Prog 1817

[Spikes]

Only had time to read Dredd so far, and away from all the online silliness, i thought it was a nicely told little story of a young lad who just so happens to be gay, whilst living through a particularly brutal period in MC1's history.
Sometimes 2000ad can shoot itself in the foot when trying to court controversy/gain media attention (the ghost of the 90's lads mag humour annoyingly popping up from time to time), but this was spot-on, and one of those times when i wish Dredd had a slightly longer page count.
The Judge Fear part didnt bug, nor did i feel it overplayed. Well done the creative team!

[Hawkmumbler]

Yeah, having Fear kill him made me wonder what he saw. Fear of his son's homosexuality? Or perhapse his dead wife? Or fear of what she would say on the situation between him and their son. There's alot to talk about there alone. Of cause, it's always nice to be reminded where getting to see those magnificent bastards soon anyway.

[TordelBack]

Trying to avoid online dossing completely, but felt the pressing need to pop back and throw a little praise in the direction of Mssrs Williams and Dowling. 

Was very dubious about this story, basically wondering why homosexuality would even be an issue in MC-1, let alone for Joe Dredd himself, but I was very wrong: this was a very well-executed story, one of those relatively rare -ahem- 'straight' Dredds that hit the mark, being both clever and memorable.  Reminds me of 'John Casavettes is Dead', or 'Over the Wall', in its effective placement of a real-world tragedy on a MC-1 stage.  One of Rob's very best Dredds, and Dowling delivers on all counts, L'il Brian Cox being an especially nice touch. 

As to the rest (seeing as I'm here), a very strong line-up across the board, with Ampney leading the charge.  Turing being in charge of alt.Bletchley when he's, what, 19 or 20?, seems a bit of a stretch, but Davis looks likes he's having barrels of fun with this (his axolotl Martian a few weeks back freaked me out), and I like the strong visual link to D'Israelis's Gog and Magog root-entwined beneath London in Stickleback.

Apologies if I'm duplicating earlier comment, haven't read the thread.  I'm off again: as you were.

[Spikes]

Now fully devoured - prog 1817 is another good 'un. That quote by SFX on the cover says it all really.
And speaking of covers, a very nice one by Boo Cook- after Ezquerra, greets us. Top stuff.
Dredd, is the top draw this week, with Savage and Ampney - both featuring some very choice art, being a very close joint-second.
Red Seas is still good, but does seem to be slowing down somewhat, and Stronty, for some reason, isnt grabbing me like i hoped it would. But still, its not terrible by any stretch, or even remotely close to that. Just doesnt do it for me, im afraid.

See you all next Wednesday!

[Montynero]

Dredd's great this prog. It's hard to do a fresh one off in MC1 and Rob's cracked it. I'm a sucker for these dredd stories that deal with real emotions, love in this case, and the ending worked well. Mike's art's great. I hope he does more short Dredd's, because I'm hopeful he can really do something timeless with the character given the opportunity to develop. He's that good! His art on the upcoming Death Sentence is way more detailed and epic in scope than this, so there's more to come. Mike's a great colourist and storyteller, and what makes this Dredd for me is the storytelling choices he makes, and the chIaracter's expressions - so empathic and perfectly in tune with Rob's well judged script.

The Fear thing? Didn't bother me. Life's often stranger, and this is a world where a guy called 'Fear' just killed millions of cits by staring at them. Within Dredd's world, where [spoiler][spoiler]CCTV is a given, I'd say confirming someone's death by passing on the unedited footage[/spoiler][/spoiler] is just the kind of heartless no-brain bureaucracy the Judges are notorious for.

Savage is still great, Red Seas whizzed by with barely any impact, and I agree with The Enigmatic Dr X about Alpha. It's great to see the letters page back too. Tooth isn't Tooth without the reader's imaginative interventions sparking Tharg's intergalactic ego.

[Proudhuff]

There's not been a review of the letters page yet, it really won't at all.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I haven't read this thread properly yet, but the whole media hype was a bit of a fuss over nothing in my opinion.  Very enjoyable one-off, but it's not like [spoiler]there was any real reference to Dredd being gay[/spoiler].  [spoiler]Also sad to see that 22nd century parents still can't accept that their kids have The Gay[/spoiler]. 

[hippynumber1]

  Just what are they going to be doing to our subscriptions? What has Tharg got planned? The fact that he says he'll need our cooperation makes me a little nervy. Are the Subs going to move to a Wednesday so everything comes out at the same time? We'll just have to see. Tharg stop teasing us with your news of distribution changes!

I don't care what it is as long as I get my prog at the same time as everyone else! Finally had mine TODAY. FFS. I've had ONE prog arrive this year, every other week I've had to phone Denise for a replacement... I'm now seriously considering binning my sub and just buying from a local WHSmith...

[Zarjazzer]

Lovely cover again. Good dredd story nicely thought out and drawn,not my fave tho as blimey Stronty finally begins to engage what passes for my attention these days. Found some panels in SD a bit hard to follow,as in something or someone was blowing up, ah well.

