIRC, the first time Carlos had drawn Dredd since leaving the strip in its first few months — his triumphant return with The Apocalypse War still being more than a year away at this point.
That Kev O'Neill cover is possibly my favourite cover of all time. That mantelpiece monster alone is iconic. And I'd never noticed the baying mob of snowmen watching the fight before.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 12 January, 2024, 09:04:25 AMI'd never noticed the baying mob of snowmen watching the fight before.
Me either - I only spotted them when I cropped into the fight.
05 - Tharg
If Tharg's on a wraparound, it's usually to introduce the rest of the thrills. In these three examples, it's all about Tharg himself. Well, sort of...
1981's Revenge of the Thrill-Suckers, prog 192, by Ian Gibson:
(https://i.imgur.com/1e2NLk1.png)
It's tricky to find a high quality scan of this one. I was fond of the Thrill-Sucker stories, as they (like the later Intestinauts) play around with scale and anatomy.
---
1983's Return of the Editor, prog 325, by Eric Bradbury (after Robin Smith's layout, which is shown below):
(https://i.imgur.com/PewSSg9.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/R6x1KaN.png)
The colander-helmet is probably my favorite bit of the design. Robin's idea for the third Zragian has a lot more weight behind it than in the final piece.
---
1991's Special Low-Visibility Prog (722), by Steve Cook:
(https://i.imgur.com/0M7oXJP.png)
My understanding is that this was created in support of Squaxxian Squaddies who were deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
Next: cute work...
Quote from: Funt Solo1981's Revenge of the Thrill-Suckers, prog 192, by Ian Gibson
This is brilliant, and I love Gibson's thrill sucker drawing. Who came up with the Thrill Sucker design? I'm sure Bradbury has drawn them a few times. Are they assembling on the guy's boot?
Quote from: Funt Solo1983's Return of the Editor, prog 325, by Eric Bradbury
I find the layout more dynamic and exciting than the finished article. Shame Bradbury toned it down. Maybe he was leaning towards realism though. In as much as such a tableau can be realistic.
Quote from: Funt Solo1991's Special Low-Visibility Prog (722), by Steve Cook
Interesting!
Thanks for posting!
I'm not quite sure how the Bradbury version has been toned down - looks pretty similar to me. Or is it just the art style you meant?
I liked some of those designy, low-detail covers like the camouflage one there. Memorable ones for me include pastiches of Warhol and Gilbert & George, the dictionary definition of Thrill Power, and the Summer Offensive tabloid front page (though I very nearly missed that one on the newsagent's shelf, so probably not a great idea).
There was also the Sex Olympics Meg cover, and the In Memoriam one for Judgement Day, though the gravity of that image very much belied a what was quite a daft story about a Paul-Daniels-quoting Walter the Softy and his singing and dancing troupe of giant zombies.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 14 January, 2024, 02:17:57 PMI'm not quite sure how the Bradbury version has been toned down - looks pretty similar to me. Or is it just the art style you meant?
Just a throwaway comment. I feel that this one has more life and excitement in it:
Quote from: Funt Solo(https://i.imgur.com/R6x1KaN.png)
Than this one:
Quote from: Funt Solo(https://i.imgur.com/PewSSg9.png)
Tharg's pose is a touch more dynamic and the Zraggians(?) look more snarly in the first one. On the other hand they're more grotesque in Bradbury's. Maybe it's just 'sketch' versus 'finished' with the loose version being understandably more lively.
I get you now. Yeah, much as I like Eric Bradbury, there's a lot more movement and energy in Robin Smith's sketch.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 14 January, 2024, 06:33:16 PMI get you now. Yeah, much as I like Eric Bradbury, there's a lot more movement and energy in Robin Smith's sketch.
Given that my main gripe with Robin Smith's art is that it's always too static-looking, it's lovely to see something much more dynamic from him.
Quote from: A.Cow on 14 January, 2024, 10:24:30 PMGiven that my main gripe with Robin Smith's art is that it's always too static-looking, it's lovely to see something much more dynamic from him.
It's the bane of many an artist's existence that an exciting and dynamic rough will lose whatever indefinable
something it had in the process of tightening up the drawing for the finished piece.
06 - Gibson's Robots
A trio of robo-centric wraparounds from the masterful Ian Gibson...
1981's Raise Your Own Master, prog 209:
(https://i.imgur.com/DCCz8XH.png)
One of a rare set of wraparound cover stories that don't link to any of the thrills inside the prog.
---
1982's Play It Again, Sam for Robo-Hunter (prog 292) is difficult to find a nice color scan of. Here are three versions: a mash-up personal scan, a black and white version from a GN and then a shot of the original art:
(https://i.imgur.com/rAWusGo.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/1pL2Rox.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wfDdURp.jpg)
---
1985's "Play Me Again, Sam", prog 439:
(https://i.imgur.com/YXadXm5.png)
Where's Hoagy?
---
Next: haunted...
My first Prog cover! Always a treat to see it in full.
I've spooted 3 Hoagys so far... what's the full tally?
