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Prog 2288: Law versus Claw

Started by Huey2, 26 June, 2022, 11:36:41 PM

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The Corinthian

Quote from: Goosegash on 29 June, 2022, 09:18:19 PMThere is something very off about Lowborn High's weirdly blatant plagiarism, especially at a time when we could do without reminding that anti-trans bigot JK Rowling still exists.

Again, I hate to be that guy, but calling Rowling a bigot is defamatory and untrue. She holds views in favour of women's rights to which some militant trans rights activists object. She has expressed these views - which are protected speech under the law and are consistent with both UK equality legislation and the broad character of public opinion - reasonably and compassionately, and for that has been targeted for threats and abuse both online and IRL.

Rowling's child fans have also been targeted for online abuse - including being exposed to sexual threats and paedophile imagery - by these same so-called activists. I find it extraordinarily depressing that so many - including you - are willing to side with such obviously evil thugs who have gone to such appalling lengths to smear, intimidate and silence women they disagree with.

So I am very happy to be reminded that she exists and refuses to be intimidated or silenced by the likes of you. The only bigotry here is yours.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: The Corinthian on 29 June, 2022, 11:43:13 PM
Again, I hate to be that guy, but calling Rowling a bigot is defamatory and untrue.

Rowling has explicitly stated that she regards the definition of women as "people who menstruate" and that's not even true of people who were born biologically female and identify as such. She's tweeted links to a site selling merchandise with explicitly transphobic slogans. Under her (somewhat loaded) Galbraith pseudonym, she published a book about a male serial killer who dresses up as a woman in order to murder women.

Whilst, on the spectrum of TERFery, she's not at the most extreme end, she absolutely does have form in this area.

(This is neither an endorsement of, nor justification for, any form of harassment or threatening behaviour.)
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
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IndigoPrime

Please can we draw a line under the JKR stuff on this thread? If not, I'll be slicing it in half and sending it to OT.

Leigh S

This is a pretty strawman argument Corinthian - If you are ssaying that if you are taking a stand on any topic, you have to support the worst elements of that viewpoint is pretty insane.

I like Doctor Who, but dislike Chibnalls run, but I am not Nerdrotic.  I like modern2000aD with reservations, but anm not a MAGAverser with a "Not my Tharg" T shirt

I would suggest watching Contrapoints video on this subject as a good starting point to see why a lot of the criticism of JKs stance is justified, without condoning death threats etc.

As for this weeks, the Dredd I could write an essay on.  I liked Liam Johnsons previous tale that I think Jake Lynch illustrated?  BTW the art here seems like a pale mix of Lynch and Willsher.

The basic idea is solid, but the execution is all over the place, with lots of non sequeter occurrences tht could easily be fixed with a bit of thought.

Low Born High could be great in a Jaws = Hookjaw, One Eyed Jack = Dirty Harry way.  It needs to be more savage in being a Working Class version -that would be pure 2000AD - but characters called Adrogeus doesnt really sell me on this being Grange Hill meets Hogwarts.

The rest of the prog hasnt really been read, as with the different artists and creators (for the most part) make it feel like something very different to what I personally am interested in - my bad really.

I do think they should lose the "next week" advert though, for the reasons we discussed at length in the previous thread!




Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 30 June, 2022, 07:36:56 AM
Quote from: The Corinthian on 29 June, 2022, 11:43:13 PM
Again, I hate to be that guy, but calling Rowling a bigot is defamatory and untrue.

Rowling has explicitly stated that she regards the definition of women as "people who menstruate" and that's not even true of people who were born biologically female and identify as such. She's tweeted links to a site selling merchandise with explicitly transphobic slogans. Under her (somewhat loaded) Galbraith pseudonym, she published a book about a male serial killer who dresses up as a woman in order to murder women.

Whilst, on the spectrum of TERFery, she's not at the most extreme end, she absolutely does have form in this area.

(This is neither an endorsement of, nor justification for, any form of harassment or threatening behaviour.)

Goosegash

Quote from: The Corinthian on 29 June, 2022, 11:43:13 PM
Quote from: Goosegash on 29 June, 2022, 09:18:19 PMThere is something very off about Lowborn High's weirdly blatant plagiarism, especially at a time when we could do without reminding that anti-trans bigot JK Rowling still exists.

Again, I hate to be that guy, but calling Rowling a bigot is defamatory and untrue. She holds views in favour of women's rights to which some militant trans rights activists object. She has expressed these views - which are protected speech under the law and are consistent with both UK equality legislation and the broad character of public opinion - reasonably and compassionately, and for that has been targeted for threats and abuse both online and IRL.

Rowling's child fans have also been targeted for online abuse - including being exposed to sexual threats and paedophile imagery - by these same so-called activists. I find it extraordinarily depressing that so many - including you - are willing to side with such obviously evil thugs who have gone to such appalling lengths to smear, intimidate and silence women they disagree with.

So I am very happy to be reminded that she exists and refuses to be intimidated or silenced by the likes of you. The only bigotry here is yours.

Unfortunately for you I wasn't born yesterday, pal, and I know the tricks the GC mob use to provoke arguments so they can look like they're "winning" against the evil trans activists.

Let me just emphasise this - "Gender Critical" groups are a dangerous and manipulative cult, and if you've been suckered in by them I pity you, but there's nothing I can do for you, and I'm not going to play their games.

