2000AD stories - with artists changes half way.

[O Lucky Stevie!]

Initial choice of artist Ian Gibson suddenly becomes available & replaces Jose Luis Ferrer on Verdus.

[The Adventurer]

I would like to know what the hell was up with The Ten Seconders and it's 3 artists (of which only the last was comprehensible, sorry Dom Reardon)

There's only one slade..SAMUEL C...

Samantha Slade is easily one of the best second generation characters 2000AD has ever produced. Sure a lot of her stories were rubbish, but her character and concept are solid. She just needs a new writer.

[Colin YNWA]

Another Slaine one but one of considerable differences for me. The Angie Kincaid, Belardinelli, McMahon triumvirate on the first run.

While the latter two may have been planned swaps to help with time (??? I really do need to read Thrillpower Overload to remind myself of this stuff) the impact has been significant on the strip going forward I feel. The high contrast between the three has meant the strip has had a very flexible visual style throughout its long run.

It interests me that McMahon's take while massively popular, well received and critically lauded could be said to have left its make least on the strip ... I'm no artist, nor art critic so this could go badly wrong from here. McMahon's earthy, dirty, ancient art and for many including myself the best the strip has ever had, didn't seemed to get picked up on. Where as Belardinelli's more lush, Vallejoesque work (certainly in the world he created around the characters themselves) seems to have influenced the strip more? A big part of this may of course have been the way Pat Mills took the strip always struck me as a shame.

Really looking forward to the new Simon Davis stuff as from the little I've seen this strikes me as possibly a return to this earthier look?

[Frank]

I always assumed that the use of both artists (on The Black Hole) was intentional from the start, rather than a running change.

I believe it was the plan; SMS always had the edge for me in this story: fantastic scenery and assorted costumery.

It was always part of Pat Mills's plan. Tharg had other ideas:

• "SMS had some serious sci-fi connections which I thought would be extremely good for 2000ad. The comic was growing up and this was yet another direction it might mature into, that's why I chose him. I didn't want the Warriors to simply be an action heavy metal story, so I gave the science-fiction episodes to SMS and they were right up his street. Editorial didn't like SMS. They didn't like his "intellectual" manner or his eccentric initials name, as they admitted to me. They couldn't see why I'd picked him. If they couldn't see it, I couldn't explain it to them. When the series ended, they got rid of him with a fair amount of glee, I believe, which was a great shame"
  
  Pat Mills quoted in David Bishop's Thrillpower Overload, page 123

[Jim_Campbell]

It was always part of Pat Mills's plan. Tharg had other ideas:

I'm struck by the frequency with which the other party in editorial disagreements with Pat seem to be motivated by pettiness, vindictiveness or otherwise unprofessional behaviour. You'd be forgiven for thinking Pat was the only professional editor 2000AD ever had.

Obviously, this was Pat's strip: he was there and I wasn't. However, I can say that SMS (now Smuzz) is a formidable talent who holds himself to exacting, sometimes exhausting, standards who is never afraid to ask "But why do we need to do it that way?" I can see why he would get on with Pat.

In an ideal world, or working on an intermittently-published creator-owned series, there is absolutely nothing wrong this. Editing a weekly anthology is not an ideal world, it's about getting the product out. In an ideal world, turning in seven pages of art from a five page script because you thought the story needed more space is admirable. On a weekly anthology with a fixed page count I can see how that might get you the label of "too much like hard work" in editorial eyes.

Cheers

Jim

[hippynumber1]

The one that always 'bothered' me was the switch from John Ridgway to Steve Parkhouse on the 'Luke Kirby' stories. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Parkhouse, his art on 'The Hiding Place' was wonderful, but Ridgway captured the atmosphere of those stories so perfectly that it seemed ridiculous to replace him at all. I understand that it came as something of a shock to him too!

[Hawkmumbler]

Ichabod Azrael book 2 switched out at some point as well.

And Day of Chaos : Chaos Day went through 3!

[The Adventurer]

Ichabod Azrael book 2 switched out at some point as well.

Truth be told, I didn't even notice the artist switch between Dom Reardon to Antonio Fuso until it was pointed out to me.

[Frank]

The one that always 'bothered' me was the switch from John Ridgway to Steve Parkhouse on the 'Luke Kirby' stories. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Parkhouse, his art on 'The Hiding Place' was wonderful, but Ridgway captured the atmosphere of those stories so perfectly that it seemed ridiculous to replace him at all. I understand that it came as something of a shock to him too!

Parkhouse is pure class, but the strip belongs to Ridgeway. I enjoy Alan McKenzie's explanation that he is the sole creator of Luke Kirby, and therefore deserves all monies resulting from exploitation of the property, because all Ridgeway did was draw the characters, settings, and events described in the script. Artists are basically fancy photocopiers, rather than creative individuals, according to Alan.

