Praise Grud!
A Saturday Megazine - can we begin to hope Tharg's Rigellian Hotshots have done the trick?
The Dredd is intriguing and convoluted in equal measure this time - a very odd premise, but taking its time, which isnt a bad thing here.... still not convinced this shouldnt be "Wagner only" territory, but I;m going to assume he gave some sort of nod to it as the gent he is.... Lets see if the odd premise lleads to a clever twist/resolution!(as an aside, who else could imagine an Al Ewing version of this having the One Eyed Jack sections revert to 10 panels a page story telling)
Tonally, maybe running Storm Warning, Waugh and Death is a bit too horror heavy - of the three, the only one I'm really digging is Waugh.
Surfer remains the highlight, but that's only expected - MacNeils art always shines, but really looked lovely this week - Blythe being at least a good chunk of that with his colours
Overall, think do prefer the new Big Meg format, but mix it up a bit with the content I would say
Cover by Laurence Campbell:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/Dl78IqNT2jAJEZEtqGcKIXi933M=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/f7/b7/c19990c001e5b772a28d500b382a07450849.jpeg)
Seeing the cover there reminds me - a shame they didnt do the interior art in this retro style, not that theres anything wrong with Ian Richardson's art - ((as an aside, who else could imagine an Al Ewing version of this having the One Eyed Jack sections using a different 70s styled artist to the Dredd sections )
Not usually a Meg reader, due to lack of cash, but I do love Ian Richardson's art. Might well pick this issue up.
That looks liek Harvey Keitel as Mr White!
If you read the Editor's Note you will know that Lawless and Dreadnoughts will return. The interesting think is that Spector will also run in the meg. If you can not remember what it is about just open your copy of 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2019.
B/W Cover:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/thumbnail_lowresDreddCover-722x1024.jpg)
What's going on with Dredd's eye - misdirection, nothing, symbolism or [spoiler]One Eye Jack turns out to be a time displaced Dredd who lost his memory[/spoiler].
Interesting theory. It was a great opening story for the Dredd story. It is great to see One-Eyed Jack back and even the title has more meaning after reading the first episode.
Quote from: JudgeJudi on 18 January, 2023, 08:10:53 AM
What's going on with Dredd's eye - misdirection, nothing, symbolism or [spoiler]One Eye Jack turns out to be a time displaced Dredd who lost his memory[/spoiler].
I'm going to go with [spoiler]Dredd and Jack being parallel universe/timeline versions of the same person and the constant crossing of barriers between the two worlds causing them to allign far more closely with each other.[/spoiler] Or something.
Quote from: M.I.K. on 18 January, 2023, 03:08:28 PM
Quote from: JudgeJudi on 18 January, 2023, 08:10:53 AM
What's going on with Dredd's eye - misdirection, nothing, symbolism or [spoiler]One Eye Jack turns out to be a time displaced Dredd who lost his memory[/spoiler].
I'm going to go with[spoiler] Dredd and Jack being parallel universe/timeline versions of the same person and the con[/spoiler]stant crossing of barriers between the two worlds causing them to allign far more closely with each other. Or something.
Tch... made that bold instead of a spoiler in the first post and apparently left it too late to edit, (not that it's necessarily a spoiler anyway).
In summary things that don't feel like they should work. Or rather should feel like cute nonsense are made to work. Both Dredd and Death should feel like a bit of twee fan service. Dredd crossing over with a character often seen as his forerunner. Death going back to his pantomine singing days... I mean how the hell do both of them work? The thing is the both do as Niemand and Hines' scripts are invite, fun and find ways to turn cliche ideas into tight exciting stories filled with such potential... actually we can add Wagner's Chopper to that list... to a lesser degree, but retreading Chopper's tale in Surfer and turning it into a drug smuggler, watched by the police, forced into desperate measures.... well we've seen that before and yet in the hands of a master that really, really works.
All of these strips are assisted by fantastic, well choosen art, Richardson providing wonderful 70s vibes, Percival horror overtures and MacNeil... well he's as masterful as Wagner.
All three turn old ideas into real winners and that's quite something.
Elsewhere Storm Warning is beginning to wash over me and needs a re-read to pull it together. The text pieces are fine and the reprint is familar. So the middle ground is a little so so this month.
The peak though, oh boy the peak has all the craft and guile of the first three strips, all the glorious art to support that but is backed up by being chilling original, innovative horrifically fresh. Devlin Waugh is an absolute masterclass and worth the price alone.
The new format's working for me, in the main. The integrated nature feels better, and it affords the editor a little more flexibility, in providing context for the likes of One-Eyed Jack. That said, it's still a Meg of two halves for me, to some degree.
I really enjoyed the Dredd set-up with its timey-wimey shenanigans, even if I've only a passing knowledge of One-Eyed Jack. All the time-jumping in Storm Warning isn't doing it for me though. I quite like some of the individual events in this episode, and feel like I should enjoy the strip more than I do.
