Prog 1773 Fathers Day?

[Dandontdare]

Dredd: I'm enjoying the story immensely week by week. I can read judge-procedurals sprinkled with loony politicians, perps like Bim'n'Jim and some good Dredd one-liners week in and week out, so I'm happy; however I can see why some people are having a problem with the story. We seem to have a procedural where not only do we know whodunnit, but Dredd knows whodunnit; and yet there seems to be an inevitability to the chaos and destruction that's going to be unleashed on the city. I'd never bet against Wagner turning it round into something unexpected, but for a while it seems to have been an epic moving slowly towards an obvious conclusion, so while the details are engrossing it lacks dramatic tension.
Hoping for another artist change too. Nothing horrible about Ben Willshire's art, but I find it a bit crowded with over-stuffed backgrounds, and there's a slew of Dredd artists I'd love to see instead

Dante *sniff*  *sniff* Awesome. And yet they keep teasing us! I thought this was it, and yet Mr Burns comes back with another tale. And no Goaty I did notice [spoiler]Lulu in that last panel[/spoiler] and wondered why no-one else mentioned it, but it's just taken me a while to get around to posting!

These two thrills are enough to make a great prog, but the rest wasn't that great. I enjoyed this episode of Wolf less than the last - an intriguing setup has already lost me with the skinhead's character and motivation veering off wildly rather than being developed. I enjoyed the premise of last week's opener, but I don't think I've ever believed in the characters in this series.

Grey Area is fine. I like it, but can't think of anything interesting to say. Fine. Would've been outstanding in the 90s, seems rather lacklustre during this great period.

I love "what if .." stories, and I'll always defend the right of any one-shot type story to try something odd that might turn out to be genius or a bit shit. Sadly this one was abit shit. So it goes.

[Dandontdare]

Dredd: I'm enjoying the story immensely week by week. I can read judge-procedurals sprinkled with loony politicians, perps like Bim'n'Jim and some good Dredd one-liners week in and week out, so I'm happy; however I can see why some people are having a problem with the story. We seem to have a procedural where not only do we know whodunnit, but Dredd knows whodunnit; and yet there seems to be an inevitability to the chaos and destruction that's going to be unleashed on the city. I'd never bet against Wagner turning it round into something unexpected, but for a while it seems to have been an epic moving slowly towards an obvious conclusion, so while the details are engrossing it lacks dramatic tension.
Hoping for another artist change too. Nothing horrible about Ben Willshire's art, but I find it a bit crowded with over-stuffed backgrounds, and there's a slew of Dredd artists I'd love to see instead

Dante *sniff*  *sniff* Awesome. And yet they keep teasing us! I thought this was it, and yet Mr Burns comes back with another tale. And no Goaty I did notice [spoiler]Lulu in that last panel[/spoiler] and wondered why no-one else mentioned it, but it's just taken me a while to get around to posting!

These two thrills are enough to make a great prog, but the rest wasn't that great. I enjoyed this episode of Wolf less than the last - an intriguing setup has already lost me with the skinhead's character and motivation veering off wildly rather than being developed. I enjoyed the premise of last week's opener, but I don't think I've ever believed in the characters in this series.

Grey Area is fine. I like it, but can't think of anything interesting to say. Fine. Would've been outstanding in the 90s, seems rather lacklustre during this great period.

I love "what if .." stories, and I'll always defend the right of any one-shot type story to try something odd that might turn out to be genius or a bit shit. Sadly this one was a bit shit. So it goes.

[Dandontdare]

bollox - tried to modify to correct a typo (can YOU spot it readers?) but hit quote instead and now the modify function's gone.

Why isn't that always available anyway?   It's not just my imagination, it comes and goes seemingly randomly.

[Cthulouis]

Don't usually do reviews, but Dante moved me to write something.

If I travelled back through time and told 13 year old me about certain things in this story, young me would say, "YES! That is just so RIGHT!"

The two things in particular are Dante [spoiler]crashing the big thing into the other big thing (still trying to avoid spoilers)[/spoiler] and[spoiler] Person A shooting Person B, as was focused on this week.[/spoiler] These things are so perfect, that now I know about them, they seem obvious. Yet before they happened, I didn't see them coming at all. And that is a sign of amazing writing.

