Prog 1806: World Building

Trout · 20 October, 2012, 11:42:56 AM

A night off last night and an early start with the children does have a silver lining: reading the prog in the morning! It's a great prog, too.

The new Dredd story, by the top team of Ewing and Flint, is special stuff. A dark, brooding Dredd is brought a problem by an old friend, but there are malevolent forces within Justice Department...
A masterclass in tone and storytelling. When did Al get this good? I mean, I knew he was good, but this is particularly high-quality stuff. It's amazing to think this is the secondary writer on this strip - so how lucky are we? Class.

I also loved Brass Sun. Every week a little more story is teased out and I'm left baying for more. Again, art and story are meshing so very well, but this time the high concept of the setting is what has me really excited. Love it love it love it. Finally, we get to see [spoiler]another of the worlds...[/spoiler]

ABC Warriors continues well enough (this is where I say "It's not me for me" and simply respect others' opinions) but I'm sad to see the obvious digital layering back. I was enjoying the line art. I'm not really following the story anyway.

There are twists and turns in The Simping Detective. His online story for Crossed is so good that I've turned into a major fan of Si Spurrier. I've always found The Simping Detective a bit too wordy, although I freely admit that is the point of the strip, but I'm sticking with it. I'll re-read it all in one go later. I will say, though, that I'm enjoying Simon Coleby's work on this strip. It's dark and flows well.

Finally, Low Life is bonkers. What in the name of buggery is going on? Not even Dirty Frank knows! Such magnificent lunacy. The shark character had me sniggering, too, because I've worked with a fair few people like him.

Four out of five from me. A strong comic and a pleasure for my Saturday morning.

- Trout

(PS: A bit of blue to decorate this post. Experimental!)

Danbo · 20 October, 2012, 11:50:38 AM

Mines not been delivered.....

Darren Stephens · 20 October, 2012, 11:56:07 AM

After last weeks no show, here we have 1806 touching down on the Stephens household heli-pad. And spiffing it is, too!

Cover: Always great to see a Nick Percival frontage, if you'll pardon the expression.

Dredd: Cracking opening episode. Marvelous Flint artwork illustrates (love that image of Dredd on page 4...!) a top script from the Ewing droid. Can't wait to see Bachmann get her dues.

Simp Dick: new favourite of mine.

ABCs: Basically a big fight scene this week. Nowt wrong with that. Really enjoyable strip.

Brass Sun: Mmm. I felt myself groan slightly when I got to this. Not sure why. I've been enjoying it so far, but I do feel a little lost. The arts a bit too sparse for me, too, good as it is.

Low Life: This had me chuckling away. Brilliantly written. Beautifully drawn. That Enormo Overdrive is 2000AD creation of the year!

WhitBloke · 20 October, 2012, 02:27:04 PM

Cover - Just plain lovely. Plus, that cover, she don't lie. A zarjaz new Dredd thriller really does start inside. Not that it took me long to get the cover turned, but while I was there it was suitably epic with a side-dash of the invitingly cosmic. One day, Tharg will give us another equally lovely Nick Percival cover but with a strapline along the lines of "Just Bloody Buy It, You Know You Want To..." to knowingly grin out from the shop shelves...

Dredd - Al Ewing's back, and with the Flint/Blythe/Parkhouse Dredd powerhouse no less? I didn't need to read the rest of the Prog today, though I damn well did! I have an overall respect for Mr Carroll's Dredds but Al Ewing's staying my favourite Not-Wagner, and it's because of this kind of excellence. I normally enjoy it when he delivers two things at once so I particularly enjoyed the way Dredd himself wouldn't quite let that happen this week. That Dredd, such a tease. Left wondering if that's [spoiler]Psi-Hippy Janus[/spoiler] at the end, and continue to think that Hershey's whole re-structuring gambit isn't at least in part to provide for a long-game response to Fargo's deathbed recant. Albeit with plenty of eggs in the omelette. Wondering it Rothman might make a showing as this develops. Nice to see [spoiler]Buell[/spoiler] on form, as well as the opportunity to enjoy that Dredd pose on page four - [spoiler]That's right, punk, I kicked a door in your stupid face and now I'm treading on you, clock my pose and realise how easy this stomm is for me.[/spoiler] Brilliant. Too many nice touches to mention without completely filling the page with spoilers! Was this really only six pages?

Simping Detective - With this much Dreddworld in the Prog of late, and at such a high standard, I can't stop thinking that the Megazine is going to have to play catch-up pretty soon. Stop. Excellent chapter this week, broadening and focusing at the same time. Stop. Not that I should sound surprised. Stop. Furthermore, if tits and arse need be used in a story, can't it be more often as done in this week's Simp? Stop. Lettering again strong. Stop. Lovely art again. Stop. Simpering about the Simp now stops. Stop.

ABC Warriors - It's so nice to see Budda. There is no better ABC sound effect as far as I'm concerned. [spoiler]"Because we should not be"[/spoiler] beats that, though. The best new Pat Mills I've read in a long time and the last two weeks haven't been shabby. Pat Mills doing talking heads without an excessive shovelling of exposition? How could it not work? I'm going to go and stroke his autograph. Just because.

Brass Sun - I just keeping winning at Brass Sun Bingo. Really big prize this week? For me, the fourth panel on the first page. As striking as it is practically incidental, such a talent at work right there, from the entire team, and it's just one panel. Seven weeks in and it hasn't peaked or weakened in its peculiar charm. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have done the same as with Zaucer of Zilk and waited until it was all in before reading it in one go after being hooked by the first week... Naaaah. If for no other reason than I'm too late, and wondering if a week's wait really has to be seven days and feel like it...

