Prog 1587: Zarjaz!

[I, Cosh]

Yet another Saturday Prog helps rid my head of cocktail fumes.

Tharg's got more Cliff than Dover! A right tasty cover from the nations favourite cover droid.

Dredd was a bit bemusing (especially as I wasn't expecting a cliffhanger), but I'll give it the benefir of the doubt and the art was nice.

10 Seconders benefitted from the opportunity to sprawl over two episodes. Good stuff.

Dead Eyes has a great double page spread, but I can't be bothered to comment on the story anymore until it's finished.

Dead Signal ends. Funny thing about this story: it's been well enough put together with its cliffhangers and reveals, spins on familiar ideas and decent art but it's done nothing for me. The ending leaves us with more questions to be explored but, quite frankly, I'd rather see another series of Synnamon.

[I, Cosh]

NB Just to clarify for anyone thinking I was being unduly harsh, I actually quite liked Synnamon. It's not a top ten story, but enjoyable filler.

[Proudhuff]

Cover: bit scarey that my first thought was of Rufus too!

Nerve Centre: Defoe back in Prog 1589 and Matt has the Painters ,sorry glazers in.

Dredd: Very articulate Troggies, Indy Jones and SPOILER:





a BF Spaceship

and some banter, looks like fun, art good but more Chin on that Dredd please!
'Wasting Justice Dept Ammo' heehee.



Ten Seconder:  Following it at last! I'm sure read as one the whole thing hangs together better

Dead Eyes: nice double spreads, at the risk of being called a dick, some of the text could have been cut down a bit in the 1st half.

An idle thought but that bedroom on the last page must be drawn from life, I can ID most of Ikea stuff there, how sad is that!

Dead Signal: Whit? AL who do you think you are GRennie? ;p  You can't leave it lke that!  unless your planning a second series?


Buttonman: two letters and both from Jockland!

Huffski

[Bad Andy]

I'm a bit disappointed by Dead Signal in the end. I was expecting it to be complete in itself. If it was just a prologue thing then it could have done with being about two episodes shorter. I think I'd been enjoying it so much that it possibly couldn't live up to expectations.

I didn't even notice a double helping of Ten Seconders. In fact as I was reading the prog I was under the impression we had a double helping of Dead Eyes it was taking me so long to read it all.

[Dandontdare]

Cover - Truly Zarjaz after a run of pretty unmemorable efforts.

Dredd - Intriguing. Nice to see the talented Mr Wiliams given a longer shot on the big man after "the biographer" a year ago:
(Do you have any idea how difficult it is to write about dredd?
Do you know how many brilliant writers have tried in the past and failed?
they ALL think they can master it...)
Anyone know how many parts this one is set to run for?

Ten seconders - just as i've got my head around what's going on it's finishing. One to read again at the end I think, but me like a lot.

Dead Eyes. Oh dear. A better than average episode but its all been cliched twaddle with thin characters IMHO.

Dead Signal - Pretty good bit of fluff but feels a little s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d over 7 progs. Some of Tharg's Mark 1 droids could have distilled this into one good future shock with no loss of thrill power.

Overall - a good prog.n Like always, the GGC's greatest strength is that there's always something to like. It still boggles mmy brain that such a consistently good and varied anthology format has survived as a WEEKLY(monthly would be impressive) for 31 years!

[Funt Solo]

::"Very articulate Troggies"

Those weren't troggies: they were muties.  Troggies only live in the MC-1 undercity.

Do all the other mega-cities have undercities?  What is there exact population?  Tharg?

[McNulty]

And now for my comments if I may...

It cannot be a co-incidence that the current Dredd story features an adventurous archaeologist braving the dangers to obtain important artifacts. That being said, I found this week's episode very readable. Small point though - how did he manage to hold a conversation with a cylinder container wedged between his teeth???

The Ten Seconders: I found Root's words about the gods emminently hollow. "A god cares" he said. Well that may be true about himself (in some warped way perhaps), but I certainly haven't read a shred of evidence that would make me believe that any of the rest of them are anything other than a bunch of self-serving (abeit superpowered) scum. As for the end that is coming, I cannot predict if Kane is going to betray them once they find this object, or indeed what this object is and what it does. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see.

