No sign of the postie yet but yesterday's mail brought a big fat Case Files No 10, so the letters page is looking good ;)
Quote from: Proudhuff on 19 June, 2010, 09:45:27 AM
No sign of the postie yet but yesterday's mail brought a big fat Case Files No 10, so the letters page is looking good ;)
No it bloody is not you treating creators with respect line stealing, shhh there are people reading, nose picking (probably) east coast a-hole. I mean well done Tom, your letter was seemingly far better than this overlooked gem :
Meg 298 Hello Mrs MacKenzie (play on the band 'Goodbye Mr Mackenzie' clever that)
Dear Dreddlines,
Meg 298 had a pretty jolly cover but I wish the space station hadn't been so dark. I only made it out after some close scrutiny and I imagine most casual browsers would have mistaken the cover for 'Teen Dream' or some similar trendy magazine. Young, good looking, smiley people - we don't want their kind here!
New strip Lilly Mackenzie started in somewhat sedate circumstances with eight panels of speechless pictures of our heroine's booty. I'm not complaining (yet) but couldn't we have had four booty panels and four of bloody murder? The strip already has a bit of a 'Halo Jones' vibe with the action of the low key variety. I like Simon Fraser's art and the concept of the inescapable planet was a good one, so sign me up.
The Dredd strip 'Meat' was an instant classic and certainly of the 'can't believe they never did that one before' variety. Dylan Teague is always welcome in my Megazine and Rob Williams is certainly finding his Dredd 'voice'. Dredd's final 'Meat Wagon!' comment had me laughing and summed up so much about the character in a single panel.
Johnny Woo returned and although he's never been a celebrated Megazine character, I have high hopes for this outing. I liked the occasional splash of red and wondered if this was a homage to my favourite Kurosawa film 'High and Low'? No? 'Weekend at Bernie's 2' you say? Who'd have thought it?!
All the best
Too cerebral that my problem!
I haven't read the rest yet but had to stop to say Arthur Wyatt's Black Museum tale is absolutely fantastic! It has beautiful art by Jon Davis Hunt and the page of could-have-beens was absolutely brilliant!
Spurriur's Dredd tale is a cracker too, though a little at odds with the rosy Mutant Camps picture that Wagner paints...
Another excellent cover by Ben Willsher too.
Right, back to my read!
Haven't read it yet, but I did get Ace Trucking Co. vol.2 for my letter, which was a bloody marvelous bonus! As if the prog and meg arriving together isn't awesome enough. Hail Tharg!
As regards the graphic novel Brit Cit Babes surely it should have read written by John Wagner and David Bishop.
This from the horse's mouth Meg 237 The Megazine Story
'"John wrote the first few scripts but gave up half way through an episode saying he would finish it later", Bishop recalls. "I soon leanred this was a sign he had lost faith in the story. Steve was still learning, he didn't know much about story telling. When John saw the art-work it killed any lingering enthusiasm. Eventually we were so pushed for time I wrote the final pages of Brit-Cit babes myself with John's permission"'.
Got my Meg at the weekend and have to say I really enjoyed this the whole way through. I've got high hopes for the next few issues and by the standard here they are going to be met.
Brit-cit babes was a stinker though. Was this some of Sampsons earliest interior work? His storytelling is shocking in places and I'm not a fan of his use of photo ref (Kim Basinger, anyone?) though the Bolland coverwork does pretty much describe what we are going to get inside.
Very good meg this month. A good balance of Dreddworld stories and something fresh and new which is exactly what they should be striving for. As Bolt says, it's just a pity it's bagged with such a stinker of a freebie graph. Never been a fan of Mr Sampsons stripwork, and this was no exception.
A clever and inspired one-off Dredd by Spurrier and Doherty. The glimpses of other worlds in Tales from the Black Museum were mind-boggling. I felt no desire to re-read Brit-Cit Babes. I don't remember it being a decent read, and the artwork was very off-putting. I'm not especially looking forward to the new line-up of strips. More Armitage, more Hondo-City judges. Pretty soon the Meg may be full of everything I don't like.
