After all the action last week normal programming resumes with a jumping on prog. New stories all round. What treasures do we have then?
Well, we start with a John McRea cover highlighting the potential grudge-match between Dredd and Slade. Maybe it's just the sheer quantity of amazing covers we've had of late but this does seem a little below par. [usual caveat about exceptionally high standards when it comes to tooth apply ...]
Judge Dredd: Poison Part 1 sees Dredd off on the trail of whatever killed Hershey. Very much a 'laying out the stall' tale here from Williams and Holden. Lots of talking heads and a quick run to the first clue. Cue a potential conspiracy tale as the trail points straight back to the meg? Will Williams blind-side us all with something completely different or is this another "deepest, darkest secrets in Justice Dept" tale? Nowt much to hint at the direction of travel yet but certainly a decent enough opener with enough info to give new readers a bit of a hint as to what's going on.
Feral and Foe: Bad Godesberg lets the action do the introductions. Abnett and Elson are back with the mismatched mystical bounty hunters. Cue lots of blood, snazzy special effects and the sort of banter those familiar with a certain web-spinner will be used to.
Then the set-up for the big bad. Some sort of automaton that needs to be transported to the big-shots to be understood. Hence an expanded cast that sees the ubiquitous heroes relegated to potential cannon-fodder. With the final reveal of how 'fecked up' the situation is, we have everything neatly lain out except for exactly how 'fecked' our eponymous heroes are.
Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here because up until now F&F hasn't really done it for me. Granted this is Elson on form with some amazing stuff. True, Abnett delivers the banter in spades with some absolutely outstanding craven crawling "Ooh! Sir! Please, Sir! May I humbly crave your permission to command that transport? It would be a great honour!" Truly, such brown-nosing has never been so effectively delivered.
This may well change my view of the strip. If this is the standard of the run then I may well have to completely re-appraise my position. As I say, it helps that Elson is the perfect fit for this one. His colouring really hits the mood too. With Campbell on lettering duty with his usual panache, what is not to like?
Helium: Scorched Earth. Having actually missed the cover strip line-up this turned out to be a massive, and utterly welcome surprise. There are times when not being too attentive has its benefits. As a bonus for anyone (everyone?) who has lost the train of thought on this strip in the interval between this and its previous outing (progs 1934 to 1945 back in 2015!) there is a q-code for a free download of helium book one to catch up.
So what do E&D deliver up for us here? As with Dredd, this one sets the scene but with an eye to what went long before. Using the device of a lesson to deliver the information readers need about the circumstances that created the world of Helium works well but Edgington doesn't labour long before establishing, somewhat unsurprisingly, the back-story of the main protagonists.
D'israeli's stylistic world is spectacularly rendered with echoes of Czarist Russia. The tale very much mirrors the fall of the Romanovs and leaves clear parallels with the myth of Anastasia. All this before sling-shotting the reader back to the 'present' and the crisis that ended the last series.
This, as with everything else this week, serves perfectly to gently slide new readers into this world. Adding the enticement of a digital download is a cracking marketing strategy, potentially opening up the world of Tooth to new readers. For those of us that have long wondered if we would ever see this continue, it is an equally welcome re-introduction.
Judge Dredd vs Robo-Hunter. It's hard to remember that way, way back in the day Sam Slade spent time in the Big Meg. Of course his Brit-Cit adventures are far more familiar, lasting far longer. That said, it always felt like a world slightly removed from Dredd's
Whenever there is a meeting of major characters the plot is fairly predictable. When Johnny Alpha first entered the Meg the combined problems of being a Mutie and a bounty hunter guaranteed conflict which Dredd was more than happy to (repeatedly) deliver. The big American publishers seem to have a weak-AI generator for their tales along theses lines.
With a strip delivered by Ennis and Flint the expectations are high for the ultra-violence. It is hard to avoid being fearful for Mrs Gunderson as Walter becomes the latest target for Slade. His role in a Brit-Cit robot revolt is the source of Slades' contract and as a bounty hunter of sorts, the telegraphed meeting with Dredd is pretty much guaranteed to be something memorable. All this courtesy of Mr Flint's penmanship.
This one serves up a nice slice of nostalgia whilst at the same time erasing some of the worst memories of Robo-Hunter. Add in the violence to which Walter is subjected and it is doubly nostalgically-satisfying for those readers who found themselves with a 'Wesleyan' distaste for Dredd's 'wobot'.
