(http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/Caliban_photos/1919_zpsec5cd39a.jpg)
Birthday suit cover by John Higgins.
Forthcoming thrill alert for Helium by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli. I love this pairing, and in colour to boot.
Dredd gets a splash page image to drool over, and one liner to match.
Survival Geeks: "I see you got your shirt off again." and there is more cute and creepy Cthulhoid action.
Tharg's 3Riller goes deeper underground and gets more interesting.
The Order pauses for some John Burns' sexy female forms.
And finally Bill Savage seems set for his own judgement by Fire.
I really enjoyed this week's prog - all the strips feel like they've built some momentum and they're rattling along at a fair old pace.
The cover by John Higgins is really nice but slightly old fashioned (probably intentional given the tag line). I can almost imagine it with the old arched logo.
Dredd was hilarious this week. I don't know if it's completely intentional but it certainly made me chuckle. There's one speech ballon which I want to tippex out and replace with 'Yoink!".
Survival Geeks is good fun again this week - I really think this strip has legs - it's about the only comedy strip that I actually like. The artwork isn't quite my cup of tea but it's stunningly realised and well presented.
The 3riller is keeping me guessing. It's quite exposition heavy this week but is bookended with bursts of action which works well. It's amazing how much story has been told and how much atmosphere has been developed over ten pages - it's very skilfully written. Again the artwork isn't quite to my taste but it's impressive work nonetheless.
The Order is brilliantly bonkers once again. I don't know what else to say really, other than that they should make it into a TV show. This could be the new Primeval with Hannah Spearitt in a black wig as Anna.
Savage is action packed this week with a headshot on nearly every page and a boss fight at the end. Great fun!
Two threads enter, one thread leaves. Welcome to Modderdome!
Screw it, I'm going with Eammon thread. Z
Damn him with his flashy cover images!
That's a fantastic cover.
It is a great cover (as Higgins art always is), sorry James c but Eammon gives good cover. Z
Worth reposting this here, I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JNgktye63Q&x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534
Cover: Lovely.
Dredd: Usual stunning panel after panel episode. Dialogue a tad 'corny'.....but that may be the point. Look forward to see how they get out of this one!
Survival Geeks: Rolling along nicely.
3rillers: Very nice art, reserving overall judgement till closure.
The Order: So glad it didn't go the other way it could have! Have really changed my opinion from when it begun.
Savage: Still doing nowt for me.
It was stretching things a bit that Hershey only sent Dredd off with rat-catchers, but only four traps, with no contingency? Really? (Or have they just lost a load of them down the sofa?) I guess this should all be taken as a typical old-school, fairly silly Dredd with new-style art, but I'm finding it very flat. Looking forward to Wagner getting back to MC-1. I'm also hoping this is the last we see of the dark judges for a very long time.
I liked everything else, even including Savage this week. Geeks has helped the Prog into an uptick for me, along with the 3riller.
You could argue that there might have been a bunch more on the ship, and they weren't banking on it being blown up.
That said about the Dark Judges and I agree in that they were never my favourites, it had led to a large amount of interest (if the Jan Art Comp is anything to go by). Z
And before I forget my manners, thanks be to the Mighty One for bequeathing 38 years of essential Thrill Power to the huddled masses of Squaxx on this small and insignificant yet still beautiful world. Z :D
Quote from: Steve Green on 21 February, 2015, 02:52:14 PM
You could argue that there might have been a bunch more on the ship, and they weren't banking on it being blown up.
That'd be a bit like Dredd 'hunting' four powerfully armed gunmen in the ruins of MC-1, and then realising on confronting them that he'd left all his ammo on his bike, parked several miles away. (And also blown up.)
You take what you expect to need into a firefight, with a little bit extra. Once you start overloading yourself with rounds, grenades, etc... then you won't win the fight, as you'd be slowed down.
Fair enough CF, so would you go into a firefight (guranteed) with 4 hard to kill monsters carrying only a prototype weapon and a basic street mission ammunition supply? Ok there is a suspension of disbelief issue here as ever. Z
They would have no doubt been split among all team members aye? And they have lost some team members while fleeing....I'm happy to assume those guys were carrying the rest of the traps, leaving them ill equipped. Plus....I keep abandoning logic while I drool over the art....:D
Note as Zen just got in before me, yep, the Mk 3 thing was a bit daft.
Or. altrativelly Dredd doesn't have enough of whatever gadgets he needs to resolve the problem because the story still has several episodes to run.