All I'll say if anyone is unclear on what the issues actually are here and why posts like the above are a problem, and also really, really concerning to see start appearing out of nowhere on a forum like this, I'd recommend investing some time into watching either of the videos below. You don't have to obviously, but it helps to be informed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwI6py78gsI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pTPuoGjQsI

Anyway, sorry Indigo, if you want to shuttle this off to OT, please do.

sintec

Pandora Perfect really was the best thing in this prog by a loooooooong way. Dredd was ok but nothing special and the Future Shock was similarly fine. Lowborn High was definitely the low point. The underlying concept of, as Leigh put it, Grange Hill meets Hogwarts isn't terrible and 2000ad has form for this kind of subversion of pop culture. Sadly this is no Skizz. I can't decide if this is a case of not getting it because I'm not the target audience or that it's just a bit naff. Of all the regened strips it's the one I'd least like to see getting a longer run in the regular progs.

Pandora was great though.

Aaron A Aardvark

Will the Kidz enjoy all the Jean Luc Goddard references in Scooters & Jinx?

Anyway, Pandora great Highborn terrible. Everything else ok.

Leigh S

Skizz is hte perfect comparison - its the plot of ET, but what if that happened in Inner City Birmingham

Set Low Born High in Nechells and it would write itself!

Quote from: sintec on 01 July, 2022, 07:40:51 AM
Lowborn High was definitely the low point. The underlying concept of, as Leigh put it, Grange Hill meets Hogwarts isn't terrible and 2000ad has form for this kind of subversion of pop culture. Sadly this is no Skizz.

Bad City Blue

Usually a fan of these, but this one was poor

Dredd was okay, but zero cleverness just a bog standard Dredd story

Lowborn High was so Harry Potter rip off it hurt.

The Future Shock was pretty good

Jak and Dexter, I mean Scooter and Jinx was so slow and non fun, yet still better than Peatty's other strip. Can we just send him back to AMerican comic please, as he's not very good at these.

Pandora Perfect was fun, but needed the central premise that Pandora is stupid, and she isn't.

Writer of SENTINEL, the best little indie out there

broodblik

Quote from: Bad City Blue on 01 July, 2022, 11:03:19 PM
Pandora Perfect was fun, but needed the central premise that Pandora is stupid, and she isn't.

I felt more it was a case everything she did went wrong and that is what made it a fun strip
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.

Funt Solo

Summary - I get this as a sort of training ground for new talent. That's how it seems, at any rate. Sorry if that's patronizing to the creators. But, it makes it difficult to read. Maybe it needs more close-in editorial steering? I wonder what this would be like if it were five-page stories instead?

The Regened idea of the first FCBD issue focused more on existing properties - it might be interesting to see other creators tackle existing characters. Young Slaine? Flesh: Origins? Maybe this is actually good and I'm too old to get it anymore. The Regened issues are mostly depressing. Sorry. Wish I could report otherwise.


In order of most to least thrilling:

Pandora Perfect - this was just perfect, and stood out head and shoulders above the rest of the comic. A page turner, with real laughs. Makes it all look so easy.

Future Shocks - Into the Void - this was an interesting concept that felt like it could have legs, but then abruptly ended (as you'd expect from a Future Shock).

Cadet Dredd - had to force myself to keep reading this to the end, because it was over on page #3, then again on page #9. Cadet Dredd can't seem to keep his age straight - last time, he seemed not much different in height from his supervisor, then this time he looked ten. That, and the Scooby Doo plotting and dialogue ("and I'd have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you pesky kids") made this not very good at all. Just reprint The Alien Zoo. It's SO good.

Lowborn High - too many characters, the breadcrumbs at the start didn't take us anywhere, I never got into Harry Potter so I don't like something that's riffing on it, the main character is behaving like his own antagonist and I keep wishing he'd just die (the moping git), everyone is shaped and posed like a supermodel & some of the dialogue seems actually copied and pasted from the HP books. I had to force myself to keep reading.

Scooter & Jinx - another forced read. It's got some pretty poor story-telling. Brink gets away with lots and lots of dialogue because of the nature of its story - really, the dialogue is the story. Here, we keep getting talking heads telling us that things are happening. Just show us! Then, when they do show us, the perspective on the robots is all wonky - they seem giant, then normal sized all of a sudden. And their font is awful unless you zoom it way up. Bah!
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Huey2

"I get this as a sort of training ground for new talent."

Which seems odd to me. I mean, obviously new talent has got to start somewhere but why choose the most high profile and best selling issues of the year to do that? It's like in the '80s when filler would be pumped into the summer special - an issue which would be on the stands for months and get picked up by lots of non-regular readers- why not fill that with the best stuff? That way you've got more chance of enticing new folks into the fold.

broodblik

Yes make it interesting so that protentional newbies will want to continue
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.

IndigoPrime

Quote from: Funt Solo on 02 July, 2022, 06:11:04 AMI wonder what this would be like if it were five-page stories instead?
It is curious that 2000 AD has decided to run longer strips in these issues. That is also at odds with what you see in, say, The Phoenix, where the adventure strips are typically five or so pages and surrounded by a lot of much shorter stuff (four-pager Jamie Smart; single-page Squid Bits) to shake up the pace. Again, I can only assume Regened is targeting the upper portion of that age bracket (with Monster Fun at the lower end), but it goes mean some of these stories feel stretched out rather than punchy.

As for the new talent line, that seems to vary issue to issue. The one thing that is interesting is the most consistent strip being Pandora – and Roger Langridge of course has form in all-ages (notably with his hugely under-rated and pitch-perfect Muppets run).

Richard

I think Pandora Perfect and Cadet Dredd were both fine, but I didn't like anything else.

Quotewhy is there only one Phearax on display, what happened to the other missing people?

Well on page three there's an alien monkey wearing glasses.