Cover by Tazio Bettin. Looks nice but leaves me wondering why we can't have another series of Slaughterbowl instead of Finnigun Begin-Again/Endless Dexter.
Judge Dredd - The Musical. Part 1. Sensitive Klegg returns and he's a singing sensation. It's a fun opener which sets the stage and has very little Dredd in it. I got the riff on the Bodycount album cover but couldn't get the other one. Lovely artwork!
The Diaboliks - London Calling, Part 3 sees history catching up with them and some pearly Kings and Queens get a slap. Good episode.
Dexter - Lordy Jordy, King of Everything, Part 2. Dexter is as Dexter does, which is Dexter's wont, I Suppose. Not for me but it has it's fans so there we are.
Scarlet Traces - Storm Front, Part 9. The action is dialed back and the conversations are interesting. Lovely artwork!
The Out - Book 2, Part 9. This strip continues to amaze me. Although dialogue heavy and violence light, like Brink, I find the adventures of Cyd far more interesting and compelling. The lovely artwork helps, I'm sure.
Cheers
Cover by Tazio Bettin:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEeC5flWYAUeOX-?format=jpg&name=large)
Cover and Logo:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/5IHDgqo20WbjZvA2HkwBh83kBJM=/trim/fit-in/779x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/49/11/32d0323eb93a44a4c5abc97a8e5123dc5125.jpeg)
Quote from: NapalmKev on 21 November, 2021, 09:26:46 AM
I got the riff on the Bodycount album cover but couldn't get the other one. Lovely artwork!
My Prog just arrived and that Bodycount album cover is fantastic, right down to his little Klegg abs. Put this on a poster or a shirt please Tharg!*
The other pastiche is Public Enemys Fear of a Black Planet.
*I'm sure there's a target audience of ten or maybe even twelve other people who love Kleggs and Bodycount and would also buy this!
Finished the Prog over lunch and here's my quick thoughts. First off, this is a fantastic cover although the Jurassic Shark text has gone for a slightly transparent yellow (as opposed to the images above where it's opaque) and I don't think it looks good. Great image though and I'd really like to see more Bettin in the Prog.
Dredd has no Dredd at all but it does have Sensitive Klegg. Hugely enjoyable opener with a ridiculous premise and the promise of stuff going terribly wrong. There's a lot of easter eggs / nods to things both real world and Dreddworld in the art - it's lovely.
Diaboliks Hateful people fight each other, moving on...
Dexter The dinosaur stuff is great but it has the drag factor of a story which no longer engages me. Less talking and more fighting would be an improvement here. Tazio Bettin's dinos look fantastic and there's a frame here at the top of the second page that just awesomely captures the movement of the attack.
Scarlet Traces All talking this episode, not a huge amount to comment on beyond that as it's all about what came before and comes after.
The Out The story gets serious - it's all talk again and it seriously shakes things up, once again in an unpredictable fashion. This is excellent all the way through.
Good Prog!
Is anybody buying a hideous Dredd Christmas jumper?
My post is so bad - I got last week's prog today
Quote from: Dandontdare on 22 November, 2021, 09:58:38 PM
My post is so bad - I got last week's prog today
Still waiting for mine. Have 2259, but missing last weeks still!
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 22 November, 2021, 09:59:55 PM
Still waiting for mine. Have 2259, but missing last weeks still!
Well I would have gotten the digital one already since my understanding is that patience is a type of vegetable which I do not consume :)
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 22 November, 2021, 03:04:59 PMThere's a lot of easter eggs / nods to things both real world and Dreddworld in the art - it's lovely.
Is anybody buying a hideous Dredd Christmas jumper?
Yes I've plumped for the Santa one and it arrived yesterday. Nice and cosy 😁
As for the Easter eggs in the Dredd story I would defo buy that "Heroes" hoodie if it was ever produced 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
I'm disappointed. I was sure the cover tag line was going to be "Tyranosaurus Dex".
Great first episode for the Dredd story, the only downside is what happened to the superb Weston cover previewed back in the last Meg, next week maybe?
So in The Out Joey sees Cyd's adventures the way we do, as sequential episodes that can be visited in any order...does this mean "The Up" is the world outside the comic? Or is that a bit too meta?
Good prog with just a small minor bump 4/5
Dredd – The first episode is so silly but yes, it is super fun and enjoyable with Dredd nowhere to be seen (only as a poster). Great opener.
Diaboliks – We enter some intriguing back-story as the battle is about the heat up. Good stuff
Dexter – Continue the sideline quest with some nice art from Tazio
Scarlet Traces – More an episode to reflect and two decide which path must be taken as Edginton conducts the orchestra. Top-notch stuff from the creators.
The Out – An emotional driven episode. Another layer of this outstanding episode is opened "The Up" but it still leave us with a lot of questions. The episode ends with another twist with the return of an old foe. Awesome story.
A nice cover, although the text printing was off on my copy, so you could see through the yellow in Jurassic Shark, rather denting its impact.
Inside, Dredd was a superb opener for what looks likely to be a fun tale. Diaboliks rattles along, even if I don't care if the entire cast ends up being eaten by a Grue. Dexter was fun enough in isolation. I guess I just need to make peace with the fact this strip will never end and will continue to wrap itself in knots to extend its run.
Scarlet Traces was talky but nonetheless great. I do wish Rebellion had released this in HC, like Dark Horse. It feels like we're reaching the end game now, unless there's going to be another twist. And The Out? Poor Cyd. I never gelled with this idea this strip was pretty but relatively throwaway, in the sense of fleeting social media pics. It always had gravitas. But that last episode really got me in the feels.
