Prog 1481 - Die Laughing

[I, Cosh]

A decent, if unspired, prog this week.

Dredd - Not too shabby. A nice little two-parter and Yeowell's version of Dredd seemed a lot better this week for some reason, although it should still have been in B&W. But does every writer need to have there own "Dredd's past it" bit?

Future Short - Unexpected (the format, not the story.) This could be the way forward for the FS: one or two page strips to fit in when advertising is slow. Certainly a better idea than pointless film reviews.

Harry Kipling - Bit of a retread of the recent preview, what? Still, I think any character talking like that is pretty funny, so count me in.

ABC Warriors - Continues to be the highlight of the comic at the moment. Nice to see Deadlock being as downright evil as he should be.

Bec & Kawl - Nothing to sway the lovers or the haters here. A decent end to a decent story, although having Kawl forget everything was a bit shabby.

86ers - An improvement on last week, but still nothing special. Quality two page monologue from Elson setting up all the potential subplots for the next year and a half, if it continues.

[DavidXBrunt]

Second week running with no Monday Prog means David's getting annoyed. Grrrr.

[Rob Spalding]

Cover - Like the design, perhaps a bit too much red though?

Dredd - at the end, it felt like I'd read it before, even if there isn't another Dredd story with this plot.  Agree that the art looked better this week.

Future Short - Go Al!  A cracking little story, suitably skewed!

Harry Kipling - I've had to read it twice already to pick up what's going on at the start.  But now I'm into it and it looks like it should build on the promise of the prologue/prevew.

ABC - A better episode.  I'm waiting until I can read all 3 books in one sitting before I give an opinion.

B&K - had to go back an re-read the last pages to see it was the Succubus' own heart that flattened Kawl.  No real reason for him not to rmember her though, but it does make for a slighlty sad ending.

86'ers - a nice establishing episode.  I really like the artwork.  Also liked the response to the "cigar smoke trick".

A solid issue, which looks to be building into something unmissable over the next few weeks.

[Matt Timson]

Cover was ok, I suppose.  Pretty middle of the road for me.

Dredd: liked the story, liked the art less.  What happened to the genius that brought us Zenith: Phase II & III?  Not BAD art- just a bit bland.

Nice FS- really liked the artwork as well, despite it being a bit 'bare' (or suffering from Timson Syndrome, as the effect is known in this house).

Wasn't convinced with Harry Kipling the first time, but thought it was great this time around- looking forward to more.

ABC Warriors-  Can't decide if I'm liking this or not- but I'm definitely enjoying the art.

Bec & Kawl- not read it yet- been waiting to read the whole lot in one go to see if I like it any better that way.

86ers: too early to tell yet- but I'm not over keen on the art, which is making it a bit 'meh' overall for me at the minute.  I would've loved to have seen somebody like Simon Coleby on this- but you can't have everything.

Not a bad prog- looking forward to Lobster Random next week.

[IndigoPrime]

I also like the Future, erm, Short. It's a nice idea, and Future Shocks never used to have to be five pages?some of the best ones were more diminutive. Elsewhere, I echo some other's thoughts, I guess: it was a bit weak to have Kawl forget everything (and the "return to the status quo" just reminded me of stuff like The Simpsons, but not in a good way). Other than that, it was a pretty good outing for the duo, though, and the art was gorgeous. Spurrier's other offering looks like it might be a good 'un, too, although part of me can't help thinking--despite the decent artwork (if dull and uninspiring colouring) how fantastic it'd be to have Belardinelli illustrating the strip.

[thrillpowerseeker]

ABC WARRIORS...only good thing in the prog this week

the FShort was ok

Dredd was average

86'ers could be interesting..well see

Kipling started steady enough

B&K is over..thank the gods

[Bolt-01]

Don't ofeten do this...

Cover: Nice image but I'm not sure it is going to be an attention grabber.

Dredd: This really felt familiar to me, and am I the only one who was expecting to hear that one of the judges was a returning character, in a Ralphy Bryce kind of way. Even Mini-bolt wondered about the final line, why make the quip, it was so bad.

FShort: Class, and the art was really nice. Don't recall seing this droids output before, but I'd like to see it again.

ABC: Better than last week, but it almost feels like this is happening in a surreal 'otherworld' for me. Something isn't clicking, and I can't think what.

