Prog 1717 - Dognapped!

[radiator]

I don't recall a story being told from the control perspective before

While the stories are quite distinct from one another, there was a Dredd story in the Megazine many years ago which is told from a similar perspective...

Control 1 episode (Meg 3.18) 9 pages
Script: Robbie Morrison, Artist: Paul Peart, Colour: Sean Barnes-Murphy



No capital letters was quite the thing in 1990s graphic design wasn't it?

[Jim_Campbell]

Don't often really comment on the prog reviews- but that was a seriously solid Dredd. Well done Mike and Simon.

Yeah, it was excellent. That's been a real flurry of quality Dredds, Mike, but I think this one was my favourite so far. Nice to see a new writer so comprehensively 'getting' Dredd. I'm chuffed to bits for you, too. :-)

Cheers

Jim

[vzzbux]

What Jim said.






V

[House of Usher]

A good Prog, headed up by a top-notch Dredd. Wouldn't be a bad introductory Dredd for anyone who hasn't any prior acquaintance with the character.

Shakara was superb. Those backgrounds were startlingly vivid; reading it was almost like being there, or at least watching a film with state of the art special effects.

Kingdom was great, too. Interesting new humanoids and an interesting new though familiar predicament.

I didn't and don't enjoy Necrophim or Ampney Crucis Investigates.

[Banners]

What a great Dredd - brilliantly paced and genuinely exciting. More congrats for you, Mike(!)

M@

[Colin YNWA]

Now that prog 1716 has finally arrived read this one this evening.

Now there is much I'd like to say and I'll start with the Dredd. Mike Carroll's Dredds have been superb. I've really enjoyed them. Even with Simon Fraser's wonderful art this one is the weaker of the three for me. That said I still really really enjoyed it and they've all work really well. Last weeks was one of my favourite one off Dredds in a while so its no shame that this one is quite so good. All three have had the air of a Future Shock, nice little moments at the end but they've offered a lot more besides each of them having great characters with Dredd the fulcrum around which the story is based but not the star of the show. Much like a great Spirit story Dredd is strong enough to build a story around without making him direct focus.

I don't think I engage with Ampney Crucis as a character so I just don't engage with the strip. Shame as Simon Davis' art is just divine. The curious thing being that I do engage with the damned folks in Necrophim and this last story has been the best of the lot so far. Many of the complaints that have been made against the strip are being answered and its going from strength to strength.

Talking about strength to strength Kingdom and Shakara are just superb. I mean real 2000ad classics, just so perfect for the comic. But the real surprise to me is that I'm enjoying Henry Flint's art possibly even more than I have in the past. There's a confidence and energy coming with this slightly looser style that is so perfect for this story. Two panel's in particular exemplify this for me. Eva and co scrambling across the rocks at the end of the second page. The rain feels heavy, cold and penetrating. Secondly the multiple Shakara's as seen through the spider fella's eye, crazy good. Bloody love this.

Great prog.

[the shutdown man]

Foolish question: Am I missing the pun in Gene's pronunciation of the robot's name (which I now can't remember without the prog in front of me).

[Colin YNWA]

Foolish question: Am I missing the pun in Gene's pronunciation of the robot's name (which I now can't remember without the prog in front of me).

Robert is meant to be read as Robot I assume, but yeah the first word (which escapes me now) foxed me too.

[Richmond Clements]

Foolish question: Am I missing the pun in Gene's pronunciation of the robot's name (which I now can't remember without the prog in front of me).

Robert is meant to be read as Robot I assume, but yeah the first word (which escapes me now) foxed me too.

'Servator', isn't it? Haven't got a prog to hind.

[House of Usher]

Nah, it's 'servitor.'  

[Richmond Clements]

Nah, it's 'servitor.'  

Pffft. Teachers...

[Mardroid]

WH SMiths already had this in!

Dredd - Great. I loved that take from the control rooms perspective.

Shakara - Great. And once again I find the alien lady disturbing in two completely different ways. (Why so many scars on a medical person? I guess their healing tech only goes so far... but I'd think skin regeneration would remove  much of that stuff. ) [spoiler]The new look of Shakara(s) is curious too. Was he/they rebuilt from junk too, rather than grown? (Then again we don't really know how cybernetic he might have been in the first place.)[/spoiler]

Necrophim - Sorry. Not my cup of tea.

Ampney Crucis - This is not a favourite strip of mine but it's not bad. I can't help thinking this time though.... [spoiler]giant worms? Again?[/spoiler] I think this strip merits a reread when it's finished.

Kingdom - Good, although I suspected things might go wrong.

Incidentally... nobody has mentioned the news from Tharg in the letters page concerning [spoiler]a new upcoming small series featuring a certain psychic judge in her teen years...  I'm looking forward to this. I'm glad the the Christmas story wasn't just a one off.[/spoiler]

[Alski]

Mike Carroll hits another one out of the park! Simon Fraser does a fantastic job of keeping the narrative flowing, with art that is, for me, better than his Dante stuff. Top work fellas!

The other highlight this week is Kingdom - it's the only strip for ages that I can't wait to read, although I leave it to last and savor the anticipation.

The other 3 strips are good rather than great, and it must be said that art wise this is a pretty frakkin decent prog all round.

Junior Anderson strip? Bring on Teenage Kyx and we'll gove it a go...

[Richmond Clements]

I can't help thinking this time though.... [spoiler]giant worms? Again?[/spoiler] I think this strip merits a reread when it's finished.

I took it to be the [spoiler]same giant worm again.[/spoiler]

[House of Usher]

(Why so many scars on a medical person? I guess their healing tech only goes so far... but I'd think skin regeneration would remove  much of that stuff.)

Fetishism. She comes from a medical culture: maybe it's normal where she comes from to retain the outward signs of surgery to show what they've had done/repaired.