Meg 281 - Bullet Time

[Funt Solo]

Dredd: cool as fcuk.  Al's got Dredd down pat, to the extent that it could easily be a Wanger script, or even an Olde Schoole Wag-Grant combo from ye Golden Era.  What I haven't seen yet is whether or not Senor Ewing can do sewious Dwedd.

Tank Girl: took me a while to get my early 90's motor running, but I'm now really enjoying this.  It's one of those "deserves a re-read" thangs, though, due to the monthly gaps in my memory and the plethora of characters and ludicrous plot-twists, or diversions, or random trains of thought, or whatever they are.  The art is fantastic, and I also highly recommend everyone to pick up a copy of Visions of Booga.  There's no tank, but there is a german half-track, which I think we can all agree more than makes up for it.  Question: was Barney in any of the Deadline TGs?  I don't remember her.  And - oi - where's Sub Girl, then, eh?

Citi-Def: I had really high hopes for this, as memories of "The Hotdog Run" spurred my imagination - but I've been horribly disappointed.  I think it achieves what it's set out to, but I don't like it.  It's like Scrappy Doo, or those baby Disney characters, but at the same time as being cartoony (in art and script), it tries to throw in serious threats of rape.  This month's installment I found to be particularly offensive nonsense, as it made jokes about rape, then jokes about trans-gendered people, then jokes about stereotyped short Asian people that are supposedly funny because they can't speak English (or, aha-ha, Eng-rish - aren't I just the cleverest Anglo-Saxon in the room, despite my complete inability to speak any foreign language) properly.  Oh dear...please make it stop.  

Planet of the Apes (and Robots and Rebel Judges): fantastic space operatics.  Once you forgive the idea that MC-1 has such a huge space fleet to throw around the place, and yet always seem to complain about being short-handed, this is excellent stuff.  The art is amazing.  Hope it doesn't end too soon.

3/4 ain't bad at all - and it's a huge improvement on what seemed like several years of 0-1/4.

Also, as always, I'd like more comic and less articles, if it's at all possible.  Could we have a fifth strip if the others got shorter?

[Trout]

Insurrection is top-notch, and Al Ewing's Dredd was close behind.

I didn't read a lot of the rest of it, but may get round to it sooner or later.

- Trout

[+rufus+]

Dredd: cool as fcuk.  Al's got Dredd down pat, to the extent that it could easily be a Wanger script, or even an Olde Schoole Wag-Grant combo from ye Golden Era.  What I haven't seen yet is whether or not Senor Ewing can do sewious Dwedd.

Tank Girl: took me a while to get my early 90's motor running, but I'm now really enjoying this.  It's one of those "deserves a re-read" thangs, though, due to the monthly gaps in my memory and the plethora of characters and ludicrous plot-twists, or diversions, or random trains of thought, or whatever they are.  The art is fantastic, and I also highly recommend everyone to pick up a copy of Visions of Booga.  There's no tank, but there is a german half-track, which I think we can all agree more than makes up for it.  Question: was Barney in any of the Deadline TGs?  I don't remember her.  And - oi - where's Sub Girl, then, eh?

Citi-Def: I had really high hopes for this, as memories of "The Hotdog Run" spurred my imagination - but I've been horribly disappointed.  I think it achieves what it's set out to, but I don't like it.  It's like Scrappy Doo, or those baby Disney characters, but at the same time as being cartoony (in art and script), it tries to throw in serious threats of rape.  This month's installment I found to be particularly offensive nonsense, as it made jokes about rape, then jokes about trans-gendered people, then jokes about stereotyped short Asian people that are supposedly funny because they can't speak English (or, aha-ha, Eng-rish - aren't I just the cleverest Anglo-Saxon in the room, despite my complete inability to speak any foreign language) properly.  Oh dear...please make it stop.  

Planet of the Apes (and Robots and Rebel Judges): fantastic space operatics.  Once you forgive the idea that MC-1 has such a huge space fleet to throw around the place, and yet always seem to complain about being short-handed, this is excellent stuff.  The art is amazing.  Hope it doesn't end too soon.

3/4 ain't bad at all - and it's a huge improvement on what seemed like several years of 0-1/4.

Also, as always, I'd like more comic and less articles, if it's at all possible.  Could we have a fifth strip if the others got shorter?

Barnie was in later Deadline Tgs and other stories... Sub Girl was shot and bled to death..she's still dead.

