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Pretty poor Simon Davis Siddah cover. I know they all want a turn but I'd have Dredd on the cover four months out of five - who's rushing through WH Smiths say 'ohh Black Siddah, that's for me!'

Dredd finished what was a pretty expansive plotline and hopefully the Meg's World Police will keep doing the business. Slap down those Ozzers next!

Pretty detailed Neil Gaiman piece but once again it's largely cobbled together from previous interviews and stuffed with loads of pics. Nice to get some new nuggets sometime. Still his pen names future shock was always a favourite of mine and it was nice to be remined of that (several times).

Fiends plodding along well enough although the two part small press offering didn't do it for me.

Biggest surprise was the announcement of America Book 3 next month - they kept that well hidden under the Origins fanfare.

Good issue.

Hold on! You America 3, As in America, that landmark Dredd story? If so, that will me mighty cool. As long as Macneil is prepared to paint his own artwork this time.

Have to disagree on the cover, Buttonman.
That really stands out to me, good stark contrast. All i would say is that Siddha could do with being a bit more to the left, other than that i love it!

Shit - I still haven't read America 2 yet.  I've managed to avoid spoilers thus far, too.

Holy shit, I'll have to get round to buying the Meg again. And yes, there will be violence if its not fully painted.

Holy shit, I'll have to get round to buying the Meg again. And yes, there will be violence if its not fully painted.

holy shit on a stick america 3?!?

It's true! I went back and reread the Editor's letter in case a lynching was in the off. He basically says next issue is 250 and to celebrate we weclcome back Cadet America Beeny in the latest instalment of the America saga by creators Wagner & O'Neil.

Part two was a bit of a misstep but I think we'll all still be looking forward to this. Just a teeny bit less sentimentality please!

Gotta say i'm loving Dom's MC1 and Judges in the Black Museum tale.

Have we seen his Dreddverse before?

Holy goat fondler! I can't beleive it! That's very good news! That should increase the Megs circulation. Before I do lynch you, though-you did mean Wagner and Macneil, I hope(sharpens axe).

Seconded.

More Dom on Dredd please.

Cheers

Steve

Haha yes Colin MacNeil - I must have got confused as I was earlier disposing of my effigy of former Celtic boss Martin O'Neil.

Oh! Darn it!(puts down axe).

I have to say I loved America pt. 2, am I alone in thinking this? The end was brilliant.

The trouble with America 2 is that it was buried in the mire of pish and reprints. I only read it once I had bought all the issues I missed off ebay and then I read it out of order ruining any chance of a favourable first impression. I'd say it's underrated but not a patch on Vol 1.

The trouble with America 2 is that it was buried in the mire of pish and reprints.

Don;t see what that has to do with the story. I think it's only  weakness, compared to pt. 1, is that the art is not fully painted but crappily coloured on a computer.

It's a different type of story compared to pt. 1.

You're not alone - I love America 2.

Only read Dredd and Siddah from this months meg so far - Was far more impressed with Siddah, the Dredd story just hasn't been doing anything for me I'm afraid, and this whole 'I'm Dredd, whole armies stand aside for me!' idea is pretty irritating... But I guess he did have some big tanks behind him this time, at least.

'Don't see what that has to do with the story'

The story was fine, but it was the diamond in the dog shit.

Look at this issue, Harmony, The Inspectre and half an issue of Necropolis reprint. You were basically shelling out ?2 (in 1997 money!) for 8 pages and a nice cover.

My point is that the story was lost to many readers who wouldn't cough up for a generally poor product meaning the story never had the same impcat as Vol 1 which was universally read and adored.

>My point is that the story was lost to many readers who wouldn't cough up for a generally poor product meaning the story never had the same impcat as Vol 1 which was universally read and adored.

Point taken, but I'd pay good money for that cover alone.

I really enjoyed America 2, too. But the fact that it wasn't fully painted, really was to its detriment. Here's hoping pt 3 will have Macneil's super sexy painted stuff!

"Look at this issue, Harmony, The Inspectre and half an issue of Necropolis reprint."

Am I to take it that you didn't like the Inspectre?

Mind you, I can't remember which part was in this issue. Must have been one of the ones Kev wrote.

Yeah, that must be it ...

Cheers!

Jim

Oh The InSPECtre. Now I recall,pure gold. I was moaning about a totally different strip by a guy who dosen't post here. Yes, that's it.