[spoiler]One thing that didn't quite gel with me is the explanation of how it happened, in that I didn't feel it was needed. As I was reading, I was thinking, yes, that works, bloody heck that works. Then you get the explanation of Dante having tinkered with the settings of the gun, and I thought, really? He could do that all along? Why didn't Dimitri or others tinker with it for their own ends? I would have thought that White Army tech was beyond everyone in this dimension, and that is why nobody has had a chance to alter it. [/spoiler]

Fortunately, there are two options open here:

1. [spoiler]That Dante was capable of *just enough* tinkering to get it to the very similar genetic code needed. A small degree of tinkering is possible, but not enough to give it to anyone else.[/spoiler]

2. [spoiler]This is unreliable narration, and the account in the memoirs is inaccurate. In fact, the plan was all improvised, and people were winging it on a hope and a prayer, and the gun just worked in her hands, because they share enough DNA. I much prefer this option, as it has the symbolism that Dante is all his mum and none of his dad.  [/spoiler]

Also, if Dimitri wanted Lulu dead instantly, those critters could have stripped her to the bone in seconds. Dimitri likes playing the long game. He likes killing people slowly, or even keeping them alive for later use. Last we saw of her before this, she had all her flesh, and her weapons crest healing factor (We have seen that Dimitri turning off the crests has a very visual effect.) So, would have been surprised if she was dead, rather than that she has survived.

[James Stacey]

[spoiler]One thing that didn't quite gel with me is the explanation of how it happened, in that I didn't feel it was needed. As I was reading, I was thinking, yes, that works, bloody heck that works. Then you get the explanation of Dante having tinkered with the settings of the gun, and I thought, really? He could do that all along? Why didn't Dimitri or others tinker with it for their own ends? I would have thought that White Army tech was beyond everyone in this dimension, and that is why nobody has had a chance to alter it. [/spoiler]

That didn't work for me either. Of course the one answer to it, and why he was less concerned about [spoiler]Dimitri sticking a hole in him[/spoiler], along with some other oddities and discrepancies is that [spoiler]Dante still has a crest[/spoiler]. Probably not the case but would fill some odd gaps.

[The Sherman Kid]

Dredd - Unless the quality abruptly falls off a cliff (which of course won't happen) ,for me, this will be the greatest Dredd series of all time.I can appreciate how it isn't everyones cup of tea, but I love the way it is crafted and steadily building -the proof in the pudding is that I can't wait to read it each week.The artwork has also been top notch -Ben Wilshire art is sharp and includes a lot a new design work we haven't quite seen before (judge helmets , surfer outfit) so hats off to him.

Dante - A 2000ad masterpiece. Little bit of a twist this week, that I had kinda thought might happen ,but deeeply satisfying none the less.

Grey Area - Coming along, but still seems to lack something..more mystery, action and characterisation required.

Age of the Wolf- Too obvious with the satire, but has potential.

What if- Never sure of the point of these, but this was definately a missed opportunity for this character , a case of what if.. for a what if...

Letters Page - Always welcome.With replies to EVER letter.MEG TAKE NOTE.

Another great package from 2000ad

[TordelBack]

A near-perfect Prog, 9.5/10. Had dock that 0.5 because of an Alan Grant misfire.

Dredd:  So dense, so crushingly tense, how the hell are they going to get out of this one.  Cue Beeny arriving on the scene next week, can'r wait.

Grey Area:  Dubious about the advisability of the nudity last week and this, and maybe some of the figure perspective work in Carter's (otherwise excellent)art, but this continues to be a fascinating strip that I hope gets a good long run.  The Bulliet/Birdy dialogue seems a little off in the latter half, I think I'd have preferred a less vulnerable Birdy.  So what if he's seen her naked?  Seems a bit adolescent.

