PROG 1546 Law Crimes

[Mardroid]

Ok, got mine today.

Cover- some nice artwork. Don't think I'll bid for the original artwork though. Not that it isn't good, it's just... well... I've got it on the comic. (Yeah, I know that's not the point.... ;) ) How big is the original art compared to the cover? I.e, it it the same size or do they shrink it later to fit the cover?

Judge Dredd- Nice progression. The law hasn't passed, but at least they're mending the system from within as it were.  I take it the original baby with the telekinetic powers is still with the psi- department? (I only saw one baby on the transport, and that seemed to be the sick baby from the apartment...) I can't imagine they'd give up such a powerful being so quickly.

86ers- A slow but steady progression. Slow isn't bad in this case as they are progressing, not just going over old ground like a certain other story did *cough* greysuit *cough*

Just a couple of questions, as I'm new to this particular strip. Kristos, is another genetically engineered soldier, but specifically engineered with psi abilities of some kind right? That little scene with the 'cratered Rogue', was that just the GI-chick's imagination or is she somehow telepathically linked to him? A chip implant maybe? And that backflash at the start? Am I right that there is inter-clan rivalry within the Norts (so they're essentially at war with each other as well as with the southers?)

Greysuit- I found this a drag initially but these last two issues have picked up somewhat. In fact I liked this one. As for that vampire chick, were those teeth really just part of her act I wonder? Those tears of hers looked kinda bloody didn't they, or is that just the artwork?  Is she another government experiment...

Robo-hunter- I get the impression most readers dislike this strip, but I'm not one of them. A new robot friend. Cute. I wonder how the old lady came up with the materials though?

Defoe- Enjoyable nonsense.  I find some of the references (Mene Tekel etc. )a bit confusing, but I think they've yet to be expanded on, and the strip feels messy what with the jumping back and forth in time, but as I said, it's enjoyable. Frankensteiner. Nice and subtle that.

[Dark Jimbo]

I don't mind having Robo-Hunter back, though judging from the effort Gibson has put into the art, he does.

I was re-reading Halo Jones III just before Robo-Huter returned last week, and the contrast is heartbreaking. It's like Gibson just doesn't care any more. Dull scribbles, murky colouring, with big empty slabs of background space (and the script doesn't help here - while the other stories average six to eight panels a page, this averages a mere five or six, panels in which not a great deal is happening anyway).

Dredd is sublime, Defoe is corking, and even Greysuit has got me wondering if I've been a little too hard on it.

The 86ers, meanwhile... I want to invest in the multi-strand story line, but it just keeps coming across like a poor man's Battlestar Galactica. It would be nothing without the Rogue connection, and yet conversely, it adds very little to the strip, seems to constantly hinder it in fact.
I'd much rather all the effort and prog space had been put into more Caballistics, given that its return later this year is supposedly going to wrap everything up - suggesting the finale could be a pretty rushed and unsatisfactory one, with so much potential still there to explore. It also means we're surely not going to have enough strip to fill a third TPB of Cabs, which is pretty dissapointing.
Gorgeous art - I'd just rather have more Cabs instead.

[The_2000AD_Gay]

On the topic of Gibson's art, was anyone else stunned by how amazing he was in the Judgement Day story earlier this year, and yet, a couple of months down the road and he's handing this rubbish in?

[Byron Virgo]

"How big is the original art compared to the cover?"

About A3, so more than twice the size.

"I'd much rather all the effort and prog space had been put into more Caballistics, given that its return later this year is supposedly going to wrap everything up - suggesting the finale could be a pretty rushed and unsatisfactory one, with so much potential still there to explore."

Rennie wants to finish it, so if he says that it's done then it's fair to say that's all there is - better to be left wanting more than continuing something beyind its logical climax.

[Byron Virgo]

Oh, and I really liked Samantha's scarfe - tres Ace Garp...

[Trout]

I'd like to express my rage and horror at "Judge Glasswell." He's obviously a jimp!

Other than that, it's a great prog. I don't have a great deal to add to my comments of last week, when I said pretty much that.

