Prog 1867 - Fight The Power

[JamesC]

Cover. An action packed Strontium Dog cover by Mark Harrison. I like the artwork but I'm not entirely convinced by the composition or the big expanses of white (large areas of white space rarely work well on covers in my opinion).

Dredd. I'm really enjoying this story but I get a little confused from time to time, sometimes by the art and sometimes by the script. In this episode [spoiler]Gerhart gets badly wounded in a firefight but then says 'I'm fine, took a missile in the line'. Maybe this is supposed to tell us he's a cyborg or something but it isn't made clear in the script or the artwork.[/spoiler] little things like this (and the other week's confused air lock scene) are letting the strip down. I think a firmer editorial hand could iron out these wrinkles.

Ulysses Sweet. I'm skipping this story but the Rupert pastiche this week was quite well done.

Grey Area. Love it. An interesting story that's set in really well realised world. My favourite thrill at the moment.

Future Shocks. I really enjoyed this. Lovely artwork - don't think I've seen Eoin Coveney's work before. The script is by Gary Simpson who I'm also unfamiliar with.
I suppose the story was a bit silly but it was great fun and evoked a feeling of Future Shocks of old. I felt I could almost have been reading this strip in a summer special in 1986.

Strontium Dog. Very action packed this week and there's a lovely Ezquerra splash page. More of the same really but it's always a treat.


Very good prog overall. I'm a happy customer.

[Hawkmumbler]

[spoiler]Gerhart took the bullet for Dredd in that one off with Trevor Hairsine.[/spoiler]

[Eamonn Clarke]

[spoiler]I presume that bit of him is bionic[/spoiler], although it's not clear from the images we see.

About that cover. I can hear what FlintLockjaw is going to say on the ECBT2000AD podcast now. Is it time to drop the top title and just go with the 2000AD logo at top left?

[James Stacey]

Looking at the cover I though for a second it was Simon not Mark Harrison. Great stuff. Really really enjoying Titan, it's a great premise well executed with fantastic art. I love the way Henry Flint has used Ezquerras colour pallet for the flashback panels. They could have come straight out Carlos' Necropolis work

[Ghost MacRoth]

Cover. Real nice, very eye catching.

Dredd. Have to agree with James about the lack of clarity in some of the panels...but the story is progressing nicely,[spoiler] never saw the independence bit coming!  Seems with this, and insurrection...MC1 is losing a lot of it's outer colonies eh?
[/spoiler]

Ulysses Sweet. Still reading it, but increasingly bored/disappointed by it.

Grey Area. Very nice art, and I do like the pacing.  Some folk say it trundles along, but I disagree, it suits a less helter skelter, 200mph, type of story telling.

Future Shocks. A tad different to the usual time travel 'twists', and looked great, very nice.

Strontium Dog. Picking up a bit again, but I just don't have the enthusiasm any more that SD used to generate with every tale.

Overall, good reading on a lazy Saturday!

[A.Cow]

Cover - OK!

Dredd -Titan (part six) - Explanatory!

Ulysses Sweet, Maniac for Hire - Centred (part seven) - Bo-ring!

Grey Area - All God's Children (part two) - Intelligent!

Future Shocks - Family Business - Smart!

Strontium Dog - The Life and Death of Johnny Alpha - Chapter Four: Dogs of War (part seven) - Yup!

[Tjm86]

Overall a pleasant read this week.  Dredd seems to be suffering from being continuity heavy.  Be interesting to see where Wagner is taking things with this idea of the impotence of Justice Dept.  Feels like Day of Chaos hasn't fully finished yet.

Am I the only one that is really struggling with Strontium Dog?  Johnny Alpha seems so far out of character it jars.  I liked the idea of the early days stuff but this current tale just doesn't sit right.

[Colin YNWA]

Progs held up last weeks great form.

Dredd might have been a little pedestrian but ever story needs that bit when the motives and plots are revealed and as exposition goes this was well structured and paced. Grey Area continues a great little story and Strontium Dog steps things up and things feel like they are hurtling towards a conclusion. Worryingly the fact that the Mutants [spoiler]seem the have gained the upper hand[/spoiler] doesn't bode to well, as tables often turn in the end of such things. Can't wait to see what happens. Ulysess Sweet mixes things up enough as well this week to keep its head above water, still enjoying this, though the fact its ending next week (I think) is a relief as not sure it can sustain too much longer.

The real things that pulls the Prog beyond the norm is the inclusion of a complete Future Shock (well its more of a Time Twister but I don't think we do them any more do we?). Two creators I don't know producing a really well executed short. Not sure it would stand up to close scrutiny but its realised well enough to wipe me along with it and not feel the need to delve too much. The story is great but the art is the real highlight. To me it was kinda like the bastard offspring of Dave Gibbons and John Higgins and I have to say the child of their artwork is quite the looker. Damned fine short.

[Frank]

Not sure it would stand up to close scrutiny but its realised well enough to wipe me along with it and not feel the need to delve too much.

200ad hasn't been this soft, this strong, or as thoroughly absorbent since the days when it was printed on actual bog paper. The metaphors we employ reveal so much about our psychology and experiences, Colin - good luck at the proctologists.

[Richard]

What Sauchie said!

Turning to other subjects... I thought the prog was pretty good this week. I don't usually like the new Ulysses Sweet much, but the Rupert Bear spoof was brilliant. By far the best episode of this story.

I have been enjoying Titan since it started, but I was also confused by what happened to the SJS guy: does he have bionics, or is he just really tough or what? Also I don't actually believe that Hershey is such a wuss that she would hesitate to blow Titan up just because it supposedly has nearly 400 "innocent" convicts on it, even if she takes them at their word. Or that Sinfield would have even survived this long on Titan, as much as I like seeing him back again. However I enjoyed the brightly-coloured flashback panels, in contrast to the dark "present day" bits.

While Alpha acted out of character in a previous episode when he killed some POWs, I dont agree that he is still continuing to do so this week. This reads like classic b+w Strontium Dog to me.

I liked Eoin Covenay's art, have we seen him/her before? Name feels familiar but can't place it, and the Barney website seems to be having some problems lately.

Grey Area is alright.

[A.Cow]

The story is great but the art is the real highlight. To me it was kinda like the bastard offspring of Dave Gibbons and John Higgins and I have to say the child of their artwork is quite the looker.

Personally I'd have suggested a three-way bohemian orgy between Gibbons, Higgins and Cliff Robinson (with Cam Kennedy joining the party for the last couple of panels).

[JamesC]

Definitely a bit of Kennedy in that Future Shock.

[Eamonn Clarke]

Henry Flint ‏@henryflintzombo
Cocked up shoulder pads in today's 2000ad sub. Not twice, 3 times! If Titan is to be collected MUST make changes. (Don't tell Mek-Quake.)

[Eamonn Clarke]

Sorry. Meant to say that is a tweet from Mr Flint himself. I presume he is referring to the eagle on Gerhart's left shoulder which I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out.

[Frank]

Henry Flint ‏@henryflintzombo: Cocked up shoulder pads in today's 2000ad sub. Not twice, 3 times! If Titan is to be collected MUST make changes. (Don't tell Mek-Quake.)

Happens to the best: