Epic cover by Mark Harrison.
Thrill of the future - What is Department K?
Dredd - End Of Days, Part 10. Judge Patrick sacrifices herself for the greater good and instantly regrets it. Grim end indeed! Dredd hands himself into the Sovs. Yeah, you heard me. I'm enjoying this tale a lot.
Full Tilt Boogie continues.
Diaboliks - Profondo Rosso. The sixth and final part of this strip. Decent ending to this run and also lays a little ground for future tales. Set to return in Prog 2197.
The Oder - Land Of The Free, Part 10. Antoine Berg goes full mental with a Steampunk Mini-Gun thing and goads Bacon into the Frying pan. Or in front of a Train rather. Chin up Bacon... and arms... and legs.
The Out. Kej Daddy-Warbucks steals the show in this episode as he tries to keep Cyd from being too much of a Human. By which I mean causing unnecessary hassle. Oh, and there's a glimpse of the Tankinar! Great episode.
There's a letters page.
Cheers
Full Tilt Boogie was brilliant this week. This story just gets better and better!
Yup - really enjoying FTB. A superb new strip. However, how good is the Out? I'm absolutely loving it. Thanks Tharg -- the prog is just sublimely fun right now.
(https://i.imgur.com/XcxeEzh.jpg)
Mark Harrison
not a single clunker in the current lineup
Another great prog.
Dredd - I started out as a naysayer, but am now 100% onboard with this summer blockbuster.
FTB - Not my favourite episode, but still enjoying it. Tje black orb bit confused me, but enjoyed Ifans arc this week. Still don't know if he'll see the error of his way and become a part of the team, or if he's about to become the big bad.
Diaboliks - didn't feel like a finale, but only 4 weeks till it's back, so no problems with a "mid season break" as its been a great series thus far.
The Order - I feel like I'm following this now and really enjoying it and it's breakneck pace.
The Out - best thing in the prog again. Love it to bits.
Letters - I agree with all the kissing of the green ring.
Top progging!
I kiss the green ring too. This is a belting Prog.
The best episode of the new Dredd epic. An absolute blinder as Anderson makes a great scarifice by making some make a great scarifice. I hope this is reflected on down the road. Wonderful use of Dredd himself, as icon rather than rock. Titan-ic suff.
But all all that its still far from the best thing in the Prog. Full Tilt Boogie is better, its an astonishing episode as action breaks out, greed and consequence felt and this is ramping up. Wonderful mix of action and character. Still this isn't the best thing in the Prog.
Nor is Diaboliks which has a strong if not quite brilliant ending, perfectly happy that this one is coming back though.
The Order also runs close to the best thing in the Prog. Its another blinding episode as a knight(ish) gallops in on a white (well not) charger to get all squigy to save the day. This is so much better than I made it sound. In the end another armoured wonder speeds in to further save the day. Can't wait to see how this wraps up. But good as this is Its still not meaning
The Out - with an episode so good it can only be described Adnettesque (or Brinkish, or Lawless-like) everything about this is pitch perfect, dialogue and word craft, emotional twists and turns and an ending that somehow beats The Orders. Just stunning comics.
There will be folks who decry the joyous salute in the letters page this week. I am not one of them. When Tharg is producing comics this good its hard to know what more else he can do.
Well actually another great teaser for the upcoming All ages issue. Two interesting looking stories teased, its not much to go on but I hope this is heading back to the quality of the first FCBD issue. Tharg is giving me hope.
Thanks Droids, thanks Tharg you all played a belter.
QuoteStill don't know if he'll see the error of his way and become a part of the team, or if he's about to become the big bad.
Neither, [spoiler]he's dead.[/spoiler]
QuoteNeither, [spoiler]he's dead[/spoiler]
Ohhh, yes, maybe. [spoiler]A Major Tom-esque demise[/spoiler]. But I personally don't think it's the last we'll see of him....but I could be wrong.