Other than Stevie's great Verdus example, without which the comic may have lost one of its signature characters, the earliest and most important art switch is surely Blockmania. The writers' tendency to blithely type the words thousands of citizens fight judges in flying tanks without considering the poor sod who has to draw it meant McMahon quit and readers were denied a final one-two between the two most important artists in Dredd's development.

[Hawkmumbler]

Ichabod Azrael book 2 switched out at some point as well.

Truth be told, I didn't even notice the artist switch between Dom Reardon to Antonio Fuso until it was pointed out to me.

It is a very good utilisation of the two artists isn't it. I did notice the change but I assumed it was simply Reardon having drawn the first dozen chapters earlier and this was his developed style.

[Link Prime]

It was always part of Pat Mills's plan. Tharg had other ideas:

• "SMS had some serious sci-fi connections which I thought would be extremely good for 2000ad. The comic was growing up and this was yet another direction it might mature into, that's why I chose him. I didn't want the Warriors to simply be an action heavy metal story, so I gave the science-fiction episodes to SMS and they were right up his street. Editorial didn't like SMS. They didn't like his "intellectual" manner or his eccentric initials name, as they admitted to me. They couldn't see why I'd picked him. If they couldn't see it, I couldn't explain it to them. When the series ended, they got rid of him with a fair amount of glee, I believe, which was a great shame"
  
  Pat Mills quoted in David Bishop's Thrillpower Overload, page 123

So that's why we haven't seen SMS since.
I think 1988 Tharg may have had a frontal lobe tumour.

[I, Cosh]

I would like to know what the hell was up with The Ten Seconders and it's 3 artists (of which only the last was comprehensible, sorry Dom Reardon)

Book 2 and Book 3 of The Ten-Seconders

Godsend just seemed to be the artist running behind schedule as Bagwell made it back for the finale and Willsher was clearly trying to fit in with that style. With Make. Believe, I always assumed that it was a deliberate intention to have different artists for the three different sections of the story but that could be a lot of nonsense. For me, all three did good work on that story and, unlike The Adventurer, I thought Dom's watery colours were achingly beautiful. [Over Christmas, I reread the whole series and made notes for one of those long, verbose reviews I rarely get around to finishing. Must look those out.]

Surprised that we've got to two pages and nobody's mentioned The Final Solution yet. I wasn't a fan of Colin MacNeil's art at the time (something which has changed over time) but I adored Simon Harrison's frantic energy (something which hasn't) so I was pretty disappointed by the switch. After the interview with him in the Meg a couple of weeks ago, it seems Harrison got every chance to finish the story but had other things on his mind.

[Call-Me-Kenneth]

How did I forget 'The Final Solution'!?!!

A real shame that Harrison didn't finish that one...

The move, not only of the artist, but to colour too, was jarring. Admittedly, having seen Revere, Harrison could've pulled it off too..


Love MacNeil's 'America', but I'll pass on his take of the 'final solution'.

[pictsy]

For me, the biggest artist change shock came when I first started collecting 2000AD.  The change of artists on the run of Rogue Trooper... the Friday stories.  I fell in love with that Rogue Trooper not least because of Henry Flint's fantastic artwork that still remains amongst my favourites of his work.  Steve Tappin taking over was cool, I still enjoyed the artwork.  The Alex Ronald got his hands on Rogue Trooper. 

Alex Ronald's work in the 90's was just terrible.  The worst artwork I think I've seen in 2000AD.  I've seen that he has improved greatly since, which is cool.  His work on Rogue Trooper is certainly the worst.  Which is a shame as I loved Friday and his companions, enjoyed that take on the Rogue Trooper universe (clunky continuity aside) and thoroughly miss it to this day.  (I really enjoyed Sancho Panzer as well, another strip from Flint).

[Trout]

For me, the biggest artist change shock came when I first started collecting 2000AD.  The change of artists on the run of Rogue Trooper... the Friday stories.  I fell in love with that Rogue Trooper not least because of Henry Flint's fantastic artwork that still remains amongst my favourites of his work.  Steve Tappin taking over was cool, I still enjoyed the artwork.  The Alex Ronald got his hands on Rogue Trooper. 

Alex Ronald's work in the 90's was just terrible.  The worst artwork I think I've seen in 2000AD.  I've seen that he has improved greatly since, which is cool.  His work on Rogue Trooper is certainly the worst.  Which is a shame as I loved Friday and his companions, enjoyed that take on the Rogue Trooper universe (clunky continuity aside) and thoroughly miss it to this day.  (I really enjoyed Sancho Panzer as well, another strip from Flint).

Good God man, have you lost your mind?

Alex Ronald's style has changed but he's always been a great illustrator. I loved his old style. It was atmospheric and distinctive.