Wrap that cover around. Glorious city scape from the magnificent Patrick Goddard and since I'm a sucker for a cityscape I love this. Inside its the same as you were really.
Dredd - Curiously gentle Dredd, where Joe himself serves as an iritant more than anything else. Otherwise its about a mother having to pull out all the stop, and servers and ducks and dives, literally, to support her family, The youngest of whom, as the cover marks clear, she supports in more ways than one! My guess, and hope is Plankhurst, M. is getting getting a try out like Neimand's Chimpsky and while not as immediately compelling as our Simian friend I see plenty of potential for where her tale could go and hope we get her back.
Slaine - Oh stuff happens I guess.
Proteus Vex - as it does here, but boy is there a difference. after last weeks twists and thoughts here we get a daring escape and rescue. Fantastic stuff.
No escape and rescue for Durham Red as the tension builds and we reach a sad end. Fantastic.
Hershey kinda ends but is clearly just reving up, which I'm glad of as this is a great thrill, even if this ending doesn't really close too much off. I mean there is an end, but we don't really get any resolution, that's to come I assume.
AND THEN ALL STOP
We got Regened next week and while I hope its as good as the last one, we don't get any of the much sort after thrills back yet so three new uns - its still puts the breaks on three of our ongoing stories. Which is irritating. Still needs must I guess.
Cover by Patrick Goddard and Dylan Teague:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Et8Fv2EXEAA67Rk?format=jpg&name=large)
Cover and Logo:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/UTxYMcMzWnh9Q--YDXAKMSn2vw0=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/fb/f9/cfdeac32f56bc48dac35de065dd1d72afc5a.jpg)
Yet again - no Prog - if it turns up on Monday - I will be delighted
Post has been a nightmare - sent on Monday a letter 1st Class Recorded down south and by Saturday
it still hasn't arrived !
Still enjoying this entire run!
Dredd - beatuiful art from Patrick Goddard, with lovely colours from Dylan Teague to compliment it. The concrete grey of the city really allows the characters to pop. Enjoyed the story though was caught off guard by[spoiler] its lack of a "classic Dredd" ending where we'd usually expect her to wind up in the cubes[/spoiler].
I'm absolutely up for a "new Chopper".
Slain - Still really enjoying this final ever Slain. More monsters, flames and fighting gorgeously painted.
Proteus Vex - now with even MORE Lil Vex!!! I love that wee fella.
Durham Red - Again, still loving it. Strong line and colours in the artwork (including fantastic use of frosted breath). Can't wait for the (hopefully|) eventual vamp-out for DR.
Hershey - So, last week I said I was hoping for (1) Frank to fight back (2) Hershey to learn something or other about the nature of revenge (3) Joe remains unharmed. So this week felt like [spoiler]a giant fuck you haha[/spoiler]
See y'all next week for the quarterly Regened debate ;-)
Prog arrived this morning, my quick thoughts after a lunchtime read.
Dredd - Another lovely one off. Colin is right to call this gentle -it's a nice little story with Dredd being a dick, a good protagonist with just enough backstory, continuity callback and a bit of satire too in a dig at the current zero hour hell that couriers are enduring. Top thrill this week!
Goddard's art is fantastic here. His cityscapes simply rule and the cover is magnificent.
Slaine - All action, but feels like it's sliding back to being nonsense sadly. Still looks terrific although I'm not a fan of Alban's design. He looks derpy - unless that's the point as an ingrown mutant.
Proteus Vex - All action here too but it's good. Like Slaine there's some great ideas here, but unlike Slaine it's engaging, exciting and interesting. Tiny Vex looks like a Kirby superhero. How big are those Citheronians?
Durham Red The brain is wearing a balaclava! With a pom-pom no less.
I thought this was going to be a straight up siege story so this is an interesing shake up and we still don't know who the villains are, so more to come.
Hershey After enjoying the last couple of episodes, there's no resolution and this ending is bogus, despite the great art.
Durham Red is really good. I liked a lot about the semi-reboot in the first place, but this latest tale is as strong as — and has the kind of oddball characters you'd expect from — a lot of classic Strontium Dog.