But I will stick up for Ian Gibson. I think he's just working in a new style. I like it a lot.

- Trout

[JOE SOAP]

Give Gibbo a break will yas'.

[Dark Jimbo]

I'd like to stress I'm not having a go at Ian Gibson, I think he's great. It just annoys me because I know he's capable of so much better than we're seeing here.

[tigermagee]

I think the art on Robohunter is okay, but the art does have rushed feeling to it.

[McNulty]

And now for my comments if I may...

Judge Dredd: The best thing in the prog at the moment. Excellent artwork and a story that gets to grips with a difficult issue. Dredd has never had a cut-and-dry relationship with mutants, it really depends on the writer I suppose. In some stories he sees them as the enemy - to be stopped and destroyed. But even in the early stories we see Dredd's sympathy for their plight. It never stopped him doing his duty, however, as we have seen with his treatment of his own relations, but in this prog we can see that despite being denied the outright repeal of the mutant laws, he will do what he can to improve their lot in life, and that is something I can respect.

The 86ers: It's difficult to get into this story, there is always a lot of threads running with emphasis on different characters. I still am unclear on the lady GI's connection to Rogue. Hopefully it become clearer later on.

Greysuit: And another good story here. Mills comes up with a story reminiscent of the old MACH 1 series but updated and not afraid to look into a terrible side of society. Congratulations on this.

Robo-Hunter: I also saw the connection between Sam's and Ace's scarves! Very good! I don't really understand Sam's problem with her grandad. Of course, don't know the whole story there. We don't even know the name of her mother and father. I hope that Hoagy and Stogie and not permanently destroyed.

Defoe: With Newton in this story and in the Red Seas, he's getting a lot of exposure in this publication. I felt that it was a pity that they spoke about Cromwell, just before we discover that he is in fact behind the whole affair. A bit of a spoiler there I think.

So, all in all a good prog. With each story emminently readable.

[IndigoPrime]

::  better to be left wanting more than continuing
:: something beyind its logical climax.

Like, for example, the eleventy-billion sodding Rogue Trooper stories, spin-offs and knock-offs. Bleh.

Dredd = aces, however.

[judge dreddd]

sooooooooooooooooo coooool dredd

[numanti]

The Dredd was SO good.

I am surprised none of the council of 5 ever want to listen to Dredd as he is always proved right, though.  

I enjoy that he is subverting the system from within, the lovable old hippy.

The rest if the prog?  I stopped reading it three weeks ago.  None of it grabs me, though Samantha Slade looks like uncomplicated fun.  I'm just buying it for Dredd until something grabs me.  I'll probably read the rest in one big go when they are complete like I always do.

[ARRISARRIS]

...must admit im enjoying this Robo-Hunter strip and the last one far more than the early Samantha Slade stories, however the art is a little 'lacking', maybe Mr Gibson is waiting for Book 4 of Halo Jones to fire his imagination, if so we are in for a long wait...

[Tiplodocus]

"I'd like to express my rage and horror at "Judge Glasswell." He's obviously a jimp! "

Assuming it's really me, I'm obviously chuffed to bits at this but also aware that there are a 1001 (well, 26,001) squaxx more deserving of a name check in the Prog.

I even got a couple of lines but being in a group of 4 with DREDD, RICO and BEENY, I think I'll be a short lived Judge.

Dredd was a cracking read (if a tad easy and obvious - what if the muties hadn't been tortured - wouldn't that have made for a greater debate/dilemma?).

I spent a bit more time on Defoe this week and it benefited from it. Definitely not one to skim read.  (Oh and isn't last week's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge a pub fact?. Of course it may be real in DEFOE's world.)

I think Greysuit is pretty dull despite the ultraviolence

Enjoying 86ers though - I kinda like teh mix of storylines and the chunky art.

Robohunter reads like Gibson spent less time on the art than Alan Grant did on the script.  (THat means I think both are pretty poor).

Oh and last week's reviews:
DIE HARD is good
DIE HARD 3 is OK tending to good.
DIE HARD 2 is bad tending to OK.