Quote from: ZenArcade on 21 February, 2015, 05:08:54 PM
Fair enough CF, so would you go into a firefight (guranteed) with 4 hard to kill monsters carrying only a prototype weapon and a basic street mission ammunition supply? Ok there is a suspension of disbelief issue here as ever. Z
3 Hard to kill monsters.
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.roosterteeth.com/images/nikzbitz4a029e4834dda.jpg)
Ack I know Gordon, and of course I'll go along with these things as part of necessary plot devices, but readerships are mature these days and do have an expectation of reasonable continuity. If they don't get this they will invariably point it out. Storytelling is important and the kind of storytelling I like has to have a sense of internal consistency. Hope I'm not coming across as nit picking and uber anal about these things. Z
Steve, oops forgot what a wuss Fear is. Three hard to kill monsters it is. Z
They're not that hard to kill, as shown in previous stories. It's getting close enough to them to take them out before they get you, which is the hard part.
The Verminators have the heavy fire-power, which was mentioned earlier in the story. As for his street ammo, it seems to have worked many times previously, as for the MKIII, he probably took it under orders! After all, he's only a street Judge.
Quote from: COMMANDO FORCES on 21 February, 2015, 06:50:40 PM
They're not that hard to kill, as shown in previous stories
Yep. They need to throw up a shield around the block and teleport their way out of trouble during
Judge Death Lives because they're as vulnerable to ballistics and blunt force trauma as my Mum.
Those technological gizmos perform the same function as the Sisters closing off the city to the outside world by projecting the foreboding Dredd feels as he makes his way back towards the Meg in
Necropolis. Their ability to manipulate the perceptions of the citizens was instrumental in preventing any one of 400 million people from just walking up to Death with a hand grenade and tearing a hole in the canvas of his masterwork.
I assume that's what Wagner meant when he said that, with the premise of
Dark Justice, he thought he'd figured out a way to make the Dark Judges scary again and restore an element of threat. Only by isolating Dredd and contriving a scarcity of resources can Wagner avoid the need to come up with another bit of magic that explains why Dredd can't just shoot them. Let's say Dredd left the rest of the ammo back on the ship Death nuked, and just enjoy the art.
Well now that you put it that way Butch. Let the vague misgivings about relatively small inconsistencies be put aside. Z
That's fightin' talk.
Yes I will gather all of my potent forces of reasonableness, comity and sympatico to fight to the death against your well set out views. Z
Does any one else think that Tharg is getting all a bit 'Ming The Merciless?!'
I can't see the hair on his head due to the background that makes it thus...
Or maybe the trappers who already bought it had the other traps?
A mighty fine prog, still feeling re-energised after the line-up changes.
Dredd was good fun, but it's hard to review five pages of widescreen action.
Survival Geeks sets last week's trepidation at ease - heavy-hearted, I was ready to cringe my way through an episode devoted to 'hilariously' picking apart the steampunk cosplay culture; but mercifully it just gets on with telling a story and developing characters instead. This is huge fun, and continues to look abso-farking-lutely gorgeous. Anyone know how long this run is?
Station to Station likewise lays to rest the wariness I had at the outset. It could have been a well-meaning but heavy-handed allegory about immigration/integration; this week the allegory's still very much there (that probably is the point of this tale after all) but thankfully the focus is all on telling the story. The story itself has very heavy shades of Who's Web of Fear (which I've not even seen) but I love the idea of the Underground being appropriated by an alien intelligence as the synapses of a makeshift brain. The only thing that nonplussed me is exactly why the heroine goes running off at the end - are we supposed to know what their plan is or did that happen 'off-screen?'
The Order is still great. I feel a lot of affection for these characters - it's hard to believe this is the first (only?) run of this strip. Ritterstahl and Iron John in particular are great creations, and I loved Ritterstahl's dalliances of the flesh this week.
Savage, like Dredd, is still great but hard to review when it's an all-action episode. Bill seemed to leap to the conclusion of Jack's betrayal fairly quickly, though.
Quote from: GordonR on 21 February, 2015, 05:40:47 PM
altrativelly
Sheesh! You pay people to write stuff ... and next thing they start inventing
new words. The arrogance!
What a fantastic cover.
Inside slight down turn. Dredd continues as was pretty much. (http://survival%20geeks) stutters a little after a more promising opening than I was expecting. Its okay but nowt more. Likewise I thing Station to Station stumbled a little.Still really enjoyed it but felt it played its hand a little early and much of the intrigued was stripped away this issue.