Quote from: AlexF on 25 January, 2024, 01:18:40 PMI've spooted 3 Hoagys so far... what's the full tally?
Might be three. I'd need to look out the prog - my cover scan isn't a very good resolution.
07 - Haunted
Dredd is often stalked by his long list of past enemies - sometimes coming back from the dead, sometimes crossing dimensions to seek revenge...
1982's One of Dredd's Old Enemies Returns..., prog 281 (by Carlos Ezquerra):
(https://i.imgur.com/hU9x4fJ.png)
Perhaps somewhat overshadowed by the Fruit Gums ad, and demonstrating well why my dad used to complain that the comic had too many prominent phallic symbols - that Lawgiver!
---
2007's His City, His Law, prog 1536 (by Henry Flint):
(https://i.imgur.com/AodsaWO.png)
How Squaxx are you? Can you name all the villains?
(https://i.imgur.com/z8uens7.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/r6O5CgL.png)
---
Next: the greatest...
08 - Belardinelli's Stories
Massimo Belardinelli created a sequence of three cover story wraparounds, and then a rare Ace Trucking effort...
1983's Secret of the Bermuda Triangle?, prog 304:
(https://i.imgur.com/qpxqleR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/khAA1Ir.jpeg)
---
1983's Destruction of the Gambling Ship Miziz-Ippi IV!, prog 309:
(https://i.imgur.com/CDi5YqE.png)
---
1983's Tidal Terror on Torquan!, prog 311:
(https://i.imgur.com/f3pRBNI.png)
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1984's "Hark! A voith calleth my name!", prog 383:
(https://i.imgur.com/PSoOxnu.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/IdUP1Vq.png)
---
Next: future shocks...
That Bermuda Triangle picture is amazing! Gives Chris Foss a run for his money. Thanks for posting, I'd not seen any of them before.
With Henry Flint's gallery of rogues, the only one I'm struggling with is the Rutger Hauer looking chap underneath Ratty. Unless it's Whitey?
Quote from: Le Fink on 07 February, 2024, 09:58:02 PMWith Henry Flint's gallery of rogues, the only one I'm struggling with is the Rutger Hauer looking chap underneath Ratty. Unless it's Whitey?
That was my supposition.
09 - Leftfield
The prog keeps us on our toes by throwing the unexpected at us. Here are three examples of the oddities of Dredd's world...
1983's "Um...synthi-sausage!", prog 333 (art by Carlos Ezquerra from a design by Robin Smith):
(https://i.imgur.com/2qnO3yW.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/wOHRXp4.png)
---
1985's Monsteroso, prog 412(art by Robin Smith):
(https://i.imgur.com/cdqzUf9.png)
---
2003's Judge Dredd vs. Aliens, prog 1330 (art by Frazer Irving):
(https://i.imgur.com/r8BH6xZ.png)
---
Next: illuminations...
Classics.
The "um... synthi sausage" line has gone down in history but taking a step back it's a pretty bizarre thing for Dredd to be saying. To what question, and to whom, is he answering? Why does he have one on a fork while on his bike? Is that fork part of the Justice Department's standard equipment for motorcycle officers? So many questions.
Did Frazer Irving draw for any Aliens comics? He's a perfect match.
++Accessing old-Earth data from a sealed Timeslip installation on Nu Earth++
10 - O'Neill
We already saw O'Neill's festive wraparound back in post #4 - but he also crafted a couple of classics for Nemesis and Metalzoic...
1983's Siege of Ydrasill (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yggdrasil) Castle, prog 340:
(https://i.imgur.com/zSmwyo6.png)
---
1986's Metalzoic, prog 492:
(https://i.imgur.com/JNkOnxr.png)
---
Next: barbaric...
Quote from: Le Fink on 09 February, 2024, 08:11:20 PMThe "um... synthi sausage" line has gone down in history but taking a step back it's a pretty bizarre thing for Dredd to be saying. To what question, and to whom, is he answering? Why does he have one on a fork while on his bike? Is that fork part of the Justice Department's standard equipment for motorcycle officers? So many questions.
I think the simplest explanation is that Dredd has found the sausage-and-fork on the road. He spots something on the ground in front of him as he patrols and thinks it may be a clue, but can't make out what it is at speed. He scoops it up, stares at it and realises... it's a synthi-sausage?! After all, I'm sure we've all been out driving* at one time or another and taken a fork in the road.
The second explanation is that Dredd felt something hit him in the head, and grabbed it as it bounced into his lap. Again, he snatched it up and examined it, only to realise the offending item was a deliberately-hurled sausage on a fork. Result: three-to-five in the juve cubes for Tucker, Gonch, Hollo, and Zammo.
* Not together**
** Not until we club together for a forum-seating clown car that we can all squeeze into.
Metalzoic what a great cover. I just wish we can get a reprint. I believe DC is the problem, maybe that is why they got punished at the box office
Quote from: Dash Decent on 20 February, 2024, 04:58:59 AMI think the simplest explanation is that Dredd has found the sausage-and-fork on the road. He spots something on the ground in front of him as he patrols and thinks it may be a clue, but can't make out what it is at speed. He scoops it up, stares at it and realises... it's a synthi-sausage?! After all, I'm sure we've all been out driving* at one time or another and taken a fork in the road.