"I was moaning about a totally different strip by a guy who dosen't post here. Yes, that's it."

Glad to hear it.

Nah ... I have no illusions. Realistically, The Inspectre was moderately serviceable filler, badly hampered by the fact that David Bishop wanted a substantially different strip to the one we wanted to write.

With the benefit of hindsight, we should have shut the fuck up and listened to the guy who was:

1) Paying us

and

2) The editor of a comic which had won quite a lot of awards.

As it was, we tried to pay lip service to what David wanted and really just do what we we wanted all along.

The result, obviously, was a bit of a mixed bag (putting it mildly) and I really don't feel that the middle run of stories played to any of artist Charlie Gillespie's strengths, either.

I'll shut up about it now. Promise.

Cheers!

Jim

I think the Inspectre had legs, I certainly appreciated the look at the world outside MC1 and especially what existed in the Sov Block after the Apocalypse War. We need more of that sort of story, hopefully thats what we're getting now with the Meg.

The end of America 2 was amazing and EXACTLY what was needed, it made perfect sense. And I own that page :p
Just hope the next part can live up to it.

I thought the Inspectre was great, regardless of who 's posting here.  I'll never read the comics it could have been (ie had you done what you wanted all along or done exactly what Bishop had wanted) but what we got was dead good

as for America 3 - loved America 2, haven't read 1, but I worry that 3 might be too contrived.

yours pessemistically

>The end of America 2 was amazing and EXACTLY what was needed, it made perfect sense. And I own that page

You don't know how jealous that makes me. Wanna sell?

>loved America 2, haven't read 1, but I worry that 3 might be too contrived.

A continuing America storyline is a brilliant idea, it seems Wagner may has important plans for cadet Beeny that could have big consequences for the big meg & Dredd himself -who knows?

Jim, Jim, Jim...  That's no sort of behaviour for a professional writer on this board.

Looking forward to the next America story, it was I think one of the things I missed (along with Inspectre) when I took the long walk from the meg fairly early on.  Nice suprise I have to say, and though I like to know of some things ahead of time, surprises are nice too.

Good Dredd reprint, Black Siddha is a very odd comic strip - I think I like it, Small press strip is bonkers.  Isn't Mike slagging off that book that was advertised in the meg, in a review in the Meg?  Read some of the Gaimen interview, good so far, rest to read along with the rest of the comic probably tomorrow.

Liked Dredd, the last page was a corker. Fiends is growing on me, Black Siddhe is daft and fun and different, and as Black Museum was great. Nice to see Jonathon Clements writing for Tharg and Doms art? Brilliant. Said it before but Dom is a fantastic artist...the X-Ray scene...wow...really establishing himself as a great art droid.

"loved America 2, haven't read 1"

Fuck, man! I mean, FUCK! Buy it. But it NOW.

Colin MacNeil has never (for my money) surpassed the art job he did on this book.

The script is Wagner at his absolute finest. Profound, without pretension; moving without cheap sentimentality.

It's fantastic. It's the Dredd book you should give to people who don't like comics in general, and who don't like Dredd in particular.

If the opening page doesn't blow you away, there's no hope for you!

And relevant? How about this: "Justice has a price. The price is freedom."

Seriously. Buy it now.

Cheers!

Jim

What the goth said? True as a pie.

Incidentally, I got all of the qustions right bar the ricochet one.  Personally I would have chosen High Ex as that bullet could have ricochet anywhere, it wasn't really a properly confined space.

Of course I never said that to Judge Dredd.

For the record, I liked 'The Inspectre', art and script both - my favourite of the World Judges stories, actually. Insert something nasty about Jim Campbell here for balance.   I also thought 'America 2' was terrific, although the art didn't do it for me at all.  Poor Colin, his account of his working life at the time tugs at the old ticker.  I'm looking forward to the adventures of Cadet/Rookie Judge Beeny (how long has it been now?).

In an attempt to push this into whole board into a Jim Campbell Robotics forum, I too will stand up for The Inspectre - It got a bit formula towards the end in terms of that ghosty woman popping up to taunt him, but overall, I thought it was one of the better conceived Dreddworld strips:  Not "Dredd with sporran/raincoat/outrageous accent" and not "totally unsuitable for Dreddworld, but its the only way to get it published" - it felt like it was embedded in Dredd world continuity and 'vibe'.  