Ignoring all the above posts until Wednesday, but just wanted to give notice of a primer thread for The Order (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46762.0;topicseen) wot I have just started. Only scratching the surface for now, but hope to dig deeper as time allows. Doing a full re-read for this purpose confirmed my feeling that it's one of the modern Prog's true greats.
Diaboliks and The Out keep me thrlled - FTB did a bit of a drop this week due to not really following everyones motives here - Black Dog would want to destry that torc rather than let it fall back to the Knights? The Knights would really need to help Ifan get it?
I await the Order Primer with baitededness TB!
Dredd, well lovely art and all that, but more silly that isnt endearing me to this any - shame Anderson didn't telekinetically do for the Chaos Bug, or Block Mania for that matter - the answer I am presuming is this is a "magical" disease... OK then.... :/
Quote from: TordelBack on 02 August, 2020, 01:39:52 PM
Ignoring all the above posts until Wednesday, but just wanted to give notice of a primer thread for The Order (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46762.0;topicseen) wot I have just started. Only scratching the surface for now, but hope to dig deeper as time allows. Doing a full re-read for this purpose confirmed my feeling that it's one of the modern Prog's true greats.
I love your first "
draft". I agree with your statement that The Order is one of the modern prog's true greats.
I think one off the "
problems" with a lot of the current strips is that the frequency that we getting them are too far apart. The golden age greats benefited by having the frequency of appearances much closer together.
Both have their benefits. The golden age we only had about 5 strips rotating every now and then. It was great when you loved these thrills but it maybe created the prog too lose its freshness. With the current setup we have a lot more strips getting some running time. This creates a freshness and something new but then you can loose readers by having to wait to long for a return. I still think it is good thing to have a 2-3 pager doing a summary of what happened before when such a scenario occurs.
Quote from: Leigh S on 02 August, 2020, 01:44:01 PM
Dredd, well lovely art and all that, but more silly that isnt endearing me to this any - shame Anderson didn't telekinetically do for the Chaos Bug, or Block Mania for that matter - the answer I am presuming is this is a "magical" disease... OK then.... :/
She's channelling the powers of the severed 'Angel' head that appeared from nowhere.
In defence of this Dredd story, I think I get it now - it's just some daft Dredd fun, using an out-there idea and running with it. And in that respect it is
fantastic! I'm just rolling with it now, and awaiting the next slice of impeccably drawn madness :thumbsup:
I think the reason why it's taken me a while to gel with this one is simply because it's written by Rob Williams, who has earned his reputation as a writer of 'serious' Dredds, and because we haven't had a good old one-off summer epic for a while. My expectations were off, thats all.
Did anyone else get [spoiler]Watership Down[/spoiler] flashbacks from [spoiler]Patricks demise[/spoiler]?
The cover with the logo:
(https://i0.wp.com/www.comicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2000-ad-2193-6.jpg?resize=768%2C995)
No prog this week for second time running
Will see if it arrives on Wednesday like last week
Groan 😈
Quote from: Richard on 01 August, 2020, 11:53:23 PM
QuoteStill don't know if he'll see the error of his way and become a part of the team, or if he's about to become the big bad.
Neither, [spoiler]he's dead.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Is he? The last page has him floating off into space, going after the torc, but he is very much alive in the last panel.[/spoiler] Or am I missing something?
Quote from: Magnetica on 03 August, 2020, 10:59:03 PM
Quote from: Richard on 01 August, 2020, 11:53:23 PM
[spoiler]Is he? The last page has him floating off into space, going after the torc, but he is very much alive in the last panel.[/spoiler] Or am I missing something?
I don't think he is BUT the last panel could be read that [spoiler]he's floating off to his death into space, doomed to be forever chasing the thing that he thinks will make people love him....or the FTB crew will save him.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Yes and that's kinda the point - we haven't seen what happens to him next yet 👍[/spoiler]
We've seen the only people who could save him decide not to bother.
Another excellent prog this week! It's really on a great streak just now.
Best ep of the Dredd story so far I thought, really horrifying! The artwork is just wonderful too, love the elongated figures and swirling winds.
