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Meg 452: Call the Cops!

Started by Leigh S, 14 January, 2023, 03:23:00 PM

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Leigh S

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


broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Leigh S

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 )

Darren Stephens

Not usually a Meg reader, due to lack of cash, but I do love Ian Richardson's art. Might well pick this issue up.
https://www.dscomiccolours.com
                                       CLICK^^

chuffsteruk

That looks liek Harvey Keitel as Mr White!

broodblik

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.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

JudgeJudi

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].

broodblik

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.
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

M.I.K.

#9
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.

M.I.K.

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.

M.I.K.

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).

Colin YNWA

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.

IndigoPrime

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




Proudhuff

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.
DDT did a job on me