Prog 1486 - Lock and Load

Bico · 03 May, 2006, 07:52:25 PM

Cover - is this finished? Did someone accidently use an older version of the picture file, or have I picked up Action Man again by mistake?
Droid Life - "does she still do the same songs?" Made me smile.
Dredd - Reckon it's one of the android doubles doing the House of Pain gubbins, but it got the idea from the myth spread by the criminal underground, rather than being the originator. Didn't Gordon mention he once did a comic featuring the House Of Pain band (of famously dumb drunken jumpy anthem "Jump Around" fame)? Good stuff.
Lobster Random - hard to say if this is good or not, purely on the basis that big stompy robots are gold, and dinosaurs fry that gold. That the dinosaur lives in Castle Greyskull is merely the platinum coating.
VCs - suffers from two things (1) not enough backgrounds drawn, meaning the setting is never convincing enough to give the gravitas necessary to make up for the script's shortcomings, and (2)a disjointed narrative that's come about from the story being split up over several years, yet - story-wise - all that's happened in all that time wouldn't have padded out half the original comic's pages. I think what wrote the strip off for me was the bit where the aliens were set to destroy the Earth with their mighty space-cannon that fires asteroids (coughStarshipTrooperscough), and everything built up to a massive space-battle/showdown, yet the battle was written off as a single panel that happened during the hiatus between books. I used to like this strip, but it's pissed away any potential in a yellow fountain of decompressed and inconsequential... erm... pish.
Low Life - Still doesn't feel like this strip has started, for me. Love the restrained use of greyscaling to tone it. Meh.

I miss the right-wing nutjobs writing in to the letters pages to complain that too many women were beating up men, or that there's too many muslims in the comic. Barking mad, but they're certainly entertaining.

Floyd-the-k · 03 May, 2006, 08:14:50 PM

Cover. nothing to write home about, okay, I suppose

Dredd; pretty good, has me wanting more

VC's; I'm into this. It's a bit soap operaish, but enjoyable

Droid Life; good fun

Lobster Random; quite the best thing in the prog, a treat all through. great art, clever without being annoying script, a bit naughty...

Lowlife; alright, although I'd like a moratorium on allusions to comics conventions after this, it's beginning to look as if the 2000ad crew need to get out more.

overall a good prog to read when waiting for an annoying bureaucrat to get around to doing you over

Dan Kelly · 03 May, 2006, 08:23:34 PM

Enjoyed the prog this week. However the VCs grated a bit purely because Abnett couldn't be bothered to hide his rip-off^H^H^H sorry homage, of Jarhead very deeply.

LARF · 03 May, 2006, 08:32:25 PM

Rip off of Jarhead?

How about Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Forest Gump in fact any film that has a kid writing home to Ma...

Proudhuff · 03 May, 2006, 08:51:51 PM

AAAAAAGH! You all missed it! A redesigned of the Manta tank! on the first page of JD.

I really enjoyed the VCs this week, mainly for its mood. It was oppressive and atmospheric. I hope it lives up to the first episode.

Dredd and Lobster remained very good, and I'm not having problems paying full attention to Low Life. It's just doing much for me.

Nice cover, too.

- MockTrout

Dan Kelly · 03 May, 2006, 08:59:40 PM

It was the glaring Swoff/Hoff that irked me. Especially as the book is more similar to the ep than the film...

WoD · 03 May, 2006, 11:11:44 PM

Lobster - Last Panel - Thanks guys...brilliant idea, brilliantly drawn.

SamuelAWilkinson · 04 May, 2006, 01:01:05 AM

AAAAAAGH! You all missed it! A redesigned of the Manta tank! on the first page of JD.

I picked up on that too. About drokking time.

Funt Solo · 04 May, 2006, 01:57:05 AM

Cover
"Lovely", in the voice of Chocolat Mousse from Top Secret.

Judge Dredd: Hoose A' Pain
Let's see the new Manta, then (not that there's anything wrong with the old one, mind). Not sure about Robo-Guth's excessive violence towards the prisoner - didn't Judge Sladek get sent to Titan for that sort of thing? Or was he the one that was having an extra-judicial liaison?

It's a shame we don't see more of Hollister. In the strip, I mean. The story. Uhm.

Lobster Whambam
It's taken two series and 5 episodes, but this is finally winning me over. It's very difficult to criticise something that has an old man with a zombified arm and giant lobster claws coming on to a giant asexual robot, couple with schlooOOOOOorb and that final panel. I mean, what do you compare it to?