Quote from: House of Usher on 21 June, 2010, 10:59:34 AM
I'm not especially looking forward to the new line-up of strips. More Armitage, more Hondo-City judges. Pretty soon the Meg may be full of everything I don't like.
I'm with you on that one. I'm just hoping the new Anderson strip will be worth the admission on its own. I've always loved John Coopers artwork, but his recent stuff with added photoshopping does nothing for me.
Someone should write a Meg inspired story for John Cooper to illustrate which is to Johnny Red what Cursed Earth Koburn is to Major Easy.
Oh and can we have a Cursed Earth Koburn/Missionary Man crossover with Ezquerra and Ridgway on alternate episodes.
I thought Spurrier's Dredd was a bit poor. Parts of it seemed very contrived. Are we expected to believe the whole township was convinced that this lunatic was a bonafide prophet because he said he'd been exiled from the city like them? All of them? Sorry, it didn't ring true. Dredd pandering to the mutant uprising didn't seem realistic either.
I enjoyed the Black Museum story but didn't really understand the significance of Dredd going off on a space mission. What did that have to do with anything? And it never actually explained how the protagonist got hold of Mattellus' badge. I'll have to read it again more slowly...
Lilly MacKenzie is great, I hope it goes on for a while. I'm already believing in the world that Simon Fraser is creating and I love his art.
Johnny Woo was all well and good but felt a bit like filler. I liked the scratchy, heavily shaded art but struggle to see any of the manga influences that people have been mentioning. Manga is usually sparce with shading and full of clean line work, the very opposite of PJ's art on this strip. It seems like the 'manga-inspired' comments always come out when a strip is set in Japan or China. You could just as easily say that Pete Doherty's art was influenced by French comics.
Anyone else miss the film reviews?
Quote from: spaceghost on 21 June, 2010, 11:27:57 AM
I enjoyed the Black Museum story but didn't really understand the significance of Dredd going off on a space mission. What did that have to do with anything? And it never actually explained how the protagonist got hold of Mattellus' badge. I'll have to read it again more slowly...
It won't make much sense unless you have read the City of the Damned Dredd story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_the_Damned_%28Judge_Dredd_story%29
Quote from: James Stacey on 21 June, 2010, 11:31:57 AM
It won't make much sense unless you have read the City of the Damned Dredd story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_the_Damned_%28Judge_Dredd_story%29
Oh dear, I have read it! Several times in fact. First in the original progs back in the day and more recently in the case files. Still didn't get the "Dredd going off on a space mission affected things" line.
Is it because he killed the Grunwalder and stopped his experiments.
I think I'm in a minority in being a big fan of Steve Sampson's style. I particularly liked his Hershey stories in the Meg, one I remember was almost entirely done in red and black, very effective.
The Black Museum story was the highlight of this month; and I think I'm falling in love with Lily McKenzie - Hubba hubba!
In other news, this month's Johnny Woo utilizes what would have been a key plot driver in my slowly-forming Inspectre prequel.
Back to the drawing board with that one, then.
Curse you, Rennie! *shakes fist*
Cheers
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 21 June, 2010, 02:28:08 PM
In other news, this month's Johnny Woo utilizes what would have been a key plot driver in my slowly-forming Inspectre prequel.
Back to the drawing board with that one, then.
Curse you, Rennie! *shakes fist*
Cheers
Jim
Make it a sequel and tie em together. :D
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 21 June, 2010, 02:28:08 PM
In other news, this month's Johnny Woo utilizes what would have been a key plot driver in my slowly-forming Inspectre prequel.
You've made me want to read it now out of curiosity. Job done. :D
Didn't like Spurrier's Dredd this time round. The suddenly harsh treatment of the mutants (judges firing heavy weapons out the windows indiscriminately) just didn't ring true, as others have pointed out. Didn't really enjoy Doherty's artwork that much either.
