Pat Mill's unsung heroes of 2000AD

[Tony Angelino]

I didn't like the Steve Dillon and Kev Walker art. I didn't think there was very much detail in it in comparison to Dillon's earlier work. To be fair I haven't looked at it in years now but I seem to remember there either being a lot of blank spaces or a lot of black ink in the panels. I thought that was strange as there were two artists working on it.

Sad to hear about John Hicklenton. His artwork wasn't to my taste but it probably sat best with Nemesis than the other strips.

[sheridan]

The strip had its Day.

*groan*

[sheridan]

With Gerry Finley Day he is still upset with the way Gerry was just dumped from the comic as the story goes he was told that they did not need any more Rogue Trooper stories as they had a new war story starting DR & Quinch go to war, also Gerry's wife doesn't want him to have anything to do with comics any more

Erm, I wouldn't describe DR & Quinch Go to War as a war story, despite the title...

[Magnetica]

Plus it was only a few parts. It was never going to be a staple.

And it was a comedy.

[TordelBack]

Sad to hear about John Hicklenton. His artwork wasn't to my taste but it probably sat best with Nemesis than the other strips.

His Nemesis was fantastic - on re-reading Nemesis Vol 2 last year I actually preferred his bits to Talbot's, they seemed so alive.  His Third World War stuff was brilliant too, but I never liked his Dredd, not Heavy Metal nor Satanus. I bang on about this a lot, but the sketches used between chapters in the Slaine the Wanderer HB are just extraordinary - a great artist, lost far too soon.

[JayzusB.Christ]

What TB said. I'd take Hicklenton Nemesis over Talbot Nemesis too - in fact I'd prefer it when to Kev O'Neill's new, simpler style.  I miss our Johnny.

[DarkDaysBish-OP]

For what it's worth, I've suggested a few more unsung heroes of 2000AD:

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/celebrating-some-of-2000ads-unsung.html

davidbishop

[Smith]

For what it's worth, I've suggested a few more unsung heroes of 2000AD:

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/celebrating-some-of-2000ads-unsung.html

davidbishop

Well,I have to agree with that list.

[dweezil2]

For what it's worth, I've suggested a few more unsung heroes of 2000AD:

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/celebrating-some-of-2000ads-unsung.html

davidbishop

Good stuff David! 

[IndigoPrime]

"Armoured Gideon"

And now I'm thinking about that 2000 AD partwork and "what if...?"

[O Lucky Stevie!]

It was very definitely a reboot. But as the Friday stories dragged on Tharg first tried to convince us it was the same Rogue, until the original Rogue turned up and met Friday, till the whole thing just imploded in a soggy mess.

Actually Tharg began claiming that War Machine was Original GFD Rogue Trooper: Year One in the Nerve Centre whilst that strip was still running the prog.

Clearly Green Bonce wasn't reading Gibbons's scripts.

... never mind the contra-examples in 2000AD itself, no-one point him at a comic shop if he thinks Alan Moore and Grant Morrison's characters are out-of-bounds for other creators...

It makes sense in a 2000AD-only context. No one's going to touch Halo Jones or Zenith again.

[/quote]

Let's not forget Mark Millar's Zenith text story in the Sci Fi Special which shamelessly "borrowed" from Marvel/Miracleman.

[Dog Deever]

I don't believe Matt Smith is an 'unsung' hero though- I doubt there are many readers who don't appreciate the turnaround in fortunes under his tenure. I don't always totally like the prog or the meg, but I keep coming back for more because I know there will be something else along just around the corner- that's the beauty of 2000ad, it utilities the anthology format for variety to maximum effect. Also, from 'associated merchandise' POV, we have been totally spoilt in recent years- even scum like me have a drawer full of T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, a fucking mouse mat and GN's galore- the list goes on.

The comics public profile is huge compared to just before I came back to the fold- just before I did I wasn't even aware it was still going and assumed it had went off to quietly die til I saw it in W H Smiths of all places (I had always ordered from grotty little local newsagents when younger- and do so again now). Matt's success as Tharg is undeniable, long may he continue.

I also don't understand other peoples undying love for Armoured Gideon- hated it back then, can't see it now either- I really dislike the art (stiff, over linear and just fuck-ugly) and barely even remember the details of the story I was so underwhelmed by it- I recall my mates loving it at the time, whilst all I thought was 'why?'. That said, I can see the love for it from the majority so can't really deny it a place.

In more recent times, I feel the same way about Kingdom, I flick past it with barely a glance, but I realise I'm in the minority and that the comic isn't being made just for me, so fair dos. By the same token there's stuff I have loved and have also been in the minority. It's a big wide world, nothing is perfect, life's rich tapestry, meat & poison etc.

[Rogue Judge]

In more recent times, I feel the same way about Kingdom, I flick past it with barely a glance, but I realise I'm in the minority and that the comic isn't being made just for me, so fair dos. By the same token there's stuff I have loved and have also been in the minority. It's a big wide world, nothing is perfect, life's rich tapestry, meat & poison etc.

I think Kingdom likely reads better in trade format as it can seem to lead nowhere at times and then WHAM - all out action with a twist. I don't read the progs regularity but enjoy reading the collected editions -  for modern 2000AD Kingdom is one of my favorites (I recently ordered v.3 Aux Drift). Maybe you would enjoy it more reading it all at once? I find most stories are better when consumed in large quantities!

[AlexF]

I feel late to the party on this one! Pat's list and rant was fascinating as ever; Bish-Op's response was measured and charitable as ever. I wonder if he ever shouted back at Pat, see if that provoked a different reaction? He comes across as very relaxed in general.

Given that my blog
http://heroesof2000ad.blogspot.co.uk/
so far features ever single person on Bishop's list but none from Mills's (barring the mixed bag that is Gerry Finley-Day here: http://heroesof2000ad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/no-20-gerry-finley-day.html)

I think that makes me the enemy in the mighty man's books! Some of his heroes I will definitely get to (around September I should think), but some are unsung because they have, almost literally, never been sung of before - or, in too many cases, never really got enough chances to work on the comic.

I love getting to hear about the behind-the-scenes contributions of, say, Doug Church and Nick Landau, but I do feel a bit attacked for not having heard of them before, or at least, before TPO! (I get it, Pat isn't actually angry with us fans, he's angry at like 4 or 5 specific people from 2000AD's editorial /management team).

I do agree with Mills's assessment that the comic did make a decision at some point around the late 80s to try to court what he calls NME-reading fans, to the detriment of younger readers. But I'm also inclined to think that was the comic turning more mainstream, not less. As has been pointed out above, all the comics aimed at younger readers had died by the mid 90s; only the comic that dared to grow up with its existing readers made it through the drought.

I was one of those readers who didn't get The Dead and Hewligan's Haircut at the time they ran, and yes, at the time I'd rather have seen more Dry Run / Chronos Carnival-type stuff. But I'm sure glad Tharg didn't pander to 8-10 year-old me now!

I'll never understand why Titan didn't reprint any Belardinelli stuff, though. Madness!

[IndigoPrime]

I really liked Hewligan's Haircut at the time. And was it really that off the wall compared to some of the decidedly oddball stuff that happened during 2000 AD's classic years? I'd argue that there was an attempt to appeal a bit too much to the Loaded/NME crowd at times, but really the big problem during 2000 AD's crap years was a combination of decent creators leaving, not enough decent new people coming on board, and the editorial team not being strong enough to manage some of the issues at hand.