"In an attempt to push this into whole board into a Jim Campbell Robotics forum"

You asshole! You've completely missed the CORE CONCEPT.

And I bet you like Alan Moore, too.

For my next trick, I shall be tracing the two Meg covers the series appeared on and flogging them on eBay.

Cheers!

Jim

PS: Actually, seriously, many, many thanks for the kind words.

"For my next trick, I shall be tracing the two Meg covers the series appeared on and flogging them on eBay. "

I bid $4000.00.

The cover is okay, just. All else is good.
  I think Dredd is going to have a go at those Sovs next. as for the Ozzers - just try it, mate!
  I liked the Neil Gaiman piece because I know almost nothing about him. A friend gave me a colossally pseudy Sandman spinoff a long time ago and since then I've avoided reading Gaiman. Is he actually good? Is there anyone (apart from John Byrne) who doesn't think Gaiman's a genius.
  The small press stuff was better because there wasn't too much of it like there was last time. However I didn't think that small press story worked. Is it just me, or did it seem like bits of about four Future Shocks?

Fiends was good grim stuff.  I miss the old chunky Megazines, but it's nice to have Bishop doing this.

haven't read the Black Museum story yet.

Yikes! To Floyd and EVERYONE else who hasn't read America Book 1, you simply MUST!

It's a stunning read with wonderful art that encapsulates Dredd's world perfectly. It builds beautifully on the earlier democracy stories that were published in 2000ad and adds so much to the recent Total War arcs that we've had.

My main problem with book 2 was the awful colouring. Book 1 felt like there had been so much love going into every page were as book 2 just felt terribly rushed and cheap.

Some dude is selling reprints on ebay, I suggest somebody snaps them up quick!

Pete.

Link: Ebay America Reprints

Those are fleetway comics, not GN's, I don't know if they contain the whole story.

I've never read America 2 but (whisper it) I was never overly keen on the first one. Might dig it out in preparation, but I found it pretty schmaltzy.

"The small press stuff was better because there wasn't too much of it like there was last time. However I didn't think that small press story worked. Is it just me, or did it seem like bits of about four Future Shocks?"

No, it seemed more like a few bits of Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror (drawn in a suitable sub-Graham Ingels style), mixed with a dash of Stepehen King, which was strung out for far too long when it could have been wrapped up in a number of pages. Have to say, this was the first small press piece I really, really didn't like (well, apart from my own), which meant it was doubly annoying that it was spaced out across two issues.

I have to say that I found America 2 really dissapointing as well - not a patch on the first one, with lacklustre art (well, thanks to that terrible colouring job anyway) and a crappy villain (a theatre critic??) Some occasional nice touched with the writing, like when Dredd returns Beeny's father's teeth, and the ending was the real saving grace.

Dom's Black Museum artwork though - peachy.

"Is there anyone (apart from John Byrne) who doesn't think Gaiman's a genius. "

Erm ... me for one.

Cheers!

Jim

> and a crappy villain (a theatre critic??)

what?, that was his civilian cover, he was a terrorist for real.

so are any colourists up to doing a restoration job on America 2?

Holy crap, American 3?! Seriously, there's a turn up for the books. Did not see it coming.

Unfortunatly I've not read all of America 1 (first 3 episodes only) and none of America 2.



So...Here's a hoping for a TP collecting all 3 books in the near future. The time is now quite ripe for one.

America III

So is Cadet Beeny a fifteen year old rookie now?

I guess so - Hotdog Run coming up maybe?

Cheers,

Steve

"what?, that was his civilian cover, he was a terrorist for real."

What sort of payscale does a career like that involve? Is there a pension plan?

Have to say I've always found Gaiman's work a bit wanky really, though I did like his Future Shocks and the Golden Age run on Miracleman.

God bless America! Delighted to hear it's coming.
It's well-timed, as I was starting to lose interest in the Meg.

The lead Dredd piece was a good enough end. I liked the McGruder tanks. Nice idea.
But I think four parts was too many. It seemed to go on for quite a long time.

Fiends was the best bit of the Meg for me. It's nasty stuff, with a gripping story and great art.

I have no interest whatsoever in Black Shitta. It's impenetrable. Dull. Talking heads. I can't even be bothered to slag it off properly. It depresses me too much to think about how bad it is.
Ironically, I loved the cover. It's a terrific image by a great artist, who's wasted on such a shit story.

I've only been interested in one small press story so far. This month's was "meh."

