Prog 1796: Normal to the Max

[Spaceghost]

I hope Dolman doesn't rejoin the Judges, or at least not permanently - it seems like a real shame to waste the concept of a Dredd clone escaping the system.  Would be glad to see him stick around in some other capacity, though.  Dolman for Mayor!

If Dolman does get reeled back in, he could perhaps take a non-street Judge route. It would be interesting to have a Dredd/Fargo clone as Chief Judge one day.

[vzzbux]

If they do make concessions for Dolman then that gives many more ex judges window to rejoin, if they have surrvived DoC. Return for DeMarco maybe.



V

[bluemeanie]

If they do make concessions for Dolman then that gives many more ex judges window to rejoin, if they have surrvived DoC. Return for DeMarco maybe.

Liking this idea
Hell, I'm now thinking it'd be cool if they were desperate enough to give some Titan Judges a second chance. Could sow the seeds for some good power struggle stories down the line

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Could be that the whole Pal thing has basically undermined him, and he's reduced to using that compared to when he had the ear of Dredd.

When did Max last speak to Dredd? Twenty years ago?

So we're DEFINITELY not counting the audio dramas as canon, then? ahaha

[Link Prime]

If they do make concessions for Dolman then that gives many more ex judges window to rejoin, if they have surrvived DoC. Return for DeMarco maybe.

Liking this idea
Hell, I'm now thinking it'd be cool if they were desperate enough to give some Titan Judges a second chance. Could sow the seeds for some good power struggle stories down the line

Thats a really good idea.
Maybe partner every available Street Judge with a former Titan prisoner, a Mechanismo or a young clone?

[Proudhuff]

like Old Stoney Face will stand for that? no chance!

[vzzbux]

like Old Stoney Face will stand for that? no chance!

If dredd can reform mutie laws then he can change on strict regime of the academy. If that means back squadding a few cadets to get them street worthy or bringing back afew drop outs then so be it. With the academy virtually empty of recruits then there has to be some give.




V

[Spikes]

Another cracking prog this week, even if it doesnt quite hit the spot like the last 3 or 4 issues.
Dredd felt a little bit rushed this week, with the last page feeling a bit too compressed. Liked the dialogue on page four were [spoiler]Dredd says they was gonna turn a blind eye, until they was forced to step in. Shows just how thinly spread the Judges are, at the moment. [/spoiler].
Lenny Zero is just fantastic. Loving Ben Willsher's art - (superb cover as well), Nice to see Max Normal back. Though it does make you wonder just how do these characters survive all these disasters over the years. Not sure about the Graffiti though. 
Red Seas, Ichabod and Aquila round off the prog in fine style.

[Mardroid]

like Old Stoney Face will stand for that? no chance!

If dredd can reform mutie laws then he can change on strict regime of the academy. If that means back squadding a few cadets to get them street worthy or bringing back afew drop outs then so be it. With the academy virtually empty of recruits then there has to be some give.

I agree where those examples are concerned but that's a long way from bringing back Titan judges, i.e. not just those who didn't make it but criminals in their own right.

Anyway:


Cover: Nice.

Dredd:  I enjoyed it, but I agree that the panels were sometimes hard to follow. One thing that puzzled me was when the lady told Dredd that the gun wouldn't work - something they borrowed from the judges. I understand what she was referring too (i.e. some kind of handprint scanner I guess, except this gun doesn't fire instead of exploding) it's just... well... Dredd was firing the gun a couple of panels before. So was it a timed thing? Or does it only stop functioning when she, specifically, is not the target?

Okay, I'm probably being a dunce-breed and just reading it wrong but then we're back to the panels being hard to follow for some readers, and that includes those of us with the IQ of a Brussel sprout like me. 

It was an enjoyable story though and I managed to follow most of the stuff in the end.

Ichabod:  Enjoyable enough. I'm certainly interested in seeing how it ends, but I'd have preferred a more straightforward Azrael in the real world story without the reality flipping. (Leave that for the final volume where things go all kerbluey. But then again, maybe this is a real the final one?

Aquila: The semi-immortal killer with the girly name. (I'm sure I've seen a woman in the bible of that name! No wonder he is over-compensating.) I may seem to be mocking but it's all in fun and I'm enjoying this strip a lot. I am curious as to why Aquila thinks the Spartan has escaped their mistress's hold though. So what is different about this souless black eyed killing machine to him? Maybe this will become clear next week, or I have just forgotten something mentioned in a previous episode. Regardless, as I've said, great stuff. This could easily have just been a mad gory romp, but there's mystery too, and I like that in a story.

The Red Sea: Good. Johnny Alpha would approve.