Both The Order and Savage still remain superb however and I refuse to believe thats the last we'll seen of [spoiler]Ritterstahl[/spoiler]
Oh and also meant to say (only 14 hours late then!) doesn't the picture in the Forthcoming thrill alert for Helium by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli have more than a passing Leviathan vibe about it...
... I wonder...
I thought this was an excellent prog:
Dredd - Enjoying this greatly (it's Dredd, it's Anderson, it's the Dark boys) but it does seem to have dropped into a disappointingly straight action piece.
Survival Geeks - Loving it! Grabbed me in a way that many of the unfamiliar strips I found when I came back last year did not. Cool characters, very funny, awesome art. Can't wait for more.
Station to Station - I have no problems with this. It isn't blowing me away but I'm quite happy to see what happens next. This episode was definitely the difficult second album of the piece, though.
The Order - Wow, did I read from an earlier post that this is a new strip? I assumed it wasn't, and I just hadn't been around for the earlier books. It feels bedded in and very comfortable with itself. I've grown to really like this one over the last few weeks.
Savage - I honestly feel like I should be enjoying this more, but I have to admit I'm struggling a little bit to keep up with the name-drops and the palpable sense of long-running story (which I've missed). I'm sure I should know about the connection between Savage and what becomes the ABC Warriors, but I don't. :(
Overall I'm very happy with the prog right now.
Love the cover! Great to see Tharg painted by John Higgins.
Also loving Dredd. It is a bit of a standard action story and maybe seems a bit of an excuse to bring back the Dark Judges but it's an enjoyable story, the art is just wonderful and there have been some funny lines. Anyone else recognise references to the film 'Silent Running', with Dredd in the little buggy and the wide shots of the domes...
Not really getting into Survival Geeks or the 3riller, although the artwork is impressive on both.
The Order is nuts! But I'm really enjoying it. It reminds me of the sort of weird mish-mash tale you'd get in a late 70s/early 80s Lion annual or something.
Being an old - lapsed - returned reader I've also suffered from feeling there's a lot I'm not aware of in Savage and have found it hard to enjoy in the past but I'm really starting to warm to the old fella now..
All round pretty good and Helium by Edginton and D'Israeli is something to look forward to.
Quote from: Geoff on 23 February, 2015, 02:45:12 PM
Love the cover! Great to see Tharg painted by John Higgins.
Also loving Dredd. It is a bit of a standard action story and maybe seems a bit of an excuse to bring back the Dark Judges but it's an enjoyable story, the art is just wonderful and there have been some funny lines. Anyone else recognise references to the film 'Silent Running', with Dredd in the little buggy and the wide shots of the domes...
Not really getting into Survival Geeks or the 3riller, although the artwork is impressive on both.
The Order is nuts! But I'm really enjoying it. It reminds me of the sort of weird mish-mash tale you'd get in a late 70s/early 80s Lion annual or something.
Being an old - lapsed - returned reader I've also suffered from feeling there's a lot I'm not aware of in Savage and have found it hard to enjoy in the past but I'm really starting to warm to the old fella now..
All round pretty good and Helium by Edginton and D'Israeli is something to look forward to.
The Order really has nailed an old school/new school feel for me. I agree on that old vibe of Lion or Valiant to it. Great stuff for old dinosaurs.
Quote from: Prodigal2 on 24 February, 2015, 02:03:12 PM
The Order really has nailed an old school/new school feel for me. I agree on that old vibe of Lion or Valiant to it. Great stuff for old dinosaurs.
Yeah I'd suggest this is an example of one of the strengths of the current line-up* has a strong balance of fresh and old to keep everyone happy I'd suggest.
Dredd is pretty solid fodder - You don't really need a great deal of background other than that provided and its technically very very good. Most action comic fans would lap this up.
Survival Geeks is fun banter, light and very accessible to many.
3riller always very accessible and this one has a nice 'Vertigo' edge to it and a nice (if a bit heavy handed) bit of social commentary.
The Order is just magnificent. It feels as though its been built for old school fans and yet there's nothing there to make it inaccessible to others.
Savage feels a little like fan service, its deep into a story, its tying itself to even longer history in the comic (hence I love it!) and yet there seems to be enough punch there to keep many more recent or casual readers happy?
There seems to be a little something for everyone, but with enough bleed to allow surely at least 3 strips to appeal to most readers of different 'generations' and longevity of reading. Heck we even have a fairly decent proportion of female characters (if not creators still) for once. Lead in The Order and Station to Station, strong co-star in Dredd, good representation in Survival Geeks ... and .... well Savage
* Not sure if this is specific to the current line-up alone but I'm noticing it more here for some reason.
