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Megazine 364 - The Spirit of the law

Started by Eamonn Clarke, 12 September, 2015, 03:20:59 PM

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sheridan

Quote from: Mikey on 22 September, 2015, 10:37:14 AM
I enjoyed the Interrogations and always enjoy reading Freaks which I have fond memories, though was this not reprinted at some point already? Plus - there was a sequel? I have no recollection of it at all so that'll be worth a read next month.

I don't know about any previous reprinting, but the sequel will be in next month's floppy.

IndigoPrime

It was in BO2K, way back. I thought it had been in one of the Extreme Editions as well, but Barney says not. I don't recall it having been in a Floppy before. It's a fun tale, although [spoiler]poor Flobert[/spoiler], and I don't remember anything about the sequel.

Dandontdare

Quote from: Bulbous Salutation on 30 September, 2015, 12:00:19 AM
Quote from: Grugz on 29 September, 2015, 11:46:15 PMI really enjoy "lawless"  though wasn't something mentioned in her debut that suggested she wasn't who she said she was? did I miss a resolve to that?
It was pretty strongly implied in the last episode of the first run of the last series that she's [spoiler]really Marshal Freely from out of Insurrection[/spoiler].

aargh, wish I hadn't read that as her true identity hadn't occurred to me - the perp she's had locked up since last series seems to know she's a fake and has been dropping hints to this effect throughout - every time he says her name it's in inverted commas. Really enjoying Lawless, best thing in the Meg recently.

The Dredd story wasn't earth shattering but was real back to basics Dredd and thoroughly enjoyable. Like the way the 'new' El Maldito's face is shadowed - I was expecting some shocking reveal at the end, but maybe he'll be back...

Demon Nic hasn't really grabbed me as it seems too light and silly to be taken seriously but not funny enough to be a comedy strip. I also find the panel flow a bit confusing at times. I think I'm just getting sick of "policing a demon-pact" stories (With the exception of Absalom, which is elevated by cracking dialogue and stunning art)

The jury's still out on Storm Warning - I think I may need to read it all in one go, but I've been enjoying it so far, can't seem to remember what's happening month-to-month though.

The features and interrogations are sometimes interesting but take up too much space and are getting a bit samey IMO - I would like to see some more interesting feature ideas rather than endless tales of "how I ended up working for Tharg". Not read the Dredd text story yet, but I think this is am much better use for non-strip space.

maryanddavid

Demon Nic, Dredd and Lawless, all top notch.
Storm Warning not sure on it yet, lovely art and a nice set up, possibly will read better in one go, Their Black Shuck in 2000AD read great in one sitting.
I always enjoy the interviews, well worth the inclusion.
I was surprised to see Freaks too, I though that was reprinted in an EE. Highlight was the Scrap though, I dimly remember it, good read.

The Meg is on a good roll at the min.

staticgirl

I am enjoying Demon Nic. I agree that the layout is confusing but I am loving it otherwise. I think it's funny. For some reason the Happy Mondays play in my head whilst i read it.

I love love Lawless. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have gone off Storm Warning a bit. The figures look they're traced from Poser or similar software and the body language therefore doesn't tell much of a story. It's a bit too clean but I like the colours. The story seems to drag a bit although I like the atmosphere.

Dredd was a good western, I always have time for a SF western.

The interrogations are getting to a point where the artist/writer often only has a tangential connection with the House of Tharg. Maybe we could have more variety in the non-fiction articles?

Jacqusie

Quote from: staticgirl on 02 October, 2015, 04:25:53 PM

The interrogations are getting to a point where the artist/writer often only has a tangential connection with the House of Tharg.


They are rather getting rather tiresome.

I really don't like skipping anything in the Meg or the Prog, but over the last year or two, I've found myself reading the Interrogations out of loyalty to the droids if nothing else. Now these guys are only very loosly connected to The house of Tharg, it's getting harder to raise any interest... bit like the floppy really.

So, bin them & the floppy - use a txt story instead for NEW writers, get the MEG back under £5 and it might make for an all round more enjoyable purchase I reckon...

Colin YNWA

I actually re like the text piece on the whole. I've just read 4 megs on the bounce and like that they are there. I'm not precious about reading everything and will happily skip, but certainly don't mind pieces from the wider world of comics, loved the Scott McCloud bit. I prefer the non-fiction text pieces to the fiction ones if I'm honest.

I do agree however that there is also space to move away from Interrogations and broaden the remit of the text pieces. After all the Podcast is kinda replacing them in terms of content, though how many access that I don't know. It would be nice to cover things like the wider world of comics, the creative process and reviews and reflections on the strips history and classic thrills. So as a random example an examination how Dan Dare's time in 2000ad reflected on his history as a whole to tie in to the release of the new hardcover.

Not sure how accessible people to write that stuff would be, but sure it could be done?

Magnetica

I guess it depends on what your interest is. I almost never skip anything in the Meg, but as I am only a 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine reader / fan and don't read other comics, I'm really only interested in articles that are directly related to 2000AD or Megazine stories or creators.

So an article on John Wagner and Alan Grant's new comic = good for me, an article on Doctor Who comics = not really interested.

I would imagine that there are stills loads of people who have contributed to the house of Tharg who haven't been covered and so there is surely a lot of mileage still in that.

I do like the suggestion of reflections on the creative process behind classic strips.

IndigoPrime

As long as it didn't take too many pages, then insight into the creative process of a particular strip would be a nice inclusion for me. The odd bit of sketchwork; writers talking about scripts. Yes, the podcasts can do this, but that doesn't stop a well-written and concise article from coming into being.

Quote from: JacqusieSo, bin them & the floppy - use a txt story instead for NEW writers, get the MEG back under £5 and it might make for an all round more enjoyable purchase I reckon...
I don't know what the economics of the Meg are, but I don't enough about publishing. Paper costs naff-all if your company has a half-decent deal with a printer. On that basis, I can't imagine scrapping the floppy would make much difference to the cover price of the meg. Scrapping the text pages would likely just result in those pages being removed entirely. Content is the costly thing.

Magnetica

This has been discussed before and one of the mods stated that not having the floppy would make no material difference to the price of the Meg.

WhizzBang

I love the floppy and it is the main reason why I subscrived to the Megazine - so that I could catch up on old 2000ad thrills I had missed in a concentrated form. They may be irritating to lyal fans who have bought everything and read it all but they are great for new or returning readers.

I also enjoy the Meg articles on writers and artists and think they break up the megazine nicely.

Molch-R

Quote from: Magnetica on 04 October, 2015, 03:18:36 PM
This has been discussed before and one of the mods stated that not having the floppy would make no material difference to the price of the Meg.

Correct.

robert_ellis

I love the reprint mag - even if it's not my cup of tea. Just getting a complete story makes the Meg unmissable

Hawkmumbler

Freaks illustrates why I love the floppies. I would never have been able to read this if not for them, because (baring a second Sci-fi Presents volume) theirs no real demand or indeed format for them to see the light of day again. As a result, the floppie is the perfect format for these smaller tales to be given a second day in the sun.

IndigoPrime

I agree regarding Freaks. It's a great little tale and perfect for this kind of thing. And I say that despite having the original Progs and the BO2K it was reprinted in. My problem with the floppies is when we get the likes of Harlem Heroes stinking up the place. At least such troughs are relatively rare.