Great Swamp Thing cover by Langley.
Dredd
Can Henry Flint do a bad drawing? This is talky-talky but looks... great. May need a re-read to get through all the chess chat, but it's suitable omnious for a "prelude to coming events" (as Tharg calls it).
Who is the biscuit dunking maniac talking to Dredd? Is that a reference to Cal at the end ("that nasty business with theat awful man and his fish")? Colour me intrigued.
ABC Warriors
Kinda routine getting from A to B. But nice robot shots. And the B&W art is stunning. Except it's not all B&W: look at the red eyes on page 2. There does, though, seem to be a bit of Swamp Thing being channelled.
Brass Sun
Not a lot happens for me. A girl gets chased. And why did the bridge break?
Twisted Tale
Sorry. I just don't like these. It's probably jealousy. But there are only so many times I can take a story where small animals/ creatures silently get their revenge on a nasty human. At least, I think that is what it is about (again) - I only saw the pictures as I flicked the pages.
Grey Area
This is good stuff and shows you can do police type stories without the violence. For any nay-sayers, I'd argue that you could see this being a Wagner Dredd.
No letters.
No prog at Stephens Conapts. Colour me sad. :/
I'm amazed by people who get their post at this time of the morning! Ours arrives about 11-12, and my prog doesn't normally get here till Tuesday these days. :(
I got my prog yesterday! Haven't read it yet, just wanted to crow a bit.
It is a groovy cover...
M.
Great Dredd story, [spoiler]I wonder who the bicky dunker is?[/spoiler]
Loving Grey Area too,just going to put the kettle on and it's ABC time.
What a cracking Dredd. Densly packed stuff worthy of Mr Wagner. A very exciting set up with some great hooks from the past without feeling like fan service. Colour me intreagued. My only criticism is that once again, despite being proved right on countless times Dredds opinion is ignored.
Just to say that scene with Hershey is fucking HARDCORE! Almost wanted to stop and ask someone "Can.... can she DO that?". Loved it. And of course points for the cool song ref in there as well.
Loved the ABC art and the cover is a thing of beauty... just posted a high rez over on the website.
Twisted Tales lost me a bit and as was said, it seemed like a variation on one we've seen before.
Still enjoying Grey Area but Brass Sun doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Another of those "I'll read it again in one go when its finished... see if it clicks then" strips I think.
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 29 September, 2012, 08:50:14 AM
Brass Sun
Not a lot happens for me. A girl gets chased. And why did the bridge break?
Wasn't it because her grandfather exploded when he was burnt at the stake last week? There was a panel with him saying something like "come on, I mixed it right" and then exploding as the flames licked up. I'm assuming he drank some liquid explosive in order to destroy the bridge. Or something.
Good prog (except Twisted Tales for me. Sorry. I've tried, but now I think I just don't like them). Got to be the first time Hershey has been written with a good meaty bit of character isn't it? Anyway, loved it and being drawn by Flint is never going to hurt. Good stuff.
I has read it now!
Dredd was wonderful. As has been mentioned, a really dense read that felt longer than it was all in a good way. And who the hell is the mystery caller? I wasn't sure if it someone we should know about or not - he does say he's not in the official history but does that mean the Justice Dept one, rather than the comic? Wiser and more knowledeable heads can fill me in. And Hershey - you go girl! Flint Dredd is always a pleasure especially with that man Blythe, who has become the essential MC1 pallette meister. Not to leave out the Parkhouse droid, natch!
ABC Warriors was also wonderful. Really nice to see some line work from Langley and I'm intrigued as to how this dovetails with Ro-Busters. Great stuff!
Unfortunately Brass Sun just wasn't long enough but plenty happens thankfully. Hard to make more comment than bring on the next episode, can't wait to see it. More great stuff!
Twisted Tale confused me in places this week I'm afraid, but I do like to see it in the prog and am a fan of the strip as a whole.
Grey Area continues to be a good read but I feel it needs a 'big' storyline soon to cement it's foundation. That's a minor point that's meant in a positive way as I really like the strip, but maybe the plan is for it to remain a sci fi cop soap...
That's a fine bit of prog you've served up Tharg.
M.
Can someone please tell me when we first learned about the [spoiler]clone of Kazan[/spoiler]? I don't recall him at all and I get the feeling a Thargnote has fallen off that page. Apart from that jarring introduction I thoroughly enjoyed this week's instalment, especially Hershey's outburst.
Quote from: Mikey on 29 September, 2012, 11:56:07 AM
Grey Area continues to be a good read but I feel it needs a 'big' storyline soon to cement it's foundation. That's a minor point that's meant in a positive way as I really like the strip, but maybe the plan is for it to remain a sci fi cop soap...
It's funny you should say that. When they tried to [spoiler]arrest the ambassador[/spoiler] I thought to myself "this is the big story that Grey Area's been lacking." I take it you didn't see it that way?
I think that in response to Tharg's editorial about the "whole eleven volumes" of Nikolai Dante we should all contact the nerve centre this week and point out that volume three is
still egregiously out of print.
Dredd..
'That awful man and his fish'?
[spoiler]Cal?[/spoiler]
When the mystery man says about the fish "ah, but that wasn't in the official history was it?", has made me wonder if he actually has appeared before, but will be some flashback based revelation
Great Prog.
Love the ABC Cover. All Langley's ABC Covers are things of beauty!
Dredd:
Best one for a while. Very intriguing and Dredd got a great bollocking from Hershey. My theory about the line 'not in the official history' is that this is a character from a non-Wagner Dredd from shortly after the Cal era. I think that saying it isn't official history could be a little dig at people who only take Wagner's stories as being canon.
ABCs:
Love it. Great art and I really want to see how Hammerstein ends up at the robo-mart!
Brass Sun:
Not much happened. This is a slow paced story and I'm still not totally convinced. I'm prepared to give it to the end of this run to hook me though - otherwise it may become a 'skipper'.
Twisted Tales:
These really aren't my cup of tea. As usual I found it hard to follow and then not worth the effort.
Grey Area:
I love this. The world has a very authentic feel to it. I reckon this would make a great TV show.
'right after that nasty business with that awful man with his fish' could refer to after the Cal Files incident as well as The Day the Law Died.
Quote from: James Stacey on 29 September, 2012, 11:06:53 AM
My only criticism is that once again, despite being proved right on countless times Dredds opinion is ignored.
And yet when he's wrong, he's spectacularly wrong. ''Let's repeal the mutant laws. I forsee no problems.''
Quote''Let's repeal the mutant laws. I forsee no problems.''
He knew full well there'd be problems, but believed that doing the right thing is sometimes difficult.
Yeah, in fairness I think he said 'It may not be the easy thing to do. But it's the right thing to do. There's a difference.' My point simply being that if ever there was a time for Dredd's word to be at a low in the department, it's now - even after Chaos Day. Or maybe especially after Chaos Day, given it was a reprucssuion for his own actions.
Anyway - this week's Dredd was absolutely, utterly, beautifully superb. Six of the most magnificent pages in British comicdom that aren't by Wagner. THIS is the kind of stuff I was hoping for after Chaos Day. So many callbacks to past events, characters and continuity while simultaneously so many new characters and setting up of new status quos and challenges. So so so good. I worry for [spoiler]Hollister[/spoiler] though. And where's my beloved Roffman in all this...?!
I've yet to read the rest of the prog. I read Dredd through twice then sat there mulling it over for a while, and that felt like a whole prog's worth.
QuoteAnd where's my beloved Roffman in all this...?!
Dead, presumably...
Quote from: Cactus on 29 September, 2012, 12:12:28 PM
Can someone please tell me when we first learned about the [spoiler]clone of Kazan[/spoiler]? I don't recall him at all and I get the feeling a Thargnote has fallen off that page. Apart from that jarring introduction I thoroughly enjoyed this week's instalment, especially Hershey's outburst.
The [spoiler]Kazan clone[/spoiler] first appeared in Gulag(Progs 1383 - 86), but hasn't been featured for a very long time(I think the last appearance was pre-Origins?). One of the story threads left dangling when Gordon Rennie left, nice to see it finally getting picked up again.
Another great cover this week ...reminds me of swamp thing.
Anyway only 2 stories worthy of chat in the prog this week for me....again!
Dredd: a cracker of a teaser story....of things to come??? mmmmm I wonder who it is?
ABC Warriors: story building up nicely and love the art by the Langley droid.