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 15 February, 2021, 03:43:56 PM
Durham Red The brain is wearing a balaclava! With a pom-pom no less.
I thought this was going to be a straight up siege story so this is an interesing shake up and we still don't know who the villains are, so more to come.
For my money it's got to be [spoiler]one of the victims of the Allurian Massacre, as mentioned in the first episode - maybe even the blonde lady we 'saw' getting chomped.[/spoiler]
Either way, the balaclava is brilliant! :lol:
That is an excellent shout.
Well, blow me down with a feather!
I said over on the meg thread that I thought it was stronger at the moment. Then along comes this week's prog and I'm trying to figure out what sauce to have with my words!
Never been a massive fan of Slaine but this series has me as interested as back with the Spoils of Annwn circe prog 500. Just goes to show what happens when Mills concentrates on a straight S&S tale with a strong artist. As great as Langley et al are, it's been a slog at times.
The rest of the prog leaves you standing, not least of all that Dredd. A raft of stories leaving you yearning for more? Now that's service.
Regened next week. Well, let's see what is served up this time. To be fair the balance has been more on the positive side so I'm cautiously optimistic. Another brand new tale to boot? Well, here's hoping.
Quote from: Tjm86 on 15 February, 2021, 07:08:20 PM
Regened next week. Well, let's see what is served up this time. To be fair the balance has been more on the positive side so I'm cautiously optimistic. Another brand new tale to boot? Well, here's hoping.
Their is 3 new tales in the regen prog:
Action Pact: The Radyar Recovery by Mike Carroll (w) Luke Horsman (a) Matt Soffe (c) Simon Bowland (l)
Viva Forever by David Ballie (w) Anna Morozova (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
Mayflies: Precious Cargo by Mike Carroll (w) Simon Coleby (a) Dylan Teague (c) Simon Bowland (l)
Judge Dredd -- Niemand is proving to be a tour de force as a Dredd writer with another simple but effective tale that humanizes mailmen working tirelessly to please customers. The cityscape detail is phenomenal and has a strong "concrete jungle" aesthetic. Partially over-reliant on exposition in parts, but that's a small nitpick.
Slaine -- It's all proficiently crafted - stellar art, great lettering and deliberate paneling - but the story continues to do nothing for me. It's hollow, boring and, honestly, as an introduction to this character, I find Slaine to be a perfect character - dare I say Gary Stu? - who isn't challenged enough. Spacewarp is latter day Mills at his most scathing and entertaining.
Proteus Vex -- Nah. Consider me untaught but, as someone who knows nothing about this world, I don't think it succeeds in welcoming new readers. It's entrenched in exposition and I seriously have no idea what is happening. (That small Vex thing looks like something out of Dark Knight Strikes Again).
Durham Red -- This continues to be the Prog Highlight. Deceptively simple, striking colour palette and ripe with twists and turns. Alec Worley is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers.
Hershey -- A great end to a great story. I'm relatively new to the Prog so other fans' issues haven't concerned me. Irrespective of legacy or necessity, I loved it. It uses non-linear storytelling effortlessly and unpretentiously, as well as being constantly bolstered by delightful art. Bravo, Rob Williams!
Prog Rating -- 3/5
Quote from: Wilko10 on 15 February, 2021, 08:59:53 PM
Slaine -- It's all proficiently crafted - stellar art, great lettering and deliberate paneling - but the story continues to do nothing for me. It's hollow, boring and, honestly, as an introduction to this character, I find Slaine to be a perfect character - dare I say Gary Stu? - who isn't challenged enough. Spacewarp is latter day Mills at his most scathing and entertaining.
... an introduction? You do realise that this is the final story (allegedly!)???
All depends on when you start reading any of these stories especially starting from the middle of a series will make it difficult to catch-up. Something like Vex we had a lot of world-building and background that builds up from previous chapters. Slaine has been ongoing for decades but this story you really do not have to have all the prior acknowledge to follow. The easiest story to pick-up certainly is Durham Red.