All round a cracking prog this week. Surprisingly Dredd is the least-satisfying read but that is more because of the standard of the rest of the prog. A nice balance of the new and old, easily accessibly whilst still leaving room for exploring the long and complex history of the prog.
Cover by John McCrea:
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/tI5xY-ljLY7wIxrbD531mZoOBAU=/trim/fit-in/797x1024/filters:format(webp)/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/products/95/aa/6e02e25747e65f56cd480161b325555d682d.jpg)
I'll be a contrary voice there and say I like that cover. Nice and old skool!
Whoever decided on that free download of Helium Book One, that was very smart. Only read Dredd/Robo-Hunter so far, which I have to say subverted everything you thought might happen really nicely. I've no idea where it fits into continuity – I'm assuming this is meant to be 'now' for Dredd? Regardless, it was fun.
Can anyone recall Slade's first appearance in Mega-City One? Was it in a Dredd story which I have forgotten?
Well that was fun.
Dredd carries out an investigation into Hershey's death, or at least the poisoning that coursed it. Great start and lovely art from PJ.
Feral and Foe starts with our 'heroes' in seeming fine fettle and we're brought quickly up to speed and then have the new adventure set up efficently. Oh and its well funny.
Helium does a smart job of catching us up in a way that's deliberately disorientating. After an 8 year gap probably the best that could be done and pretty engaging. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.
Judge Dredd vs Robo-hunter could have been an annoying and cute waste of time. A needless gimmick... I mean it is a needless gimmick but its done really, really smartly. Has glorious Henry Flint art and is actually really good fun. So have to say my cyncism on this one was misplaced and its a great job all round.
So yeah that's a great Prog to back up last weeks and folks jumping on have a lot to keep them around. Well done Tharg and all Droids involved.
I decided to grab meg 390 and reread the first series of Helium.
Again, I'm looking forward to this. After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.
Quote from: Max Headroom on 23 September, 2023, 06:04:04 PMCan anyone recall Slade's first appearance in Mega-City One? Was it in a Dredd story which I have forgotten?
That would be the very first episode of Robo-Hunter in prog 76.
But does it? I do t recall it ever explicitly naming the US location. We did get a start year (2140) and Slade later moving to Brit-Cit. And if this is MC1 at the start, although the timelines add up, what we see doesn't. Just the police alone in Day of the Droids don't scream Judge Dredd.</geekcontinuityhat>
BTW, did anyone else get their subscription gift? Mine arrived with the Prog (unlike last time). A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).
Yes I got mine with the prog.
Not cracked the subs gift yet but it also came with the prog. Am I being picky or is the design on these a little lacking? Not that it matters really.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 09:54:55 AMA nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).
I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻
Quote from: Trooper McFad on 25 September, 2023, 11:34:52 AMQuote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 09:54:55 AMA nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).
I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻
That would be crackin'
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 25 September, 2023, 11:55:59 AMQuote from: Trooper McFad on 25 September, 2023, 11:34:52 AMQuote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 09:54:55 AMA nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).
I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻
That would be crackin'
Him or Henry F might well be the one to break me!
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 09:54:55 AMBTW, did anyone else get their subscription gift? Mine arrived with the Prog (unlike last time). A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).
Having swapped to a digital subscription at the start of the year, I no longer qualify for these; which is a little annoying. But only a little as I probably own all of the content anyway. But still it would be nice if there was a way for digital subscribers to get these.
At least as digital editions.
Having now read it through, that was a fantastic issue of 2000 AD. A fun cover and then the opener of a
Dredd tale that wastes no time lobbing us into the action. Great art, with a Dredd seemingly carved from granite.
Feral & Foe's double parter was excellent from start to finish. For me, this is kind of tier-B Abnett, but these ten pages were packed with great moments and typically fantastic artwork.
Skipping to the end, I've already mentioned that I enjoyed what Garth Ennis did with
Dredd vs Robo-Hunter, even if it makes no sense from a continuity standpoint. JayzusB.Christ said:
QuoteAfter the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.
Agreed. Fully. But I also hugely respect Ennis for being so honest and thoughtful about his time on the Prog. Millar and Morrison seemed to consider it a stepping stone and something to be squashed by their genius when they outgrew it. Ennis appear to still hold deep fondness for British comic as a whole (after all, Battle!) and his work now is the strongest it's been. So, yes, great to see him back in the Prog, and it won't hurt the Prog to have his name properly associated with its present rather than just its past either.