The other 3 stories just do not flicker my circuits at all. >:(
Top Story: DREDD :D
Quote from: Goosegash on 29 September, 2012, 06:36:38 PM
The [spoiler]Kazan clone[/spoiler] first appeared in Gulag(Progs 1383 - 86), but hasn't been featured for a very long time(I think the last appearance was pre-Origins?). One of the story threads left dangling when Gordon Rennie left, nice to see it finally getting picked up again.
I suggested it years ago but we really do need it now more than ever - we ought to have a Dredd TPB called 'Blood Trails' or similar, collecting all Gordon Rennie's Sov/Vienna storylines. A lot of important stuff in there that newer readers won't have read.
Quote from: Goosegash on 29 September, 2012, 06:36:38 PM
Quote from: Cactus on 29 September, 2012, 12:12:28 PM
Can someone please tell me when we first learned about the [spoiler]clone of Kazan[/spoiler]? I don't recall him at all and I get the feeling a Thargnote has fallen off that page. Apart from that jarring introduction I thoroughly enjoyed this week's instalment, especially Hershey's outburst.
The [spoiler]Kazan clone[/spoiler] first appeared in Gulag(Progs 1383 - 86), but hasn't been featured for a very long time(I think the last appearance was pre-Origins?). One of the story threads left dangling when Gordon Rennie left, nice to see it finally getting picked up again.
Thanks Goosegash. I'd actually read that story a few months ago but without episode 1 I didn't really get what was going on and promptly forgot. By remarkable coincidence a second hand copy of prog 1382 arrived from Oz this week so I'll catch up.
Well on the most average of weeks 2000ad is the best comic out there, on a week like this its the best piece of entertainment his side of the martial bed (ouch sorry). I bloody loved this weeks Prog. The individual stories may not be the absolute best that have been in the Prog (they ain't half bad mind) but the shear diversity of the stories of such quality make this comic quite the wonder it is... and I didn't even really get the Dredd, was I meant to?
The problem with these sort of Chress as metaphor things, aside from the fact its pretty cliche, is the fact it assumes you get the pieces in their right place. So was the reference to the Black and White Queen Dredd and Hershey pretending to disagree for some reason unseen, or something else. I don't think I'm meant to know yet, but someone here will probably come along and show me up. I reckon the fish reference is a red herring (ahem) and meant to make us think Cal but its not... not that I know who of course... having said all that I bloody loved it. Best of the Pr...
...well no actually it wasn't that honour goes to Brass Sun which is bloody wonderful. I think its one of those strips when read back people will be surprised quite how much does happen. But in contrast to Dredd it doesn't feel so dense.
I love this Twisted Tale, even at its most mundane and seemingly grounded ABC Warriors is bonkers brilliant and Grey Area is a very down to Earth procedural done very well.
The perfect Prog, well aside from Tharg telling us we should have all them Dante books on or shelves, well ya Greenness get ya self down the printers and get us some Book 3s printed, I know its the only thing stopping me doing just that...
Quote from: JamesC on 29 September, 2012, 02:23:37 PM
My theory about the line 'not in the official history' is that this is a character from a non-Wagner Dredd from shortly after the Cal era.
Thought I'd did out the post-Day-the-Law-Died progs for a clue and found a doozy.
DTLD finished in Progression 109 and Dredd was missing from Prog 110. A rare event, and possibly we're seeing a retro-filling of that gap!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 29 September, 2012, 08:25:12 PM
its the best piece of entertainment his side of the martial bed
Is that anything like the marital bed? :lol:
Oops -- 'Prog' not 'Progression'. Bloody predictive text! (And lack of edit function)
Quote from: Tim Tailz on 29 September, 2012, 08:31:01 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 29 September, 2012, 08:25:12 PM
its the best piece of entertainment his side of the martial bed
Is that anything like the marital bed? :lol:
Not in my house...
It's about damn time somebody said something like that to Dredd. He does avoid responsibility. I've long thought it was a character flaw - remember this story? Hershey: "Same old Dredd. Anything to avoid the paperwork."
This week we have a very important Dredd story, because it's Al Ewing doing a Council of Five scene that has a significant effect on continuity. And it works. We're all accepting it because it's a great story and because Al handles the characters well. This is why he's Wagner's understudy now. Imagine this done by pretty much any other writer - somewhere in our minds we'd be thinking, "It's not really canon". I'm thrilled that Al's had the confidence to do this.
I'm sure the biscuits are a clue. Who eats biscuits?
As for the rest, I enjoyed Grey Area and ABC, and I wish we could have more of Brass Sun every week. It's too good for five pages a week. I can't read the Twisted Tales any more. I really tried with this one but I couldn't follow it. I think it's a combination of the layout and the lack of dialogue. It doesn't really lead my eye around the page.
- Trout
Well, I frigging loved that prog!
The cover is incredible though a bit dark on the printed version. I've just put the digital version on my blog, check it out on a lovely backlit screen!
Dredd - Holy Joe Smith, what an explosive episode that was! Kazen is a complete shit and I thought Al Ewing did a wonderful job with his creepy dialogue. I know the chess thing is a bit clichéd but it still worked really well in this episode. As a Dredd saddo, I love seeing council/organisational matters so was happy to be privvy to Hershey's cabinet re-shuffle, which may well prove costly. I fear for Hershey with her choice of Bachman to join the council and found her nasty little rant at Dredd absolutely shocking (though spot on too!) As if I wasn't reeling enough from that, the last page just blew me away! Who the f*ck was that talking to Dredd? Whoever it was, his biscuit dunking technique was poor, you need to dunk much more than that FFS! Good to see biscuits back in Dredd.
ABC's - Love it! Great design on those Mongrol-headed erm... warheads on page one and the swamp thing riff was a hoot. I'm LOVING where this is going, my guess is Hammerstein has been tasked with killing Howard Quartz to stop him making more bots, he fails and as punishment is made to join Ro-Busters where the likelihood is he'll be destroyed at Quartz' metal hands. To think the Hammerstein's were introduced in Savage too; it's a great bit of dovetailing from Pat Mills.
Brass Sun - Bah, I thought the logo was disintegrating the further we got into the strip but a quick check shows it's not. That could be a nice idea for the future Thargy! Anyway, beautiful art though I'm in the not-much-happens camp this week - effectively the girl runs across a collapsing bridge! However, what little happens looks stunning, I'm realling enjoying the strip.
Twisty doo dahs - I'm usually not keen on these at all but this one was a treat! The design of the creatures was a joy and some of the sneaky traps brilliant! The giant rat's fanny was a hoot - however those rats things were splatted with a chemical to make them horny against their will!!! I'm bracing myself to read pages and pages and pages of right on complaints about it! Hey, I'm joking okay!?!
Grey Area - I love this too. Lee's art is really, really nice and the story is riveting. That Uuveth creature is a right twat and I look forward to seeing him get his!
A REALLY strong prog, I am a happy squaxx!
Did SJS[spoiler] Judge Slocum die in the[/spoiler] Cal saga, I cant remember and don't have the story to hand. If not this may be our biscuit dunker.
V
[spoiler]Pickled[/spoiler]
A very strong prog this week, loved the Hammerstein swamp thing cover.
Dredd - Superb stuff, this is really scratching my itch for some meaty post DoC progression in Dredd's world. Hershey tearing a strip off Dredd was a classic moment. The story was so dense I actually went back and counted the pages, it felt like we got a double helping of Dredd this week.
As a meg non-reader, can someone fill me in on Bachmann and the "Family man" story refereed to in the Thargnote?
ABC's Lovely art but the story isn't really doing it for me.
Brass sun Great stuff, this has pulled me in from the start, any other week and this would be my top thrill.
Twisted Tales OK. I do like these but I think they would be better if they were shorter, I always have to stop myself skimming over the last couple of pages to reach the end.
I forgot to say, I loved how the swamp vegetation made the panel boarders in ABC's this week, supoib!
The only recent time I remember tea and biscuits was when DREDD visited his neice Vienna, but it can't be her.
I will have to dig into my archived progs/case files to read the stories after the Cal storyline. Happy reading for me today :-)
Not sure about the opinion that not much happened in Brass Sun. The main bad guy got killed off, I thought he was going to be her nemesis in the final episode and now pretty much the whole cast of this story had been wiped out in this and last weeks' episodes.
Nice to get a Saturday prog after my postie stiffing me last weekend!
Cover - I got a bit excited looking at this, just because Hammerstein looks so badass.
