Amazingly it could all come down to this. Judging by voting so far in tie 31 we might have the teams neck and neck coming into this last vote. I wasn't expecting it to be this close and this exciting and you have to wonder what each team has left battling tooth and nail for 31 tie, welll....
... two big, BIG artists it would seem have been kept for this final tie, as seems very fitting. We have Mr Covers himself... well of course he's not called Mr Covers but his work has graced more covers than any other 2000ad artist and he still manages to find astonishing ways to show off Dredd and the rest of 2000ad's worlds. Then you have Arthur Ranson. The only artist who is so good he makes it look like he's photo-referencing gorilla's gunning down Judges and pirates on space bicycles. For one final time...
Time for you to decide your favourite as the droids square up to the tee...
Cliff Robinson - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=cliffr)
OR
Arthur Ranson more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=ARTHURR)
Remember for this tourney you have 5 votes to distribute as you please between these two artists, whole numbers only. So you can vote 5 - 0; 4 - 1; or 3 - 2; either way depending on how much more you like one artist's work over the other.
If you can't be doing with that just name your favourite - remember bold tags, or other ways of highlighting always appreciated - and I'll give them 3 votes and nowt to the other droid.
Three day votes, so this one ends morning of Friday 18th June - WHEN THARG'S RYDER CUP WILL BE PRESENTED!!!!!
Remember we only consider work for Tharg in these Tourneys
What the heck is all this about - well we have a thread for that (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.0)
How does this new voting work? Look here (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059536#msg1059536) and why again? (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059557#msg1059557)
I don't understand how this works, what are the rules of the Ryder Cup - yep got ya covered there too (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059595#msg1059595)
Anything else just ask and I'll make something up. Most importantly, have fun!
Cliff 2 Arthur 3
Cliff Robinson 2, Arthur Ranson 3.
cliff 2 - 3 arthur
Ranson 4, Robinson 1
Cliff Robinson 2, Arthur Ranson 3.
Robinson 5
Ransom 0
SBT
Cliff Robinson - 1
Arthur Ranson - 4
Robinson 5
Robinson 3
Ranson 2
Robinson Reserves (2) Ranson Rangers (3)
Another close run thing but with Button Man, Maze World and those iconic Andersons I think I'll have to go:
Ranson 3 : Robinson 2
Ranson 4 Robinson 1
Arthur "Shamballa" Ranson 3 : 2 Cliff "Cover King" Robinson
Cliff Robinson 4 : Arthur Ranson 1
I really do like Ranson and Button Man is a top thrill; however, so many of my favorite Dredd images and covers come from Robinson.
Got to give Arthur the slight advantage but Cliff runs a close thing with his massive output and too numerous to mention iconic covers and Mother Earth. Arthur 3 Cliff 2.
Cliff 4 / Arthur 1
Always loved those concave shoulder pads on Dredd.
Battle of the details!
Cliff 3, Arthur 2
So tomorrow morning I will count this one up and the result here will determine which team take the Artist Ryder Cup. It looks pretty close too so its entirely possible any last minute votes here will decide not only this tie BUT the competition as a whole. What more motivation do you need? Get ya votes in.
And so for the last time in this tourney I will do just that. Now I've made no secret of the fact I'm a big support of Current Team. I personally believe the art in 2000ad now is as good, if not better than its ever been. That however can't affect how I vote in each tie and even though this one will determine the overall result of the tourney by love of Arthur Ranson's art is large. Its not that I don't love Cliff Robinson as well, the way he produces iconic cover after iconic cover is just incredible. Its just that he's not done enough stella storytelling for me. Arthur Ranson has the astonishing ability to make even the most unearthly things seem grounded and real. He's quite the unique talent and one of my absolute favourites. On that basis:
Cliff Robinson 1 : Arthur Ranson 4
Just done my precount and this one is astonishingly close. any votes today could well swing the result! What an ending.
VOTING CLOSED
Oh you lot are cruel, even if you don't know it. This one, somewhat amazingly decided the whole tourney and it was close, so close. Ever time Arthur Ranson built a lead Cliff Robinson pulled him back. And in the last day, for only the second time snuck into the lead, by a point.
Then I come along. A big supporter of Current Team, a firm believer that art is better now than its ever been in the Prog - I do need to check my votes to see if that bears out - and cast my final vote - and with no more votes coming in it turned out to be the deciding vote and give the whole tie and do to that the whole tourney to Classic Team!
Wow talk about taking it to the wire but in the end...
Current Team 15.5 : Classic Team 16.5
Current Team 1423 : Classic Team 1466
Sorry, I didn't entire myself to vote in the last few rounds. Wouldn't have changed anything though: Cliff's lack of stop work would've hampered him against anyone but Arthur's Anderson is definitive.
Robinson 1 - 4 Ranson
Good fun all round. Thanks for the intrigue.