Low Life - If there's a better narrative panel in the Prog than [spoiler]"Proper big space-ship approaches" [/spoiler] would somebody please tell me? Because if so, I've missed a scorcher. Plus the return of [spoiler]Klegg Meat Harvest[/spoiler]. Fantastic. What do you mean there was a shed-load of more great Dirty Frank and an actual story around all of this, too? Oh, yeah. Yeah, there was! Barmy goodness that's clearly anything but barmy.

High - Realising just this minute that I could have read just two of this week's strips and still felt I'd ingested a whole week's Thrillpower.

Low - Not being able to go to Thought Bubble and being taunted by that advert again! Tharg, you weren't to know, but you're still as cruel as you are kind.

Fisticuffs · 20 October, 2012, 03:13:53 PM

Concur with what everyone else has said. A really strong Prog, excellent Dredd although the highlight for me is the Simping Detective - love it.

Colin YNWA · 21 October, 2012, 07:56:19 PM

Still loving the Prog, this week might not be quite up to the startling levels of last week but its was still a mighty titan of comic tales. Bloody brilliant.

Dredd was superb, except for the first page. The dying man's last words conveniently setting the tone for the story and acting as contrived prologue. Once past that however magnificent and a great ending. The rest were all quite wonderful if by and large not quite at the heights as last week but that's not shame and still miles ahead of the competition.

Wonderful.

Richard · 21 October, 2012, 07:59:13 PM

I think that the point of the dying man's words on page 1 was to explain what a cold deck is. Evidently there will be another (metaphorical) cold deck later on in this story.

Colin YNWA · 21 October, 2012, 08:00:03 PM

Quote from: Richard on 21 October, 2012, 07:59:13 PM
I think that the point of the dying man's words on page 1 was to explain what a cold deck is. Evidently there will be another (metaphorical) cold deck later on in this story.

Yeah that was kinda the point I was trying to make. Felt contrived to me as I said.

JUDGE BURNS · 21 October, 2012, 09:18:18 PM

Its sunday night and there are only 8 comments???? Did no-one else get their subs delivered.?? Got mine on a saturday morning regular as clockwork. Still haven't read last weeks yet so this weeks will have to wait. I'm onto my last of the 4 strontium dog novels from black flame. They have been quite entertaining, so far.

Prog 1806 cover..not one of my favourites , no.

will comment on the rest of the content soon (hopefully)

Dark Jimbo · 22 October, 2012, 11:49:20 AM

Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 21 October, 2012, 07:56:19 PM
Dredd was superb, except for the first page. The dying man's last words conveniently setting the tone for the story and acting as contrived prologue.

You say 'contrived prologue' - I say 'ominous foreshadowing', and masterfully done at that. How on earth else would you suggest informing the reader of what a 'cold deck' is without wrenching them out of the story...?

Colin YNWA · 22 October, 2012, 01:35:40 PM

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 22 October, 2012, 11:49:20 AM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 21 October, 2012, 07:56:19 PM
Dredd was superb, except for the first page. The dying man's last words conveniently setting the tone for the story and acting as contrived prologue.

You say 'contrived prologue' - I say 'ominous foreshadowing', and masterfully done at that. How on earth else would you suggest informing the reader of what a 'cold deck' is without wrenching them out of the story...?

But that's the problem this fact this explanation was the dying man's last words did just that (yanked me out the story).

Hawkmumbler · 22 October, 2012, 04:31:46 PM

Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 21 October, 2012, 07:56:19 PM
Still loving the Prog, this week might not be quite up to the startling levels of last week but its was still a mighty titan of comic tales. Bloody brilliant.

Dredd was superb, except for the first page. The dying man's last words conveniently setting the tone for the story and acting as contrived prologue. Once past that however magnificent and a great ending. The rest were all quite wonderful if by and large not quite at the heights as last week but that's not shame and still miles ahead of the competition.

Wonderful.

Maybe he was stonned off his tit's and thought it would be good conversation with a jay before he poped off?

Trout · 22 October, 2012, 04:59:51 PM

I thought that first page was great, and it worked really well. Until we have more than one dissenting voice, I think we should assume it really was great.

Colin YNWA · 22 October, 2012, 07:30:24 PM

Quote from: Trout on 22 October, 2012, 04:59:51 PM
I thought that first page was great, and it worked really well. Until we have more than one dissenting voice, I think we should assume it really was great.

Bar-humbug - I think we should assume its a highly contentious opening, for which there may well be a vast, even one might say overwhelming, number of apologists, but one that has created hours of debate and remonstration across this here Internet. It'll led to much anger and knashing of teeth. Children will be left crying to see their beloved parents fighting naked in the streets over their conflicting views. Families shattered and divided in a way not seem since the Civil War... or at least when Liverpool played Everton in the FA Cup final (first time). A nation will stand on the brink of collapse, tipping ever closer to financial meltdown as the working man, who keeps its mighty engines of commerce and enterprise, cast aside their work to march in defense of their preferred reading of this dread opening. Neighboring nations watch on paralyzed in fear in case they too are drawn into this bloody cauldron of hate and anger.

While all this time, from his lofty palace, watching down on the chaos he has wrought Al Ewing rubs his hands together, laughing barely audibly as he waits for his time. His plans in place he stalks like a hairy eagle for the perfect moment to strike and unleash his masterstroke. Cold deck indeed...

... or ya know you could just ignore me I guess. I'm easy either way really...

Frank · 22 October, 2012, 08:16:39 PM

In Back to the Future, when Doc Brown actually uses the title of the film as a line of dialogue it's a little jarring. It's done with knowing humour, though; and it did make me consider the apparent oxymoron of the title in a way that prepared me for the brain-twisting premise of the second film. Al Ewing's a clever man.