Prog 650

Floyd-the-k · 22 January, 2005, 06:49:24 PM

Thanks to endjinns sale, I'm starting my big reread with this prog. And what a great place to start. back in 1989, when I had hair and lived in Melbourne.
Dredd is up against Kraken in a routine assessment. Not a brilliant story, but setting things up for Necropolis. Am I the only person who finds this reminiscent of the second Dirty Harry movie; yo know where he has to run around shooting crims but not civilians and almost shoots a cop?
Zenish is looking a bit washed out by this stage; a bunch of thinly drawn 80s types are wandering around bleakly preparing to destroy a world before the Lloigor get it.
Theres a brilliant Rogue Trooper by Gibbons and Will SImpson...Friday certainly got off to a good start
Slaine; Horned God part 2 disppoints me. For some reason I thought this would be classic, brilliant etc. But it's just more Slaine. Not bad or anything , just not so special.
The Dead Man is great....I know where it's going, but it's really good stuff. Very western. I forget, is Keef Ripley a real name?
Odd fact; Tharg's News Round is written in English and (quite good) Japanese.
oh and there's an ad for Crisis in the back, showing a perky, edgy looking woman looking cool and happy because she reads it.. Wish I could buy it.

colcool007 · 22 January, 2005, 06:59:41 PM

Keef Ripley was the name used by John Wagner to disguise the fact that the Dead Man was JD. As most of us would have known it was JD by the fact that Wagner was writing the story.

Floyd-the-k · 22 January, 2005, 07:01:39 PM

thanks I thought that was the case, but wasn't sure.
He sure likes his cowboy movies, doesn't he? Dead Man has a very western feel.

Bico · 22 January, 2005, 07:20:05 PM

This was where I actually started to make an effort to hold on to my progs. Probably where casual readers started drifting in and out, too, on account of the painted art on Slaine and Rogue Trooper (which wasn't as bad as everyone makes out - it was just followed up by some real dross).

IndigoPrime · 23 January, 2005, 02:34:45 AM

"War Machine" dragged on a bit and the break mid-way didn't really help. However, when read in a single sitting, it's a really good reboot of Rogue Trooper. If the same team had been kept on, I'm pretty certain we'd be referring to it as a classic strip, and not a load of total shite.

Floyd-the-k · 24 January, 2005, 03:20:10 AM

heck, I forgot. Tharg lists some forthcoming thrills; Fleischer's Harlem Heroes with art by Steve Dillon and Kevin Walker and a new Bradley, return of Bradley, more Chopper, Universal Soldier (whatever that is), Heligan's Haircut and (aaargh) Time Flies

Buddy · 24 January, 2005, 03:54:25 AM

Did you know some of the pages in War Machine were printed in the wrong order.

Floyd-the-k · 24 January, 2005, 03:59:23 AM

No, I didn't. I'm crap at pages-in-wrong order spotting, me.
Now I have to go back and have a look

Buddy · 24 January, 2005, 04:04:19 AM

You'll never spot them, IIRC the story was so muddeled and Simpsons artwork so muddy it was hard to tell one page from the next.

Jared Katooie · 24 January, 2005, 04:33:10 AM

Got to disagree with Umpty. The story and art in War machine weren't perfect but it still remains a solid tale that stands the test of time. One of my favourites.

IndigoPrime · 24 January, 2005, 04:58:19 AM

There are a couple of pages with some very oddly placed speech balloons?they're the ones. I'm pretty sure Tharg mentioned this a few issues later, and showed how the pages should have looked.

eggonlegs · 24 January, 2005, 05:28:15 AM

aaaaaaaaaaaaaa(sigh of satisfaction) zenith

Floyd-the-k · 24 January, 2005, 09:35:55 AM

Zenith is cool, although it`s annoying coming in to the (obviously huge and interesting) story so late (of course that`s not their fault).
Bizarre prog 652 FACT, there is an ad for prog 650, coming out soon in October. Did Tharg do a lot of this, advertising things which were unbuyable, for the time travelling community?
The computer game ads are cute; `with it`s awsome 128 kilobyte memory` etc

yours still happily reading his way forward, one prog a day

Steamboy · 24 January, 2005, 11:01:31 AM

Hey Floyd thats about where my back issues start, I like most of what you mention though Slain has never been better, wait till you get to Chronos Carnival...shuddder. Got a few pre500 progs and to tell you the truth i dont think they're much cop, but then I never read them as a kid so no nostalgia factor to colour my opinions but I think Tooth took a step up around that time(this is my own opinion and I realise I may just get lynched for it).

CU Krestel

Tordelbach · 24 January, 2005, 02:29:08 PM

I'll add my vote to Mr. Katooie's defence of 'War Machine'. Script and art were great, and while the break did it no favours, and the Gaia sequences were awkward, I think it's up there with 'Cinnabar', 'Major Magnum' and 'Dix-I Front' as some of my favourite Rogue stories. The initial sequence (defence of the hill) were fantastic.