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Prog 2195 - Master of Puppets

Started by Tjm86, 15 August, 2020, 06:57:43 PM

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Tjm86

Well, the last week before the next Regened prog and the review thread still not started so late in the day?  A little surprising all things consider.  I mean, we've had such consistently high quality proggage in recent weeks.  That said, this week feels a little lacklustre for some reason.

I wonder if it is the Terror Tale: Quillivision?  Certainly for me it was a bit of an odd beast (as was the "Amanda Alsatian" character ...).  The artwork doesn't stack up well against the rest of the prog but then again that is a little unfair to the artist.  I mean, when you are billed alongside Flint, Harrison, Yeowell and Burns then you are asking for trouble.  Mostly though it just seemed like a non-story.

Dredd is a talking heads episode with a quick resolution to the current horseman 'problem' ready to move on to the next one.  Of more interest is the hints as Azrael's place in the tale.  makes me wonder if I do need to fetch back for a re-read of the old tales there.

In fact all round this seems to be a bit of an in-between prog.  The Out, Sin/Dex and the Order all seem more about setting the scene for the future.  Maybe that is why there is such an unsatisfying feeling?  Don't get me wrong, it's still head and shoulders above anything from the big two on their best day.  It's just one of those "we've been spoilt rotten recently and now we've got to eat our veg" progs, if that makes sense.

So, we get to see if the upward trajectory of Regened can continue next week before picking up all these threads.

Ghost MacRoth

Really can't see how we've been spoiled rotten of late, but aye... not a brilliant prog for sure. 

Oddly enough, I just realised tonight what my minor issue is with Harrison's art.  '2012' the terrible disaster movie was playing in the background, and I noted (again) how messy it was in the scenes of disaster, so much going on, all in very similar colour palette, resulting in an overblown confusing mess on the eye.  Nicely done in individual elements, but so much lumped together it's hard to pick anything out.

So aye, Harrison is the Roland Emmerich of comics.
I don't have a drinking problem.  I drink, I get drunk, I fall over.  No problem!

Timothy

Is this the third Quilli story and the second Quilli cover? That's quite a strike rate.

Batman's Superior Cousin

Quote from: Timothy on 15 August, 2020, 08:58:54 PM
Is this the third Quilli story and the second Quilli cover? That's quite a strike rate.

Quilli is God, Quilli is Life, never forget!!
I can't help but feel that Godpleton's avatar/icon gets more appropriate everyday... - TordelBack
Texts from Last Night

broodblik

Quote from: Timothy on 15 August, 2020, 08:58:54 PM
Is this the third Quilli story and the second Quilli cover? That's quite a strike rate.

The previous stories ran in
prog 2134 - "The Quilli Committee"
prog 2091 - "Quilli"


The previous cover was for prog 2134

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

Bolt-01

Hope Quilli doesn't make a play for Tharg's seat...

metcalfecarr

" just realised tonight what my minor issue is with Harrison's art.  '2012' the terrible disaster movie was playing in the background, and I noted (again) how messy it was in the scenes of disaster, so much going on, all in very similar colour palette, resulting in an overblown confusing mess on the eye"

This is a problem Harrison has had for a long time, dating back to Glimmer Rats where everything was so murky green you couldnt see to tell what was going on, Durham Red was just dark pages with mucky colours, and now its a technicolour scream that confuses the eye and needs  tighter linework to bring it together rathjer than his extremely loose euro style.  Harrison is a very accomplished artist, but hes not a very good comics artist if it's difficult to make out what is going on storywise
Dave Metcalfe-Carr

73north


Finally read my Prog this Monday night - and I enjoyed it , apart from the weak Quilli one-off
- and also THE ORDER - which is coming back for another story arc ( groan ...  )
still if others like it , then fine with me ( its different , that's for sure )

I thought DREDD - End of Days set up the next part of the story not too bad , and SINISTER DREDD
was pretty good , THE OUT is going to be well worth waiting for the next part - and I think the REGENED Prog is a great idea - that will attract new , younger readers to the Comic

I also see Pat  Mill's SPACEWRAP looks pretty damn good - its on sale on Amazon
I am just waiting till October for the paper issue but will buy a couple of extra issues and gift them to some young kids I know
also DELIGHTED - that Proteus Vex will come back soon is a new Ambassador story

