Round 2: 5 - John Smith or Pat Mills - Ultimate Not Wagner Tourney

[broodblik]

Tordel then Colin should have excluded Alan Grant as well. It feels to me that he is always under valued compared to John Wagner.  He had a massive contribution to many of the best stories ever to be published in AD.

[JayzusB.Christ]

oh, feck, this is hard.
I'm guessing Pat Mills will win this round hands down.  2000ad is what it is because of him, and Slaine, ABC Warriors, Nemesis et al are some of my best childhood memories. 

But.. John Smith.  Slaine has been meandering aimlessly for years,  and I've lost track of what the Warriors are up to.  In the 90s while the prog was otherwise barely worth picking up, Smiffy was blasting out absolute stone-cold classics like Killing Time, Firekind and Revere.  Then there's Cradlegrave, in my book one of the prog's best stories ever.  Then there's Swimming in Blood, and some of the best non-Wagner Dredd stories written.  Also, the best Rogue Trooper story written, including those by his creators.  AND the text stories in the specials, which I seriously miss.

Pat may be the reason there is a prog, but I would have stopped reading a long time if it wasn't for John Smith. John gets my vote.

[robprosser]

Pat Mills - he has his ups and downs, his peak is well and truly in the past but he's an absolute legend.

[IndigoPrime]

Smith's going to lose this, clearly, but we can at least take solace in all those Smithy books rocking up in the UC, assuming that list someone was sent is accurate! I just wish we hadn't seen his last for the Prog itself.

[Colin YNWA]

Tordel then Colin should have excluded Alan Grant as well. It feels to me that he is always under valued compared to John Wagner.  He had a massive contribution to many of the best stories ever to be published in AD.

To be honest based it on the previous competition - if you do ruole out too many it gets a bit pointless. I personally didn't think Pat was a forgone conclusion. To be honest I can think of at least three votes I'd vote for over him and I'm sure others will have favourites too.

He's amongst the favourites but let's see how that plays out...

[IndigoPrime]

I guess it depends on how people position him. There's some goodwill for being the driving force behind the comic, but if we look specifically at writing/strips, things become more divisive. Perhaps he'll win out, but I don't think it's a foregone conclusion.

[Greg M.]

I was just typing something similar - that Pat is the most important creative force in the comic's history is undeniable. No-one, not even John Wagner, has made a more significant contribution. Viewed solely as a writer, however, he crushes most others but is not completely unbeatable, depending on the vagaries of individual taste. There's only two people here who I'd vote for over him - and it looks like he's about to beat one of them.

[broodblik]

Tordel then Colin should have excluded Alan Grant as well. It feels to me that he is always under valued compared to John Wagner.  He had a massive contribution to many of the best stories ever to be published in AD.

To be honest based it on the previous competition - if you do ruole out too many it gets a bit pointless. I personally didn't think Pat was a forgone conclusion. To be honest I can think of at least three votes I'd vote for over him and I'm sure others will have favourites too.

He's amongst the favourites but let's see how that plays out...

I agree with you for me Mills is not a foregone conclusion.

[Funt Solo]

John Smith.

[Buttonman]

A Mills bomb for me.

[TordelBack]

Tordel then Colin should have excluded Alan Grant as well. It feels to me that he is always under valued compared to John Wagner.  He had a massive contribution to many of the best stories ever to be published in AD.

To be honest based it on the previous competition - if you do ruole out too many it gets a bit pointless.

No lad, you were completely correct (and even if you hadn't been it's your party, and you can include Tise Vahimagi if you want to, Tise Vahimagi if you want to, we would cry too if that happened to Tooth (again)). I was just expressing my awe for the man (if mere man he is), and the fact that in my pantheon John Smith beats everyone but Mills (and Wagner).

[Colin YNWA]

Tise Vahimagi if you want to,

Oh arse I knew I'd left someone out. Now we'll have to start again...

[Rogue Judge]

Pat Mills for his overarching contributions to 2000AD and favorites including Dredd Cursed Earth as Meknificant Seven.

[sintec]

Pat Mills

[Colin YNWA]

There may well be a few voters hanging in the wings to make their minds up for this absolutely fascinating votes. If so and you want your vote counted pipe up today as I'll count this one in the morning.