The Dom art was the only aspect of the Black Museum stuff to recommend it. It was a nice idea for a series of stories, but it hasn't really set the heather on fire, IMO.

I might read the text stuff later. It's not why I buy the Meg. I like Gaiman's stuff a lot, so I'm sure I'll get to that bit.

The Dredd reprint was just okay. It's far from Wagner's best, although it's lovely Carlos work.

Overall, the prog's knocking spots off the Meg right now. What a turn-around from a year or two ago.

- Trout

Trouty - I completely agree on the Black Siddah comments.

I really tried this month to get into it and spent last night reading all the episodes from the recent Meg, culminating in this issues story and I really, really don't care for it.

Sorry Pat but I think it's self indulgent, over gilded and trying too hard to force Asian influences and myths onto the reader. I just think the story is too detached from the readership, there's no link to our culture and therefore no familiarity for me I cannot relate to the story line and I have tried but cannot connect to any of the characters. I seriously do not understand what the hell is going on, it's fragmented, chopped and pretentious.

I hope this is not coming across as being racist. I don't intend it to be, I would really like to understand other cultures, it leads to far more tolerance of others beliefs and avoids tarring whole continents with the same brush. I just think the story and artwork could have co-ordinated better to facilitate a more comprehensible storyline.

I was thinking about how other stories/writers and artists that I have read have conveyed to me to beliefs and myths of Indian and Eastern cultures and I think Bryan Talbot has best informed me to some extent with Luther Arkwright, the Nazz and his understanding of this culture.

I don't like to say something is 'crap' it's a bit of a discussion stopper, but Black Siddah could have been done better - I truly have tried to understand this and unfortunately failed.

>What sort of payscale does a career like that involve? Is there a pension plan?

Not if you're a suicide bomber.

I'm really struggling with finding anything to love in the Megazine at the moment.  Clearly, Dredd and Fiends are the big hitters, and a reason to buy it.

Even there, though, I was disappointed.  The McGruder tank which the script enthuses about looked completely different in the preceding episode in which it was introduced.  And the views of it we got in this episode were jumbled and boxy.  I still find it hard to accept that, in the middle of a story not populated by Final Fantasy characters, one has been pasted in there to take control of Banana City.  It's jarring.  It's like a spiky McMahon Slaine just turned up in the middle of a Fabry El world.

Fiends is just far too slow - it's got gorgeous art and very engaging themes, but it's dragging it's own corpse around after it.

The Dredd reprints are probably fine, but I just never have the will to read them.

Black Siddha has become interminably dull, and (frankly) very poorly told.  It jerks from scene to scene.  It's horrible.  (And, Larf, I think you might be looking for reasons to dislike it, with the whole 'other culture' thing - I think it's just awful on it's own merits.)  Whatever it did have in previous series, it's finished now.  You could not bother printing any more and I could care less.  I think I'd applaud.

The small press is a very mixed bag.  I liked the opening episode of this two-parter, but boy does it have a tricky third act.  This instalment was dire, in terms of storytelling.

Tales From... - can I comment?  I haven't bothered reading it for the last two issues.  Am I missing anything?  The thing is, I doubt it.  I hated the way that the Vector 13 strips always had that wanky "lights up" shite at the end, with the men in black there.  I feel the same way about that stupid fucking zombie that's supposedly working at the black museum.  A zombie.  Working for the Justice Department.  Uh-huh.  Bollocks.

Everything new and exciting's been put into 2000AD recently, and the Megazine is coasting - it's just unfortunate that it's coasting through a sewer.

The zombie isn't working for the Justice Department though... it's one of the exhibits that comes to life to tell us a story about one of the other exhibits.

I think you're looking for reasons to dislike it. :)

In fairness they've been acceptable filler.

Black Siddha is tosh. Tosh, tosh, tosh. The concept isn't bad here, maybe there are too many characters flying around. I also have problems working out who is trying to be who.

I have also lost interest in the Fiends story. Completely. It really needed to be in the weekly to keep things turning over, but even then I'm not sure. Art is nice though.

Let's not forget that this Dredd story isn't a filler - it's a pretty humongous story thread that will have massive future implications. I love what Rennie has done with this Kazan clone (it is a Kazan clone, isn't it?) and his growing influence on Hershey. An excellent, original thread for the Dredd world. I guess the art has caused it to jar people's sensibilities.

