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There's this "comics review" web site called TheFourthRail.com, which gets quoted all over the place, even though it seems to be written by chimps who type.  I look at it at work sometimes when I just need a break, and always end up regretting it.  Anyway, every month, they do a column where they list their thoughts on the current Previews catalog, and had this to say about JUDGE DREDD: JUDGMENT DAY:

"I'm sure it speaks to my lowbrow, action/adventure leanings that the first collaboration from DC/Humanoids or DC/2000 AD that I'm most interested in is this first Judge Dredd collection as opposed to all the more artsy ventures."

Now me, I like Sinister Dexter just fine, but I know it's got its detractors.  But for all the criticism I've seen, I'll bet nobody has ever accused it of being too "artsy" before...

Link: http://www.thefourthrail.com/features/0904/downthelineseptember.shtml" target="_blank">TheFourthRail.com

It's an exciting list (especially for folks in the US like myself who never really had a chance to read these before now).  I guess Jamie may be the only one who can answer this, but any ideas whether the new editions of (for example) Rogue Trooper: Future of War or ABC Warriors: Meknificent Seven will have the same contents as the recent Titan editions?  With 2000AD's spotty US availability in the past, I'm always hungry for whatever reprint material I can get my hands on, but not if it means buying the exact same book twice...

What can I say that hasn't been said?  Except that I was kind of let down by Robo-Hunter, I reluctantly confess.  I think I was hoping for a more standard Samantha-Slade-has-an-adventure story, something to help the new version of the strip establish its own identity.  Continuing the quest for Sam's body just keeps it too reliant on the past for my tastes.

Of course, that's just more a case of the story conflicting with my expectations, rather than it being weak.  (As opposed to this week's Dredd story.  Or this *weak's* Dredd story...)  And anything with Ian Gibson art is going to get high marks in my opinion, regardless...

Okay, I can't find the Judge Dredd strips online at www.metrocafe.co.uk.  Are they posted there at all yet?  Can anyone tell me what section they're in?  Thanks...

Andrew

I think they're great.  They don't get the attention--or the sales--of Big Finish's Doctor Who stuff, but they push the envelope of what's possible on audio a lot farther.  I really liked the first couple, but I Love Judge Dredd and Dreddline were the turning points for me, when the series really won me over.  Overall, they really capture the pace, scope, and atmosphere of the Dredd strip, only transfered to the audio format.  (My joke is that they make the Doctor Who series sound like a bunch of people sitting in a room talking into microphones.)  Definitely worth sampling if you're a Dredd/2000AD fan.  I mean, I don't believe in "must-haves" or indespensible product, and everyone should base their purchases on their own personal tastes.  But if you're not listening to the 2000AD CDs, you're just stupid!:)

Andrew

Just finished Dredd v. Death last night, and it was a lot of fun.  Definitely captured the feel of the comics.  (No idea how close it ties in to the game, since I haven't played it...)  Much better than a novel based on a video game based on a comic has any right to be.  Now I'm really looking forward to the future Black Flame novels.

Andrew

I'm liking that it's written by Dave Stone, too.  (I quite enjoyed The Killing Zone.)

I'm a subscriber in the US, so I'm in a similar boat.  I got a letter with last week's prog, detailing the price hike and mentioning the Dredd/Death special.  They said at the end it would be available at a special price to subscribers, and to watch our mailboxes for that offer (I think; I've since pitched the letter).

Andrew

Nice cover, I thought.  My first reaction upon reading the summary was that it reminded me of Sin City (must be the whole virus/amusement park thing).  But Jonathan Clements hasn't disappointed in the past, not with his 2000AD audios, not with his recent Doctor Who one starring David Warner, so I'm looking forward to this one!

Andrew

Yeah, I don't see the problem with the Rogue Trooper voices thing myself.  I suspect the problem lies more with the low sales of the Strontium Dog CDs, and the consequent decision to focus on Dredd stories for the time being... The world may never know.

I think a Slaine CD could be a lot of fun, but it would have to be Mills writing it, or we'd never hear the end of it...

"Interesting to note that Sin Dex were nominated by Da Bish for an aural assault. I've been banging on about that for a while."

I'd definitely listen to a Sin Dex story.  Or a Caballistics one...

As for Rogue Trooper, I believe I read somewhere (Outpost Gallifrey's Big Finish board, maybe) that part of the problem was figuring out how to practically realize the biochip voices on audio.  Since all of the characters are presented as nothing but voices in an audio play, how do you convey the visual gimmick of these three being a talking helmet, backpack and gun?

Of course, in Dredline, they managed to deal with the Lawmaster just fine...

Nobody here seems to be talking about the Big Finish 2000AD CDs, which is a shame, because they're just getting better and better.  The two Strontium Dog stories (which, unless sales improve, may end up being the only two Strontium Dog stories) are just fantastic.  The Dredd series has seen new script-droids Jonathan Morris and James Swallow join up recently, helping give the line a greater diverity of tone and voice.  Morris's I Love Judge Dredd is a hilarious comedy.  Swallow's Dreddline is a gripping action-adventure movie, along the lines of a Die Hard or Under Siege 2, told in real time, and on audio.  It's fast paced, thrilling, and funny, all at the same time.

Next month, we get 99 Code Red, written by Strontium Dog audio script droid Jonathan Clements, who also wrote the Dredd audio, Trapped on Titan.  If his previous work is anything to go by, it should be a moody, suspenseful, deliberately paced tale, and one I'm really looking forward to.

I must confess, it was the Big Finish stories that got me back reading 2000AD and the Megazine regularly again.  In the US, I became a fan through the Titan books and Eagle comics reprints, but could never get the "real thing" on a regular basis.  I thought I had grown out of Dredd fandom through lack of contact.  However, I had been listening to and enjoying other Big Finish series, and based on their quality, and my fondness for the 2000AD characters, I decided to give the first one a try.  It completely reignited my interest, so I subscribed to the audio line, and to the comics.  

So is anyone else out there listening to the audios on a regular basis, and just not talking about it here?  I feel like producer-droid John Ainsworth and his team have made a real effort to capture the feel of the strip on audio.  (And I can't read a Dredd story without hearing Toby Longworth's voice at this point...)

Will the upcoming Time Killer book from Titan have any stories in it that aren't currently being reprinted in the Megazine?  (In other words is it just the Time Killer story, or does the book have more than one story in it, like how Slaine the King has that and Sky Chariots?)

Will the upcoming Time Killer book from Titan have any stories in it that aren't currently being reprinted in the Megazine?  (In other words is it just the Time Killer story, or does the book have more than one story in it, like how Slaine the King has that and Sky Chariots?)