Finally,
Helium. Was it worth the frankly ludicrous eight-year wait? Only you can be the judge of that. What I will say is that when I read through the freebie PDF, I'd forgotten how bloody great this strip was, and how it blazed through a strip set in an interesting and new 2000 AD universe. And then it stopped. For eight bloody years. So I'm very happy to see it back, even if this basically fills in one blank from the first series and to some degree feels as much like the second half of that's kicking off than a brand-new book.
Looking forward to the next book of Brass Sun in 2026.
No arrows this week. Four crackers. Nothing to separate them at all.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 24 September, 2023, 06:50:44 PMAgain, I'm looking forward to this. After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.
I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!
The Gronk was in the Strontium Dogs run and it is best left unread. Spud guns is presumably a reference to his Emerald Isle Dredd strip. Mutant teddy bear rings a bell but I might have blocked that out of my mind.
That's Teddy Bear's Firefight in prog 737.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 08:33:04 AMBut does it? I do t recall it ever explicitly naming the US location. We did get a start year (2140) and Slade later moving to Brit-Cit. And if this is MC1 at the start, although the timelines add up, what we see doesn't. Just the police alone in Day of the Droids don't scream Judge Dredd.</geekcontinuityhat>
I stand corrected. Sam & Kidd leave for Verdus from
Mega-City 1 spaceport which does give Tharg a bit of wiggle room here. Any deviation between the two strips in subsequent stories we can put down to leakage of Time Radiation from Thoth buggering about in the Time Wastes as well as Helter Skelter ;)
Quote from: Batman's Superior Cousin on 25 September, 2023, 07:06:20 PMQuote from: JayzusB.Christ on 24 September, 2023, 06:50:44 PMAgain, I'm looking forward to this. After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.
I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!
(http://www.2000ad.org/covers/2000ad/mediumres/817.jpg)
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Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 03:50:39 PMFinally, Helium. Was it worth the frankly ludicrous eight-year wait? Only you can be the judge of that. What I will say is that when I read through the freebie PDF, I'd forgotten how bloody great this strip was, and how it blazed through a strip set in an interesting and new 2000 AD universe. And then it stopped. For eight bloody years. So I'm very happy to see it back, even if this basically fills in one blank from the first series and to some degree feels as much like the second half of that's kicking off than a brand-new book.
Being newish to the prog, after a 30 year absence, I couldn't say if it's worth the wait as I caught the first series in the Meg floppy not so long ago. But I loved it and I'm happy it's back. This writer/artist team have produced some crackers. And while I appreciate the greyscales of Leviathan and Stickleback, I really love D'israeli in full colour. Scarlet Traces is a marvel.
Rest of the prog also great. It's really on a high at the moment. I'm slightly missing Azimuth though.
Quote from: O Lucky Stevie! on 26 September, 2023, 04:58:46 AMI stand corrected. Sam & Kidd leave for Verdus from Mega-City 1 spaceport which does give Tharg a bit of wiggle room here. Any deviation between the two strips in subsequent stories we can put down to leakage of Time Radiation from Thoth buggering about in the Time Wastes as well as Helter Skelter ;)
Ha! Naturally, none of this stuff lines up. Strontium Dog isn't Dredd's future. Flesh and Harlem Heroes aren't the strip's past. They're just fun things. But I do like seeing how the lines between the strips might link up – and how fully.
I didn't spot Mega-City One being mentioned at all when I flicked through those early episodes just now, but I might be missing it. (Those early pages are hard work today, though. Some casual sexism on page five and then followed up on page six with casual racism. Although both are perhaps in character with an old git.
From Verdus episode 2, prog 77: "One day I'm a robo-hunter working Megacity." That story is set in 2140.
(https://i.imgur.com/fYnLtWX.jpg)
I thought the art on Sam Slade was brilliant but the story was pretty much just like a Marvel movie post-credits scene.
So a neat conversation with a very slight twist
but I'd much rather see them team up to solve a case (or fight).
Just seemed a bit throw away unless there's more.
Richard: aha! So 'Megacity'.
matty_ae: I always find these things can outstay their welcome, and so the quick one-episode thing works for me. Top Dog was the one that had a bit of extended play that seemed to work the best.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 25 September, 2023, 07:49:51 PMThe Gronk was in the Strontium Dogs run and it is best left unread. Spud guns is presumably a reference to his Emerald Isle Dredd strip. Mutant teddy bear rings a bell but I might have blocked that out of my mind.