I think Wilko's post is an important one if he's a reasonably newish reader. I get the impression most of the rest of us have been reading the comic for decades but if he's not read Slaine before and hes finding it not so good that's worth taking note of (even if it is looking like it's wrapping up)
There's a lot of continuity heavy stuff in the prog nowdays and whilst it's a delight for a lot of us I'm interested to how it's perceived by people with less grounding in it.
That is always a difficult thing to address to catch-up with the continuity of a story Barrington. The nerve centre try to address this by giving us some background on what happened before. In the older days the first few panels where almost a semi-catch-up type of thing
I can also add this that it is much easier now to get some back issues. All of the progs up until the xmas prog of 2002 are available digitally. Yes, it will cost you a arm and a leg.
The question is how much a story should be entirely accessible to new readers and how heavily it should rely on continuity. Ideally, a strip should do both, but that's not always possible. However, in order to bring on board new readers, you cannot have an entire comic more or less say "well, you should have read several hundred previous issues".
Films have the same problem, not least when they become continuity heavy or don't act as a logical start point. When I went to see Phantom Menace with friends, one had never seen a Star Wars film. This lad was bright and smart and yet left arguing that the film was borderline incomprehensible. Others were big fans and started saying "But don't you see? X is going to turn into Y?" Newbie's point was this was supposed to be the first film, not the fourth.
I'd say 2000 AD in this issue mostly gets the balance right. Hershey, Sláine, Dredd and Strontium Dog are mired in deep continuity, but that continuity isn't required to enjoy those strips. You might of course get more out of them if you've a long history with 2000 AD, but you don't need that. Proteus Vex, I think, is far more problematic in that area, but then even during its first run that story had a tendency to throw so much lore at the reader, it was hard to keep up with what was going on. (I guess we should just count ourselves lucky it's not running the Meg, with a month between episodes.)
As for the Prog as a whole, I liked Dredd (human; topical; smart; great art), am bored of Sláine (indestructible; ponderous; going through the motions; looks nice though), remain confused by Proteus Vex, reckon Durham Red is easily the best thing in the comic right now, and found Hershey's ending a disappointment even if I broadly like the strip as a whole.
I also think 2000ad is pretty good at accessibility vs continuity but it's always better to hear from outside our own bubble, so to speak.
My wife is a casual reader of the Prog, and there's some strips she just finds impenetrable due to continuity - the last series of Stickleback being the latest example - she's just not interested. She read the first couple of episodes and then flipped past them every week for the rest of the run.
I'm not saying it should have been more accessible btw. Her loss imo.
A good prog with a great city-scape cover by Goddard. Just one gripe with the cover and it is a pity that the digital prog does not have the wrap-around cover next to each other.
Dredd – Another goodie one-shot by "Do Not Know Nobody". What awesome landscapes by Goddard, just like how the Mega City is portrait from different angles.
Slaine – The story so far has been a real roller-coaster ride in the sense that one week I like it and the next it just feels flat. So far if this is the last story then it is a disappointment, art can not carry a story forever.
Vex – This week's episode has a twisting ending as new alliances are formed. What next for our team of galactic mischiefs? Enjoying this and is an easy pick for number one thrill.
Red – The plot twist with another great episode.
Hershey – The ending feels a little bit unsatisfactory after the weeks of build-up. We now have to wait for the next chapter to see where this is heading.
And next week is Fight Club Round 2220 and some people still claim this cannot be as good as the classics from the class of 78.
still waiting for prog to arrive but nice to have something to be excited about and look forward to
Quote from: broodblik on 17 February, 2021, 02:53:24 AMAnd next week is Fight Club Round 2220 and some people still claim this cannot be as good as the classics from the class of 78.
People wrestling with their own argument that 2000 AD wasn't as good as it was when it was aimed at kids, and then slamming a few issues per year being aimed at current kids (rather than kids from in the 1970s) and subsequently getting all miffed when it's revealed these issues are the best-sellers of the year. Copy/paste.
Another great prog.
Superb Dredd from Niemand, nice simple little one and done tale and simply stunning cityscapes. Goddard really captured the skysurfer views of the Meg and Teagues colours are (as usual) brilliant.
Slaine has more dragons and... well look at those dragons.
Vex continues to deliver twists and turns with a daring escape this week, I suspect those massive Citheronians are gonna be pissed.