Dredd - This was fantastic this week, so much intrigue (I can't work out who the biscuit man is but I'm very, very looking forward to finding out. Also the missus was terribly pleased that Judge Fish got a mention as she's a big fan). Hershey's smack talk was just brilliant, and really well handled. I actually chuckled out loud at the "if you'd rather storm into my office at random and blackmail me with that badge you'll never give up", shaking my head and saying to myself "he really does doesn't he". Plus it's nice to be reminded now and then that Hershey is the Chief and Dredd, as legendary as he is, is still lower on the food chain.
ABC Warriors - I'm enjoying this partly for the gorgeous art and partly because with it being Hammerstein off on his own there's no opportunity to waste several pages basically introducing the characters again and giving them all a line each. It's become such a Mills-ism that when it happens I squirm a bit, and it happened 2 weeks in a row on this run. This is good vintage thrills and I'm liking it a lot.
Brass Sun - This has been great, there's some lovely world-building still going on, but not at the expense of pace. It's properly rattling forward with a nice big event every week. Brilliant.
Twisted Tales - I used to really like these, but the last couple have been a bit of a struggle. I just can't work out what's going on for the majority of the panels, which I didn't find a problem on the earlier tales. I usually just piece it together from a small handful of panels, this week I could only really follow the last page and it had a nice playful twist to it (whereas I didn't feel it went anywhere unpredictable last week). These are great when I can follow them, but I just can't at the moment.
Grey Area - I like Grey Area a lot, it manages to cover quite a wide range of stories and this diplomatic immunity thing has been a nice spin on it.
A wonderful prog only slightly marred by the Byrne droid's offering. The crazy duck one last week was brilliant I thought but this week, well I kind of gave up when I thought that thing was climbing into that bigger thing's arse. will re-read after reading other squaxx theories today.
Dredd was amazing wasn't it. Best for a good few weeks. The inter-play between Dredd and Hershey was absolute class. Grey Area is next best for me. Really great story and I hope it runs and runs. I like Brass Sun and am prepared to give it more than the benefit of the doubt.
Cover -Lovely, we're having a great range recently
Dredd - Lovely to have the organisational structure gone over. This is certainly the sort of thing we need to see now after DOC. And you have the evil ones in charge as they are the ones that can get things done when necessary.
ABC Warriors - Back to the original stories. Very nice.
Brass Sun - It's getting there, but it's taking up a lot of space. Nice artwork but it's very bare for me.
Twisted Tales -Sorry but we've had too many of these now. I like the quality of the artwork but it's practically the same thing each time. Can we get away from the rat/mole people?
Grey Area - I'm wondering where this is going now really.
That man and his fish = Cap'n Skank.
[spoiler]theres something about the wordage of the voice to dredd that is familiar, childish or young or something, the 'glowing friend' makes me thing of a computer ( that block whose AI went odd, maybe, or even the imaginary horned/angel/baby friend of that dodgey judge many years back.). Even that classical music reference to me seems intentional and a clue..., wish my memory wasnt so bad ;)[/spoiler]
Quote from: Eme on 02 October, 2012, 08:55:13 AM
Even that classical music reference to me seems intentional and a clue..., wish my memory wasnt so bad
It's a line from Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants. Possibly the most annoying song in he history of popular music.
Quote from: Cactus on 29 September, 2012, 12:12:28 PM
It's funny you should say that. When they tried to [spoiler]arrest the ambassador[/spoiler] I thought to myself "this is the big story that Grey Area's been lacking." I take it you didn't see it that way?
Well, yes at the minute. So far it's had a tight focus despite the premise and the investigations have been relatively quickly resolved. There's plenty of threads to pull from those investigations but I as yet don't see them all combining into something,well,
bigger than the sum of it's parts. It's a minor point because I also like the fact it's being given time to develop the world and characters from 'low key' beginnings - something that I think Mr Abnett is very adept at, so maybe I'm anticipating a
Kingdom style stealth Thrill from it.
M.
Quote from: The Cosh on 02 October, 2012, 10:35:19 AM
Quote from: Eme on 02 October, 2012, 08:55:13 AM
Even that classical music reference to me seems intentional and a clue..., wish my memory wasnt so bad
It's a line from Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants. Possibly the most annoying song in he history of popular music.
which is oddly playing on the radio this very minute.
Quote from: The Cosh on 02 October, 2012, 10:35:19 AM
Quote from: Eme on 02 October, 2012, 08:55:13 AM
Even that classical music reference to me seems intentional and a clue..., wish my memory wasnt so bad
It's a line from Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants. Possibly the most annoying song in he history of popular music.
just had to watch the video :)
The dialogue btween Dredd and Hershey was incredibly engaging for a "low-action" Dredd piece. The bit about threatening to hand over his badge but never following through over issues whose complexity he fails to engage with-man that's worth the price of the comic. That's writing.
I continue to be in love with Brass Sun. There is something old school about it for me but it continues to include sub-text and themes for the modern day.
I haven't read the rest but its already a great prog in my eyes.
Yay, the digital prog's up early enough for me to read it in the morning. (For values of "morning" meaning I am now late going to lunch. Oops.)
Cover - Striking and atmospheric; does the job nicely.
Dredd - Ooh, internal politics among the Judges - my favourite thing! (This is not sarcasm. I really enjoy this stuff. Much more interesting than shooting matches with external bad guys.) I love that the Judge with the eyepatch (Is she new? Don't recognise her, but I like her already) looks so shocked while Hershey's bawling Dredd out. Dredd deserves it and Hershey's dead right, but at the same time, what other power does Dredd have to make himself heard when they completely ignore his - inevitably correct - advice and he's too confined by duty to protest in any other way?
Thinking on it, this is actually a neat demonstration that Dredd's real problem working within the Judicial System is that it's not enough of a democracy. It's set up for a top-down authoritarian structure - those with the highest ranks get to make unilateral decisions - but Dredd's temperamentally unsuited to a top government job, so he goes continually unheeded because the system just doesn't have a place for anybody who's outside of the traditional power structure yet ought to have greater or equal authority in some areas.
Great Dredd, and very promising setup for a substantial story to come. I adored the "bullet to kind four" manoeuvre, which is a glorious demonstration of exactly how it would go if you invited Dredd to play chess, and the mystery of the biscuit dunker is intriguing. I have no clue who it might be.
ABC Warriors - Suffers a bit for coming after such a great Dredd, since not much happens in this part, but it's nice art and an enjoyable enough read. Solid stuff.
Brass Sun - I have no idea where this is going! Everything that seemed like setup for the story has already been torn down by this point, so where do we go from here? I dunno, but I'm enjoying the ride. Still loving the colouring on this art.
Twisted Tales - Seems an odd scheduling choice to have this coming directly after another TT last week. The art is beautiful, but I struggle with the storytelling in these; the detailed art is busy enough that without any captions or dialogue it takes a fair bit of puzzling and rereading to follow the thread of the action. I think I might have been more charitable towards this if I hadn't just had the same experience with the last one.
Grey Area - Ooh, this has come together at last. Be more like this all the time, Grey Area, and I'll be very satisfied!
Overall, strong prog with a fabulous Dredd - and can I just say how much I've been loving the mix of art styles that we've had since 1800? Every story is immediately vividly distinct and different in both colouring and style. Keep up the good work, Tharg.
The cover is amazing: composition, texture, colour. Genius!
Like Dark Jimbo, Pete Wells and most of the other posters I found Dredd to be mindblowingly good, both as an episode in its own right and as a teaser for forthcoming thrills. I've got no problem at all with writers using well worn metaphors like [spoiler]a chess game as long as they bring something fresh or artful to the table, as Al does here. The dialogue is delightful and Dredd's 'bullet to king four' was perfect in every way. Hershey's assertion of authority was pitch perfect. I took the 'not in the official history' line to mean its a new character from the post Cal era. Hope so, because weaving seamless new[/spoiler] tales around Dredd lore[spoiler][/spoiler] is exactly what Al should be doing. Feel hugely blessed to have talents like Ewing and Flint carrying the comic forward in such a powerful way. Hugely enjoyable episode!
ABC warriors was cool too, and I thought it was going to be a classic prog. But the Brass Sun and Grey Area were good, not great. So much to love with Twisted Tales but basic storytelling issues sadly confused events for me. [spoiler]All it needed was an establishing shot of the monkey and his pets alone in his castle. As it was its not clear where the monkey was in a succession of close ups, or who's doing what in other panels.
[/spoiler]
Good read overall though, with Dredd the pick of the prog.
Sweet cover from Simon Fraser for Sympathy for the Devil too!
