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Available as a print...

I suspect there are multiple reasons for this. The logotype visually links 2000 AD and the Meg from a branding perspective. The fan logo feels more like the brand logo than just the comic logo. But also, you these days have to think more widely than in the days of acres of newsstand space. Now, titles need to be easily and rapidly legible in thumbnails, from a distance on those shelves that do remain, and so on.

The Beano is an odd one. I find it horribly formulaic and the publisher apparently has no interest in collections. For me, the best thing in there is Betty and the Yeti, but we're never going to see anything beyond the usual Dennis books, bar perhaps a Minnie one.

The Phoenix: maybe try that six issues for a quid offer. See how it clicks for you. After that point, every issue costs less than one US floppy, so you could always swap something out.

Dammit. I like Omar but that video now makes me want to buy that book, when prior to that I was going to give it a miss.

[Dredd]

My Prog finally arrived late yesterday. I'm not sure what to make of it. I think, on balance, I prefer the Meg, not because the stories were better, but because less was left hanging. I get that this issue of 2000 AD was kind of an elseworlds thing – a what if? But it's frustrating that almost every strip ends on something tantalising when we won't get anything further. (Heaven knows what lapsed or new readers are going to think when they pick up 2351.)

Personally, I'm not sure I agree with the suggestions these strips are regained fare. Perhaps Death Game and Dredger. The others had a somewhat 2000 AD classic era feel, but it's hard to see melting adults or Nazis vs demons in that publication. And although others have suggested perhaps that's what we should see, I'd also argue the majority of these strips could slot into the Prog now. So the differentiation is slim.

Dredd worked well, playing on the Dredd/Rico rivalry in a manner that makes Cadet Dredd look even more toothless and dull than it is. Plus Dredd can just be Dredd, without leaving him in this weird place where he's supposed to be heroic and moral, yet lumbering him with being a stick in the mud joy-killer. Great art, too, as you'd expect from Coleby.

Sports SF leaves me a bit cold in comic form, but Death Game was the best modern effort I've seen. Far better than everything we've seen in Rebellion's other attempts to do this sort of thing of late. And then El Mestizo had some lovely art and a solid strip. Despite the cliffhanger, this was the strip I felt worked best as a standalone.

I never cared for Dredger much in his original incarnation. But this worked nicely, going full Blackhawk (as per the Tharg strip). 70s gun-happy spy in a future that claims to have done away with crime is a mite tropey. But it strikes me you could have a lot of fun with this one, with a very 2000 AD spin on Demolition Man.

Hellman was for me the concept that has the most legs in the modern world of 2000 AD. I'd quite happily see this continue in next week's prog, to see where it goes. Perhaps Tharg will recommission some of these strips. Who knows?

And then Major Easy wraps things up, with some fab art, a breezy script, and the second best of this issue's stories in the sense of working as a standalone story.

In all, then, this was in many ways a very strong Prog, even if the concept and final execution was a bit frustrating to me. It's perhaps a good sign I wanted more of these strips; but it's a pity that's unlikely to happen.

Smashing Robo-Hunter continuity into Judge Dredd? Hark. I think I hear the Robin Low alarm ringing!

Beano beating The Phoenix is a bit hrmmm. Good to see Matt Smith get a gong. Also: It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth winning best OGN is about right. It's superb.

Maybe. There's a bit of that about at the moment. Also, assuming this person exists and is real, he's written about a feature a day since June. That's... quite a lot.

AI would do a better job.

[Dredd (Billy Carter)]

i obviously don't have it yet but this feels more like what would have happened to a comic in the 80s when it is forcibly merged with another. several survivors of the dead comic and the normal comic going on business as usual 

Heh. Having read it now, that feels spot-on. What I will say is that I've not enjoyed an issue of the Meg this much in a while. And it's not like I've disliked the Meg of late. This was just on another level. Lots of fun. It felt packed with comics – far more so than usual. And what's interesting from my standpoint is that I'm only slightly aware of the original strips and so almost everything had to succeed on its own merits, not as the result of nostalgia.