Lily MacKenzie is still good stuff, want more.
TOTBM - good, but not as good as last month's. Was this drawn a while ago I wonder? Davis-Hunt's artwork wasn't quite as good as his recent run on Tempest.
Sorry to see Johnny Woo bow out after only 2 episodes. Loved Every panel. I guess you could call it gothic manga noir?
Cover was well drawn by the talented Ben Willsher but felt a tad unadventurous.
Ironically, my letter got printed, and all I do is heap praise on everything and everyone. Now here I am with a bit of criticism for a change!
The cover is nearly identical composition-wise to prog 1689 by the same artist - wonder if that was deliberate?
On the plus side, nice to see some of my lettering on display in a rather good feature about Murderdrome. You kept that quiet, PJ!
Cheers
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 21 June, 2010, 05:26:52 PM
On the plus side, nice to see some of my lettering on display in a rather good feature about Murderdrome. You kept that quiet, PJ!
Cheers
Jim
Sorta forgotten about it! Looks great in print though, dunnit?
Thanks for kind words re:woo. Re manga influence- none that I know of (and manga covers a broad range of styles, Nausica doesn't look much like akira for example)
Quote from: pauljholden on 21 June, 2010, 05:32:13 PM
Sorta forgotten about it! Looks great in print though, dunnit?
It really does. I still can't work out why the comic publishers of the world aren't beating a path to Steve Denton's door, mind you...
Cheers!
Jim
Quote from: Bolt-01 on 21 June, 2010, 10:16:15 AM
Was this some of Sampsons earliest interior work? His storytelling is shocking in places and I'm not a fan of his use of photo ref (Kim Basinger, anyone?)
I might be wrong but this came up a few times on that ProgSlogBlog as the writer knew Steve at college and he reckoned that pretty much all his female characters were modelled on chicks that Mr Sampson was knobbing at the time. If it's true, then you have to take your hat off to him as I'd be too knackered to get any drawing done at all.
Anyway, I liked the
Tale of the Black Museum which would've fit equally well under the Lost Cases banner. My highlight of the Prog was the page of alternative Dredds, with Big Redd 1 being my favourite. Was the artist or the writer responsible for that?
Spurrier and Doherty are normally names I'd be happy to see in the credits box, but I've got to side with the dissenters here. I know it can't be wine and roses all the time, but this was too far away from the way the townships have been presented up to now.
It seems Rennie can't help himself from leaving dangling plot threads even now! I'd read another one though.
Cheeky Mega-Tharg, filling our hopeful ears with tales of extra thrills for the next few months, but forgetting to mention the extra quid we'll be paying for the privelige.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 21 June, 2010, 02:28:08 PM
In other news, this month's Johnny Woo utilizes what would have been a key plot driver in my slowly-forming Inspectre prequel.
Back to the drawing board with that one, then.
Curse you, Rennie! *shakes fist*
Cheers
Jim
Fuck, man - you're even slower than me! The supposed trick is to
get those ideas out there - like, err, now! - otherwise the chance
has gone. No point whining about it, eh?
As Fort said: "It steam engines when it's steam engine time..."
So when can we expect that New Statesmen sequel we were promised, John?
Radiator said:
QuoteThe cover is nearly identical composition-wise to prog 1689 by the same artist - wonder if that was deliberate?
Check out my blog tomorrow as I'll be putting the rather stunning roughs, inks and finished versions of both covers up, complete with commentry from Ben.
Quote from: The Cosh on 22 June, 2010, 12:51:24 AM
So when can we expect that New Statesmen sequel we were promised, John?
Not in my bloody lifetime!
What about the next Devlin Waugh? Ship of Fools?
Is there any news on when its due or any news of the progress?
You've stuck your toe in the piranha tank now John!
But yes, some Indigo Prime, the continuation of Waugh, and more freako weirdo one-offs like Cradlegrave, soon as you can please!
Quote from: john_s on 22 June, 2010, 12:47:49 AM
Fuck, man - you're even slower than me!