The second explanation is that Dredd felt something hit him in the head, and grabbed it as it bounced into his lap. Again, he snatched it up and examined it, only to realise the offending item was a deliberately-hurled sausage on a fork. Result: three-to-five in the juve cubes for Tucker, Gonch, Hollo, and Zammo.
* Not together**
** Not until we club together for a forum-seating clown car that we can all squeeze into.
Brilliant!
Quote from: broodblik on 20 February, 2024, 06:49:08 AMMetalzoic what a great cover. I just wish we can get a reprint.
THIS ^^^^
There was a bit of Metalzoic in the recent Kevin O'Neill Apex - would love to see more.
11 - Wrap-Spasm, Book I
1983 saw three detailed Slaine wraparounds that helped immerse us in the fantasy...
Massimo Belardinelli's Battle of Dun Barc, prog 332:
(https://i.imgur.com/tbl7pAU.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/GSLbCCK.png)
---
Massimo Belardinelli's On Hel's Edge, prog 334:
(https://i.imgur.com/Vi37GSb.png)
---
Mike McMahon's Beltain Giant, prog 336:
(https://i.imgur.com/tJYKTnr.png)
---
Next: OG fact-totems...
Aw, man, they're just lovely, aren't they? I was never mad about how Belardinelli drew Sláine himself but I absolutely loved how he drew everything and everyone else in Sláine's world. Likewise, and I'll be crucified for saying so, I don't think McMahon's Sláine character looked how Angie Kincaid envisaged him and all the artists since McMahon developed him, but I mean, it's feckin' McMahon's Sláine, and as such it's some of the best artwork the prog has ever had to offer.
EDIT to include a Thing That Went Over My Head - I didn't realise the Beltain Giant was a real thing when I read the strip first, much less that it had a massive stalk-on that McMahon wisely obscured with smoke. Though looking into it further, it may only date back to Cromwell's time, but who cares? I seriously doubt there were dragons and sea-demons in Slaine's time either.
Quote from: broodblik on 20 February, 2024, 06:49:08 AMMetalzoic what a great cover. I just wish we can get a reprint. I believe DC is the problem
It's such a weird thing. Why
wouldn't DC be up for allowing a reprint of this strip? Or perhaps it wanted too much money, which made the endeavour unviable. I'd bloody love to see Metalzoic (ideally in B+W) given the full-on HC oversized treatment, with those glorious full-colour covers included as well. Alas, Kev is no longer around to provide insight into the strip, but I'm sure Mills could be roped in to write an intro.
I'm still very happy that I somehow, years ago, managed to buy a fairly good copy of the DC trade for a price that wasn't bonkers. But it is a skinny and fragile little thing. And that Kev artwork always looked all the more powerful in black and white.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 17 March, 2024, 10:45:47 AMEDIT to include a Thing That Went Over My Head - I didn't realise the Beltain Giant was a real thing when I read the strip first, much less that it had a massive stalk-on that McMahon wisely obscured with smoke. Though looking into it further, it may only date back to Cromwell's time, but who cares? I seriously doubt there were dragons and sea-demons in Slaine's time either.
(https://i.imgur.com/Y54Xdjv.png)
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2007/07/17/homerbig.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none)
Apparently, the erection was added later: "Lidar scans, conducted as part of the 2020 survey programme, have concluded that the phallus was added much later than the bulk of the figure, which was (probably) originally clothed.".
I like that this is perhaps the first evidence of drawing a willie on someone else's art. See also: American Vandal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Vandal).
(If you're seeing Homer Simpson in the second image then you have a rare psychotic condition known as Cerne-Homerosis Simpsonica.)
Quote from: Dash Decent on 20 February, 2024, 04:58:59 AMQuote from: Le Fink on 09 February, 2024, 08:11:20 PMThe "um... synthi sausage" line has gone down in history but taking a step back it's a pretty bizarre thing for Dredd to be saying. To what question, and to whom, is he answering? Why does he have one on a fork while on his bike? Is that fork part of the Justice Department's standard equipment for motorcycle officers? So many questions.
I think the simplest explanation is that Dredd has found the sausage-and-fork on the road. He spots something on the ground in front of him as he patrols and thinks it may be a clue, but can't make out what it is at speed. He scoops it up, stares at it and realises... it's a synthi-sausage?! After all, I'm sure we've all been out driving* at one time or another and taken a fork in the road.
The second explanation is that Dredd felt something hit him in the head, and grabbed it as it bounced into his lap. Again, he snatched it up and examined it, only to realise the offending item was a deliberately-hurled sausage on a fork. Result: three-to-five in the juve cubes for Tucker, Gonch, Hollo, and Zammo.
* Not together**
** Not until we club together for a forum-seating clown car that we can all squeeze into.
That always struck me as a very weird non-contextual thought-bubble too. Whilst your explanations are far better, I'm going to be a boring twot. Most of us would spell it 'mmmm, synthi-sausage!' as in an expression of gustatory satisfaction, but it was an art editor rather than a regular writer on text duties.
