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[PROUD]

That podcast is an absolute disgrace I tell you and I am PROUD to be associated with it 

You should be proud and ashamed of yourself in equal measures.  It was everything that is wrong, and right, with podcasting today

Hola, amiga!

Welcome on board

I thought they handled it brilliantly. One minute of set up, then off we go - all the points you mention aren't relevant to the film.

Yep, I'm not disputing that at all and I think such heavy exposition would seriously detract from the film's freshness.  I'm just curious as to how a newcomer would see Dredd and MC1.

Would be great if film two* opened in a similar fashion, but with Chopper giving the opening monologue, describing the judges from the citizens POV.

*yeah yeah, unlikely etc.

I like your thinking there!  Come to think of it, was it Dredd himself giving the opening monologue about America being an irradiated wasteland etc?

i was in my local newsagents lookin at last weeks prog when my newsagent said everyones buyin 2000ad since the new film came out. he said people are sayin now its back out again theyre havin a look- obviously he knows it never went away. anyway i thought that was good and wondered if you guys had noticed any increased activity or interest in the prog?

I hope so.  I only knew one non-specialist newsagent in Dublin that stocked 2000ad last year, and missed the days when you could pick it up in any country village if you wanted.

and you've missed some gems .. such as cradlegrave

'Sright.  A modern classic and possibly Smiffy's best strip ever

He is freaking cool alright. This Dredd movie pushes Brett from Flight of the Conchords back to second place in the best-Kiwi-in-Lord-of-the-Rings charts.

I've seen a couple of racist slogans etc, at the bus stop on my way home, including a swastika sticker with "England for whites, blacks go home" or words to that effect. Seeing that symbol I actually felt really annoyed. Didn't many of our grandparents/great grandparents' generation die fighting those guys? Using that sign as a symbol of England is insulting.

I wonder how many of them realise that particular symbol originated in ancient India.

I saw a dog in China with a swastika shaved into its side.  Thought it was a Buddhist thing, till I saw the word 'police' (in English) on its other side, then realised the poor creature was a living protest banner.

Just to clear up one thing first:  The film was about the best Dredd film I could have hoped for.  Excellent all round, and in many ways a dream come true.
Just wondering, though, how many blanks is there for a newcomer to fill in? (Not that this is a problem or anything, as Karl Urban says, look at Heath Ledger's Joker.)  Here's a few things we wouldn't know just from watching the film alone...

That Dredd is a clone.
That judges are celibate.
Dredd's first name.
That there are other Mega-cities around the world.
That the judges are also MC1's government, and fascists to boot.
How America got to be the way it is.

Like I say, it's no problem; in fact I would love to experience the movie from the point of view of a complete newcomer, just for curiosity. I think you could probably make a wild guess at the first two from just watching?  Maybe not though, maybe it just seems that way because I've been acquainted with Dredd for over 30 years.  Jesus wept!

You missed a doozy in Day of Chaos as an epic. You might want to try and collect the last six to eight months. Worth it.





V

True.  Not only Day of Chaos but Dante's last arc.  Bit of a slight lull at the moment Dreddwise I suppose, but it'll definitely pick up again

I really liked the Black Hole; but think the ABCs kind of lost their way after that and never really found a sure footing since (despite some enjoyable stories).  Though it does seem to be going for a 'back-to-basics' approach in recent years, which is probably a good idea.

Up The Arse Corner...

http://www.toplessrobot.com/judge_dredd5.jpg

...aaaaand off to Viz it goes.

It's American slang for the local or corner shop.

Ah, I see. 

Check out Montserrat in Barcelona, a cathedral built into the mountains, accessible by a shit-your-pants cable car ride.  And there's a great little bar in George Orwell Square, can't remember the name of it but it's small, friendly and does a good mojito (and blatantly projected hardcore porn on the wall for some reason, the first time I went there).

Also please notice from the maps that the Catalan word for 'Square' is 'Ezquerra'.  I really hope there's a 'Charles Square' somewhere in Catalonia.

That reminds me of another great scene - it's been mentioned before, but the bit near the start where the perp holds a woman hostage.  Establishes Dredd as a truly terrifying character.  No smartarsed macho quips, just chilly silence as the perp fries.   Also highlights Dredd's distance from normal social interactions - there's an almost awkward pause after Dredd saves her life; and he doesn't even bother responding to her thanks.  An absolutely perfect introduction to Dredd as a character.

Actually it kind of reminded me of the first scene of Grant Morrison's Inferno, where Dredd scares the living shit out of two bazooka-toting perps by just standing in front of them - not a good story, of course, but a great opening scene.

There's a Mom 'n' Pop's store in Peach Trees too.  Think that was in the strip once, or is it a real chainstore?  Probably the former; it's hardly good advertising.