Loved the Swampstein (Hammerthing?) cover. Good to see Stickleback's (finally) coming back to the prog too.
When I read this week's Dredd, I automatically assumed it was Wagner's work. I think that's the highest praise I can give Ewing's work on Dredd. Him and Flint are quite the team.
An Ode to Henry Flint
Henry Flint, Henry Flint,
His art is so great,
You never squint,
When perusing his expertly rendered guts,
And his pouty women with voluptuous butts.
The level of talent drives you nuts.
From frightful monsters, to fearsome beasts,
To freaky aliens, his art's full of treats.
Bullet-holes, torn flesh and gore,
Dear Tharg, please Tharg,
GIVE US MORE
Ahem....anyway, I liked the three distinctive versions of Hammerstein (marks I, II and III presumably) but that corrupt political type fella with the glasses, is it just me or does he look a bit like that Outlaw fella from a few years ago? Obviously it's not the same character, just his appearance reminded me of him, which is suprising since it was such a forgettable strip.
Twisted Tales. I give up. What's it about? Some sort of battle? Why should I even care which side wins?
Grey Area's still taking its time getting to the point, but I liked this more than the last few.
I take it the edit function is gone completely. That was never 10 minutes.
I left out Brass Sun. What the hell is going to happen next? This is brilliant. Long may it run.
Of course. "Birdhouse in your soul", I recognised the words but couldn't nail it. Excellent work from that squaxx assuming this knowledge was non-internet related. It is a very annoying song indeed. I seem to recall they had another annoying hit called "She blinded me with science" but I could be getting muddled up with a different annoying 80s band. Anyway I have decided I'm going to dust off "The day the law died" and have a crack at deducing who the bullet dunker is.
Dredd was great eh? This is what I want post DoC. Ive always wondered if they would come back to this story and here it is and it was really great eh? Not a clue who the secret dunker is though.
Twisted Tales is another thing I have not a clue about but gave up caring ages ago. It fills 5 pages of my prog now and again.
Rest is ticking along.
It serves me right for checking out this thread (before reading this weeks Prog) as i've just spotted a massive spoiler for Brass Sun! :-\ :D I'm really enjoying it, and cannot wait to get my hands on it (hopefully tomorrow). None of my bloody newsagents near to where I live sell 2000AD and I have to make a near kilometre walk to my nearest W.H smiths to buy a copy. It really pisses me off, we can buy all the American comics without any hassle, but when it comes to THE GREATEST BRITISH COMIC, I have to go on a mission. :-\
Quote from: Mabs on 03 October, 2012, 07:23:13 PM
It serves me right for checking out this thread (before reading this weeks Prog) as i've just spotted a massive spoiler for Brass Sun! :-\ :D I'm really enjoying it, and cannot wait to get my hands on it (hopefully tomorrow). None of my bloody newsagents near to where I live sell 2000AD and I have to make a near kilometre walk to my nearest W.H smiths to buy a copy. It really pisses me off, we can buy all the American comics without any hassle, but when it comes to THE GREATEST BRITISH COMIC, I have to go on a mission. :-\
postal subscription ;)
Quote from: Eme on 03 October, 2012, 09:38:04 PM
Quote from: Mabs on 03 October, 2012, 07:23:13 PM
It serves me right for checking out this thread (before reading this weeks Prog) as i've just spotted a massive spoiler for Brass Sun! :-\ :D I'm really enjoying it, and cannot wait to get my hands on it (hopefully tomorrow). None of my bloody newsagents near to where I live sell 2000AD and I have to make a near kilometre walk to my nearest W.H smiths to buy a copy. It really pisses me off, we can buy all the American comics without any hassle, but when it comes to THE GREATEST BRITISH COMIC, I have to go on a mission. :-\
postal subscription ;)
Yeah I did think of that, but i've had some problems in the past with subscriptions, namely magazine taking time to arrive and on one occasion, not arriving at all. I'll give it a month or two, see if I can persuade any local newsagents to stock it.
Quote from: Trout on 29 September, 2012, 10:10:18 PM
I'm sure the biscuits are a clue. Who eats biscuits?
Frank Gilbret, self-styled Private Shrink to Jeffrey Jacobi - the fame obsessed psychopath who tried to assassinate Dredd in
Hitman (571-573). Gilbret goes for the dunk on the centrespread of part two; in fact, his biscuit munching is a crucial plot point (i). The doc's last appearance was as a smouldering corpse, so it's safe to assume he's
not our dunker. Could it be Marcel Proust, dunking his madeleine? If so, expect
The Cold Deck to run to seven self-indulgent volumes.
(i)
"You've got your biscuits. Always munching away all the time, like a security blanket"
Fantastic prog, not even ruined by Twisted Tales (which annoy me even for being called Twisted Tales, as that was the name of the best horror comic ever until WD came along).
Dredd was magnificently good- i thought only Wagner could do one like that. I'd not really rated Al Ewing before, except as a displayer of huge beard, but this was superb in every way. No idea who biscuitman is, but looking forward to finding out. Best bit was when Hershey tore Dredd a new arsehole, and he turned to storm out with the trad lightning zappy flashes going double-bonkers in his eyes. Haha! Fab.
Brass Sun was great again- i reread the whole thing up to now before this week, which i havent done for ages with anything.
ABCs- hmm, i feel like im reading a bad photocopy of langley's art at the moment, so im obviously not in the right headspace for it as yet. That'll come in time.
Grey Area- yes! Brilliant! Kick his scummy alien arse Bulliet (if you live).
Top prog (except Twisted Tales, but each to their own ).
SBT
Waiting to see this weeks prog, I've lost count of the amount of times Dredds offered up his badge though. I always liked the idea that Dredd was more of just another Judge rather than the top bad ass Judge in MC1.
Quote from: pops1983 on 03 October, 2012, 03:10:17 PMbut that corrupt political type fella with the glasses, is it just me or does he look a bit like that Outlaw fella from a few years ago? Obviously it's not the same character, just his appearance reminded me of him, which is suprising since it was such a forgettable strip.
He's the dead spit of Morpheus from The Matrix for me, so much so that I imagined his lines in the voice of Lawrence Fishburne.
Quote from: sauchie on 03 October, 2012, 11:28:52 PM
Frank Gilbret, self-styled Private Shrink to Jeffrey Jacobi - the fame obsessed psychopath who tried to assassinate Dredd in Hitman (571-573).
Good work there! The biscuits definitely seemed important.
M.
It's Walter's positronic brain transplanted into Rico's body.
Wonderful Hammerstein swamp thing cover, that should pull a few punters in
Dredd - As said above this is the kind of Dredd I love, having followed the Big Gun/tight boots school for years but now enjoy these so much more.
Biscuit dunker, T He y might be Judge Giant s ,
naw, no idea who the dunker is, but shirley they are (i) linked to the Justice Dept (access to the cell cam) and (ii) and somehow linked/opposed to that Black Ops wimmin?
ABC's : prefer the B&W to the colour, I get the ABC bit, but how come they are away to be melted down but they can survive planetfall?
Brass sun; Wonderful wonderful stuff, one panel a couple of weeks ago gives the clue to all of this weeks action and a panel in the first episode explians the key thang. Thoughtful, beautiful and elegant.
Twisted Tales: i nearly always get these in a second reading, its never the story but item that look similar but are different inportant plot parts that confuse me, and its things that really shouldn't, this week it was that catapults that looked like thatched cottages that made me think they were in the monkey-things village, last week it was the small scale date changes which I missed, wee things like these if ironed out would greatly improve these tales.
Overall a fine prog.
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 29 September, 2012, 08:50:14 AM
Great Swamp Thing cover by Langley.
Dredd
Can Henry Flint do a bad drawing? This is talky-talky but looks... great.
Flint is normally praised for his unstinting attention to detail (such as the deliriously intricate linework in Shakara), but perhaps my favourite aspect of his art is the way he draws crowd scenes like the Council meeting here. My favourite page in
Total War isn't one of the nukes detonating or Dredd taking names, it's a scene where McTighe is in a pit being grilled on the terrorists' capabilities, while the perspective constantly flits and swerves across the page between small inset panels for the speakers - it's uncanny in the way it generates both a broad sweep of institutional scope and feverish, close intensity without contradicting each other. A similar feat of composition is on display in this issue's Dredd - It is pretty much a talking-heads episode, but you wouldn't know it to read it - the conference scene is packed, crammed with characters who are all leaning forward in animation, so that every panel still quivers with urgency.