Lenny Zero: The grafitti made me chuckle. And the name and appearance of Max Normal rings a bell, although I can't quite place him. I'm enjoying this caper a lot.

[bluemeanie]

One thing that puzzled me was when the lady told Dredd that the gun wouldn't work - something they borrowed from the judges. I understand what she was referring too (i.e. some kind of handprint scanner I guess, except this gun doesn't fire instead of exploding) it's just... well... Dredd was firing the gun a couple of panels before. So was it a timed thing? Or does it only stop functioning when she, specifically, is not the target?

If it makes you feel better I was confused about the exact same thing thinking it was a built in feature of the gun. On a second read though, and you'll probably kick yourself how obvious it is too, the panel before she shouts "WEAPONS BLOCK!" and some guy in the back shouts "Done" so it's a manual lockdown of the weapon

[Mardroid]

If it makes you feel better I was confused about the exact same thing thinking it was a built in feature of the gun. On a second read though, and you'll probably kick yourself how obvious it is too, the panel before she shouts "WEAPONS BLOCK!" and some guy in the back shouts "Done" so it's a manual lockdown of the weapon

Ah, right! I, um, though she was directing him to a section of building where the big gun was being controlled... (As in 'the weapons block'.) Dear me, what a div I am, that makes so much more sense.

[Zarjazzer]

Good cover.

Dredd was fine but I thought it odd baddie leader wasn't the one hoovered  into the mass driver to be fired out as a blast of bloody and guts.

Red Seas was mad but still kept me reading. Ichabod lost me a while back so I look at the fine images and art.

Aquila built things up a bit more but Lenny Zero despite some talkie and little shootie was best with the return of Max Normal,  Judge Pal and the fabulous ultra- tank credit transporter.

[Frank]

The defining metaphor of this current round of strips is that of Michael Carroll's mass-driver. Just as Debris's focused gravity well sucks up the rubble left by past stories and spits it out again, all five of the current crop of tales are essentially regurgitating elements of familiar narratives. Nothing at all wrong with that- it's all any creator ever really does- the only meaningful distinction is how well it's done.

Rob Williams is using David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas to navigate his way through territory already mapped by Highlander, with occasional scatterings of narration and some (intentionally) hilarious anachronistic dialogue serving as the trail of bread crumbs which lead us back to the author. The humourous architectural detail which Ian Edginton has built into Red Seas makes it a fun place to look around, and Steve Yeowel's superb draughtsmanship gives the story's more ludicrous features a solid foundation in reality- although when this week's story knocked-through into Strontium Dog's intellectual property, the little concrete patio Carlos Ezquerra constructed for his victims was curiously absent.

Gordon Rennie's managed to come up with a strip that allows Blackhawk to romp lustily and promiscuously with the tarty tropes of previous Slaine stories (and 300 and Spartacus). The dialogue doesn't appear to be finger-fucking fantasy fiction's faux-Shakespear 'thee and thou-ing' in the same way Ichabod does, though; suggesting Rennie's playing this inherently camp, homoerotic material disappontingly straight- making the story a lazy Sunday wank that had better get to the vinegar strokes pretty soon.

If the defining tropes of old school 2000ad were lasers and robots, the latest crop of authors seem to favour deathless characters who exist across all times, in worlds governed by the use of magic, and in bricolage narratives that consciously promote inter-textual connection to the work of other authors in the mind of the reader. Each story manages to do something very different with their set-up, but it's really 2000ad's noble tradition of encouraging artists to develop their own wildly individual styles that means each strip feels original and distinct.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Dolman should have been summarily executed after shooting that Judge in the leg!

[The Sherman Kid]

Cover Yet another classy cover ,with Max nicely tipping the nod to the readers.

Dredd A reasonable tale in the end, but the artwork seemed to get worse and worse as it went along, becoming just 'cartoony' as I think someone else has said, by the conclusion.I prefer Wagers Dredd where all judges are strong compentant characters, not just side salad to make Joe look good.Still waiting for a meaty post DoC story to bring us up to speed as to where we are with everything.

Lenny Zero Still the highlight for me as the other stories haven't appealed I'm afraid.Seems to have it's own 'Easter Eggs' every episode -Citizen Snork has been spotted -has anyone spotted to toilet sign top right as Lenny goes in, I thought that was hilarious, nice touch. In fact thats the point about Lenny so many 'nice touches' it's a real pleasyre to read.

Letters Page Wish we had this every week.ALL with answers again.WHY does that never happen in the Meg-this month there was one sarcastic reply thats missed the point the author was making anyway.??

So in summary Lenny saves the day again.