Meg 421 - End of Watch!

[Colin YNWA]

Haven't we got a Meg review thread yet? Well its Wednesday so I'd better start one.

This is a decent Meg and the inclusion of a full 22 page The Vigilant strip makes the package seem very good value... or it would if you enjoyed the strip. Alas a bit like that tag line 'End of Watch!' it doesn't quite hold together and work. The Vigilant is a decnt attempt but its always felt that it cramped too much into too little room and made things feel a little forced. Too many interesting characters and so nothing gets the space and time it deserves. Such a shame. Still if its been a failed experiment one worth trying I guess and Simon Coleby made it look great. If you've enjoyed the Specials I'd imagine this was a winner.

Elsewhere we are in fine form however. Rory McConville and Staz Johnson give good Dredd and this is a good Dredd, though I feel as though I've read the idea of Dredd and the Judges playing dumb to lull someone into a trick recently. Have we met Judge Calvin before? Is my memory playing tricks with me on both counts? Stupid memory. Anyway like where this is building to.

Blunt rattles along with a high octane episode that sets up what might be a very interesting ending? Looking forward to finding out.

Boom Town continues in Lawless. Still an effortlessly superb strip. This does feel, song and dance routine aside, as if it was a new story but if they want to keep it as the same story and it keep this strip in the comic who cares. Brilliant stuff.

There a really nice Lion retrospective thrown in as well for a text piece. So we're all winning there.

Bolt01 suggested that the floppie is having to be shuffled together by the files that Tharg and the Droids have to hand. This months suggests that might be true as we get a lovely little sampler for the characters in The Vigilant harvested from the available Treasury reprint volumes. So much of this I had the rest is a nice introduction. If you have all the reprints though there will be little there.

Still we should be very grateful that Tharg and the Droids can still access their files and are giving us all this thrill power in these time and so again

ALL HAIL THARG!

[broodblik]

I enjoyed the Meg.

My main problem with Vigilant except the many characters is that the story goes back to 2018 and it feels like the time between is way to long. This will read better as a collection which I know will be release next year. All in all I enjoyed Vigilant and it is always a bonus to have the fantastic art of Coleby.

[broodblik]

The cover by Simon Coleby and colours by Len O'Grady:

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

As usual with the Meg, it's a mixed bag. Dredd designed to be the start of something- but I'm not sure I'm too interested in seeing that story come to fruition. We will see. Lawless is again superb in every way and could run and run and run and I wouldnt mind a bit. The final part of (this bit of) The Vigilant was a beautifully rendered but as overwhelmed by multiple characters and obscure motivations, and hamstrung by the time between episodes, as the last few parts. These characters are marvellous and I very much want them back in comics regularly- but it needs retooling and perhaps a clearer narrative. Blunt, I'm afraid I don't read.

The floppy is a joy. While the Dr Sin story is just so weird, coming as it does from the very early days of 2000AD (and how weird to see a 2000AD story with typeset lettering! Those early annuals, eh?) and just such a monumental lump of mad silliness. Cant believe Pat Mills wrote it, frankly. The Leopard and Death Wish episodes were still familiar from ancient childhood memories (can Speed really be 40 years ago? I still remember the tactile nature of the first free gift), Steel Commando- a strip I've never liked- was unexpectedly beautifully drawn (those faces!), but Mesmer and Von Hoffman were the highlights. Will be buying both those collected volumes as soon as I can.

Interesting to note we are nearly due a "bumper anniversary issue". Any news as to the format/ content?

SBT

[The Monarch]

the floppy sold me on von hoffmans war may have to get it

[WhizzBang]

I got mine today.

The Leopard Of Limestreet is very corny - exactly the sort of thing that Viz used to parody well. I can vaguely remember it from Buster comic but I think I usually skipped it as I was only interested in the funnies at the time.

[metcalfecarr]

Another cracking Meg, even without the glory of Mike Dowling art.  Loved the floppie, apart from it has the one of two niggles of the issue for me in the incorrect credits of Leopard of Lime Street with Mike Western being credited as co-writer rather than artist.  It gets me that Eric Bradbury inked this as it's not at all like his inking style and I'd have never thought that a man so assciated with a style that I call  "sweaty men" could produce such delicate and careful lines and not detract from Western's glorious inks.

My main niggle is The Vigilent, which I have loved in issue form.  The story suffers being so cramped that very little actually happens and I dont remember what Blake Edwards and others actually contribute to the strip - and this was a problem before that they had to put the side stories in the issues.  Also Len's colours are overpowering at times and I have trouble making out whats going on but that gives me the bonus of spending more time looking at the glorious Coleby art so there's always a positive