Messages

I enjoyed the prog.  I think the only story I'm going to struggle to keep up with is going to be SinDex, because Kal Cutter is such an emo and Finny and Ramone have never really interested me as characters before and I doubt this story will change that.  It appears to be well paced with believable enough dialogue, and it's well drawn so far, though, so I am giving it a chance.

The Dredd was well written and drawn, and very interesting considering nothing much happened.  Wagner is writing Dredd so well these days that whenever I notice he hasn't written the Dredd story I'm almost wishing they would just not put a Dredd story in.  The bar is being set so high that it's not really fair to give the story to anyone else to run with because no matter how good they may be, they aren't Wagner.  It's the little details like Dredd taking off his helmet to sleep and shower, the communal showers (which had me thinking, 'Hah - all those Judges sharing the shower with Dredd can see his FACE!', and I totally wasn't sniggering at the boobs, which must mean I am growing up) and also Dredd ignoring his duty to see about his pain and nausea, yet having a go at Edgar for not getting treatment for her cancer.

I loved everything about The Vort.  I don't think there will be any tie in, though - it almost seems too obvious - brand new writer no-one has ever heard of starting off on a major strip drawn by D'Israeli - and the writing is all good and the dialogue is natural and funny and the whole premise is interesting... got to be an established writer having fun with us, right?  I think it's a double bluff and not a Dead Man / Malone / Dead Eyes twisty thing, but I'm crap at spotting things anyway and didn't guess who The Dead Man was till after the reveal, so just ignore what I say :>

Defoe... I really want to like Defoe.  I am a huge admirer of Pat Mills and the art is wonderful, and it is full of zombies... but, the first series of it lost me completely about halfway through, and I am thinking that it's going to be no different this time.  Still, the first episode was fun and the splash page was jaw droppingly good.

Dante was great.  I am still catching up with Dante, as I had never really read it much in the past so I'm not completely sure wo everyone is exactly, but I do have all the comics available to be read as soon as I have a few days... and the splash page of New York was stunningly good.

A realy fine prog, that.  The fact I managed to enjoy Sinister Dexter and Defoe makes me hopeful that I'm going to enjoy their full runs, I feel The Vort is just going to get better and Dante and Dredd are both just wonderful so there is nothing to complain about.

This run of stories has failed to hook me.  I was pleased that there was no Savage, bemused by the double leength Ten Seconders, did not like anything about the Dredd and have yet to read Dead Signal or Dead Eyes.  I have been somewhat enjoying Dead Signal up to now, though, it's just that since the excellent run earlier in the year with Kingdom, great Wagner Dredds, Shakara, Strontium Dog and Stickleback, this curent crop has not seemed to grab me.

Also, Defoe back?  Meh.

This run of stories has failed to hook me.  I was pleased that there was no Savage, bemused by the double leength Ten Seconders, did not like anything about the Dredd and have yet to read Dead Signal or Dead Eyes.  I have been somewhat enjoying Dead Signal up to now, though, it's just that since the excellent run earlier in the year with Kingdom, great Wagner Dredds, Shakara, Strontium Dog and Stickleback, this curent crop has not seemed to grab me.

Also, Defoe back?  Meh.

As he hates scousers, you'd have thought he'd have gone for Mayor of Manchester.

Star Wars is overrated.  Pah.  I don't want one.

(hopefully these kind of responses will bring down the price enough that I can get one...)

I have been doing a re-read (up to prog 72 / Starlord 5 now - reading it all in order including the letters pages and nerve centres... have read this much in 8 weeks... it's getting to be a bit overly addictive...) and have been surprised that I am enjoying stuff like Dan Dare and Inferno and even Mach Zero - it has a tramp named Gimpy! -

there are a lot of clssic pulpy strips in the early progs that its possible to love for the artwork and energy alone.  Someething like this can only be good for the prog but if it is a best of I'd throw in something new to blindside the casual readers - Kingdom springs to mind :D

That is awesome.  I shudder to think how much commissioning something like that would cost.