I should probably point out that I haven't been working on this for the last fourteen years. My thoughts have only recently turned to the idea of a new series and, having got the nod from Kev, I'd started turning over plot ideas to the point where I really should have started writing them up. That said, I think Gordon would still have got there first, so -- frustrating though it is -- I would have been more annoyed if I'd fully plotted the damn thing and written up a synopsis!
And, no -- there's no salvaging it.
Cheers
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 22 June, 2010, 09:53:35 AM
And, no -- there's no salvaging it.
Grrrrrrrrrr. Get back to that keyboard, Campbell.
Quick question re the Inspectre. Was the female protaganist in it Kazan's daughter?
I haven't read it for years.
Think you're confusing two things there.
IIRC, the female character in The Inspectre was a prison warden who was loyal to (loved?) Kazan.
Kazan's daughter played a role in the Judge Dredd epic Doomsday, as part of the ruling party of the New Kremlin.
That rings a bell. I think I made that mistake at the time.
Was the daughter in Doomsday the legitimate child and was the Gordon Rennie son of Kazan character illegitimate?
Quote from: radiator on 22 June, 2010, 10:37:31 AM
IIRC, the female character in The Inspectre was a prison warden who was loyal to (loved?) Kazan.
That's the one -- Eva Primakova. Yes, Robbie, that would be Jena Makar
ova and Lulu Roman
ova. Unless, of course, all these supposedly female characters are really men?
Cheers
(And, I think --if we're being
terribly pedantic-- it's Makar
ovich and Makar
ovna for aristocracy...)
Inspectre appeared during my self imposed exile from the Prog and Meg has it ever been collected?
Quote from: JAMESCOR on 22 June, 2010, 11:59:02 AM
Inspectre appeared during my self imposed exile from the Prog and Meg has it ever been collected?
Same here, would like to check it out too.
Well, if they can reprint Brit-Cit Babes then there's hope for a Meg floppy, I suppose!
Cheers
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 22 June, 2010, 12:09:49 PM
Well, if they can reprint Brit-Cit Babes then there's hope for a Meg floppy, I suppose!
Cheers
Jim
I'm thinking if this Meg it's
Brit-Cit Babes, then
Soul Sisters can't be far behind.
Just had a look on Barney. The collected Inspectre would be at least 80 pages long.
Quote from: House of Usher on 22 June, 2010, 12:15:56 PM
I'm thinking if this Meg it's Brit-Cit Babes, then Soul Sisters can't be far behind.
I'll be honest, I'll have the most almighty sulk if they reprint Soul Sisters before The Inspectre! I mean, I know it wasn't the best received strip in the history of the Meg, but it has some nice Walker art on the first three parts and a generally decent turn by Andrew Currie on the last four. I think that the series woefully failed to play to Charlie Gillespie's strengths, but there's usually something worthwhile in his episodes, too.
Cheers!
Jim
Haven't read it in many years, but I have fond memories of The Inspectre and would welcome its appearance in a meg trade - it's certainly among the stronger of the 'international' Dreddworld spin-offs.
A shame that the formula is only really established in the first couple of stories and then it just... stops - felt like it had legs for more.
Quote
I think that the series woefully failed to play to Charlie Gillespie's strengths, but there's usually something worthwhile in his episodes, too.
I liked Gillespie's art at the time, but looking at his work now it has not dated well.
Perhaps it could be split into two volumes as they've been doing with other stories and print either some more Sov stories (D'Israeli's sov story was fantastic) or some more Kev Walker stories.
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 22 June, 2010, 10:53:19 AM
(And, I think --if we're being terribly pedantic-- it's Makarovich and Makarovna for aristocracy...)
Aren't you getting that confused with the patronymic? Which is rendered correctly in Eugenia Vladimirovna Makarov. If not, there's a new boarder who should be able to clear it up.
Quote from: The Cosh on 22 June, 2010, 01:37:28 PM
Aren't you getting that confused with the patronymic?
