Robin's Reviews
Robin Low
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Let's start with the Megazine first just for a change.
JD Megazine 202
Cover - As you all know I'm not a big Simon Davis fan, but this was a
rather good cover, I thought. A bit dark possibly, but still rather nice
and interesting to look at.
Judge Dredd: Bato Loco - Not Rennie's finest Dredd, but still not bad. I
was, however, more interested in the big fat guy who nobody notices than
I was Carlito. My main problem with the story was Simon Colbey's art.
Although I had some positive things to say about his recent Rogue
Trooper, this didn't work for me - purely irrational personal taste,
though. Chris Blythe may have overdone the red, too.
Juliet November: Phoenix Falling - Not a bad story so far, although I
was possibly more impressed by Graham Manley's retro black and white
art.
Devlin Waugh: Red Tide - The best story in this issue. MacNeil's art is
fantastic and John Smith's writing is thoroughly unpleasant - and I mean
that as a compliment.
2000AD Gold - I don't usually comment on the reprint stuff, but I ought
to mention Darkie's Mob, which I haven't read before. Personally, I
can't see what the fuss is about. I know that I lean towards a more old-
fashioned, kid-orientated comic, but this didn't do much for me. Mind
you, I'll still read the next instalment!
Family - The story continues. Still waiting to see where it goes.
Black Siddha: Bad karma - A genuine new series from Pat Mills. Okay, I'm
interested, but there were way too many talking heads and the usual
mumbo-jumbo Mills chucks in to prove that he's done some research. The
big thing here is Simon Davis' arts, which might turn me into a fan. The
carved mural pages were especially good. This might prove to be a good
one. At the very least, it's good to see Mills doing something new.
Sinister Dexter - A one pager Sin/Dex. Oh, for an advert.
2000AD Progs 1322 and 1323
Cover: 1322 - My sort of cover at last: a striking image with a speech
bubble. Kev Walker's art manages to look better than his recent Rogue
Trooper rubbish, even though it's a broadly similar style.
Cover: 1323 - I *really* like Clint Langley's art on the current Slaine,
but although this is a strikingly unpleasant image it's dreadfully
murky.
Judge Dredd vs. Alien: Incubus - Good story, good art. Diggle and Wagner
seem to work well together, as do Flint and Blythe.
Caballistics, Inc. - It's still too early to tell on this one, but it's
readable, entertaining stuff and I like the Doctor Who references.
Slaine: Moloch - Dark though it is I adore the art. If you're prepared
to look at it, the detail is wonderful. The story is very action heavy
at the moment, but I think that once we get past the back-story it
should be quite interesting. So far, I'm still happy to view this as the
real sequel to 'The Horned God'
Sin/Dex - You know the score.
Nikolai Dante: Hell and High Water - So, this *does* pick up the story
again. Good. An interesting change of pace story-wise, and more John
Burns art.
All in all, still worth the money.
Regards
Robin
--
Robin Low
Greg Meldrum
<Ro...@celephais.demon.co.uk> writes
I rather liked this one. It certainly held my attention, which is not
something Rennie manages 100% of the time. It feels as if he's trying to
add the last missing ingredient to his Dredds... what Wagner terms as
'hard-edged lunacy'. The first page of the strip had that in spades.
Carlito is a nice example of how to write a fairly charismatic lowlife,
something we've not had a lot of lately. Be interesting to see if Gordon
works his return into some larger plot thread, Wagner-fashion.
>
>Juliet November: Phoenix Falling - Not a bad story so far, although I
>was possibly more impressed by Graham Manley's retro black and white
>art.
>
>Devlin Waugh: Red Tide - The best story in this issue. MacNeil's art is
>fantastic and John Smith's writing is thoroughly unpleasant - and I mean
>that as a compliment.
This really needs to be running in 2000AD instead of the Meg... it's
clearly written for a weekly schedule (of course, it was commissioned as
such). As has been mentioned elsewhere, for this to work monthly, we
need more pages of Waugh... 9 or so. 5 just don't cut it.
>
>2000AD Gold - I don't usually comment on the reprint stuff, but I ought
>to mention Darkie's Mob, which I haven't read before. Personally, I
>can't see what the fuss is about. I know that I lean towards a more old-
>fashioned, kid-orientated comic, but this didn't do much for me. Mind
>you, I'll still read the next instalment!
>
My favourite type of comic story remains the 'bunch of soldiers (or
whoever) in desperate conditions, who survives, who gets killed, how do
they get killed?' type. I've never read this, but I have taken an
immediate shine to it, not least because it reminds me so much of
another classic... no, not referring to Bad Company, though the
parallels are obvious, but instead to my own personal favourite from
Battle, 'The Sarge'. (At least, I think that was the strip's name.) I
wonder if that was a Wagner / Western job as well. If only my mother
hadn't binned all my old issues.... I'd love to read that one again.