Kipling: I can see why this is similar to the preview, but hopefully the multi episodes will flesh the character out and set the world up for the future.

B&K: I was hoping this would leave a change in the status quo, with Kawl mourning his lost love, but no. Ah well.

86ers: The series isn't set on Nu Earth then? Still wating for more characters to arrive, but I'm very glad to see a new future war story, so it can take it's time to develop.

Overall: This was a solid prog, with some good moments, however nothing stood out that much.

Bolt-01

[jock]

'FShort: Class, and the art was really nice. Don't recall seing this droids output before, but I'd like to see it again. '

a friend of mine - lee garbett... petition tharg to make him a full time droid!

[Dudley]

If this week?s Prog were a school sports day, it'd be grey and drizzly, and we'd all have forgotten our kit.

GOLD MEDAL ? The cover.  Love, love, love it.  

SILVER - Future Short.  Comedy, pathos, complete story, 1 page, great.  Do take a look at the artist?s website (linked below), as it?s unexpectedly nice.

BRONZE - ABC Warriors.  Utterly bonkersly barmy.  As Bolt says, it's like a "elseworlds" series, but I like its mania, its energy, and its willingness to piss all over the strip's continuity.

VALIANT EFFORT, NO MEDAL - Bec & Kawl.  This wasn?t their strongest outing, seemingly sacrificing some internal logic in order to cram in another pun.  Art was, as always, fantastic, but that ain?t enough.

PICKED LAST AT GAMES: Harry Kipling.  I want to like it, really I do.  But it's excruciatingly unfunny, I don't care about the world, I don't care about the protagonist, I don't care about the subsidiary characters.  There'll be an audible  click in a few weeks time when I ?get? it and become a rabid fan, I?m sure.


FAKING AN INJURY: Dredd. I actually quite liked the first episode.  I now feel let down.  Crap dialogue and Edginton lost the sense of the character again.  Felt very American.  Yeowell should be in the Prog every week, but never again should he be let loose on Judge D.

AVOIDING THE SNIGGERS OF THE OTHER BOYS IN THE SHOWERS: The 86?ers.  I prefer something being actively bad to its being boring.  This is just really boring, with nasty art.  My eye keeps sliding across the page without my brain registering anything.  (And on the Nerve Centre page, I?m not sure that Messrs Rennie and Richardson should really be given credit as original creators, without a nod to Gerry Finlay-Day).


The little message is a gem ? I want to hear these ?revised? titles...

Link: http://leegarbett.com/" target="_blank">Lee Garbett

[Matt Timson]

Thanks for the link- that's really nice stuff- far better than the FS as well!

[Funt Solo]

Cover
It's brilliant, and I hate it.  I find the clown-demon repugnant and I don't want to look at him.  I guess that means it's a successful drawing.  

Remember the days when the logo was emblazoned proudly across the front of the prog in flaming 3-foot high letters?  Now it shyly hides in the corner, wary lest it be spotted and recognised by a potential Squaxx.  (Note to self:  can now wait 2 months before bringing this up again.)


Judge Dredd
I thought this was going to be another long investigation, or intro to a new threat.  It was quite refreshing to just have a fast two-parter, even with the slightly dodgy pay-off line.  

Given the amount of times the "isn't Dredd too old for this?" debate comes up on the boards, I don't think it's too much that it gets recognised from time to time in the strip - although last week's "Dredd in med-bay shrugging off advice of Med-Judge" has become a hoary old cliche.

I liked the cult of the box-heads, and this weeks art was an improvement on last week, although I echo sentiments that this was the wrong job for Yeowell, who's doing stunning work on The Red Seas and is an all time favourite of mine from the various phases of Zenith.

What next for Dredd?  A series of one-offs on a long run up to Origins?  Hope not.

Future Short
Yes to vari-length Future Shock style strips.  Minimalist little strip this that engenders a brief feeling of hopelessness.  It's a bit like one of those Hammer House of Horrors where the horror is more psychological than physical.  More of this stuff from new creators, please.  Shake the tree.  (Oh dear Grud - I've just accidentally made myself recall Agadoo and won't be unable to rid myself of it for several hours...unless...one chance...Erasure:  "I try to discover, A little something to make me sweeter".)

Harry Kipling (Deceased)
Confused, what?  Excellent, eh!