[Cactus]

I wasn't sure about last month's opening Dredd episode - It felt like the old Hunter's Club story and I wasn't looking forward to 4+ months of reading something 'new' that seemed like I'd read it before. Imagine my joy this month when I found that not only is it only a two-parter, but bloody good stuff to boot! It had fatties, 1500 deaths in a throwaway line, a fall from a very high window and investigation followed by a violent arrest. And a nice closing line from Dredd. Funt Solo is right, if you'd told me Wagner wrote this 20+ years ago I'd have believed you. This is the sort of Dredd story I want to see in the Megazine. As much as I enjoyed Ratfink, for example, when each episode is four weeks apart I prefer shorter stories.

I loved the double-page aerial view in Tank Girl and, contrary to what I've just said, this is one series that I'm happy has gone on for as long it has. I'm not sure about driving back again though...

I'm loving Citi-Def too. I like the art, I like the gun-toting cits out of their depth (or are they in their element?), I like dinosaurs and giant spiders and I like seeing despicable Cursed Earth gangs get their comeuppance.

Somebody said that Insurrection seemed like a rejected Warhammer 40k strip that had been retooled for the Dreddverse, and I can believe it. That's not really a problem though, because the rebel colony is a good set-up and as long as they keep pulling out unexpected plans that make the Judges look like fools I'll be happy. Abnett's script is, as always, more than good enough for me to overlook the fanboy inconsistencies (2,000 SJS drop troops? Where did they come from?) and Macneill's black and white art is growing on me. I loved his painted work on America/Song of the Surfer/Mechanismo and was very disappointed with his early black and white and computer-coloured stuff. But, as I said about Ezquerra in the prog 1621 thread, those experiments are bearing fruit now. I don't understand why everybody in this series wears big chunky armour over their torsos, space marine style, and skin-tight leggings with regulation Mega-City kneepads below the waist, but what the heck, I can roll with it.

As always, some good articles on comics creators and the industry as a whole, although the 'death of characters' one didn't live up to the headline. Still, I'm always happy to engage in some 'look-at-those-stupid-Marvel/DC-comics-with-their-pointless-universe-changing-events-where-nothing-happens' so it made for an entertaining read on the bus. I don't hang around my local comic shop or attend conventions so these articles are an insight into the creative process that I don't get anywhere else. I was with the Meg through volumes 2 and 3 and I remember the desperate attempts to keep sales up and costs down. If having these as regular fixtures keeps the Meg afloat then I for one am glad they're here. Yes, even the film reviews and the timely reminder that I still have two series of the Wire to pick up.

Pussyfoot 5. Wasn't that that poor Devlin Waugh spin-off? Oh, it was. I didn't think much of it then and I didn't think much of it when I re-read it last night, but Snow/Tiger and the first series of Canon Fodder were new to me and worth reading. You can't please all of the people all of the time so I can forgive this one. Song of the Surfer is next! I have the Classic 2000ad reprint but it's so good it deserves another airing - I assume there are readers who haven't seen it before so they're in for a treat.  

A pretty good issue overall. If this quality holds up I'll be a happy reader.

[stacey]

Oooh my second Meg post - I'm starting to feel at home guys!  

Judge Dredd -  Love Al Ewing on Dredd, loved the story, I have no bad words here
Tank Girl -  Never having read any before her appearance in the Meg, I'm really enjoying the wacky races with blood.  Love Rufus' art and the colouring is really nice.
Citi Def - have got used to teh art which I really hated at first and I'm enjoying this now.
I really enjoyed the interview with Andy Diggle, but haven't read the other bits yet. .
Insurrection - just my fav thing in the Meg at the mo. I love the artwork with a passion.

I think the Meg is firing on all cylinders lately, tis all good.

[W. R. Logan]

I'm loving Citi-Def too. I like the art, I like the gun-toting cits out of their depth (or are they in their element?), I like dinosaurs and giant spiders and I like seeing despicable Cursed Earth gangs get their comeuppance

Cursed Earth, fantastic setting, Cursed Earth Dinosaurs, brilliant, Giant Spiders, great, long walk Judges, ace and Mutant gangs.

It has all the elements, its a Cursed Earth Megazine story that surely ticks all the boxes then why is it so bloody awful?

Have we got so used to mediocrity in the Meg that now this is considered OK?

[Funt Solo]

I've got a theory, and it expands on my initial thought that The Hotdog Run with a Citi-Def unit instead of judge cadets sounds great.

There are giant dinosaurs, and there are giant spiders and a bad-ass gang of rapists - so it should be threatening, but it's not.  In "The Hotdog Run", there was a real sense of danger for the characters - it was gritty, realistic (within the setting) and not going for cheap laughs and a light touch.  What we've got here are comedy dinosaurs and plastic spiders - where the only people in danger are sub-characters of the Star Trek red-shirt wearing variety.  Playing it for laughs just doesn't work - for me, any road.