Yes, I believe I am!
Cheers
Jim
Good Meg!
Lead Dredd was a nice one off IMO. I think criticizing the inconsistancy with the Wagner scripted township issues is missing a trick; Wagner only shows the TOD important events, not the usual Judge stuff. Well, that works for me!
Lily's charmed me already and I'm looking forward to this developing.
TFTBM I wasn't that fussed on, although it reminded me how much I loved the City of the Damned arc when I read it as a youngling.
Johnny Woo - I was disappointed this was only a two parter! It felt like it was just warming up!
Also nice to see Siku hasn't taken a huff over the criticism he recieved...
M.
Please let the Mighty One know that you if you enjoyed that Woo and want more...
-pj
Quote from: pauljholden on 22 June, 2010, 04:49:49 PM
Please let the Mighty One know that you if you enjoyed that Woo and want more...
OTOH, if you want to see more Inspectre, write to Tharg and tell him to retcon the whole thing out of continuity. :-)
Cheers!
Jim
Quote from: TordelBack on 22 June, 2010, 09:36:16 AM
You've stuck your toe in the piranha tank now John!
But yes, some Indigo Prime, the continuation of Waugh, and more freako weirdo one-offs like Cradlegrave, soon as you can please!
As a matter of fact I'm writing "Indigo Prime" right now! It's a bit of a bitch but we're getting there... Before "Ship of Fools" there's a one-off Devlin story - told in song in the style of Noel Coward - called "Exquisite Corpses" that I'm still struggling to finish... then the new "Strange & Darke" series... so I'm supposed to be busy. I just wish this bloody weather wasn't so nice!
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 22 June, 2010, 09:53:35 AM
Quote from: john_s on 22 June, 2010, 12:47:49 AM
Fuck, man - you're even slower than me!
I should probably point out that I haven't been working on this for the last fourteen years. My thoughts have only recently turned to the idea of a new series and, having got the nod from Kev, I'd started turning over plot ideas to the point where I really should have started writing them up. That said, I think Gordon would still have got there first, so -- frustrating though it is -- I would have been more annoyed if I'd fully plotted the damn thing and written up a synopsis!
And, no -- there's no salvaging it.
Cheers
Jim
What about your werewolves on the moon story? Man, that's a killer idea! If you can't be arsed working up a whole new pitch and world and stuff, couldn't you do it as a Dredd (or Dredd-world) story on Luna-1? I'd pay good money to read that! (Erm, well, I would if I didn't get complimentary progs!)
Quote from: Mikey on 22 June, 2010, 04:40:53 PM
Good Meg!
Lead Dredd was a nice one off IMO. I think criticizing the inconsistancy with the Wagner scripted township issues is missing a trick; Wagner only shows the TOD important events, not the usual Judge stuff. Well, that works for me!
Lily's charmed me already and I'm looking forward to this developing.
TFTBM I wasn't that fussed on, although it reminded me how much I loved the City of the Damned arc when I read it as a youngling.
Johnny Woo - I was disappointed this was only a two parter! It felt like it was just warming up!
Also nice to see Siku hasn't taken a huff over the criticism he recieved...
M.
True, but - ugh! - the guy's a Christian! And what was that he said about Dredd being like Jesus? I was in hysterics when I read that bit! (Although he was very nice about me, I suppose, so I shouldn't really moan...)
a one-off Devlin story - told in song in the style of Noel Coward - called "Exquisite Corpses"
(http://adamsandel.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/noel_coward1.jpg)
How dreadfully, dreadfully droll!
Yeah, I didn't really agree with the "You know, Dredd's a bit like Jesus," bit. Uncalled for. Well its his opinion I guess. Not one that comes across well in text form.
Did not understand the Tales from the black museums continuity.
Liked the fact that Johnny woo was a two parter. It should come at us like Damnation Station. For a while at least. Punchy tales to smack us back into it. Then maybe roll out a 6-10 parter.
Doherty does great Cursed Earth Dredd.
