Prog 2113 - Community Spirit

[Colin YNWA]

Middling Prog, which faced with the standard of late feels like a bit of a let down.

Dredd new writer to me Kenneth Niemand, anyone? Also the return after a LONG time of Jeff Anderson doing some nice work on a decent story. Niemand does well to avoid the cliche of having Dredd bemoan and warn against the last social experiment in Mega-City One. Giant VR(ish) Block Buds to support community spirit. Its a fun idea and the story uses it well. Mind its not hard to predict what AI representations of neighbouring blocks are going to end up doing!

Brink - Hurtles along in fine form. Does do the cliched goodies about to be shot and the gun fire is heard but its the baddie whose need shot by an coming rescuer. Still we can forgive this gem that little fault.

Skip Tracer is falling back into the bad habits of last time and Nathan is turning back into a shallow 90s style hard man with attitude but nothing to make you care. Shame after the progress last time but lets see how we go.

3riller - The Scorched Zone happens and that's all that's worth saying. Stuff occurs bit I couldn't really give two hoots! Nothing to engage here.

Fiends of the Western Front does make me care and is immense fun.

Thistlebone looks good doesn't it!

[Southstreeter]

Not a great prog for me.

Dredd - how can 2 holograms fight each other? Not keen on the art.     2/5
Brink - brilliant as ever, though Bridge seems to have had a gun pointing at her for several weeks now. Glad we’re heading for the resolution.      4/5
Skip - as has been said, standard 90s fodder.     2/5
3filler - whatever.          2/5
Fiends - this is well done, but not really my thing.      3/5

Looking forward to Thistlebone. Do we know what’s replacing Brink, which can’t have much more left?

[broodblik]

Dredd new writer to me Kenneth Niemand, anyone?

He wrote Starlord 'Watch the Stars!' in Prog 2061.

[The Amstor Computer]

Niemand is German for "nobody" and "Kenneth" can be shortened to "Ken", Scottish slang for "know" - "Ken Niemand" is basically "know nobody". It's a pen name for Tharg, IIRC.

[Eamonn Clarke]

Patrick Goddard and colours by Jim Boswell

[Leigh S]

Presuming the Dredd is a Matt SMith pseudonym (and why not - it has the pitch perfect ear for Dredd he has demostrated elsewhere), I think Rebellion should releave him of as many editorial duties as possible to allow him to "show run" Dredd.  It is frustrating to think what a Matt Smith polish might have done to a lot of those "almost right" or "good but feels inconsequential because it seems to be in it's own continuity"  stories of the past year or two.

I certaily wouldnt expect Matt to be able to do that on top of everything esle he does, but if I was a Kingsley, I'd be on it pronto - Dredd deserves it!

[Richard]

I'd rather have him as editor tbh. Too risky to get a new editor in. The prog has been in safe hands for 17 years now, so why interfere with a winning formula?

[Leigh S]

well, I think we have to assume another editor could step in - otherwise, what does that say for the future of the prog - pretty precarious if it rests in the hands of one droid!

But I'm not suggesting he need give it up totally - just get an assistant to do the heavy lifting and giving Matt time to spend giving Dredd some direction - when it was Wagner, this took care of itself - if we had a way to corrall the disparate ideas of Carroll/Eglington/Williams into something more coherent, that referenced itself and set a tone, I think the strip would improve exponentially and a Rebellions top property, it would be worth the investment.

[Leigh S]

Imagine for instance, if post Day of Chaos, there had been resource to make a concerted effort to explore what the aftermath was - Carrolls Texas City takeover stuff, the Sons of Booth and Champion the Wonder Horse, all pulling together rather than seeming to exist in their own bubbles

[Colin YNWA]

Well I have been pondering whether Matt Smith and Rebellion are succession planinng by getting Keith Richardson to edit bits and bats here. Might of course be nothing but I could think of worse fates. We shouldn't be afraid of change 2000ad lives on it and Keith would certainly be molded in the shape of Smith... one would imagine and of course that's all this is imaginings!

[Geoff]

Brink continues to engage and excite and the Fiends are pretty good too.

The rest is not really up to recent standards...

[Leigh S]

I'd contrast this Dredd with some recent McConville(?) Dredds, which had strong Dredd ideas but the stories were told in captions to move the action along rather than the action doing it.  It makes all the difference, and if that makes the story go over into two progs, well all to the good - why waste a good idea due to rushed execution?

[Cyber-Matt]

Presuming the Dredd is a Matt SMith pseudonym (and why not - it has the pitch perfect ear for Dredd he has demostrated elsewhere)

Thanks, but Ken Niemand isn't me.

[Leigh S]

Cheers for the clarification, Matt - heartening to know there's someone else out there whose "Dredd voice" is spot on for me!

Presuming the Dredd is a Matt SMith pseudonym (and why not - it has the pitch perfect ear for Dredd he has demostrated elsewhere)

Thanks, but Ken Niemand isn't me.

[The Amstor Computer]

Thanks, but Ken Niemand isn't me.

Ah! Apologies - I was sure it was another of TMO's aliases. As Leigh says, whoever Ken Niemand is they've got a good grasp on Dredd (and their Starlord tale was fun too).

(...and assuming that it is still a pseudonym, I also realised last night that "ken niemand" is Dutch too - "ik ken niemand"="I know no-one")