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Sorry guys, missed out a number...

I very rarely comment about the Megs, as they are far and away a lot more eclectic than 2000AD progs. I find that most months I can only like about two stories, be okay with one and not like the rest. But this month I find the perfect storm of stories I like!

I love Dredd's story and the reintroduction of our favourite gorilla judge Heston. That panel with the giant footprint in particular gave me chills. I also liked the shout out to a previous Judge Anderson story with the giant ape.

Lawless had been an okay story with a solid storyline and good art but this months instalment with the cathartic experience between Nerys and Hetch was very moving.

Devlin Waugh sometimes goes over my head with its obscure references to the occult, but this months episode was light on this and more centred on the two brothers' backstory coupled with a prolonged fight scene.

Cursed Earth Koburn: What else is there to say? It's Carlos Freakin' Ezquerra up to his usual high standard, and a great opening episode that hopefully starts another good story for his unconventional character.

Which takes us to Dredd vs Death. I had qualms about the introduction of such a supernatural entity into this version of Dredd's multiverse but this opening episode story along with Flint's excellently dark artwork dispelled those doubts. I don't want to spoil it but the last page is absolutely brilliant.

Well done guys. 

My thoughts on the prog:

Dredd: More of a grim survivalist story than an action adventure this week. I found the constant jumping from the past to the present quite confusing, especially when speech boxes from one time were in panels from another. Hopefully future instalments of this story will be easier to follow.

Brass Sun and Savage both have the problems that they are starting up their stories after being away for a while, but from their standpoints no time has passed. If they were in collected graphic novels, this of course wouldn't be a problem, however because stories nowadays seem to end not with conclusions but with cliffhangers, this means that readers who are new to 2000ad are quite rightly lost in trying to get to grips with these stories. Regular readers also will feel the need to reacquaint themselves with the stories by going back and read them up to the point where they ended last.

Bad Company: A story that should have left alone in my opinion. The story had ended in a satisfactory manner and didn't need this convoluted way to bring back some favourite characters from the dead.

Deadworld: Has a good story that introduces a new character. If her story is expanded upon I shall be happy, but it could be a one off standalone story.

Ace Trucking: The only Christmas themed story in the whole prog. I like the story overall, but not the art. They still haven't found a worthy successor for the great Belardinelli. Okay, it's an impossible task I know. Gibson probably came closest in with his tenure.

ABC Warriors: This has the potential to become a major storyline within ABC Warriors. I can't take everything at face value, so we will have to see how this plays out. There were those who didn't believe that Blackblood would leave the Warriors, but he did and so did Mek-Quake. [spoiler]Caine and Dreadlock might actually destroy each other.[/spoiler]

I left the Starlord story last because I'm going on a rant.
I hated this story.
I hate this story with a passion.
I am one of the old guard. I was there at the start of 2000ad and I was there at the start of Starlord. I read both and I enjoyed both. And as such I despise the hatchetjob that Kenneth Neimand has done on Starlord and to a lesser extent on Tharg himself. Neimand would have been much better advised to do a tribute to a character from the founding days of British sci-fi comics instead of what twisted take he came up with. I am not a fan of retconns but this was on a whole different level. What makes it more sad is that Henry Flints artwork in this is still his usual excellence. That in itself made it more difficult to take. And in a Christmas special as well. I honestly haven't been this disgusted reading 2000AD since Judge Dredd killed Dr Who.
For Shame.

Dredd: Dredd shows that he is still the man to be reckoned with as even with his hands tied behind his back, he can still be a force to be reckoned with.

Slaine: Pat Mills really, really doesn't like Christianity.

Sin/Dex: I like where the story is going at the moment. I've waited a while to see some kind of resolution for this thread.

3riller: Started well last week but started to wane a bit. Hopefully it will end strongly.

Absalom: Another episode that juxtapositions two separate stories constantly throughout. I'm not really happy with what the "good guys" did with those kittens though...

all in all a better than average prog with Slaine and 3riller being the low points.

