Prog 1947 - Rider on the Ice Storm

[IndigoPrime]

Deadworld: I don't like to say this, but I found this totally inappropriate for the Prog, it was disturbing but not in a good way or a way that it should be, was it black humour and I missed the mark?

It seemed a fairly straight horror yarn to me. What made it especially disturbing for you? Mortis [spoiler]turning someone into a meat puppet for company[/spoiler] was quite dark, but hardly any more so than [spoiler]the Dark Judges wiping out their entire homeworld or 60 million in Mega-City One, including Mortis melting a child in full view of the 'camera'[/spoiler].

[Dark Jimbo]

A little darker than average, certainly. I suppose Huff's point is that while they may usually be killing people (however gruesomely), Mortis went out of his way here to inflict some cruel and unusual punishments. Personally I thought there was some great black humour to it, but Kendall's art doesn't necessarily shout 'comedy.' I can see that this is something you wouldn't want to read if you were already feeling a bit glum...!

It's not something I'd like to see in an extended series, but hey, at four parts long it's not going to outstay its welcome.

[Grant Goggans]

I think I would have preferred Enceladus to have lingered for one more week.  Had episode eight ended with the cliffhanger revelation from the other planet, that would've been a heck of a great kick in the teeth.

[Geoff]

Yes, one more episode would have been good to have a bit more of an aftermath and allow the story to settle.  MC1 must be down to just Dredd, Hershey and Mad Frank policing just a few very cold citizens by now. 

Enjoyable story though and superb artwork. I do hope we get some explanation about the horse! (And I do hope he's related to old Henry Ford)

Enjoying the haunted country house story and Grey Area.  The 2 part 3thriller story has passed me by once again, I think these really do need a strong/surprising/original/twisted idea to work.

Talking of twisted there's Deadworld. I preferred this week's to last, the blackest of black humour... I'm not really a fan of horror or the dark judges particularly but the art's pretty impressive.

 

[Proudhuff]

  MC1 must be down to just Dredd, Hershey and Mad Frank policing just a few very cold citizens by now. 

They could take turns at being Chief Judge.

[Dandontdare]

Gotta say, I'm absolutely blown away by Dreams of Deadworld. It's two for two so far, and I'm interested in these characters in a way I haven't been for years. All the comedy has been stripped away and they are plausible creatures of horror again rather than pantomime villains. For the first time they have distinct personalities. I don't think I need to gush about the artwork do I? That image of Mortis just scooping flesh out of the guy's side, and his weird hunchbacked spine - just breathtaking.

It sounds like heresy to say that another writer is better at writing characters that Wagner created, but (artwork aside), Dark Justice seems even more feeble compared to the depth shown in these brief one-offs.

Mr Kek-W, I tip my hat to you!

(well I would if I was wearing one, but I'm not going to go all the way into the other room to put one on just so I can tip it, but ya know what I mean...)

[Dandontdare]

Gotta say, I'm absolutely blown away by Dreams of Deadworld. It's two for two so far, and I'm interested in these characters in a way I haven't been for years. All the comedy has been stripped away and they are plausible creatures of horror again rather than pantomime villains. For the first time they have distinct personalities. I don't think I need to gush about the artwork do I? That image of Mortis just scooping flesh out of the guy's side, and his weird hunchbacked spine - just breathtaking.

It sounds like heresy to say that another writer is better at writing characters that Wagner created, but (artwork aside), Dark Justice seems a poor second compared to the depth shown in these brief one-offs.

Mr Kek-W, I tip my hat to you!

(well I would if I was wearing one, but I'm not going to go all the way into the other room to put one on just so I can tip it, but ya know what I mean...)

[Dandontdare]

bollox, I quoted instead of modifying

[Jacqusie]

My biggest worry of this whole (largely fantastic) arc is that we won't see any aftermath from such cataclysmic events - that next week we'll get a jarring 'Dredd encounters a wacky new craze' as though this story never even happened, with no mention of the ice, or the thousands of dead, or Maitland, Gerhart, etc. That's probably the most dissatisfying thing about modern Dredd (compared to the Wagner/Grant and solo Wagner era); the big stories don't really feel like they're happening in the same universe.

I know what you mean, there is a certain 'weight' to the Dredd stories that both build and deal with the aftermath, rather than skip to a bubblegum MC1 slapstick sketch.

Mind you, I still can't get over Dark Justice by Wagner and how it was just thrown into the prog & then ignored when it ended. One of the biggest stories built up in the prog was an utterly strange experience reading it in isolation.

At least with the Titan story line we had the rolling background tales and I thought it was paced brilliantly throughout all three story arc's. The last of which, yes it would have made a great 10 parter, but we have to be appreciative of what was given to us and what, In my opinion is the Dredd writer elect, Rob Williams has in store for us.

Needless to say, Henry Flint's art is consistantly outstanding and has pretty much acheived the same mantle of THE Dredd artist in waiting, while Carlos still reigns supreme.

...it fair makes my head hurt when trying to find words for that man and what he has done for 2000AD.

Cheers

Si

[robert_ellis]

I'm loving the Deathworld stories. The tone of the stories plus the art does actually feel truly horrific. Enceladus ended a bit quickly. Dirty Frank always leaves me wanting more. Which is s sentence that looks wrong written down.

[IndigoPrime]

Williams really gets Dredd and the supporting cast. His Hershey is superb. Naturally, then, we'll probably find out tomorrow that he's now tied into an exclusive 60-year DC/Marvel contract or something, and will be chained to a desk next to Al Ewing.

[Dark Jimbo]

Williams really gets Dredd and the supporting cast... Naturally, then, we'll probably find out tomorrow that he's now tied into an exclusive 60-year DC/Marvel contract or something, and will be chained to a desk next to Al Ewing.

He signed on exclusively with Marvel with 2011 - after making them add a clause that allowed him to go on writing for 2000AD as well! Top bloke.

[Link Prime]

Williams really gets Dredd and the supporting cast... Naturally, then, we'll probably find out tomorrow that he's now tied into an exclusive 60-year DC/Marvel contract or something, and will be chained to a desk next to Al Ewing.

He signed on exclusively with Marvel with 2011 - after making them add a clause that allowed him to go on writing for 2000AD as well!

And IDW too (Mars Attacks Judge Dredd).

[Dark Jimbo]

I think quite often 'exclusive to Marvel' in practice just means 'can't work for DC' (and vice versa). Dan Abnett's got a similar deal in place with Marvel - an 'exclusivity' deal which certainly hasn't stopped him spreading himself about a fair bit!

[Link Prime]

I think quite often 'exclusive to Marvel' in practice just means 'can't work for DC' (and vice versa).

I reckon that's it alright.