Pat Mills moving onto new things it would seem

[IndigoPrime]

To be fair with Rennie, when he ploughs the same furrow, he often creates something that's fresh: the Angel Gang rebook; the superb Jaegir (the only thing in the RT universe really worth a damn for me); Diaboliks. It doesn't feel like he's bored or going through the motions. With Mills's more recent output, it's like watching a remastered DVD at 50% speed. It's a bit more glossy, but we're getting the same story again, playing out at half speed.

I've yet to read Spacewarp. But if it treads the same ground and is peppered with the same Icky-style worldview, I might just end up angry rather than intrigued/entertained.

[The Amstor Computer]

I perhaps should have been a bit more clear - I wasn't criticising Rennie's work on strips like Jaegir or Aquila, more praising them. Aquila might owe a debt to Blackhawk, as Greysuit does to MACH One, but it's a much more interesting and effective beast; similarly, Jaegir is playing in the Rogue Trooper universe, but Rennie's approach makes it very much its own thing. I'd maybe argue that Rennie's experience on the earlier Rogue Trooper stories and The '86ers (decent, but nowhere near his best) helped him work out how best to handle these kind of reinventions and spin-offs, and I think his hit rate on stuff like Angelic, Jaegir and Aquila suggests that earlier, rougher work prepared him well.

[ming]

If Pat's penned his last script for 2000AD it's a great shame, but I guess we'll see.  He's created such an incredible stable of characters for 2000AD (most of which I've had a go at in Lego) that his loss will be sorely felt whenever and however it happens.  However, as others have mentioned, there are a lot of great, GREAT newer strips by other writers that have emerged in recent years and I'd be lying if I said I'd miss Pat's recent Prog contributions compared to, say,Dan Abnett or Ian Edginton.

We'll definitely give Spacewarp a go when it gets a physical release; the boys (now 9 and 11) read the Phoenix for giggles and the Prog for grit (and we get Aquila* as something completely different), so it'll be interesting to see how this fits into the mix.



* not that Aquila, the other one.

[Link Prime]

ABC Warriors and Slaine are more spralling odysseys and so feel less in need of an ending, but would be nice if Pat M could have found a way to satisfactorially wrap them up and give us an ending.

Would love for Pat to wrap up ABC Warriors with a balls-to-the-wall epic and a Hammerstein V Deadlock finale.
Get the best available artists back for the job - Walker, Langley, Flint - feck it, Tharg could re-purpose the pages Biz has already drawn for the never-gonna-happen Joe Pineapples story.

These are important characters in the annals of 2000AD - they deserve to go out with an atomic, bacterial and chemical explosion.

[Robin Low]

Would love for Pat to wrap up ABC Warriors with a balls-to-the-wall epic and a Hammerstein V Deadlock finale.

As long as Hammerstein won.

Regards,

Robin

[IndigoPrime]

Would love for Pat to wrap up ABC Warriors with a balls-to-the-wall epic and a Hammerstein V Deadlock finale.

Although, given how that series has 'progressed' (and I use the quotes quite deliberately) in recent years, book one would be the gang inexplicably having to get back together (again), book two would be an effective rewrite of an ABC Warriors story from decades ago, stretched out to breaking point, book three would centre on an entirely new, semi-deposable character, book four would have Blackblood rejoin the warriors only to—shock!—betray them, and only with book five would we get that finale. Possibly.

[Link Prime]

Would love for Pat to wrap up ABC Warriors with a balls-to-the-wall epic and a Hammerstein V Deadlock finale.

Although, given how that series has 'progressed' (and I use the quotes quite deliberately) in recent years, book one would be the gang inexplicably having to get back together (again), book two would be an effective rewrite of an ABC Warriors story from decades ago, stretched out to breaking point, book three would centre on an entirely new, semi-deposable character, book four would have Blackblood rejoin the warriors only to—shock!—betray them, and only with book five would we get that finale. Possibly.

Precisely my point. No more naval gazing robo-memoirs or re-cooked ideas.
It could be the potential final tale of a dozen or so psychotic and ancient war robots; finish things up satisfactorily - a terse, ruthless 10 - 15 part epic, no holds barred.

[judgeurko]

I guess it's open to interpretation. I did ask Mills on Twitter, but he didn't reply. But those words make little sense in the context of the past, on the basis that he didn't leave the comic nor his creations. His constant barbs about Rebellion also baffle me. I'm sure things could be better for creators, but Rebellion is the reason why 2000 AD still exists. Without them, it—and Mills's primary way of getting his stories into the world—would have died long ago.