FTB and The Out again my favourites. I think in The Out and Brink Dan Abnett has really raised the bar for character-driven thrills.
Quote from: Laser Skeleton on 04 August, 2020, 12:53:56 PM
... I think in The Out and Brink Dan Abnett has really raised the bar for character-driven thrills.
When you add The Out to the list of recent Dabnett thrills the vote that crowned him 'Ultimate Not Wagner' seems more on more timely. I can't think of a writer... with the notable exception ... who has produced so much, of such quality, at such a rate as Dabnett. The man is indeed a machine.
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 August, 2020, 01:26:42 PM
Quote from: Laser Skeleton on 04 August, 2020, 12:53:56 PM
... I think in The Out and Brink Dan Abnett has really raised the bar for character-driven thrills.
When you add The Out to the list of recent Dabnett thrills the vote that crowned him 'Ultimate Not Wagner' seems more on more timely. I can't think of a writer... with the notable exception ... who has produced so much, of such quality, at such a rate as Dabnett. The man is indeed a machine.
.... and if you add Lawless to the equation then it just stand-out what a great talent we have in him. Hopefully he can continue for a long-long time delivering quality works.
Quote from: broodblik on 04 August, 2020, 01:34:19 PM
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 04 August, 2020, 01:26:42 PM
Quote from: Laser Skeleton on 04 August, 2020, 12:53:56 PM
... I think in The Out and Brink Dan Abnett has really raised the bar for character-driven thrills.
When you add The Out to the list of recent Dabnett thrills the vote that crowned him 'Ultimate Not Wagner' seems more on more timely. I can't think of a writer... with the notable exception ... who has produced so much, of such quality, at such a rate as Dabnett. The man is indeed a machine.
.... and if you add Lawless to the equation then it just stand-out what a great talent we have in him. Hopefully he can continue for a long-long time delivering quality works.
I somehow contrived to forget about Lawless, the strip that single handedly returned my dad to comics aged 73.
My copy finally arrived today ,on Monday - and a very delightful cover
I thought the last instalment of Dredd - End Of Days, Part 10.
I though the sacrifice at the end and the appearance of the baddies from the East was a masterstroke .
Very much enjoying this - and I can't predict what happens next , which is great .
Full Tilt Boogie - just sublime and so well written and drawn
Diaboliks - Profondo Rosso. The sixth and final part of this strip.
I enjoyed this story arc - and I am glad also that it will return in Prog 2197.
The Oder - Land Of The Free, Part 10.
more of the same - the art is good - I just hope that this is the final part of the series -
its not really been a favourite of mine for a while .
The Out.
I also totally agree that the Big War Bear was the real star of this episode
and great that we finally saw a glimpse of the Tankinar . Super ! 10 out of 10
I totally agree tha we are so lucky to have Dan Abnett in the Prog
( I loved Lawless but had to ditch the Megazine subscription last year due to reduced finances )
over all , thank heavens for 2000AD !!
( oh and did I mention , I ordered the Battle 2020 Special ?? )
A great prog. I call this a 5-starer.
Dredd – What a grim turnaround of events. The story is now really picking up and I can say that the was my favourite part so far. I just knew at one stage we had to deal with the Soviets.
Full Tilt Boogie – The story continues to deliver and speeding to an end. Let us see how the story deals with selfish deeds of some of the major players.
Diaboliks – This story arc comes to and end and I believe we have a full team assembled now. This has been a great additional to the Caballistics-verse. Rennie has created a unique set of characters for us to enjoy.
The Order – A great episode with one-off the best one pager you will ever see to end this episode. Great fun. I think the biggest challenge with series is the multiple characters and their different personas.
The Out – A curiosity for our main character ends the episode in a fight for survival. The last page was just awesome. Great storytelling on all accounts with the art driving the narrative.
Finally a decent episode of End of Days, Flint's artwork suits this story more than Colin's. But that line "I can that's all that matters" is up there with, "somehow Palpatine has returned".
