Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

The Galaxy's Greatest Comic...

Page: 1(2)3

08:46 / 08.04.04

Aw fook, that's an awful cover.

Young Middenface was off putting to me when I first heard about it. It's Alan Grants best thing in years. He always had a fondness for the lumpy heeded numpty and this series is great fun.

The Spring Offensive looks great. Could be a pile of steaming cack, but I doubt it. I've seen preview art of Chopper and it looks great. Teague and Goddard are capable of really clean, detailed art that's somewhere between Ron Smith and Steve Dillon. In a good way. And the rest of the line-up has art by Adlard and Flint and scripts by Wagner and Mills. Top talent there. Here's hoping Mills is on form and not pulling another 'Satanus II' out of the pan.

10:29 / 08.04.04

Chopper? Awwwwwwfuuuuuuckwwwww!

Yes, I know, I know, there's nothing stopping it being good in principle, but in practice it smacks of mindless...

Do you know, I really can't be bothered to go on. I'm just getting angry.

On "when was 2kad good last?". I agree with Celebrity's assessment that the best stories are thoroughly realised, sustained feats of imagination, but their bite often comes from a certain timeliness.

Haus of Mystery

16:36 / 08.04.04

A while ago there was a strip called Shakara, with amazing henry Flint artwork. I read the first episode and it hooked me, in an early Nemesis way. Anyone read it - Brunt you seem to be a loyal squaxx - and if so was it any cop. It had the required mentalism, but I wonder if the story or character had legs.

20:43 / 08.04.04

Yeah, he had two if I recall...Bdumtish!

Shakara was an interesting stuff, lot's of madness and badness in the art and script. The ending explained everything nicely though. There were plans for more, and there may yet be, but with Robbie Morrison off fiddling with the Authority and Flint kept in constant work it's not likely to be soon.

But yeah, it was a good story in and of itself,

The Enigmatic Dr X

21:12 / 08.04.04

Hello. Had to say, it does seem a bit much to make a criticism which can be summarised as "it used to be good when I bought it, but becasue I don't it's rubbish"!

Surely it's worth picking it up again? And, yes, I speak as a subscriber. Not to is to be a Greenix!

21:26 / 08.04.04

It could be summarised like that, yes. It'd be wrong, though, and it'd misrepresent what's actually being said.

Otherwise, it'd be more accurately summarised as "it used to be good, then it wasn't for a very long time and I eventually stopped subscribing because of this. I've picked up the odd issue whenever somebody's mentioned to me how it's got back on track, but each time it's been just as poor as it was when I cancelled my subscription."

21:32 / 08.04.04

re Shakara or rather SHAKARA! Well to be a bit negative the plot was a bit repatative (Evil Aliens introduced. They are very evil and very powerful. Shakara appears ("SHAKARA!"). Shakara clobbers them. But artist Henry Flint is a genius... There's a couple of episodes that are like some of the most amazing stuff I've ever seen in a comic.

btw Hello, David dragged me in from the 2000AD site... think I'm gonna stick around.

23:10 / 08.04.04

I wrote a long bile-filled paragraph on what I think of Gordon Rennie, but it’s not worth posting because all I really need to say is I really don’t like anything I’ve ever read of his.

Plus, enough boring old Ezquerra. Get Simon Harrison back on Strontium Dog, because that was the best dog that there ever was.

And it costs much too much for a weekly. Ditch the glossy paper, it’s turned it from being the self-destructing punk comic the rough boys read, into the pretend edgy comic the posh boys read. And then wank over. And then file in binders, ugh.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

00:18 / 09.04.04

Wagner writes magic dredd (he's working up to something with the new clones and great slow burn storylines) and Carlos draws it like no other. But Wagner outside Dredd is shit- look at that Banzai Battalion shit. Fucking horrible art too. Rennie then fucks dredd upwith his infuriatingly shit fill ins. He's boring and talentless and his current strip (which I read in wh smiths) is appalling, like his old strips for the movie spin off comic. Rouge is horrible, always was- I miss Friday! Steves White and Tappin did great things with him. Stront is fluff, it's boring flasback stuff. Sin/Dex was amazing for the first run, but since they were brought back the strip has plumbed untold depths of awfulness. Remember when it got double sized strips for months on end?

Last time I bought the comic was for Shakara, last time I stopped buying it full time was when the nero nacros storyline ended (Doomsday or whatever in Dredd). 2000ad today is fucking shit.

