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Prog 2250 - Get zapped to the future with the Galaxy's Greatest Comic

Started by Colin YNWA, 18 September, 2021, 06:02:46 PM

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nxylas

Quote from: Tjm86 on 21 September, 2021, 07:00:47 PM
Seriously?  I thought it was a hell of a lot of effort for a rather painful pun myself.
Personally, I thought that the amount of effort he put in to such a terrible gag was precisely what made it funny. The equivalent of the cast of Airplane! playing the dumbest of jokes with completely straight faces.
AIEEEEEE! It's the...THING from the HELL PLANET!

Funt Solo

Quote from: nxylas on 23 September, 2021, 08:26:51 PM
Quote from: Tjm86 on 21 September, 2021, 07:00:47 PM
Seriously?  I thought it was a hell of a lot of effort for a rather painful pun myself.
Personally, I thought that the amount of effort he put in to such a terrible gag was precisely what made it funny. The equivalent of the cast of Airplane! playing the dumbest of jokes with completely straight faces.

Ham on Five
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Tjm86


oshii

Really decent prog.

Scarlet Traces had me wishing that the gorgeous double page spread had been on the actual centre


Sean SD

My Top 3 for Prog 2250

Jumping on prog with extra pages/thrills and featuring several ongoing strips in a battle of the story setups.

Top 4 for me (Dredd, The Diaboliks, Scarlet Traces and The Out) were all very enjoyable and one unfortunately will have to miss out

1st - The Diaboliks - This story may work really well with this unlikely trio working together. See what happens. Love the touches of humour, "Probably best we wait in the car" lol

2nd - The Out - Great story and loooking forward to where Cyd ends up to next. Page two and three too busy for my liking with page 4 having more space and being much more easy to read. Luv all the added alien sound effects and Abnett always manages to add a surprise on the last page/panel

3rd - Scarlet Traces - Change in art style at start of strip had me checking if D'Israeli was still doing the art then it all became clear why the art style differs as you read on. Well done. Very Yellow Submarine indeed.

Easter Egg: Cheeky droid reading material in Pandora Perfect lol


IndigoPrime

Late to this one, because I only just got time to finish it. Still, Dredd things up well, despite a very Mills-like roll call. Diaboliks nicely got things going, as did Scarlet Traces with its oddball art and arguments in space. The latter getting that double length was a really smart move.

Anderson was fine, but for me suffers a bit from a lack of momentum in how it's being published. The stacking up of a lot of new lore isn't adding that much for me. Pandora Perfect's shift from single episode to multi-parter might make for a trickier spell, but I'm happy having something breezy in the Prog.

Chris Weston's Future Shock was a very silly in-joke that you feel got a green light because Chris Weston. Still, he deserves it and it was suitably daft. Then there's The Out, which remains masterful.

So: The Out > Scarlet Traces > Diaboliks > Dredd > Pandora Perfect > Future Shock > Anderson — although there was nothing outright bad in this Prog for me. Even the worst stories were pretty good.

Funt Solo

I enjoyed the Anderson story (because it did something with the characters beyond a threat-of-the-week) but I was distracted by panels in which the characters exist in a background-free void.

It's not that you can't get away with the occasional gradient fill - Pandora Perfect opts for that in a couple of panels, but the final two pages of Anderson are completely devoid of a setting, and it feels like the artist must have run out of time. (See also blank Judge badges - and what looks like some penciled in background detail.)
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Barrington Boots

My copy of this still hasn't arrived, but feeling flush I picked one up at the weekend at a newsagents thinking, as a jumping on Prog, maybe I could pass my sub copy on when (if) it shows up. Quick review from me as you guys have all already read it!

Dredd Big fan of this episode, as others have said a very old school / Millsian start with introducing a bunch of novelty hitmen and lovely work from Jake Lynch. Looking forward to seeing this play out.

Diaboliks Mixed feelings on this one - the strip is good, but the characters are so odious I just don't want to read about them and I'm not interested in their adventures - Jenny and Ravne that is, at least.

