Mark Millar's CLINT

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Wait just a goddamn minute, it's a comic strip about a guy named NEMISIS going up against a religous officer of Law and Order?

[M.I.K.]

I don't think it's shocking, mainly because the whole story is so over-the-top anyway, and I don't know if Mark Millar is really trying to be shocking.

Well, like the article says...

To get an idea of what Millar's going for here, the original issue was going to end with (and I'm not joking) Nemesis decapitating Barack Obama and holding up his severed head.

That says media-baiting shock tactics to me.

[Van Dom]

Tch.
I think that's just a bit silly really. It actually made me laugh.

[JOE SOAP]

I don't think it's shocking, mainly because the whole story is so over-the-top anyway, and I don't know if Mark Millar is really trying to be shocking. From what I've read of his stuff in recent times, he just seems to be having fun writing overblown stories that get more and more crazy as they go along. I think you'd have to be pretty daft to be shocked by any of that stuff.I've enjoyed Nemesis so far, and thought it was the highpoint of Clint #1.

...but they're not really crazy at all, just random shite thrown together. Nemesis the Warlock is still far crazier than anything Millar has ever done. Millar's a very pedestrian writer.

[chris_askham]

I don't think it's shocking, mainly because the whole story is so over-the-top anyway, and I don't know if Mark Millar is really trying to be shocking. From what I've read of his stuff in recent times, he just seems to be having fun writing overblown stories that get more and more crazy as they go along. I think you'd have to be pretty daft to be shocked by any of that stuff.I've enjoyed Nemesis so far, and thought it was the highpoint of Clint #1.

...but they're not really crazy at all, just random shite thrown together. Nemesis the Warlock is still far crazier than anything Millar has ever done. Millar's a very pedestrian writer.

Well, I'm only going by what I've read so far, which admittedly isn't much. I absolutely hated everything he did for 2000ad (much like the rest of the world), and it took me up until this year to actually give him another chance. Read Civil War and quite enjoyed it, read the stuff in Clint and quite enjoyed that too.

No, he's not writing masterpieces, but they seem like pretty entertaining yarns to me.

[CYCLOPZ]

I don't think it's shocking, mainly because the whole story is so over-the-top anyway, and I don't know if Mark Millar is really trying to be shocking. From what I've read of his stuff in recent times, he just seems to be having fun writing overblown stories that get more and more crazy as they go along. I think you'd have to be pretty daft to be shocked by any of that stuff.I've enjoyed Nemesis so far, and thought it was the highpoint of Clint #1.

...but they're not really crazy at all, just random shite thrown together. Nemesis the Warlock is still far crazier than anything Millar has ever done. Millar's a very pedestrian writer.

I agree, I think I always gave Millar the benefit of the doubt years ago on his Robo Hunter work, But this type of nonsense just doesn't cut it for me. Writing for the lowest common denominator (but that's what seems to sell nowadays I suppose).  Not fit to breath the same air as Mills or Wagner IMHO.

[M.I.K.]

Just want to make it clear I probably wouldn't have had any problem with Obama's head getting chopped off in the name of entertainment. It's the [spoiler]incestual gay rape baby inside a booby-trapped collapsing womb[/spoiler] that I have a problem with.

...and... I've just read that spoiler for Rex Royd episode 2. I can see a rather disturbing theme developing here...

[Colin Zeal]

Read issue two this morning and I think it is a lot better than issue one. Nemesis, Kick Ass and Turf were all pretty enjoyable. I still don't have a clue what is going on with Rex Royd though. It could easily be dropped for me as it doesn't add anything to the comic. American Jesus was ok and I'm looking forward to part two. The articles were rubbish though.

[Paul faplad Finch]

Picked up #2 today. Not had chance to read any of the comics yet but did scan thefeatures on the bus and read the Charlie Brooker interview, which was a proper interview with reasonably intelligent questions. The Pegg/Frost article seems like a proper feature as well, with no particular 'laddish' agenda.

And the pothead thing is gone.

All in all, I'd say those for whom the features were the big sticking point would do well to give it a second look because this sems to be a big improvement.

[Keef Monkey]

Yeah the articles were a lot more enjoyable this time round, with to my memory only a couple of pages of attempted comedy (the mock-up film posters and halloween costume) letting it down.