ABC Warriors
I swing wildly between loving it and loathing it on a panel by panel basis.  (The art is uniformly excellent, though.)

At this glacial pace, will we tuning in for Book Five in 2008, where nothing at all has been resolved?  Time was a story had a beginning, middle and end - but this is all middle, and it's going nowhere, slowly.  It is, however, being quite amusing as it does ... nothing.

Bec & Kawl
Booooo!  Hssssss!  Why couldn't Kawl have a happy, romantic arc where his girlfriend was a demon who sucked out men's souls...oh.  Right.  Well, still...

The 86ers
I love this.  I'm a sucker for marines in space (ever since Aliens) - waitaminute - I wasn't suggesting that I'm a piece of Arcturian poontang, so don't start!

Anyway - anything could happen.  Hrmn - what's Gabe up to whilst Rafe is getting the grand tour?  Does he get kept in her flight locker, or something?  Is she an agent for Milli-Com?

Yes - excellent line about the lungs and such - and in my head it was delivered flat - like she didn't know she was being funny.

I also love the art - it's strong, clean, bright, vibrant - love it.

[Funt Solo]

PS

Droid Life
To answer the question that breaks the fourth wall:  grab my spigot.

[Leigh S]

Cover - well in it's favour it's different - it has an appeal that you wouldnt think would mesh with the core audience of 2000AD, but whether theres necessarily a wider audience that will like it i wouldn't like to bank on...but i dont personally like it - i think if i was an ex-reader who had abandoned the prog 700-1000, id assume that this was a 'Clown' style thing and be put off, but that, like so many claims, is pure conjecture.

Dredd - ew - bad lawgiver indeed - and the rogue ex Cadet stuff just felt like the DC version of Dredd for some reason

Kipling - erk!  This continues Si's downward appreciation for me - The scrap showed some real promise and innovation.  The first Lobster Random as well.  since then, (for me) its been diminishing and ever more convoluted returns from the Spurrier pen.  I'm loathe to say this, but Dinosty did this story better, even if this one does have Devlin Waugh in there, turning up at the end just like Devlin does in all his stories.  

ABC - lovely art - mental ideas.  Sure it's got clunky dialogue at times, but compared to the twists and loops Kipling and B&K get themselves into, it's an object lesson in how to make bonkers ideas readable.

Bek and Kawl - Ouch!  The worst episode of the worst storyline of the worst current returning characters for my money.   The heart "broke" thing wasn't clever - it wasn't moving - it just made Pats worst clunkers look like Shakespeare.  I think a humour strip in which I can see only one decent gag in five parts (and even that's ruined by a knowing nod at it's own uniqueness in an otherwise laughfree environment) is not a humour strip that's doing the business for me.

And it's not just the jokes that seem stretched and contorted and painfully laboured - the script itself is just as bad - witness the hoops of logic we jump through to get the clown dead, the succubus dead, and Kawl brainwiped.

86ers - the last page makes no sense - and why are the Norts still wearing Nort insignia? Not great, not as bad as the rest of the (non ABC) prog, but if it wasnt for ABC flying the flag, this would be the worst the progs been for me in a good long time.  

Next week we've got Lobster Random - one promising series, one not so under its belt - hoping it'll reverse the trend for me in my appreciation of Si's work.    

[The Amstor Computer]

86ers - the last page makes no sense

Uh... what?

Page four ends with a conversation between Montuez and Mysterious Unnamed Character. Turn the page, note the caption that says "Elsewhere" (assuming this to mean - as suggested by the Nort uniforms and dialect - in some Nort base). Panicked Nort soldier calling for help, crazed Norts batter door down and tear him apart. End of episode. Seems perfectly plain to me, even if the explanation for the Norts turning on their own is yet to be revealed.

(oh, and the Norts here are still wearing their traditional insignia - presumably - because this scene is on a Nort base of some kind. You'll note that the Norts in the 86ers squadron aren't wearing any insignia, and are seen toasting a variant Nort flag, apparently indicating their allegiance to the rebel faction Elson mentions.)

[Leigh S]

Ah rightio - It was just that the Nort who gets attacked looks a lot like the Nort saluting the flag a few pages earlier, but lokonig at it again, it makes sense - I blame thrill deprivation from the previous strip!