JUDGE DREDD: IDW #1

[Jim_Campbell]

The UK Spider-Man reprint title sells more verifiable copies each month than the US' Amazing Spider-Man.

That's available on the high street, isn't it? (At least, I'm sure I've seen it in newsagents.)

Cheers

Jim

[Molch-R]

Have any US reviews started to appear yet? A Google search offers up a few positive posts from some Stateside bloggers, but I haven't seen anything from the important outlets yet. Ultimately we're irrelevant - their opinion matters far more in ensuring IDW's comic will be a success.

Yep, and from what I've seen it's been very well received.

And yes, your opinions matter. But please bear in mind that less than a couple of hundred people use this forum regularly - representing a tiny percentage of the Prog's readership and if sales reports of IDW's Dredd are anything to go by the same holds true for this new title. Also bear in mind that this is a US title aimed at making Dredd palatable for US sensibilities.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I reckon most of those sales are of me and Rod buying the variants

[Molch-R]

I reckon most of those sales are of me and Rod buying the variants

Thought you might say that - the sales figures do take into account people buying multiple variants. They're still good

[Spikes]

I reckon most of those sales are of me and Rod buying the variants

How many have you snagged? You aiming for the lot for the first issue?

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I was gonna but too many of them are taking the piss. It reminds me of the second series of the phonecards, which I binned mid collection but eventually bought on ebay for less, a dozen years later!

I have all the main variants at the moment and 9 of the 19 shop variants paid for (with 7 in da house) and I'll just keep an eye out in the future as even I can't justify this insanity for one issue. If only Jim was right when he said that the shop variants wouldn't happen

[Woolly]

Have finally read this now, and I'm feeling more positive than i thought i would about it!

The art on story one is great, IMO. Citizens and MC-1 look right, and it feels right too. Judges are a little off in their depiction, but i'm sure that given time Nelson Daniel will produce some quality stuff. Reminded me of PJ's art in places, which is high praise indeed!
Not that impressed with the script (talking trees? whut?), but it still pisses over the old DC effort.

The second story is much much better than i expected it to be, after seeing the preview of the art.
Maybe a page too long, but very old school Dredd, which again feels right for this first issue.
The art itself is lacking slightly IMO, but the storytelling is sound. I dont like the layout of American comics, but as this is an American comic i can hardly blame the artist for that!

All in all, i'd give this a tentative 7/10.
Could have been much better, but also could have been so much worse.

[Woolly]

PS. The 'Dredd's Comportment' addition by Douglas Wolk was brilliant!
Jump-on progs should feature this 

[Teivion]

I got mine in Daves Comics, Brighton...

I thought it was pretty cool, agreed the art in the second story was a 'surprise' considering, but I hope it picks up the US audience it deserves.

[HdE]

Saw this (but did not buy, alas, as I had just wazzed my wallet's worth on the Batman / Dredd hardcover) at the LCS yesterday.

Artwork in the lead story looked FAB. Really liking it. Of course, I had no opportunity to actually read it.

I have faith in Duane to tell a story that at the very least holds interest. I'll see if I can't check out the trade collection, provided that word of mouth is positive throughout the run.

Win lose or draw, i'm pleased to see this effort being made to get Dredd over to US audiences.

[sheldipez]

The UK Spider-Man reprint title sells more verifiable copies each month than the US' Amazing Spider-Man.  I have a personal theory that a lot of those go to overseas customers, though.

Whoa is that true? I thought it was only the UK comics that went to the dogs.

[Jim_Campbell]

Whoa is that true? I thought it was only the UK comics that went to the dogs.

I've been banging on for ages about the fact that UK kids' comics are one of the few areas of dead tree publishing that have been showing growth on the high street. Many of the UK newsstand comics have sales that US titles would kill for, which makes Marvel's revoking of Panini's license to originate material all the more galling.

The bar to entry is the ridiculously hostile attitude of the UK distribution network on the high street (read: WH Smith) and the astonishingly poor cash flow of launching a new title. Basically, you're looking at being £500,000 - £1,000,000 in a hole before you have any idea whether you're going to make any money. Hence the profusion of licensed/reprint titles...

Cheers

Jim

[sheldipez]

Whoa is that true? I thought it was only the UK comics that went to the dogs.

I've been banging on for ages about the fact that UK kids' comics are one of the few areas of dead tree publishing that have been showing growth on the high street. Many of the UK newsstand comics have sales that US titles would kill for, which makes Marvel's revoking of Panini's license to originate material all the more galling.

The bar to entry is the ridiculously hostile attitude of the UK distribution network on the high street (read: WH Smith) and the astonishingly poor cash flow of launching a new title. Basically, you're looking at being £500,000 - £1,000,000 in a hole before you have any idea whether you're going to make any money. Hence the profusion of licensed/reprint titles...

Cheers

Jim

It's quite shocking just how little comics are available in the UK (without being US imports) when I was nipper in the 90's there was all kinds of comics, not a lot where great quality but there was a ton of comics out, mostly based on existing franchises (The Mask, Earthworth Jim, Thunderbirds, Stingray, Ace Ventura, Sonic the comic, I even remember a Rugrats comic from Marvel) but at least there was something for me to buy. Every newsagents I go in these days have 2000ad (if you're lucky) and the Panini Marvel reprint series and that's it.

2000ad is pretty much the british comic scene. I feel bad for not supporting it until prog 1800. 

[Professor Bear]

which makes Marvel's revoking of Panini's license to originate material all the more galling.

I was in two minds about that when it happened.  On one hand, Marvel shrank the talent pool of approved creators to small number of Caucasian American males and arguably that is the biggest problem their "regular" comic books have had for years, so I'm stumped why they would want to replicate that problem with material meant to attract new readers in different territories with different storytelling formats and audiences with different expectations from their comics.
On the other hand, the UK-produced Marvel strips were not very good.  Occasionally you'd get an Al Ewing Hulk outing or Simon Furman writing Death's Head mark 1, but the vast majority of stuff was unadventurous, unexciting and homogenised.  There was one where Luke Cage dealt with the problems of "the 'hood" that confounds me to this day, as someone with superpowers who can hold his own against the majority of supervillains in the Marvel universe was for some reason fighting drug dealers on a street corner while espousing his territorial dominance...  It begs the question "why would Luke Cage do this and not Captain America?"  I was not terribly sad to see the back of such fare.

[The Adventurer]

Sonic the comic,

Still running. And actually really really good. Don't know about news agent availability though. All I know is its on issue 242 and still going strong.