Well read this while having the Starlordathon on the computer by my side I worried I'd have to stop as I'd get distracted but NO not a thing of it. So tick in the Prog is engrossing box there.
Dredd - well he bear is a needless distraction and it being Shako (no need for spoilers now surely its on the cover?) serves no story purpose. That said its not much of a distraction and this is a solid episode. Art by Master Flint is stunning as ever.
Full Tilt Boogie gets on it full tilt boogie (should I google whether a full tilt boogie is a thing? It sounds like it might be a thing... oh just looked it up and yep this is full tilt boogie cool (not the Dusk Til Dawn documentry who knew?!?) as the series explodes into action. Its fun and energetic.
Over at Diaboliks it goes all full tilt boogie too as it gets its action on as well. That's a little more chaotic that in FTB but I think that serves the story well... except I don't know what vhappened with the axe is the shrrrripppp the axe?
The Order remains magnificent as it continues to get its action on and Danny looks to be in trouble and our heroes seem to ahve a desperate escape plan... but to where?
The Out also continues to be superb, absolutely superb. I think some said that the Tankinar are going to be revealed as human or human adjacent the more I read the more I think that speculation is going to be correct. But its going to be a blast finding out - this is another Adnett hit - just fantastic.
So yeah all in all a magnificent prog AND in Thrills of the Future we get further confirmation (which I think we'd had from Richard Elson already) of more Feral & Foe which is a good thing.
Dredd was the highlight of the Prog for me! Outanding episode and I have no problem with Shako being in it. Much in the same way as Ichabod and the Head I think it all hints to more than just Four Horsemen tearing the shit out of the Human Race.
The Diaboliks really has grown on me and this episode is top notch.
The Order continues to be great and I expect some sort of limited edition hardback to be announced at some point. Guaranteed purchase!
The Out continues to intrigue and the artwork... absolutely stunning. Epic Space-Ports and Giant War Machines set against more intimate moments with the travelling party. This is thrill that I'd like to see run for a while. After all we did get around 20 weeks of Brink in a row and by Grud I did think it too many!
Cheers
(https://i.imgur.com/BWJMz8G.jpg)
Richard Elson grins and bears it.
annoyingly - no Prog this Saturday - same as last week
expect it to arrive on the Monday or Tuesday
I also struggled to order the new Judge Dredd paperback Year 3 - Fallen Angel
and had to e-mail customer support at Rebellion - as there was no postage option - fault
and you couldn't order the book - happily sorted within a day
Cover with the logo:
(https://i2.wp.com/downthetubes.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2000AD-2192-Cover.jpg?resize=768%2C1009&ssl=1)
I have given up on the Order and Full Tilt Boogie. I just don't understand what is going on.
The Order is a ramble of non sequiturs that render it incomprehensible. Example from this week: the orange haired chap. (I long ago lost track of who was who, sorry).
Page 2, panel 1: He is commiserating with someone. Talking sense: "Aye. I know, big fella. She's gone".
Page 2, panel 3: He is shot.
THEN
Page 4, panel 5: He is holding his head. (And the art makes it look like the location has changed, as its gone from a ship deck to pitch black)
THEN
Page 5, panel 5: He is walking like a zombie.
I get that he has somehow been damaged. But it is too hard to follow and lacks narrative flow. This could have been done on one page with clear showing of the damage and how it affects him. Instead, it's spread over three, jumples with panels showing other characters and actions and scens, and makes the whole thing utter gibberish.
Dredd: Meh. He fights a bear.
Full Tilt: No idea.
Diaboliks: The double page spreads are confusing too.
Out: Good.
You're clearly very confused! You've described two different characters while believing them to be the same person! Just give up now! (I agree that The Order is generally incomprehensible though.)
