Prog 1423 - Slam City!

[The Amstor Computer]

Just back from work & had a quick read of the prog.

More in a bit, but it's a Gordon Rennie-tastic issue with a *fantastic* episode of Caballistics, Inc. and a very promising continuation of the Total War storyline. Looks like TW is going to roll on for a while yet...

[Capt.Zeep]

A most enjoyable prog this week, much to admire in all the stories, interesting to see what kind of discussion this week's Slaine provokes - all the reverse logic reminds me of "opposite day" from Calvin and Hobbes, but the art is fantastic  -tattooed crazy women with multiple piercings an go go - and the purply hue is a nice rest from the orange.

[DavidXBrunt]

Covers very yellow and Droid Life has the best punchline yet. Very funny.

Dredd has nice art from AntWils and as for the script I had to check the credit box to see if it were Wagner or Rennie, and greater praise than that there isn't.

2nd City - Bubbles along and isn't all bad. Not as good as the letter in the back makes it out to be.

Slaine - Is just going to affirm peoples opinions of the story.

Cabals - Gets better by the week. Fantastic stuff.

Dante - Yeah, this is why I like this strip. More please, and often.

Back cover - Disturbing mistake in the advert, it mentions the editor of the comic and the name given isn't Tharg. I'm a little shaken by this and...well...no, Tharg is the editor, don't know who this imposter is.

[The Amstor Computer]

Just finished reading the prog again...

Second City Blues trundles on in a generally dull way - it doesn't deserve the praise it's received here (and in the letter page!) but it's not as obnoxious as something like Valkyries. It's an interesting experiment, I suppose, but I believe it's failed. Perhaps with a better writer and a more suitable artist, a future sports strip could work, but this is just flatlining.

After some interesting discussion on Slaine here and a week-long gap from the last episode, I'd raised my hopes about this strip, but they're dashed fairly promptly.

I'm sorry, folks, but this is just terrible. I don't particularly agree with folk who think Mills is a misogynist - I think it's more that his writing on Slaine has become terribly tired and lazy. Compare and contrast with Black Siddha or Savage where he's fired up and enjoying himself on a new story.

Slaine has been crawling along this particular storyline since January 2003, and by the time it hauls itself to the end of the current installment it'll have taken nearly 200 pages to get to this point. I think it too many.

Dante is waning slightly - I think the massive gaps between stories has hammered this very badly, and I'm now really missing Simon Fraser's input. I hope that more regular appearances this year can undo some of the damage, but I worry that it may be over its best & that the move away from the earlier storylines (still left hanging from *2001*!) is just going to do more damage.

Anyway, two very good tales, one OK and two naff isn't that bad, but I look forward to entertaining replacements for Slaine and SCB sometime soon.

[The Amstor Computer]

"Dredd has nice art from AntWils"

You thought so? I know he reads the board, so don't take this personally, but I really thought it worked against what was a fairly strong story. Just not to my tastes at all, and I'll leave it at that.

Completely agree on the quality of the writing, though!

[NecroClown]

Dredd continues to gather steam and shows no signs of slowing down... which is a very, very good thing.

There are a couple of great frames with Ol' Stoney Face dispensing justice which instantly gives the art a 10 in my book.

Why do I get the feeling Rico is on borrowed time?

Slaine - I'm really not sure why I still read this.

Second City - Good stuff. It doesn't deserve the bashing it has been getting in some quarters. Like Synnamon, I hope this gets a second run at some point.

Cabs - Outstanding.

Dante - Meh.

[Spaceghost]

dredd is fantastic this week. good on ya gordon. wagner seems reluctant to build up back story with dredds supporting characters, leaving rennie to do the job, which is fine by me if the stories are of this high quality.
i have to stick up for 2nd city, just because it breaks the 2k mold of grim anti hero with gun that never runs out of bullets. a breath of fresh air.
i also love caballistics. brilliant writing and art with a "this could go anywhere" feel.
slaine and dante leave me cold though.

[Eck]

One question: Why go to the trouble of impressing us with a splash page of that angel thing in Caballistics last week, and then finish it off in a very short and very dissapointing fight? Why, after they were so shit scared of it at the end of the last strip, are they now cocky as fuck?

God apparently sent a pretty crappy messenger.

[Oddboy]

Read half the prog late last night (3:00am-ish) and the other half early this morning (7:30am-ish)... so I wasn't very focused. Better read it again sometime.

Dredd: (Still quite alert reading this) very good stuff. Not normally too fussed on Ant W's art, but it was highly suited to this one. Great follow-up stuff.
2nd City Blues: (half-asleep by now) dunno. Mr Don't-Call-Me-Squid turns up & offers them financing or something?
Sl?ine: (eyes barely open) far too wordy, artwork too dark, put prog down 1/2 way through, turn off lights, slee-eep.
Sl?ine: (morning, barely awake) far too wordy, artwork too dark. Brain not capable of understanding.
Caballistics, Inc: (becoming more alive & focused) top stuff, exxxcellent battle - how much do I love Dom's art? Continuing to build up a brilliant series, really wanting to get a collected edition.
Nikolai Dante: (full force of night before/lack of sleep suddenly catching up with me, breaking focus & short-term memory) There was a fight? And unkillable beardyvillian? Need to read again.

[WoD]

Dredd - Good story, OK art.
2nd City Bluees - OK, but getting very silly.  Mr Squid with a cigar - FFS!!!
Slaine - Crap story, really lazy (I'll echo DFrank - Savage was great - this is poo).
Cabs - I like.  Demon Jenny must give one helluva poison hickey!  And I love the art (I'll be looking to buy another Cabs piece soon and from this run once they're available).
Dante - not read...

[Matt]

Is it just me reading too much into Dredd this week, or did Rico behave a bit off with uncle joe at the end? He seemed a bit harsh first in telling Vienna about her uncle giving up his badge, which looked to have changed her mind about the Dredd clan, and then in telling Dredd that he couldn't see Vienna ever again.

[Slippery PD]

Ill throw in a quick review....
Cover - Dont like it, too much yellow. Havent we seen enough yellow and red in Slaine?
Dredd - good story and I thought the art was good, much better than the art on the VC's and more suited.
Slaine - I hate a lot.  The art does nowt for me and the dialogue is poor.  I too like savage and abc warriors.....
Cabs - well someone said the battle was over quick, but I think Jenny maybe in dire straights (she was stabbed by holy sword after all)  
Dante - OK but Im beginning to miss Simon Frasers art...

Slips

[GordonR]

I think he was standing up for Dredd, giving Vienna Dredd's side of the story.  And pretty reasonably too, considering how nasty she had just been to him in the conversation.

He's letting her cool off now.  I leave it to you to decide who it was he meant that she should call if she ever needs help.

I think he told Dredd that he _shouldn't_ see Vienna at the moment, since that's what she wants, not that he _couldn't_.  Touchy-feely stuff and the sharing of personal feelings isn't exactly a Dredd clone-family speciality, so sometimes you have to read between the lines to guess what's really being said.

The look that passes between them at the top of that last page kinda tells you what Dredd's immediate reaction is to be being given advice by his younger clone-brother.  And then he realises Rico's right.

This one isn't over yet.

[El Spurioso]

It's like a weird non-DVD based director's commentary.

We want out-takes!  We want out-takes!

[GordonR]

Anything to avoid doing my tax return receipts today.