MEG 321 - American Reaper , sexy ostriches?

[Spaceghost]

At the end of the day it's down to the reader to decide how they want to interpret the comic.

And yet you continually state that everyone but you is missing the point when they say they don't like American Reaper.

[TordelBack]

Look on the bright side, this is all going to make for a magnificent intro to the collection!

[Gonk]

You're reading more into my posts than is there Tordel. I don't like Wagner. His music is too over blown for me, too pompous. I like Jedward, they make me laugh. I can still see that even I don't appreciate his work, that Wagner is more important to the musical world than Jedward are or ever will be.

At the end of the day it's down to the reader to decide how they want to interpret the comic.

And yet you continually state that everyone but you is missing the point when they say they don't like American Reaper.

No again Lee Bates. I'm saying not everyone thinks AR is rubbish. Those who do are making a value choice. I'm the same as you, I won't let comments on a forum stop my enjoyment of 2000ad.

No it's not an intentional conceit of AR but Langley's own creative technique, yes James Lacey I agree.

[TordelBack]

Interestingly the great Colin Smith has been having relevant thoughts about comics and high vs. populist culture:

In short, I admit to being weary of the fact that a great deal of the pop culture I most value has been consistently defined as being either pablum for half-wits or pretentious artistry for the chattering classes. It's always either what Gore Vidal called the P-Novel or the U-Novel, the unashamed and populist or the self-conscious and excluding, and I've never felt comfortable with either front in that particular culture war. In fact, I've always failed to be able to distinguish between the ultimate worth of, say, Ditko's many super-men and the novels of Jane Austen, despite knowing how ridiculous the dilemma will appear, and I rather resent feeling as if I ought to be able to do so.

Worth a look, as ever.

http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-seths-its-good-life-if-you-dont.html

[Gonk]

Yes it's a confusing mess. How do you evaluate a work's artistic merit? Through the amount of time that is spent producing it? Or by how well known it is? Or how difficult it is for an audience to interpret? There doesn't seem to be a reliable criteria to judge something by. Usually if something is very old then it is taken as having artistic value because of it's longevity. But a work's survival over the centuries could also just be down to pure chance, or habit, and not due to an intrinsic artistic superiority in the piece.

[TordelBack]

But a work's survival over the centuries could also just be down to pure chance, or habit, and not due to an intrinsic artistic superiority in the piece.

Chance is a massive part of what endures over time, but if my limited travels have taught me anything (other than how to ask for beer in 10 languages), it's that the stuff that ends up celebrated as seminal works of a culture (in whatever medium) very seldom, if ever, disappoint.  Like clichés, they're there for a reason.

[mygrimmbrother]

Also, chance plays a huge part in works of art gaining recognition in the first place, not just in enduring through the ages.

[TordelBack]

Absolutely - 99.99% of all the good stuff is lost, in whatever medium.  You can be sure that there were works every bit as good and probably far better than the celebrated survivors, but you can also be reasonably sure that what does survive still has real merit. 

[Gonk]

What I mean by chance, is that over time many great works have been either lost or destroyed. Look at the ancient Greeks. There is so much that we can't appreciate of it because it no longer exists. This is not down to aesthetic choice but to the ravages of time.

[SmallBlueThing]

Ive just finished a read-through of American Reaper, which ive been looking forward to since it started. So much so, in fact, that i stopped reading it in The Meg after part two, as in pieces i felt i wasnt getting the full benefit.

Since we dont have an AR thread, i'll use this one to say the following:

I bloody loved each and every panel. Every exquisitely rendered cityscape, car and gurning close-up. It's that kind of simple story that Mills tells so well, and which absolutely reverberates with his rage at the injustices in modern living and takes it to extremes. As a comic strip, its been a long time since one has raised my heart rate like this did- if i were a hollywood producer, i'd green light this in a second. The coolness, the cars, the gadgets, the clothes, everything is designed to surf the zeitgeist-just-coming. Having put it down ten minutes ago, i feel like ive just come out the cinema from a particularly good sci fi action movie- and that cant be bad.

Autumn cant come quick enough (cont)

[SmallBlueThing]

(cont) for me, im afraid- though it appears not to be a popular opinion- and this is the best thing The Meg has run in YEARS. In comparison, the rest of the comic pales- with the exception of Strange & Darke, which shows promise.

But, bloody hell, what a strip. Im gobsmacked.

SBT

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Has anyone actually attempted reading the floppy, I've just went to bed and thought I'd give it a read to help me me nod off, but there is a slight problem. It's completely out of order and repeated all over the place.

Death Planet part 4
Death Planet part 5
Death Planet part 6
Death Planet part 7
Death Planet part 4
Death Planet part 5
Death Planet part 6
Death Planet part 7
Death Planet part 8
Death Planet part 9 (I think, no number but it's the final part)
Angel part 1
Angel part 2 (two pages)
Death Planet part 8
Death Planet part 9
Angel part 1
Angel part 2 (two pages and then the final page of the actual strip)

So much for a quiet read before bed 

[SmallBlueThing]

Ring up and get a new one, cf, as mine is fine- i have it on my lap and have checked.

SBT

[James Stacey]

mine is still in its bag. I'll never know.

[Steve Green]

My one was fine - you can have it if you want...