Meg 241 - Enter the Dragon!

[Dudley]

Hmmm... Is that an incredibly uncharacteristic bit of dialogue from Joe on the last page of the Dredd tale or what?  Great PJ art, I have to say.

The cover's growing on me, but definitely not going to be a favourite of the year.

Shimura is really pants, isn't it?

Byron gets a boost from Mr Bishop in the most interesting instalment so far.

Cursed Earth Koburn looks great and is my highlight of the prog.  Mind you, haven't read Anderson or Middenface yet.

[thrillpowerseeker]

speaking of which..i'm gonna speak up for Alan Grant here..not his biggest fan but his 2 stories here Anderson and Middenface are both excellent..Anderson has grown on me a lot after a big re-read from the start of Half life and definately is improved as a story with a one chunk sitting..Middenface too has crept up on me after a steady start..Cheers Alan, keep it up..

[Funt Solo]

::"Is that an incredibly uncharacteristic bit of dialogue from Joe on the last page of the Dredd tale or what?"

He didn't put his respirator down when the mandroids were smoking the pot, that's the reason.  The editor cut out the following piece of dialogue for space reasons:

Dredd: "Like, look at the stars, man, they're making shapes in the sky, and those trees - you can see them breathing!"

[Funt Solo]

Judge Dredd: Warzone
This is an exciting adventure for Dredd - although the setting, and his job, seems more like something Johnny Alpha would do.  It seems a bit odd that the goodies essentially walk straight into an ambush, where the enemy have a tactical advantage in terms of numbers, terrain and firepower, but the goodies still win just by charging headlong into battle, rather than doing anything smart (except for JD with his heatseekers).  There's a good cliffhanger.

I'm finding the art incredibly hit and miss, with some very odd angles.  The ruined city and the heatseeker frames are sublime, but that close-up of Dredd with an over-sized chin and just about any shot at all of the giant GI just seem wrong.

Shimura: The Harder They Come
or Robbie Morrison: My Pitch For Marvel

It's been a while (decades) since I bought american superhero comics - I'd got quickly sick of those ridiculous stories where The Hulk (essentially a loner) would team up with The Goodie Gumdrops against a team of super-villains (who would never really work together because they were all megalomaniacs and would just never agree on anything).

So, everything moves along pretty fast in this extended superheroes vs. superbaddies fight fest, and is good fun at that level.  A shame that the excellent cover image promise of Shimura & JD scarpering from the dragon, is replaced in-strip with the dragon getting nixed by Dredd's first shots of the fight.  Pah!

Also, Stan Lee has really lost his touch as a great assassin.  His target is the woman - so what does he do when he has her at his mercy?  Talk.  Brag.  Boast.  Threaten.  Uhm - how about killing her, Mr Best Assassin In the World?

Then he has Dredd at his mercy ... obviously another opportunity to wax lyrical rather than actually kill him.

Then he faces off against Shimura - who voices my frustration as he says "Are you going to talk me to death?"  Well, yes, apparently.

There then follows a deus x rescue that only serves to extend this big superhero battle for another instalment in 4 weeks.

The arts great, and I am enjoying this - but it's all a bit WWF wrestling.

Anderson Psi-Division: Lucid
Okay - so 5 Sisters Of Death now.  Bit of a stretch - but then this is turning into a sort of mythology all it's own - so I'll roll with it.

Any chance of a happy Cass story set in the caribbean?  Ranson must run out of beige soon, and it'd be nice to have some bright, primary colours in this depressing world.  Love the "switch off the drokkin' machine" line.

Young Middenface: A Scottish Sojer
Is that a head in the fridge in the last frame (well, 2nd last, because the last frame is just black)?  Why's it there?

I'm enjoying this as Middenface has so many weaknesses in his character - he keeps fecking things up for his comrades.  Loving Shaun Thomas's art - especially the opening frame, and the wicker man on the last page.

Cursed Earth Koburn: Malachi
Eek.  It's a bold dramatic choice to show the final firefight from the perspective of listening to it over the radio.

This is excellent - mixing so much stuff up in one episode - a real smorgasbord of a story - with the funniest thing in the Meg added in for good measure:  "He's doing his best old stoney-face impression".

15 years, Creep
A very interesting article exploring the heyday of the Meg.  I absolutely loved Missionary Man: Place of the Dead (both art and script) and thought it the best of what were mostly very good stories.

I found it a bit ironic that Darkies Mob was hailed as a complete success story for the Meg - with no mention of the uproar it caused in Dreddlines.  (The irony being that Darkies Mob features a complete reversal of the actual fortunes of British soldiers in Burma.)  Ah well - paint it positive, I guess.

[Bad Andy]

Is that a head in the fridge in the last frame?

Yes.

Why's it there?

The helicopter needs a biometric match before it starts - like an anti-theft device. Unfortunatley for poor Rabsy, the device doesn't need the match to be alive.

That's my take on it anyway. I'm a bit disturbed at how quickly I read the Meg this month. It really didn't feel as if there was anything substantial in there.

[Roger Godpleton]

Cover - Dragon doesn't stand out enough. Nice and Macneilly in general though. Good Stuff.

Dredd - Nice PJ art, although it isn't as good as Johnny Woo. The twist seems a bit lame, & should of had a bigger panel me thinks. Otherwise this is enjoyable, kinda like "Damned Ranger Mk.2" without horrid computer spaceships and cliched down-and-out type characters. OK Stuff.