00:45 / 09.04.04

Well now, it's pretty obvious that I'm going to disagree on this one. Wagner does indeed write magic Dredd but he also writes pretty good stuff elsewhere. His last Stronty 'The Tax Dodge' was great stuff. Who cares if it's flashback if it's as good as he's been producing lately? Button Man is another example of top Wagner.

And Rennie is one of the small handfull of people who've been able to capture Dredd. But it's not just me that thinks so. When asked at the last Dreddcon what the future holds for Dredd John answered by pointing at Rennie.

Tapdance, I'm sorry to hear that you've not been enjoying his latest tale because I have. It's perfect action movie Dredd and with the hints by the villain of the piece timed well to continur themes from the previous Wagner tale.

I know I'm not alone in enjoying Rennies Dredd. Tales like his current weekly tale 'Gulag' actually build on previous tales like the 'Apocalypse War' making them seem bigger and grander. And he's very good at exploring the Mega-city too with great M.C.1 ideas like the Flook family of low grade psis who could only use their precognitive powers when there was a prize involved, or the City Block that withdrew from the Meg and became a principality. Top stuff all.

And Thomas, looks like he's just one of those writers who leaves you cold. We all have them I suppose. I've not enjoyed everything Gordon has written, 'Storming Heaven' springs to mind, but I'd have to say he's one of the best writers on 2k at the moment. Of course depending on your point of view that's either a huge compliment or a damnation of the comic. I'm fighting with the first block, how about you?

00:47 / 09.04.04

Oh, and for the record I'm not posh, I don't pretend to be edgy and I've never wanked over 2k. Worse yet I don't store them in binders. Old Apple boxes, that's the storage system for 2k.

00:54 / 09.04.04

When asked at the last Dreddcon what the future holds for Dredd John answered by pointing at Rennie.

To be fair, Wagner's never been the best judge (ha) of these things. Remember him grooming Ennis? Remember Ennis doing absolutely nothing of interest when Wagner handed Dredd to him, other than Judgement Day (which, if memory serves, was plotted by Wagner anyway, with Ennis producing the actual scripts)?

01:08 / 09.04.04

Well, yeah, that's true. Ennis didn't add much to Dredd. But in that case Wagner touted him on the strength of his previous work. With Rennie it's after reading his take on Dredd. Subtle difference but there you go. For me Rennie is up there with Alan Grant, early Pat Mills, John Smith, and pretty much no-one else in the 'obviously I'd rather it were Wagner but this guy'll do' stakes.

'Judgement Day' was plotted and scripted by Ennis. As far as I know Wagners input was to say 'Use Zombies' when asked what Ennis should do for a long story.

08:29 / 09.04.04

So you don't think people stopping buying 2000AD has anything to do with people no longer enjoying what they are reading and got out of the habit of looking for 2000AD?

Its interesting. 2000AD has a very different dynamic and a different readership to most other comics. Firstly, you can still get it from WHSmiths and other newsagents, secondly, it is weekly rather than monthly, thirdly its an anthology.

The problem with anthologies has always been maintaining something for everyone as well as enough of everything so that no one is bored enough to leave. If people are accustomed to dropping stuff they don't enjoy, they will get out of the habit of looking for a comic that has different distribution, frequency and, by its nature as an anthology, varying quality.

Of course, there is always the answer that if you aren't likeing 2000AD at the moment and thing you could do better then why not have a go?

15:06 / 09.04.04

Funnily enough, a spelling mistake earlier on has inspired me to send my own 'revamped golden age 2000AD character' proposal to Tharg Towers (or whatever the fuck it's called). Get ready, ladies and gents, for...

Rouge Trooper!

In turn-of-the-century Paris, a Bohemian community of artists, poets, homosexuals and whores with hearts of gold is under threat from the evil schemes of Straight Society. As the forces of boredom move in on the sleazy nightclub they gather in, they are repelled by a mysterious new figure: the Rouge Trooper! Specially bred from the gametes of only the finest dandies, pimps and dancing girls, the Genetic Ambiguousman is more than a match for the troops of tradition! He's a high-kickin', epigram-spittin', finger-clickin' machine - and he looks fabulous, to boot!

See, it's based on a movie and an old 2000AD character. I reckon it's a shoe-in.

I think I may need to go and read some Devlin Waugh now...

18:58 / 09.04.04

Ah yes Devlin dear Devlin first series is still the best.

As for 2000AD I doubt I'll ever stop buying it unless I get into that much debt but just a few thoughts...

