1645 - The House Of Bones

[Kev Levell]

Whooppee! Bumper package just dropped through the letter box.
Prog
Meg
Comic Con special! (Chris Weston's cover to 1650 - I think!)

My saturday just got filled. Thanks!

[radiator]

Comic Con special...? Is this only for people who get both 2000ad and the Megazine?

Chris Weston's Terror Tale was great! Brought back memories of unwanted Buffy hardbacks turning up at the house!

Judge Dredd: Rehab is great fun, too.

[Pete Wells]

Check your envelope Kevlev, there's another suprise in there too - I nearly missed mine!

[SmallBlueThing]

Comic Con special! (Chris Weston's cover to 1650 - I think!)

WHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTT???????????!!!!!!!!!???? Seethe seethe, gnash gnash, strop strop! When this was mentioned as a "possible gift for subscribers" I didn't think it meant "DO IT NOW OR YOU WON'T GET!!". I was looking to sub next month, after payday- if I've missed the chance for this, I may put it off again.

Gnnnnnnnnnnnn.

But, despite all that wallowing in grief and self-loathing at my own stupidity, Kev- some kind of contents list would be good!

Steev

[Dark Jimbo]

How good was that!

Prog, Meg, Comic Con special and A FRICKIN' BADGE! And all in one envelope! Talk about thrill-power overload! Tharg, I love you, and it's to my eternal regret that biology prohibits me from having your little green babies.

[Pete Wells]

Yep, a bumper package, thanks a million Tharg! Right a review:

Cover - Niiice Surgeon Bonehinge cover by Anthony Williams.

Dredd - Aces script from the Ewing Droid, the World Politeness Championship was a hoot as was the whole 'Scone' rant (in my view scone rhymes with gone.) Richardson's art is superb yet again, I particularly enjoyed seeing Dredd all beaten up. Intriging end too, I don't think this is gonna end well...

Red Seas - Great stuff, that robot thingy was cool. There seems to be loads of clockwork henchmen in the prog of late.

Sin Dex - As ever, the dialogue steals the show, particularly the conversation between the main characters, which is heartbreaking.

Terror Tale - Easily the best thing in the prog! Hats off to Chris Weston for a superbly funny script with wonderful art that's packed to the rafters with little 2000AD in jokes. Having fallen for those evil Sci Fi book clubs myself I can certainly understand Mr Weston's frustration! As an extra thrill for me, that Dredd on the back cover of the 2000AD Tharg is reading is MY commission* - woohoo!

Defoe - A bit 'Meh' this week, very exposition heavy (again.) I'll have to get the GN as I can't remember who the zombie dude is at the end. Lovely art as ever though!

Ad's on inside cover - just to say the covers for the Defoe and Flesh novels look ace!

Other stuff - The badge is great! It's a Mutie with "Keep Mutie Scum Out Of Mega City One!" on it, yay! The Comic Con Special has a lovely Chris Weston cover and contains Dredd - Finger of Suspicion (a classic!), Dredd - Judge Death, Kingdom - Part 1, Tharg's Future Shocks - Return of the Thing (a hoot), Zombo - Part 1, Slaine the Horned God - Part 1 and Reefer Madness (Shite but looks ace.)

Cheers again Thargy!

*

[locustsofdeath!]

Does anyone know if I'll miss the Comic Con special? I subscribed Thursday to both 2000AD and the Megazine - so is this too late for me? If it is, I am truly bummed out!

[Trout]

NO MUTIE SCUM IN MEGA-CITY ONE!
NO MUTIE SCUM IN MEGA-CITY ONE!
NO MUTIE SCUM IN MEGA-CITY ONE!

It's great being a subscriber. Not even striking posties can overcome the Mighty Tharg! Thanks, Green Bonce!

The wee Comicon booklet's a great idea. It's full of tasty samples of thrill power. Get those septics hooked!

Now for a happy afternoon of prog, Meg and extras.

- Trout

[Dandontdare]

Truly a bursting sac of thrillpower today! The comic con is a good selection, no new stuff but a mix of classic and recent thrills, all in half-prog size.

I presume they'll keep adding this to subscribers' packages as they renew until stocks run out. Not sure if I'll wear the badge much -

Wish I could swap it for a "Fair Deal for Mutants in the Meg" one - then we can all choose our sides in the upcoming hoo-ha!

Where did you get that image from Pete? I've flicked through my prog, meg and both specials but I can't see that. Have you received an alternate cover or is it just something you chucked in for the hell of it?

Proper prog review to follow...

[Toni Scandella]

I'm all excited and haven't even read any of it yet!
All in one envelope - sensible! I thought at first that I'd only got the Meg and wondered why it seemed so thick

The badge is great - it's a big one, though, so I won't be wearing it - big badges are a bit out of my comfort zone to wear which is a pity as it's fabulous.  NO MUTIE SCUM IN MEGA-CITY ONE indeed

Lots to read and no time - have to go see The Fall later on and the house needs cleaning.  Bah.  Also got my package of t-shirts from Burtons this morning - today's a day stuffed with thrill power!