Shim to tha Ura: This is just farcical, it looks like something Michael Bay would come up with after too much fizzy drink and anime. If Andy Clarke and Chris Blythe had been kept on this, then I probably would have had to conceal incredulous laughter on t' Tube due to the sheer excess. Colin does a Good job of keeping it slightly subdued, but nothing can contain THE POWER OF MORRISON . The best/worst bit was "Fear the ridiculously powerful Bad Guys [That Robo-Triad thingy is verging on Millar-esque] and their leader, who, erm, is really good at Kung - Fu... [off-microphone] is this right?" And Amber is lame too. Bad Stuff/Very Bad Stuff.

The Adventures of Cassandra Anderson & her Asian Chum: A bit anticlimatic, but fun nonetheless, although I'm still not sure about all this drugs business. Good to see Shakta getting work though. It does seem a bit ridiculous having so many Sisters, but Ranson does a good job of rendering them so I'm happy. And their threat seemed credible and avoided cliche-town, as I could picture Cass getting killed up. Good Stuff.

Young Middenface: Nice set-up before the madness begins I hope. These pop-culture references are a bit grating, but at least they don't take up the whole episode. Thomas's art is lovely, and really adds an edge to this story, as he captures both horror and comedy.OKStuff.

Cursed Earth Koburn: This new villain is really good, I hope he lives to massacre another day at the end of this story. The humour is deftly handled, as is the firefight (of sorts). I really like how Malachi seems like more than just a cheap Death rip off, plus Bonaventura is in this. Great Stuff.

15 Years Creep: Really interesting, especially the stuff about deadlines. OK Stuff. (It's still text).

Bolland: Not as interesting as the first part, this just seemed to be about business deals really. Nice to see a lot of art though. OK Stuff.

Heatseekers: Nice to see a new face, even though Scott Gray would of been my last choice to go. (Apologies to Rob Williams and editorial type people, I did like the column). Spurrier is on good form, although I'm slightly weary of anyone saying that Family Guy is enjoyable. (It's SSSHHHIIITTT). OK Stuff.

Overall: The Meg's in good hands, although this isn't the best start ever. I read through it all in about 20 minutes, but I still felt as if I had gained something from it. OK/Good Stuff.

[Leigh S]

You know how some people really dislike Pat Mills stuff?  They think he's been churning out the same story for a decade or so, and is only employed because of who he was, rather than what he can do?

Thats how I've come to feel about Alan Grants stuff.  The new Sisters in this months issue were a real "Satanus reborn" moment for me.  Just wrong headed at every level.

I disagree with the anti-Mills faction, but I can see there's potential substance in some of the arguments they put forward against his stuff.  But, having said that, at least Pat Mills seems to have a bit of passion behind his writing, even when it's a Satanus sized mess of obscure obsessions.  With, Grant, i don't even get that.  Middenface has been intermittently enjoyable, but Anderson has just droned on and on in the most unengaging fashion possible, retreading past classics like Neropolis to such an extent they now lie battered and sullied in the mud that seeps from these new tales.  Then there's the lacklustre Robohunter, which has none of the charm or density of the original.

Still, there seems to be a good number who still enjoy his Anderson, but after years of thinking there's a flicker of something about to happen of interest in his stories, only for them to time and time again disappoint, I can only conclude thatI've given up on seeing anything that registers more than an OK for me - unless there's a Savage style rekindling of his interest just around the corner.

[Bad Andy]

I've thought all the recent Andersons have been way too similar, but why the fuck shouldn't there be more sisters of death?

Five sisters against four dark judges. In fact we were briefly introduced to a third sister in Necropolis Deleria, so we knew tehre were more when the Sisters first appeared.

So that's six sisters of death. The next arc is 11 cousins of despair and 15 nephews of nastiness!

[Leigh S]

heh - well, Deleria wasnt exactly introdcued as a bona fide Sister - more a hallucination in the addled mind of Anderson.  i wouldnt necessarily mind more Sisters if they were a bit better thought out than Vampirella, Bag Lady and sunblock gal.

[Funt Solo]

Question:  how long is Charley's War?

It's good and all, but it doesn't half last a long time.

[[YT-2]]

Loads and at if someone wants to count then they're all listed on the Charley's War website, just follow the link.

Link: http://charleyswar.tripod.com/id5.html" target="_blank">Charleys War Stripography

http://charleyswar.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/sbacktitleblack.jpg.w300h71.jpg">

[[YT-2]]

Loads and if someone wants to count then they're all listed on the Charley's War website, just follow the link.

Link: http://charleyswar.tripod.com/id5.html" target="_blank">Charleys War Stripography

http://charleyswar.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/sbacktitleblack.jpg.w300h71.jpg">

[[YT-2]]

Balls

[Trout]

I'll break with my usual tradition and be a little negative, to start: electronux? WTF?

I know it's possible, given Dredd and Alpha have met, but it seems like a cop-out to me.

The whole strip seems laboured. It's a tragedy that (IMO) Colin's not at his best on it. I'm a CM fan and a bit disappointed by the messiness and confusion of it.

Also, the Meg history article is now providing a history of articles on comics history. Oh joy. Sorry. I just find it annoying. I do read and enjoy bits of it, though.

My favourite bit of the Meg is Koburn. It's a bit Judge Death, but I don't care. It's a proper story, well-told, and it's got strong art.

I'm a bit bored with Anderson now, but more happened than usual. I enjoyed Middenface.

As for the lead Dredd strip, it's okay. I found myself wishing it was in black and white, for some reason, or at least a little more gritty.
No offence PJ, but I don't think your style suits it.

Overall, a mediocre Meg, but not one that's actually bad.

PS: I love those Invisible covers!

- Trout

[Trout]

Heh. Sorry! Typo.

I meant those Invisibles covers!

Invisible covers would be a bad idea.

- Trout