What's hard to follow about Full Tilt Boogie though? That story seems perfectly clear to me. Black Dog and the ship are both survivors from one side of a war that ended long ago: their return activated the temple which turned five people into Luxine Knights, whose predecessors fought for the other side. They've been sent to fight Black Dog and the ship. One of the knights is the sister of Prince Ifan, who was supposed to have been chosen to be a knight himself, but for the fact that he was kidnapped by Tee (whose fault it is that Black Dog and the ship came back in the first place, which we saw in a Re-gened prog but you might have missed that one). So the Luxine Knights are now fighting Black Dog (which is what Luxine Knights are supposed to do), and one of them is also the sister of the kidnap victim (whose pride is a bit hurt, hence his tantrum). Personally I love this series and hope there'll be another one.
I don't think the Tankinar will turn out to be human, because in an earlier episode the alien batman said he'd never seen or even heard of a human before, but he told Cyd who the Tankinar are. I'm sure we'll be finding out soon though. This is a great series too.
I'm not quite sure what happened in the last two panels of Diaboliks, but I expect we'll find out next week.
Quote from: Richard on 27 July, 2020, 09:05:39 PM
I don't think the Tankinar will turn out to be human, because in an earlier episode the alien batman said he'd never seen or even heard of a human before, but he told Cyd who the Tankinar are. I'm sure we'll be finding out soon though. This is a great series too.
If they'd never seen a human how would they know the Tankinar aren't them. It doesn't seem likely they'd have seen a Tankinar, either.
The Tankinar have invaded them before, so they're notorious. I doubt that they wouldn't even know what they looked like.
It's been a thousand years since the Vikings last invaded us, but we know what they looked like (even if we've embellished them slightly).
My theory, which given my track record means I'm almost certainly wrong - is that the line by the barman is a slight of hand being played by Dabnett. They had never seen a human so they have no reference to a Tankinar, so there's nothing to stop them being one and the same. He had then seen Cyd BUT Tank-in-ar the humans are inside some sort of exoskeleton, combat suit, maybe even a literal tank so they don't associate Cyd with this warring species they have observed / seen reported.
As I say my track record at predicting these things is shocking so chances are you are absolutely right. I just think with the hints dropped - the build up to seeing the Tankinar that will be the reveal... whatever its going to be fun finding out.
Quote from: Richard on 27 July, 2020, 09:05:39 PM
You're clearly very confused! You've described two different characters while believing them to be the same person! Just give up now! (I agree that The Order is generally incomprehensible though.)
What's hard to follow about Full Tilt Boogie though? .
You're right about Full Tilt Boogie. I am taking my annoyane on the Order out on it.
But if I am genuinely confusing two characters then that makes things worse.
Are there really two identical characters with orange hair with a white stripe, wearing identical purple clothing? How are you supposed to distinguish them?
And surely the fact I need to ask that question sums up the problems with the Order?
PS That was a rhetorical question. I am quite sure one is a clone or robot or from another time line. I just can't bring myself to care - so God help any casual reader picking up the prog.
You're not alone with being confused by The Order. The John Burns art is wonderful, but there is no effort to provide a clear story.
The Out and FTB remain the highlights. Hopefully Dredd picks up with the next foe/horseperson. I do like the Sienkiewicz Demon Bear thing that Henry Flint has gone for, though.
Also, the cover has a truly terrible pun. Brilliant.
I thought this was a thrill-packed prog!
Dredd - might be my favourite chapter so far of End Of Days thus far. Great action and peril. Plus, an [spoiler]Super Anderson Angel[/spoiler]?!?
Full Tilt Boogie - Gave me the scrap I was hoping for. Still really enjoying it.
The Diaboliks - Another great chapter. I really like the repeated use of Inspector Sabbatini opening up each chapter, introducing us to whatever mayhem they've caused. The double-spread action pages looked magnificent.
The Order - More running and panicking and horror and I like it. I have been equally as confused as others here as to whats going on, I listened to a Kek-W interview on the Thrillcast this afternoon, and feel a bit more informed now.
The Out - Whilst every other thrill gave us action-aplenty, here we get to see the aftermath. Another great chapter of my current favourite thrill.
A top notch prog!
A good action-packed prog this week.