Ghost MacRoth

Quote from: metcalfecarr on 17 August, 2020, 01:00:14 PMThis is a problem Harrison has had for a long time, dating back to Glimmer Rats where everything was so murky green you couldnt see to tell what was going on, Durham Red was just dark pages with mucky colours, and now its a technicolour scream that confuses the eye and needs  tighter linework to bring it together rathjer than his extremely loose euro style.  Harrison is a very accomplished artist, but hes not a very good comics artist if it's difficult to make out what is going on storywise

Dunno if maybe I cared less on those stories, or he's got worse, but yeah, the lack of depth puts everything in the same plane, and then everything becomes indistinguishable from everything else. I agree, like John Hicklenton, a brilliant artist, but terrible storyteller.
I don't have a drinking problem.  I drink, I get drunk, I fall over.  No problem!

broodblik

The cover by  David Hitchcock and Matt Soffe:

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

broodblik

When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

levireeves

As a new(ish) reader It seems I enjoyed this prog much more than others here, although I'm missing Tee and the gang from Full Tilt Boogie already.

The Dredd - End of Days installment was a welcome and pleasantly surprising break from the frenetic pace so far, and with the additional intrigue from Azrael this all seems to be shaping up to be more than just a death and ultraviolence action spectacular. A lot of nice world building here that ties into the wider Dredd lore in a satisfying way.

The Out continues to be the best current story IMO, the writing is stellar and although it seems from the reviews above that the artwork is controversial, I personally find it incredibly evocative. In fact when convincing people to start reading 2000AD recently, Harrison's otherworldly artwork is the first thing I show them. Nothing to say that hasn't already been said about this genuinely brilliant story.

Sinister Dexter was good. Although it's not really my favourite strip, I think this part has really re-grounded the story and provides a solid jumping off point for whatever Abnett has planned next.

I thought the Quilli story was honestly brilliant. I loved the "recognisably modern Britain but satirically heightened" sense of it all, most brilliantly expressed with the cops at the start who feel incredibly real before it quickly spins off into Amanda Alsation, like something from Monkey Dust. The whole thing felt like a modernisation of classic British horror in the vein of The Wicker Man, with modern fears of media manipulation in the mix with Hammer Horror's traditional "progress is just a veil over the inescapable terrors of the past" themes. Absolutely brilliant.

The Order is, as always, completely opaque and confusing to me. Maybe one day I'll go back and try to figure out what the hell is happening, but every part I've ever read seems to be the same high stakes turned-up-to-11 melodrama. It just has no breathing room and perhaps for that reason I just can't seem to get a foothold into the story. The art is gorgeous though.

IndigoPrime

Like Tjm86, this issue fell a bit flat for me. Quilli didn't click with me, and The Order is now incomprehensible. Sin/Dex rumbles on.

End of Days is fun enough, though, even if it's hard to picture where it's heading, and right now I'd happily buy 2000 AD just for The Out, which is my favourite thing in the comic for a long time—probably my top new strip since Kingdom.

Link Prime

Quote from: IndigoPrime on 18 August, 2020, 02:52:09 PM
right now I'd happily buy 2000 AD just for The Out

Right now I am buying 2000AD just for The Out.
Really haven't enjoyed End Of Days, Full Tilt Boogie or this series of The Order (*standard 'Despite the artwork' disclaimer).

Looking forward to Prog 2200 like I never have a jump-on Prog before. Even in 1995.

BPP

Quote from: metcalfecarr on 17 August, 2020, 01:00:14 PM
" just realised tonight what my minor issue is with Harrison's art.  '2012' the terrible disaster movie was playing in the background, and I noted (again) how messy it was in the scenes of disaster, so much going on, all in very similar colour palette, resulting in an overblown confusing mess on the eye"

This is a problem Harrison has had for a long time, dating back to Glimmer Rats where everything was so murky green you couldnt see to tell what was going on, Durham Red was just dark pages with mucky colours, and now its a technicolour scream that confuses the eye and needs  tighter linework to bring it together rathjer than his extremely loose euro style.  Harrison is a very accomplished artist, but hes not a very good comics artist if it's difficult to make out what is going on storywise

Couldn't disagree more.
If I'd known it was harmless I would have killed it myself.

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