Dead Eyes: If I'm reading this correctly, the Neanderthals have lost their focal point which channels their energies, thus severing their connection with their "drovers" and because of this, the sedated hu-mans have woken up, presumably to go on a rampage.
I've got news for you mates, not everyone in the world is as bad as you watch on the news and read about in the papers. Mankind as a whole does not need to be lobotomised for its own good. The vast majority of people are good and decent and are not ruled by a reptilian brain. Given the choice, most people would rather do good than evil.

Dead Signal: As I have said in previous week's, I had been hoping for a sort of resolution to this story. I haven't been given on. It ends with the protagonist still unclear on the nature of his reality. I don't know if this was the intention all along, but it has been the result. I join other in concluding that this has been a dissapointing ending to this story.

So, all in all an average prog. I confess I am more looking forward to the new line up and see next week and just tying up the loose ends.
 

[Mardroid]

Cover... Erm I think I already remarked on that above, but, yeah it was freaky and good.

Dredd- Looking to be another corker! Looks like it'll only be a 2 parter though. Cool to be following other characters.

Ten Seconders- Well this answers the question as to what the vampires were. I.e. they are human.  Can't help thinking that the Root god thing was pretty stupid though, and much to easy to defeat. Liked the "Very good shooting considering the circumstances" gag... but what's the betting he'll regenerate? And finally we see Jenny again. I thought she was wearing a tight fitting costume there, but there don't appear to be any joins, so maybe its her skin. The Artist kept it tasteful though, he could have gone for the nubbins out root.

Dead Eyes: Not too bad, but not my favorite.

Dead Signal:  I've enjoyed this strip, but I can't help thinking the twist thing could be taken a bit too far. I'm intrigued though. Also it has finished rather early I feel, but considering the positive reaction it's gotten I reckon it'll be back.

[The Monarch]

My attempts at conquoring the letters page continues!

[Tiplodocus]

I really didn't like the Dredd.  The Indiana Jones character was a pretty poor imitation of a character; too cheesy and converntional to be a character in DREDD, not mad funny enough (at all) to be a parody.  Reads like a really poor pitch for a Dreddworld spin off character.

Art was OKish but I wasn't impressed with the wobbly shaky Dredd as the rumbling started - normal fan of this droid as well.


Cover truly zarjaz.

Won't even bother with DEAD EYES and TEN SECONDERS as they've both had plenty of chances to hook me but fail to do so week after week.

Thought I'd read Dead Signal but obviously not so will hav eto go drag it out from under the bed.

Not feeling like I'm getting much value for money here.

[numanti]

This run of stories has failed to hook me.  I was pleased that there was no Savage, bemused by the double leength Ten Seconders, did not like anything about the Dredd and have yet to read Dead Signal or Dead Eyes.  I have been somewhat enjoying Dead Signal up to now, though, it's just that since the excellent run earlier in the year with Kingdom, great Wagner Dredds, Shakara, Strontium Dog and Stickleback, this curent crop has not seemed to grab me.

Also, Defoe back?  Meh.

[numanti]

This run of stories has failed to hook me.  I was pleased that there was no Savage, bemused by the double leength Ten Seconders, did not like anything about the Dredd and have yet to read Dead Signal or Dead Eyes.  I have been somewhat enjoying Dead Signal up to now, though, it's just that since the excellent run earlier in the year with Kingdom, great Wagner Dredds, Shakara, Strontium Dog and Stickleback, this curent crop has not seemed to grab me.

Also, Defoe back?  Meh.

[Satanist]

Cover : Give this man another Dredd story pronto. One with Simps please.

Dredd : Nice art but I felt that the main dude was a bit too wordy for my liking. Meh.

10 Secs : I read it and that's enough for me.

Dead Eyes : Seems to read a lot better when you are stoned.

Dead Signal : Eh? That's it over? Ho-hum.

When the covers the best bit you know your in trouble. I really cannae wait for the new line up as this was one of the worst Progs in a while as far as my taste goes.

[SIP]

Nothing much working for me in the prog at the moment.

The previous Dredd was quite entertaining - and it is now the only thing I can be bothered to read in the prog.

Hoping for better to come.

[the shutdown man]

Yeah, I was a bit bemused by the sudden ending to Dead Signal which I had been quite enjoying. Is this a prologue to something more, or just a one-off?