Meg 322 - Snapshot

[IndigoPrime]

What utter, utter tosh. Why are they all indestructible? Why is it so incredibly violent, but has no actual storytelling? Lots of bad people kill one another. It has no more depth than that.

Yup, and what follows is just as bad. Funny also how Grice goes from weedy conspirator to generic Millar muscleman, and Titan shifts from hard-as-nails penal colony to a sadist governor's paradise. Also: the revised and simplified 'masks' were a disappointment both then and now.

Elsewhere:

Dredd: middling. Black Museum: amusing. Snapshot: intriguing. Strange and Darke: fab.

[Banners]

Was chuffed to see San Francisco in Snapshot, where we went to on the trip of a lifetime last year. Found a great little comic shop near our hotel in The Mission, which seemed similar to the one shown in the strip. Don't know if it's based on this shop in particular?

[DrJomster]

This is the first time in a looooooong while I can actually say I liked Tales From The Black Museum. Apols to previous people on it - just my view. This one was brilliant though and definitely the best thing in the Meg for me. Love, and I mean LOVE, that artwork.

Snapshot coming in raises the game of the Meg this month considerably for me. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Strange and Darke continues well. Wasn't expecting that speech bubble in the last panel! Crikey, he's going to be busy!

Dredd sadly didn't really work for me. Too old school but without enough edge for my tastes. An ironic state of affairs given that this is the Judgr Dredd megazine.

Overall though, yep, I'm one happy subscriber. My only problem now is that it's a month till the next meg!

[Steve Green]

Great megazine this month, I thought.

Dredd was probably the weakest, and I was interested to see Purgatory again, not having read it since it was first published.

The near indestructable nature of Khurtz is ridiculous - a line that they undergo some kind of modification to toughen them up to survive Titan would have helped a little bit... apart from it just being Millarworld.

Contest to win one of the Lawgiver MK II replicas as well...

[IndigoPrime]

It'll heal!

Uh, no, it really really wouldn't. Etc.

Still, at least the Time Twister wasn't awful. If I wasn't some kind of Meg completist, I think I'd happily shred this floppy.

[Toni Scandella]

I suppose the fact we're getting Purgatory in the floppy means the next Case Files is due to reprint Inferno.  1993 wasn't the best year to be reading Dredd...

[Steve Green]

Yeah, it says at the end of Purgatory that Inferno will be in CF 19.

[Art]

I'm weirdly looking forwards to that.

[JOE SOAP]

We need Wagner and Flint to do their own Titan story to wipe the memory of Purgatory.

[WhitBloke]

We need Wagner and Flint to do their own Titan story to wipe the memory of Purgatory.

Here's hoping.  Otherwise, I can only see myself going down the repressed memory route.  It should have been glorious.  It should have been Papillon.  It isn't even Escape From Los Angeles.  Hell, it isn't even escape from Godalming.

[Dark Jimbo]

We need Wagner and Flint to do their own Titan story to wipe the memory of Purgatory.

Well, Sinfield's recently joined Ramos there, so it could be the perfect time...

[SmallBlueThing]

Dredd: Meh. Not sure why this was a two parter, or what has happened to gary erskine's art. Didnt like this one at all.

Black Museum: good stuff. Hotdog run stories always hit a particular spot, and this was no exception. Excellent start from the moore and reppion droids, and that artbot has a big future, whoever he is.

Snapshot: Meh. Isnt this just an episode of CSI with comic nerds? I read comics to see stuff that i cant in other media, so as a result this just seemed stale. Im not a huge fan of jock's art im sorry to say, but i can appreciate it tells the story. Not for me, though.

Strange & Darke: Very good stuff, and the highlight of the meg. Wearing its influences proudly, cracking along, and beautifully drawn. Last page alone worth the price. Second-best of tharg's output this month, tied with this week's dante in the prog.

Purgatory: as bad as i remebered, and yet, and yet... there's a place for this kind of laugh-out-loud violence in dredd and simplistic storytelling. Meh.
(but i liked it)

SBT

[Proudhuff]

Dredd: doesn't do it for me, story a bit light and Gary's Dredd seems base on a young Joey Ramone!!
Black Museum: any work by the big D'i is welcome in my world, a fine story with only a couple o wee plot holes
Snapshot: I love Diggle and Jock's work especially together,but shirley a bit pish ripping at 3 or 4 panels a page? this whole thing could have been done in 3 pages of seven panels.
Purgatory yes it is.

[radiator]

Well, Sinfield's recently joined Ramos there, so it could be the perfect time...

I do wonder if we'll see Sinfield again. I asked John Wagner last year if Sinfield's 'son' March would be returning (surely he has an axe to grind with Dredd) and he said that he probably would, but not for the time being.

[Alski]

Dredd - Nice little 2 parter, I enjoyed it.

Black Museum - All good until the boy sprout fired a lawgiver without blowing his own hand off. Leah Moore needs to do a bit of homework, methinks.

Snapshot - I like the premise, although it seems to be a non SF story. Good start, nonetheless.

Strange & Darke - Great little story, and I love MacNeil's colourful art.

The Parkhouse interview was good. I like his art, though not his writing so much. The Big Dave pic is brilliant. Is this a new guy on the film reviews? I usually like reading them, but this was horrendously stretched out to fill 3 pages and very dryly written.

oohh... short story comp with an actual prize! Thinking cap is ON.