Meg 265 - Rex and Violence

[WoD]

I got a bot fed up of Charley's towards the end...I wouldn't want it to rush back (if at all).

[Mardroid]

The Armitage strip looks promising at least.

That old meg I picked up from ebay had an episode in it and whilst I admit I can't judge an entire story by that, it looked promising. There was also a story set in a Russian mega city involving a judge with a talking horse which was very amusing (although from what I've read it's not everyone's cup of tea.)

As for Tank girl, that's always been a seperate comic hasn't it? Are they going to include bits of the current graphic novels in future Megs, or will it be whole new stuff?  Haven't read much Tank girl, but the little bit I did read seemed a lot of surreal nonsense. Not that I mind a bit of surreality, but it didn't make any sense at all. (It involved her riding a bike through the sky and having orgasms... that and lots of colours like something out of a hippy dream or something.) Again that was a brief snippet from a quick perusal in a library. The entire story might be good.

The film showed promise... although it was kinda rubbish overall.

[numanti]

I was never a fan of Armitage, due to it being hard work to read. I thought the Meg suffered when it was trying really hard to tie evrything in with the Dreddworld - even Al's Baby had a Judge on the first page - which just seemed like it was trying to excuse itself for being in the Meg when it shouldn't have had to as that was a great story.

New Tank Girl is a great idea.  I'm sort of a casual fan so this pleases me.  For reprints, well, I don't actually read comics with the exception of 2000AD and the Meg and the occasional GN (I have a couple of Tank Girls, a couple of Alan Moore's, Maus and Jonny The Homicidal Maniac) so most of them were new to me and I was enjoying Preacher, so if that were to return I would be pleased, to be honest, as I have no idea where the story went after the Meg finished reprinting it.

I like the Meg, and want it to continue.  I usually read it all, but gave up on Blood of Satanus with the intention of reading it all in one go once it was finished, but I haven't got around to doing that yet and probably never will, which is a shame as it's probably the first Dredd strip I have ever avoided reading all the way through.  I enjoyed bits of it but then  it got to be too much effort, and I am very lazy.

[paulvonscott]

Even Pat Mills said he felt he'd gone on too long with Blue's story, it's back to being Charley's tale with the next stuff.

Not keen on Armitage.  Never liked thwe old meg much.  But still some promising things ahead.

[opaque]

I've hardly read any of the Satanus story. Partially because a lot of it is physically unreadable for various reasons. And secondly because the story is shit.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Feeling slightly more articulate, I'd say that the Meg is like a stroppy teenager that isn't studying for it exams.

You know it has the potential to do well, to build a future for itself, and yet it seems reluctant to do the things it needs to do in order to better itself. Despite your frustration, though, you can't help but love it because - well, becasue it's yours.

That's the Meg. Our stroppy teen.

[ARRISARRIS]

...so how long is Bob???...

...and i dont mean his KNOB!!!...

[Satanist]

All I read was Dredd this month. A story about fat,sweaty,nerdy comic fans. Now thats cutting edge humour. Next month Dredd tackles some cursed earth new age travellers who need a bath,scrounge off the state and have a dog on a string. Utter, utter pish!

I cant even bring myself to read the rest. Thats how poor I find the Meg. I think its more habit than anything but as I've gave up the fags & booze lately I might just quit this as well. My crack pipe aint gonna pay for itself y'know.

I'll see what the new run is like but for me Tank Girl just reminds me of the 90's.

[Tiplodocus]

But a teenager might not want to do the things YOU think it needs to.  

The teenager might not feel it needs "to better itself" to fit in with your ideas of what it should be. It's happy doing what it's doing - "Why are you on my case all the time?".  

The teenager might have a completely different way of looking at things and trying to prescribe what worked for you, may not work for it.

I think you might have to listen to the teenager, find out what it wants and where it wants to go.  Then you can find out how best to support that journey.

And in theory* you have no strops.








* Aye, right.

[Funt Solo]

Tank Girl started off as a bit of anarchic fun - but  that's all it was - it was otherwise completely and utterly vacant.  There were some nods towards a plot occasionally, but beyond "bizarre enemy tries to kill Tank Girl but fails" it didn't go far.  (Booga was under her thumb - only other bit of characterisation.)

