2000 AD Online Forum

This prog's wraparound cover got me thinking about Starscans.  When was the last time we had one?  Looking into some of the starscans for past thills gives us a few openings for a revival... not a peep from such popular thrills as Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter, The Red Seas...  Can we have a couple?  Go on, Green Bonce, you know you want to...

Some favourites from t'olden days (check the full size covers for maximum thrill power):

Prog 173


Prog 196


Prog 583


Prog 591


Prog 608

Sexy Angelina.

Sigh... they ARE great, and I do love those examples there.

But I'd rather they stayed in prog 2000 and we had one page strips more often in the prog.  More value for money read, less eye candy.

Then again, maybe in the meg... there is a financial justification in that they can be covers for GN's in many cases I guess.  Which seems to be how some of thr Prog 2000 pics have been used.

Nice thread Ming, cheers!

Yes please.

What would you rather have - a nice page of art, or another page of story? Me, I'd vote for a page of story, but that's just me.

davidbishop

Another page of Dredd.

Depends on the story ;-)

I wouldn't mind seeing things like Starscans back in the mix - along with fun stuff like Supercovers, one-page strips & Future Shocks, they're part of what made 2K a favourite. Surely there's room to drop one or two in across the course of a few months, perhaps utilising the rear cover? It's been quite regularly given over to full-spread covers, so it's not like a precedent hasn't been set with regards to sacrificing potential ad revenue...

I'm with Ming on this one. If you go to the Starscans section of this site there's some absolutely AMAZING, quality stuff there which really did serve a valid, very positive purpose.

Some examples of this are the Bisley Joe Pinapples one which proudly states "He's heading your way in Prog 573." Cool! This generated much more excitement for upcoming stories than the squashed little 'coming soon' frame on the input page these days.

I liked how starscans gave some artists a chance to be a bit more experimental, abstract or humourous (602, 632, 868, 1070), a real oportunity to produce a quality image that perhaps wouldn't work as a cover but enhanced a stip or character no end. They're also a nice way to see artists working on characters they may not usually get a chance to paint - I'd like to see a Rufus Nikolai Dante starscan for example.

When I was younger I actively looked forward to starscans that were like a mini-series (things like Garry Leach's amazing Dark Judges series - I remember actually being excited for the Mortis one!), Cliff Robinson's Justice Dept series, Robin Smith's Creator Droids, Mick Austin's Quirky 'future' series and even Dillon's Harlem Heroes set.) To me, all of these add something to a story and/or the prog in gerneral.

I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the yawnsville letters page sacrifced every now and again for one some of the wonderful images in the starscans section (Ian Gibson's Anderson one (prog 596) is stunning.)

With the current slew of graphic novels, starscans can only serve as quality extras and would also give plenty of material for shop items like the 2000ad Postcards or cool posters.

I realise that money is tight for 2000ad but I'd love to see a Dredd Villains starscan series, an ABC warriors set, ads for Mega City Fads, an updated classic album covers series or strips from yesteryear set.

What (if anything) would you lot like?

Link: Starscans - Just look at 'em!

We don' need no steenkeeng "othor page of storee", senor.

Starscans brought variety and excitement - this modern movement of Thargs not to include one of the cornerstone parts of the golden era 2000AD is just that - a movement.  All over my cornflakes.

They remind me a bit of our art threads, tbh - although of course I'm not suggesting we poor proles are as talented as the actual droids. But it's just the way you never know what's coming, what characters are going to be picked, or what the artists are going to do with them. And like Pete said, they're far more fun and exciting then the 'coming soon' boxes on the input page.

I think Star Scans have their place,but I would much rather have another strip page TBH.

How about the current droids do something like this for themselves/each other?

I'll try that again...

Nuts!

Double nuts!

What i'm referring to is the droid scans...

I wasn't proposing a regular or particularly frequent return of Starscans, just an occasional appearance as a treat, in a similar vein to this prog's wraparound cover.  For me, wraparound covers and Starscans are like Green Bonce going out of his way to turn the Thillometer up to 11 just because he can.

I don't think this should be seen as something that loses us a page of strip work now and again, but rather as something that adds to the diversity of the prog, and may offer a different outlet for both droids and thrills.

Must be the missing fingers interferin' with your web-fu, Mikey ;-)

Here are the smaller versions:

When you look at some of the ropey covers they've had to use for the collections (I'm looking at Slaine here, but there are other offenders!), a series of starscans that could be used as GN covers would be great - What I'd do is run a 1 page humour strip on the back page or wherehave you, and occasionally substitute it for a starscan that had been cynically commissioned on the understanding it would turn up on the GN...

Starscans, Futureshorts, Alien Invasions or even more Sooner or Later style story telling. Chuck em all in and give it a big thrilling stir thats what I say.


Or stick an ad for some collectable card game in instead.

It's all very well saying that you'd rather have that extra page of story, but the back cover is almost never used for story anyway.

So while people might want that extra page, if they aren't going to get it, star scan or no star scan, then we might as well campaign for star scans:)

I guess putting an ad in that space is like an ideal "Anti Star Scan", in that it *makes* 2000ad money rather than costs them money, but once in a while it wouldn't be too much of a loss would it?

On the other hand, a good Alien Invasion by Henry Flint would always be preferable to a single piece of art work, but has to run out of ideas sometime soon... doesn't he?

Yes, the back cover is often used as an ad for the next issue, or for the Meg.  Look at progs 1506-1507, each of which had an ad for Meg 250.  Surely one of those could have had a nice star scan instead?

"Must be the missing fingers interferin' with your web-fu, Mikey ;-)"

I can still just about give you the fingers you know! ;)

Ok then-we're agreed...

OI THARG!GIVE US SOME STAR SCANS!

M.

there are some great starscans but one of my faves which wasn't just a great pic but influenced the whole direction of a story has to be....

"I'm with Ming on this one. If you go to the Starscans section of this site there's some absolutely AMAZING, quality stuff there which really did serve a valid, very positive purpose."

WHat you could do is get Starscans to go in pages where you are promitng the Meg/2000AD in the other comic.  Instead of just showing the cover, get some new art made up based around some of the characters involved and add some puncy text.  That way you'd be getting starscans but not losing anything else.

Please don't tell me you're the same Ming from Queenonline.com.....

Nope.

Nice pick, Mr Logan.

The ULTIMATE compromise - a scrotnig back page Star Scan/Futuregraph which also provided the actual final panel of Prog 3's Dredd tale.

Everybody's happy! More please!

used to love these sort of starscans when I was a kid



would spend ages looking at them

& the only pic that ever made it on to my wall, it was the only one I was prepared to deface a Prog for



As a young squaddie this one made it on to my bedspace, although I did by two Progs to make up for it



My final choice is another that would make it on to my all time fave starscan list and is exactly what modern adverts lack. When I saw this it told me nothing but I wanted to read this story so badly

try again with that final pic

Link: War

It's great to think back to when I first saw that - Rogue is such an icon now - but then he looked very alien - and we weren't even being told the name of the strip.  Perfect.