Now then- the Meg floppies come in for a lot of stick in some quarters, so I thought it was time to balance the cosmic karma with a thread about, actually, how lovely they can be.
I've just shifted the last two upstairs to the dark and gloomy 2000AD corner of the bedroom, where they can sit with their fellows, and in doing so I couldn't resist a flick.
We've had 32 now. That's over 2000 pages of, if not exactly 'classic', then pretty damn good thrills. Sure there've been some that haven't personally appealed- the Samantha Slade, Brit Cit Babes, Pussyfoot Five, (all the girlie stuff, hah! I'm a huge sexy), Balls Brothers, later Armitage and Pulp Sci-Fi, but I'm glad I've got them all the same. When the floppies have been at their best, they've collected series that I've not had the opportunity to read in one go, and have sometimes allowed me to appreciate them so much more than I did when in the prog- Strontium Dogs, Canon Fodder, The War Machine, Chiaroscuro, Breathing Space- all benefited from being collected. And we've had some great Dredds too- who cares if we've got them all already, and will probably buy them again soon in the Case Files? Until then, it's lovely to have them "to hand".
Obviously, I'm a completist collector of all things paper-based 2000AD- but oddly I don't feel so attached to these that I wouldn't be averse to giving my kids some to read (The Dredds/ Stronts mainly) if they wanted them. In fact, if anyone has a spare Raptaur that they don't want, please send it to me- as I very nearly bought two copies that month so my eldest could have one.
So, basically, yay for the floppies. I know we all pay extra for them, and yes the Meg would be cheaper and just as much fun without. But would it? I'm happy to keep getting these- AS LONG AS THEY HURRY UP AND PRINT SEVERAL VOLUMES OF VECTOR 13 AND TELGUUTH- with my Meg. Oh, and if anyone knows a company that does binders that would fit them, please let me know.
SBT
I agree, obviously they are variable but that is down at least partly, to taste.
It has allowed me to catch up with stories I enjoyed at the time like Canon Fodder, the Dredds.
They have also helped me appreciate some more than I did at the time: It seems a pity Pussyfoot 5 never got some momentum as it was settling nicely into its groove at the time, the Balls Brothers was much better than I remember and the more cartoony Kev Walker art made it worth the price of admission. The early Armitage still work well too and read a lot better in the collections.
I agree with the Vector 13s and Tales From Telguuth - I've caught quite a few of these in my re-reading and I'd like to see the cream of the crop reprinted as there are some great stories in there. I liked the Pulp Sci-Fi volume and the theme is lot stronger in these and they hold together well.
I'd also like to see Slaughterbowl and I don't think the world would end if we got Maniac 5 in there I don't think the world would end (even though I did find it to be a little... thin when I re-read some recently). I'd also like to see a Strange Cases collection, as it was the ancestor of Tales From the Black Museum. Oh and given Samizdat Squad s currently running in the Meg, how about The Inspectre? Rose O'Rion would work too.
I've enjoyed a fair few of them and the ones I wasn't bothered about just didn't get read. It doesn't bother me too much and I'd miss them if they disappeared.
As an annual subscriber, I never think about the cost of each issue, so perceived value for money is never an issue.
I'd buy 2000AD and the Meg no matter what. The annual subs fee is just another essential outlay like car insurance or tax.
I loved the Chiaroscuro floppy and most of the Dredd ones but I didn't bother with the Strontium Dogs or Armitage (Shanks) collections. It's swings and roundabouts really, if you don't dig it one month, there might be something better the month after.
Not next month though. It's more sodding Samantha Slade...
Didn't know what this thread was going to be about for a second there!!!!
Financial difficulties have meant I haven't been able to buy the meg for a year or so but I was enjoying the free mags up until I had to quit. The presentation is excellent and its nice to have complete stories in neat packages. When (if) I do once again have enough spare cash to start picking this up again, I hope they are still around.
Agreed that the floppies are excellent. Even when its something i'm not the biggest fan of (that gronk bobbins) I appreciate others are likely to like it. Whereas people groan at Samantha Slade I think its just fantastic to have all that gibson goodness collected.
The only real 'problem' I've had with them came with The War Machine - simply put the reduced size of page killed the wonderful Simpson artwork dead. Digging out the original progs showed it wasn't a problem with the original art, simply the style didn't lend itself to being shrunk.
I'd LOVE to see a few collections of Future Shocks (by artist or writer) / TimeTwisters etc appear in the floppy - there are so many forgotten gems in those titles it is a shame they don't have a natural reprint home. Also, of course, SOONER OR LATER please. Maybe when McCarthy's next Dredd appears?
If tharg wants to be really kind to non-Meg readers he should collect the son of ratfink wagner/doherty multi-parter from last year - simply the best non-Tour Of Duty Dredd story in years. Then all the prog-only people can 'jump on'. Given the quality of the Meg atm I doubt they'd leave.
I love the way that "floppies" has become the accepted terminology despite every attempt to get us to call them "graphic novels", which they clearly aren't.
They are rather hit and miss in that we're only ever going to get 2nd rung thrills that are never going to be released as a proper TPB; but on the whole, I'd say they are a good thing and worth the slight price hike.
Quote from: SmallBlueThing on 09 February, 2011, 06:05:19 PM
I'm a huge sexy
no need to brag
Financial constraints mean that I can no longer afford to get the Meg each month but I do keep an eye out for anything in the floppies that I particularly want to read and pick up the odd issue here and there based on that.
I got the Brit Cit babes one for example, because it's Wagner Dreddverse that is unlikely to be reprinted elsewhere and I couldn't resist the Ennis Stronts.
So yeah, I'm essentially buying the floppy and getting the odd self contained Dredd and a couple of interviews as a free gift.
Personally I love the floppies and think they are a great idea. I was dissappointed to see the War Machine get reprinted this way- but mainly as it split the story, I've not got a problem with the presentation.
Long may they continue!
I left my "travels with my shrink' floppy out overnight when I fell asleep in the garden one evening and it totally melted from the dew.
Not sure where I'm going with this story but it didn't make me cry as it was only a meg floppy.
Quote from: James Stacey on 10 February, 2011, 10:39:30 AM
I left my "travels with my shrink' floppy out overnight when I fell asleep in the garden one evening and it totally melted from the dew.
They are printed on a very weird paper that doesn't react well to water. I often read comics in the bath, but any droplets on this stuff and it crinkles and blisters like crazy.
Indeed. My Chopper went very odd when it got splashed. Tried drying it near a heater but it was unreadable.
QuoteMy Chopper went very odd when it got splashed.
Too easy.
They don't call him Faplad for nout
A mark of just how numbed my mind has become by the mind numbing tedium of my current surroundings is that not only did I not realise the inherent innuendo in my choice of phrase, I still didn't immediately see it when it was pointed out.
I'm looking at the comment with a bemused "huh?" look on my face like a witless buffoon for a good couple of minutes.