1317

[DavidXBrunt]

New Prog.

Cover - like the losse art on the strip, but as a cover it's not quite right. Very little colour range either. Nice to see the series artist draw a cover though.

Dredd - Okay, but nothing special. Interesting to see Dredd in an official role for a change. This is obviously a part of the ongoing Orlock story. Interesting to see how this ties in.

Red Seas - I like this a lot. Are the crew all dead? How did Dancer escape? The Erebus stuff was a surprising twist.

Asylum - Still not hooked, but the cliff hanger was a good one. Art and story are fine, though.

Past Imperfect - A British tale. Nice. For a comic that has always been proud of it's uniquely British point of view it's odd that American History has been the focus of the first three. We have a rich and interesting history in Britain, let's see some more. Nice punch-line, great art.

Sin Dex - Good stuff. Glad to find out the reason for the whack, looks like things are coming to a head.

Good prog over all.

[Capt.Zeep]

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TWO HEADED DAAAWG!  TWO HEADED DAAAWG!
Did it have to be a bloody boxer, though?   And what about the howling (arf arf) typo in the strip?(Top of p4)  Always thought Ellie was being cute with the backward Qs and all, but now suspect she may be mildly dyslexic.  Bit of a problem for a letterererer...

Dredd: I'm intrigued, are they sort of setting up the precursor for the Rogue Trooper scenario?  All out war on Earth, carried on onto space?  If so I'd be mildly disappointed, I don't think all the stories have to link together.  Or maybe I'm barking up the wrong cucumber again... Genetic Infantry, though.  Surely more than just a coincidink.  

Past Imperfect more of a laff than hitherto.  Last panel would not be out of place in Viz.  Is that a good thing?  I think so.  "My Roundheads are crap, and badly deployed"  raised a chuckle too.

Asylum,  well the jury's still out.  Initally I loved it (based mainly on Boo's art), last week was a pure Nemesis rip off and now I just don't know.  Boo's great though.

Sindex, yes I know you lot all hate it but it's part of what got me back into the prog acouple of years back so I can forgive them.  And Manx McCandless is a great character, reminiscent of the peerless Terry-Thomas.  But I see why people think the strip is tired...

All in all a good prog.  Wish I could read it a bit slower though.  May have to take out a Meg subscription to maintain thrill power levels (have suggested this to my girlfriend as a Birthday present.  She laughed).  

[Oddboy]

I was really impressed with the Dredd story - brilliant!  The M.C.1.G.I.s are quite a logical step for Judge Dredd, Dredd himself being a clone and all... Nice to see Wagner pulling another Justice Deptartment out of the bag.  The smile in the last pannel was ace

Past Imperfect - more good work from El S here, even if he's being slightly too potty-mouthed.  Excellent stuff, great punchline

Red Seas - Wasn't so impressed with this episode, (not enough zombies) but I've been enjoying the rest of the story well enough so I'm not going to complain to Tharg about it.  Although I do hope Tharg's aware that the Fluffy, the dog in Harry Potter I, has three heads rather than two

Sinister Dexter - Good stuff.  Dan's getting these guys right again

Asylum - The aliens fight back, yeah that was pretty cool.  Some gross eye-plucking action too.  This story's pretty good, but it's the weakest in 2000AD's current line up

Pretty happy with 2000AD's Autumn Attack.  Dang good infact!
Pleased that Wake & PVS's doomsaying yesterday was incorrect & my prog was merrily waiting for me at home.

[paulvonscott]

Well, you have to remember that when Dredd came across Rogue Friday (a bad idea very well done) they spent 48 hours nicking all of their techonolgy :)

I have to say I really wanted to see the Judges kicking butt, instead they sent in these monsters.  They were completely sickening, why you've made me dislike violence Mr Wagner, where's your sense of responsibility?

Also it wasn't very wise sending these guys in, once again the belief that MC1 are the primary aggressors will be reinforced.  Hopefully they'll broadcast the trial, though that may not turn out as expected.