Judge Dredd: the story progresses quite nicely with more hints to why the Mega City One judges have gone in to the facility. RIP Judge Moller, you will be remembered. May flights of Angels see Thee to Thy rest.

Slaine: I never knew how manipulative Slaine could be when he wants to be. He must have learned that from Ukko.

Indigo Prime: I just don't GET it.

Sin/Dex: A good conclusion. It was nice to see a resolution that didn't have a massive bloodbath. Nicely done.

Absalom: Shades of Dad's Army in this episode. I really liked the juxtaposition of a afternoon tea with a desperate fight against a primordial levitation.

All in all three hits, one okay and one miss. A mixed prog this week.

Overall, I enjoyed this week's prog very much. The Dredd story was entertaining and it's always great to have an old master doing the art. A bit of action in Slaine make this more enjoyable than of late. Sin/Dex story was another good gunsharks defending the underdog story, and as for Absalom, I especially liked the cover this week - the artist got his scowl down to a tee.
The only thing I couldn't get on board was Indigo Prime. To be honest, I have never got this series. I can just about understand the premise and in its original run the stories didn't last too long so it didn't matter if I didn't follow any individual story. However, for me this current run is just too inaccessible. I can understand that 2000AD is an anthology, so there are very differing stories being presented, so I'm happy that it is only one story I don't like.

Guys, I still haven't had my 2000ad delivered yet. Have the subscription department changed their email address as I've sent them an email three days ago, but they haven't replied yet.

Again, and for the final time: No more Doctor Who discussion in this thread, please. 2000 AD only.

Any more posts on this subject will be deleted without warning.

I apologise that I have caused offence to 2000AD. I have been an avid reader of this publication for many years and in no way wanted to do any harm. I was only making my views on Tharg's editorial known as part of my views on this week's prog as a whole. 2000AD has never been one to shy away from any controversial subject in its wonderful history and I absolutely did not foresee that my comments would illicit such a response as this. I hope that any other contributors to the forums that might remember me would know that I am not a rabble rouser but do have my own beliefs.
Again I am sorry.

Dredd: Got to agree that it was a exposition heavy but necessary episode of Dredd.

Alienist: Loots good and has promise. It's just a shame that there is so long between stories for these tales.

Greysuit: The best of the bunch this week. Lots of action and anticipation of more to come. And it was really weird to see everyone in Max Normal gear.

Grey Area: A nice enough story with mixed emotions.

Hunted: They are going in a strange direction with this story, effectively retconning the reasons for the origins of the Nort/Souther galactic war. Very much like the rebooted series of the V.C.s. Is is so hard to believe that humanity is stupid and destructive enough to want to kill each other without some outside conspiracy?

Finally, I would like to say that I don't agree with Tharg about his comments in editorial letter. The reasons behind the change of sex of the Doctor is not about embracing change or pushing forward. It is about pushing an agenda by taking an established character in a much loved programme and fundamentally changing him. I am all for strong female characters in entertainment. 2000AD has given us so many from Halo Jones to Judges Anderson and Hershey. But these are wonderful characters in their own right, not ones who took over from established characters. How would the readers react if 2000AD decided to kill off Judge Dredd and replace him with a female clone who was called Judge Dredd and was totally perfect and made all the male judges around her look foolish? There were many other ways the BBC could have pushed forward with Dr Who without rewriting it's canon: they could have brought back Romana or the Rani. Or given the Doctor's daughter her own programme. All of these would have been much more preferred to what they have done, which has essentially split the fanbase and cause ill feelings where it didn't have to happen this way.

I'm a long time reader but I rarely post because by the time I read my prog most of my opinions have already been posted by others.

I found it difficult to read about Daniel losing his faith in God. In a world where the occult and science are treated as the same, it was hard to see the power of faith being treated as impotent and irrelevant.