As for this month's small press... oh dear. Appalling writing from Basil Exposition.

"Black Siddha has become interminably dull, and (frankly) very poorly told [...] You could not bother printing any more and I could care less. I think I'd applaud."

I must confess, I had a stab at the first episode of this series and found it 1) hard to follow what was going on, and 2) even harder to care about what was going on.

I've barely even glanced at it since. Does anyone know how much longer we've got to put up with it?

Cheers!

Jim

I really dont share many of the negative attitudes directed towards The Meg, from many boarders.
For me, the publication is maintaining a very high quality at the momemt, especially when compared to the decline of the mid-nineties.
The lead Dredd story is of a very high quality and has frequently been better then many of the multi parters in the weekly, of late.
Fiends is also a classy number and I dont find it's reduced page count each month a huge problem.
Now to Black Siddah. While it's fair to assume it's an acquired taste, it's one this particular reader has. It's something a bit different and quirky-and for that reason, I'm prepared to tolerate it.
It has settings and characters I'm unfamiliar with and that's one of the main reasons I enjoy ir, despite of any shortcomings it may have, in the storytelling departments.
Overal, taking these factors in to account and combined with the feature articles and the small press stuff, I find the Meg excellent value at ?2.99(not even a pint).
Felt it was time to offer a possitive opinion for a change.
Dweezil.

Oooh! One other thing. Has anyone heard if/when Bandetti Vendetta is coming back? Loved that strip!

For balance, I found the themes of Regime Change incredibly engaging, and the story well told, in terms of most of the script.  Hershey's political machinations are compelling and disquieting in equal measure, and it really is the one must-read strip of the comic at the moment.

I'm not enamoured of the Kazan character at all, but as a behind-the-scenes force to drive forward a good story, fine.  I just have to accept that the writer finds his character interesting enough to include in such a key role, and it begs the interesting question:  "Who's really running the Justice Department?"

It was only some of the approaches of the artwork that left me disappointed.  I guess when you get given such great work from an artist in some frames, the disappointment of parts that don't work so well stands out more.  Bolland, McMahon, Fabry, Dillon:  they all had consistent styles (that changed over time).  To see a style change from frame to frame isn't so hot.

The Dredd has been an interesting direction, but it's again spoilt for me by cartoon Dredd both art and script wise- "I reckon the odds are about even" or whatever it is he says... urgh.

Maybe Wagner Dredd is as full of his own myth as Rennies and I'm not seeing it, but its the one thing that really grates about Gordon's version, whether its bigging up his own name on a list of War Criminals or turning away a fleet of ships single-reputationly - He just strikes me as a  smug,petty thug.

The tank designs were a nice touch, with their Killdozer styling, but thats about the only thing I think works with regards to the art.

He just strikes me as a smug, petty thug

Watcher - that point about Dredd is bang on.  Back in the day (Punks Rule, for example), when Dredd went in solo 'against the odds', it was because to show that one highly trained Judge was enough, and not because he was buying into his own myth as 'the ultimate Judge'.  Hard-as-nails-Dredd, doing it 'cos he believes in Justice is great; Up-his-own-arse-Dredd doing it because he's got a great fat swollen head* isn't.

As for the rest of the Meg, there's some good stuff in here, behind a lovely cover, but it suffers in comparison from a sizzling Prog.
Dredd This was an interesting story but I hated the art and that kind of put me off.  Made-on-Blue-Peter tanks didn't help (especially as they seem all to easy to destroy - for a lesson on tank design, see some Masamune Shirow!).  Did like the 'McGruder' touch, which made me wonder what kind of tech would be worthy of the name 'Dredd'...
I liked this Tale from the Black Museum, with especially nice art from Mr. Reardon and one of the better stories so far.
Fiends is fine, but suffering from the long waits between episodes (okay, not that long, but you know what I mean).  One for a re-read when it's over.
Dredd reprint was okay, and I like seeing these on the whole.
Black Siddha is painful.  It may be because I haven't read the previous outings, but this confuses the hell out of me, and I keep thinking I've skipped pages or they've been printed in the wrong order.  What's replacing this?  Can we skip to the end have some Rogan Josh instead?
Small press and text pieces are always the last things I read, so can't comment yet.

*well doesn't that helmet look a bit on the tight side to you?

The "Smug Dredd" Debate:

I'm reminded of City of the Damned, where, when confronted with vampire judges, Dredd gives a speech that starts something like "You all know me, you know my reputation..." and persuades them to give up and let Anderson and him go about their business.