Lilly. She is brill. Love this series.
Are they trying out comic reviews or is this a one off while the movie reviewer's on his hols?
And we are ion for a treat in the coming summer months with expanded megs. Yeyhar!
Thanks for responding John. Some interesting news.
Quote from: john_s on 22 June, 2010, 05:32:56 PM
As a matter of fact I'm writing "Indigo Prime" right now! It's a bit of a bitch but we're getting there... Before "Ship of Fools" there's a one-off Devlin story - told in song in the style of Noel Coward - called "Exquisite Corpses" that I'm still struggling to finish... then the new "Strange & Darke" series... so I'm supposed to be busy. I just wish this bloody weather wasn't so nice!
Weather control! Blizzards and eclipses over the Smith droid's house!
Quote from: john_s on 22 June, 2010, 05:40:50 PM
True, but - ugh! - the guy's a Christian! And what was that he said about Dredd being like Jesus?
I'm sure you can forgive him (see what I did there?).
As for Dredd being like Jesus, it could be the JD/JC thing - they're only a letter away and perhaps he was confused.
Or it's the famous "The meek will inherit a daysticking and 5 years for passivity" verse in the Bible. JC was also heard to remark "SANDAL KNIFE!" when in a tight situation.
He also carried a gun with six settings; Standard Crucifiction, Roman Armour Piercing, Fiery Pit of Death, Bounce back (from the dead) and Meek seeker. Little known fact that.
M.
Indigo prime?!? INDIGO PRIME?!?
....thrill power overdose!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I better get off my arse and do that feature on killing time for my blog that i've planned to do for ages....
(and some more prog slogs wouldn't hurt either I guess...)
Also, at the risk of complaining about the same issue twice in the same thread like a big mentalist, in what way is Siku's 'Manga Jesus' manga? Again, I like his style but it certainly couldn't be described as manga, not in my book.
The word 'manga' just seems to be thrown onto anything these days just to make it appeal to young 'uns.
I'm one of those purists that believe that if it isn't from japan it isn't manga at all....
but thats probably just me
It really is asinine. Manga's the Japanese word for comics. That should be all. I suppose if Siku's book was twenty-four inches tall and 48 pages long it would be a "Bandes Desinee Bible," right?
I can't even remember how long it's been since I've "reviewed" a Prog or the Meg, but this month I was moved to do so because - of all things - the letters page!
Cover: ...it's okay. I always judge a cover by thinking "if I wasn't a fan of this comic, would this cover make me want to pick it up?". This is not that cover.
Now on to the content, which all round is better than it has been for some time (a trend that seems to have been building lately). The fact that the Meg has been so enjoyable lately give me hope that the coming lineup announced in the Editor's Letter won't shape up to be the absolute dud I normally would fear it to be...Anderson, while readable, has never been a fav, Hondo City Justice has been meh-worthy and Armitage has caused me to suffer through it more times than not (though the final episode of the last arc was quite good).
Dredd: I'll echo the sentiments that Dredd acts a bit out of character, I like the scenario, the action and L-O-V-E Peter Doherty's art. Mr. Doherty seems to have a real fine feel of the Cursed Earth and its denizens. Mutants are mutated without being overly silly, Dredd appears suitably aged without being weak (grizzled, yes, grizzled) and the landscape is bleak and depressing. Good stuff, script-wise but brilliant stuff art-wise. Tharg, get Doherty in the Prog!
Dredd Lines: Yeah, yeah, more Tank Girl debate, this time pro...anyway, I found the second part of the second letter, the one penned by Keith Thorburn, to be an incredibly touching tribute to John Hicklenton; I think he summed up beautifully how a lot of us felt about Mr. Hicklenton - I remember his work being ripped apart, and though I was indifferent to the art in Satanus, I did feel like I was being punched in the gut...that he was strong enough to keep on and keep creative is just another testament to his strength. It's a shame that it took his death for him to get a tad bit more recognition, but better late than never. Lovely letter, Mr. Thorburn.