EDIT - I've probably just drunkenly missed the joke that everyone else was alluding to. Ah well, it's Paddy's day, so I have an excuse, so I have, so I have.
Quote from: Funt Solo on 17 March, 2024, 05:23:20 PMQuote from: JayzusB.Christ on 17 March, 2024, 10:45:47 AMEDIT to include a Thing That Went Over My Head - I didn't realise the Beltain Giant was a real thing when I read the strip first, much less that it had a massive stalk-on that McMahon wisely obscured with smoke. Though looking into it further, it may only date back to Cromwell's time, but who cares? I seriously doubt there were dragons and sea-demons in Slaine's time either.
(https://i.imgur.com/Y54Xdjv.png)
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2007/07/17/homerbig.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none)
Apparently, the erection was added later: "Lidar scans, conducted as part of the 2020 survey programme, have concluded that the phallus was added much later than the bulk of the figure, which was (probably) originally clothed.".
I like that this is perhaps the first evidence of drawing a willie on someone else's art. See also: American Vandal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Vandal).
(If you're seeing Homer Simpson in the second image then you have a rare psychotic condition known as Cerne-Homerosis Simpsonica.)
I heard somewhere the big lad was added to the big lad to fuck with Cromwell, who loved antiquities, but hated vulgarity.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 17 March, 2024, 12:34:53 PMQuote from: broodblik on 20 February, 2024, 06:49:08 AMMetalzoic what a great cover. I just wish we can get a reprint. I believe DC is the problem
It's such a weird thing. Why wouldn't DC be up for allowing a reprint of this strip? Or perhaps it wanted too much money, which made the endeavour unviable. I'd bloody love to see Metalzoic (ideally in B+W) given the full-on HC oversized treatment, with those glorious full-colour covers included as well. Alas, Kev is no longer around to provide insight into the strip, but I'm sure Mills could be roped in to write an intro.
I'm still very happy that I somehow, years ago, managed to buy a fairly good copy of the DC trade for a price that wasn't bonkers. But it is a skinny and fragile little thing. And that Kev artwork always looked all the more powerful in black and white.
It's a real puzzle why DC blocked a reprint of Metalzoic - it's not like it's earning anything for them now. All I can think is that there were various contractual bonuses or payouts attached if they ever went to a second printing which made it not worth their while (or they would have had to pay a lawyer to look at the contract and they couldn't be bothered). It was during that weird period in US comics where they would give the creators some rights but not all, which made untangling things tricky later on - I think the only time DC has ever reprinted one of the graphic novels they published in that format was the final New Gods story by Jack Kirby, which is a very different thing to a stand-alone GN by a couple of creators they don't care about.
Sadly the colours on the DC version aren't much even by the standards of the time, but the B&W pages look incredible - definitely put me down for a B&W version when the powers that be realise how good it is
Quote from: Definitely Not Mister Pops on 18 March, 2024, 01:55:55 AMI heard somewhere the big lad was added to the big lad to fuck with Cromwell, who loved antiquities, but hated vulgarity.
Now that I didn't know. Fair play though, I'm not a massive nationalist but I'm all about fucking with Cromwell. He was a muppet.
12 - Strontium Dog
Not only are Stont wraparounds rare, but finding high quality scans of them is a bit tricky. Forgive this post, then, for having some dodgy repro of these rare artefacts.
Carlos Ezquerra's The Big Bust is Go!, prog 417:
(https://i.imgur.com/NQyF0Ju.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/QyjA8hp.png)
---
Carlos Ezquerra's Slavers of Drule, prog 425:
(https://i.imgur.com/metvm5E.png)
(Points here for realizing this is a double-pun. Slavers is another word for drool.)
---
Colin MacNeil's Dark Memories, prog 686:
(https://i.imgur.com/TRSwBju.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ICccuwi.png)
---
Next: just routine...
Quote from: Funt Solo on 20 March, 2024, 09:22:02 PM12 - Strontium Dog
Not only are Stont wraparounds rare, but finding high quality scans of them is a bit tricky. Forgive this post, then, for having some dodgy repro of these rare artefacts.
Carlos Ezquerra's The Big Bust is Go!, prog 417:
(https://i.imgur.com/NQyF0Ju.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/QyjA8hp.png)
---
Carlos Ezquerra's Slavers of Drule, prog 425:
(https://i.imgur.com/metvm5E.png)
(Points here for realizing this is a double-pun. Slavers is another word for drool.)
---
Colin MacNeil's Dark Memories, prog 686:
(https://i.imgur.com/TRSwBju.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ICccuwi.png)
---
Next: just routine...
Beautiful stuff.
13 - Perps
Perps come in all shapes and sizes...
