Prog 1767: The Big Smoke

[Colin_YNWA]

I'm almost at the point of passing Dredd until the story is done and then reading it in one go. Its really good stuff I'm just not engaged by the threat and however well its done it still feels like old ground. I think a re-read might do it more justice at this point?

Absalom continues its fine form and Grey Area is very very good this week. I got a strange Halo Jones vibe off it. A really nice like aside.

All though stand in the shadow of two masterful pieces. Strontium Dog is simply brilliant and Dante is a masterclass. I think I'm now all but certain were the twist in the (many) tails is coming from and its the most appropriate source as I've always hoped it would be. I'm so happy this seems to be getting the ending it deserves and so sad that end is so close.

[pops1983]

Dante was my favourite this week. That one-page exchange between Jena and her deposed father was short, bittersweet and sublime. They keeps all the balls in the air/plates spinning. Just one minor gripe. How did Dante get out of the torture rack? Am I being thick? Or is it Lulu's doing? She does mention something about 'preparing a surprise for when you least expect it'

Great prog overall. Any prog with explodey head action is a winner for me

[James Stacey]

Don't think we know yet although I assume it was Lulu. The real question is is that a torture device or crest power Dante is using.

[Dandontdare]

Am I the only one who thought "Dr Skrotumski" was just a little too much? The comedy name (only one step up from 'Judge Traktorfaktori')  jarred with the rest of the strip, which is as  near to comic perfection as you can get.

Absalom, Strontium Dog and Dredd are powering along at maximum thrill-power.

Grey Area still hasn't really blown my socks off, but it's enjoyable enough.

[Proudhuff]

at least it wasn't Bollocksoffski

[TordelBack]

Another terrific Prog, pretty much flawless.

Cover is superb, love the colouring, and love the way Absalom is casually booting a kitty.  I showed it to my cats by way of gentle threat, but they were unmoved.  I now fear their nocturnal vengeance.

Dredd:  I know I've missed a lot of this, but blimey is it tense stuff.  Really great idea having the threat coming from so many directions at once, and there's still days to go! Love the way Flint is subtly rounding the shoulder pads these days.   However, I really think Justice Dept need to put some kind of Cantina-style droid detector on their front doors - that's two almost-successful cyberjimps in fairly short order.

Grey Area:  Sadly overshadowed in this brilliant issue, because it's a perfectly good tale with excellent art, maybe just taking a bit too long to find its feet.  I'd have expected a little more to happen this week plotwise, after the scene-setting of the first arc, and it did seem a pity to go back to the Craters so soon rather than exploring a new species - but maybe it bodes well for each race having a well-defined culture, instead of just being thumpable window dressing. In any other line-up I'd be rating this highly - it's just... well look around, people! 


Dante:  Woo-hoo, Lulu came through!  Go, Dante, go!  Beautifully paced, beautifully drawn, incredibly exciting, how could this be any better.  Didn't think 'Dr. Scrotumski' was out of place, daft cod-Russian names have always been a big part of the strip, why stop now just 'cos things are so serious?  I now have my fingers crossed for Dante impaling Dimitri on the end of a big war-rocket as he stands at the altar, if only to annoy wonkychop.   

Absalom:  If you'd asked me in advance I'd have said I was completely done with the psychogeography of London, from From Hell to Hellblazer to London Falling to China Mieville, I've had my fill.  But it turns out that Absalom is just great.  Trevallion is clearly a major new talent, and together with Rennie's story perfectly balances atmosphere, action and chat.  Brilliant stuff.

Strontium Dog: The Ezquerras go from strength to strength, really enjoying this week to week, and all the puzzles in the background.  Feels like proper Strontium Dog, which I didn't think it would.

[Proudhuff]

[Strontium Dog:  and all the puzzles in the background. 

Eh?

[TordelBack]

[Strontium Dog:  and all the puzzles in the background. 

Eh?

What's really going on with Johnny and his cold/distracted post-resurrection self, what's The Project, what's going on with the happy-clappy Doghouse?  Plenty of mysteries to be revealed, meanwhile good old-fashioned Stront ass-kickery occupies the foreground.

[Proudhuff]

ooops, wrong end of the stick  i thought it was the panel backgrounds

[M.I.K.]

That Charlie Peace gets around.

[Mardroid]

Don't think we know yet although I assume it was Lulu.

I'm pretty sure that's the case. Remember how the doctor drew our attention to the fact that Dante had surprisingly little damage for someone subjected to Lulu's creatures. Hence, they were used for something else. Great strip.

I enjoyed them all, although I found myself having to concentrate a bit in Dredd with all the text. A good part of the ongoing tale though.

[House of Usher]

I have enjoyed every Prog since Christmas. It's great to have really quite different strips going on at the same time.

I hope Nikolai Dante is going to finish properly this time because there aren't any more Nikolai Dante stories I want to read. It has been hugely entertaining for quite a few years now and I want it to stop before the entertainment does. I wasn't happy to see the return of Dmitri Romanov, but it has at least led to something exciting and worth reading in the Wedding storyline.

Absolom pulls off a neat trick in mining London's historical and occult potential and still making entertainment out of it considering it is such a crowded field to begin with.

Strontium Dog gets a free pass just for what it is and who is writing and drawing it, which isn't really fair to John and Carlos, because they are doing such a good job of making it a good read, regardless.

The current Judge Dredd story isn't my cup of tea. I like wacky Mega-City political parties, I like to see Judge Dredd fighting to save the city from large scale jeopardy and not having 100& success, but I am bored with the Sov Block as enemies and I'm not a great fan of stories which have a large element of espionage to them. The strip covered much the same ground previously in Total War, and I enjoyed that far more.

Grey Area has done pretty well for a new strip dropped into a lineup of three long-established characters and one spin-off. It isn't my favourite by any means, but it is trying something new, with conviction, and it is very well suited to 2000ad.

[Proudhuff]

Welcome back Usher!