Scarlet Traces I must admit I couldn't remember what had happened in the last series of Scarlet Traces and, to my shame, I wasn't interested to go back and check. This is one of those strips that whilst I can't say anything bad about it, I just don't like it. I love both D'israeli and Edginton so I don't know why and I'm in a clear minority so I'll just zip it on this!
That aside, more praise from me for the trippy start and the way the art shifted styles from the dream sequence to reality. The art here is magnificent, it really is.

Anderson Didn't dig this at all I'm afraid. I think I said in a thread elsewhere that I think Anderson as a character is played out: it feels like anything interesting with her has been done, she's not as one-note as Dredd in the core concept and chucking in a Justice Department wizard division is kind of symptomatic of this: it's just kind of muddying the waters further because it doesn't seem like there's many other good stories to tell here.
Very dark colour work from Lee Carter here and as others have commented, the lack of backgrounds is a surprise and I assume is down to time constraints which is a shame as his work is beautiful.

Pandora Perfect Perfectly decent start. Interested to see how this translates to the long form, but it's been the best thing in Regened imo so hoping it retains it's crazy feel. I do think it sticks out from the rest of the Prog, both in art and script but I don't think that's a bad thing.

Future Shock Some wonderful art here to set up a completely cheesy joke.
I liked this and would read this as a 3thriller.

The Out Nothing to dislike here although the horrible-things-happening-to-it rucksack joke was less funny this time around. It seems we're constantly changing direction with this story and that's not a bad thing: no idea what will happen next and looking forward to seeing where it takes me.

I'm somewhat less enthusiastic about the Prog than everyone else it seems, but I'm wondering if that's in part due to my frustration in actually getting a copy - I'll see how it pans out with this weeks (I still haven't got my subs copy if that yet either btw). Going back to my initial thoughts about passing a duplicate of this Prog on, I'm not actually sure I would. I work with a couple of guys who are lapsed 2000ad readers and I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be the Prog to tempt them back. Every long form strip here is at a halfway point and is very light on action, barring Pandora (and Dredd ofc). That's an observation, not a critique.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

Link Prime

Quote from: Barrington Boots on 27 September, 2021, 11:59:11 AM

Anderson it doesn't seem like there's many other good stories to tell here.


Last years 'End of Days' could at least have had the decency to kill Cass off once and for all while it was busy making me lose interest in Dredd.

Richard

Quotechucking in a Justice Department wizard division is kind of symptomatic of this
That isn't new, that was introduced in the Half Life / City of the Dead storyline.

Funt Solo

What Maura seems adept at (and I welcome it) is taking characters that have been relegated to the subs bench and bringing them back onto the field. Now we can have a game!

Sub-units within Psi Div have been with us since The Possessed ('86) introduced The Exorcists. Shamballa ('90) gave us the Department of Fortean Events and then the witches are part of the Department of the Supernatural (WMD, 2004).

Regarding characters, we can easily argue that continuation of existing characters allows for a more believable continuity. Corann & Lesley Ryan resurfaced in 2019's The Dead Run, after being dormant since 1997's Crusade (unless I'm missing an appearance). Shakta was brought back in 2018's Spa Day after last being seen in Lucid (2006), and now valley-Psi Janus is back - someone we haven't seen since 1997's Faustus.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

IndigoPrime

Would have, like, been, like, happy if, like, Janus had never, like, retuned, wholly.


Argh.

Funt Solo

++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Barrington Boots

I do recall the sub-divisions like Fortean Events but didn't remember witches / spellcasters at all, my bad if so. 

I should have guessed really because as Funt says Maura McHugh is really on the ball here continuity-wise and my review is also a bit negative, in retrospect as it doesn't highlight the good stuff like this. I do think the re-using of these characters is a good thing, but it also kind of strengthens my stance about Anderson as I'd much rather read a story about almost (ie not Janus) any other of these Psi Judges. I'd much rather read a story about Corann & Lesley. The likes of Shakta, Flowers, Echo.. even Shenker! There's (imo, more) possibility in all these characters.
You're a dark horse, Boots.

GordonR

Quote...and now valley-Psi Janus is back - someone we haven't seen since 1997's Faustus.

Deservedly so, some might say.

A character chiselled from a solid block of Deeply Irritating.