Messages

Well, I have only returned to the Prog since mid last year and Titan has been the finest Dredd tale that I have read so far.  This has been a real pleasure and it really is an outstanding piece of work from all involved.  I really like it when a story sticks with you and makes you ponder certain points aftwerwards and Titan has definitely done this.   

I was not convinced by the ending of Titan. I just don't think the judges would have any qualms about blowing Titan up just because some of the inmates claim to not be involved in the uprising. (Dredd isn't the hand-wringing moralist this story makes him out to be. I get that he can't break the law, but it's not hard to imagine that he could just invoke the Security of the City Act or something.)

I also spent some time thinking about the final decision Dredd has and I tend to think that he would blow them up.  Perhaps my view of Dredd is a little off-centre as last time I read the Prog was mid 90s where he was quite happy nuking MC2.  But still, Dredd's logic has always been based on MC law.  Those prisoners in the ships that are actively involved with the uprising are clear candidates for execution.  However, the other inmates have now escaped from prison which I would have also thought would be met with lethal response.  As I see it, I can't think of anyone on those shuttles that would be considered 'innocent'. 

Yeah, the titan trades are great but the big issue is that they are patchy in what they cover.  It's not as bad as Nemesis with it's missing book 2 but you still won't see the Traitor General get his commupence in these books.  So, as Cosh has already mentioned - you will need to pick up the second phone book for this. 

Main Season 10 has been a fans dream though. I do wish Harris cut back on the nostalgia (last issue had Mulder chucking pencils into the ceiling again) like he's trying to put as many "remember that" per issue as possible but generally is doing a great job with both the mythology and monster of the week stuff.

I know what you mean, I do like some of the nostalgia stuff but they don't need to overcook it.  Sounds like it is still going great and I look forward to the Mars Attacks crossover in the future! 

[Man of Steel]

Man of Steel

At the weekend I saw MoS for the second time (first was in the cinema).  I know this got mixed reviews on here but originally I did not think it too bad so was interested to see how it would hold up on a repeat viewing. 

Henry Cavill certainly looks like Superman to me - the guy must have spent about two years in the gym and looks like a bodybuilder.  In terms of his acting though, I am still not sure - clearly the film wanted to go down the troubled origin story route but this means our Henry spends a lot of the film looking glum and not saying much.  This also ties into one of the big things that the movie got wrong - he doesn't really convey that he cares about humans and that is something that Christopher Reeve did very well. 

Good post!

I look kindly on the movie, seeingas it provided something I'd been curious to ee for some time - a Superman movie with a harder edge and less nicey-nicey shot all the way through it. I've found myself watching it several times, as family usually want to see it when they visit.

I don't think it's a bad movie at all. There's some too-close-to-corny-for-comfort dialogue, and a few scenes defy any kind of logic, but otherwise I think it's pretty neat.

Completely agree with your  analysis of Cavill as Superman, though. I think he's pretty good in the role, but something about his performance doesn't quite convince.

(And, I'll admit, I've re-watched the movie a couple of time for Antje Traue alone. Hurr!)

Thanks HdE.  I have only seen Mr Cavill in a couple of other movies and he is starting to appear a little wooden.  It's not just his fault though, I mean in the whole final act they never had Superman save anyone - he was just busy arguing or fighting with Zod.  If the Spiderman movies can figure this out why can't the people behind Man of Steel?

Still, I do enjoy this movie. 

The IDW Dredd classics are great, I hope those are selling well.  I really do like the coloring.  It is a shame that they have to be shrunk to match the American standard size.

I do wish IDW the best, they're a really great company and I buy a lot of their product.

The Dredd Classics line seemed like a fantastic opportunity to get 'real' Dredd out to the US but those page dimensions even put me off.  It's not that it is smaller, it's the change in ratio which left those giant white margins at the bottom.  Rebellion already reduce to the same page height as US comics for a lot of their tpbs and its not a problem because the page is wider so it still fits OK.  Ignoring the cost implications of trying to release a US comic that is wider than normal, if they had done this then I believe they would have had a lot more appealing product.

Dredd has always been a tough sell in the US though hasn't it?  That market doesn't seem to embrace a character that is a fascist b*stard. 

Looking at the IDW Dredd, you can see that they have gone some way in softening this and making the character more appealing for that market.  That's not really the same as the Before Watchmen cash generation project is it?

Nice shelves Proudhuff.   

