Meg 454: Final Flight

[IndigoPrime]

A transition period for the Meg, with a couple of strips bowing out this issue. A nice Bolland/Robinson-esque cover by Tom Foster, before we get into the strips.

Dredd continues to weave an interesting narrative with all its timey-wimey shenanigans. Will Dredd/Jack meet? How will the twist play out? All interesting so far. Less so for me with Storm Warning, which never clicked with me. Sorry.

Metal Planet isn't doing a thing for me either. It's more tiresome than horrific now, and I do hope the Dark Judges are rested for a while after this. Devlin Waugh, though, manages to seemingly effortlessly combine nightmare fuel, thoughtfulness and bucketfuls of weird. Again, if there's one good thing that's come out of the whole John Smith saga, it's Not on Waugh.

Then we're into reprint. Year One wraps up nicely. I was glad to get another read of this. City of Courts... continues. The Wolk interview elsewhere in the Meg is enlightening. I better get what he was going for, and it does at times nearly come off. But it's interesting that this was his first comics jobs. Really, I think he needed a better editor. (Also, while the art in general is solid, the depiction of Dredd is just weird.) Leopard from Lime St is a smartly chosen chunk of story that works well as a standalone and as a trailer for the third book.

Then we get Surfer, which ends well. It's not up there with Song of the Surfer or America, but it's hard to go wrong with this pairing of creators. Next issue, Spector kicks off (with Ezquerra art, with Dan Cornwell later taking over). But the highlight for me is going to be the next chunk of Dreadnoughts. Nom.

So a mixed bag in all. I suspect a lot of this iteration of the Meg is going to depend on what ends up in those reprint slots. I fear we might get years and years of beardy not-Dredd, but I do hope not.

Devlin > Year One > One-Eyed Jacks > Surfer > Mega-City Two > Storm Warning > Dark Judges

[Tjm86]

TBH I've not been bowled over by the last few months of the Meg.  Dredd has been the highlight but too many of the other strips just haven't done anything for me at all. 

Metal Planet is just a mess.  I'm completely lost with what is going on.  There don't seem to be any characters worth connecting with.  Death seems to be being played as a caricature of the worst strips ever done.  It's such a shame after all the effort that went into trying to reboot the Dark Judges.

Never been a massive fan of Devlin Waugh but since Smith left things have taken a disappointing turn for me.  I've tried going back to pick up threads but .... hey, ho.

I'd agree with the reviews of IDW Dredd.  City of Courts stands in stark contrast to Year One.  Guess it shows how much of a difference it makes having a writer that gets Dredd, not to mention an artist in the same mould.  Glad to at least see what these were like. 

Again, have to agree on Surfer.  It's interesting reading this following Molcher's I Am the Law.  His discussion of Shakespeare as a character made me think about the tale in a slightly different light.  This question of how do non-judge characters cope with the monoliths of the city, the judges and the criminals ...

Aye, a mixed bag to be sure ...

[broodblik]

Cover by Cliff Robinson:

[Leigh S]

Tom Foster?

[broodblik]

Tom Foster?

The cover is by Tom Foster not Cliff Robinson

[Nick Percival]

[broodblik]

B/W Cover:




Colour Cover:

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Please tell me what the meaning of this post is...?

[IndigoPrime]

A funny response to those of us griping about the strip Nick illustrated, I imagine.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Ah, ok, thanks for the explanation!!

[Proudhuff]

TBH I've not been bowled over by the last few months of the Meg.  Dredd has been the highlight but too many of the other strips just haven't done much for me.

Metal Planet is just a mess.  I'm completely lost with what is going on.  There don't seem to be any characters worth connecting with.  Death seems to be being played as a caricature of the worst strips ever done.  It's such a shame after all the effort that went into trying to reboot the Dark Judges.

Became a fan of Devlin Waugh since Smith left, but things have taken a disappointing turn for me, this all seems over indulgent. 

I'd agree with the reviews of IDW Dredd.  City of Courts stands in stark contrast to Year One.  Guess it shows how much of a difference it makes having a writer that gets Dredd, not to mention an artist in the same mould. 

Again, have to agree on Surfer.

[M.I.K.]

Flip's sake... Dinnae dae that. I thought I was experiencing a genuine bout of deja vu just then.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Same here!!!

[Richard]

I don't even bother with City of Courts.

Looking forward to Spector!

[broodblik]

I don't even bother with City of Courts.

I just gave up on it, for me it is one of the worse strips to published in the meg or even the prog.