Prog 2192 - Bearing Down!

[CalHab]

I missed the news about Feral & Foe. That's good, I've really enjoyed that so far.

[Laser Skeleton]

Richard Elson grins and bears it.

Such a brilliant cover!

[Dandontdare]

I had totally forgotten that Anderson was on this mission and wondered who that gaunt grim blonde judge was!

another good prog all round

[TordelBack]

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.

[broodblik]

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.

[Colin YNWA]

Like your theory more on The Out Tordel

Yep this is a very strong theory I have to say.

[Richard]

I agree. They could be gaining useful intelligence from her war photos.

[Southstreeter]

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?

[DrRocka]

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.

[DrRocka]

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.

[Colin YNWA]

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?

[TordelBack]

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.

[TordelBack]

EDIT BUTTON PLEASE

[norton canes]

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

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.

[73north]

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)!