Did you like it or not though, Robert?
;)
Honestly, I'm ridiculously excited about this ongoing Flint Ewing Dredd. Does anyone know which progs it's projected for, how long it may run, and whether Henry is drawing the entire thing? Just so I can set my Thrill Power Containment Undercrackers to prudent levels.
Well it said 'The End' didn't it? It's a prelude but dunno if Al & Hen are on the roster for the next few weeks to develop it immediately or not.
M.
Rob Williams has the helm of Dredd for the next two weeks, so not that immediate.
I feel spoiled knowing we're plunging imminently into 'big events' and ongoing shenanigans. It feels deliciously indulgent so soon after Day of Chaos. It took me some time to come around to Dredd when I first jumped onboard the Good Ship Tharg, but by God - when you've got creative teams of the calibre of Wagner/Ewing/Flint/MacNeil/Ezquerra onboard and playing a long game, there's really nothing else in comicdom to touch it, is there?
Quote from: Mikey on 04 October, 2012, 11:06:44 AM
Quote from: sauchie on 03 October, 2012, 11:28:52 PM
Frank Gilbret, self-styled Private Shrink to Jeffrey Jacobi - the fame obsessed psychopath who tried to assassinate Dredd in Hitman (571-573).
Good work there! The biscuits definitely seemed important.
Thanks
Mikey, but I'd be surprised if Ewing and Flint were offering that image as anything more than a visual quotation from Wagner and Baikie's earlier strip, if even that. It
might offer some tenuous suggestion of the
nature of The Dunker, but not their identity.
The juxtaposition of the name of Ewing and Flint's impending story -
The Cold Deck - and the biscuits makes me think of John Malkovich's character in
Rounders - whose
tell during games of high stakes poker was his dismemberment of oreo cookies. If the biscuits play any part in the continuing story, I'm sure it will be in the manner of that, or Wagner's behavioural psychoanalysis of Gilbret's biscuit eating as offering
"a safety blanket".
Oooooo love Rob Williams on Dredd too. These are great times!
Colin Smith on this week's Dredd: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/10-reasons-to-celebrate-judge-dredd.html (http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/10-reasons-to-celebrate-judge-dredd.html)
Cover Yet another great cover -2000ad covers have been great for years now (very rare we get a stinker)we are spoilt.
Dredd More post DoC meat with the bonus of the Flint droid returning.Top draw stuff -the line that made me laugh was Hersheys 'Doubled spaced', like an extra kick after her slam down, knowing how much he hates paperwork.
I think Ewing is refering to Prog 109 after Cals demise when Dredd is not in the prog and creating his own backstory which is great.My guess is someone from SJS or a gene Tek (the guy who actually made Dredd, literally), because he seems to be able to talk to Dredd in a way others can't.
ABC Warriors So far so good.
Brass Sun Surpised to see the bad guys get whacked so quick, but still as intrigued as ever as to where we are going.
Twisted Tales Liked it, but seeing as so many others don't ,maybe these should be more spread out.
Grey Area Nice dialogue, great art and one very cool alien.I'm on board.
Quote from: sauchie on 04 October, 2012, 08:16:48 PM
Colin Smith on this week's Dredd: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/10-reasons-to-celebrate-judge-dredd.html (http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/10-reasons-to-celebrate-judge-dredd.html)
Well put! Glad to see Colin's stopped boycotting the progs.
(Digging all your posts, by the way, Sauchie)
Just bought'n'read the prog, and haven't fully had time to digest but feck me if that isn't one of the most consistently brilliant issues yet. Start to finish arsom.
I don't think I'll ever dislodge the image of giant naked mole rats humping siege engines. Only in 2000AD, Earthlets!
Quote from: JUDGE BURNS on 30 September, 2012, 10:49:47 AM
The only recent time I remember tea and biscuits was when DREDD visited his neice Vienna...
But wouldn't it be interesting if this was the man she got her biscuit-habit
from. A Brit-Cit connection, from her time there? Remember that Al was the man who gave us the most recent Brit-Cit spy tale. Could the 'dreadful man with the fish' be the poor father from Atlantis?
Reaching, obviously, but what a pleasant rummage through the mental archives that was.
Excellent prog!
Cover: Outstanding.
Dredd: Great story, been waiting for the return of the Justice Depts 'Black Ops' since the 'Family Man' storyline (from the Meg, another great tale). Dredd has been consistently excellent for a good while now.
A.B.C Warriors: Still going strong. I quite like the black and white artwork but the story itself seems to be turning into the Hammerstein monologues. Not a bad thing persay but it would be nice to see more of the others.
Brass Sun: seemed a bit sparse storywise this week but I still think it's going to develop into something quite nice.
Bobs Tales: Another good one. This took me be by surprise as I also liked last Progs tale and I normally find them incomprehensible. I've enjoyed these much more than 'Thargs Thrillers' which I haven't liked much at all.
Grey Area: Not great and not awful. Average it is then.
Cheers :)
Who else makes comics like this issue? Where is the faintest flicker of competition? Brilliant, just brilliant.
Cover: Langley at his very best, striking, intriguing, maybe a bit dark.
Thrills of the future: Ooooh, when, when, when.
Dredd: Bullet to King Four. Ewing delivers a savage blow in his joyously escalating war with Carroll for the position of Heir Apparent. Hard to imagine, or remember, a denser, more fascinating and genuinely surprising 6-pager than this.
First, you have Justice Dept finally getting their act together re: internal security, after the series of stupid door policies that led to Sinfield's near-assasinations, PJs escape and Haldane's theft of the DJ's.
Then the reveal of L'il Kazan, which in a handful of panels makes it seem like he's always been there in the background, deepening and enriching DoC rather than feeling like a dropped thread for a different conflict that never came. Was he always so gnarled-looking?
Next, Hershey in command. In a flurry of the kind of backroom Dept. detail that we nerds love, we are presented with the new female face of Justice: Hershey firmly in charge in the big chair with Bachmann over Undercover (putting her over Buell, Roffman(?), Hollister etc.), Folger standing in for Hollister, Stalker still (presumably) over PR. Big question is who is over Street? I haven't read the Family Man stories, but Bachmann exudes such slimy menace that I hardly feel like I need to. A worthy successor to Edgar.
Hershey handing Dredd his faults on a plate was magnificent. The cheek of the man, when you think about it: backing her into the CJ role after Doomsday, manoeuvring her into an election she couldn't win over Mutant rights, then stepping down from the Council himself after she is dragged back reluctantly to do her duty. So many of the defining moments of the whole strip have happened in conversations between these two, from Lopez to the Graveyard Shift to City of the Damned to Fargo to the Mutant Question, it's hard not to see this one as a critical point in their shared history. Superb.
Oh, and the art is drokkin' fantastic. Claustropobhic panels bursting with tension and personality and perfect expressions. I also love the definite nod to Ewins' original Wally Squad story in the design of Folger.
ABC Warriors: The best ABC Warriors has been in yonks. Terrific art, love the red eyes on the second page, love the subtle variations in the war-droids. Can't wait to see where this goes.
Brass Sun: Wow, wasn't expecting that! The Banksian exploding grandfather takes out the main baddies, and it's still only Part 4. Then, in a display of supreme confidence in the medium Culbard uses two slivers of colour in two panels (top left side page 3, bottom right panel page) to establish the incredible scale of (what I assume is) the spoke that links these orrery worlds. Wren's interplanetary journey really begins, shorn of all the running and hiding I imagined was ahead of us. Was someone complaining that 'nothing much happens'?
That bottom-right panel on page 4 gives me chills, it's that good.
Twisted Tales: So much fun, so much to love. I agree it requires a bit more attention than the average strip, but I completely disagree that it isn't absolutely clear what's going on if you actually read it a panel at a time. Like Watchmen, it uses a bog-simple 9-panel layout to offset the density of the storytelling within the panels. The rutting mole-rats were fabulous, the umbrella-chute inspired, the monkey man endearingly cheeky, his peril real, the banner collection giving us context for all that's gone before. I would take a Twisted Tale over 75% of all Future-Shock-alikes. Do we have enough for a GN yet? I bet we do.
Grey Area: Even Grey Area redeems itself in my eyes this week, as the Ambassador is revealed as an expository charmer, finally giving the strip some much needed broad structure. Perhaps Carter was a bit wrong-footed when he was actually asked to draw some action this week, because that stiff final panel doesn't sit as well beside the glorious detailed colour of the preceding pages.
