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Prog 2021 - Weapon of Master Destruction!

Started by Richard, 04 March, 2017, 01:30:33 PM

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Magnetica

Dredd was functional but nothing that will linger in the memory.

Sinister Dexter was great and hopefully we will get a full exploration of the impact no-one remembering them has over the next few weeks. Loving Yeowell's art on this.

Kingmaker - yes very good. On its way to joining the ranks of classic thrills already.

Kingdom - yet more Dan Abnett goodness.

The Order - a surprise compared to least week. It manages to be even more impenetrable.

TordelBack

Quote from: Magnetica on 08 March, 2017, 02:19:09 PM
The Order - a surprise compared to least week. It manages to be even more impenetrable.

I know there's an element of diff'rent strokes here, but how is this week's episode impenetrable?

It's just steampunk Pacific Rim: robot-becoming-human and cunning 16th C torturer-turned-defender-of-reality take the fight to the Wyrms home dimension in a giant axe-wielding Gundam* to destroy their time-hopping maguffin. Robot and Jaeger are destroyed by a giant golem, it's up to aspergers-sufferer smarty-pants Browne to save the day.   It's high-concept and marmitey, sure, but impenetrable?


*Did I do good? Am I down with da yoof now?

TordelBack

I apologise for the term 'aspergers-sufferer', I was trying for a proper phrasing to describe Browne's cognitive state and failed, but then couldn't edit. Genuinely did not intend offense.

Proudhuff

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 07 March, 2017, 07:30:22 PM
Quote from: Proudhuff on 07 March, 2017, 01:45:50 PM
What can I say? The first time ages I've skippity skipped most of the prog, sigh.

Dredd and kingdom still ticking all my boxes but everything inbetween just leaves me cold and I CBA following the endless worm/robot wars, Sindex has left me cold years ago, and the Avatar/Lord of the Rings thing rubs me up the wrong way...
roll on Scarlet Traces  :D

And to think I used to respect you!

Look what I did at the 40th stays at the 40th  :o
DDT did a job on me

Pegasus P Artichoke

Top prog once again

Dredd concludes very nicely, plus love the non reaction from the man himself at the end. Would like to see Boo Cook doing more Dredd in the future as well

Kingmaker not the strongest it has been but it's obviously setting up something toppermost of the poppermost next issue so it's all good

Sin Dex I enjoyed, thought it was good fun

The Order was brilliant, when a robot chops something in half lengthwise you know it's all good

Kingdom was superb as always

All in all top stuff and can't wait to see how The Order, Kingmaker and Kingdom conclude next week
We'll give them back their heroes

Batman's Superior Cousin

Quote from: TordelBack on 08 March, 2017, 03:20:34 PM
I apologise for the term 'aspergers-sufferer', I was trying for a proper phrasing to describe Browne's cognitive state and failed, but then couldn't edit. Genuinely did not intend offense.

Too late, offense has already been taken!!
I can't help but feel that Godpleton's avatar/icon gets more appropriate everyday... - TordelBack
Texts from Last Night

Magnetica

So here is the thing about The Order.

And in saying all this, I freely admit it might just be me and I need to pay attention more.

For a story to be engaging, I think it needs to have well formed characters that are a) recognisable and b) act in accordance with a set of values or motivations that drives their actions in a way that is consistent. That doesn't mean their true underlying motivation or allegiance has to revealed to the reader (at least not until the denouement)or they can't suddenly do something different, so long as that is based on their true motivation. A good example is Snape in Harry Potter. It is not clear where his allegiance is until the end and it turns out to be different to what had been implied.

With The Order I have simply lost track of who is who, what side they are on / when they swapped side (prime example being Browne). Throw in all the Rittershals plus characters who appear for a few panels and then don't appear again for weeks. Then add back in characters from the previous series and I am having real trouble understanding what is going on and I don't find it to be a good read.

It always seems this way with The Order. I hang on for 3 or 4 episodes  each series and then it starts to lose me. I guess this week's isn't, of itself, any less understandable than last week's or the week's before, it is more that it is a cumulative effect - with each passing week less and less makes sense until the point is reached when I no longer know why any one is doing what they are doing.