Dredd - As these epics go it just gets worse for Dredd but luckily Anderson is not too far away. Flint's art is really working for me as the action intensify.
Full Tilt Boogie - Some good action with Ocana's art giving the action the necessary boost. Just two more episodes to go so hopefully this is not the last of this.
Diaboliks - I like how the what happened is told out of the perspective out the interrogator. A lot of double pages since Fuso took over the art duties.
The Order - The wild ride continues. Keep your hat on on any just look at the pretty pictures. As always I am enjoying this helter skelter story but you have to keep your wits about you.
The Out - This as already stated another Abnett classic in the making. The story is a less action orientated as the rest but when it is so well told why do we care. I am also intrigued to know who the Tankinar (would be interesting if Colin's theory is correct)
Talking about Abnett great to see that another Feral & Foe is in the working
I missed the news about Feral & Foe. That's good, I've really enjoyed that so far.
Quote from: Eamonn Clarke on 25 July, 2020, 08:11:48 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/BWJMz8G.jpg)
Richard Elson grins and bears it.
Such a brilliant cover!
I had totally forgotten that Anderson was on this mission and wondered who that gaunt grim blonde judge was!
another good prog all round
I'm in a persistently foul humour these days, so a Prog that's all Fightin' and Flatin' (and a bit of Aftermath of same) seems to be overloading my thrill-buffers - 'cos I have this one down as top-tier. Theme this week is how different teams deliver their characters through the fog of action.
Elson does what Elson does better than anyone and translates an angry mass of muscle, claws and momentum into a great Cover image. Triffic, I'd buy this comic if I hadn't already.
My main beef with Williams' Dredd is the brooding, frequently abused, incapacitated and inarticulately thuggish protagonist. End of Days seemed to be setting up as the platonic form of this version, but here we have a much more active character - while still monosyllabic and physically trashed, this Joe gets to show us what he's made of. Earlier he wished for a villain he could punch, here he goes one better (although how he gets [spoiler]the cuffs out of his hazmat suit[/spoiler] is another question...). It seems that the Horsemen are, as claimed, just individuals giving the end of the world that little extra push - they're not all-powerful Sabbat or MutoKrysler types, and that puts a different spin on things.
This is proving far more fun that I imagined, and Flint is doing a lovely job with it. How the starved, diseased crew are going to find a solution is an engaging puzzle.
Full Tilt Boogie. Cool little punch-up, well-choreographed, but what I find really fascinating is that I know who all of these characters are. There are 10 active participants in this episode, and they are all readily identifiable, visually distinctive and have fairly clear motivations. That's not bad at all for the 8-9th part of a new series. Certain other recent debuts and I'm still struggling to remember the main character's full name when we're on to the third run... Great stuff, really great.
The Diaboliks. Struggled a bit to work out what was going on and who was doing what to who. Rennie plays a clever almost Millsian game of restating the characters through an outsider VO, but I fear the selfsame framing device steals too much space from the ruck itself. Commendably adventurous page design from Fuso, but something gets muddled for me this week.
I do get why people lose track of The Order, there's a lot going on and a lot of characters: if you're not up to speed on who Anna, Daniel, Clara and Paul Bunyan are, there really isn't a lot here that'll help you out (Rennie's technique this week would help!). But I don't see that the plot of this particular series, or the new characters introduced, are particularly confusing: the human/wyrm sanctuary of Philae has fallen to the anachroinistic blitzkrieg of techno-Robspierre Francis Bacon, the survivors flee on the steamboat of the (real historical character) Haitian revolutionary Suzanne Bélair: she had a whole episode to herself a month back, as did (real historical character) Ben Franklin who she's arguing with. Underpinning all this is Ritterstahl, the eternal robotic love of Anna Kohl: one version of Ritterstahl's consciousness runs in Daniel's head (the guy with the orange hair with the white streak), another is in the head that Bacon is using.
Tempted to do up a quick guide/summary to the The Order, if no-one else has already: it's really very good once you get your eye in.
