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Oh, that's a really tricky vote. I might need to do a reread, but off the top of my head:

1. Working Girl - JWare nails it with his reasons as to why this is great
2. The Dead Chief Judges Society - Ludicrous, but really enjoyed the characterful, bickering ghosts
3.Grinder - Goofy, violent, funny, perfect.

I could have done a top ten though, really enjoyed a lot of these stories.

[Creature of Havoc]

I've just had my first, brief playthrough of Creature of Havoc.

I've been looking forward to this one. It could arguably be the greatest FF book ever in terms of its structure and uniqueness... although I don't think it's the best FF book ever, which is a bit different. The whole concept - playing a monster, the associated change to the combat rules because of that, and your gradual change from mindlessness into sentience - is fantastic. There's a number of clever puzzles including, if I remember rightly, hidden paragraphs and a code. The book is tightly and logically plotted and opens with 19 pages of exposition and worldbuilding. It's a nailed on classic.

Of course, I'd forgotten how frustrating it is at the start. Beginning disorientated and confused in a dark tunnel, I immediately encounter a hapless dwarf and it soon becomes evident I am some kind of gigantic scaled, clawed creature as my attempts to communicate result in the terrified dwarf stabbing me and in response I accidentally kill him. From there, instinct takes over. I wander the tunnels at random, breaking through a door and killing another monstrosity within, before chancing upon a hobbit who I immediately and horrifyingly devour. I'm finishing off the little chap when a dark elf appears in the tunnel and fires arrows at me - the dice tell me I run away in terror, and as I dash down the tunnel I'm shot and killed by a bunch more elves. Game over.

With almost all the initial choices controlled by the dice, it looks like I'm going to be dying in this one a LOT. Worth persevering with though!

I'm not familiar with those, but they do sound younger reader-esque. Let us know if any good!

Mungo is the MVP. The real poster boy for FF companions. Given (in fact, probably because) he's only alive for a couple of paragraphs its mad how much of a legend he is.

I had tickets for a music festival the same weekend, but had such a good time last year I'm coming to this instead.
Looking to stay over this year so I can have a drink and hopefully a chance to hang out with a few people instead of just a quick chat.

[Dredd]

First Prog of the year!
The cover is, in my opinion, pretty poor. I've not seen too much Bisley since his heyday but this is far from it.

Dredd – Excellent start to what looks to be a grim tale. Loved the pacing in this one, and the virtual judge (Judge Pal I assume?).

The Out – Another great start. No clue what this arc will be about, looking forward to finding out.

Joe Pineapples – As IP says, this feels like a window back to 1993. That's not a good thing imo: ironically, given the creative team, it feels like the sort of Bisley / Mills derivative stuff that made me stop reading the Prog back then. It's only episode two though I suppose and Clint Langley in next week..?

Hope – Far better episode than recent ones, but it's too late for me to be invested or enjoying it really.

Proteus Vex – Just totally excellent.

Three great thrills, I'll take that.

I had to double check but I'm pretty sure the story is 'we've been on this asteroid for billions of years, how did we end up here and what's the deal with this mysterious plate?'

After the first few pages Joe starts narrating how he left Mars for an as-yet-unexplained sniping problem: they go through the Heavens Gate and the bad guys are on the other side. I'm guessing it will eventually lead to them being stuck on the asteroid for ever...

For me it's got to be:

1.2302 - I would have had this on my wall at University.

2. 2274 - I love the way the logo is incorporated into this one.

3. 2266 - Stark and straightforward.

Smart work NC!
For me:

1. The Out - stellar as always
2. Jaegir - only bad thing about this is that we didn't get more of it
3. Saphir - absolutely beautiful stuff from Dave Roach. 

Brink, Fiends and Kingmaker, which I'd have thought would have been my auto-picks, had some disappointing stuff this year by their usual high standards so I've had to miss them all off! Chimpsky & Vex just miss out.

Great writeup Richard!

I'm with you on MoM in that I'm just giving up. I tried following a walkthrough in the end and still lost, because even if you avoid all the insta-deaths and pass all the skill tests there's still a random, odds against you roll to get a vital item that causes you to fail without it. It's just too hard.
I actually think it's a bit of a shame, as the plot is quite good with plenty of foreshadowing of certain events, and the art is awesome. Anyway, I'm going on to Creature of Havoc to eat some hobbits.

As well as CoH I was gifted a posh new edition of Lone Wolf Flight from the Dark for Christmas so also looking to play that. And my long-suffering wife picked me up a copy of Black Vein Prophecy so I now have the first 45 FF's to play through - hurray!

[Dredd]

Dumb question. If Joe Pineapples has been stranded on that asteroid for a million years (or possibly ten), how come anyone has heard of him, let alone still  consider him a major scalp?

Isn't that bit in flashback?

As others have said, a cool prog but also one that left me feeling downcast. Two tribute sections, a pair of Alan Grant tribute strip and Kevin O'Neill's last work... just brings it home how much we have lost in 2022.

Really enjoyed both Dredd strips. Daft fun in the first one with some really lovely work from Lee Carter. Second strip was, as Colin so neatly outs it, cheeky. Great stuff.

In comparison Rogue Trooper had that lightweight feel of an old annual strip - somewhat divorced from continuity and of no real relevance. The nighmarish clone rogue looked good, but like most Rogue after it finished, not really interesting. I wouldn't have thought Rogue was a character worth reviving, but tbh I can't think of a better team to try than Ennis and Goddard so lets see!

Loved Bonjo although a little surprised / disappointed about the choice of phrase 'Tardzilla'.. Otherwise, excellent.

The Out rules, as ever. As often with The Out, no idea where this is going next.

Joe Pineapples starts off with some awkward dialogue. The setup doesn't look great so far, but I'm hoping it'll start firing.

Hope - No thanks.

Ace Trucking is another one I don't feel is worth revisiting, but a nice tribute strip and an upbeat little tale - perfect for this sort of Prog.

Proteus Vex warranted an immediate re-read of the previous Proteus Vex. Felt like a particulary dense opening episode, and so hard to 'review' as such. I really like Proteus Vex and I'm glad it's back.

Plus the teaser of a new Abnett strip & Bettin is very exciting indeed!

Took a long time to arrive but well worth the wait. Cheers Tharg!

Much love to you lot!

Seriously good stuff today!

I'm off on some travels tomorrow, so if I don't get a chance over the weekend, seasons greetings to all on this forum. You're a great bunch and a community worth being part of.

[Dredd]

I'm with IP on this one. Cool Dredd, then diminishing returns.

Enjoyed the Dredd: the glum ending and several callbacks in the first episode combined to give it a very nostaligic feel for when i was first reading the Prog. Art was brilliant.

I too wasn't sure on the timeline on the Terror Tale, but it looked great and the atmosphere was creepy as.

Enemy Earth wraps up: this was the best episode imo with action, monsters and some surprising violence for  Regened strip with the guy being bitten in two and all the severed limbs from the explosion. Overall I didn't enjoy this series, especially on the art side, and it's a shame it didn't hit the promise we all thought it had on it's first appearance, but I still think the overall idea is a good one.

I'm still reading it, but I dislike Hope with it's static looking and recycled panel art, lengthy and slightly confusing story, and unpleasant yet still bland characters, and it's still a surprise to me how hard my opinion on this flipped. Great creators, great concept, but somewhere it's totally lost me.

Pretty sure rebellion have used Kickstarter for some of the board games they have done, but the statue is a 3rd party

Good point on both. Ignore me!

That's really awesome stuff McFad!
Loving the box too - nice work with the badge for the logo.

I want 12 inchs of Gene!

That's what she said!