Cliff Robinson's West Side Rumble (from 1985's prog 434) is clearly paying homage to West Side Story:
(https://i.imgur.com/pABC5Gy.png)
---
Greg Staples' Stay on the Right Side of the Law (from 2011's prog 1750) has been featured on Covers Uncovered (https://2000adcovers.blogspot.com/2011/09/greg-staples-un-american-graffiti.html), so has various versions to enjoy:
(https://i.imgur.com/13vTIAX.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/vfEI7uM.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/SI157VA.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/CRgaKkL.png)
---
Jon Davis-Hunt's A View to a Kill (from 2012's meg 320) gives us a fairly standard "Dredd points gun" on the front cover, but then turns that into a bank heist when we include the back:
(https://i.imgur.com/JgVFoqZ.png)
---
Next: pie in the sky...
14 - Ian Kennedy
Ian Kennedy was a wonderful artist with a unique set of skills in being able to visualize world war era machines. Watching an interview with him in his later life, he mentioned that he was never quite happy with the way he drew hands. I like to show my nervous art students his work, replete with (naturally) hands, and let them know that he was both a very successful life-long artist, and also someone who wasn't necessarily happy with some aspects of his work.
Messerschmitt's in the Mega-City (from 1985's prog 466) is an out and out classic cover, marrying Ian's skill at recreating Messerschmitts with a fantastic cityscape. The "Pie in the Sky" is wonderfully Mega-City, and the German pilot's shout really brings the scene home.
(https://i.imgur.com/E1addxi.png)
---
Welcome to Your Future (from 2015's mega-prog 1961) harks back to the earlier spread with another giant structure in the air - perhaps weather control? Dredd has something of his earlier look here, with an ethnicity it's hard to pin down.
(https://i.imgur.com/iBhwOZu.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/reRxnDX.png)
---
Next: check your billy...
15 - Planking
Sky surfers, assemble!
Cam Kennedy's Midnight in the Mega-City (from 1985's prog 424) was part of the classic Marlon Shakespeare reinvention tale Midnight Surfer. In the background, there's some of his old graffiti, and that of his ill-fated scrawl rival The Phantom.
(https://i.imgur.com/5fcAqCE.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/TTrpw1n.png)
---
Patrick Goddard & Dylan Teague's Stand & Deliver (from 2021's prog 2219) demonstrates the superb high quality we've come to expect with modern techniques. Mona Plankhurst (https://2kstages.github.io/AtoZ/PlankhurstMona/data.html)'s tribulations are as compelling as Chopper's, but there's perhaps less out and out escapism and more kitchen sink (ironically) reality. Still, it all started with the Chop, and there's a nod to that hiding in the background.
(https://i.imgur.com/XIbunf8.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/W2HLEGH.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/60MnnWm.png)
---
Next: all those moments...
Thanks for the interesting roundup Funt - the Chopper one (prog 424) reminded me of this reworking by Dave Elliott for the Quality Comics reprint:
(https://i.imgur.com/qyYEawk.jpeg) (https://imgur.com/a/GZtH9nP)
(https://i.imgur.com/5fcAqCE.png) (https://imgur.com/5fcAqCE)
I had that reprint comic years ago. It's a fairly admirable Cam Kennedy impression.
I've only just figured out why they have the mirror-writing.
16 - Landmarks
The big numbers matter, and here we look at progs 500 and (one version of) 2000.
Prog 500's Special Souvenir Issue (from 1986) has, I think, twenty artists providing a gallery of thrills. Like any top twenty, it's probably safe to say that the passage of time would suggest a different grouping. This prog was a different size than normal, with shiny cover paper - heralding a bigger change coming twenty progs later.
(https://i.imgur.com/GBqBRcI.png)
---
Prog 2000's Galaxy of Stars (one of the variant covers from 2016) takes a different position - with Tharg dominating and the space-bus off in the background and obscuring the characters. That back cover's not really doing much - even if it is an exploding star.
(https://i.imgur.com/d61offA.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/qgSw6Q0.png)
Who's that next to Slaine, being cool on the back seat? Also - everyone is smiling (even Kano) except for Dredd.
(https://i.imgur.com/GBcHqok.png)
---
Next: time-slices...
Can it be Inspector Inaba next to Slaine on Prog 2016? Doesn't seem likely though...
As for Prog 500, honestly, it's a pretty solid top 20 of both artists and characters even now.
Obvs would swap out Bad City Blue (and maybe Robin Smith); and an Arthur Ranson Anderson over Kitson. But everything else is spot on!
Quote from: AlexF on 16 April, 2024, 11:27:13 AMCan it be Inspector Inaba next to Slaine on Prog 2016? Doesn't seem likely though...
That
does look like a Hondo uniform, so maybe it is Inaba.
I thought maybe Durham Red as another option, but the hair seems wrong.
Lulu? Hershey? Though not really in the right clobber for either.
17 - Let Them Eat Cake
Only twenty progs after the big 500, we got the tenth birthday prog's celebratory cake - which was the other method of honoring prog 2000...
Prog 520's Ten Zarjaz Years! (from 1987, by John Higgins) has a pretty solid line-up of thrills on offer. This is a landmark prog as the paper quality and size made a permanent shift for the first time since the progs 110-128 high quality blip.
