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Mega(zin) marathon

Started by Smith, 09 January, 2017, 06:04:55 PM

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Rogue Judge

@Smith, like you suggested, I have also heard from others that CF volumes 19-21 is the low point for Dredd. I completed CF18 and honestly didn't hate it; many of the stories were okay but nothing really happened, Ennis was just plodding along at this point. Mechanismo was highly enjoyable, although I enjoyed Mechanismo Returns even more - the art on both was fantastic.

As far as Inferno goes, I have read mixed reviews and am kind of looking forward to it (with some trepidation) because it is mentioned so often. I always enjoy the Mega Epics and heard there is some great art (but not story) within. My expectations for it are very low, so hopefully its better than I think...

I have heard that the Taxidermist stories are excellent. There is a trade that collects the series that I have in my wish list. I have only read the one story that was in the CFs but have read that it is worth picking up. Your opinion so far?

I like that your reviews also include what was going on in the letters page, its interesting to see how people's preferences have changed (or stayed the same) over time.

@Trent - thanks as well for recommending Missionary Man, I'm looking forward to it! I didn't realize it was going to be three volumes. Has volume two been announced?

Smith

Its not really a full review,just some of my opinions.
Taxidermist is weird.Another one of those wacky things driven to the extreme.In this case human taxidermy as an Olympic sport.Its also a story about a craftsman fighting with his age and technology.Its also pretty funny sometimes.
So if you can get it cheaply and/or like Gibsons artwork;buy it.But I wouldnt go out of my way for it.

Smith

V2 #42
The cover for #42 is certainly a new thing.

Sex sells,I guess?
Inside we have Mechanismo: Body Count-an okay sequel,that sets up things to come.Harke & Burr are back for a bit.Creep started.Its pretty interesting actually,villain based stories don't show up too often here.First Shimura story was okay,but pretty bland,like I said before.
On the letters;yes,Childhood End was well liked.So was Missionary Man.Except for that one guy who didnt like Gordon Rennie and Fran Quietly.All of the letters in the next issue are readers(and Gordons) answers that letter.A similar cycle happens quite often with the Meg letters.
And Im sensing a bit of animosity towards the (then) upcoming movie and Judge Dredd comic from DC.

Smith

V2 #53
Taxidermist is over,it was actually way funnier then I remember it.  :)
Dredd stories have been pretty solid.We had Its a Dreddful Life(One of the Hershey pictures mentioned before is from this one),Bury my Knee at Wounded Heart,Giant[spoiler]The one where Walter returns as a robotic dark Messiah[/spoiler].Calhab Justice was a bit disappointing this time.There is Pan-African Judges,which I found pretty uninteresting.
Issue #50 was a bit of a retool for the Meg,and the lineup gets a bit of a shake up.Anderson,Psi starts the Postcards from the edge,and as mentioned before,Im not a big fan of it.Missionary Man Bad Moon is here,and its good.Shimura is back.Creep is actually pretty funny most of the time.He plays cards with Judge Death. :)
Back to JD,Howler started.Honestly,I don't think McMahons artwork really fits Judge Dredd,but okay.
In the polls Judge Anderson,Devlin Waugh and Shimura take all the prizes.Funny,considering Shimura doesn't have that many fans these day.Or at least,a lot of people complain its racist.

Frank

Quote from: Smith on 22 January, 2017, 11:06:30 AM
Taxidermist is over,it was actually way funnier then I remember it.  :) Dredd stories have been pretty solid.We had Its a Dreddful Life(One of the Hershey pictures mentioned before is from this one),Bury my Knee at Wounded Heart,Giant ... Howler started.Honestly,I don't think McMahons artwork really fits Judge Dredd

McMahon's art on Howler is fantastic. If you get a chance, look at it in digital format; Howler was as much a victim of early nineties repro as Bisley's Horned God *.

Thanks for mentioning Giant (Meg 2.50 to 2.52), which contains the sequence some readers remember as hinting that Dredd's been taking anti-ageing drugs for decades. It actually demonstrates the opposite ...




* McMahon says he only regrets that he didn't rule the pages up with proper gutters between panels. He has a point; delineated by clear, white space, each panel would look like a little Picasso. With only black lines separating the images, the deliberately restricted palette and minimal modelling means panels sometimes bleed into each other, confounding McMahon's usually excellent ability to guide the reader's eye around the page and, therefore, convey movement and tell the story.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Frank on 22 January, 2017, 06:44:12 PM
Thanks for mentioning Giant (Meg 2.50 to 2.52), which contains the sequence some readers remember as hinting that Dredd's been taking anti-ageing drugs for decades. It actually demonstrates the opposite ...

It demonstrates that Giant believes the opposite. It's not like the strip has a long history of demonstrating that central characters' deeply-held beliefs are based on an idealistic faith in notions that were nowhere as clear-cut as those characters would like to believe.

Although, FWIW, I don't recall any significant body of fandom giving credence to the idea that Dredd had been nomming down some Stookie analogue for years, and I certainly wouldn't have been among them if there was such a thing.
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

Frank

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 22 January, 2017, 09:04:17 PM

Quote from: Frank on 22 January, 2017, 06:44:12 PM


It demonstrates that Giant believes the opposite


Dredd's face demonstrates he isn't taking medication that defies the ageing process *. Dredd's face is in that nick 3 years after some readers believe he underwent treatment that reversed the effects of ageing (Nightmares, 702).

All this is academic, since Dredd has now indisputably undergone treatment that reversed some aspects of the ageing process at a cellular level (Carousel, Meg 375), but I get a lot of fun from noting details of how the strip has progressed.


* As Giant notes, "Lines of age gathering on the old man's face".

At this point, April 1994, Dredd's supposed to have been walking around for 47 years, with an extra five years added onto his physiological age because of his accelerated growth. If Tek Department wound back the years following Necropolis, either by sticking him in a giant waffle iron or the liberal application of Loreal Q10, they can't have wound the clock back very far

Smith

I found Howler a bit too...cubist,honestly.But I can see why people like it.
Manga Video is selling the Guyver OVA,Meg got an email address,and a lot of letters come from Matt Nixon and Sloano.They are in something of a war with David Bishop.There is also the Inquisition page where readers ask question about Dredds face,or how is it possible for Rico to have an 8 year old daughter if he spent the last 20 years on Titan?In one theory,she might actually be Joe's daughter that he passes off as a niece.
Back to the stories,HMD and Brit-Cit Brute return for a short while.Wilderlands starts.Karyn gets her own strip.Artwork by Adrian Salmon is quite unique,but Karyn herself is really not that interesting.
I'm starting to thing Calhab Justice and Armitage overstayed their welcome at this point.
Anderson's galactic tour is still going.I got to say,naming a planet Zerbia is a special type of lazy.

Frank

Quote from: Smith on 23 January, 2017, 09:06:25 AM
.... naming a planet Zerbia is a special type of lazy

... and a character called Sara Yevo!



Smith

Quote from: Frank on 23 January, 2017, 02:31:19 PM
Quote from: Smith on 23 January, 2017, 09:06:25 AM
.... naming a planet Zerbia is a special type of lazy

... and a character called Sara Yevo!

That's not lazy,that's insulting the audiences intelligence.

Smith

V2 #70
Did I mention Harmony already?It was okay,I guess.Trend of imitating Bisley is weakening.Wilderlands are over.The Meg portion of the event focused on Castillo.Brit-Cit Brute shows up in Calhab Justice.They just wont let go of him;for some reason.We got Son of Mean,which is funny for the most part.Creep meets Judge Dredd.And Anderson,Psi is taking a break.And Wynter starts.Its about Antarctic City.

Smith

Finishing off Volume 2,there is a lot of mediocre stuff in here.Pandora,Maelstrom,Harmony,Shimura...
In Dredds stories,we have a Judge Pal story and Strange Case of Bill Clinton,it would have been a lot more appropriate if I started this read earlier. :) We got Plagues of Necropolis,which is about Dark Judges killing people with some biblical overtones throw in,if I got it right.
The Movie is fast approaching.
Volume 3 is off to a pretty good start;Harmony is still around;but we got Missionary Man,Three Amigos and Satan in JD and Anderson,Psi section.
Three Amigos is pure fanservice(in a sense that it has Judge Death and Mean Machine,two very popular villains,teaming up with JD),but it is hilarious.
Satan is okay to good;but I admit its a bit over the top,even for an Anderson story.But hey,Ranson did the art.  :)

Smith

V3 #17
We have less stories per issue,but they are a bit more solid.Way too much Shimura,thou.John Tomlinson takes over as the editor for a while.Don't worry Bish-OP will be back soon,and stay another 40 or so issues.We get Missionary Man's origin story.Honestly,it makes very little sense.America 2 is announced.
The movie came and went.Some fans liked it,some didn't.Critics mostly agree its a generic action movie.And the best comic book movie of 1995.Dubious honor considering others were Batman Forever and Tank Girl.

Smith

V2 #23 We still have Harmony;Quietly returns for Inaba:Babes with big bazookas.Missionary Man is in Big Sleezy.Holocaust 12 is a new one.Nifty power armors,I guess.And we get Necropolis reprints.That will start a trend.And David Bishop is back as the editor.
But probably the most important,there is America:Fading of the light. I cant really say anything that wasn't said before,but I have to notice;America is many things,but it is not subtle.The scene where America is raped while a Judge watches and does nothing,goes a bit too far IMO.
That probably explains the warning on the cover(Not for sale to children) in any case.

Keef Monkey

Enjoying this thread, lots of memories popping up! I recall being young enough when that Taxidermist 'SEX' cover came out that me and my friends were quite nervous taking it up to the counter.

I've always loved Missionary Man, the artwork and the whole atmosphere of it really clicked with me so it's one of the Meg strips that I'm most fond of. When I got round to reading The Dark Tower in my mind I couldn't help but form Roland in Preacher Cain's image quite a bit, so it clearly left quite an impression. A totally different character, but I've always pictured the two as looking similar. Of course, now that I'm having a bit of a Dark Tower re-read I'm imagining Idris Elba in the role and how great he'll be in it.