This week, three strips are properly motoring and are all equally good in their own ways. The other two are solid enough to get a half-pointer, so:
Dredd = Scarlet Traces = The Out > Diaboliks = Dexter and 4/5
Yeah, a Rigellian Hotshot for the print droid who changed the alpha on that cover line yellow. Otherwise it's an excellent showcase for Tazio Bettin's talent.
Can't help but love 'The Musical' even though it probably crosses the boundary on how Dredd-lite a Dredd-lite Dredd can be. Not being terribly familiar with the character, am I missing some plot point that explains why only some people are terrified of Sensitive Klegg?
Diaboliks goes to some properly dark places. It's a long time since I read Cabalistics, Inc. and had forgotten that Ravne had such a dubious past. Any chance of a The Collection spin-off after this, do you reckon? Actually I'd be happy with just a Lady Phantasmagoria spin-off.
Dexter is once again an excellent read of itself but it does seem desperately bogged down by the intermittent and interminable nature of its appearances, and increasingly like a collection of ideas that the Abnett droid hasn't been able to expand into complete series. Although to be fair The Out is adopting a similar scattershot approach to themes and stories to apparent universal acclaim.
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 22 November, 2021, 03:04:59 PM
Is anybody buying a hideous Dredd Christmas jumper?
Quite tempted by the 'Freeze, creep!' one
Quote from: norton canes on 25 November, 2021, 09:53:54 AMAlthough to be fair The Out is adopting a similar scattershot approach to themes and stories to apparent universal acclaim.
The Out works within its own internal logic. The entire premise is someone going from place to place, seeing new things. Sin/Dex long ago ditched the idea of internal logic, with its reality leaping and such. It got bogged down in its own complexity, and gave the leads plot armour to a ludicrous degree. Because of how the story runs, I just don't care what happens to anyone in it anymore. I'll read it. It's fine. But I don't care. The Out, though, gets you right in the feels.
Quoteam I missing some plot point that explains why only some people are terrified of Sensitive Klegg?
No, it's just that some people know who he is and some don't.
Quote from: norton canes on 25 November, 2021, 09:53:54 AM
Can't help but love 'The Musical' even though it probably crosses the boundary on how Dredd-lite a Dredd-lite Dredd can be. Not being terribly familiar with the character, am I missing some plot point that explains why only some people are terrified of Sensitive Klegg?
I'm not sure it's that Dredd-lite - the entire strip is going to be about someone telling his story, which I'm sure he'll really love.
Sensitive Klegg is a bit of a low level celebrity, so some cits are used to him but that doesn't mean that running into an eight-foot tall flesh-eating upright crocodile man can't come as a big shock.
The post Prog 2250 lineup has been strong but it's cool to see how a top notch Dredd can lift the rest of the prog a little bit higher.
Cover in B/W:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2259-TB-03-cover-pencils-806x1024.jpg)
Thats fantastic. Tazio Bettin has some pages from the previous Dexter series on his instagram in black and white and I think they look much smarter - I'd quite like to see him do a full series in b&w, something gritty and violent like Savage or Defoe, which were outstanding without colour.
Tazio Bettin's b/w work on the previous Sin/Dex arc:
(https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/041/954/465/large/tazio-bettin-sindexpage12inks.jpg?1633173208)
(https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/041/954/543/large/tazio-bettin-sindexpage14inks.jpg?1633173412)
My Top 3 for Prog 2259
1st - The Out - very emotional episode for Cyd. Imaginative work by Abnett and Harrison with the Up, and then some danger on the way to close out this episode. Really well done
2nd - Scarlet Traces - Negotiations taking place with a gorgeous colour palette by D'Israeli
3rd - Dredd - 'Judge Kisser" LP lol. Love all the posters in the background and need to see more Chris Weston vehicles based on panel one.
Here is an interview with both RW and CW on the wonderful Dredd story:
https://2000ad.com/news/interview-judge-dredd-the-musical-rob-williams-chris-weston-bring-the-noise/ (https://2000ad.com/news/interview-judge-dredd-the-musical-rob-williams-chris-weston-bring-the-noise/)
Accordingly Rob : Judge Dredd the Musical is a three-part – well, four-part, really, we have a longer final part thanks to the grace of Tharg The Mighty – storyline that is the career comeback of Sensitive Klegg.
Scott Ian isn't the lead singer of Anthrax! For shame!
Otherwise this is cool. Looking forward to the next episode of the story very much.
Quote from: Southstreeter on 23 November, 2021, 09:22:10 PM
I'm disappointed. I was sure the cover tag line was going to be "Tyranosaurus Dex".
Sweet mother of Grud you are SO right, so right.
Even with that fumble however this was a majestic Prog in a run that is simply brilliant. While I've had to wait to read these last three issues its been worth the wait and reading them in short order has been lovely. If I'm a lucky boy next weeks Prog will land tomorrow too.
ANYWAY why is the Prog so good right now, well...
Dredd its bloody funny and beautiful to look at.
The Diaboliks its bloody dirty and grimey and excellent.
Dexter its bloody dinosaurs fighting gun sharks and exciting (after such a long time)
Scarlet Traces its bloody intriguing and drives the plot forward and man is it beautiful to look at.
The Out its bloody well one of the best stories to have ever graced Tharg's Kingdom. How something so naturally and organically flips from being hilarious to as powerful as this episode just makes it feel like life. An astonishing bewildering, harrowing life, but it feels wonderfully darkly, warmly, real. Its a little piece of magic.
That's why.