Then suddenly, and for no apparent reason, she'd be in the UK, without her tank, and, frankly, I think this must have coincided with lots of hallucinogens being consumed by the creators.  There were tons of flowers, and lots of sunshine - and giant headlines like "Summer of Love", and one episode where they all drop acid.  So...it's not rocket science.

And then there seemed to be some kind of stance against the readers by the creators.  And the movie, which was pish.  And then more comics, still without a story.  You can see the same sort of thing with Gorillaz - it's all characterful looking without a story to go to.

So, I'm hoping the Meg version is nothing like what's come before (beyond there being a tank, that belongs to a female), and dares to include a story at some point.  

[satchmo]

I finally got round to getting the Meg, after all that I think it was a pretty good issue. Admittedly the advert for next issue was my favourite bit :)

The Dredd story was actually quite good, the mention of Rupert Pupkin Block made it clear to me that it's target is mentalist fans of all kinds. It's nothing that I haven't seen before in Evan Dorkin's Eltingville series though.

The last line of Blood of Satanus proves the point. Don't worry Pat, no-one will ever want to see Satanus again now. A fiasco, but it's over now. However I honestly look forward to seeing more work from John Hicklenton, and the return of ABCs, Defoe, and Savage from Pat Mills.

Dredd Files: 3 stars for The Prankster? Are you kidding?! I love that story. And look at that page from The Starborn Thing. It ain't the sound of music!

The Simon Davis interview was really interesting, in fact this series of interviews are fab. His dismissal of 80% of Previews as "worthless shit" is pretty much true, but doesn't help his argument about criticism.

Short Fuse was mental and fun, and bodes well for Tempest next month.

Angel gang was Ok but didn't make a lot of sense.

That's all I've read so far, the small press looks good though, and I actually like the articles so will be reading them later.

Canny issue, Tharg!

[TordelBack]

I quite enjoyed this Meg, but it's a strange thing when the Simon Davis interview was the real highlight for me. Beautiful portraits, and a nice insight into working methods.   A very informative piece, continuing a strong run that includes great Abnett and Hicklenton interviews.  

Fink sort of lost his way towards the end - not like Abnett to labour the "heartless bastard" pun for a whole episode, and as Dredd might say, that's one hell of a mutation.

The film reviews get increasingly vicious, which is no bad thing.

The Balck Museum thing was fun, as Ewing usually is.

Of Satanus, the least said the soonest mended: art is back on mad form, script is pitiful.  At least it's over, but I hope it doesn't put Tharg off giving Hicklenton something cooler to work on soon.

If there was anything else in there, I've forgotten it already.

[House of Usher]

"Fink sort of lost his way towards the end - not like Abnett to labour the "heartless bastard" pun for a whole episode, and as Dredd might say, that's one hell of a mutation."

You may be right about Abnett - but then he didn't write it, did he?

As for the mutation, yep, that's a bit of a stretch. But I don't think the story's supposed to be taken seriously. Perhaps it's not supposed to be taken as canonical?

[TordelBack]

Ha!  You're absolutely right, shows how closely I was paying attention.  It is of course exactly like Spurrier to draw out a  pun for many pages and indeed episodes... it's part of his charm (comes right after the Jack).

[Funt Solo]

::"Perhaps it's not supposed to be taken as canonical?"

If that were true, I'd be thinking "make up your own sandpit comedy hi-jinks mutants and stop playing jittery toybox games with classic characters".  It's like the 90s all over again.

Can't we just either have a story that's horrific, or a story that's comedic, and leave the ironic, comedy-horror to Scream, or Evil Dead.  And, I know we're not allowed to say that Steve Roberts art is cartoony (A, because he'll cry into his pint, or something, and B, because it's SO dismissive of his ART), but it's certainly not scary - it's absurdly cute.  When the evil witch docter spider monster thing stabs teh black heart of Fink Angel, surely I'm not supposed to be looking at it going "awwww - s'cute".  Eye getting scratched out by mutated rat: "s'like Scooby Doo".    Not cartoony, though.  No.