Quote from: judgeurko on 05 August, 2020, 08:58:10 AM
But that line "I can that's all that matters" is up there with, "somehow Palpatine has returned".
I disagree about the silliness of this line. [spoiler]Anderson's new abilities come from some sort of pact she made with the Angel head, she just doesn't want any of her fellow Judges to know at the moment, (but we the savvy readers know)[/spoiler].
Quote from: JimmyNailz on 05 August, 2020, 10:11:17 AM
Quote from: judgeurko on 05 August, 2020, 08:58:10 AM
But that line "I can that's all that matters" is up there with, "somehow Palpatine has returned".
I disagree about the silliness of this line. [spoiler]Anderson's new abilities come from some sort of pact she made with the Angel head, she just doesn't want any of her fellow Judges to know at the moment, (but we the savvy readers know)[/spoiler].
OK, sorry that I am not "savvy" enough to know...
Damn fine Prog, under a really sweet Cover.
For those that are interested, I have posted a spoiler-filled overview of the context of this week's The Order here (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46762.msg1035541#msg1035541).
Dredd: End of Days. This continues to grow on me. Woolly's observation about initially expecting something from the more serious end of the Williams spectrum is bang-on for me: this is its own thing, and all the more enjoyable for realising it. I agree that Anderson's glibly-explained magic trick is connected to the Angel in an as-yet unspecified way, and not any kind of authorial handwaving.
Despite my usual gripes about incapacitated-Dredd, I thought putting Anderson in the position of making the Lopez Call made for a really gripping episode: that's one steely-eyed Psi.
Diaboliks: Mmmm, continues to be very stylish and lightly written, but the structure is just a wee bit too familiar for me to fully embrace: I think I want it to distinguish itself from a modern-day Aquila. How the next arc plays out will be interesting.
Full Tilt Boogie: Now an influencer dooming himself to the void in pursuit of Likes should be too on-the-nose to work for me, but here it somehow does. I remain fascinated by how all the characters are so well-defined, and how much I care about them. Some terrific images this week, the art is just so consistent and clear.
The Out: Running out of ways to say this is great. In a comic where giant bears are now commonplace, even ubiquitous, Kej Daddalaakh is a standout. And that ending! What's going to happen next? NO-ONE KNOWS. That's skill, that is.
LIKE.
All good in the Prog, and a Butt free letters page, what's not to like?
Full Tilt Boogie shows that Regened stuff can work really well, at least in series format. It's strange as I find the one offs in the Regened Prog generally don't. Looking back, the FTB episode in the last Regened Prog works far better as the first episode of a series.
The next regen prog I have a feeling is going to life up to its potential. The last few progs thrills of the future "What is Department K?" and "Pandora Perfect" really looks interesting and I am intrigued.
The prog is really hitting it these days, this prog's another Michelle.
Dredd: I hope there is a decent explanation of Anderson's little trick, otherwise it is a bit hand-wavey, but the story's exciting and the art is just wonderful
Full Tilt Boogie has grown on me and I'm looking forward to seeing what's happening next.
Diaboliks occasionally suffers from confusion as to who's who, but it's been gripping and needs to come back quickly.
The Order, as always is bonkers and doesn't let up for a moment - Tord's recap thread has been very helpful!
Out is just sublime, best thing in the prog.
I'm starting to enjoy this Dredd tale more much more now, as dark as it all is I was expecting something deeper and more epic due to the nature of the villains involved and what's at stake, but alas it's not over yet. This feels different in pace and approach for a multi parter and I'm guessing there's more surprises to come, I'm in for the ride.
Somebody here a few weeks ago mentioned the possibily of it all being a dream and I can't get that damn idea out of my head now :), perhaps it's all the result of Dredd getting a good (!) night's sleep for once. :D
Either way I'm enjoying how it's playing itself out more now, next week should be very interesting :o.