Dredd (Billy Carter) was a solid opener. Nice callbacks. Quality art. Rad Pack was even better. Dredd looked nicely grumpy (hints of Yeowell) and the script blazed along, with distinct characters. I chortled at the twist. The one bad bit? That there isn't a new mission for Rad Pack next week. I'd happily read these as a bunch of one-shots across six months,

Strato Squad didn't quite land as well for me. Not sure why. It looks great. It's well written. Maybe I was too tired or something. It also felt like it was left hanging a touch more than the other strips.

Anderson was a fun one-and-done that worked without any prior character knowledge. And then... Darkie's Mob. This is one I have read – a kind of porto-Bad Company with some culturally insensitive elements when viewed under a modern eye. This take looked fantastic (I mean, it's John McCrea...) and read well too. Nicely pulpy. The hint in the tail that the mob turned into the DJs. But this could easily be a series. (Weird production error on the last page, alas.)

Then there was still the rest of the Meg. Blimey. Spector is still fine. Rogue remains a favourite. Johnny Red isn't my tea. Lawless picked up a notch. And Dreadnoughts was packed with tension but I hope the last panel does something unexpected, given that this is one direction a few of us thought might happen and that would be... unfortunate. Bit tropey.

Ten strips! Loads of great stuff. This must surely be in the running for the best Meg to date. Thanks to all involved.

Rad Pack > Darkie's Mob > Rogue > Anderson > Lawless > Dreadnoughts > Dredd (Billy Carter) > Strato Squad > Spector > Johnny Red.

Still progless here. Bah. The Meg arrived ages ago. Strange for the Prog to be this late.

It's worth noting that The Phoenix is halfway between The Beano and 2000 AD in terms of story structure. So if you buy a one-off issue, you're going to have part X of at least one multi-part story, alongside a bunch of single-shot cartoons (which range from anything up to four pages down to three panels). And sometimes even Bunny vs Monkey has arcs, although you can always enjoy a standalone DPS of that.

I'd never say to not buy The Phoenix, but I would suggest two alternatives instead of buying one-off issues: first, the comic has a trial, where you get [six issues for a quid](https://thephoenixcomic.co.uk). After that point, it's £29.99 per 12 – £2.50 each via direct debit. But I imagine within the first few issues, you'd get a feel for whether your kid's into it or not.

Alternatively, there are quite a few collections available, although they certainly don't cover the full range of what's in the comic. The heavy hitters are anarchic Jamie Smart comic Bunny vs Monkey and action strip Mega Robot Bros. My nipper also enjoyed Georgia and the Edge of the World and Claire: Justice Ninja, along with most of Corpse Talk. (She's also like to see a Fawn collection, but there's no sign of that.)

Probably avoid No Country, though. That's... quite the read. (I bought it for myself during a sale. It's definitely at the upper end of the Phoenix age range.) The ones you've grabbed off of World of Books are good. We have three such books here. They have a solid range of strips.

One other thing: The Phoenix also has its own reading recommendations that cover a range of publishers. That was a good way here to find new books for a while. (Now, mini-IP just blazes through the library and carts a stack of whatever she finds to the scanning machine.)

Yep. It's a risk – and one I'm not willing to take myself.

eBay takes 12.8% of the final fee plus 30p. So the break-even sales price for anything sent at £2.70 – not taking into account tape/printing labels/time/etc – is £3.45. If you sold something at 99p and posted it for the cheapest option of £2.40, you'd lose £1.84.

In theory. I've never personally seen it in a Waitrose. The only place I've seen the comic in the wild is WHSmith (and only in Reading) and one of the massive Waterstones in London. We've found the subs solid though. It's more reliable than 2000 AD these days. And the one time we didn't get a copy, one was dispatched via next-day delivery.

I got mine today but not 2000 AD. Does it make any odds if I read the Meg before 2000 AD this time? The stories aren't linked, are they?