Prog 1858- Gorehead Unchained

[IndigoPrime]

Assuming it is a female and not a pseudonym, is this the first female to pen a Dredd tale?
If so then congrats Emma for breaking new ground.

Given that Emma's hardly hiding from view online, it's odd to think anyone would even question this, but, yes, Emma is a woman. There was even a Guardian piece about her: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/04/judge-dredd-first-female-writer

(Also, what' switch the 'female' thing? It sounds so off when people use that word to describe a woman; reductive.)

[vzzbux]

I am sorry I don't trawl the internet and buy papers to read such articles.
This is why I don't spend much time online anymore.
I was being positive and congratulatory any you try and make me look like a dick.





V

[Ghost MacRoth]

How does describing a woman as female seem 'off'??  It's a valid word, and no more 'reductive' than to describe a bloke as 'male'.   But whatever, the prog........

Usual fare, all fairly good, but thought I'd chuck in my tuppence worth on the cover.  Not a fan.  As mentioned, doesn't look like a dino at all, way too 'human' shaped, deliberate or not, I don't know, but it don't matter in the long run.  You like what you like, right?

[IndigoPrime]

@vzzbux: I certainly wasn't intending to make you look like a dick (and, frankly, I'm not convinced I did—I merely responded with some information); I just found it odd that you wondered whether Beeby was a pseudonym, given that she's written for the Prog before (whereupon the editorial remarked that this was a first for the Prog), and also for various other places (games, Big Finish, film, etc.)

As for the 'female' thing, Ghost MacRoth, I see it a lot and it just grates. People so often talk about 'men and females' rather than 'men and women'. And it's almost vanishingly rare for someone to refer to a group of men as 'males'. The 'females' thing drives my wife up the wall too—it's probably down to it so often being used pejoratively (which I'm not saying was the case here, note).

[Ghost MacRoth]

Fair enough.  Never seen it that way myself, but different areas have different speech patterns I guess.

[The Adventurer]

Solid issue all around, Brass Sun and Damnation Station are a lot more interesting this issue. Even Flesh seems marginally more conherent the last week or so. I noticed an art change (new inker?) and thought it generally looks a lot better. 3riller was okay, kind of cliche, but for a one off it was entertaining.

On Dredd I thought it was pretty great! Really wondering what those kids are afraid of, nothing good I'm sure.

Though, did it bother anyone else when Dredd called that kid 'Son'? Felt kind of out of character.

[TordelBack]

Cover: Actually thought it was pretty striking in the, ahem, flesh.  No, it's not specifically tyrannosaury, never mind gorey, but it is dramatic and significantly different to the Gorehead covers that have gone before.  I like it.

Dredd:  Some pretty deft Dredd from a newbeeby, with Dredd and Control both sounding just right.  Burns gives us a pretty depressing view of a dehab zone, which is as it should be, and the eponymous ferals walk a fine line between cute and believable. I wonder was Burns sent this as reference.  Hope it's not just another monster-stalks-the-ruins tale, because that would be unfortunate timing for what is an engaging story so far.   

Flesh:  Last week I thought the new look to the art was McKay finding a faster and thereby cleaner style, but this week I notice it's got redoutable Townsend on inks (presumably to meet a deadline issue) and I wonder does this work at all on the dinos themselves (the humans seem improved by it).  Much of the momentum that McKay infuses his lunging Gorehead with seems to be missing here, with his mass of scratchy restless lines replaced by more sedate ink. 

Still, things certainly happen this week!  Can't shake the feeling that Pat has suspended the return of Reagan and Claw to allow McGurk's story to play out fully, so could this speedo-frenzy be his last round-up?

3Rillers:  Didn't really hang together as a story for me, with the dissonance between the high-tech DNA sniffers and the dead cops, and a diluted Men In Black feel to the central relationship, but it was enjoyable enough, and I really liked seeing Redondo's art look so fresh and contemporary. 