That was cool, and yet he was clearly aware of his own rep, and using it to further his cause.  The pay-off line from Anderson was also class.

[Hopefully: cue Logan with the relevant scan.]

I'm not arguing that the turning back of the Sino fleet was reasonable (or any of the other examples) - just adding an example of where his self awareness worked well as part of the story.

If Dredd thought his image and rep would help to defuse a situation or make a perp reconsider, there's no reason why he wouldn't use it. If he knew his little speech was going to make the Sinos turn back and thus avoid war - why not say it, regardless of whether he believes it? It's when he starts going on about it to colleagues and other characters for no particular reason that it starts to smack of gloating.

"[Hopefully: cue Logan with the relevant scan.]"

Will this suffice?

That Lawgiver is so much cooler than the new one.

I'm sure there's been a multitude of, "don't you know who I am", type utterances from Dredd throughout the strips history, I really don't see a flaw in Rennie's interpretation of the character.

>Will this suffice?

saved me a job 8-)

>I'm sure there's been a multitude of, "don't you know who I am", type utterances from Dredd throughout the strips history

Like this

or

True, though its rare for Dredd to say "Do it because I'm hard" - It's usually "Do it because I am the Law"

The closest to it is the City of the Damned one, and even there he's not claiming he can wipe them all out, just trying to make a fairly valid point in a desperate situation.    

Hes not secretly bragging to someone in control about how the odds are even when he's facing 1000 opponents

The City of the Damned one is great, because they are Judges, and he was arguably the judge that was the figurehead for everything they once stood for.  They still feel some of that, they know how low they've sunk, and hearing Dredd's words, they back down.  Great.

Cor - I'd love to see some Steve Dillon on Dredd again. That's lovely that is.

The colours on the City of the Damned page are amazing as are the works of the late/great Tom Frame.

Is that one of the pages that was lost and refound later? That was a cracking feature seeing both side by side and spotting the difference.

Sorry, change 'refound ' to 'found'. Unless they were misplaced and found more than once.

"The colours on the City of the Damned page are amazing as are the works of the late/great Tom Frame."

At that time, Tom Frame was colouring the centrespread and cover, so unless I'm much mistaken, that City of the Damned colour spread would be Tom's work. Or was that what you were trying to say in the first place?

No, I didn't know Tom did colouring. Another string to his angel's harp!

I had no idea, either, that Tom Frame also did colouring work for 2000AD.

IIRC, that centrespread is the orginal published one.  I still really miss the centrespread as a weekly feature of the comic (although I understand, sort of, why it's not used regularly).

That is the originally published one. I cropped the first few panels & the title off. Until I looked at this again I forgot how good it looks in colour, so used to the Titan reprint.

I'm really enjoying Black Siddah. Read the first five parts last night and found it vastly amusing. I'm not usually one for Simon Davies' art, but it suits it just fine. Really like the Jester: he reminds me of someone I used to know. Without the murder, obviously.

Fiends is just way too bland for me, Dredd has been okay- sorta, Black Museum was the highlight this issue- great little story, well told. And I miss Charley's War.

Steev

Loved the cover, unfortunately I agree with nearly all the negative comments above about the story, I've tried, honest Gov, but it doesnt work for me.

Dredd is indeed back on form, this is the JD of old, I feel, he has a lot to be smug about, but as he shows by doing what he does he can.

I thought that ex-Sov was the son of K?


Fiends reunited: enjoying it but the eye patch is a step too far into the cartoon book of baddies identikit  

Skimmed the Gaiman thang hmmm just not for me

Classic tshirts? classic fat speccie balding beardy fanboy stuff... so right on target ;p


Dredd short: good to see a lawmaster as it should be

The Wil Eisner looking story seemed wildly out of place but good to see it being promoted

Good to have a film review/heads up

TOTBM: good story but not sure how it all fits into the CORE CONCEPTS!!!

Huffski

"Classic tshirts? classic fat speccie balding beardy fanboy stuff... so right on target"

But...why are they zombies though? Or have I just missed the point? Ah sod it, I've put in my order regardless.

"The Wil Eisner looking story seemed wildly out of place but good to see it being promoted"

I can *kind* of see what you mean, but I don't really think it looked much like Eisner. Much more like a sort of cross between Graham Ingels and Jack Davis, though with a much looser inking style.