The next letter, by Will Watt, again raises the same question that has been raised on the forum - that of the age of 2000AD readers - only this time it comes from one of the few young 'uns reading the Prog. The line "...all the teenagers who are considered 'cool' buy XBox magazines, but if I was to go into school with a prog or Meg, I would most likely be pummeled and called a nerd" is worrisome indeed and makes me think Tharg had better get that Rosetta dialed into the youth. He can do it; after all, he got most of us at a young age, right?
...and then there's a letter by some shmuck called Matt Soffe...the guy must be some sort of weirdo! Stalking PJ Holden! Ha! As if PJ wouldn't mind being stalked!!! :D :D :D
Siku: Great interview. Siku sounds like a really nice guy. I'll admit that I never liked his Dredd, but I absolutely adore his work on Tales of Telguuth and the lone Slaine strip he painted.
Black Museum: Found it fun.
New Comics: A nice read. Nothing I'll seek out, but some nice b&w art.
Lilly Mackenzie: Ah, she's a dream isn't she. I have fast become a huge fan of Simon Fraser since meeting him at Hi-Ex. I've always liked his stuff, but he's such a gent and such a class act, I can't help but root for him. And here, with thtis strip, he is shining. I hope this keep progressing as finely as it's started! More from Mr. Fraser!
New Comics: Screen Violence: An interesting write-up, even if I had heard snippets of this tale before...ah, a couple of degenerates, Ewing and Holden (compliment, trust me), and a feat to be proud of, getting banned by Apple.
Johnny Woo: Had to admit, I was worried about this one. After reading the first part, I was sure this was a four-parter. When I realized it was only a two-parter, I wondered if it could be wrapped up without feeling rushed. Well, it was, and despite my fears, I rather enjoyed it. Johhny Woo is not high on my list of Twothy characters, so that says a lot. Very nice art from Mr. Holden (what a Meg, PJ, flitting from the letters page, to a write-up, to a strip...)...
Good read this month. Keep it up, Meg!
Quote from: john_s on 22 June, 2010, 05:32:56 PM
As a matter of fact I'm writing "Indigo Prime" right now! It's a bit of a bitch but we're getting there... Before "Ship of Fools" there's a one-off Devlin story - told in song in the style of Noel Coward - called "Exquisite Corpses" that I'm still struggling to finish... then the new "Strange & Darke" series... so I'm supposed to be busy. I just wish this bloody weather wasn't so nice!
There's only one possible response to that:
(http://www.bitstorm.org/happyjoy/ren-n-stimpy.gif)
Good Meg. Probably the best in a couple of years to be honest.
I liked the Dredd story. It captured the feel of many older 'mob hysteria' stories, adopted the Cursed Earth setting well, looked lovely and ended with a joke. I think strips like this are Dredd's bread and butter and running these Cursed Earth one-offs in the Meg while Wagner does his thing in the weekly is a nice balance. Much better than the Judgement Day/Wilderlands/Doomsday arrangements.
Lilly Mackenzie - boobies! Fraser has a talent for drawing sexy women and he can write too. Love it, and the 'gay dwarf'. :lol:
Good stuff from the Black Museum too, I think this was a better 'lost case' than half of the Lost Cases. Am I the only one who wants to see a spin-off series featuring Mechanismo-Judge Walter? Just a few one-pagers, maybe? Unlike some others I like these more often than I don't and I think they're a good way to get a mix of Dreddverse tales in the Meg without relying on World Judges... like the next few issues.
Johnny Who? I didn't really get what was going on last issue - has this character been around for long? - but the ending was intriguing so I might re-read both episodes in the smallest room later.
Top it off with some good articles, both of them interesting and relevant, and I'm a very happy reader.
Careful Locust, I know where you live too ;)
Fantastic tale for the tales from the black museum. Only quibble was with the whole City of the Damned I didn't think the events of the future excursion were clouded in secrecy as the Zombie Dredd had been displayed in the black museum for years.
