Prog 1739 - Dark Forces

[blixab]

Early post so looks like first up for Prog 1739 - the end of all the current thrills.

Good ending to old stoney face - will we see more of Hamida? Hope so, looks like she is one mega PSI judge when seeing what she can achieve through her PSI abilities.

Red Seas - for me not a thrill that sets my pulses racing but ends with a double length story that answers quite a lot of questions and shows where the next story arc will go.

Cadet Anderson - grew into this story and the ending doesn't dissapoint. Will Malinda become Anderson's nemesis throughout her early years or will she take the path of the right? Certainly a plot that could develop.

Absalom - my favourite and really do hope this returns soon for the next story line. Good ending whilst also showing a rather unexpected plot line for future thrills.

And then starting next week we have - Savage - Secret City, Zombo - The Day The Zombo Died, Sinister Dexter - Charon's Crossing and one of Tharg's new 3rillers.

Do I want to overload the sensers by now opening issue 312 of The Meg or do I have to get out in the garden - know which is favourite in my eyes but does the o/h think the same?

[Richmond Clements]

Great prog- and next week: PJ Maybe!!!! Woooo!

[Trout]

The next week stuff excited me, too. Looks like a great line-up.

I enjoyed the whole prog this week.

- Trout

[vzzbux]

The next instalment of The red Seas will be the finale?  Not happy with that.
There is too much still to be told like the build up to the brief encounter in WWII.



V

[Darren Stephens]

Very quick review from me.

Cover: Very nice, but would have prefered a character shot or some monsters!

Dredd: Great. The Carter droid surpassed himself on this.

Red Seas: Lovely.

Anderson: Was quite good. Like the villainess. Good character, whom I'd like to see more of.

Absalom: Love a duck. Fantastic script and art. Break out the special 'vintage' oil for all the droids involved!

The next line-up looks cracking, too.

[antodonnell]

I've just grabbed 1738 from the shops ............ I need to subscribe .......

[radiator]

Do it, man! Getting the latest prog on a Saturday morning is a nice ritual thing. I pay monthly, it's about £15 per month for both prog and meg or about a tenner if you just want 2000ad - a good option if, like me, you don't want to shell out a lump sum for a years worth all at once.

[antodonnell]

Can I do it online or do I need to call ? I would prefer an annual subscription to download the prog from the shop. Pay days up again soon it may well be time to subscribe. Been getting 2000ad weekly in shops on and off for about 15 years

[Mikey]

anto - you can subcribe online to the paper version, but I don't know about the digital progs. Call the subs line and they'll sort you out!

Thought this weeks cover didn't show TT off to his best side, but a nice clean image nonetheless.

Dredd - This was brilliant. Some classic Dredd right there - extra oil to the creators, it was great from start to finish. Asolutely loved Carter's colouring and his take on MC1 - it felt very near future and solid if you know what I mean.

Anderson - Good! It all wrapped up very quickly, but this hit the spot. Like the prequel SD stories, however, the peril is hard to feel when you know the character has a future. But I'm being picky - I really enjoyed this and it's lived up to what I thought the one off promised.

Red Seas - I liked it! Now I wish there was more...

Absalom - Part eight?! Bloody hell, that flew by! A superb strip from the get go, really looking forward to more.

Next week's shaping up a bit tasty too, innit?

Superb prog there, Tharg.

M.

[House of Usher]

I should be working instead of commenting on Prog 1739, so I'll keep it short.

Top Prog! It doesn't get much better than this. Wrap-up Progs and jumping-on Progs contain 20% more thrillpower. Fact. They deliver a lot more punch than staggered first chapters and endings.

Judge Dredd wrapped up spectacularly.
Cadet Anderson rounded off neatly in the fashion of an old-school thrill. The diversion that allowed Anderson to get away was a bit convenient, drawing the fire of three perps. And how many times did the bad guy say "ha! now I am going to shoot you. how are you going to get out of that, huh?" I can't help thinking the finale featured the most beautiful Ezquerra artwork of the whole serial. It was just wonderful to look at.
The Red Seas was so good this Prog - the dialogue was scintillating. All the mythic stuff and the enormous scale of Jack Dancer's adventures aside, what makes The Red Seas a really enjoyable read for me is the writer's wit.
Absalom concluded satisfactorily and I await his next case with interest.

[Proudhuff]

Jings not much comment here for this, maybe its all just right? 

Judge Dredd : Fine finish, Thargy should be using these driods more.
Cadet Anderson: reminds me of an old school story, crammed betwixt the others in the prog it feels a bit, well jaded.
The Red Seas Cracking art and story, just wanting this to climax and then be over, so its a happy memory rather than an overstaying guest it could become.
Absalom: fast becoming one of my favs

[George Dread]

Ooh, I didn't know you could subscribe monthly. And is it automated until you unsubscribe? Is the shop open yet?

[Dandontdare]

Superb cover - the British police badge has never looked so menacing.

I enjoyed this latest Dredd. Hamida is a great character, but I was a bit put off by all that "offensive TK - level 2" business. It sounded a bit too much like a RPG game with grades and scores in different categories. It was worth it however to set up that great Dredd line about applied violence. And PJ's coming back next week! I assume this will be Wagner-written as I don't think anyone else would dare write the next chapter in one of his best ongoing characters.

Red Seas kinds of fades in and out on my thrill radar - I'm a little bored by it at the moment, it's just gone on too long with repetetive stories -  quest to find magical weapon/useful character - use same to defeat baddy - encounter bigger and badder baddie - set off to find another weapon/character etc.

Cadet Anderson is a great, no nonsense, meat'n'potatos thrill. You can't fault the Ezquerras' artwork - do you reckon we'll see this villain return for revenge in a contemporaneous story since this one was set decades ago? Could be interesting.

Absalom is just the dog's bollocks. That grayscale artwork is amazing, and the plot is crackling along nicely with at least one unexpected twist every week. Over far too soon.

[Colin_YNWA]

When the Nerve Center sets up a truly thrilling tease that thanks to a week away I only have a few hours to wait for its hard to imagine the prog you're about to read stands a chance. The line-up for next week is golden, a great mix, Wagner on Dredd and a few of my favourite thrills and something new. Near perfect.

The other problem this Prog faces is four endings and endings can be very hard to pull off. Especially when what your really doing is setting up more to come.

So now can the Prog hold up against that? Bloody well that's how. Its easy to forget that we're still in the middle of a golden time for 2000ad and this baton change emphasizes that totally. Everything ends really well, and that's a real testament. Absalom goes for a well worn path of taking us away from the action as its done before and summaries events very neatly. All so far so okay but its a nice twisty twist at the end that steals the show.

Anderson and Dredd end wonderfully. Dredd and Hamida's continue in the Tracey & Hepburn mold and sparkle. Anderson is just really well crafted and I've really enjoyed this one.

The star of the show however is a Red Seas double bill. Bloody hell (and that might be literal my the end of things) this was a truly brilliant episode in a truly entertaining story. I chuffin' loved it. It wrapped things up superbly while setting things up sublimely. Much like Dante I'm dreading this being over but so looking forward to the end. Oh and Steve Yeowell is the God of monsters.

So rather than being blown out the water by the thoughts of whats to come this one sets up the question, how ya going to top that... then you look at next week line-up (well tomorrow in this case) and realise 'Oh yeah that's how'.

Parting such sweet sorrow.

Great Prog.

[radiator]

I assume this will be Wagner-written as I don't think anyone else would dare write the next chapter in one of his best ongoing characters.

It says in Tharg's editorial that it will be written by Wagner and drawn by Macniel. I expect the PJ Maybe story will be a prelude to Day of Chaos...