Prog 2373 - A crash course in future law enforcement!

[Colin YNWA]

Well for some reason that cover doesn't say Stewart K Moore to me, don't know why just feels different to they're other work. Either way very nice.

Inside well thank Tharg we have Ken Niemand to pick up Dredd after the end of the last brilliant, super popular, story. This one feels so Niemand, different, more postive tone, introduction of a new character I strongly suspect will be back. Playful use of the Joe Dredd trope and over all a great fun done in one with the promise of more to come. Just goes to show how Dredd can host so many types of story so perfectly. All with lovely Nicolo Assirelli art. Nice.

Indigo Prime continues to move things along very nicely, great stuff. We have our squad together and feels like the mission is about to start. And damn I'd won't have eaten that lolly pop!

Full Tilt Boogie just such fun. The shift in focus and tone is delightful and this one looks great and is aces basically.

As not so for Deadworld - used to love this strip but this one has completely lost me and I can't see a recovery before a re-read by this point.

Thistlebone - I mean if someone invites you to that after shoot party you ain't going to go right. Oh boy this one just cranks it up yet again. Superb.

Also in the Nervecentre we get another nail in the Regened coffin. No news of more BUT we now know that issue 2375 will be an extra length soft relaunch issue. I slot that would surely have been the first Regened of the year AND the promise of 3 more of these to come. Maybe times and page counts have to be booked at the printers in advance. Who know but I don't think we're getting Regened this year are we.

[broodblik]

Cover by Stewart K. Moore:

[broodblik]

Cover and Logo:

[IndigoPrime]

It would seem... unlikely, unless Tharg's giving us bumper 2000 ADs four times per year and Regened. But it seems unlikely Regened would drop to the standard page count. The delay/cancellation of the fifth trade doesn't suggest good things either. I dunno. Comics are tricky, and these days publishing numbers are mostly opaque (bar rare cases like The Beano).

I still like the concept behind Regened, but I haven't enjoyed the execution for some time. More or a concern: my 9yo hasn't been fussed either, despite devouring The Phoenix weekly and reading mountains of books and comics. But everyone here must surely be painfully aware that comics need new readers to survive. So perhaps these bumper Progs can help with that? I've no idea what's planned, but I hope they'll whack in some recognisable strips. And also give them value as one-offs, by having some one-and-dones alongside the ongoings.

Clearly, Rebellion does have some handle on the children's market, given the increase in Monster Fun's frequency. And it doesn't strike me as a company that wouldn't beat a dead horse. Four Regened collections is a solid run, and we've had a bunch of spin-off too.

It's all speculation, I suppose, but if Regened does stop, I'd hope the best strips continue to have a life in the regular Prog. Although obviously what people consider the best is going to vary from reader to reader. (I'd happily read more Full Tilt Boogie, Pandora Perfect, Intestinauts, Department K and Mayflies. And some of those have made it across already anyway, albeit in a few cases in very limited fashion.)

[The Monarch]

Its too much lowborn high that killed it for me. if it was normal length and we had another story or two i would have been fine but nearly half the comic being lowborn....no just no

shame really as regened did have a lot of nice fun stuff that came from it all mostly mentioned above by my favourite indigo prime that isn't the comic strip....which was good this week heck the only thing i am struggling with is deadworld as i think i may have lost the plot on that series about two storylines ago.

[broodblik]

For me regen should exists in one form or another, why do they not try the same formula that exists for the Battle Action series. Release it as serialized form with maybe one or two stories carrying over and the rest one shots

[broodblik]

Also in the Nervecentre we get another nail in the Regened coffin. No news of more BUT we now know that issue 2375 will be an extra length soft relaunch issue. I slot that would surely have been the first Regened of the year AND the promise of 3 more of these to come. Maybe times and page counts have to be booked at the printers in advance. Who know but I don't think we're getting Regened this year are we.

I just in a preview the following statement which is quite interesting: The Fall of Deadworld Retribution comes to its scrotnig finale next week, paving the way for some fantastic new stories to commence in the bumper Prog 2375, the first of four 48-pagers scheduled for 2024. Now that's something to really look forward to!

[Funt Solo]

Regened is quite an odd name. It's not meaningful to new readers, as it references something that happened in the comic in 1985, and, erm, didn't work very well. 

It lasted 18 issues. More than Revolver. Less than Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future. Ah well, R.I.P., brave experiment...



(Color me surprised if Regened surfaces as a 4-week prog takeover this summer, or something.)

[Max Headroom]

If regened has indeed bitten the dust, I for one will not be missing it.

[Richard]

I won't miss it either, but it will still be a great shame that the experiment failed, as it's imperative that Rebellion continues to sell comics to a new generation of British comics are to have a long-term future.

Agree that "Regened" was a dubious choice of title.

[IndigoPrime]

It's really interesting looking at the above strips grid, because it feels like a comic that – given the huge gap between issues – was struggling to find its identity. Initially, it was "kid-friendly takes on classic 2000 AD characters, with a few new things". End of the first half brought in a bunch ion new stuff. Issues with Pandora and Dept K. One with Mayflies and Splorers. But then it quickly became 'Lowborn High also featuring Cadet Dredd, and maybe some other stuff if we can squeeze it in'.

For a range of reasons, I do hope it's not dead. But I also personally hope if there's more that it's closer in nature to the first half than the second half of what we've had to date. (Ofc, that might be entirely contrary to sales. Maybe Lowborn High was a hit with the kids. I can only go by my own prefs and those of my youngling.)

[broodblik]

That is why I think it will work better if the schedule for it is done in a more flowing manner - this should never have been part of the normal prog run. Currently it broke-up the prog's run and we had these awkward breaks.

[Richard]

Cue Jim Campbell explaining why it had to be part of the normal prog run for economic reasons...

[Le Fink]

Regened is quite an odd name. It's not meaningful to new readers, as it references something that happened in the comic in 1985, and, erm, didn't work very well. 

Oh, what's that referring to?

[Funt Solo]

Regened is quite an odd name. It's not meaningful to new readers, as it references something that happened in the comic in 1985, and, erm, didn't work very well. 

Oh, what's that referring to?

The hinge-story (progs 401-406) that took Rogue from Nu Earth to Horst. G, B & H (wait - GBH?) were regened but then started to sort of flake away (like people in Marty McFly's photograph in BttF) because of a mad space-math disease that could only be cured by a magic egg from D&D World.