Durham red this keeps getting better and better it took a couple of episodes before I was fully onboard but it's a great little action strip
Hershey ends and much like Slaine I find I've not cared about the story much but the art has been great.
Here is cover in its full warp-around glory:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/P.01-2219-COVER.jpg)
Quote from: broodblik on 17 February, 2021, 10:33:38 AM
Here is cover in its full warp-around glory:
That's glorious. They really need to sort a way of handling these properly for digital readers. Surely it's as simple as just repeating the 1st page at the end or am I missing something?
Should be easy to do as you say just add the front page again as the last page
Hey, I'm one of those decades long readers and even I couldn't explain Slaine's backstory. I reckon I'd have a better chance of explaining String Theory or why anyone wants to vote for Johnson ... :o
From Ken Niemand's twitter feed on the Dredd story: "We're definitely going to be revisiting this character.". So yes we will see the return of our new sky-surfer.
This prog was a 4.5/5 for me, absolutely splendid.
I understand that readers may be frustrated by not having every story be completely self-contained, and that enjoyment for newcomers may be diminished as a result, but after many rounds of heartfelt umming and ahhhing on the subject, I've finally concluded that this is, I'm afraid, just tough luck.
A character that has run for nearly 40 years cannot be expected to be devoid of useful context beyond the chapter you're reading, in any medium, unless it is at the level of simplicity of Dennis the Menace*. And really not even then.
Sláine has been my favourite 2000AD strip since I read the first episode aged 12, and I'm happy to report that (for me) this current run, and this episode, is as good as anything in that long uneven history. It showcases that 90-ideas-a-minute Pat Mills machinery of old is still as tightly wound as ever, with almost every page having the content of whole episodes of some other strips. And it's all so beautifully realised on each lush page, the perfect combination of detail and big picture, it's hypnotic.
Against the accusation that Sláine is some kind of Gary-Stu, for whom every problem can be easily solved by his innate wonderfulness, I'd respond by noting that for much of the preceding 5 books he has been rudderless, heartbroken and for long periods reduced to a sobbing unshaven heap on the ground, and driven almost to madness by the mysteries of his origins. Dragontamer sees him regain his mojo, through an understanding of his past, and take the fight to the self-appointed Knights that oppress his world. Sláine, that is. Not anyone else. No.
For all that, Patrick Goddard's Dredd (and cover) completely one-ups Manco this week, with the most visually exciting Dredd story I've seen in many moons. The script is perfectly fine, but its real value is in giving Patrick and Dylan the opportunity to draw the most complete Mega-City 1 skyscape imaginable. Sublime.
Durham Red is another visual feast, with Worley continuing his wonderful streak of Setting Up Really Wonderful Things for the Right Artists to Draw, which is to my mind the greatest skill a comics writer can possess (cf Pat Mills). I mean seriously, a floating brain in a bobble hat, tell me any of us had that on a Durham Red bingo card.
Proteus Vex is in much the same vein. I care about these characters, I want to learn more about the puzzles they face, I'm excited by events, I believe in their peril and that the stakes are somehow high. No higher praise have I.
Hershey is fecking gorgeous. The version I choose to read, where the disembodied spirit of Enceladus Energy Aimee Nixon comes to the dying Hershey and offered her a deal: "let me inhabit your body and we'll right the wrongs we feel responsible for, so we can both die in some sort of peace", is going very well, thanks for asking.
*Not suggesting writing Dennis is remotely easy, as many retoolings have shown.
Quote from: broodblik on 17 February, 2021, 06:24:32 PM
From Ken Niemand's twitter feed on the Dredd story: "We're definitely going to be revisiting this character.". So yes we will see the return of our new sky-surfer.
Oh that is excellent, if not unexpected news. He does have a way of creating immediately engaging supporting characters that Neimand.
Cover: It's an extender! I'd love a pair of glasses or maybe some kind of magic prism with a 'Dylan Teague' filter that lets you see the world in his scintillating flare-flecked, bleached-out tones.