Wagner seems to be turning Dredd into a more Batman and extended family mould. Dredd=Batman, Rico mark 2=Nightwing, that new Dredd clone=Robin mark 3, daughter of Rico 1=..? Oracle? Not that this is a bad thing and seems to give Dredd that bigger feel that has been missing since I don't know..The Pit?

Spurrier, don't know why 2000AD seem to be pushing him like the next big thing because his writing comes across as shallow, Lobster Random was enjoyable but I am one of the Bec and Kawl haters (2000Ad used to produce good comedy it was called D.R. and Quinch) and From Grace..which has been haled as a work of Shakespearean and biblical depth by some lucky people published on the letters pages should read Cain and Abel with flying people.

Slaine juggernauts on but I miss Ukko, fantastic artwork though.

Durham Red, she's had better days but nothing to bad...again a nice change of pace in the art department.

Sin/Dex jumped the (Gun)shark long ago but hopefully this new Kal Kutter in training storyline and the new crime boss Apellido the human Crash Test Dummy model will revitalise the series.

Thank you for reading.

20:01 / 09.04.04

Picked up prog 1384 today, here is what I thought…

Dredd was - Dependable. Solid Adlard art. Nothing amazing, but nothing that disagreed with me either even if having the Sov's back as a main enemy made the strip feel 20 years out of date.

Sinister Dexter - As dull as ever. The art was nicer than the last time I saw the strip, but that was it.

Rogue Trooper - Terrible. Looked and felt so much like a strip from a Warhammer comic that I had to wonder if that was where its creators had learned their comic chops from.

Bec and Kawl - Sounds like a premise that could be full of all sort of mad fun - Unfortunately the script wasn't up to the promise of the premise -it failed to raise a smirk from me.

Durham Red - I've never really been sold on Durham Red, and while this strip had some lovely-looking space battles, this one was no exception. Hopefully, its regular readers get more out of it.

Shaun of the Dead - Disappointing. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I figured there would be a few more jokes. Most of the background details would only really make sense after seeing the film and even then they still wouldn't be funny. It was a great boon to get the strip in there, and to get Pegg and Wright writing it - Irving's art was lovely as ever, but it just seemed lifeless and one-dimensional.

Now, I realise that, the last strip aside, I was just reading 5 page extracts (or episodes) of larger stories on the other strips. Nevertheless, this could have been a jumping on point for many new readers (as it was for me). Outside of wanting 2000AD to continue to serve as a proving ground for new comics talent, I didn't see anything to make me want pick up the next issue. Maybe I'll try again when the Spring offensive hits.

How do regular 2000AD readers rate the issue - particularly against other recent progs.

15:00 / 10.04.04

Well, against recent progs it's a step up. The recently ended 'Valkyries' was like something from the Fleischer years. That said there's a feeling of water being treaded before the big relaunch two weeks on Wednesday.

Having the Sovs as villains is something that I think will make sense by the time the conclusion comes. I've a hunch that it's a revenge trap thing by a bloodline clone of either Kazan or Orlock. If so it'll tie in with the next generation clone thing tha's been building rather than seeming like a reason to extend the cold war. Mind you Dredds always meant to have had a blind spot in regards to the Sovs.

P.J.Holden has done a bit of work for Games Workshop, so perhaps that's why the Rogue had that feel.

Perhaps worth noting that there are no plans for more Rogue for the forseeable and that Durham Red has been described as 'the last ever'.

Haus of Mystery

17:37 / 10.04.04

Did Milligan ever do that Bac Co. that was touted a while back (mebbe three or so years)? If so was it any cop?

18:31 / 10.04.04

Yes he did. No it wasn't.

18:34 / 10.04.04

That said there was a welcome printing of 'B.A.D. Company' the pilot episode of which was the basis for 'Bad Company'. Originally it was a Dredd world story starring Titan Kano and was interesting reading to see Wagner, Grant, and Ezquerra's take on things.

Plus the reprint of 'Darkies Mob' has been interesting as the original source material for 'Bad Company' and as a 70's war comic that influenced things that were to come later, such as 'Halo Jones'.

I'm Rick Jones, bitch

00:17 / 11.04.04

I hope someone paints abnett's red out of continuity as a possible future or something- it's wank, but red's a good character who deserves a decent take (IE not abnett or alan "wankstain" grant). Classs art mind.

God, abnett is such a shitty, shitty writer.

00:26 / 11.04.04

Why isn't John Smith getting work, eh?