Do we know how may more parts there are to Dark Justice?
I seem to think it was meant to be 10 in total, which would mean it ends next week. Seems way to soon if that is the case.
Sounds like the Damage Report is a cry for help... its the SD all over again.
Dredd excellent silly stuff.
Survival Geeks love it
3riller great story and art, more Thargy!
The Order picks up and gets up to dat,e vastly improved
Savage: i now know what the collective noun for shoehorns is.
We need a letters page to revitalise Butt'man ;)
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 23 February, 2015, 11:04:00 AM
Oh and also meant to say (only 14 hours late then!) doesn't the picture in the Forthcoming thrill alert for Helium by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli have more than a passing Leviathan vibe about it...
Indeed it does, there is a nod to the steampunk universe for sure with the heli-ship / freighter above the clouds... Should be good!
I solid prog I found. Very much enjoying the fold ATM.
Dredd chunders along doing it's thing and though Dark Justice hasn't turned out to be the classic I had hopped for, in it's defense it could never have been as good as my expectations (or indeed the hype) had propelled it to be after three years of teasing. And for what it is, an old-school thrill with modern artwork, it's hugely enjoyable.
Survival Geeks is somewhat cringe inducing. I'm not a fan of this uber meta kind of humor what so ever and it comes off as all too knowing and happy with itself, like any given episode of The Big bang Theory. But i'm not skipping it outright because Neil Googe is a damn fine talent. Not GRennie's finest moment i'm afraid.
3rillers was great this time around and i'll once again second the sentiment for a collected edition. I re-read Ghostship Mathematica recently and I enjoyed it far more the second time around.
The Order is just pure classic thrill material. Everything about it clicks for me, the superb art from Mr. Burns right down to the memorable characterization of each member (but where did the Wolf go this week?). I genuinely think this has legs to become a new regular to the fold and I hope Kek-W take's that into account.
Savage nearly gave me what I was hoping for since I first read the strip years ago, by caving in Quartz fucking smug face. Sadly it's not to be right now, but i'm loving this new direction the strip is being taken to.
And i'll also add my name down to the list of squaxx eagerly awaiting Helium. Ian Edginton is one of my favorite writers in the house of Tharg ATM and when teamed with D'Israeli the potential for thrill power overload is staggering.
Quote from: Magnetica on 24 February, 2015, 10:32:57 PM
Do we know how may more parts there are to Dark Justice?
I seem to think it was meant to be 10 in total, which would mean it ends next week. Seems way to soon if that is the case.
12, I think
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 25 February, 2015, 03:08:50 PM
Quote from: Magnetica on 24 February, 2015, 10:32:57 PM
Do we know how may more parts there are to Dark Justice?
I seem to think it was meant to be 10 in total, which would mean it ends next week. Seems way to soon if that is the case.
12, I think
11- and it's not enough!
Didn't really comment on the prog last week as frankly I wasn't massively gripped by it and kinda sad to say I feel the same way this week. The Dredd continues to impress artwise but the plot is becoming ever more contrived and run of the mill. Hope to be proved totally wrong next week. The other stories frankly remind me of a good week progwise in the mid 90's (which alas is a bad week in todays terms). Z
I feel that this week that Dark Justice continues its upward trajectory now that all the mechanical assembling of the ring firmly over, and we're into Dredd and Anderson's JDWF Tag Team 2137 title match. I could practically hear a Nickleback cover of Paint it Black blaring over the tannoy as Diastema Death and the One Armed Mortis emerged from the dressing room as spotlit silhouettes. If you can't love Dredd lancing Fire with his own trident while jouting from a golf cart and then feeding him into the spudbasher I weep for all the joy you that are forever denied. Sometimes a painfully contrived setup can be justified by a great payoff, and this beautifully rendered wholly uninterrupted rumble is that time.
I know I'll probably look back on this with a fonder heart, and it isn't bad....must just be the weather and stuff. Z
I've enjoyed Dark Justice so far. It's not up there with Death's first solo outing but I think the Outer Space thing stops it from being a rerun of that particular story. Couple of shaky bits, for sure - Dredd's 'corn mash' comment being one of them - but all in all it's been a pretty fresh take on the DJs.
So yeah, not an all-time classic but an enjoyable horror yarn nevertheless.
I'm always waiting for Mortis, though, to come to the forefront again. His pursuit of the cadets in Necropolis was terrifying, and I find him a far more scary character than any of the other Dark Judges, including Death. (Apart from Judges Sleep and Burroughs of course. )
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 26 February, 2015, 11:17:16 AM
I'm always waiting for Mortis, though, to come to the forefront again.
I sort-of hoped that was going to happen during Day of Chaos - in the absence of Death, I started to think Mortis might take charge - but it was not to be.
I doubt there's room for it now, but Death congratulating Dredd on bringing so many citizens to jusssticcce due to his inciting of, and failure to avert, Chaos Day would be nice. Something about continuing the good work stated in Necropolis, and maybe there's a place for Dredd in their ranks if he fancies a change... That's bound to sting.
Dark Justice is fun, made more so by the stunning artwork.
I'm thoroughly enjoying Survival Geeks this time round, it's fun and funny.
the 3riller is okay, but not the best nor the worst.
Savage is pretty good this run.
Reader Stephen Reid of Arizona USA (https://2000ad.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/ecbt2000ad-ep-198/) points out that Darren Douglas's incredible artwork for Eddie Robson's Tharg's 3riller (Station To Station) has no black-ruled panel borders. NO BORDERS, get it, YEAH? My name's Russell Brand and this is The Trews, subscribe here (points to bottom of screen)
Arf! Very impressed with Douglas' art on the Threeler - not easy for everything to be so clear with a painterly style like that. Felt there was a bit too much chat this week for such a short tale, including the same piece of info about the trains not running being delivered twice, but I like its Dr Whovish plot and the art definitely lifts the whole thing.
Savage has become a really fun romp, and this toying with our expectations of Quartz's imminent smushing is great, and Survival Geeks is similarly entertaining - even if it needs to work a wee bit harder to not be Bec and Kawl. Both have predictably terrific art. I sometimes feel Goddard doesn't get the praise he deserves for his wonderfully consistent characters and convincingly-drawn large-scale scenes of contemporary London.
The Order continues to steal the show for me, even while going up the main attraction of Dark Justice - I've taken to keeping it until last so that I can revel in it at my leisure. Okay, so maybe we've been in the same underground setting for a bit too long now, but other than that it's flawlessly done, continually throwing out world-building developments large and small and steadily creating memorable characters. Enormously confident work from Kek-W, and something Burns is clearly enjoying drawing: I fervently hope this energy can be sustained and continued into subsequent outings. Doubly amusing to see a regular flood of guns and tech introduced into this medieval milieu, even as Wagner works tirelessly to siphon off the very same things from his 22nd Century...
Quote from: Tordelback on 25 February, 2015, 08:50:41 PM
I feel that this week that Dark Justice continues its upward trajectory now that all the mechanical assembling of the ring firmly over... Sometimes a painfully contrived setup can be justified by a great payoff, and this beautifully rendered wholly uninterrupted rumble is that time.
Yes - there's a lot of cheese and groaning at the start of this tale but I am really enjoying this unashamed physical throwdown. (THough even Dredd looks completely naff in that little buggy)
The rest of the prog is working very much for me.
Thank you Tharg and all your droids for 38 years of thrill power.
A really nice cover, Tharg posturing daftly on an anniversary cover is just the thing.
Prog however, did nothing for me, even The usually enjoyable Order. Dredd is certainly pretty, but it's straying into Bond punning. Which is what this DJ tale was supposed to dispense with? Preferred the earlier masterful preamble, focussing on the Mayflower in fact.
Could be damaged thrill-circuits on my part. Just read the first Stickleback trade and it's damn near perfect. I may be ruined for other thrills for a bit :o
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 27 February, 2015, 12:43:34 PM
(Though even Dredd looks completely naff in that little buggy)
Yup -- taking the
Silent Running homage a little
too far.
Quote from: A.Cow on 02 March, 2015, 12:46:25 AM
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 27 February, 2015, 12:43:34 PM
(Though even Dredd looks completely naff in that little buggy)
Yup -- taking the Silent Running homage a little too far.
Or given the comedy widescreen, the Banana Splits maybe? ;)
Anyways a belated Happy 38th anniversary Tharg!
Dredd, and Dark Justice - Not a bad episode, if you discount the 'corn mash!' pages. But still, not working for me overall.
The rest are fine and good solid reads.
Survival geeks is a good romp. Station to Station part 2 is again aces.
And once again, Savage and The Order are fantastic. Great, great art on both. Though the art elsewhere isn't exactly poor. Far from it.
A good 'n' solid prog. Weakened only by Dark Justice, im afraid.