[Trout]

Dandon't: Pete commissioned that piece from Chris Weston.

As for the prog, it's a five-out-of-five triumph yet again!

That's a damned fined Dredd story. I laughed out loud at the politeness contest, and I really like the Wally Squad character. His dialogue is spot on.
I have that sinking feeling about this, of course. Group therapy? Uh-oh!

Oh, and "scone" rhymes with "moon" - at least when it's the name of the town just down the road from me!

There's monochrome beauty in The Red Seas, which can stay in the prog forever, as far as I'm concerned. Must re-read a big bundle of episodes. Class.

SinDex is moving ahead just fine. I've never really been a fan, but I'm increasingly interested to see what happens next. Strong storytelling.

As for Chris Weston's contribution... that's the best Future Shock I've read in years! It's interesting that (IMO) it works so well because it departs from the usual "shock ending" format - it's obvious he's screwed, right from the start - but the last line works very well as a pay-off.

Also, I'm always very happy to see Tharg in a story - and a cameo by none other than Alec Trench! Nerd guy even has Rogue Trooper art framed on his wall. Lots of fun spotting stuff.
As well as that, the art is simply gorgeous. A real treat all round.

Defoe's not moving very quickly, is it? But it's chock-full of good ideas and I enjoy it every week.

What a splendid envelope to receive on a Saturday morning!

- Trout

[Tweak72]

Theres a free badge? Damn not going to be able to pick up my Prog from home till the morrow. At least I went over to subs a few months ago. I would hate to have missed out on anything...

[Dandontdare]

The cover's okay, but doesn't leap out and grab me.

Excellent Dredd. Competitive politeness is reminiscent of the old Staring Championships. Love the wally character, and an interesting explanation of where the perps are going.

I can't seem to make my mind up about Red Seas - it's enjoyable enough, but I find it hard to remember the over-arching plot, and I never find myself caring that much what happens next. Nothing wrong with it, but not a fave.

Sin/Dex is brewing up nicely, great dialogue about Ramone's problems, full of subtext - it's what they WEREN'T saying that's important.

The Terror Tale was brilliant, the highlight of the prog for me - not only a great story poking fun at the (scarily accurate) sci-fi book club (we've all been there, for one year at least!), but the best thing was the nerdish-detail spotting - 2000ad online on Tharg's computer screen, copies of the banned Macdonalds cursed earth progs, framed pic of Alec Trench, Burt as a paperweight etc, not to mention the hilarious book titles - Anne Wickerwood's Dragonshyte,Ultimate Crisis on Super Earth 5, Battle Mallet 3000 - priceless!

Defoe. Oh dear. Another episode, another half a dozen new characters. I've already forgotten half the ones we've already seen - has that Spiriter reek been in before? Who knows, who cares? Topped off with another of Mr Mills' Methodically-Researched-But-Awkwardly-Inserted-History-Lessons (the Borreau). I may have enjoyed this more with a different artist, but it looks like Defoe may become that rarest of things, a strip that I skip completely.

Overall, a pretty good prog, especially with all the bonus bits that arrived today, but I'll be happier when Defoe and Red Seas make room for more Dante or Kingdom.

[Mardroid]

I assume those goodies are just for those who subscribe to both comics? I only subscribe to the Prog.

Cover: Nice, if disturbing. Imagine that guy dribbling into your gaping wounds...

Dredd: This had me laughing out loud with the silliness. In a good way. Politeness championships. "IT'S PRONOUNCED 'SCONE' DAMMIT!" And the end gag made me chuckle.

in my view scone rhymes with gone.)

(Nah. It rhymes with 'stone'. (Since they're posh lads I imagine they're pronouncing it as rhyming with 'gone' though. Course they could be rubbish. I like the fact the gag is subjective though.  )

The Red Seas: I imagine this'll miff some folks since we're not back to the main characters yet. Not me. I'm rather enjoying it. Quirky and fun.

Sinister Dexter:  Pretty good. I'm not sure I quite buy the 'talking under anaesthetic' stuff, (how deep under was he?) but I like this strip. I wonder if the doc sorts out Ramone's hand muscle problems too. I suppose that would be too easy.

Terror Tales: Wahaaay! A bit of fourth wall breaking. I enjoyed it.  And I've subscribed with such clubs before, although it wasn't as bad as that. (Obviously.) I'm not sure I like the idea the fantasy=bad though. But maybe it's just 'bad fantasy'.. which there's plenty of.

Defoe:  Ok. Not sure of all the name dropping. Still good fun otherwise. And the old long pig eh? Those Frenchies will eat anything....

[Mardroid]

Defoe. Oh dear. Another episode, another half a dozen new characters. I've already forgotten half the ones we've already seen - has that Spiriter reek been in before?

Yes and no. He wasn't a reek last time we saw him. He was getting his heart torn out by 'Captain Incredible' in Prog 1641. You might not recognize him as his nose was longer back then.