The Out. Feck me but this is just a great series. Personal Tankinar theory - they aren't humans, but they have conquered Earth, hence the interruption to Cyd's payments. Now it's them that are paying her. But the real joy is that I haven't a single clue what is going on or where this is going: just like Cyd herself. Magic.
Like your theory more on The Out Tordel and a lot of folks will give you the Laurel Wreath if you can create this illusive guide on the ins-and-outs of The Order.
Quote from: broodblik on 29 July, 2020, 07:29:44 PM
Like your theory more on The Out Tordel
Yep this is a very strong theory I have to say.
I agree. They could be gaining useful intelligence from her war photos.
Thanks for The Order update, Tordel. I'd sort of figured all that out I think. I really wish that it had been collected past the first two series - this sort of thing always reads better in one go. I struggle to remember previous series and am too lazy to dig out the Progs. Maybe the Ultimate Collection will bring us up to date?
The prog's lost me a bit right now, a re-read is most certainly on the cards.
I genuinely don't like the Order - it lost me a while back and I've felt no urge to get myself back up to speed, no matter how great the art.
Dredd is just going through the motions for me, and Full Tilt Boogie & Diabolicks aren't lighting my fire.
But The Out is unexpectedly WONDERFUL. First thing I turn to after Dredd. Thank you Tharg. It's keeping me on board.
All in all, I miss the days when I didn't have to remind myself of what's gone before, every week.
But I think that's because I'm just an old cantankerous git.
I have a dedicated 2000ad spot in my little music pub, that I've managed to get open again, and the punters are still lapping up the weekly (and the classic!) progs in the rack.
So all is good.
The prog's lost me a bit right now, a re-read is most certainly on the cards.
I genuinely don't like the Order - it lost me a while back and I've felt no urge to get myself back up to speed, no matter how great the art.
Dredd is just going through the motions for me, and Full Tilt Boogie & Diabolicks aren't lighting my fire.
But The Out is unexpectedly WONDERFUL. First thing I turn to after Dredd. Thank you Tharg. It's keeping me on board.
All in all, I miss the days when I didn't have to remind myself of what's gone before, every week.
But I think that's because I'm just an old cantankerous git.
I have a dedicated 2000ad spot in my little music pub, that I've managed to get open again, and the punters are still lapping up the weekly (and the classic!) progs in the rack.
So all is good.
Quote from: DrRocka on 30 July, 2020, 01:10:18 AM
I have a dedicated 2000ad spot in my little music pub, that I've managed to get open again, and the punters are still lapping up the weekly (and the classic!) progs in the rack.
So all is good.
What is this? This sounds fantastic - probably for another thread but tell and show us more if you'd be so kind?
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 30 July, 2020, 06:46:02 AM
Quote from: DrRocka on 30 July, 2020, 01:10:18 AM
I have a dedicated 2000ad spot in my little music pub, that I've managed to get open again, and the punters are still lapping up the weekly (and the classic!) progs in the rack.
So all is good.
What is this? This sounds fantastic - probably for another thread but tell and show us more if you'd be so kind?
Yes indeed! What a wonderful.mental.image.
EDIT BUTTON PLEASE
Quote from: norton canes on 23 July, 2020, 10:22:21 AM
Typical. You wait 26 years for a Shako comeback (since his appearance in Armoured Gideon) then it happens twice in the same month
Great minds, huh :D
So this seems to be a week of unclear action sequence resolutions. What does the mysterious 'SHRRRIPP SHRRRIPPP' in Diaboliks signify? Ravne's hurled axe can be seen flying overhead as Jenny attacks the Red Madonna, so I suppose it's just claw-on-claw action. The Red Madonna appears to be prone in the final frame with blood seeping from her mouth. Does Anderson hurl some kind of psychic thunderbolt at Shako? With the help of the Head I presume, as it's not the sort of thing she can routinely do. And who's been CNHK'd at the end of Full Tilt Boogie?
Must admit I'm kind of hoping that we never see the Tankinar - that they remain a formless threat, removed from the action, and that the focus stays on Cyd and her view of the conflict's fallout.