Dante:  Yes. YES!  [spoiler]Excellent twist use of the genetic-coding/family motif that has run through the series.  If the Crest could pass to someone who shares half Dimitri's DNA, why not the rifle to someone who shares half of Dante's?  [/spoiler]Very clever, and what a beautiful end.  [spoiler]Does this mean Flint and Spatch have actually survived?  [/spoiler]  Wouldn't have bet on that one.

Age of the Wolf:  Really enjoyed the last series, delighted to see this one.  Just look at how Worley has grown as a writer, all that needless captioning and expository tautology stripped out, the art and the action carries the story.  Lovely to see.  The Windsor riff is beautifully executed too.

What if Anderson:  Huh.  Love the very appropriate art, applaud the concept, but the execution of the story felt as if Alan was forced to write it at gunpoint.  I'm not asking for 'Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow?' (although saying that, why the hell shouldn't I be?), but maybe a story that suggests he's actually been writing Anderson for 30 years, instead of just hearing somewhere that she was a woman with psychic powers who lived in a big future city?  There's so much to explore about Anderson here - when was she kicked out of the Academy?  Why?  What happened with her dysfunctional family background and history of abuse?  How did she come to terms with living in this hateful city, with Necropolis, with the grinding oppression that Alan Grant normally writes so well?  How does a marriage work with one partner being a telepath?  Didn't she just use her powers to psychically assault that kid?  Didn't her kid just use his powers for assault?  Isn't her graffitti artist kid going to the cubes?  Instead we get Bewitched 2134 and wasted final panel that seems like a swipe at editorial for commissioning this.  Poor work, and doubly so it an issue that otehrwise showcases the best of writing from droids old, middling and shiny new.   

[Proudhuff]

Wait a minute, if Anderson wasnt Judge, how does the Mega-city stopped Judge Death or "Devil" etc?

I refer me'learned four legged friend to earlier in this thread 

[Satanist]

Cover – Aye
Dredd – Aye
Dante – Maybe
Grey Area – Maybe
Age of the Wolf – Naw
What if – I had those 5 minutes back, Naw.
Letters – Aye

Flesh next week – Dear Gawd Naw!
Zilk in 2 – Aye that'll do.

[Alski]

Cover – Aye
Dredd – Aye
Dante – Maybe
Grey Area – Maybe
Age of the Wolf – Naw
What if – I had those 5 minutes back, Naw.
Letters – Aye

Flesh next week – Dear Gawd Naw!
Zilk in 2 – Aye that'll do.

Crivvens! and Helpmaboab!

[Daveycandlish]

Cover very dynamic until you look at Dante's face which looks too cartoony
Dredd a slow burner, but Wagner is pulling it off.  I'm liking the art on this.
Age of the Wolf I didn't really enjoy the first story but was left with the impression that it would read better as a collection. My opinion with book two hasn't changed.
Grey Area great premise for a strip and I've loved the stories so far, but oh the art... far too stilted for my tastes - I'm just not a fan of Lee's work.
What if always nice to see more Robin Smith in the prog but none of the What If's have done it for me I'm afraid
Dante saving the best til last - brilliant. Just brilliant. Perfect art to go with a perfect script. I'll be so sorry to see this finish but conversely can't wait for the trade. Where do they go next with it?

[Zarjazzer]

Cover okay.Dreddy good story and art but still keeping us on tenterhooks it will end badly. Wolfie-good fun and an interesting art style. Grey Area still going slow but fine, What if okay but a bit of a let down, Dante ,over-sentimental hogwash. You expect me to believe the most selfish character in comics is actually upset by Mommy/Mumsy getting blown away? Well you succeeded.

[staticgirl]

That Anderson story was nowhere near miserable enough to be in Jinty or Bunty. She's not a one legged orphan or anything....

Re Grey Area - if a male character had been hijacked by a rather charming and hapless alien do you think he'd have been shown completely naked throughout most of the story? Still the revelation at the end was great, I had no idea that was coming...

[LeeCarter_Artdroid]

Yup, If he was in the shower , end of dead eyes had a naked man and his tackle , anyway No more nakedness, I have learnt

[Link Prime]

/quote]
You won't be gettin my vote for taking over Durham Red Mr. Carter!