(https://i.imgur.com/LLI8Ci0.png)
---
Prog 2000's Happy 2000th Issue, Squaxx (one of the variant covers from 2016, by Glenn Fabry and Ryan Brown) has everyone throw on a smile (which looks creepy on Dredd) - except for Cyber-Matt, who looks stressed out, and Tharg, who looks egomaniacal.
(https://i.imgur.com/j8iU3LR.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/LCrE5dz.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/OtvVtG7.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/FflBsnT.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ceHGSY9.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/DF3gHmV.png)
---
Next: TFIF...
More love for Inaba!
I love this one for the facial expressions. Dredd looks horrific, but check out Judge Fire beneath him!
You've also got creepy Kano, pissed up Mean, Death taking a selfie and Durham Red absolutely cracking up. Plus Henry Moon making a rare appearance!
The grinning Hammerstein is a thing of nightmares! But it's a joyful cover. Love that Sam Slade!
Hmmmm, some 2k characters should never, NEVER, be pictured 'smiling'. Ugh shudder....
I'd forgotten about that cover - what an absolute classic. That's Inaba again up the front, isn't it? And that Arnold Rimmer lad behind Halo Jones must be Bill Savage.
It wasn't the first time Fabry had drawn Dredd grinning inanely, either.
(The article (https://www.comicbooknews.co.uk/article/the-smiles-of-dredd.html) this image came from claims that it was from a story where a woman from MC1 gets godlike powers - I was sure it was a man.)
(https://www.comicbooknews.co.uk/img/articles/ccf12-dredd-smile.jpg)
That's probably from prog 600's The Power of the Gods - an oddity with six color pages and two in black and white.
18 - Rogue Trooper
All of that Rogue Trooper, and only two wraparounds! And the OG Rogue is relegated to the back cover of a lesser known special. Rectify this malfeasance, Thargnanimous, Bringer of Thrills!
Prog 687's Battlefield Blues (from 1990, by Will Simpson) gives us the OG Fr1day, before it all went a bit Pete Tong.
(https://i.imgur.com/e2BqnES.png)
---
The Rogue Trooper Action Special's Future War (from 1996, by Dave Gibbons) is something of a hydra, with Fr1day rocking the front, and Venus Bluegenes providing covering fire. Poor old OG Rogue is a ghost in the sky. (Recently, in-comic, those three characters had all met, and OG RT had suffered perma-death.) It's a bit like that inside, with two Fr1day tales, one for Venus and a colored reprint of the first RT strip from prog 228.
(https://i.imgur.com/MAYTQ3q.png)
---
Next: Simons say...
19 - Wrap-Spasm, Book II
A couple of Slaines from a couple of Simons...
Prog 688's ...and he didn't think it too many (1990; Simon Bisley) has Slaine warping out in his wild boar codpiece, and taking out a combination of sea demons and skeletons. The action fades out on the back cover rather a lot. Great wild-eyed horse action, there.
(https://i.imgur.com/DObHkHy.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/xUYaol3.png)
---
Prog 1882's Chop Chop! (2014; Simon Davis) features an older, more mutton-chopped Slaine up against a twisted giant. The crowd of onlooking giant-bruvvers has diminished in the final rendering compared to the rough.
(https://i.imgur.com/h8aWtGf.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/XAUi8Ft.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/c7H7uG7.png)
---
Next: I'm Batman...
I love the 'fade out' of the action on the back cover and it really leds into the power of the action on the cover.
And boy oh boy even on a glossy cover the colour lose from that original is quite something!
Two excellent covers from two very different Sláine artists.
For me, Bisley has never topped his Horned God stuff - the way that the terrified horse's eye forms the focal point of all the action is a stroke of genius, and shows that there was a lot more to Bisley than blood, muscles and tits. Although, of course, there were plenty of those too.
The other Simon, Mr Davis, brought an atmosphere to Sláine that it hadn't seen for years. For all of Clint Langley's talents, he couldn't have brought that level of lush greenness to a scene like that. Sadly I didn't think Pat's scripts at that time were his best, but that's for another thread.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 25 April, 2024, 04:58:09 PMbut that's for another thread.
Yeah but, no but, yeah but - I agree with you that Simon Davis' art lifted the Brutania Chronicles above the value of the actual stories. There were good parts (getting deeply inside the mental landscape of the characters) and bad parts (SHOUTY OFF-PAGE GOD-VOICES SHOUTING). I reviewed them all a bit a while ago. This be what I said:
Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles: Book One: A Simple Killing(1874-1886) Script: Pat Mills, Art: Simon Davis, Letters: Ellie De VilleSlaine returns with mutton chops and beard, looking a bit more middle-aged than in previous incarnations and therby providing a sense of time (in a tale that has sometimes seemed stuck in a cycle). The drune lords and their skull sword troops are back as a threat, and Slaine finds himself on a quest to save Sinead (a recent aquaintance) from their evil clutches.