I finally got my copy on the Wednesday - and read it after working in the Operating Theatre till late at night
my thoughts -
I am really enjoying the Dredd story - its fun and its different - what's not to like
The artwork is very , very good ( 4 out of 5 )
Full Tilt Boogie.
Just wonderful - really well written and artwork where you can follow the story and work out with ease whats happening - one of the top stories in the Prog ( 5 out of 5 )
The Diaboliks.
Rennie continues to provide his own brand of humour and story telling - might not be to everyones liking , but I am enjoying it - and I can follow whats happening , with no problems , unlike THE ORDER .
( 4 out of 5 _ this is Gordon Rennie - so I need to pay attention )
The Order
What can I say , I have tried and failed to follow it - and whilst I also understand that there is a pretty big list of characters ( I can do this with Jaegir with no problems ) I struggle with this Story .
I felt this reached the end point for me several story arcs a while ago - but it seems to survive and return
yet better stories - like Brass Sun , Scarlet Traces and that other one set in Fog -"Helium" (in 2000AD #1934-1945, 2015) seem to never come round until years later- I wonder why the ORDER gets to continue , whilst the ones like Brass Sun don't , or Helium which is 5 !! years old , and still waiting to see the next arc . Really that's not good
The Out. Just wonderful , simply well drawn , well thought out and steadily building to a climax that you can't guess where it will go next ( 5 out of 5 )
on a brighter note - ordered the Battle 2020 Special - with the wonderful yellow cover
https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/specials/RCS2056
In this special, creators pay tribute to Battle's lasting influence as well as to those who have fought in wars across the globe. Legendary writer Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Keith Burns send the Rat Pack on one more mission, Rob Williams (Judge Dredd) and PJ Holden (The Stringbags) take to the icy seas in Destroyer.
Alan Grant (Batman) and Davide Fabbri (Star Wars) tell a story of The Few in Battle of Britain, Alan Hebden (Major Eazy) revives his classic character El Mestizo with artist Brett McKee, while Alex De Campi (Madi) and Glenn Fabry (Sláine) head into the jungles of Vietnam in Bravo, Black Lion.
And there's so much more hard-hitting action from Kek-W (The Fall of Deadworld), Staz Johnson(Rogue Trooper), Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy), Jimmy Broxton (Vampirella), Karl Stock (The Vigilant), Simon Coleby (Jaegir), Peter Briggs (Hellboy), Eoin Marron (James Bond), Lew Stringer (Combat Colin), and Tom Paterson (Dennis the Menace)!
That Shrrrrrrrip in Diaboliks -
I did have to read over the page a couple of times, but I'm pretty sure that what happened is the Mother of Tears* ripped into Jenny Simmons with her claws. What damage she did has yet to become clear but I expect we'll get a visual next Prog.
The Order desperately needs collected editions - but given reactions to the last couple of series I fear it's unliekly to get them. So sad. I do suspect that Kek-W is relying on more readers having a decent knowledge of American and European history c.1300-1800 to help keep the characters and settings in their head. Commendable that he's not talking down to us, but bloody hard keeping track at the same time!
*Can't actually remember which mother/sister this character is. But it's definitely a Dario Argento reference. And boy is Rennie pushing my happy buttons by namechecking a bunch of Italian Horror greats in this series!
AlexF I think the people walking this forum is just a small footprint of readers and what the forum likes is not necessary what the general reader likes. Take for example the much "loved forum favorite" Skip Tracer and we still getting this by the dozens. So what we who post here like might be different out there. But I thing does not matter who you are you have to keep your wits reading The Order. I hope it gets collected in a whole since I would like one-day to read it in single sitting. I might be one of the few who likes The Order (and Skip Tracer). I like the historical "facts" and how the history has been altered.
Quote from: AlexF on 31 July, 2020, 07:07:14 AM
The Order desperately needs collected editions - but given reactions to the last couple of series I fear it's unliekly to get them. So sad.
Hachette have scheduled a book of The Order for the Ultimate Collection. At a guess that'll collect the first 4 stories.
