Meg 245 - Bullets Over Bollywood

[Wils]

What a cracker of a character concept Domino has turned out to be

Of course, this isn't Justice Dept's Black Ops first outing from Meester Spurrier...

http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=input&page=fiction&choice=cancerblack" taget="_blank">ImPuNiTy

(Please ignore dodgy drawing, though)

[Floyd-the-k]

Cover; yuck

Dredd; very nice art. story good but seems to be recycling Domino's last story. I don't dislike Dredd being a dupe, but I'm not crazy about reading the same story re-written.

The new Fiends looks very good indeed

Black Sid is fun so far

The Dredd reprint violates my first law of reprints; ie I've read it twice before. It's a nice little story though

Springheel Jack looks good so far - since I never ever buy small press stuff, I like this section

I thought the Black Museum was fun, conjuring up memories of Vector 13

I enjoyed the piece on Morrison. Am I turning into a slavering comics fan?

Sprouts list was pretty ho-hum. Jokes about comics fans being nerdy males, goodness where does he get these ideas?

I miss the old, big fat Meg already. Probably because I can't count money, I don't feel like i'm getting better value with a thinner Meg. Contra Linton Porteus' letter, I liked a lot of the more general articles like 'british icons'. I didn't like the Fu-Manchu one chiefly because it wasn't well edited (it didn't really introduce who Fu Manchu was or why we should give a rat's rear end about him,just jumped into the explanation)

[Funt Solo]

I won "Robo-Hunter: Verdus" for that poorly written whine-fest.  Cool.  When did we start getting free GNs for writing what we think?

[TordelBack]

Thanks for that link, Wils.  That old Si fanfic was good fun, hadn't seen it before.  As usual, the dialogue/slang feels slightly off, but the setup was great, and Hershey's PoV was engaging.

[Buttonman]

"I won "Robo-Hunter: Verdus" for that poorly written whine-fest. Cool. When did we start getting free GNs for writing what we think?"

I got ABC Warriors : The Meknificent Seven for mine, but possibly more due to the sucking up than the slagging. Obviously the sucking was in a witty and incisive manner you understand...

Still to read mine,just back from sunnier parts with a bumper pile to wade through.

[nick-is-at-home]

calm down calm down...

PHEW!

Is everyone perposely criticising every other thing tharg does because to me this was a pretty good MEG.

My only concern is that Tales of the Black Museum will seem to become a filler strip rather than the good story telling it really is if they choose to print it as 5+ episodes consecutively.

Other then that, i'm not complaining.    

[House of Usher]

I thought Megazine 245 was better than 244.

The Dredd story was okay, although very similar to the last appearance of 'Domino Blank-One'. Not a character whose adventures excite me, nor do I feel I want to know what she gets up to.

Fiends of the Eastern Front is an interesting curiosity, and a welcome addition to the line-up.

Black Siddha is as broad as it is long, really. It neither delights nor offends me.

Springheeled Jack was good enough; a little taster of a bigger narrative, like reading Bram Stoker's omitted chapter "Dracula's Guest".

The Judge Dredd reprint was fair; a rare glimpse of Dredd's sense of humour done right.

I enjoyed the Grant Morrison feature. Well written, entertaining and informative, and a very good overview.

Tales From the Black Museum: Headshots created a nice little mystery and built the story trajectory nicely for the first three pages, until it all went wrong (i.e. silly) on page 4. The only explanation that makes sense to me is the bullet was haunted...

- A bullet fired a month before is still flying around killing innocent people. Is it resting in between kills? If so, why; and is it chuckling to itself as it waits in the shadows?
- In a month, it has only managed to kill 18 citizens. Why so few?
- A dozen killings was enough for the city to become paralysed with fear. The whole city. Of 400 million people. So this bullet has got the run of the entire city then, and could strike anywhere?
- Judge Stross uses his own body heat as a lure, then captures it using a stronger heat source. So why not use the stronger heat source in the first place, avoid playing chicken with the stray bullet, and maybe save the lives of the two other judges that died catching it?
- Why use a 'very hot' radioactive isotope to catch the bullet? Wouldn't a small brazier of burning coals (or an electric heater, as Max pointed out to me) do just as well, and not kill Judge Stross with radiation poisoning?

Oh, and on the first page, the ammunition box changes shape between the first and second panels, losing about a third of its width. Strange indeed.

[Carlsborg Expert]

The city is in a state of deep despair as the headshooter clocks up... wait for it... ooh 'bout a dozen. This is MegaCity one! A futsie can wipe out that many in a blast of firepower.

Good effort though. I thought it was intentionally silly. Self satirical, almost spoofing.


And that Dominoes a nutter! Sitting around in pj's surrounded by childrens mobiles, whats that about?

Earlier on shes throwing spooge grenades and smacking her lips at the fact she is about to KILL some one!

I dig the line between negotaters that proports;-

DEAR ME. YES. DISASTROUS.

and Dredd's all up for it too and says:-

AND QUICK.

Nice story though with the you know what coming from yuo know where.

Again, Fiends of the Eastern Front will endure. Macniels art is perfect to give it that wooden carving approch reflective of film nior.
 ( Have watched " The Day the Earth Stood Still "today and it still looks marvelous in its startling moments.)

As you may have guessed I have been able to stretch my non-existent budget across the older kids comic , so good for you 2kd, another back in tow. I stick to the main items fer now.
Jason Brashills got a brilliant name and his art is brilliant and I remember Language Barrier and that was brilliant too.Funny as hell and showing Dredd juggle public defender and deliberater roles in a brilliant way. Brilliant.Course he could possibly have a universal translater in his helmet these days.
Or a telephone box that has a similiar effect..

Black Siddha, I like. Darkly comic. Goodness gracious me rip offs and Buddha of suburbia coolness in the charactor design.Simon Davis is just stylish and such a slick artist.Every panel is a treat.AS for the story I hope its not Finn meets Bollywood.


Small Press champions too eh?
Of course at first I thought it was a bit wobbly in his line and the story didn't deserve an airing in such a proud organ as the meg. But I read the article and have since matured and arranged my point of view to thus. The artwork is lovely and the story delicately put. A good window into his work, like you said Ush.

Ooh Conventions!
 I'm still in my honeymoon period with these. Please be gentle with me!

[I, Cosh]

Just caught up on a few back progs last night and I only have one comment to make about the last month.

Splashdown is easily the best Dredd, and probably the best thing, since Total War. I hadn't expected to see this character back so soon and I was slightly annoyed that it was in the Meg rather than 2000AD, but that certainly doesn't detract from the quality of the story.

There's obviously a lot of mileage in the character, both in backstory and future possibilities and I look forward to seeing more of both, although maybe not for a few months.