Meg 449 - Metal Messiah

[broodblik]

A very good meg as we have all new stories. I can say that all of them worked for me (which is not always the case in the meg)

Dredd – A good start to this two-part Dredd story. Dredd is called to investigate a blast into an alien construction (which will become a bypass). The episode ends with a real cliffhanger. D’Isreali creates a real alien feeling to the story.

Storm Warning – The story starts with a big reveal right in the beginning as the story then jumps back in time to reveal how and what happened. Although this mostly setup episode I am already pulled into the mystery. Clint Langley is on art duties here and I like his interpretation of Storm

Devlin – Our favorite vampire is back, and the story starts where Devlin is trying to find out how the ancestral curse came about.  A nig piece of the story focus on one of his ancestors in the mid-1800s. As we are now used to scripting duties are done by Ales Kot and he know his Devlin, great start.

Death Metal Planet – The Dark Judges 25 years in the future. The first episode is all about the setup as the plot start unfolding – the new villain is revealed, and I am sure the Dark Judges will be “released” to cause chaos and destruction. Nick Percival is back on art, and he knows how to visually entertain our eyeballs (love his macabre take on a macabre world)

Surfer – Book 2 of the Wagner/MacNeil show. Great start to the story as Zane gets a change of being released told in a fantastic Wagnerian fashion.  This round it is all about Wagner’s script with a few moments for MacNeil to shine.

Floppy – the second part of Robin Smith’s cover reveal. If you loved the first part, you love this. Interesting how to initial design changed into the real cover. If you can buy the physical copy.

[broodblik]

Cover by Nick Percival:

[broodblik]

Cover and Logo:

[Southstreeter]

I missed the end of the last Dark Judges story. What happened? I remember there was going to be some death cult ceremony on this weird planet?

[broodblik]

Kalula the head of the death cult was revealed as machine and the population turned on "her". A suggestion was implanted within the minds of the Dark Judges (by Um amplified by Whisper) that no-one survived nothing more too judge. They were trapped in an endless loop and they turned against each other. After these events the survivors joined the Wild Kids and abandoned  the city.

Um - is the weird creature in the top panel

[Richard]

It's amazing how quickly Nik Percival can turn out all these pages of superbly detailed, fully-painted art.

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

All I really want to say about Meg 449 is that for the first time in months I enjoyed every strip. No exceptions- and if I were forced to choose a highlight it would be a difficult job. Reckon I'd go for Devlin though, and at this point I'd say Ales Kot is my Devlin writer of choice.

But the thing I want to shout loudly about is the second Robin Smith flopster. Just- wow! What *would* the prog have been without him? What a fantastic, dare I say perfect, use of the floppies. I really do want these in a bookshelf edition, perhaps with commentary and other design work that may be hanging about his studio or the nerve centre.

Essential purchase for a lifelong squaxx, I'd say.

SBT

[IndigoPrime]

Ales Kot is an example of how someone can take on even the most… unique of strips and make it work. His output feels like Devlin. in some ways, it’s more extreme than [John] Smith’s, revelling in the nature of the world. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed his strips as much as anything Smith wrote for that character. (This is not to say I wouldn’t love to see Smith return to the Prog. But my understanding is he’s done with comics.)

[IndigoPrime]

I just read through the second floppy. Huge thanks to Matt Smith for giving us these collections. They offer a fantastic glimpse behind the scenes of the comic and insight into a true talent. Really quality stuff.

[Batman's Superior Cousin]

Still not received my copy!!

[Colin YNWA]

Well no excuse for the late review as I get the Meg digitally. Just when I first read it for various reasons I was knackered so determined to re-read it properly and now have finally done so. And glad I did over all its a fine Meg.

Dredd solid alien society interacts with Dredd tale elevated by D'Israeli's wonderful art. Good, funny open played well and looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Storm Warning is solidly entertaining and with grizzly art by Clint Langley this apparently light tale is entertaining enough but something is running under those waters, we'll see where this goes.

Devlin Waugh is superb with a chilling tale or survival... or lack there of, for the American West bookended with lots of looming hints of bigger things to come as Devlin, Kafka and Titivillus decide to delve deeper by visiting America to chase Waugh's ancestral curse. Brilliantly setting up whatevers to come. Wonderful. Ales kot just get Devlin right. All support by some very Might Yeowellesque art by Rob Richardson. Loved this.

Death Metal Planet skips the tale of the Dark Judges forward 20ish years as the DJs are still trapped fighting each held by Um and Whisper and the planet has moved on. Until one of its child escapes to Earth which brings nuJudges of signifience and unknown to the inhabitance some grim heavy metal type with bad ideas. Really good.

Nice text pieces, great floppies and two absolutely standout strips (the rest aren't bad) and we have a fine, fine Meg.

[Tiplodocus]

Enjoyed most of this - especially the floppy - but by this point I am bored shirtless by the Dark Judges no matter how good the art is. (And quite a lot of the art for their tales is not to my personal taste)

[Proudhuff]

Enjoyed most of this - especially the floppy - but by this point I am bored shirtless by the Dark Judges no matter how good the art is. (And quite a lot of the art for their tales is not to my personal taste)

Aye, that sums it up for me too.