More about the making off the great cover by Richard Elson:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DreddShako-cover-inks-782x1024.jpg)
https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-richard-elson-gets-reacquainted-with-the-bear-the-judge/ (https://2000ad.com/news/2000-ad-covers-uncovered-richard-elson-gets-reacquainted-with-the-bear-the-judge/)
It is true that the comments here and *brrr* elsewhere... on the internet are a fraction of the readership, but it isnt like Tharg gets hundreds of letters and emails a week (if he does very few of them appear fit for publication) and it must be 15(?) years since we had an actual readership survey (seem to recall at least one Rebellion era reader survey?).
So wile it might be Skip Tracer et al are well loved strips elsewhere, how is this being communicated to Tharg
Quote from: broodblik on 31 July, 2020, 07:40:39 AM
AlexF I think the people walking this forum is just a small footprint of readers and what the forum likes is not necessary what the general reader likes. Take for example the much "loved forum favorite" Skip Tracer and we still getting this by the dozens. So what we who post here like might be different out there. But I thing does not matter who you are you have to keep your wits reading The Order. I hope it gets collected in a whole since I would like one-day to read it in single sitting. I might be one of the few who likes The Order (and Skip Tracer). I like the historical "facts" and how the history has been altered.
Maybe you can shame and blame me for liking Skip Tracer. What I rather have is not so frequent and give some other strips like Brass Sun and Helium (add your own thrill here) some retail space as well.
Skip Tracer was a weird one for me - I couldn't identify anything wrong with it, it had all the elements that I should enjoy, but it just left me totally unengaged. Felt like I'd seen it all before and there was nothing in the characters or setting to differentiate it.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 31 July, 2020, 05:30:19 PM
Skip Tracer was a weird one for me - I couldn't identify anything wrong with it, it had all the elements that I should enjoy, but it just left me totally unengaged. Felt like I'd seen it all before and there was nothing in the characters or setting to differentiate it.
I think the problem was that Nolan wasn't a very engaging character so by the time his dreary brother came along it was all 'meh'. It could have been something like a hard-boiled or ultra violent take on Brass Sun - the world building art by Paul Marshall was particularly good - but it switch to OTT global threats and psy-wars too quickly. Nolan's clearly a character needing to be Philip Marlowe'd not X-men-in-space.
Oh and Dredd, The Out and Diaboliks are all just brilliant.
FTB has lovely art but I don't get why it's in 2000ad. It's a BOOM version of manga-meets-the incal and clearly a comic for a different audience. Maybe that's Thargs plan and if so it's a significant departure to catering for the golden-era audience.
The Order has always been a hard pass.
Quote from: Richard on 27 July, 2020, 09:05:39 PM
You're clearly very confused! You've described two different characters while believing them to be the same person! Just give up now! (I agree that The Order is generally incomprehensible though.)
Ok I have got to ask - please enlighten us. I thought it was the same character as well. Is it not Daniel Calhoun? Or is it two different versions of him? Or someone else?
No, you're right, it's all Daniel. He's chatting with wrym-in-giant-form Paul Bunyan about Armoured Clara, then they both get shot. Daniel takes a head wound, and the 1580 AD version of the A.I. Ritterstahl (v. 4) that runs in his head appears to take over his functions, but is obviously damaged itself, hence the zombie shuffle. Hope to have the Ritterstahl entry posted on the The Order (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46762.0;topicseen) thread later tonight. Then such confusion will be a thing of (one version of) the past! :-\
I know all the Ritterstahls have slightly different features e.g two eyes versus a single cyclops style one. So in theory you can use that to tell them apart. In theory. In practice, I long ago lost track of which one is which, so am very much looking to forward to your guide.
Quote from: Magnetica on 04 August, 2020, 10:17:45 PM
I know all the Ritterstahls have slightly different features e.g two eyes versus a single cyclops style one. So in theory you can use that to tell them apart.
If only it was that simple! Wishing I hadn't decided to tackle Ritterstahl first, I'm drowning in notes!