V
Quote from: vzzbux on 29 June, 2010, 10:41:04 PM
Fantastic tale for the tales from the black museum. Only quibble was with the whole City of the Damned I didn't think the events of the future excursion were clouded in secrecy as the Zombie Dredd had been displayed in the black museum for years.
True, but the Black Museum tales are by their nature flashbacks to earlier events surrounding artifacts worthy of note, and this particular tale may have occurred before the City of the Damned became public knowledge - assuming it ever
did become public knowledge and the zombie Dredd wasn't simply kept in storage in the Black Museum rather than put on public display.
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 23 June, 2010, 03:56:59 PM
Manga's the Japanese word for comics. That should be all.
Yes. And also no.
At this point the term is simply a buzzword that can mean almost anything comic-like, but I'd be inclined to concede that there's a case for the backwards-printed stuff bearing the title, since the form is a hybrid that's neither Japanese nor western but a poorly laid-out comic by the technical and narrative standards of both marketed under the name 'manga' to a specific readership who shop in bookstores instead of comic shops. Oh, and the quality of translated manga here in the west also probably marks it out as separate from comics - you'd never get a writing gig in western comics with dialogue like that. Not even at Wildstorm.
Anyone seen this in Ireland yet? Isn't in any Easons I've looked in, wasn't in FP at the weekend.
I'm up Norf, TB, and they're available here. You might want to have a word with your comic shop to make sure they're getting it in.
For the curious, here's the panel description for the large panel on Page 8 of the Black Museum story. As you can see Jon very much took it and ran with it, putting in all manner of awesomeness.
[spoiler]"Large panel. In the center of the panel is Connor, flailing helplessly as he falls through the air. He's surrounded by a swirling vortex, and around him in the vortex are various visions of possible Megacity Ones, and the destruction that befalls them – Theres a bit of necropolis with Judge Death looming over the city, a mushroom cloud, the horsemen of the apocalypse swiping the tops off of city blocks with a scythe, fire raining from the sky destroying the city. "[/spoiler]
Quote from: TordelBack on 30 June, 2010, 08:41:37 AM
Anyone seen this in Ireland yet? Isn't in any Easons I've looked in, wasn't in FP at the weekend.
Nope, I can't find it either :(
Looked again in a few places today and couldn't find it. Easons is stocking the previous issue. Anyone else having problems finding this in Ireland?
Ive not got it either, ebay here I come.
David
I tried asking what the story was in Easons Tallaght, but their policy of only ever employing snail-like apathetic Irish-born white people was working against me. Must be the only outfit in the country that avoided hiring even one immigrant through the boom years. Just them and the Civil Service, really.
Still havent been able to get this, Ebay dont have it either. The annoything is that I looked at it in FP in dublin a couple of week ago, but didnt get it because I have it on order at my newsagents.
If any kind soul spot a copy and would like to send it to the Emerald Isle, I have paypal at the ready. Otherwise I will have to go digital, and I dont think I am ready for that yet!
Cheers
David
PM me your address, I have a comp copy - can be yours for postage...
-pj
I'm just hoping it'll pop up with Meg 300 but that's most likely wishful thinking at this stage...
Why doesn't the site sell Megs and Progs anymore? It's happened a couple of times now in the past year or two that a Prog hasn't reached Ireland. I think this is the first time a Meg hasn't been available here though and I used to be able to buy the missing Prog from the online shop after a few weeks.
I want to read Lily MacKenzie :(
if you had a subby you'd be getting Meg 300 tomorrow ;) :D
It costs more to subscribe than buy individual issues! And I like the tradition side of it too :D
A gent PJ, thats great,PM sent.
Thanks
David
I have loads in at WHSmith Buxton. If you get itchy for future megs, drop me a PM and i'll have at least 5 copies to purchase and post to anywhere round the countr(y/ies).
Can I ask anyone on this board who designed the 300 number-set on the inside back cover? Its pure design genius, I tellsya! :)