The art from Simon Davis is absolutely belting, and Mills does a good job of keeping the action moving (even if, a bit like the norse myths, his Slaine tales lack some continuity). There are also hilarious moments, like when a nonchalantly peeing giant asks Slaine if he is stuck because he hasn't run away yet. It's really difficult to choose an image to show, because the art throughout is just a joy, but here's Slaine panicking as Sinead is infected by evil magic that turns her into a twisted version of a mermaid:
(https://i.imgur.com/jV7Ddbv.png)
Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles, Book Two - Primordial(1924-1936) Script: Pat Mills, Art: Simon Davis, Letters: Ellie De VilleSlaine has rescued Sinead from the Drune lords, but her spirit is broken and she's been purposefully addicted to opium, which speaks to the wider theme of this Book as being one of spirituality and mental health. The Drunes serve as reverse psychologists: rather than trying to cure people they seek to enhance mental illness and have their victims serve them as reliant puppets. It's pretty deep and delves far back into the saga: all the way to the death of Slaine's mother, and how that has shaped him.
I could see a frustration here if it's read as an action thriller: not that there isn't any action - it's knee deep in gore - but ultimately Slaine ends up pretty much where he started after a lot of running around. There's two key things I love here: one is the stupendous painted art by Simon Davis and the other is that it's thought-provoking. An entire episode is pretty much given over to Slaine trying to deal with Sinead's depression. (It could have been a bit more progressive if Slaine had been rescued by Sinead, but you can't have everything.)
(https://i.imgur.com/mZmN4x0.png)
Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles, Book Three - Psychopomp(1979-1988) Script: Pat Mills, Art: Simon Davis, Letters: Ellie De VilleWe all celebrated when Nemesis and Torquemada fought their way across several pages of beautiful Kevin O'Neill illuminations back in the day. And here we have beautiful painted art by Simon Davis with amazing colour palettes.
But: the end of the previous book had a 2-episode confrontation which now continues with a further 4 episodes of the same confrontation. That's 36 pages of one fight - and most of it consists of Gododin blathering on and winding up Slaine as he gets beaten well beyond a pulp. What: is he trying to bore him to death? Beautiful art is one thing: but you can't polish a turd.
Thankfully, we do eventually get to see some other locations - and the Macha flashbacks are quite interesting - but overall this type of story where the bad guy just shouts at the hero for pages and pages and pages, even psychically when they're not actually in the same place (and often seemingly as an excuse to witness the author's extensive research) is boring. Beautiful to look at, but boring to read.
(https://i.imgur.com/5BfVAFz.png)
Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles, Book Four - Archon(2050-2060) S: Pat Mills, A: Simon Davis, L: Ellie De VilleBeautiful art from Simon Davis and, of course, some very interesting ideas from Pat Mills, but the saga suffers under the weight of the diatribe. On the one hand, it is interesting to wonder about one's family history - and, the idea that a villain would attack Slaine's ego rather than just attack him physically is a cunning plot device. But, it's being stretched too thinly over too many pages.
The disembodied GOD SHOUTING dialogue is oppressive: not just for Slaine but also for the reader. And there's a sense of magic villainy that doesn't serve us but only the plot. The villains teleport to where Slaine and Sinead are accessing Macha's spirit, but there's no real sense of whether they're inside or outside, or where God/Archon is. It's just a scene that needed to play out - it could be happening on the moon, or inside a magic bubble dimension.
I feel like Sinead gets used as a vessel too much: she's a vessel for Macha, then a vessel for Danu. And all to serve Slaine. So, on the one hand, it's quite progressive (strong, warrior women who choose their own partners), but on the other hand there's too much focus on Slaine's needs. I probably wouldn't focus so much on that if it weren't that the narrative suggests that women do have power and should have power - but then it's all about their reflected value from Slaine's perspective.
It all improves immensely when God/Archon stops shouting, and Gododin (already defeated too many times) exits stage right. After that we're back to having a sense of place, and a plot that revolves around humans with human motives. Perhaps the best bit in the entire book is the people shouting their message from place to place. Also, I miss Ukko.
(https://i.imgur.com/edzz4pQ.png)
20 - Judge Dredd / Batman
There were four Batman crossovers for Dredd, and the first and last got the wraparound treatment from a couple of artistic big hitters...
Judgement on Gotham (1991; Simon Bisley) places the titular characters front and center, with the threat relegated to the back cover and haunting Gotham.
(https://i.imgur.com/kB8aBHr.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/hoypRDT.png)
---
The second book of Die Laughing (1998; Jim Murray) brings in all four Dark Judges and the Joker. It looks gruesome, but there's some fun to be had if you play a game of Spot the Builder's Bum!
(https://i.imgur.com/wSF9b70.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/CtgXK19.png)
---
Next: throw open the gates...
That Jim Murray cover is amazing, isn't it? I think at the time I was biased against his work on Die Laughing, as it was meant to be Fabry and it wasn't. Very unfair of me, though - I'd say his cover there is better than Bisley's on JoG.
Thanks for posting your review of Sláine - The Simon Davis in a Wig Chronicles too! Really interesting stuff, and a reminder to me that it wasn't all just shouty anti-God propaganda. I must do a re-read some time soon.
I much prefer Murray's cover too. Dredd's bike looks tiny on Bisleys.