Quote from: Richard on 26 September, 2023, 12:41:32 AMThat's Teddy Bear's Firefight in prog 737.
Quote from: Funt Solo [R] on 26 September, 2023, 05:52:23 AMQuote from: Batman's Superior Cousin on 25 September, 2023, 07:06:20 PMQuote from: JayzusB.Christ on 24 September, 2023, 06:50:44 PMAgain, I'm looking forward to this. After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.
I'm gonna need some story & prog issue reference's please!!
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Thank you all, much appreciated!!
A good prog with a good cover
Dredd – A good start to the Dredd story and hopefully after this series we have all our answers rather than a continuation of the pathogen storyline.
Feral and Foe – Good start and great to see this series back. I always loved the LOTR setting of any story and Abnett twist on the genre is great. I must say that Elson's excellent art took another step-up, those last two pages just feel epic.
Helium – They say patience is a virtue, but 8 years is not a virtue it is a lifetime in comics. I like the setup is done by giving us the background and then it morphs into the last panel on to where we are now. I will recommend rereading book 1. Before I forget is D'Israeli not one of the best colorist on the planet.
Robo-hunter – Not my favorite Wagner character so maybe that is why I did not really get this one-shot. Flint's art as always is a joy to watch the story itself was just too bland for my taste. Does this mean that Ennis next tooth venture will be the Return (yet again) of Robo-hunter?
Next week we have the return of Deadworld and a series that was advertise along time ago, The Devil's Railroad (https://www.comicbooknews.co.uk/article/the-devil-s-railroad-begins-in-2000-ad-prog-2352.html).
B/W Cover:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/dredd_robo030_tones.jpg)
Colour Cover:
(https://2000ad.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2000AD_McCREA_DREDD-ROBO_correx-749x1024.jpg)
Quote from: matty_ae on 26 September, 2023, 02:44:28 PMI thought the art on Sam Slade was brilliant but the story was pretty much just like a Marvel movie post-credits scene.
So a neat conversation with a very slight twist
but I'd much rather see them team up to solve a case (or fight).
Just seemed a bit throw away unless there's more.
It did feel like a joke spread over a few too many pages, didn't it?
I think if it had just appeared without any editorial fanfare the thrills would have been better appreciated! (Last panel made it all worth it though :lol: )
And since when has Dredd cared for warrants issued in Brit-Cit? Surely Sam had no jurisdiction?
That said, I'm always happy to see more Henry Flint in the prog, and this doesn't disappoint.
I'm just worried for the seemingly immortal Mrs Gunderson now. Dredd better sort out some kind of new home help for her!
Quotesince when has Dredd cared for warrants issued in Brit-Cit? Surely Sam had no jurisdiction?
In the modern world, we have various intentional agreements regarding some aspects of policing and such. No reason to think that wouldn't be the case in the future. And although MC1/BC have had their ups and downs, they've mostly been portrayed as close allies throughout 2000 AD's run.
And I'm now thinking about this too much. I should have gone with: <pitchmeetingvoice>"Because that means the story can happen!"</pitchmeetingvoice>
Here is interview with Ian Edginton and Disraeli related to Helium:
https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-edginton-disraeli-on-the-return-of-helium-to-2000-ad/ (https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-edginton-disraeli-on-the-return-of-helium-to-2000-ad/)
Interesting about what Ian is saying about Brass Sun:
After Helium, Matt and I will be working on a Scarlet Traces prequel and then the LA story if it gets approved! We do have designs on more Stickleback at some point. Ampney Crucis or a variation thereof will be cropping up so keep your eyes peeled!
I keep on meaning to get back to Brass Sun. I have it all laid out right to the very end. I just need to sit my arse in the chair and get on with it!
From a readers perspective thats Ian Edginton's biggest problem. He does seem to get too distracted by the new shiny thing (he's said as much himself in other interviews I seem to recall) and that means he leaves things hangin' for ages. See Stickleback, the fact we seem to be getting more Ampney Crucis and Brass Sun is just sat there twiddlin' its thumbs.
Can understand why any creator would feel that, but add to those delays the fact he works with very busy artists and it leads to a very frustrating reader experience!
Didn't Stickleback end up in a place that could serve as a long-term pause/conclusion (like where Kingdom is now)? I like Ampney, but don't really care if it shows up again. More Scarlet Traces is all good, but that hit a good pause spot as well.