Death has just lost me. I've never been a fan of 'Dark Judges as comic relief'. It always feels like where they head when a writer's out of ideas. So for me, this isn't twee or fan service. It's just poor. Fortunately, Devlin kicks things up several notches with a shocking twist. I'm sure there'll be a way out, but even so, this is great stuff. Kot is the perfect writer for this series and long may that continue.
Reprint next and kudos to Matt Smith. It's been a while since I read Year One in digital, and I'm really enjoying this. Great script that barrels along, rather than being stretched out to fill a US comic. Coleby, as ever, is first-rate. But then there's City of Courts. I'm trying again. It's full of ideas, but I still find this strip a borderline incoherent mess. I guess we've got three more months of this. Some One-Eyed Jack rounds out the reprint. I think it provides just enough for newcomers to understand the character, without overplaying it. Ultimately, it's a 12-page ad combined with an explainer, and it works.
Surfer wraps things up, in suitably quality style, as you'd expect from its creators.
Devlin Waugh > Dredd (Niemand) = Year One = Surfer > One-Eyed Jack > Storm Warning > City of Courts > Death
Quote from: Leigh S on 14 January, 2023, 03:23:00 PM
Praise Grud!
A Saturday Megazine - can we begin to hope Tharg's Rigellian Hotshots have done the trick?
The Dredd is intriguing and convoluted in equal measure this time - a very odd premise, but taking its time, which isnt a bad thing here.... still not convinced this shouldnt be "Wagner only" territory, but I;m going to assume he gave some sort of nod to it as the gent he is.... Lets see if the odd premise lleads to a clever twist/resolution!(as an aside, who else could imagine an Al Ewing version of this having the One Eyed Jack sections revert to 10 panels a page story telling)
Tonally, maybe running Storm Warning, Waugh and Death is a bit too horror heavy - of the three, the only one I'm really digging is Waugh.
Surfer remains the highlight, but that's only expected - MacNeils art always shines, but really looked lovely this week - Blythe being at least a good chunk of that with his colours
Overall, think do prefer the new Big Meg format, but mix it up a bit with the content I would say
This ^^^ plus bring back the contents page please Tharg! so much better than a random starscan stuck in between stories.
I skipped the death metal and storm warning. Death is such a tired old war horse, please stop flogging it, and the time jumps in Storm show this troupe has timejumped the shark.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 19 January, 2023, 12:22:26 PM
But then there's City of Courts. I'm trying again. It's full of ideas, but I still find this strip a borderline incoherent mess. I guess we've got three more months of this.
Please Grud NO!! I have no idea why padding like this is in the Megazine (money?) hopefully we won't be getting the Grasscity Dredd, that was truly awful.
Well, it's not padding so much as the reprint now existing inside the Meg rather than a floppy. I imagine had the floppy continued, it would have had IDW stuff in it instead. And, yes, I really hope Matt Smith stops short of running Mega-City Zero and Blessed Earth. I bought those in a Humble Bundle and they were relentlessly awful – some of the worst Dredd-related stories I've ever read. Mind you, Swierczynski's Dredd was barely any better – and that's 30(!) issues.
If there are no licensing issues (but I imagine there would be), Mars Attacks Judge Dredd would be welcome. That was fun. I'd happily re-read Anderson, Psi-Division. The Cry of the Werewolf one-shot was solid. Under Siege and Toxic were OK. Four issues each, too, so that might be a thing for a third of a year, depending on how much IDW Smith's aiming to shove into the Meg.
Year One is really good, when you read it, it reads like Dredd and it feels like Dredd. City of Courts is something you start to read, and you continue to read hoping it gets better but at the end you just read it to get it done.
Mega City Zero was my favourite of the IDW Dredds tbh. The ongoing and recent minis just felt like regular Dredd but just not as good, Year One could easily have run in the Meg and Blessed Earth felt unneeded. It's been a couple years since I've read MCZ so maybe the McDaid art was doing a lot of the heavy lifting but I appreciated it for not just being Dredd-lite and doing something completely out of left field.
I'll give it some points for doing something different, but it didn't feel at all like Dredd, and Dredd didn't feel like Dredd. Swap out the lead and it could easily have been another strip. I don't remember much about Blessed Earth other than Dredd apparently deciding he didn't care about shaving after all, and that I had to force myself to finish it. After that point, my brain apparently purged the entire run.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 19 January, 2023, 04:50:37 PM
, Mars Attacks Judge Dredd would be welcome. That was fun.
And going for big bucks on Amazon!!
Got to say the square bound format of the Meg is just LOVELY. Chunky big comics format. Love it. Great decision to transition Mr Tharg.
I just hope it sticks. We got those lovely 18 or so issues last time before staples returned.