21 - 2000 AD Yearbooks
You think you know about wraparounds? Fuggedaboudit! You know nothing, Jon Snow! Erm, anyway - at some point it was determined by Thargnanimous that Annuals were just meh, and they had to be replaced by Yearbooks. Basically, annuals, but with floppy gatefold covers. In some ways these gift us an insight into why people go on about how bad the 90s were for Tharg's Organ.
2000 AD Yearbook 1992 (1991; Dermot Power) - this one is sorta special in that it's not just a gatefold wraparound, but it's circular - so you could have it repeat forever, with Tao de Moto there. You can tell this isn't quite golden-age, as Fr1day and Feral Jackson are holding court alongside the more established fizzogs.
(https://i.imgur.com/9s2SaGh.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/1iBFH4y.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/3BHBaKA.png)
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2000 AD Yearbook 1993 (1992; Dermot Power; But is it Art?) - this is a fun one, with our smelly friend Brigand Doom stalking Dredd. Nerd alert! Anderson's badge should say "PSI"!
(https://i.imgur.com/MEUsKTk.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/5mDM1dM.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/SwdsL5v.png)
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2000 AD Yearbook 1994 (1993; Mick Austin; Spaced Out!) - a real flag of the 90s here, with Sam Slade wielding an automatic rifle, Hammerstein for some reason monochrome, DR looking like a little boy, also there's an actual little boy holding onto Tyranny's foot - and The Clown is given more screen space than one might expect from a historical context. Anyway - this was the 90s. Too much acid, not enough editorial control.
(https://i.imgur.com/jcTpYlg.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/XeVF4Ol.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/3ZjwoF1.png)
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2000 AD Yearbook 1995 (1994; Mick Austin) - quite a clever idea, with the characters appearing out of the working art, but Babe Race 2000? Brigand again? What's Tharg done with his hair? Oi vey!
(https://i.imgur.com/5I6clC2.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/OmHb2f9.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/J6maKu2.png)
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Next: gates, folded...
Quote from: Funt Solo on 02 May, 2024, 07:26:53 PM...at some point it was determined by Thargnanimous that Annuals were just meh, and they had to be replaced by Yearbooks.
To be fair, it wasn't some capricious whim — the old annuals weren't selling, so it made sense to try something new. Unfortunately, the yearbooks didn't sell, either.
Quote2000 AD Yearbook 1992 (1991; Dermot Power)
That one's Sean Phillips, surely?
Also, I'm pretty sure I don't own (or have even read) anything after the '92 yearbook... which surprises me. I may have to head to eBay!
(I suppose the fact that a die-hard fan like me missed these supports the assertion that they didn't sell... :( )
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 May, 2024, 09:00:01 PMQuote2000 AD Yearbook 1992 (1991; Dermot Power)
That one's Sean Phillips, surely?
Indeed. Fumbled. Sean Phillips it was.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 02 May, 2024, 09:00:01 PMQuote from: Funt Solo on 02 May, 2024, 07:26:53 PM...at some point it was determined by Thargnanimous that Annuals were just meh, and they had to be replaced by Yearbooks.
To be fair, it wasn't some capricious whim — the old annuals weren't selling, so it made sense to try something new. Unfortunately, the yearbooks didn't sell, either.
Well, yes, if fairness and facts are your bag then my casual approach to journalism won't quite cut the mustard.
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As regards tracking them down for a read, I'm not sure I could fairly recommend them. Here's what they contain, in amazing spreadsheet technicolour:
(https://i.imgur.com/R1Y2H6l.png)
I loved that 1992 yearbook - my brother gave me it for Christmas in, I suppose, 1991. It definitely had a lot not to like - Millar Robohunter, Fleisher Rogue - but Glenn Fabry's new, painted, let's-give-Biz-a run-for-his-money Sláine was amazing, and the reprint of Dash Decent was fine by me, as I couldn't remember it the first time round. Also, Dredd doing his punchline in a Scottish accent.
I lost it for years, then found it again, but it sadly went the way of most of my possessions in that feckin' boat fire.
The next few Yearbooks - not quite so fond memories, but there were a few decent strips.
Quote from: Funt Solo on 02 May, 2024, 07:26:53 PMalso there's an actual little boy holding onto Tyranny's foot
Oh, wait - it's Luke Kirby! I thought one of the Inspiral Carpets had somehow sneaked onto the cover for a minute, there.
I seem to remember the Happy Mondays making their way into a Judge Death story in some Dredd special or other. 'You're bending my cantaloupe, man! Call the Judges!'
The 1995 cover is amazing - way better than Joy Hogg, Millar Slade and Fleisher Friday deserve.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 02 May, 2024, 10:42:18 PMI seem to remember the Happy Mondays making their way into a Judge Death story in some Dredd special or other. 'You're bending my cantaloupe, man! Call the Judges!'
The 1995 cover is amazing - way better than Joy Hogg, Millar Slade and Fleisher Friday deserve.
Masque of the Judge, Death (JD Mega-Special #4):
(https://i.imgur.com/atstEYz.png)