Honestly, it's more frustrating to know Brass Sun is all plotted out. If he was just winging it and didn't know where it was going next, fair enough. But, good grief. And there may well just come a point where it's abandoned, which would be a crying shame.
More 'Stickleback' is great for me.
After last week's Battle-Action behemoth, another blisteringly brilliant prog.
The cover's great but I can see how awkward it must have been to compose, incorporating Walter, Sam's reflection, his own gun arm and Dredd. Fortunately the McCrea droid's perspective circuits are up to the task! The story itself is beautifully written and realised (kudos to Rob Steen's delicate colour palette), with a thoroughly blindsiding denouement. Maybe this'll open the door for more adventures of Sam C. Slut.
Feral & Foe is my favourite of the Abnett droid's current strips so a double helping was very welcome. Lovely way to reintroduce the characters and recap the strip's premise. With Richard Elson (and Jim Campbell, of course) knocking things out of the park it almost - almost, mind - makes up for the recent lack of Kingdom.
I wasn't around for the first book of Helium so that's on the catch-up list, but it's always lovely to have Ian Edginton's very distinctive voice in the prog. Throw in an intriguing start to 'Poison' and you've got solid win from cover to cover. Ghafflebette!
The Dredd/Robo-hunter story did seem like the setup for something. I hope so, anyway, otherwise it seems a bit inconsequential. Also, who is Rob Steen, and why does he always letter Ennis's stuff?
Quote from: nxylas on 27 September, 2023, 03:14:26 PMAlso, who is Rob Steen, and why does he always letter Ennis's stuff?
Garth is very, very particular about how his stories are lettered, right down to balloon placements. I'm assuming that Rob does the lettering pretty much exactly how Garth wants it, and then Garth doesn't feel the need to do a round of notes getting the lettering 'fixed' to his liking.
(Mike Moreci asks for me on pretty much all of his books, for broadly similar reasons.)
Oops sorry, I credited Rob Steen for colours in my post up there, not lettering
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 27 September, 2023, 03:25:28 PMGarth is very, very particular about how his stories are lettered, right down to balloon placements. I'm assuming that Rob does the lettering pretty much exactly how Garth wants it, and then Garth doesn't feel the need to do a round of notes getting the lettering 'fixed' to his liking.
(Mike Moreci asks for me on pretty much all of his books, for broadly similar reasons.)
Interesting, I figured it might be something like that. I've heard of certain writer/artist combos working well together, but never a writer/letterer team.
Talking about lettering, I just noticed that the Dredd strip is lettered by Simon Bowland. The more interesting thing is I cannot the last few years remember anyone except Annie Parkhouse lettering Dredd.
Quote from: broodblik on 27 September, 2023, 07:57:05 PMThe more interesting thing is I cannot the last few years remember anyone except Annie Parkhouse lettering Dredd.
Annie's been unwell recently — she's recovering fine (as far as I know, from a brief communication with Steve P) so Simon and I are keeping her seat warm between us until she's ready to resume her duties in the Thrill Mines once again.
Get well soon, Annie.
Aye, get well soon, Annie Parkhouse.
Best wishes, Annie.
I will endeavour to pass on your good wishes, folks.
Please pass on my best wishes too.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 27 September, 2023, 08:12:48 PMQuote from: broodblik on 27 September, 2023, 07:57:05 PMThe more interesting thing is I cannot the last few years remember anyone except Annie Parkhouse lettering Dredd.
Annie's been unwell recently — she's recovering fine (as far as I know, from a brief communication with Steve P) so Simon and I are keeping her seat warm between us until she's ready to resume her duties in the Thrill Mines once again.
Sorry to hear get well soon Annie
Yeah get well soon Annie.
Please kindly pass on my best wishes Jim and hope she's feeling a lot better soon!!
Best wishes Annie, hope you're well soon
pass on my well wishes too. Annies a legend
Get well soon Annie. Looking forward to your return to the prog x
Just want to add my best wishes also to Annie. I likewise look forward to her return to the prog when she recovers (which will hopefully be soon).
Yep, get well soon, Annie.
Where the f*ck is the next episode of Major Eazy? I haven't seen a worse example of Thargian mismanagement since the Firekind debacle. Clearly the work of the Dictators of Zrag etc.
Sad to hear Annie has been through the ringer recently, delighted to hear she is on the mend. Well wishes all round for a speedy, but therapeutic, recovery.