Overall: A near-perfect prog, as good a comic as has ever been printed.
Edit:
Quote from: TordelBack on 06 October, 2012, 08:25:55 AM...Culbard uses two slivers of colour in two panels (top RIGHT side page 3, bottom LEFT panel page 4) to establish the incredible scale of (what I assume is) the spoke that links these orrery worlds. ...
That bottom-LEFT panel on page 4 gives me chills, it's that good.
C'mon Tharg, I'm praising your tight green arse off here, is an Edit button too much to ask?
Just got around to reading this prog. Does anyone else not think it am amazing coincidence that Hammerstein FELL FROM SPACE and landed right at the feet of a small boy who had a father who happened to be a soldier in the ABCs and that there was a funeral attended by three other ABC robots happening right there at that very moment?
A but rum, if you ask me...
Oh, and biscuit boy. My first thought was [spoiler]PJ Maybe[/spoiler].
Fate, Richmond? ;)
What a brilliant brilliant prog this week, reading it from start to finish, it took me about 5 mins! Just couldnt wait to turn the next page.
Dredd is amazing, so many nice touches, and so much food for thought. Of course, Henry Flint's art is the biz and this is no exception, but huge congrats to Mr Ewing for crafting this story (Ahhh, its a one-off? So, will we not be fed any more clues as to who the mystery man is, at least not for the next couple of weeks?, though next weeks title is intriguing).
Again, all the other strips just fair motored along, though Twisted Tales will take another re-read - which isnt a bad thing, really.
Top stuff, roll on next Wednesday.
Quote from: TordelBack on 06 October, 2012, 08:25:55 AM
Who else makes comics like this issue? Where is the faintest flicker of competition? Brilliant, just brilliant.
Cover: Langley at his very best, striking, intriguing, maybe a bit dark.
Thrills of the future: Ooooh, when, when, when.
Dredd: Bullet to King Four. Ewing delivers a savage blow in his joyously escalating war with Carroll for the position of Heir Apparent. Hard to imagine, or remember, a denser, more fascinating and genuinely surprising 6-pager than this.
First, you have Justice Dept finally getting their act together re: internal security, after the series of stupid door policies that led to Sinfield's near-assasinations, PJs escape and Haldane's theft of the DJ's.
Then the reveal of L'il Kazan, which in a handful of panels makes it seem like he's always been there in the background, deepening and enriching DoC rather than feeling like a dropped thread for a different conflict that never came. Was he always so gnarled-looking?
Next, Hershey in command. In a flurry of the kind of backroom Dept. detail that we nerds love, we are presented with the new female face of Justice: Hershey firmly in charge in the big chair with Bachmann over Undercover (putting her over Buell, Roffman(?), Hollister etc.), Folger standing in for Hollister, Stalker still (presumably) over PR. Big question is who is over Street? I haven't read the Family Man stories, but Bachmann exudes such slimy menace that I hardly feel like I need to. A worthy successor to Edgar.
Hershey handing Dredd his faults on a plate was magnificent. The cheek of the man, when you think about it: backing her into the CJ role after Doomsday, manoeuvring her into an election she couldn't win over Mutant rights, then stepping down from the Council himself after she is dragged back reluctantly to do her duty. So many of the defining moments of the whole strip have happened in conversations between these two, from Lopez to the Graveyard Shift to City of the Damned to Fargo to the Mutant Question, it's hard not to see this one as a critical point in their shared history. Superb.
Oh, and the art is drokkin' fantastic. Claustropobhic panels bursting with tension and personality and perfect expressions. I also love the definite nod to Ewins' original Wally Squad story in the design of Folger.
ABC Warriors: The best ABC Warriors has been in yonks. Terrific art, love the red eyes on the second page, love the subtle variations in the war-droids. Can't wait to see where this goes.
Brass Sun: Wow, wasn't expecting that! The Banksian exploding grandfather takes out the main baddies, and it's still only Part 4. Then, in a display of supreme confidence in the medium Culbard uses two slivers of colour in two panels (top left side page 3, bottom right panel page) to establish the incredible scale of (what I assume is) the spoke that links these orrery worlds. Wren's interplanetary journey really begins, shorn of all the running and hiding I imagined was ahead of us. Was someone complaining that 'nothing much happens'?
That bottom-right panel on page 4 gives me chills, it's that good.
Twisted Tales: So much fun, so much to love. I agree it requires a bit more attention than the average strip, but I completely disagree that it isn't absolutely clear what's going on if you actually read it a panel at a time. Like Watchmen, it uses a bog-simple 9-panel layout to offset the density of the storytelling within the panels. The rutting mole-rats were fabulous, the umbrella-chute inspired, the monkey man endearingly cheeky, his peril real, the banner collection giving us context for all that's gone before. I would take a Twisted Tale over 75% of all Future-Shock-alikes. Do we have enough for a GN yet? I bet we do.
Grey Area: Even Grey Area redeems itself in my eyes this week, as the Ambassador is revealed as an expository charmer, finally giving the strip some much needed broad structure. Perhaps Carter was a bit wrong-footed when he was actually asked to draw some action this week, because that stiff final panel doesn't sit as well beside the glorious detailed colour of the preceding pages.
Overall: A near-perfect prog, as good a comic as has ever been printed.
This post is so good at informing us relative newbies as to the back-drop of the Dreddian narrative that i feel I almost owe you money TB.
Great post and thanks.
Quote from: Richmond Clements on 06 October, 2012, 09:11:50 AM
Oh, and biscuit boy. My first thought was [spoiler]PJ Maybe[/spoiler].
I think he is Wagners baby and future plans could be in jepoardy if other writers add their pennies worth ( no disrespect to other writers intended).
V
Havent read this entire thread yet but was wondering, has the Joseph Dredd name officially been retconned in now?
Quote from: CYCLOPZ on 06 October, 2012, 01:21:02 PM
Havent read this entire thread yet but was wondering, has the Joseph Dredd name officially been retconned in now?
Has he ever been called anything else?
Cheers
Jim
Could be just me but I always remember a simple Joe Dredd. The 95 movie was the first time I recall Joseph being mentioned.
Hmm... maybe it is just me.
Quote from: CYCLOPZ on 06 October, 2012, 01:42:55 PM
Hmm... maybe it is just me.
Err... 'Joe' is just the informal contraction of 'Joseph', as 'Dave' is to 'David'.
Cheers
Jim
Yep that was a point I forgot to make, I know its implied in the name Joe, yet he was always referred to in the short form no matter what the occasion happened to be, as if his first name had been an after thought when he was cloned.
Ah well, It's not a complaint, just an observation.
Quote from: CYCLOPZ on 06 October, 2012, 02:04:42 PM
Ah well, It's not a complaint, just an observation.
Probably just depends what you're used to -- my dad's given name was David, but no one ever called him anything except Dave; mine is James but literally since birth I've always been called Jim, so there was never the slightest question in my mind that Joe's full name was Joseph, and it never struck me as odd that no one ever called him by his formal name.
Cheers!
Jm
Quote from: CYCLOPZ on 06 October, 2012, 01:21:02 PM
Havent read this entire thread yet but was wondering, has the Joseph Dredd name officially been retconned in now?
I'm unaware of a single instance in the comics where Dredd was referred to as
Joseph (either by another character or on a piece of documentation) prior to
Origins; it was an innovation of the 1995 film. The whole narrative and conceptual intent of
Origins seemed to be to draw together elements from all the Mills stuff, the DC apocrypha, and even (
shudder)
that film, and say
"yes, if you like, all of that's valid and there's no point denying that it happened, but here's where I'm taking it now ..."Which is the very opposite of the events and storylines US publishers seem to run every four or five years, where the characters revert to their teenage selves, and readers are asked to pretend none of what preceded ever happened, so they can pay to read the same stories all over again. Seeing Dredd's Sunday name in print still jars a little, though; Joe just seems to suit the man and what he's about so much better, and no-one ever calls him
Joseph to his face. I wouldn't.
A good point well made though. When was he first referred to as 'joseph' in the comic?
It's always been an odd one for me anyway, as the only two joes ive known 'in real life' and from an age prior to the prog, were quite effiminate. One was the weedy milksop in our year at primary school and the other was similar in senior svhool before he moved- so joe has always sat badly for me as dredd's name.
But then i suppose there's always josef stalin.
SBT
Quote from: Pete Wells on 29 September, 2012, 10:25:26 PM
Well, I frigging loved that prog!