The VCs
S'okay. I haven't seen Jarhead yet, so I'm not aware of any homage. I'm glad this is the final series - it started off well, but it's been too disjointed since.

Low Life
I've little idea what's going on. This might be one for a re-read, I guess.

Nerve Centre
So, will The Connection be the lead-in story to Origins?

scutfink · 04 May, 2006, 05:04:23 PM

AAAAAAGH! You all missed it! A redesigned of the Manta tank! on the first page of JD.

I picked up on that too. About drokking time.

Absolutely, its about time they gave the things Shoulderpads!

:)

Cover- I liked it, I don't really see what all the fuss is about, a nice chunky image with pleasantly washed out colouring...

Dredd- I'm not so sure about this episode, it seems to be treading the fine line between pleasantly familiar and seen it all before.

Nice character touch with RoboGuth. After setting him up as a sad, droopy eyed old dog, he casually abuses his power tazeing(?) a whiney perp into unconsciousness, getting in touch with his inner fascist boot-boy.

:)

Lobster- I'd be interested to know how much input Carl has on this, in terms of the WTF Loopy imagery?

Who would win in an insanity contest between Spurrier and Critchlow?

Inspired madness, this one always makes me smile.

:)

VC's- I don't understand the problems with the cover, and I don't understand the problems with this strip, Tony Williams art gives the whole thing a nice chunky earthiness which IMO suits the storry just fine.

As for the Idea of a recap page, what more is there to say that wasn't covered in Hoff's various attempts at writing home, apart from the paragraph in the Nerve Centre?

One reservation, I've never much liked the idea of the 10 page opening episode, to my mind a 10 pager doesn't take much longer to read than 5 pages, and they make the Prog seem shorter overall...

Low Life- I don't know, it's just not clicking for me Coleby and Williams are both capable of better methinks...

Aaanyway, back to work...

:)

Funt Solo · 04 May, 2006, 05:15:12 PM

:: "to my mind a 10 pager doesn't take much longer to read than 5 pages"

Twice as long, on average, would you say?

scutfink · 04 May, 2006, 05:18:48 PM

No, actually I wouldnt, that's kind of my point...

N0FX · 04 May, 2006, 06:01:41 PM

Well the ten page VC was good, nice oppressive moody and I liked the artwork and the cover; and as for the "shorter" prog i'd prefer a ten page story to the possibility of the return of "synammon"

Low Life just completely abandoned me. The art is good but the whole " don't call me Judge" thing has just gotten out of control, coupled with the classic "Nerdy Anoraptor Sidekick" and the "sudden Death Of Someone Important To The Narrative" makes me think that someone has been dabbling in one too many cliches.

Enjoying Dredd. Guthrie being a frustrated thug is quite entertaining as well.

Highlight of the prog was the last page of Lobster.

Roger Godpleton · 04 May, 2006, 08:35:53 PM

Cover: Meh.

Dredd: Interesting mystery tale, Guthrie stuff works. Art is good. One tiny problem, but is it just me, or does Hollister have the same look all the time, surely she'd be more chameleon like, maybe it's just the hair, I dunno. Good Stuff.

Lob: I read the VCs first, so I had the last page spoilered, but it was still ace when I read the episode through properly. This is utterly bonkers-in-a-good-way (i.e. not totally contrived)fun. Probably the best exposition heavy transition episdoe in a while. Very Good Stuff.

VCs: This seemed to go on and on and on and on. I hope to whoever that this Hoff guy is actually meaningful, because I've just sat through 10 pages of Abnett's gay space wars fantasy finding out about him. It doesn't even make sense, he's quite clearly a numptie, I thought the VCs were supposed to be the best of the best, there must have been better candidates? Not only this, but there's two new characters introduced here. I thought this was supposed to be the last book, where the characters and their objectives have been made clear. Bad Stuff.

Low Life: Bit flat. Nothing fundamentally wrong here, it's just that I'm not really grabbed by this. Coleby's art does its job. OK Stuff.

Droid Life: Had Deja vu when reading this. Still fun though. OK Stuff.

Overall: First half is a decent read, but then it falters a bit. OK Stuff.

scutfink · 04 May, 2006, 08:42:34 PM

There's a line in there somewhere :

'VC's stands for Vacuum Cleaners, 'cause we clean up the vacuum...'

Or words to that effect, but IIRC in the original series, they were called the Vacuum Cleaners 'cause they sucked.

(at least in the estimation of the top brass.)