I didn't think it looked very Wil Eisner, either. I'm not very up on EC-era horror artists, so I plumped for Bernie Wrightson as a likely comparison.

It was The beano's seventieth this week gone by too.

I've just read up all three preceding pages of the thread. Phew! That's a chunky read.

Not a bad Megazine, but there is something to all the criticisms levelled at all the strips by all the readers who commented.

I liked Judge Dredd. Gordon Rennie's done a good job there; not starting something ambitious he couldn't finish properly.

Fiends of the eastern Front was smashing too, but it needs to turn over more pages per month. A pity to drag it out interminably like this when it could be tense and gripping.

Reprint - Funny. Very quaint. Wasn't there a thread about this on the message board very recently? Well, fancy that!

Black Siddha - Random. Weren't we slagging off randomness on another thread recently? People talk, something happens, then something else happens, ravens on a cake, drag artist, guns waved about, talking, talking, talking heads. When was this ever the way to write comics?

Easy Prey. Homage or pastiche? Jason Paulos certainly didn't leave anything out, did he? Persecuted orphans, haunted house, paralysed telepath, self-defense killing, girl on the run, bent copper, "you'll never get away with this!", psychic overload, happy ending, poetic justice. Every page turned brings a new unexplored revelation: "...turning tricks on the interstate..." oh really? Okay then. Moving along... gosh, who knew the telepath's powers had grown so strong? Well, it's the end of the story, so naturally they must be at their very peak. By the way, horror comics fans: was that Cain, host of House of Mystery, posing as a truck driver?

However carelessly the story was thrown together from off the peg genre elements, I still enjoyed it. God knows what the casual Judge Dredd reader made of it all though.

Tales From the Black Museum - Dom's artwork was well suited to this story, and to this series in general. Atmospheric and nutty story from J Clements. I liked the zombie host appearing as the mosquito on page 3, which reminded me of Anton Arcane from Swamp Thing, and cropping up elsewhere as a background detail/Greek chorus.

3 good text features: the Neil Gaiman profile, Molcher's scathing review, and Alec Worley's film guide.

Got some questions after that Sandman article though. I liked the bit about how Sandman happened almost by accident as a warm up for Black Orchid to get Neil Gaiman's name known to readers.

Question though: how come Black Orchid turned up in Suicide Squad before her Prestige Format relaunch? Was that already happening, or did DC orchestrate that too, to get the old Black Orchid a bit of exposure before the new series started? If I could get at my Suicide Squad comics easily I'd look that one up to see how long the gap was between her appearance in Suicide Squad and the prestige mini-series. I'll try google.

Apparently the original Black Orchid appeared in Suicide Squad #4, approx. August 1987; and Neil Gaiman's version appeared November 1988. Although by all accounts Karen Berger had never heard of the character ("Black Hawk Kid?"), John Ostrander and Kim Yale were making use of her on their title more than a year before the first issue of the revamped version saw print.

Reading in Matthew Badham's article that Neil Gaiman had intended to revive Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's 1970s Sandman confused me mightily, because the Golden Age Sandman (Wesley Dodds) was referred to so early on in Gaiman's Sandman and went on to become the star of Sandman Mystery theatre. Still more confusing was reading that the 1970s Sandman had been revived by Roy Thomas for Infinity Inc, in which the Justice Society of America made frequent appearances, of which the Golden Age Sandman was a member. According to the Comic Book Price Guide (Duncan McAlpine), Infinity Inc #49 and #50 are worth mentioning specifically because of an appearance of the 1970s Sandman and his wife Lyta Hall, tying in with their appearance in Sandman, which suggests they weren't frequently appearing members of the Infinity Inc cast.

So, I'm now wondering

a) if Neil Gaiman had intended to revive the Golden Age Sandman and not the 1970s Sandman after all, and if so...

b) might it not have been Roy Thomas's use of the Golden Age Sandman that meant that Sandman didn't need reviving in his own title?

Both the Golden Age Sandman and the 1970s Sandman appeared in Neil Gaiman's series, but the 1970s one seemed a bit of a joke.

DREDD: This has been a good story, it didn't feel rushed or drawn out- nicely paced. A good read, Gordon. Didn't like the art much, but that's ok, it wasn't that bad.

FIENDS: I like the slow burning feel to this- tension gradually building. Not sure where it's leading, after all, we know Constanta must 'live'! I've never been a big fan of MacNeils art, but this beats his painted stuff and the line work of that Deathfist story hands down (IMO).