The cover is incredible though a bit dark on the printed version. I've just put the digital version on my blog, check it out on a lovely backlit screen!
It's interesting you say this, cos I usually get the digital prog, but I decided to get the physical version this week because I really liked that cover on your Blog! "It'd be nice to own a physical version of that." I thought. So I popped along to W H Smiths on my lunch break, picked it up and thought... huh?
I have to agree with you. The cover on your blog (and probably the digital version) looks better, although it's still a good 'un. I think it would look good on the better cover paper stock they use for anniversary progs.
Anyway:
Cover: Very good, despite reservation on printed version stated above.
Dredd - Good. I'll admit to being on Hershey's side when she stood up to Dredd.
Strangely, I actually agree with Dredd. Taking on board the help of that Kashan clone and semi-promoting Buell does seem rather dodgy, but what she said to Dredd was spot on:
[spoiler]"Let's get a couple of things straight Dredd. If you want to be chief judge the chair is yours. Grud knows you've earned it. But if you don't want the responsibility - if you don't even want the burdens of council membership - if you'd rather just barge into my office at regular intervals to blackmail me with a badge you'll never hand in over issues whose complexity you refuse to engage with - then the door is that way."[/spoiler]
Good on her for standing up to him. Weirdly I think he'd agree. I don't think he takes kindly to officers that pussyfoot around him.
ABC Warriors - I enjoyed this. The Black and white art was great, and looked better to my eyes than last week's. Conversely I wonder if the inside art actually benefits from being printed, while the cover looks better on a screen. I liked the fact there were subtle differences between the Hammerstein models too. I wonder if they were made that way, or if it's little adjustments they made to themselves over the years? Are there also other iterations of the other droids, like Pineapples model for example. I know there are others that look like Mongrol.*
Brass Sun - I'm enjoying this a lot but I wasn't so sure of this episode. She is hit with several projectiles, yet gets up and carries on. Of course I'm not sure if they're like cross-bow quarrels or just darts which are intended to penetrate a short way to wound rather than kill. Or if there's something to her nature that we haven't seen yet, so maybe my questions will just be answered with time. I'm hoping this isn't just a case of - they meant to kill her, but they're all bad shots and she's one tough cookie, because that would be a bit cheap. I'd buy it if she dodged and was hit with one bolt off-target, but the fact she was hit with several, some in the torso area...
It's still good though and I'm interested to see what comes next.
Twisted Tales - Nice art and creature designs. I didn't really follow the story though and don't feel strongly inclined to look through it again.
Grey Area - All round good stuff.
*One thing that bugged me a bit about Mongrol is the fact he get his name from being made from the parts of other droid, yet his design (which is great by the way, I'm so looking forward to a certain toy arriving in the post soon) is so specific. Shouldn't he have been more unsymmetrical, different sized limbs, etc, if he is made from the parts of different robots? Then I peeped in the first book in the Volgan War series, which contained a part a bit before my time and saw the other robots in Mongrol's platoon. Very amusing. Course, he wouldn't really be a Mongrol if he's made of parts of the same model, yet, it still fits somehow.
Only just catching up on this one. Trying it in digital and it looks GORGEOUS!
Dredd was so good I've had to browse this forum to see what people think. Anyway, can't keep typing. I've got to dash off and flick through my post Cal Case Files to see who it might be! One particular name hasn't cropped up so far, which has surprised me a bit...
I'm intrigued by the post Cal biscuit dunker, can't think who that could be yet. It was a cool Dredd episode, I've quite enjoyed the last few stories.
I'm loving ABC Warriors but could do with reading some back issues, it is one of the comics greatest works.
I wasn't sure about Brass Sun at first but I warmed to it. It's a slow progressing story but with a very interesting backdrop of a clockwork Solar System.
I've only seen a couple of Twisted tales, I really liked the one with the revengeful birds but this one I found very confusing. I think the idea is great and I'd like to see more, I just wish the art was a little clearer.
Grey Area I like very much, nice art and I enjoy the stories. It's been nice to see it's background fan out over the different stories.
Quote from: Kanoobi on 07 October, 2012, 04:04:17 AM
I've only seen a couple of Twisted tales, I really liked the one with the revengeful birds but this one I found very confusing. I think the idea is great and I'd like to see more, I just wish the art was a little clearer.
One of my gripes with Twisted Tales is his lack of visual continuity:
- Objects change appearance as he zooms in & out
- He adjusts the camera angle at random -- IIRC there's an old story about Orson Welles doing the same on Citizen Kane so one of the crew forced him to watch westerns to learn how to do it: cowboys from the left, Indians from the right.
- He doesn't distinguish enough between characters. In the duck one he uses head feathers to make one character stand out but even this is hard to follow.
Hmmmm, more speculation on MBD (mystery biscuit dunker.) If I can somehow shoehorn a fish reference in, it could be Roffman. Surely only he of all people would be able to get access to justice dept cameras. If Dredd is going to play dirty, Roffman could be a valuable assett...
Nice one Pete. Roffman would be an ideal ally for the upcoming turmoil Dredd may be up against. But there is a flaw in it. Roffman is too young for the post Cal reference.
V
I have a sneaking suspicion it's roffman too. But, the 'fish' thing is confusing me- when did dredd last see him?
SBT
Just been flicking through Case Files 3 to see if anything catches my eye. The only potential suspect I can find in the immediate post-Cal era is Albert Sherman, the kid who tried to become King Of The Meg and ended up getting enrolled in the Academy by Dredd. Was that story ever followed up? Cos he would certainly fit the profile...
Quote from: Goosegash on 07 October, 2012, 10:28:11 AM
Just been flicking through Case Files 3 to see if anything catches my eye. The only potential suspect I can find in the immediate post-Cal era is Albert Sherman, the kid who tried to become King Of The Meg and ended up getting enrolled in the Academy by Dredd. Was that story ever followed up? Cos he would certainly fit the profile...
[spoiler]He died in a recent MEG.[/spoiler]
V
Quote from: vzzbux on 07 October, 2012, 10:47:05 AM
Quote from: Goosegash on 07 October, 2012, 10:28:11 AM
Just been flicking through Case Files 3 to see if anything catches my eye. The only potential suspect I can find in the immediate post-Cal era is Albert Sherman, the kid who tried to become King Of The Meg and ended up getting enrolled in the Academy by Dredd. Was that story ever followed up? Cos he would certainly fit the profile...
[spoiler]He died in a recent MEG.[/spoiler]
Ah, must've missed that one. Never mind, then!
V
Prog of the year so far. Brilliant cover and fantastic new Dredd who is biscuit dunking maaahnnn???
Anyway ABC Brass Sun continued the brilliance but Twisted Tales was tops this week sharing honours with Grey Area which finally kicked into full gear.
Lovely lovely prog.
PROG 1803
COVER: Excellent 'Swamp Thing' cover by Clint Langley! We had an excellent ABC wrap around cover for Prog 1801, but this is definitely up there with the best in my opinion. I love the details and the dark tone to it.
JUDGE DREDD; BULLET TO KING FOUR: Really enjoyable story by Al Ewing , complemented by Henry Flint's brilliant artwork. It felt more than 3 pages. Its amazing how much detail and dialogue can be fitted into those pages.
ABC WARRIORS; RETURN TO EARTH: Ever since the last Prog, i've really starting to enjoy this story. Clint Langley's black and white artwork is absolutely brilliant. I prefer this (the black and white) over the previous colour works. The story too is getting quite interesting. I loved the artwork on the 2nd page; Hammerstein emerging out of the lake, and a young boy 'Fred' meeting him. The contrast between a 'weapon of mass destruction' and innocence via the young boy, meeting together was a nice touch.
BRASS SUN PART 4: Wow! I've become a big fan of Brass Sun over the last couple of Prog's. I love Culbard's artwork (even if most of the male character's noses look like Qui Gon Jinn!). I was quite surprised by the death of Lord Achimandrite, I was under the impression that he would've been the main villain of the piece. Seeing our protagonist opening the door Time Bandits style was plain awesome! Having read Ian Edginton's interview in this months Megazine, and the plan's he has for the story - the possibilties and the idea's for the Orrery make me salivate with anticipation! The last panel was just breath-taking. The canvas has finally been opened and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next Prog!
TWISTED TALES: Erm, I didn't really know what to make of this to be honest! But one thing I will say is that giant mole creature humping the living crap out of everything was just laugh out loud funny! For all its faults, one thing I will say is that Byrne's artwork is excellent.
