Meg 362 - Brit-Cit's most haunted

[Theblazeuk]

Paul Grist is a layout genius. Jack Staff and Kane are all the evidence this statement needs.

However... I don't think Demon Nic is working properly. I can only assume its to do with the Meg itself as his own comics really, really are something special.

[robert_ellis]

Loved the Vort - great artwork & story - like a new spin on future war. Lawless is flawless! A very strong Meg from cover to reprint.

[Magnetica]

I re-read last months Meg and then this, so this is really a review of both of them.

Dredd - just great. Really loving the story and the art, well it is Carlos, so pretty much perfect Dredd. I can't believe this Gordon Rennie's last ever Dredd story. It's a real shame. Given that he posts quite regularly on this forum, I wonder if he cares to elaborate as to why?

Demon Nic. I did find the layouts  (initially) confusing in Meg391, but on a re-read I am now used to them.  The "problem" of not knowing which panel to read first only occurred three times in 30 pages, and when you actually think about it, it isn't that hard. Basically look which panel is last on the page and, um, read that last. (In fact the only one where it made much difference was when Nic and the priest where discussing M'Gurk in Meg 391).

The thing I can't quite work out though is, is this meant to be funny? I ask because the art is (too) cartoony (for my tastes) but the subject matter doesn't seem that funny.

Storm Warning. Best thing about this is Tom Foster's art. Definitely reminds me of Bolland (as per the letter in Dreddlines), but with a thicker nib.

(But have to say I think the drawing of the characters on page 3 is a bit confusing - the bit where they have those "things" on their heads - I think that is meant to be Storm on the panel bottom left, judging by the shoulder pads, but her hair looks all wrong - the bald bit I mean.)


Lawless. I was worried I would have to re-read the first series to keep up, but no that wasn't necessary. Always like a Dan Abnett script and the art's good too.

So all round a great Meg.

And BTW I do remember Jeff Anderson's Dredd from way back - it was great.

[Jim_Campbell]

Demon Nic. I did find the layouts  (initially) confusing in Meg391, but on a re-read I am now used to them.  The "problem" of not knowing which panel to read first only occurred three times in 30 pages, and when you actually think about it, it isn't that hard.

The idea that having to work out what the last panel on the page is first in order to infer the reading order is the opposite of good page layout. I'll confess that I'm not reading this at all because life's too bloody short to decipher obscure panel/ballon arrangements that actively obstruct clear reading.

Cheers

Jim

[Ghost MacRoth]

 Not often I agree with Jim..... but today, yes.

[Hawkmumbler]

Horses for courses. If you just simply can't read it, fine. I think it's chuffing brilliant and easy to understand.

[Ghost MacRoth]

Oh I read it, and am not saying it's unlikable, but it doesn't scan well for me either.  I don't quite know why I don't hate it....it's not the kind of art I like, I keep thinking 'Hellboy' as I read it, and the layout's pretty poor, yet still, I do read it.  As opposed to ostriches, which is the only strip I've skipped in either prog or meg in feckin' YEEEEEAAARRRS!

[Frank]

Grist says doing away with panel borders was an experiment he thought would be interesting and give the strip a unique visual identity. After a few episodes, he realised it wasn't such a great idea, but by that time he was stuck with it (1hr 06 min, here).

The strip seems to feature fewer panels per page than normal, which I presume is to make it a little easier for the eye to know where it's supposed to go next without a grid system limiting your options.

The only page I had a problem with was the one below, where the upward diagonal slant of the defacto panel border on the second panel down made me think I was supposed to read 'AND WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH YOU' next:





For every moment like that, there's another where the unusual layout produces a neat effect, like the page below, where the top half of the long central panel (with the nun) takes place in a different time zone than the bottom half (with the cardinal). The placement of the speech bubbles (and the cropping of the third panel) lets you know the order in which they should be read:

[Dog Deever]

Yeah, I kind of like the art style itself and as individual images, each page looks good- it's just that, from the point of view of reading it's a little awkward in places. It will be interesting to see how he resolves it.

[maryanddavid]

Ill have to reread Nic, I loved it! I'm now thinking I read it wrong
The Meg is on a roll at the moment, its great! I love Jack Staff, never read Kane but heard good things. Anyone remember the strip in Comics International.
I think it was a spin off of Jack Staff, called the Claw, and his name was Bulmer,  alsothe creator of the Steel Claw in Valiant

[Keef Monkey]

Not having the problems some are with the Demon Nic layouts, can't say I've been confused yet about where my eye should be going next and the way the pages look when taken in as a whole makes for quite a striking style. I did find that this episode felt a bit rushed story-wise though, last month was a strong opener and introduction and this felt like it moved through locations and chracters and story beats a bit too fast for each thing to sink in properly. A small quibble.

Dredd is brilliant, I'm always deliriously happy to see Ezquerra on Dredd and the story has some teeth and a great momentum and the tensions between the different factions is palpable. Really enjoying this.

Something else I really enjoyed (and am slightly surprised at just how much I did) is Lawless. Previously I've been maybe a tad lukewarm on Lawless, nothing to dislike but it didn't exactly grip me or bowl me over. Now that its established, right from the start this latest series has just clicked with me in a big way. Loving the art, the action has been really meaty and satisfying, the character is cool as hell and the story pulled a real shocker this month. After Dredd this is the highlight of the Meg for me now!

Storm Warning is also enjoyable, I like the look and as a first introduction to the character it's been pretty good. I like any Dredd-world strips because I love anything that expands the universe a bit beyond Mega City One and Joe, so this sort of thing is very welcome to me (and that cover is incredible, green is also my favorite colour).

Haven't read the floppy yet but I remember loving The Vort at the time and being blown away by the ending, so will be good to revisit that. I did read the articles this month, which I haven't done for probably a couple of years now. Not sure if the refresh of the Meg design has refreshed my interest in them or if I've just been away from them long enough to dip back in, but they were a good read this month.

[monsterx]

No thread yet? I haven't read it yet cos I'm on me holiyers but here's the Alex Ronald cover

That cover is a beaut, the mans style has evolved!