[Kev Levell]

I love PJ's cover on this. Really iconic. I noticed on his twitter the other day that he hinted he'd got a script coming...

Give me a D... give me a R... give me a... well, you could probably guess the rest. Just waiting on a script... Happy camper..

Looking forward to it!

[Dark Jimbo]

I'm loving Citi-Def too. I like the art, I like the gun-toting cits out of their depth (or are they in their element?), I like dinosaurs and giant spiders and I like seeing despicable Cursed Earth gangs get their comeuppance

Cursed Earth, fantastic setting, Cursed Earth Dinosaurs, brilliant, Giant Spiders, great, long walk Judges, ace and Mutant gangs.

It has all the elements, its a Cursed Earth Megazine story that surely ticks all the boxes then why is it so bloody awful?

For a start, Tony Lee doesn't really seem to have any sort of handle on the Dreddworld (sorry Tony) and the art doesn't help in this respect. A good case in point is the 'I look like a hooker' line. They wouldn't say 'I look like a hooker', they'd say 'I look like a slabwalker.' The Judge is far too young to be on her Long Walk, I suspect because the artist preffered to draw another 'sexy chick' character rather than stick to the established rules of the 'verse, and again she speaks nothing like a Judge.

This isn't pedantry for pedantry's sake - the cast, with all their jokey current-day slang, fail at every turn to seem part of the Dreddverse in any way; they just come across as random joes in a random desert. Yes, it has dinos and giant spiders but it could be past, present, future, Cursed Earth, Nu-Earth, Ararrat, Mars, and it wouldn't really make any difference.

And while it is fun, there are some really dark elements mixed in (no bad thing in themselves) like the constant rape attempts, which jar horribly with the comedy, cartoon violence.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Shame about the Venn diagram! I'm assuming it shouldnt be concentirc circles there, but a series of individual circles with a small area of cross over - hence the venn diagram reference, yes?

I think a Venn diagram can consist of concentric circles, if the larger set contains all the elements of the smaller one.  As far as I remember from my maths classes at school. Which is fuck all. Considering I was taken outside one day and practically ordered to go to a lower grade maths class.

[BPP]

It has all the elements, its a Cursed Earth Megazine story that surely ticks all the boxes then why is it so bloody awful?

For a start, Tony Lee doesn't really seem to have any sort of handle on the Dreddworld (sorry Tony) and the art doesn't help in this respect. A good case in point is the 'I look like a hooker' line. They wouldn't say 'I look like a hooker', they'd say 'I look like a slabwalker.' The Judge is far too young to be on her Long Walk, I suspect because the artist preffered to draw another 'sexy chick' character rather than stick to the established rules of the 'verse, and again she speaks nothing like a Judge.

This isn't pedantry for pedantry's sake - the cast, with all their jokey current-day slang, fail at every turn to seem part of the Dreddverse in any way; they just come across as random joes in a random desert. Yes, it has dinos and giant spiders but it could be past, present, future, Cursed Earth, Nu-Earth, Ararrat, Mars, and it wouldn't really make any difference.

And while it is fun, there are some really dark elements mixed in (no bad thing in themselves) like the constant rape attempts, which jar horribly with the comedy, cartoon violence.

That pretty much on the mark - the hooker line was awful, the rape references alongside 'toony' style art is shockingly glib and the whole thing started as poor and went downhill fast. YES dinosaurs are great.. but that dosn't excuse this tripe.

I also think none of the characters have any depth or personality or even distinguishing characteristics... they look alike, speak alike, their lines are interchangable... much like a certain concentration camp story.

[TordelBack]

. much like a certain concentration camp story.

Aha, you're nicked mate!  BPP = Bastard Poo Poster, I knew you'd slip up one day

Have to agree with most of the above, but these faults are absolutely rife amongst Dreddworld scripters.  In fact, this seems like somewhere Tharg should be of assistance to a writer.  'Slabwalker' seems a very simple tweak that would slot the story into its supposed milieu much better, and a few observations about the visual design of both the City-Def folk and the Judge couldn't hurt.  I know Matt holds down enough jobs for about four ordinary people, but shouldn't an editor be asking these simple questions of folk like Morrison, Lee and Mills when they write a Dreddverse tale?  I fully expect the upcoming Edginton Dredd to be similarly at odds with MC-1, despite his excellent credentials.  Citi-Def is inventive, but like the superior Marauder, its place in a familiar setting just doesn't feel very well thought out.