Strips were great too, although Rex Royd is still an unintelligible mess. I noticed in the "Next Month" section the entry for Rex Royd says "Your guess is as good as ours!" which I'd like to think means even the people publishing it don't bloody understand it. The sooner its out and makes room for other stuff the better. Enjoyed issue 1, enjoyed issue 2 even more, will definitely be buying 3.

[SmallBlueThing]

Agreed. I did the same, as i usually do with the Meg to be honest, and read the features first. Not because i prefer them, but i have to create the mood for comics, which will happen later.
Doesnt look too bad at all.
SBT

[Van Dom]

Sounds promising, must have a look in Easons on the way home and see if they have it.

LMAO @ "your guess is as good as ours!"

[SmallBlueThing]

Having now read it, i can say that it's 100% better than the last one- and i quite liked that, to be honest.
The weakest elements are the 'future shock' thing, which is nicely drawn, but hails from a time when it was clever, supposedly, to show how grown up comics could be by sticking something 'naughty' at the end, and Kick Ass 2. There just isnt enough of the strip to give it any impact, and so it reads like a relic from a seventies british marvel weekly.
Turf is great- Ross stops the massive type-diarrhea and merely has the loose word-stools this time. Much more readable, and i genuinely want to see what happens next. It cuts off mid-episode though, it seems, at a handy not very cliffhanging bit.
American Jesus is quite nice- Stephen King's The Body/ Stand By Me segues into a typical Vertigoey cod-religious story, which could be fun.
Frankie Boyle's thing is very weird. The pictures dont match the words on first reading, and im not sure they would after the tenth, to be honest. It's either very clever or very bad- but this month im inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt.
The best thing in the mag is Nemesis, which is just a strip im going to love and end up buying in hardback, i can tell. Elegantly drawn with deceptively simple panels- much like Frank Quitely- im already looking forward to next month.
Reasonably good features this time too. Even the 'sexy chavs' page made me smile.
Worth four of anyone's pounds.
SBT

[Van Dom]

Yeah found this in Easons at the train station and had a read on the way home. Big improvement on Issue 1, the only real problems I have with it are the ones SBT just mentioned - strips being cut too short at not very suitable places and a big TO BE CONTINUED being slapped on to them. It really does remind me of the old 70s/80s UK Marvel mags, which would take a 22 page monthly issue and reprint it weekly in 6-7 page installments. Really hated that.

Its not TOO bad here but I dont see why they ran 14 pages of part 2 of Turf and then cut it off...does that mean there will only be 8 pages of it in next months mag, or will they finish off part 2 and go into the first few pages of part 3? It's most annoying on Kick Ass 2 though. I think somebody here had a theory it was because not much of this has been released in the States even yet and so they have to pace it a bit... This may well be but its not doing the story any favours.

Nemesis - I like it, so I'm kind of bummed about what I know is coming up, which I DONT like...but oh well.

American Jesus seems interesting.
But I don't like Rex Royd at all though, sorry Frankie!

I would now say that this is a pretty good magazine, overall.

[M.I.K.]

Thought I'd give it another go and bought issue 2 earlier.

Not read all of it yet but here's my opinions on what I've looked at so far...

Deeply Questionable : This is indeed deeply questionable, but also pointless, crap and not even remotely interesting or amusing. Yes, I know Jimmy Carr compiled the questions, but even so...

Frost & Pegg interview : S'alright.

Rex Royd : Makes no sense, has stuff happening that only seems to be there to annoy religious-types and other stuff happening that involves Doctor Doom & Reed Richards. I can understand bits of what's going on, but what those bits have to do with the other bits and why it's all happening in the first place, I cannot say.

Charlie Brooker interview : S'alright. Oink! is mentioned. Now that was a proper comic.

American Jesus : Bit too early to say. Think this might cover some of the same ground as that R.T.D thing with Christopher Ecclestone in that was on telly before they did that sci-fi thing about a bloke in a flying box.

FLiCKER : I really like this. Wouldn't have looked out of place in that aforementioned proper comic Brooker did stuff for as a teenager.

Diary of a Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) : Um... Well it's certainly more relevant and a vast improvement on last month's diary, but it doesn't exactly fit in with most of the rest of the issue, does it? It's all nice and stuff.