I think I might have said this before, but I swear the Abnett droid must have six arms, which he uses to simultaneously write episodes of Brink, Lawless, SinDex, Kingdom, The Out and Feral & Foe in a blur of feverish creativity. That tantalizing reveal in the penultimate frame of The Out this week is awesomely cinematic. Is that a Tankinar on the cover, too? It doesn't look like a scene from this prog's instalment.
Nice to see Williams & Fint cranking up the "Ew!" factor in End Of Days. Can we have more of this sort of thing in the Regened issues please Tharg? Funny, though, that while the physical effects of Famine stayed with the crew, the pock-marks of Pestilence vanished once the disease was eradicated. Still no time to stop and think about any of that! The Sovs are here!
Diaboliks wraps up its first mini-chapter well - the Rennie droid sure knows how to mess around with the narrative timeline to great effect. The fact that the art briefly turns into a photostrip reinforces, I guess, my theory that Antonio Fuso was dropped in as a replacement for Dom Reardon at short notice.
A lovely bit of pathos at the end of Full Tilt Boogie there. Is Ifan doomed to drift forever like Tantalus through space, with his greatest desire perpetually out of reach?
And finally, The Order. As Tordel claims in his superb summary thread the strip lost its way a bit with book IV but has now rediscovered its mojo. Myself, I'm one of that subset of its fans who loves it all the more because I don't feel I need to keep track of every character and faction. It's like - you know when you're a kid, OK, and you find just one single copy of an old comic in a charity shop or whatever, and one of the strips is a serial, and because you never again find another edition of that comic it's the only instalment you ever read, right? But the strip is kind of even better for that, because it therefore has a sense of timelessness, and you can only imagine how the rest of it goes beyond that snapshot? Well, reading The Order is a bit like that. Which is wholly fitting for a story about fragmented time streams, I suppose.
Plus, a big robot gets hit by an even bigger train! BLAMM! His legs get smashed off!!
Quote from: norton canes on 06 August, 2020, 11:06:15 AM
I don't feel I need to keep track of every character and faction. It's like - you know when you're a kid, OK, and you find just one single copy of an old comic in a charity shop or whatever, and one of the strips is a serial, and because you never again find another edition of that comic it's the only instalment you ever read, right? But the strip is kind of even better for that, because it therefore has a sense of timelessness, and you can only imagine how the rest of it goes beyond that snapshot? Well, reading The Order is a bit like that. Which is wholly fitting for a story about fragmented time streams, I suppose.
Very much this ^^^. We didn't used to need spoonfeeding all the backstory, we could just guess what's going on from context and enjoy a story anyway.
I should point out that I'm in no way decrying TordelBack's fascinating and enlightening plot/character summaries! The more Order talk around here, the better :)
Enjoyed everything in this Prog, even The Order, but The Out is just wow.
I have neglected to give credit where credit is due in the current Dredd series and that is for the great colouring of Chris Blythe. Not only does his colouring complement both Flint and MacNeil but it helps to create atmosphere.
End of Days is growing on me too. Strong scenes for Anderson there. Plus Dredd's line after: "Gonna be more than that if we're to survive this". Nice. Some good Lopez references in the posts above on this thread.
Diaboliks has been a solid first chapter. Interested to see chapter 2. Balancing the Big Bad of Each Chapter with the Overarching Thread could be a bit of a thing but let's see. A bit more Dom would be nice if possible, although I have to say Antonio does a good job.
The Out continues to be rather splendid, I have to say.
Have just caught up on several months of progs and can now give a few comments.
The Out is great. Does anyone else see it as a bit of a spiritual successor to Halo Jones? The lead character is out there travelling further and further from home and is kind of lost but also quietly competent. The bit where she had her first contact with another human in 10 years was a nice piece too that is the sort of thing I could see happening in a Halo book.
I am not enjoying the latest Dredd, but I haven't liked any of the big stories since Trifecta. Everybody else here seems happy with it, but I will be glad when we get back to some Kenneth Neimand stuff.
Full Tilt Boogie is great.