GREY ZONE (PART 4): I'm really enjoying this story. It did take a Prog or two to get into it, but I think things picked up in the last Prog, and have carried on into this weeks one. The stand out for me is the alien ambassador - he look's like a cross between (Ridley Scott's) Alien and Spawn! :D , and a really sneaky customer to boot. I love his dialogue too. As for the artwork, I feel i've started to enjoy it more. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Overall, a great Programme. And I cannot wait for Wednesday!
- Mabs (NW)
Oops! Messed up the BOLD above - its really frustrating that I cannot edit any mistakes. Really odd that. :(
Dredd felt more than 3 pages to me as well ;)
Quote from: Pete Wells on 07 October, 2012, 09:22:42 AM
Hmmmm, more speculation on MBD (mystery biscuit dunker.)
OK, I'm going for cigarette smoking man's cousin doing a bit of freelancing because he got knocked back by the TV companies.
Quote from: vzzbux on 07 October, 2012, 10:47:05 AM
Quote from: Goosegash on 07 October, 2012, 10:28:11 AM
Just been flicking through Case Files 3 to see if anything catches my eye. The only potential suspect I can find in the immediate post-Cal era is Albert Sherman, the kid who tried to become King Of The Meg and ended up getting enrolled in the Academy by Dredd. Was that story ever followed up? Cos he would certainly fit the profile...
[spoiler]He died in a recent MEG.[/spoiler]V
Did he die? Im sure The writer posed the question 'did you actually see him die'? Think The Sherman Kid may have been a bit miffed and had brought it up on the board (the writer being Mike Carrol?). I could well be barking up the wrong tree though Im prepared to admit.
Anyway my first thoughts re- MBD were the same as Richmonds- [spoiler]PJ Maybe[/spoiler].
Nah, Dredd was too civil for it to be him.
Quote from: COMMANDO FORCES on 07 October, 2012, 12:09:23 PM
Dredd felt more than 3 pages to me as well ;)
Yeah, thats why 2000AD is so drokkin' awesome! I may be pushing it here, but I honestly feel those 3 pages (or 6, which ever way you look at it) has far more depth, and enjoyment to be derived than the
whole of some single issue comics! :D
Quote from: SmallBlueThing on 07 October, 2012, 09:28:12 AM
I have a sneaking suspicion it's roffman too. But, the 'fish' thing is confusing me- when did dredd last see him?
SBT
Didn't Roffman [spoiler]help Dredd against Edgar in The Cal Files ?[/spoiler] You know, the [spoiler]files about the guy with the fish?[/spoiler]
Quote from: Richmond Clements on 06 October, 2012, 09:11:50 AM
Just got around to reading this prog. Does anyone else not think it am amazing coincidence that Hammerstein FELL FROM SPACE and landed right at the feet of a small boy who had a father who happened to be a soldier in the ABCs and that there was a funeral attended by three other ABC robots happening right there at that very moment?
A but rum, if you ask me...
Not in Pat's world
BDM is definitely not Roffman or PJ. Dredd's relationship with both men is too established, they've met/clashed/helped each other far too many times for the kind of conversation they have here. Also, if the 'dreadful man with the fish' is Cal (and it's the most likely, if not the only, interpretation), then PJ would have been about 3 or 4 and Roffman surely not much older (he's a junior sheet-sniffer in the SJS in 2117) just after Cal's reign in 2100-1.
It's got to be someone new, or very minor.
My money's on the camp guy from PR :D
Meee-ow!!
Well he could be camp. It's hard to tell from his ankles.
Although I'm sure the piscine reference is something to do with Judge Cal, I found this cover on Comic Vine and I'm not familiar with the Dredd story within it. So can you guys verify that it's not something to do with whatever this Dredd story was about?
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RmOg28uWZGU/UHLFr8X92EI/AAAAAAAAE2w/4xSIij5y-Zo/s400/2168728-1191_super.jpg)
Nice bit of digging there, Kanoobi, but I'm going to have to put the Glop on your zigga zagga zing zang.
That's Prog 1191, and the cover relates to a fair little one-off that certainly does involve a man with a fish but it's not yielding the goods on our biscuit dipping friend.
I did check a dozen progs afterwards to cover the "Just after..." angle but a) nothing/nobody struck me as a likely candidate and, b) the incident in 1191 was so minor and incidental an event that it would have been a push even if I did find a candidate.
Mind you, I did get to enjoy the lush Cam Kennedy art on a story called SABs again, so it's not all bad.
Sorry, Kanoobi, but I do believe that's a dead end.
I'm still suspicious about it being Cal since Cap'n Skank does have a Sov angle to it, but even there I suppose Skank doesn't qualify as a 'man' which also puts paid to my duneshark alternative. Damn it! Who is he?!
Lol cheers Whitbloke. Tis most intriguing; a biscuit dunking classical music lover who was around after Cal, probably not a perp and could help Dredd with his chess strategy.
In a few weeks we'll probably all be saying "Ohhhh him!" lol :)
Weeks? WEEKS?! Don't remind me. :)
Until then, my creds are now going on A Cow's theory, being a canny sod for this sort of thing, that A Cow.
Quote from: WhitBloke on 08 October, 2012, 05:35:48 PM
Until then, my creds are now going on A Cow's theory, being a canny sod for this sort of thing, that A Cow.
Well, y'know what they say: canny sod is as canny sod does.
Quote from: judgefett on 07 October, 2012, 03:01:26 PM
Quote from: vzzbux on 07 October, 2012, 10:47:05 AM
Quote from: Goosegash on 07 October, 2012, 10:28:11 AM
Just been flicking through Case Files 3 to see if anything catches my eye. The only potential suspect I can find in the immediate post-Cal era is Albert Sherman, the kid who tried to become King Of The Meg and ended up getting enrolled in the Academy by Dredd. Was that story ever followed up? Cos he would certainly fit the profile...
[spoiler]He died in a recent MEG.[/spoiler]V
Did he die? Im sure The writer posed the question 'did you actually see him die'? Think The Sherman Kid may have been a bit miffed and had brought it up on the board (the writer being Mike Carrol?). I could well be barking up the wrong tree though Im prepared to admit.
The Sherman Kid LIVES!
Erhem, Albert Sherman did indeed return to the world of Dredd in the Megazine , where sadly he did try again to become King of Mega City One (I had such better hopes for him sniffle :'() .Despite suffering a fall he did indeed LIVE (re-read vzzbux, to be fair I thought he had bought it till I read it more closely) .No doubt this was an aberattion ,he must have had a bullet in the brain to continue his insane quest (this will undoutedly be explained away in the near future where Sherman will once again return this time in a deeply satisfying way that will impact highly on the whole Dredd canon for many years to come) ;)
(https://static.prtst.net/asset-proxy/1442821022fa74d288352f945f1af05163f8224d/687474703a2f2f66696c65732e6368657373636f6d66696c65732e636f6d2f696d616765735f75736572732f74696e795f6d63652f417263746f722f636c75746368696e675f61745f7374726177732e6a7067/http://files.chesscomfiles.com/images_users/tiny_mce/Arctor/clutching_at_straws.jpg)
V
Quote from: vzzbux on 09 October, 2012, 03:18:15 PM
(https://static.prtst.net/asset-proxy/1442821022fa74d288352f945f1af05163f8224d/687474703a2f2f66696c65732e6368657373636f6d66696c65732e636f6d2f696d616765735f75736572732f74696e795f6d63652f417263746f722f636c75746368696e675f61745f7374726177732e6a7067/http://files.chesscomfiles.com/images_users/tiny_mce/Arctor/clutching_at_straws.jpg)
Yup :lol: :lol:
V
I'm a bit late to this post, but I wanted to add my galactic groat's worth and say that Dredd was especially superb in this Prog. Excellent script and artwork. Al Ewing managed to pack so much history into this, but it will still make sense to somebody who has only just joined the thrill-wagon. Somebody had already commented earlier in this post on how well Flint handled a speech heavy story and still made it good to look at. Hershey's outburst was totally justified but you are left wondering "Did she really say that!?!". And I love the TMBG reference, a band I loved. Been racking my brains for who the mystery biscuit dunker is, but cannot guess for now...
Well, I've just read prog 527's 'Simp' as research for my blog and Nobby Klunk, the eponymous simp, uses a goldfish on a hoverboard to try to escape Dredd in its follow up 'Simp Around the House.'
Could Nobby, or indeed his wife, be the MBD?
(Dan da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!)
Whadaya mean I'm sounding desperate now...?