Prog 1952 - Suspended Sentence

[Eamonn Clarke]

Early postie today:

Cover by Leigh Gallagher is superb, going to be in my top five of the year with the pestilent puppeteer taunting Defoe. Lovely work, Leigh

Dredd continues to get closer to PJ and his plans (or does he?) as they investigate the links to the Strepsil mansion shown in the early pages of Dark Justice. Lovely noir work by MacNeil and Blythe, and Wagner's police proceedural work is splendid. Shame he never wrote a crime novel other than History of Violence.
Nice to see a reference to Judge Bender in there, still up to his old ways no doubt.

Defoe is crcking stuff from my favourite Mills' story with Gallagher's gruesome art the star, and the auld gang's all back.

Brass Sus. More recapping and Wren's fate looks even worse but a strange figure from a past adventure may be about to throw a literal spanner in the cogworks.

Sinister Dexter. Not my favourite but reading it as episodes of a show like Breaking Bad of the Sopranos makes it much better so actually quite enjoying this return.

Bad Company. Continues to focus on the terrible damage done to returned soldiers. If the original series was about the horrors of war, this seems to be about the horrors that our troops suffer for years after they leave the battle front. And I love it. Seems particularly appropriate as we move towards rememberance season.

No letters this week. There's Droid Life, an ad page for some new Bad Company merchandise, and the back page plugs the Mega Collection Simping Detective issue

[mejustnow]

Damage Report: Buttercup was always the best Powerpuff Girl.

As for the elusive PJ, is anyone else getting the feeling he didn't walk away from the Dark Judges unscarred?

[Frank]

As for the elusive PJ, is anyone else getting the feeling he didn't walk away from the Dark Judges unscarred?

If Mr Modifier is [spoiler]doing  a Torquemada - hopping from one decaying host to another - it's not too different to the identity merry-go-round that has been his life for the last quarter of a century[/spoiler].

There's always been something very shallow about Maybe; despite his obsession with Leeana and his comically overwrought reaction to the destruction of Inga, I never got the impression his attachment to them went any deeper than his appreciation of the similarly pleasing curves and shiny surfaces of his Foord roadster. [spoiler]I think he might quite enjoy never having to get old or form human attachments![/spoiler]

The technician who performed one of PJ's Day Of Chaos face changes commented that his facial structure wasn't going to support too many more procedures, and (from a creative/corporate point of view) [spoiler]becoming a phantom also answers the question of why Maybe is a Joker-style returning/escaping villain, rather than just getting shot or locked up forever, like most Dredd villains.[/spoiler]

[Colin YNWA]

Interesting Prog. I often find in the great run, often between 3-5 issues in you'll get a Prog that's kinda of lull, there's a bit of a dip as all the stories, or most, try to push story on and fall into a bit of exposition, or the vile plots revealed, and this Prog seemed to have elements of that but masterfully avoided a lull.

Dredd is delving and probing, there's still lots of stirring at monitors discussing evidence, piecing the plots, but then as you fear that all we'll get is the net being, well if not thrown, but laid out (though who knows if they're planning to put it in the right place) you get a glorious moment like the first two panels of the final page and the whole thing feels like a fantastically balanced 6 pages.

Defoe does drift a little, I kinda think we can dispence with the back story of the hanged now, they've served their purpose and now feel like they are simply dragging the page, that said the first half created a nice like bit of teasing development. The second half was a bit of cheesy reintroduction that didn't quite work for me.

Brass Sun was again a game of two halves, the first of which was a brilliant scene, beautifully realised and capturing both character and world building. The second scene held the danger of becoming plot by exploition, but retained enough menace and balance to get away with it. Its possible by different feeling between this and Defoe have more to do with my investment in the stories than anything else?

Sinister Dexter goes to the opposite of extremes and throws in some violence that is exercuted and done in the episode, have things really moved on, well no, but the new reader, or jaded older reader is reminded just how kick ass our heroes are. Its very well presented and has all the right puns, but its purpose is now survived so lets get on.

Bad Company does so much push the plot on (well it does) bit more so builds on the intrigue. Nothing feels quite real or cohesive - which I think is entirely the point, but for the first time I'm beginning to wonder how long it can sustain this mystery without something, more... solid to build on. We'll see as I'm still really enjoying it, just warning signs.

So yeah this at times felt like that lull Prog, yet when I reflect upon it nothing of the kind and just great Prog in what could be one of those glorious runs of the Galaxies Greatest.

[Jacqusie]

Cover by Leigh Gallagher is superb, going to be in my top five of the year with the pestilent puppeteer taunting Defoe. Lovely work, Leigh

Yes a lovely peice of artwork, beautifully rendered... then spoilt with all that crap all over it. God lord it looks busy, four or five different fonts & the last of which fairly illegible...

How I yearn for the days of just the one logo...

[Fungus]

Cocked a snook at this thread though strictly speaking I shouldn't, prog-wise. But the promise of a new cover gets the best of me...

Cover is not great, Gallagher's b & w art is gorily stunning, glad his Defoe is back, but the fonts here are...  ugh, as already said. Pye's departure a factor? And it's perhaps a personal one, but artists don't need to sign their art. That always irritates (even with the 'greats')...

[Geoff]

Good prog - love the first two pages of MacNeil's Art on Dredd.

[JamesC]

Really enjoyed this prog. Love the cover.
Dredd was excellent - can't wait to see what happens.
Defoe was really good too. Possibly the best it's ever been.
Sin/Dex was entertaining as ever.
Bad Company looks great and intrigues but I feel like I'm ready for some answers.

[Colin YNWA]

Good prog - love the first two pages of MacNeil's Art on Dredd.

Arh thanks for the reminder. I meant to comment on that. For me it was Chris Blythe's stunning colours that raised it above just plain glorious Colin MacNeil work to especially glorious Colin MacNeil work. Just stunning.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I'm confused.

Is this Defoe set before or after the last ones?

Is this Bad Company a reboot? (Didn't Thrax and Flytrap and Mad Tommy die?)

[Richmond Clements]

I'm confused.

Is this Defoe set before or after the last ones?

Is this Bad Company a reboot? (Didn't Thrax and Flytrap and Mad Tommy die?)

No idea with Defoe.

Bad Company - on the 2k Thrillcast, Peter Milligan said that 'all will be revealed'...

[Dark Jimbo]

I'm confused.

Is this Defoe set before or after the last ones?

Don't really know where the confusion is - the last book ended with Defoe hooking up with Tomazine, leaving the Brethren and settling down for a quiet life. This one picked up straight from there.

Bad Company... (Didn't Thrax and Flytrap and Mad Tommy die?)

Not to mention the planet Earth, where this story is (supposedly) set! I suspect it's all very deliberate, given that Tharx, Flytrap and Tommy are not simply fan-favourite characters but very specifically ones which we actually saw die on-panel.

[Greg M.]

I suspect it's all very deliberate, given that Tharx, Flytrap and Tommy are not simply fan-favourite characters but very specifically ones which we actually saw die on-panel.

I think the only member of Bad Company we didn't see die on-panel was Shrike - and we saw his corpse afterwards.

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

I'm getting too old for this sh*t

[sheridan]

I'm getting too old for this sh*t

Your glasses.  They're on your head.  I said, they're on your head.

The health visitor will be along in a bit, I'll just make you a nice cup of tea while we wait.  You'll like that, won't you?