Did anyone actually enoy A.H.A.B?

[chimpanzor]

yet another rather uninspiring story nicely drawn by that guy who used to do Sonic the Comic...

Saying that, I enjoyed The Scrap a bit more. A lot more in fact. But thats not saying a lot.

[Max Kon]

it should have been longer

[Queen Firey-Bou]

er yeah i did.

[Bolt-01]

I enjoyed it, but I'm going to have to re-read it in one sitting to see if it was actually any good.

Think it could have done with a longer run though.

http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=davide> Bolt-01

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[chimpanzor]

Oh....

maybe it just didnt work for me... even though the story was probably more interesting than that of Chopper, it still didnt have the right appeal.

I liked the chopper story a lot, and the artowrk was nice. Shows how simple crap can entice such impressionable minds as mine.

[Max Kon]

oh and welcom to the board,

you belong to us
you will be like us

[chimpanzor]

Quite.

[Noisybast]

Chimpanzor, eh? A fine name.

What are your thoughts on millinery?

[Banners]

Ishmael certainly ennoyed A.H.A.B. - she pissed him right off!

M@

[Bico]

I thought it was okay.  2000ad's printed some right chuff over the years, but this was nowhere near being the worst of it.
My only real issue would have been the pacing.  A few more episodes and a more fleshed-out cast would have helped it immensely, but it was a decent enough strip.

[Dudley]

First 4 episodes - yes.  

Next 5 episodes - not so much.

I think that the problem was the 2-handed nature of the plot.  Was it a story with a great villain as the centre - "Watch in appalled fascination as A.H.A.B. unleashes the virus and takes command!"? Or was it the story of plucky Jane Ishmael and her mystical sidekick Tashtego, in their attempts to defeat the monster's obsessional crusade?  As it was, I finished up not caring too much about either of them.

Oh God, sorry, but I can't keep Melville out of this.  In Moby Dick we learn sod-all about Ishmael: he's the classic accidental narrator, who just pretty much wanders into what turns out to be the wrong boat.  We don't even know his name by the end of the book.  This allows for the focus to remain on two things: bastard captain, horrendous trade of whaling.  A.H.A.B., however, seemed to be told from the point of view of Starbuck or one of the other lieutenants: someone right in the thick of things, whose decisions change the course of events.  Because of this, it lacked the tragedy - the hubris, the inevitablity of fate - of its source material whilst not delivering another sort of story.

This isn't a monstering: I would definitely like to see something new from Nigel Kitching.  (And Richard Elson, but only if he changes his palette and thinks of other ways of drawing aliens.  Then again I've never been much of an Elson fan).  The build-up to the action was excellent, and the twisted complete-and-utter-sodliness of A.H.A.B. made him hero of the hour - which suggests that there's much darker and more enjoyable stuff Kitching could write, if he chooses to.

[Art]

What did A.H.A.B. stand for again?

[Devons Daddy]

it was good
but seemed to be building characters  and back storys for later books.
which is a good thing.
i reckon a single one sitting read would offer greater pleasure.

[chimpanzor]

I'll try it in one go. Having never read the actual story of Moby Dick and perhaps watching ten minutes of the film with the star trk guy in, I can't compare A.H.A.B to its classical origins but to put my thoughts down on it in one sentence, I'd have to say it was too short a story with too much crammed in, trying to make a "clever reincarnation" of a well known story. (And failing)

[Generally Contrary]

It didn't do it for me, but that isn't the same as saying it was Bison.  Elson's art is a little too sharp and clinical for my taste, yet I can see the quality.  As for the story, perhaps it could have done with a few more episodes - as it was I didn't really get excited by the characters or the concept.