2000 AD Online Forum

Now before I even start this I can think of a few counter arguements that I'll get to BUT having been reading through my old progs a bit lately one thing I miss is Dredd in the centre pages. Now I know since 2000ad has had as much colour as it wants the centre pages have less significence, that's not the issue. If you look back at some of the old issues some of the colour TWO page spreads are simply glorious. Those large expansive introductions to stories really gave Dredd an epic feel.

Ok so practically it might make reprinting a bit more difficult and I understand that you might want Dredd as the first thing someone flipping through the comic sees but got look back at some pre-620 issues and some if thos opening two page spreads are a delight to behold.

i like that idea.

yes i am sure there are reasons for not doing so, but as a concept its brillant. Dredd deserves the centre page spread.

Yeah, practical objections to one side, I'd love to see it again.  Many of my favourite Dredd moments are from centrespreads (many other favourite moments are from centrespreads too, but that's another story).

Personally, I'd rather not, as my only exposure to classic Dredd centrespreads is via the reprint trades, where it becomes an unholy nightmare trying to see what's happening near the spine.

Think I suggested something simliar here years ago. Jock responded, saying he'd been making an effort to do double-page splash Dredd pages, but they stil work better in the centre pages. Some boarders said the last pages of Dredd should be the centre pages for a cinematic climax.

As long as I'm one of those in charge of Zarjaz, Dredd will have a colour centrespread (except for the Pat Mills issue)

Didn't Jock do a Dredd a couple of years ago that started with a double-page spread on the centrefold? He even drew in the real logo too.

I feel they should have reinstated that old centre spread format with "Origins" alas 'twasn't to be.

Oh were blessed with some classic colour Dredd spreads. Ron Smith ones come to mind. Captain Skank, Judge Child. That was the late great Tom Frame who coloured them I understand. RIP.

Now the odd double page spread here and there wouldn't hurt. True, impractical for reprints so I guess they are not to be.

Hey, if we are reminiscing like this can we go back to the old style newsprint for old times sake? No, I don't really want that, calm down.

But I would love to see a retro fanzine on that old newsprint stock though.

Guess my thrill circuits are suffering from golden age syndrome.

No.

I think the centre spread should be reserved for the Letters page.

Buttonman? Can I borrow three grand?

Brilliant! In these times of everyone enjoying the Prog so much, our spamming (and soon to be deleted, leaving posterity to scratch it's head in bemusement) friend has reminded me of something worth moaning about.

Never mind all these brilliant scripts with great art and cracking covers, Tharg. It's all a load of rubbish without Dredd Angel in the centrefold. And I want the old logo back.

Exactly Cosh! Cradlegrave ain't worth a spit without a blotch on the cover from when Stevie peeled his Space Spinner off.

Let's put the opening page of the first story on the cover whilst we're at it too  

I actually loved having Dredd at the back end of the prog, made for a nice finale to each read. Someone who knows how to start polls should start a poll. Can we even have polls since the site got rejigged?

Quote from: "steven lenfant terrible"Exactly Cosh! Cradlegrave ain't worth a spit without a blotch on the cover from when Stevie peeled his Space Spinner off.

Let's put the opening page of the first story on the cover whilst we're at it too  

What is so funny about wanting Dredd in the centre pages ?

It wasnt funny when it was in the centre pages.

It must mean that anything that reverts back to an older and obselete way of doing things is inherently funny and stupid.

I dont get the sarcasm and [poor] humour.

Dredd being in the opening pages means it has some sort of precedence over the other strips and when it was in the centre pages it did as well and it did nearly always have a centrespread page.


Lets make 2000ad cost only 8p or 16p like it used to be.We would all be laughing then.

That is why you fail.

Quote from: "peterwolf"Dredd being in the opening pages means it has some sort of precedence over the other strips and when it was in the centre pages it did as well and it did nearly always have a centrespread page.

stevie's aware that humour is totally subjective & yours differs from mine. i respect that & thus do not believe that it is open to any further discussion whatsoever.

however, it is my undertanding that dredd's positioning in the centre pages in the past gave him precedence by the sheer fact that at that particular time the rest of the comic was in black & white.

running him as the first strip as they currently do in the mostly colour prog gives him precedence over the rest of the contents.

you open the front cover & there he is. week in, week out.

perfect marketing from rebellion's point of view, for all those lapsed squaxx & potential new readers who have already encountered the metro dredds, the megazine, the trades or even the movie (believe it or not, some non-squaxx actually enjoyed it *shudder*).

as for double page spreads... well, with improves in page registration in modern printing techniques, stevie imagines that you can have them occur anywhere in the prog these days save for the outer cover pages (as siku is wont to demonstrate)

Quote from: "Dark Jimbo"Personally, I'd rather not, as my only exposure to classic Dredd centrespreads is via the reprint trades, where it becomes an unholy nightmare trying to see what's happening near the spine.

That's not my only experience of them, but these days, with the increased likelihood of a good storyline being collected, it's just not that practical (unless there's a good reason for the spread pages obviously).

Of course, these days the artists and letterers will be aware of these problems and so probably take steps to avoid too many vital panels or balloons breaking over the pages?  Or am I just being foolishly over-optimistic?