Well done to 2000AD for reaching prog 2000!
And what a great way to celebrate this milestone, with writers and artists old and new coming together to make this the best prog by far for ages!
My obvious favourite was Dredd/Strontium Dog written and drawn by two masters. Great to see my namesake make an appearance in this story.
It was great to see the anarchy of Kevin O'Neil within the prog, drawing Nemesis. The only problem I had was the final frame, which saw one of the worst villains in 2000AD crucified. I admit that was hard for me to read.
Also, the page before the Judge Anderson story stated that Robohunter was a Judge Dredd spin off. But I never connected Sam Slade's universe with Judge Dredd. Outside of a superficial naming of Brit-Cit, there is no overlap in these worlds. Grant and Roach really nailed the story and the art with this Anderson story.
Outside of these two complaints I want to say again how great this entire prog has come together. The Rogue Trooper and Sin-Dex stories were also enjoyable and having The Mighty One give us a tour was inspired. The Milligan/Dayglo piece at the end was interesting and hopefully should develop well.

All in all a great, great prog. Well done guys!

I didn't notice the boobs in Scarlet Traces, but I did see the reference to Smash potato mash!

Here's my input:

Dredd: Coming along well, with both sides moving their plans forward. Question though, Where is Judge Anderson in all this? Has Dredd contacted her or has she been gotten at by the Texans?

Slaine: Old Slaine has seemed to be treading water for a while now for me. Not been a great fan since the anniversary series. This latest outing hasn't been much for me. Each to their own though.

Black Shuck: I find this an interesting story set in a time and place not normally covered by such stories. As a Scot, I am naturally drawn to Celtic myths and legends, but I find that this is a nice change to hear about other stories from the British Isles past. My only concern is that this story will be used to depict Christianity in a poor light, like other 2000AD stories.

Scarlet Traces: I must admit, I have read every Megazine since the start and I do remember the original story set in Victorian Britain but for the life of me I cannot remember the follow up series Tharg mentions in his Nerve centre explanation. That being said, I did enjoy the feel of this opening episode. It is very reminiscent of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (He had problems with Martians too).

Blink: I just can't get into the story or the art of this strip. This week, the art was dominated by two colours. It just didn't do anything for me. But I do acknowledge that it has its fans, and I respect this. As I said, each to their own.

Dredd: It definitely seems like the Texans have an agenda in their help with Mega City One. I do remember that Texas City did help in the reconstruction of the big Meg after Necropolis, maybe they want to do more than lend Mega City One some judges. Nice nod to Forbidden Planet in Brit Cit. I loved that the alien tourists were trying to get around Brit Cit with a map of Aberdeen! I never had the 2000AD Brit Cit justice dept down as being capable of such callous cruety in shooting one of their own. The Megazine version certainly, but the Brit Cit shown in 2000AD didn't show such a harsh edge to it.

Survival Geeks: I enjoyed this ending. What's wrong with Highlander? I enjoyed it.

Slaine: This chapter hasn't really done it for me this time around. The pacing is slow and the artwork isn't my favourite. I would prefer more in detail in the backgrounds - this week we had white backgrounds or green grey walls.

Brink: Not into this series too much talking heads.

Tainted: The earlier comments have brought up a point I never considered, with Deadworld being so different from Mega City One, I never thought that they could have been a Judge Dredd dimensional counterpart, but if they had a Judge system, why not? This series has really fleshed out Death's world, introducing elements not before shown. I assumed that their technology was not as advanced as Dredd's world, but now we have their versions of lawmasters with artificial intelligence. It seems like this world didn't have a worldwide Atomic war and Death had to resort to other methods of mass destruction to eradicate life - poisoning the air, the water and the food supply. In earlier flashbacks in other stories, we see the Purges - where the citizens are lined up to receive death at the hands of the Dark Judges. This surely would have taken hundreds of years to finish. Also, if it was the entire world's population that was destroyed, including all animal and plant life - it never could have been accomplished without other measures.

Finally, has it ever been explained how Death and his Dark Judges came back to attack that spaceship. The last I heard, Death had been defeated shortly after Las Vegas was nuked and the rest of the Dark Judges were captured by PJ Maybe. I must have missed that explanation.

Sorry. I'm not great with facebook. How do you send a message to someone through facebook?

Hey guys, I was wondering if it was possible to get Carlos Ezquerra to do a commission. Does anyone know how I would go about getting in contact with him?