Now there are series in 2000AD with large casts that aren't difficult to follow, some of which have on going stories that last years or refer back to characters from years before.  For example Nikolai Dante, Sinister Dexter, Dredd, Strontium Dog.

Others I struggle with. As well as The Order, prime example are Fall of Deadworld (hmmm any pattern there?) and Indigo Prime.

Anyway, that's how it feels to me.

Prodigal2

The Order reminds me of my love for the TV series "The Shield." Love it. Don't really know what is going on but love it.

That's just the way I roll.

norton canes

Had a quick read-through last night, will pore over it at greater length but first impressions:

Cover - excellently drawn, great pose, perhaps a little lacking in background detail - humans, ticks, even just some blood? Also, it maybe would have been nice to have it drawn by Richard Elson. 

Dredd - What can you say? Sick, it more than one sense.

Sin Dex - As I've said previously I've not read any Sin Dex apart from the last couple of weeks so it's taking a lot of getting used to. I think I could enjoy this week's sort of thing much more than the knockabout tone of Electric Landlady.

Kingmaker - Another largely action-oriented episode, which doesn't leave much scope for a resolution next week, so presumably it'll end on a massive clilff-hanger. Must admit I slightly preferred the more talkative earlier episodes of this run.

The Order - Magnificent again. I love the cheesy 'action reports' throughout this - "Hydraulics on full! Weapons hot!". A great callback to the action strips of the 70's.

Kingdom - Now that's how you do a twist. Incredible.

I, Cosh

It's been interesting seeing these new Sin/Dex strips appear after having unwittingly flicked through the original art on Steve Yeowell's table at the 40th. I've enjoyed these back to basics tales. Look forward to more please.

Quote from: Tiplodocus on 08 March, 2017, 01:00:34 PM
I've taken a bit more time on The Order recently - I can understand the criticism of it not being immediately clear - and I find that the extra investment pays off in spades.  It still reads  (and looks*) like a strip from forty years ago - but a good one!
Very much this. I was pretty dismissive of the story and very much in the "confusing" camp. When I went back and reread the first two series I saw the error of my ways. What had seemed disconnected and nonsensical was revealed to be (as others had rightly identified at the time) a stripping away of all unnecessary connecting tissue between actions, incidents and revelations. Almost the very essence of thrillpower, in fact.

I was even more impressed when I went back and checked that the precursor to the Charles Bridge really was destroyed in a flood around that time.

To be fair, I wouldn't get 100% in any pop quiz on the current series but the general idea is clear, I always like strips which are able to highlight different characters than you expect and I'm confident a reread in a couple of weeks will improve things.
We never really die.

Sinister Vegas

Some, er, interesting block architecture this week. From the Cook droid  :lol:

Trout

Kingdom is amazing. Go Gene!

I also love The Order, which is weird as hell, and I enjoyed everything else in the prog. Five out of five, with extra points for Dabnett puns!

- Trout

Jacqusie

Quote from: Richard on 04 March, 2017, 01:30:33 PM
This week's cover is for Kingdom, and quite right too.


I'm pleased that Kingdom has got it's cover finally, but it's a little dated the image of Gene, he's gained some clothes and lost the blades in the story... maybe it was a stock image lying in the panel & fished out after realising they had no cover!


sheridan

Quote from: Jacqusie on 11 March, 2017, 01:31:57 AM
Quote from: Richard on 04 March, 2017, 01:30:33 PM
This week's cover is for Kingdom, and quite right too.


I'm pleased that Kingdom has got it's cover finally, but it's a little dated the image of Gene, he's gained some clothes and lost the blades in the story... maybe it was a stock image lying in the panel & fished out after realising they had no cover!

Kingdom has had covers in the past, or did you mean just for this story, rather than the series as a whole?

Proudhuff

Quote from: Trout on 10 March, 2017, 08:50:50 PM
Kingdom is amazing. Go Gene!

I also love The Order, which is weird as hell, and I enjoyed everything else in the prog. Five out of five, with extra points for Dabnett puns!

- Trout

your mouth is full of wrong
DDT did a job on me