NEIL GAIMAN: Yawn

REPRINT: It's Ezquerra on Dredd!

SIDDHA: Still loving this. I can't see the problem in understanding the plot. Its been the thing I look forward to in the Meg for some time now. Since the end of the last story, really. How is he going to deal with a bam like the Jester without fucking up his own karma? Especially since it's personal as well.

SMALL PRESS: I haven't enjoyed this one, and I don't really get the ending- far more confusing than Black Siddha. These offerings aren't going to suit everyone, but that isn't a reason for not including them.

FILMS: That Wilderness looks quite tasty!

BLACK MUSEUM: One of the best so far. Dom Reardon's art fits the bill well, and it was a good story- best since the first, I reckon.

oh, yeah... COVER: I liked it, only thing was that Siddha himself looked slightly too high up the page. That white corner at the bottom right lets it down a little bit, but the best Meg cover in a few issues, for me.

BlackSiddah: "Random. Weren't we slagging off randomness on another thread recently? People talk, something happens, then something else happens, ravens on a cake, drag artist, guns waved about, talking, talking, talking heads. When was this ever the way to write comics?"

Usher speaks wisdom here...

Really, what the hell is this story about? Yeah, it looks good and yeah, it's 'quirky' and 'unusual', but come on... Don't we need some sort of 'story' and 'plot' too?  

Not sure why everyone's slagging of Khrap Shittah - I mean, okay, there's no coherent plot or story beyond the difficulties of not being able to kill people when you feel like it due to the powers of karmatology - but as far as characterisation goes, it's spot on!

Just look at Mirabi - it's perfectly within character for her to be a young shop assistant in panel #1, and then an international Bollywood superstar in panel #2.

Uhm...

And, her father, who's so recalcitrant about her even dating - it's totally inkeeping for him to suddenly not give a flying toot that she's going to be an international Bollywood superstar, working for well-known underworld gangsters.

Erm...

And Black Siddha - he's more than just a triangular-headed, caped superhero with no personality beyond "why me?".

Ahh...

I'll get me coat.

I'm afraid that the Megazine just isn't exciting me at present. The Regime Change storyline was well executed and, as always with Rennie at the helm, full of foreshadowing of events to come - what is Kazan's grand plan? Apart from that, however, there's precious little to look forward too. Fiends moves at such a snail's pace with each episode being pretty much like the next, Black Siddha is likewise very samey, and humour is not Mr Mills' strong suit (if, indeed, he has one these days). Black Museum is okay, but a version of a Future Shock really, so little to get excited about. I fear for the Megazine basically (although the return of America bodes well) ...

Funt are you being sarcastic?

I see my night classes in Over-Egging The Cake haven't gone to waste.

Nobody has mentioned the reappearence of Abaddon Guy, who still looks as ecstatic as his did last time.

I have new respect for Jim Campbell now, knowing that he wrote the Inspectre

yours Abbadonishly,

Floybadddon

Oh, Yeah... Abaddon Guy!

What's HIS secret, eh?

"I have new respect for Jim Campbell now, knowing that he wrote the Inspectre"

I'm trying not to perpetuate this particular bit of thread drift because it makes me look like a rampant egomaniac, but I do have to point out that I co-wrote the Inspectre with sickeningly talented Mr Walker, of Mandroid fame.

Of course, it's a well-known fact that I did all the good bits, and Kev wrote all the rubbish. In fact, there's an easy way to tell which bits of the series Kev did: if you didn't like it - bingo! - it was Kev's fault. Honest.


Cheers!

Jim

"I have new respect for Jim Campbell now, knowing that he wrote the Inspectre"

I haven't.

;)

"I haven't. "

Of course, but that's because you already respect my authoritaaaah.

Cheers!

Jim

It's a goth civil war!

It's a goth civil war!

Where's James Ray when you need him? Or was that Gang War...

"It's a goth civil war!"

I'm with Carl McCoy Block! Who are you fighting with?

Cheers!

Jim

(Armed with several bags of Home Pride self-raising and not afraid to use them.)

That's all very well until you get rained on.

I had a mate who couldn't find any flour so used icing sugar instead. Not a good idea.

well he should have finished his Abbadon sampler by now. Unless it's so good that he's re-reading it.

Trust me.... It's not THAT good