But if creator rights existed & 2000AD folded then Mills would be free to continue with characters like Slaine in other publications, or via a kickstarter project that would easily reach its target.

[Professor Bear]

2000ad readers reading 2000ad:

FUCK YEAH!  STICK IT TO THE MAN, ANTIHERO PROTAGONIST #648!

2000ad readers discussing workers controlling the product of their labor:

But what about the poor corporations?

[Tjm86]

There's been a fair amount to unpick here over the years, and that unpicking is particularly tricky since pretty much all of what has been said publicly about Pat's relationship with Rebellion comes from one side of that relationship. It's clear he's not been happy with certain editorial decisions on his strips, the royalties on the Hachette reprint series, ...

I think I asked previously about the current situation.  I'm still a little unclear on what is happening with respect to his current relationship with the Rebellion editorial team.  The memo he is discussing relates to the old IPC days and I can understand his issues there.  It's been clear for a long time.

Personally I've found myself in the "too much Mills" camp when he has dominated the prog.  Slaine was never a strip that I took to.  Flesh is another strip that always left me cold.  Then again I've enjoyed the reboot of Savage.  Defoe worked incredibly well when Gallagher was on art duties.  ABC has been an issue for me with Langley's art.  I find it too 'busy' to follow the narrative but gorgeous to look at.  The thing is that there has usually been something in his work to enjoy but like anything it's about balance.

So it seems a little peculiar to me that he is taking issue with a publisher that seems to enthusiastic and supportive of his work.  Especially when you consider how many writers and artists would give body organs for the opportunity to have their work included.

As folks are saying, it seems a partial picture.  It also seems a little equivocal.  Perhaps there is some posturing going on here?  A bit of brinkmanship as part of negotiations?  I guess ultimately time will tell.

[Funt Solo]

2000ad readers reading 2000ad:

FUCK YEAH!  STICK IT TO THE MAN, ANTIHERO PROTAGONIST #648!

2000ad readers discussing workers controlling the product of their labor:

But what about the poor corporations?

Not actual quotes, of course. Most people that discuss this (here), rather than being slavish corporate lackeys, tend to present a fairly balanced view of the realpolitik of the comic publishing scene.

I'm not the biggest fan of modern Mills, and that's both his writing and his public persona: he's a tendency to present things in a way that supports his pet theories, and it's just not always accurate. His tendency to overplay Germany's suffering post-WWII I find skirts horribly close to extremist dogma. Through that lens, the actions of Finn or Savage or Greysuit as a serial killer, or modern Hammerstein as judge, jury and executioner (of politicians he doesn't like) are quite disturbing.

Both of those points I make to illustrate that there's no hypocrisy involved in sitting between the two extreme positions you present.

[judgeurko]

So it seems a little peculiar to me that he is taking issue with a publisher that seems to enthusiastic and supportive of his work.  Especially when you consider how many writers and artists would give body organs for the opportunity to have their work included.

But it's not his work, he doesn't have ownership of it. That's the point.

[Professor Bear]

2000ad readers reading 2000ad:

FUCK YEAH!  STICK IT TO THE MAN, ANTIHERO PROTAGONIST #648!

2000ad readers discussing workers controlling the product of their labor:

But what about the poor corporations?

Not actual quotes, of course. Most people that discuss this (here), rather than being slavish corporate lackeys, tend to present a fairly balanced view of the realpolitik of the comic publishing scene.

I'm not the biggest fan of modern Mills, and that's both his writing and his public persona: he's a tendency to present things in a way that supports his pet theories, and it's just not always accurate. His tendency to overplay Germany's suffering post-WWII I find skirts horribly close to extremist dogma. Through that lens, the actions of Finn or Savage or Greysuit as a serial killer, or modern Hammerstein as judge, jury and executioner (of politicians he doesn't like) are quite disturbing.

Both of those points I make to illustrate that there's no hypocrisy involved in sitting between the two extreme positions you present.

Thank God I didn't do a KNOCK KNOCK joke or we'd be here all night.

[Funt Solo]

Oh, it was a joke! 

See also: This Is The End, Anchorman, The Waterboy etc.

[paddykafka]

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Who's Dare?

Dan!