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Prog 1988 - Front Toward Enemy

Started by Colin YNWA, 02 July, 2016, 02:57:29 PM

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Trent

Yes Dredd has been a little odd through this arc. Loved all the Cursed Earth stuff in the Prog and Meg but Lion's Den, while well drawn felt padded at 8 parts. Based on Tharg's comments we have only a few parts left of Reclamation which conversely feels like a 20 part epic condensed unsatisfactorily into 6 to 8 parts.
I think part of the plan was to give a little time during Joyce's jaunt to BritCit to show the Texicans asserting control of Mega City One but the result was a meandering pointless trip to England and all too brief cutaways to Hershey and co.
Shame as the TexasCity plot is a good one and deserves a longer outing. Reminds me a bit of the Judda plot during Oz which needed at least half a dozen more episodes to do it justice.

Frank

Quote from: Trent on 06 July, 2016, 07:08:43 PM
(T)he TexasCity plot ... (r)eminds me a bit of the Judda plot during Oz which needed at least half a dozen more episodes to do it justice.

Those are great points. If Supersurf 10 and The Judda had been scheduled as separate stories, they'd be numbered among the classics, whereas as Oz is nobody's favourite story [1].

If a mistake at the printers meant the Every Empire Falls trade paperback shipped with all the pages between Dredd's ambulance exploding and Rico being surprised by Dredd in Rowdy Yates Conapts [2] missing, the story wouldn't lose anything important.

Carroll told the Thrillcast that Tharg specifically commissioned this as a Dredd story without Dredd in the lead role, which explains why Fintan's London Adventure doesn't take the story forward - just takes Dredd off the board for the required length of time.

Involving Brit-Cit in a conspiracy they don't benefit from in any significant way feels like it was retroactively determined by the opportunity that afforded to include Blood Of Emeralds in the trade collection - like finding out Gideon Dallas was a Sector Zero agent.

I'm moaning, but I enjoyed every point blank execution and Western trope of Grindstone Cowboys, and there was a lot of fun stuff in Lion's Den. It just feels like the mechanics of publishing have led to the odd pacing decisions Trent identifies above.



[1] I like Oz; it was my first epic

[2] Everybody else was confused by the sign at the entrance abbreviating the name to RYB too ... right?

Ghost MacRoth

Cover:  Clunky looking ships against an unimpressive planet. 

Dredd:  Excellent stuff.

Brink:  No.  Still nothing.

Slaine:  Thank fuck it's over for a while.

Black Shuck:  Still reading it, but it's kinda.... meh.

Scarlet Traces:  D'Israeli's style and Culbard's in the same issue.... it's like half the art in the prog has been done by lino print.

Other than Dredd, absolutely bugger all worth getting excited about. :(
I don't have a drinking problem.  I drink, I get drunk, I fall over.  No problem!

Richard

I disagree with the last three posts.

Brink is awesome.

And The Lion's Den was good. I really enjoyed Armitage's scenes. I have no problems with the pacing.

I wouldn't want this story arc to last for another 20 episodes, and I'm looking forward to seeing that bitch Oswin get her comeuppance. Fuck her.

Trent

Harsh Ghost but increasingly I find Dredd and Strontium Dog are the only stories I automatically read.
I suspect it says more about me than the stories but I struggle with most other stories and then find after not following the first run, when stories reappear (Black Shuck is a good example) I just skip them. Sadly this is becoming more the rule than the exception and with most decent Dredd and all Stront being collected later I ponder my subscription.
Of course I won't stop the Prog as without weekly buyers there would be nothing to collect later.

Trent

Based on board comments Brink I will read once completed.
Stand by my comments on Dredd. I love Dredd and read new stories avidly and felt the hand of editorial interference in the latest run keenly.
I miss the long epics of 26 or so parts telling a single tale. The need for jumping on issues every dozen or so progs seems to have influenced story pacing in recent years with only John Wagner seemingly given licence to lay down tales as he wants (Day of Chaos most recently).

Frank

Quote from: Richard on 06 July, 2016, 10:31:51 PM
I disagree with the last three posts.

Brink is awesome.

And The Lion's Den was good.

I like lots of Lion's Den, and yes, Brink is awesome. That Frida Kahlo brow does it for me.



Ghost MacRoth

Quote from: Trent on 06 July, 2016, 10:36:11 PM
Harsh Ghost but increasingly I find Dredd and Strontium Dog are the only stories I automatically read.

I still read 'em all.  I never expect to like 'em all.... but I do read 'em.  The only thing I've ever skipped was sexy ostriches. ;)

As for folk disagreeing, that's all cool, not everyone is gonna like the same stuff.  But I must disagree with your disagreement, and fully expect you'll disagree with my disagreeing! :D
I don't have a drinking problem.  I drink, I get drunk, I fall over.  No problem!

Trent


Proudhuff

Cover:  Great UFO inspired ships against an well rendered planet.  text Script a bit strange.

Dredd: Excellent stuff.

Brink:  No.  Still nothing, will reread when complete possibly.

Slaine:  Thank f*ck it's over for a while, make it end Tharg! Artwork wonderful but really end it now.

Black Shuck:  Still reading it, but it's kinda.... beardy meh so far, like a slow episode of Vikings.

Scarlet Traces:  D'Israeli's style is stunning and gives me that warm tummy good art should  :D Loved all the previous outings so have high hopes for this, I hope 'someone' is collecting the easter eggs already...

Other than a great Dredd and the wonderful Scarlet Traces and the end of Slaine , absolutely bugger all worth getting excited about.  ;)

Glad things back to normal Ghost  ;)
DDT did a job on me

McNulty

I didn't notice the boobs in Scarlet Traces, but I did see the reference to Smash potato mash!

Ghost MacRoth

Quote from: Proudhuff on 07 July, 2016, 09:59:32 AM
Glad things back to normal Ghost  ;)

Normal is such a subjective term Huffster. ;)
I don't have a drinking problem.  I drink, I get drunk, I fall over.  No problem!

TordelBack

Totally lost in this week's Dredd. What was going on with the SJS Waldron woman? If it was the 'screamer', how did she affect so many psi judges when Lewis had to read her to be affected? Was it to do with Lewis' empathic powers? When did we learn Waldron was a psi? Do the Texans really have no psis of their own? Why did Hershey need a shower?

Goaty


Frank

Quote from: Goaty on 07 July, 2016, 09:04:06 PM
And why (Hershey's) shower got camera?!

Judge Smiley spends a lot of time alone.