Prog 1725 - Destroyer of worlds!

[Minkyboy]

Not at all, your prompt purging is much appreciated.  My humours were getting dangerously out of balance.

Take a couple of leeches and see me in the morning.

[Cpt Rhodes]

I'm really liking the artist on Flesh. I don't know if he's new to the comic but it's the first time I've seen him.

It's brilliant old school B/W art and it's rocking my boat.

[Eric Plumrose]

No, we've had loads. We even had a shit last week at the start of Flesh. Someone will be along in a minute to give you exact details of the first instance of 2000AD printing a naughty word.

That would be Bisley sneaking one in among graffiti on Joe Pineapple's gun early on during the ABC warriors' Black Hole story.

But as far as I know, (and I stand ready to be corrected here) the first time a 'real' swear appears in dialogue is during Button Man III. It was certinly the first f**k, anyway.

I'm thinking it was ZENITH: Phase III. The Archer couldn't say a bloody thing without bloody-well throwing in a several bloodies for those of us who were rapidly losing interest. That, or in BIX BARTON when someone says "Let's get the bugger".

You want nipples? I got nipples(!) . . .

[Hoagy]

Judge Dredd is a stunning climax this week.

So too for Kingdom.

Flesh Texas gets on its roll!

Shakara ripped right across the front page and continues through the Armada at lightening pace.

Future Shock uses age old revenge story to distract reader from twist. Not a bad one. Not life changing either.

Shocked to hear Shakara's done his time in 2000ad. Glad he's earned his stripes to move on to the great galactic archive in the stars, without over playing his hand.

Damage Reporters are feeling neglected down there in the basement. Hi fellas! No red nose day shenanigans to report? Shame on you all. Too busy, blah blargh!

Liam Sharp's Zippo has me tentatively holding the back page for fear of burning its so hot.

And letters from scroungers. How good to see grown men prostrate themselves before he of green.  

[Emperor]

Been a while, a quick review:

Cover - brilliant. This, and Liam Sharp's Flesh cover, set the bar high for the cover of the year.

Dredd - a suitably slow-burning noiry feel that I worked nicely (although the last page was a little... expositiony), plus you can never go wrong with John Higgins on art duties, never. I know it might not need saying but I'm with TB on the HUD - it seems to be clearly alluded to in the way the visor blackens (both the lightning bolts and the usually clear lower edge). Now I can't put my finger on a specific mention of this but Al is a continuity junkie so wouldn't get caught out by this, plus he is one of the main Dredd writers, so if it wasn't canon (which is fanwankery anyway) it seems to be now. I wouldn't be surprised if there is further mentions of this, or there is an earlier allusion to it.

Shakara - still bonkers after all these year. I do worry about the Flint droid though, I worry I might wake up one night with him calmly sitting beside me in bed wiggling the end of the screwdriver he has jammed in my brain. His art here has a similar effect.

Flesh - I'm not having a problem with the art here it is big, black and chunky (like a Yorkie bar, in poor lighting conditions), that central panel on the third page is rammed to the gills with movement and tension, plus that final scene... well you can just taste the dinosaur sweat and dung mixed in with the dust (go on lick the page. I dare you). My one complaint - VBF: Visible Bra Frills. I can't imagine a women in position of authority would have their shirt unbuttoned quite so far and would, in all the action and mayhem, manage to have the top couple of centimetres of bra showing at all times. Not a great way to get respect from the blokes... under her. Granted it would be hot as Hell and some of the chaps let it all hang out, but if McGurk can button his shirt up all the way, so can she. I do hope she has a high SPF sun cream or she is in for major cleavage burn.

Future Shock - I'm with locusts and Dark Jimbo here, the twist wasn't foreshadowed, he might as well have had a sword for a dick.

Kingdom - I have enjoyed this run but I still get a feeling of diminishing returns from the series. I loved the first one, liked the second one, the third one was fine and this was OK. I'm sure that, if it is coming back (and it must do because there are thread left dangling), that Dan Abnett will have some great plan and I hope that, now we have got all the background out of the way, the previous 4 stories can act as a foundation to build something big and long-running. However, if the next one doesn't knock it out of the park (and then chase the ball down and carry it back looking awfully pleased with itself) I will wonder if it might have been better to go out on a high.

Star Scan - been loving these and this is a cracker, a fire cracker perhaps. Sorry  it wasn't deliberate.

The Future Shock was pretty entertaining, and I enjoyedthe greyscale art from Joel Carpenter (not someone I've come across before but one to watch in the future)

#cough# apart from his early Future Shock in prog 1711

http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=30433

Here is his DeviantArt page (probably should be added to the list now he is an official droid):
http://inkoutofthebox.deviantart.com

Which has a tasty Dredd sample, making me think it'd be worth throwing one his way with Chris Blythe or Dylan Teague on colours:
http://inkoutofthebox.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2qs40a

We even had a shit last week at the start of Flesh.

Only those of us who read the prog in the "smallest room".

[SmallBlueThing]

Finally! my genius for squeezing in a filthy one is sorely unappreciated here.
SBT

[Emperor]

Finally! my genius for squeezing in a filthy one is sorely unappreciated here.

I know, I was nosing on through and I thought "surely someone has... nope" then I had to cobble a quick review together to stop people from thinking I was somehow obsessed with poo.

[Proudhuff]

Finally! my genius for squeezing in a filthy one is sorely unappreciated here.

I know, I was nosing on through and I thought "surely someone has... nope" then I had to cobble a quick review together to stop people from thinking I was somehow obsessed with poo.

What did you think of Stalag 666?      He asked innocently

[Emperor]

Finally! my genius for squeezing in a filthy one is sorely unappreciated here.

I know, I was nosing on through and I thought "surely someone has... nope" then I had to cobble a quick review together to stop people from thinking I was somehow obsessed with poo.

What did you think of Stalag 666?      He asked innocently

Well.... I... urm.... hmmmm...

M'learned colleague appears to have set a fiendish trap, from which there is no easy escape. All I can say is that everything Buttonman says about you is right