Anywhere. But here'd give me some incentive to pick it up.

Haus of Mystery

14:17 / 11.04.04

Yeah..Smith's definitely a 'sorry-the-nearly man' type isn't he. Always expected bigger things from him. For me, Indigo Prime's 'Killing Time, and Rogue's 'Cinnabar' were two of the best stories I read in 2K. His first american work (Scarab) was wank though. Whether that's due to editorial fiddling or a case of Big Time nerves I don't know. I read an interview with him where he said that Karen Berger simply hated his work.

15:06 / 11.04.04

Smith's last work for the Meg probably didn't win him any more fans. I loved it mind. He wrote a 12 part Devlin Waugh tale that was originally planned for the weekly. So it was an action packed, chase story. It got transferred to the Monthly and just fell flat. What would have been a great story in weekly doses just dragged. The art was interesting though. Colin McNeil painted Devlin in the style of Tom of Finland.

But he'll be back this year along with my favourite artist Steve Yeowell and Tyranny Rex. Yes, mroe blasts from the past. But it's Smith returning to his created universe again with a character that was never overexposed. Could be great.

15:26 / 11.04.04

Revere! Man, Revere was the best thing tooth ever published, if ever a series was crying out for a decent trade collection. Yeah! more John Smith, that’d be a step in the right direction. And does anyone know what the hell happened to Simon Harrison? He's completely vanished. DavidXBrunt, our resident ‘ordinary squaxx’, I’m sure you know. I’m guessing scuzzy heroin overdose, in tribute to Tamburini, that'd make some kind of sense.

17:54 / 11.04.04

Er...Simon Harrison...fairly sure he's still around somewhere. I'm sure he was interviewed in the recent History of 2000A.D. in the Megazine at some point. I think he also did a Revere star scan for the Meg in the last year or so.

I can tell you that Ron Smith amd Massimo Belardinelli are both retired from comics and that the former does the occasional story board work for films and the latter does occasional conceptual art for theme parks but as for the equally great Simon Harrison I can't be certain.

Haus of Mystery

18:22 / 11.04.04

Yes. Revere came out in that post-rave weird period, when Deadline and Crisis were still available in Smiths, and most writers were doing druggy stream of conch writings in the form of Boys! Action! Comics! Fucking brilliant (sometimes). Indigo Prime was a valiant and thoroughly realised bonkers mess, and I'm glad to hear Smith might return to it. Apparently he wanted to create a coherent unified universe to set all his stories in (a la Kirby's 4th World) but kind of got bored with it. Shame.
Smith was great for making any story he wrote be a 'John Smith' story, full of flesh demons with anvil hands, and nightmarish body horror. Made for some weird ass Robo Hunter fill ins!

18:28 / 11.04.04

I'll update you when it's in the prog then. Steve Yeowell is already part way through the story entitled 'Tyranny Redux'.

19:25 / 11.04.04

David! Do you mean you actually work for the Big Green Alien? For shame for not telling us earlier!

* waves imaginary fan in a 'la sir I am shocked' manner *

20:03 / 11.04.04

No, I don't work for Tharg. I am neither script-droid, pencil-monkey, or editorial despot. I'm genuinely just a fan. A fan who likes to keep up with what's going on and keep track of who's doing what and what stage they are at. A fan who knows one or two writers and artists through the net and through cons but I'm really, honestly, just a fan.

What, in that last post, gave you any idea otherwise? I just happen to know that Steve Yeowell is currently working on 'Tyranny Reduc' and as there are people who've expressed an interest I said I'd let them know when it turns up in the weekly.

22:01 / 13.04.04

Scarab is not shit. It's curtailed; much in the same way The Minx was, but much better.

The colours, however, are shit. In the way that all Vertigo colours from that period are.

10:17 / 14.04.04

I really can't comment on Scarab as I haven't read it for years and can't remember a bloody thing about it.

John Smith has always seemed a bit sub-Morrison to me.

11:35 / 14.04.04

I don't think that's really fair, but then I've not read any of Smith's non-2000AD work and tend to give him unlimited Get Out of Jail Free cards purely because of Killing Time. Best. 2000AD. Strip. Evah.

I can see some similarities between teh Smith and teh Morrison, but not enough to make that kind of comparison.

11:43 / 14.04.04

Not sure if it's unfair or not as I haven't read anything penned by Smith in forever, but I seem to remember that's how I felt the last time.

Perhaps I'll do some research so I can come back and say "sussed".

Page: 1(2)3