What are we looking at on the Shelf of Dredd then?  Looks like some old Titan books on the left but what's on the far right there?

Yes, well done Sharky.  I think you have handled this all very well by not losing your rag and being polite and open to discussion.  What will the council do now that they can't just put figure A into box B?  You might bring the whole system down after all! 

[Stuff that's dropping tomorrow that I can read immediately:]

I'm splitting these into sections now as backlog is getting out of hand:

Stuff that's dropping tomorrow that I can read immediately:
The X-Files: Season 10 #9- one of my fave pulls

I'm a little ashamed to say I have dropped the monthly IDW X-Files title in favour of trade waiting.  How are you finding the second story arc?  Also, have you been getting those X-files Lone Gunmen crossovers?  I just couldn't get my head around the lone gunman appearing alongside the teenage mutant ninja turtles!

Yeah, I don't want to be a hater about the IDW Dredd but this thread has had some great laughs in it. 

It is early days and we don't know how this is all going to pan out.  Wouldn't be the first time the Dark Judges had some new recruits that I wasn't too fond of. 

Great news radiator.  Sounds like an adventure is coming your way!

[Man of Steel]

Man of Steel

At the weekend I saw MoS for the second time (first was in the cinema).  I know this got mixed reviews on here but originally I did not think it too bad so was interested to see how it would hold up on a repeat viewing. 

Henry Cavill certainly looks like Superman to me - the guy must have spent about two years in the gym and looks like a bodybuilder.  In terms of his acting though, I am still not sure - clearly the film wanted to go down the troubled origin story route but this means our Henry spends a lot of the film looking glum and not saying much.  This also ties into one of the big things that the movie got wrong - he doesn't really convey that he cares about humans and that is something that Christopher Reeve did very well. 

Russell Crowe was great as Jor-El and I think Michael Shannon did a good job with Zod.  Unfortunately it seems than more Russel led to less Kevin Costner so I can see why some people thought his character was off.  I didn't, but he could have done with more screen time to convey this.

I would say the first 2/3rds of the movie are pretty good and its just towards the end where things go awry.  Anyone seeing a Superman movie is going to expect some impressive effects but the film doesn't seem to balance this out very well.  Buildings crashing around might look great and we know Superman is busy at the time but without showing him saving some people leads to the conclusion that he does not care.  I don't think thats the case and I also don't believe that Superman leading Zod out of Metropolis to a desert would have been as interesting.  We need to see damage but they clearly went over the top on that.

In the end, I enjoyed the movie and it is certainly better than the boring Superman Returns.  I think some folks have rose-tinted views of the original Christopher Reeve movies - they were not bad but also they had their own flaws.  As I said before though, Christopher Reeve really nailed the caring about humans part of the character and this is probably why people can forgive the various murders that he carried out in his movies. 

Skullmo and I figured this out last night. The other nine are:

Judge Choke
Judge Bruise
Judge Internal Bleeding
Judge IBS
Judge Near Miss
Judge Static Shock
Judge Sharp Slap
Judge Funny Bone
Judge Piles

Sadly, Judge Cramp didn't quite make the grade!

HaHa! Judge Cramp should definitely be included - he would have to do that funny walk when you jump out of bed with foot cramp.  Actually, that could probably lead to some great deaths for an artist to do - someone's muscles tearing them apart!   

I would like to add Judge Papercut - because its the worst type of cut. 

For me, the Prog is rolling along nicely at the moment.  Yeah, perhaps its not the best it could be but there is a lot going right which means I look forward to each week's addition.

Anyone feelings sorry for Dredd?

If I had a complaint about Titan it would be that Dredd has been very ineffective throughout.   He nearly bought it on entry, seemed to take forever to figure out the handcuff/rust thing and now spends most of his time on his arse.  I know that several fights have occurred off page but he just doesn't seem up to the job.  I get that they are trying to show that he is now older and not so invincible but if you push it too far then surely folks will wonder why he hasn't gone on the long walk?

I do wonder if that affects my enjoyment of it, which would be daft, but I do wonder. The reason being whenever I'm reading it I ponder on what I'm missing to not think its the best thing since sliced bread and all that noise can be a distraction. 

It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks or says about a comic though does it?  The only person to worry about is yourself.  So, I like Saga, Radiator doesn't and you are somewhere in the middle.  You are not missing anything, you just don't like it to the extent that others do.