Ampney was great fun but Savage just seemed okay but excellent b&w art.Future letter was a hoot too.Rogue Trooper sequel indeed...

[blixab]

Okay all good but its Tharg's message that has the real intrigue in it (which I don't think has been discussed here yet). Just what are they going to be doing to our subscriptions? What has Tharg got planned? The fact that he says he'll need our cooperation makes me a little nervy. Are the Subs going to move to a Wednesday so everything comes out at the same time? We'll just have to see. Tharg stop teasing us with your news of distribution changes!

Just got Prog 1818 and don't think there is anything to worry about, seems like they are at a point in time that they want to verify all their subscribers details and for that you supposedly get 50% off the Online store - off what item or items it doesn't say!!

[Mabs]

Programme 1817

Another enjoyable prog. Great cover by Boo Cook. When it comes to covers very few mainstream comics can beat 2000AD, in my honest opinion.

Judge Dredd: Closet, was a nice little read. It was great to see homosexuality; a subject which still draws emnity, misunderstanding and shortsightedness towards, getting handled in an admirable way. It did feel a little rushed though, but still a great (and sometimes affecting) read. Mike Dowling's artwork was very nicely done, at first i thought it was Peter Doherty, but i really like his soft water colour style. Did anyone else notice that our protagonist looked very much like the boyishly handsome Brian Cox on page 5? I thought so! 

Next up, Savage was an enjoyable read. Yes, enjoyable! i've not been to taken with the strip since it started but since last issue and this one, i've found myself, ever so slightly, deriving a little enjoyment from it. Having known the characters for a little while now, i started caring enough about what happens to them which is why the last page was a shocker. God i would love to see the Volgan bitch getting her comeuppance! The artwork is still outstanding, especially Goddard's potrayal of a Britain which is more like war torn Beirut.

Ampney Crucis is coming along nicely. A little calm after the storm of the last instalment. Ampney's meeting with the PM was the highlight for me and the artwork by Simon Davis continues to impress. I can't wait to see what the next prog will have in store for us (memories of Alien and especially Ripley's interrogation of Ash's head began to surface after reading this strip! ).

The Red Seas was great, not a lot of character development but that can be forgiven seeing as we're in the middle of WAR! I know theres a lot of criticism about Yeowell's artwork, mainly as being too 'minimalistic', but that is why for me its visually impressive; not least the black and white rendering but the use of shading and depth, the first page with the looming 'Legion-Evil Dead-Giant' is a case in point. In fact i'd say there is a lot of detail in the art. Anyhow...

As for Strontium Dog, all i saw was shit just getting blown up Michael Bay style! , seriously though, nobody does an action scene more better than Ezquerra and after the talking heads in the last few progs i don't mind it that much. But i felt it ended abruptly, not your usual cliffhanger - just a dead end, literally.

So all in all, an enjoyable prog, more action orientated which could explain why i read through it fairly swiftly. The standout for me was Judge Dredd and Savage.

4/5

[Mabs]

I haven't read this thread properly yet, but the whole media hype was a bit of a fuss over nothing in my opinion.  Very enjoyable one-off, but it's not like [spoiler]there was any real reference to Dredd being gay[/spoiler].  [spoiler]Also sad to see that 22nd century parents still can't accept that their kids have The Gay[/spoiler].

No there wasn't, although the first page made it look like he could be! I have to agree with you too about the acceptance part; i don't think the issue or anti-gay sentiments will vanish too soon, not least in the 22nd century. You will always have people opposed to two men (or women for that matter) being in love with one another. And i thought the strip potrayed that really potently.

[Noisybast]

After chiming in about the press release on the other thread, I thought I should make the effort and follow it up by commenting on the story itself, now I've had a chance to read it.

While it was indisputably the best thing in this week's prog, I'm not sure it was any more or less deserving of comment than last week's Dredd one-shot by Mike Carroll. It was certainly a very well-written story. The subject matter was handled a lot more maturely here than it was outside of the prog and the unnamed main character felt like a person, not a stereotype. Dowling's art was excellent,  also. Was it groundbreaking? No. Does it have to be? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes.

Quite amused by the "subject matter wasn't for me" comments.  It's OK, you know - Nobody will think you're (shhh!) gay for enjoying a story about a gay character. I'm pretty sure my friends and neighbours don't think I'm a cockney terrorist, dimension-hopping toff, magic pirate or a mutant revolutionary, either (do they?).

Speaking of which, the rest of this week's prog just kind of... happened.  I've long since lost track of what's happening in Savage and Red Seas, Ampney Crucis is plodding along and Strontium Dog is struggling to feel as essential as it used to. I'm really hoping Stront can pull it together and regain some of its spark. It would be a shame to see it peter out.

[Noisybast]

Oh, and it's *always* Molcher's fault

[Richmond Clements]

Quite amused by the "subject matter wasn't for me" comments.  It's OK, you know - Nobody will think you're (shhh!) gay for enjoying a story about a gay character. I'm pretty sure my friends and neighbours don't think I'm a cockney terrorist, dimension-hopping toff, magic pirate or a mutant revolutionary, either (do they?).

Indeed, I find them bewildering, too.