Saturday progs three weeks inna row - meg too... yay!

This prog was much better.  i actually enjoyed Savage and Dead Eyes!  Dredd was great! 10 Seconders  made sense even if it didn't have any lines as good as, 'Step away from the Welshman', and Dead Signal has gone from good to highly interesting could be the best thing in the prog since Kingdom depending on how it all pans out... great stuff all round.

The Meg... I loved the Dredd, and the rest I decided to leave till Monday or I will  have nothing to read :>

The Dredd boardgame was lots of daft fun, the Rogue Trooper game was also lots of fun, but Block Mania and Mega Mania were fantastic.  If I knew how,I'd be tempted to replicate them as a computer board game because there was something imensely satisfying about setting off one little fire and watch someones entire city block catch light then collapse (only managed that once, unfortunately)

My copies of all those games are now damaged and have bits missing - this is what happens when you store old games in a kids bedroom at your mates house.

Cover - someone else said Frankie Howerd already, so I'll let that observation pass for now.

Dredd - I am enjoying this story but it's not classic.  Good fun, though, and containing intrigue as well as people being et by monsters.

Savage - sorry, can't get interested enough to be able to even tell if I'd know what was going on if only it could hold my interest.  The comedian guy bugs me and I hope he gets shot in the face by Volgs soon.  I have no idea who is who and no real desire to re-read to find out if it actually does make sense.

Dead Eyes - Meh.

Ten Seconders - Lovely art.  Can't be bothered figuring out the story.  Reads OK but again, no idea what is going on.  The art makes up for it lots, it's just gorgeous to look at and admire.

Dead Signal - I think I am liking this lots but can't tell yet where it is heading.  This may be a good thing.  It's the most interesting story in the prog this week.

Judda poster - wow.

I'm going to pick sides and declare myself firmly in the 'love it' camp regards the art on Dredd.  It flows, it tells the story, it's dynamic and... it fits this story.  The Fargoes are spot on, and the cartoony style, instead of jarring badly as it should, makes the nasty bits somehow... nastier.  The final page is absoutely wonderful and not a little horrific.

Dante was good but over already?

The left over Crisis strip was dull, Ten Seconders was too much effort and Savage was average.

I'm well aware of the pirated digital archives and the ease of getting hold of them, and I'm not ashamed to say I have a few - but as the few I have are not likely to ever be released officially again (Zenith, which I have in the original progs in boxes in the attic, and the banned Cursed Earth episodes which I had bought at the time but which were among the first 300 progs or so which got thrown out by my parents who have yet to be entirely forgiven) and I actually have an almost complete physical bought legally collection of 2000AD and Megs, as wll as TPB's, and the fact I'd rather pay for an official download than have a pirated one, I don't feel too guilty about that.  

I prefer the paper version too but there is something appealing in having an entire 2000AD collection on one hard drive rather than in tons of boxes in the attic.  Any chance of a cut price digital sub for people who want to add it to thier existing subs for hard copies?

I love the cover, and as I am now getting used to the art on Dredd I am loving it more and more.

Savage I am still a bit, 'meh' about.  I dislike the dialogue as it just doesn't scan well to me.  People don't talk like that - it's a problem I have with a lot of Pat's scripts going way back.  There is a great story in there somewhere but I can't get excited enough to find it.

Ten Seconders... I need to reread the original series as I can't follow it.  It look great, though.

Dead Eyes - This is now getting too predictable.  Oooh,he's been set up and the sinister government are now framing him... seen it all before and with such stilted dialogue again, I'm not that interested in what happens next.

Dante - I need to go back and read all the episodes I never read in the past because this is great and I feel I have missed out big time by ignoring this strip on and off over the years.

They should have to but stuff off an ebay list instead - only the cheapest crap - prefarably dangerously faulty.