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No, the time has come for all freedom-loving Terrans to embrace our independence from such tyrants! We need a leader that doesn't think only of himself. We need a leader that is willing to look to the big picture. We need a leader who will take this board to a new level of greatness! And this leader needs a Scottish accent!
If ye wid be free men an' wimmin, then follow McNulty!

And so to my comments...

Dredd: Great art and a good story. Arrests are imminent...

Second City Blues: It's finally getting more interesting, probably because it's moving away from the sports aspect of the story.

TSDM: Sorry, the nudity and the gore doesn't do anything for me.

S/D: 3/4 of a page devoted to feeble coffee jokes? Come on, you can do better than that! Surely.

Dante: Easily the second best strip in this week's prog after Dredd. What is Dante's problem with his womanfolk in that he can't prevent them from being kidnapped??!

p.s. Regarding the letter entitled "Critical Mass" - It seems that 2000adonline is not receiving a very good press at the moment. I for one do not agree with everything that Mr Hanly had to say about this board being too intimidating at times. For the most part, I have always believed myself to be accepted here. While Conexus is correct in that I do not often contribute to the discussions in these boards, I do read the new posts almost every day. And while sometimes these discussions can be a little heated, and even descend slightly into less than sophisticated exchanges, I still think that these are the exceptions, rather than the norm. I'm more than happy to keep returning to these boards, despite the negative press it seems to be attracting of late. I just hope that we are not putting others off contributing here.

So, all in all, another good effort by the Mighty One and his staff. I'm especially looking forward to next week's Dredd...

What regeneration is the Doctor on now? Ninth, Tenth...? Are we counting the last Doctor, that one that came after McCoy?

[had]

Happy Birthday Mr Rennie.

And now to my comments...

When Dredd stories reintroduce characters from the earlier issues, it can be a hit or miss affair. For some, such as Tweak or the Griblings, it can successful. But for others, especially when the veer away from the original intention of the stories, it can be wrong. The Dredd this week is an example of the latter. The original intention of Dredd's relationship with Ralphy was the prove that he was capable of human emotion, even if he didn't show it. You only have to draw pararrels with Dredd's relationship with Vienna, aptly shown most recently in the recent Total War story. What I read from this story this week is that Dredd completely washed his hands of Ralphy. This doesn't ring true at all. When one of Dredd's aquaintances falls off the rails, or get's in trouble, he doesn't turn away. Did he turn from Vienna? Did he turn from his old housekeeper Maria (see also this month's Meg)? And even if Ralphy had gone so far off the rails that he needed taking down, I seriously doubt that Dredd would have blown his head off.
Will this be how he is to deal with all he other aquaintances? Sometime down the line, can Max Normal expect Dredd to come calling with a High Explosive bullet for him? Who'll be next? Mrs Gunnderson? De Marco? Giant? Rico? Anderson? Hershey?
Okay, we all know that Dredd's a hard man. But give him a break!

...sorry. Did I go off on a rant there for a moment? Ever since they did what they did to Robohunter in Return to Verdus, this has been an issue for me. Hope I didn't offend.

And now my comments...

Judge Dredd: Gibson's art and the humanity of the story make this the best strip for me this week. A good opening making me want to read more.

Second City Blues: I have to admit that this episode has been better for me than the previous ones. I thought I had a handle on this story up to now, but I was genuinely surprised that Minger wasn't taking performance-enhancing drugs. Guess I shouldn't be quite as cynical as I was.

Tiger Sun/Dragon Moon: Got to say I didn't much care for the gore or the gratuitous nudity in this episode.

Sin/Dex: It's been a while since this story has been in the prog. I don't have much against this story; it's the simple "small business that gets crushed by the faceless corporation" type story. Good enough if your not looking for pathos in every strip.

Dante: Still an enjoyable strip, merging the characters of the older stories with the more recent. It still was pretty perverted at the end though...

All in all, a good prog this week.  

Coming this Summer to the Meg: Charley's War 2, set on Nu-Earth!

Comisserations about your business, Bou and best of luck for everything in the future.

And now my thoughts...

Judge Dredd: The horror ends at Emergency Camp 4, at least the alien horror. The hunter became the hunted and was slain, in the traditional way for a vampire. Formulaic? Perhaps, but it works.

Second City Blues: The sports aspect never did a lot for me in this series. Frankly, when I heard this title, Second City Blues, was coming to 2000AD, I believed it was going to be some kind of sequel to Bad City Blues. Of course, this isn't the case. Still, it is a readable enough story.

Dante: From this episode, it does look like its going to be another good one. The inclusion of old characters was welcome.

Tiger Sun, Dragon Moon: I have to admit that this story had dipped a little after the exciting episode of last prog. Let's hope that this is only temporary.

Low Life: A great ending to this story. I particulary enjoyed this change of pace, following the extremely dark preceeding Low Life stories. Quote of the week: "Get off Dirty Frank, you cheese-obsessed retard!"

Droid Life: I have to agree that this weeks work by UPC did not reflect his best work. Certainly not of the usual 2000AD standard!

I never understood why Zipper Bikes never became widely used on Earth. Surely the fact that they hover meant that there would be less friction, therefore better speed, and you wouldn't set off any landmines, or burst your tyres whilst engaged in hot pursuit of escaping perps...

And so to my comments...

Cover: Nice to see Cliff Robinson doing a cover again. I'm not so sure about the Noferatu though, I preffered Ron Smith's original version.

Dredd: The story is progressing well. I especially liked the way they have interconnected an area Total War story (the pre-cog) with this one.

Second City Blues: A readable enough story. One I intend to stick with until its conclusion.

Tiger Sun-Dragon Moon: Exciting enough, but I have questions. If there is a mutant-Mongol army swarming across Asia, intent on attacking Hondo city, surely they would have to deal with the other mega city - Sino-City before they could strike at former Japan?

Low Life: I am enjoying this story. Dirty Frank has shown himself to be a strong character by himself, not just a supporting character. I wonder how he's going to get out of this one?

Dante: A fine ending to this story that sees Dante in an even stronger position in his mother's orginisation. I had the impression when I was reading this story that it was going to lead up to something bigger, I know see where it was going.

All in all a much better than average issue. Infinately readable, even with the notable exclusion of Droid life this week...

That guy looks like he would not be out of place in Jackass TV.

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Good luck to them.

Regarding Necropolis, I believe it was Death's intention to turn MC-1 into a grotesque City of the Dead, mimicking his own Deadworld. The other Mega-Cities of Earth were to see what he had created in all its awful glory, only after Death, Fear, Fire, Mortis and the Sisters had finished their macabre work. If he had taken the easy option and left MC-1 a smoking crater, it hardly would have inspired the terrible wonder he was going for.

It was only later, after his work had been twarted time and time again, did he come to see that WMD would get the job done.

And from me, Will.