Brass Sun:  Oooh, clockwork gas giant!  Spectacle, mystery, heart, excellent.

Damnation Station:  I miss the episodic ensemble structure of the first book, and the variation in art from story to story, but this continues to draw me in.  I'm interested in whether Joe's first-hand experience of the autochthonous evolution of humans will be used to overturn the Hosts' claims of ownership, which going back to the first episode seemed to be based on a more biblical timescale of 10,000 years.

[Recrewt]

I like the cover but I must admit, when I first saw it I didn't think it looked particularly like a T-Rex.  However, the majority of pictures that you see are of a side profile, so I had to do some searching to have a look at other images that were head-on.



It is a strange angle to be looking at a T-Rex but looking at the two together they don't look too far apart  - the main difference seems to be with the upper lip but I'm assuming that in the cover image, old gorehead is supposed to be snarling so this would explain the raise in the upper lip. 

[James Stacey]

You're right that does make it look a bit closer to a t-rex, but the shoulders, lack of neck and hands in front of it kind of make it look less so. Still better than anything I could ever dream of doing mind

[Pop Culture Bandit]

Dredd - nice post DoC storyline, although another 'monster' story so close after the last one? I hope there's a twist in there somewhere!

Brass Sun - bit of a transitional episode, but i'm glad we're exploring different planets in the universe, as well as seeing more of the series' history.

Flesh - Finally - Gorehead Unchained!! shame that the art has been slipping with less detailed images and a change in inker altering James McKay's style, as this would have looked ace in the rougher inks of the earlier parts.

Damnation Station - Ahh, so he does have a plan! Not overly keen on the 'Cho-Ra' custom, but nice to see it used to good effect here. Is this ramping up to a series finale?

Rewind - I quite liked this, although there were a few outstanding questions, mainly on the 'outside world' around this time travel cop job. Is it heaven or just the future? Could happily see more of this


For a more detailed review, check out my blog post here > http://popculturebandit.blogspot.com/2013/11/2000ad-prog-1858.html

[Colin YNWA]

Rewind - I quite liked this, although there were a few outstanding questions, mainly on the 'outside world' around this time travel cop job. Is it heaven or just the future? Could happily see more of this

Rewind was an interesting 3riller in that unlike some that have gone before this one felt like a try out. It felt like a pilot for a new potential series. In the past 3riller have felt like short stories done and dusted (though I loved Mathamtica so much I'd have that team back in a heartbeat!).

[Goaty]

Annoying with Clickwheel as they don't got PDF for this week prog. So can't read digital copy

[Albion]

Annoying with Clickwheel as they don't got PDF for this week prog. So can't read digital copy

You can get it from the 2000AD shop.

[Spikes]

Cover's a bit of strange one. And one that maybe doesnt quite work, but im kinda liking it.

Nice to see Absalom featured in the Thrills of the Future bit. Not really read much of this character, but the episode in Prog 2013 was aces.

Always good to see John Burns in the prog, and Dredd is a fine helping. Feels a wee bit old school, but thats OK. Interesting to see how this story develops.

Brass Sun features some glorious imagery, this week. Plus some nice dialogue/moments.
But only a few short weeks of this left, (along with Flesh and D.S). A continuing gem, whose return ill be eagerly waiting for.
But ill savour the remaining episodes first.

Flesh is a riot this week. Totally OTT, but there's nowt wrong with that.
The art, with Mr Townsend now on inks, is still fine. But slightly unfortunate that a change was, presumabley, necessary this close to the end.

3rillers ends like so many of these. A bit of a damp squib, but Mr Rendondo's art has satisfied throughout.
More please!
And Damnation Station makes it to two weeks on the trot, that ive enjoyed it! Things are looking up, 

A good 'n' solid this week.

[hoops]

Just not feeling anything for Damnation Station - artwork's a mess and i'm just not interested in the story...stopped paying any attention to it two progs ago..
Apart from that a great read