Anyway, good stuff, the rest of the prog was just about readable.

[Tu-plang]

Even if they broadcast the trial and it doesn't go as expected they'll wear it.  They were prepared to do that with democracy, weren't they?

[Trout]

Dredd behind a desk is fundamentally wrong.

- Trout

[petemaskreplica]

He stood up at the end though.
Americans reacting with excessive, unjustified force to a terrorist attack? Where on earth does the man get his ideas from, eh?

Red Seas: disappointing lack of imaginative swearing made up for by introduction of comedy dog dowsing rod.

Asylum: Nice art again. Still can't quite make up my mind about the story, reckon it deserves another series though.

Past Imperfect: Enjoyed this. I've always had a soft spot for dodgy rhymes. eeh, it's just like the old days!

SinDex: let down by the absence of Cartmanesque beachballs.

[Wood]

Um, "Just about readable"?

Not quibbling with any assessment of the prog, but if it's only "just about readable", why are people buying it? It's like, if the comic was crap during the nineties - and even the people who stuck with it agree with that - then why stick with it? Shouldn't we be expecting more?

I'm probably going to cancel it again. It's not that it's bad or anything. It just doesn't make me smile much.

[paulvonscott]

Well, you are right Wood, but I said I'd subscribe to both for a year and see what happened.

I reckon it's a mixture of people who are happy with the contents, people who buy it out of habit, people who buy it due to an obsession with numbers and people who are waiting for the next big thing.

I don't like it when we come close to agreeing Wood, it means something bad's gonna happen...

[Oddboy]

happy with the contents
That's me, that is.

[Tiplodocus]

This weeks Prog:

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DREDD - liked this and has a good sense of impending doom but why weas Dredd at this tribunal thing anyway - he should be out busting heads.

RED SEAS - not sure I liked this episode but am still enjoying the general thrust of the tale despite the clean zombies and the talking dog head.

ASYLUM - Some of the character motivation is a bit weak "I was OK been a baddie but I'm begining to doubt it now that I know you were on the toilet" and I'm pretty sure that there is some "pub science" going on (tether tube?)  but I think I'll continue to enjoy this as long as it's short.

PAST IMPERFECT: This had absolutely no sense of "WHAT IF..?".  Obviously we are out of the loop here but I thought the brief for this series was to create tales based in alternate histories e.g. "What would Britain have been like if there had been tanks at the battle of Marston Moor?". Rennie seems to have been the only droid to hit the nail on the head so far. This tale just doesn't do it.  And I didn't like the rhymes - seems like a cheap way to make the story seem funnier than it actually was (I've done it myself).

SIN/DEX - I give up.  I absolutely give up.

Another, in my humble opinion, decidedly average PROG. This is a shame as I've just subscribed to the MEG and 2000ad for a year.  At the moment it looks like the Meg is the better option.  

I don't honestly know why I stick with 2000AD when it's poor.  I guess it's force of habit and DREDD.

For the rest of the comic, even when the scripts are bad, there's normally some good art.

[damnandblast]

"and I'm pretty sure that there is some "pub science" going on (tether tube?)"

Nope. The 'space elevator' is fundamentally sound and is, so I have read, the only economically viable sustainable method of raising payloads into orbit. Still needs someone to invent monofilament technology, but let's not rain on that particular parade, hmm? Not so sure about the thing being hollow though; it's meant to be a very thick cable made from millions of monofilament strands, each one only one moelcule thick.

Check out Clarke's Fountains Of Paradise for the earliest (I think) reference and Stanley-Robinson's Mars series for a great illustration of what happens when the bugger snaps.

Nigel

[Mk13]

Wasn't there something similar in one of Dave Stone's Dredd novels - a 'skyhook' or some such thing?

[paulvonscott]

I think Arthur C. Clarke did this back in the fities/early sixties, I remember reading the book.  

It's certainly been around for ages.

[paulvonscott]

Oops, Nigel already said that, should pay attention more, sorry.