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I think there's a fault with my Prog supplier, as my weekly Prog comes not with the 'masterful storytelling' version of Grey Suit, but with a version which is brick-to-the-face subtle and possibly the single worst strip to appear in the Prog this decade.

It really is so bad in so many ways. It's a relief to read that there are others feeling my pain. From the 6th form politics to the poor and unconvincing art, this whole strip is making me think that at the tender age of 50 my 2000AD days may be coming to an end.

Have I slipped into a parallel universe where suddenly Greysuit is good?

Thank God it's not just me who winces at every single frame of this lame and politically patronising story.

Was I the only one whose Xmas prig stopped at page 48, was badly cropped (white strip at top of cover, images over-bleeding from the bottom (!!)) and who only actually noticed the missing stories when subsequent progs made less sense than usual?

Well, at least you gave it a chance. 

Is there a more 2000AD thing on TV right now than this (that I've only just seen because I'm constantly playing catch-up with the TV planner)?
It's just like that well-drawn and fairly amusing story with the stoner students, name of which eludes me right now. Surely I can't be the only one to have noticed this.
If you haven't seen it... I'm sure you have the wherewithal to do so.

Congratulations to the cover artists who managed to make Dante look Asha from Spartacus.

To the Doctor Alt 8: Thanks. Were you at Tewkesbury or Kelmarsh this year? Our paths may have crossed. I was (incongruously in the case of Tewkesbury) in Napoleonic redcoat kit for both.

To locust of death: That is far from a silly question. To be honest, I don't know if they referred to the rounds as bullets during the time of flintlocks. I think it was just balls. It was musket ball, cannon ball.

The shot was indeed an often poorly cast lead ball which would come rattling out of the smooth bore of the musket or pistol. When rifling (the spiral grooves in the barrel) was introduced, most notably with the Baker Rifle used by the 95th Rifles (yes, Sharpe and his boys), the spherical ball was wrapped in a leather pad and pretty much forced down the barrel, sometimes even hammered, so it sat snugly in the grooves and came out in a reliable way. This reduced the rate of fire from up to 4 rounds a minute from a musket to as slow as one round a minute from a rifleman, but the accuracy the rifle gave the 95th enabled them to pick off French Officers at 200 yards, while the musket would be lucky to hit it's target at 50.

By the time the three-band Enfield came in, the round, I believe, was bullet-shaped and didn't require a leather jacket, but would still have been muzzle-loaded.

I've had a go at live firing all these, including a flintlock pistol, at a black powder day at a shooting range. And it was awesome. Especially the pistol.

Wow. I started this thread AGES ago because of a genuine desire to help the 2000AD artists get things right in a tiny way. I'm really happy it's been largely taken in this spirit of complete anorakdom, and I'm very proud that some of the great and the good of 2000AD have graced it with their presence. Thanks.

I've noticed on the current Red Seas that all the flintlocks are firing exactly as flintlocks should: The frizen flies open, smoke comes from the pan and smoke, fire and a bullet fly from the barrel. I just want to say it hasn't gone unnoticed. Percussion cap muskets (the next stage of development in firing mechanisms, and more associated with the American Civil War) are another question.

As for Dante's Huntsman - I do realise that this is a special case, but you can only take that so far. Surely having a flintlock style hammer that doesn't actually do anything is a little... unlikely? silly? I like to think that whatever round the Huntsman decides to fire is activated by that anachronistic hammer.

Does anyone remember the Lib Lab Flab alliance? I think the fatties could make all the difference.

You know when you're reading a prog and you stop and then rummage around for the previous prog because you're sure you must have missed one? Well I got that with Dredd this week. He's suddenly back in the MC1. Did I miss something in the Meg (which I now don't get)?

I love everything about it: story, art, intrigue etc. but it just seemed like a huge non-sequeteur (sp?).

I've always wondered how "Delingpole" would look on Judge badge, but even though I earn my living "doing" Photoshop, I've never tried it. It's not about point size, but about finding a condensed version of the font, or committing the typographically dodgy crime of "squishing" the lettering.

I'm now without the Megazine, so 2000AD has to make up for it. And as long a Dredd is good (which it has barely failed to be for MONTHS) I'm a happy bunny. There was nothing particularly bad this week and a fair amount of good.

Oooh Mr Cosh - you've got me wondering now. I got home the other day to hear that my dual subscription was temporarily cancelled because my card's expired. So I was going to phone and just renew 2000AD. I think that's what I'll do, and just keep an eye on the shelves of the newsagent over Christmas. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity of my subscription just cancelling itself like that.

I've just realised that I used "it's" incorrectly on this post. I only went back to check when I noticed that someone had said my punctuation was quite good. And I thought "QUITE good?" and went to see why I was being damned with faint praise.

I feel a little bit sad about this slip up and intend to eat a Wispa Gold to make myself feel better.

I think I'm in agreement with the general mood of "poor show" here.

I next month's Megazine isn't a big improvement I'm cancelling the subscription.

Do you think the powers that be were aware that they were turning out a sub-standard product? Were there frantic last minute meetings over a missed deadline that meant more text articles had to be added? Or, more worryingly, do you think they just thought it was another good issue, meaning they don't know the difference? We'll probably never know.