Prog 1989 - Descent into chaos

[Frank]

Are we still supposed to be waiting for a major death?

It was Wagner who said he was killing a major character* this year, in his Thrillcast interview. Michael Carroll said people were going to hate him, and we all assumed that meant he was killing a character. Which he sort of did, except not really.

Carroll has set Hershey up for a catfight with Oswin**, and killing one of the strip's most beloved characters would stamp his/Rebellion's authority on the strip, so maybe she isn't out of the woods yet.


* Not necessarily a Dredd character. Wagner writes Strontium Dog too, and there's one character there who's been dead weight for a while ...

** All that stuff about her having the body of a woman half her age, and how the office of Chief Judge has caged her rather than tamed her

[Colin YNWA]

http://www.2000ad.org/functions/cover.php?choice=1099&Comic=2000ad

You got it!

[Hawkmumbler]

http://www.2000ad.org/functions/cover.php?choice=1099&Comic=2000ad

You got it!

Oooh that is indeed a goody!

[Goaty]

I seem to recall a Sinister Dexter one with Finnegan falling...

This?

[Eamonn Clarke]

Whoever gets to be Chief Judge next should seriously consider getting that full structural survey on the Hall of Justice before they exchange contracts. There's all sorts of stuff hidden in them walls.

[Frank]

So who's the 'HIM' Dredd instructs Joyce (their tactical coordinator) to call? I doubt [spoiler]Smiley[/spoiler] is going to burst out of the cavity wall insulation again, so that leaves [spoiler]Armitage[/spoiler] and [spoiler]Koburn[/spoiler].

I assume Joyce is making a call to whoever they have in [spoiler]Louisiana[/spoiler], [spoiler]ready to neutralise Oswin's missiles[/spoiler]. Setting up a variation on Lena Headey's dead man's switch gambit isn't an inspired move, but the incendiary/heatseeker entry to the zero gravity chute was.

I enjoyed this week's episode.

[Timothy]

And what is Anderson (I assume he meant Anderson) busy with?

[Trent]

Louisiana sounds like Preacher Cain. He's one of the few cameos we haven't had in this tale.

[Jim_Campbell]

Louisiana sounds like Preacher Cain. He's one of the few cameos we haven't had in this tale.

He's somewhere in the South American jungle ruling some hidden outpost like an Aztec king, or something, isn't he?

(Apologies to Gordon -- I remember enjoying the story, but there have been a lot of brain cells under the bridge since then...)

[Trent]

True enough and I don't really think he'll be popping up but I think dramatic licence would have got around any logistical issues.
The fact that he's a renegade and not sanctioned like Koburn is more of a stumbling block for his being a 'go to guy'.

[I, Cosh]

All those covers, other than the one Leigh found, have the characters jumping into the camera/reader rather than falling away. Anyway, I liked this week's and it reminds me that the point a couple of weeks ago when the strip suddenly flipped into a matt neon colourscheme was pretty great.

Not been commenting on the Prog threads much recently. Mostly because I think the last six months has been consistently weak. Certainly the weakest run of stories I can remember. Happy to see some small green shoots of recovery pushing through the arid ground at last.

Brink has been the one oasis in this desert. I didn't immediately like it but once it started shooting off in unexpected directions I was happy to follow. I'd expected this to the be last episode but I'm happy to see there's still more to come. Culbard's art can be hit and miss for me. I loved the stripped back elegance of the first run of Brass Sun but some of the subsequent outings have seemed like he's spreading himself too thin. Here he's right back on top and the aforementioned colouring is the icing on the cake.

Scarlet Traces is entirely new to me but these first couple of episodes have that vintage Edginton/D'Israeli charm. D'Israeli always likes to change up his art between stories so is there any mileage in speculating that the similarity in style to the recent Helium might suggest a connection?

I'd agree that this week's Dredd has been the best single episode of the longer storyline but it's a few nice moments in a rather uninvolving whole. It's a shame as I've liked a lot of the thinking behind it: the overlapping, episodic structure; picking up on seeds planted earlier; Taggart style Dredd with the supporting cast thrust to the fore. The problem is that none of these things have actually worked for me. Will give it a reread when it's all done and dusted to see if it holds together better then.

The Future Shock wasn't hugely exciting but a fun enough read and nice to see Jon D-H back in the Prog. Meanwhile, Black Shuck has completely lost me.

[Muon]

Brink is still great. I was glad to see Frannie back. Another to rank alongside Resting Bitch Face in the Abnett pantheon of great secondary characters that you feel you know just from a few lines of dialogue or gestures.

Dredd seemed to be a bit of a retread of the conclusion to the movie. Which is fine.

All looking good! Although I'm finding Black Shuck a bit confusing.

[Hawkmumbler]

Scarlet Traces is entirely new to me but these first couple of episodes have that vintage Edginton/D'Israeli charm. D'Israeli always likes to change up his art between stories so is there any mileage in speculating that the similarity in style to the recent Helium might suggest a connection?

My theory was that [spoiler]the world of Helium, with it's toxic atmosphere and deformed natives is one of the world visited by Amphney Crucis in Vile Bodies, the one Leviathan escaped from. This ties Helium to two stories, and then to Red Seas, American Gothic and Stickleback by default.[/spoiler]

What tie Scarlet Traces has to the rest of the Edgintonverse, i'm uncertain.

[TordelBack]

I'd harbour little doubt that Scarlet Traces is behind one of the doors in the Brotherhood's library (along with Helium, stone Island and the rest), but as ST is creator-owned and the 2000AD strips are not there may be a reluctance to make this explicit.... There are also minor characters that appear in both The Great Game and Stickleback, but that's more likely Dizzy having fun.

[I, Cosh]

I'd harbour little doubt that Scarlet Traces is behind one of the doors in the Brotherhood's library (along with Helium, stone Island and the rest), but as ST is creator-owned and the 2000AD strips are not there may be a reluctance to make this explicit.... There are also minor characters that appear in both The Great Game and Stickleback, but that's more likely Dizzy having fun.

I thought the deal that lead to the new series and upcoming reprint was that Rebellion had bought the rights from them?

I'm sure you're right about the library part. I was just thinking about loud about a more explicit connection.