Dredd: Pre-cog time - this summer's mega-epic to be a ten-part Niemand-penned story where all his supporting characters team up to stop Dredd issuing a jaywalking chit to an eldster trying to visit their sick grand-daughter
(Is there any reason why the freight terminal is called 'Orinoco'? Has to be a reference there I'm missing.)
Slaine:
QuoteThe vault keeper has pink, fresh, baby skin that is disturbing to see on such an old man. It's because he's only just regenerated.
He's sloughed his skin so many times, you can almost see the toad inside him.
He kindles my displeasure.
Just quoting that because if any other comic strip has a better piece of opening prose, I'm not sure I've seen it.
Vex: Little Vex looks like a character an ad agency might have designed to advertise ZX Spectrums. Can't wait to see the Big Citheronians in 'ingestion' mode.
Red: Layers and layers! Who needs a Strontium Dog revamp when you've got
this vamp?
Hershey: It's been good but I think I would've enjoyed it even more if it had been a completely clean break and not had callbacks to the Small House storyline.
Quote from: norton canes on 18 February, 2021, 11:07:11 AM
(Is there any reason why the freight terminal is called 'Orinoco'? Has to be a reference there I'm missing.)
Large South American river? Can't think what that might be a reference to. Nosiree. No politics here, thankyouverymuch!
Quote from: norton canes on 18 February, 2021, 11:07:11 AM
Is there any reason why the freight terminal is called 'Orinoco'?
Because Sinister Dexter had already taken Congo?
With you on the Sláine narration. It's top stuff.
Grud's sake. Someone clearly zapped me with a stupid gun this morning.
Quote from: norton canes on 18 February, 2021, 01:22:55 PM
Grud's sake. Someone clearly zapped me with a stupid gun this morning.
It's a barbed critique of that capitalist master of the patriarchy, Great Uncle Bulgaria. ;)
Quote from: norton canes on 18 February, 2021, 11:07:11 AM
(Is there any reason why the freight terminal is called 'Orinoco'? Has to be a reference there I'm missing.)
Its CLEARY a commentary on the overt capitalism of the recording artist, Enya!!!!
Quote from: JimmyNailz on 18 February, 2021, 03:29:15 PM
Its CLEARY a commentary on the overt capitalism of the recording artist, Enya!!!!
Just to let you know, you may want to have your spellchecker looked at ... there is an 'r' missing in that sentence.
More love for the Goddard droid here.
Cityscapes: tick.
Awesome cityscapes: tick.
Jaw droppingly awesome cityscapes: tick.
A great little story too. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Good prog this. Well done, those droids!
Another very good prog - well done droids :)
My Top 3 for Prog 2219
1st - Dredd - Niemand droid again on form here, great MC1 art
2nd - Proteus Vex - nice work by the Flesh - Pilot dude, looking forward to next ep
3rd - Durham Red - well done story and art with space to breathe, also brain beanie lol
Re Dredd story: Orinoco Flow - Enya song with chorus "Sail away, sail away, sail away" maybe future advert jingle for Orinoco couriers?
Fantastic Dredd, a Dredd with Minimal Dredd! Goddard just gets better.
I was a bit disappointed at Flint not on Vex duties, Jake Lynch, whose art I have enjoyed before works even better than Flints, who I would put up as the modern master on 2000 AD. Really great tale, and a strong character too, a welcome addition.
The art on Slaine is INCREDIBLE, good tale, fitting finale, based in Mayo(and Sligo) too :D
Red is a decent 'Tales for the Doghouse', a bit drawn out, but well told.
Hershey, fantastic art, some of Simon's best, I feel I'm missing something in the story though.
Good prog, read it wanting more.
Quote from: maryanddavid on 21 February, 2021, 01:32:18 AM
Hershey, fantastic art, some of Simon's best, I feel I'm missing something in the story though.
I think an ending to this part of the story, maybe
What I've really loved with Niemand's Dredds recently is the fact they're focusing on the city and its inhabitants. Mega City One was always as much of a character as Dredd during the years of my 2000ad imprinting and it just brings it alive for me when the focus isn't simply on Justice Department.
And yes, some of the finest cityscaping I ever did lay me peepers on from Goddard & Teague. Just wonder inducing stuff!