Messages

You don't need to have any editorial experience to see how all over the shop the Megazine is.

But you could say much the same thing about what I think of as the Meg's glory days, the reign of Alan Barne. There was very little cohesiveness to most of the content but I don't think the Meg was ever better.

To be brutally honest, I don't remember the Meg ever having any glory days. It's certainly had some ups and good stuff along the way, but generally it's been 2000AD's poor relation. 2000AD has had some very weak periods, of course, but it's always been focused and its average quality has been much higher.


Regards

Robin

I actually like the film reviews. Do I stand alone..?

Nope- I like them too.
Chances are I'll not see most of the movies or am not particularly interested in seeming them, but it is a very well written column.

Well written or not, I think the question is, what is the Megazine about? We could have well written articles about all sorts of interesting stuff, but any publication needs a theme, a focus.

At present the Meg seems to be about Dredd world comicstrips, random non-Dredd world comics strips, articles/interviews about/with comics/creators, and largely out of date reviews of movies that are covered in half a dozen other glossy monthlies.

You don't need to have any editorial experience to see how all over the shop the Megazine is.

Regards

Robin

Sonic bloody screwdriver - great to see it destroyed, but sad to see a new one.

To be honest, I took the "No TARDIS, no screwdriver" thing to be some sort of statement of intent. Just watch me be proved wrong next week.

As a statement of intent it wouldn't be a bad one, but we'll see.

Regards

Robin

Put it this way - do you want to live in a world where the Meg doesn't exist?

I appreciate this question wasn't directed at me, but my answer is yes. It would save me money and space. Guy Davis' Dredd could easily have been in 2000AD, as could Insurrection, in place of its weaker offerings. We wouldn't be losing much.

However, that's the Megazine as it is presently. I'd just like to see something with a change of focus and approach, and a bit more story content.

Regards

Robin

EDIT - Reading Robin's second post though, a 2000AD Megazine does seem like a cool idea...

Thanks. One thing I should have said is that it could be feasible to do without rebranding, although I think we could do with something that looked like a new British SF comic.

Imagine something with the current format of four stories. We have:

Judge Dredd - obligatory, really

Tales from the Dog House - so much potential for characters and locations

Future War - varying from month to month, it might be Rogue Trooper, Bad Company, The VCs, and so on

Blast from the Past - anything goes, untold tales based on a 2000AD series

Ideally, I'd want a fifth story, New Thrills, partly to give more comic content and partly to showcase new characters.

There should always be at least one (and probably two) stories in each issue that are two-parters that act as incentives to pick up the next issue.

Regards

Robin

Fucking up the title music was not a good start.

During the kitchen scene it felt like I was watching Mork and Mindy.

Much of the Doctor's dialogue might as well have come out of David Tennant's mouth as Matt Smith's - the writers have never got the hang of the idea that the Doctors are different people, albeit with the same core values.

Eyeball aliens - looked a bit silly to be honest.

Sonic bloody screwdriver - great to see it destroyed, but sad to see a new one.

Another global crisis - for fuck sake!

Yet again, the Doctor is portrayed as a godlike saviour/protector of Earth - getting very, very tiresome, guys.

Rather bland storyline, but was saved, I think, by the fairly neat method of contacting the aliens and the way prisoner 0 was eventually identified to them.

Had some time been taken to tell the story, it could have been a half decent Pertwee/Baker-era tale.

Regards

Robin

I don't think it's so much the quality of anything in the Meg per se that's the problem but the basic format of the mag, and that's been true ever since it went back to being a montly title. An awful lot of really very good strips have suffered badly from the seemingly interminable length between issues and terminally stalled momentum.

I think there has always been a quality issue, although it's not usually the case of stuff being dire, just being so-so or uninteresting. We know from 2000AD, and somteimes the Meg itself, that the talent is out there, but we're not seeing quantity or frequency in the Meg.

I think you're right about the lack of momentum and story length, and that brings me back to the the issue of theme. I think Rebellion should take the (probably costly) step of rebranding Judge Dredd: The Megazine as 2000AD: The Megazine and then use it to tell one or two-part stories featuring classic or even forgotten characters. Also, use it as a place to showcase new talent. It could still be used for interviews and creator/comic-focused articles, just keep them focused on 2000AD and British comics.

I assume that the Meg still sells in reasonable quantities, or else Rebellion wouldn't keep publishing it. However, I always wonder how many buyers are only getting it because, like me, they're Dredd obsessives.

Regards

Robin 

I've been saying for years now that I think the Meg needs to be put down. Either that or turned into a 2000AD Monthly that showcases bigger stories for all 2000ADs characters - at the moment we have something vaguely themed around Dredd world, alongside stories like Tank Girl that don't fit the theme, and utterly pointless movie reviews.

It's not that there's never anything worthwhile in it, it's just that there's not enough that's worthwhile in it, and most of the good stuff could be farmed out to 2000AD.

The only thing I'd miss is the ocassional interview, like this month's Redondo, or articles on old comics that can be quite interesting. However, they still feel out of place here.


Regards

Robin

Hmmm. Nothing there in particular that suggests MC1 to me, but then I felt much the same about the movie and a lot of people liked the city visuals, if nothing else.

Regards

Robin

Currently struggling with Bill Hussey's Through a Glass, Darkly. A friend of mine once told me that he threw The Da Vinci Code across the room in disgust, and I nearly did the same with this on the bus today. I'm not sure whether I'm more annoyed by the amateurish writing and frequently lousy dialogue, or the staggering number of glowing and enthusiastic reviews on the net.

Regards

Robin

[Lambton Worm]

Oh, so you have that book..... In the Dragon's section, does it have the tale of the Lambton Worm?

One of my favorites, if you've read it.

"Lord Lambton was a kind old man who lived in Lambton Hall in England. The River Wear flowed deep and wide past the front of his house." Always liked that spiky armour.

Very simply written stories - just the essence of each tale and no more. I remember retelling them to friends while on school walking trips in the Lake District during my teens.

Regards

Robin

AHHHHH FREAK OUT!/ LA LOI/ C'EST MOI!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxBZbYodjtM&feature=grec

Actually, that guy's voice is a hell of a lot better than Stallone's.


Speaking of which, I'd like to share this one with you all...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZGYMaHuIc&feature=related


Regards

Robin

Honestly, I wouldn't be bothered anything like this now. Intended for children, not for my myself. Now, I'm alittle offended, but I guess your point is that I might have done the same.

Likewise, my intention wasn't to offend.

I wasn't offended and I certainly didn't intend to cause any offence myself. I still have the book because I think its a great collection of old fairy and folk tales with fun art - I just wanted to share my enthusiasm.

Regards

Robin

[Stephen Cartwright]

I also like the art concepts and designs. Reminding me of a old childrens book on Dragons and Giants I still have to this day. The artwork, drawn and painted by Stephen Cartwright is very similer to the style in the film.

I see your Dragons, Giants and Witches, and raise you Stories for Young Children, which contains, Dragons, Giants, Witches, Wizards, Princes & Princeses, and Gnomes, Goblins and Fairies.

It's probably this one here - the page count matches my copy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stories-Young-Children-Usborne-Story/dp/0746008007/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269798271&sr=1-1

Pretty cheap if you fancy adding to your collection!


Regards

Robin

The Law may bend but it never brakes. And neither did he.
LOL 

Excellent! Perhaps not Dredd, but definitely a Judge.

Just out of curiosity, how does it look if you get rid of the nose and just have the white?

Regards

Robin