Still remember a lot of the characters and their fates... Piat Pete,
Two-Face Toomey, the Unknown Soldier, Beetle with his radio set, the
handsome moustachioed Corporal who gets flamethrowered into an ugly
bastard... ah, memories.
My own 'Reprint The Sarge!' campaign begins here.
Oh, and Darkie's Mob is looking pretty good too.
As for Slaine, well, I've always had a lot of affection for Time
Killer... I would probably have bought it if it'd been put out as a
complete collection.
>Family - The story continues. Still waiting to see where it goes.
>
Thus far, my suspicion is 'nowhere fast'. I'm finding this a rather
difficult strip to read... the story-telling is a bit disjointed and
confusing at points, and doesn't seem to flow. (Not a criticism of the
art, more the script.) Well, we'll see.
>Black Siddha: Bad karma - A genuine new series from Pat Mills. Okay, I'm
>interested, but there were way too many talking heads and the usual
>mumbo-jumbo Mills chucks in to prove that he's done some research. The
>big thing here is Simon Davis' arts, which might turn me into a fan. The
>carved mural pages were especially good. This might prove to be a good
>one. At the very least, it's good to see Mills doing something new.
>
I imagine there's a lot more potential here once we get past the
laboured scene-setting / origin. "Oh, I had a funny dream, and then I
woke up with super-powers". Uh-huh. Still, visually interesting
character, with various metaphysical gadgets / powers... I dunno why,
but I'm not going to bet against Mills on this one. I have a sneaking
suspicion this will end up being rather good. I still believe!
>Sinister Dexter - A one pager Sin/Dex. Oh, for an advert.
>
>
>2000AD Progs 1322 and 1323
>
<snip>
>Judge Dredd vs. Alien: Incubus - Good story, good art. Diggle and Wagner
>seem to work well together, as do Flint and Blythe.
I have a feeling this will read a lot better in the Dark Horse
collections... not 100% convinced it's paced right for the weekly. Me,
I'm just worried for the safety of Judge Giant...
>
>Caballistics, Inc. - It's still too early to tell on this one, but it's
>readable, entertaining stuff and I like the Doctor Who references.
>
>Slaine: Moloch - Dark though it is I adore the art. If you're prepared
>to look at it, the detail is wonderful. The story is very action heavy
>at the moment, but I think that once we get past the back-story it
>should be quite interesting. So far, I'm still happy to view this as the
>real sequel to 'The Horned God'
>
Yes, it's very detailed, but exceptionally murky... the fight between
Balor & Slaine in Ep. 3, consisting of lots of small panels, doesn't do
much for me at all, and whilst I can tell what's going on, some of it
just seems an over-detailed mess. Far prefer Langley's b/w work (the
stuff Mills complains about in Thrillpower Overload.) As for the
script... as far as I'm concerned, Slaine ends with 'The Horned God',
which brought all the plot threads to a climatic and satisfying end. I'm
not convinced there's anything more to say about the character beyond
that.
>Sin/Dex - You know the score.
Once more, as a long-time S/D-hater, I'm still quite enjoying this. Just
as stupid as the last one, similarly amusing. It's not the first thing I
turn to, but I'm quite happy with it.
>
>Nikolai Dante: Hell and High Water - So, this *does* pick up the story
>again. Good. An interesting change of pace story-wise, and more John
>Burns art.
I'm glad to see Dante alive, but this run hasn't quite taken off yet...
I think things will begin to shape up when Dante's ma appears. Bit
cheeky of Robbie to call his genetic mutates Kreelers... what would
Johnny Alpha say?
--
Greg Meldrum
"Never forgive, never forget, never for fun."
Patrick Brown
news:hMDF7CA+...@celephais.demon.co.uk...
The art didn't appeal at first glance, but once I actually got reading it, I
really enjoyed it. Good character, fun story, and the art was actually
pretty good. I agree that Blythe overdid the red though. The first page was
pretty badly coloured overall, probably responsible for my initial bad
reaction. I think Blythe is altering the line art way too much these days,
and it often makes it difficult to "read". On the plus side, Gordon writes
Dredd extremely well (as does Andy Diggle - I think the character's in good
hands these days).
> Juliet November: Phoenix Falling - Not a bad story so far, although I
> was possibly more impressed by Graham Manley's retro black and white
> art.
So-so story - give it time. The art does its job, but is ugly.
> Devlin Waugh: Red Tide - The best story in this issue. MacNeil's art is
> fantastic and John Smith's writing is thoroughly unpleasant - and I mean
> that as a compliment.
Tis good. I wasn't sure MacNeil would suit Devlin, but it works very nicely.
Early days so not much has happened yet, but that characteristic "Swimming
in Blood" pace and tension are already there. Looking forward to the rest of
this.
> 2000AD Gold - I don't usually comment on the reprint stuff, but I ought
> to mention Darkie's Mob, which I haven't read before. Personally, I
> can't see what the fuss is about. I know that I lean towards a more old-
> fashioned, kid-orientated comic, but this didn't do much for me. Mind
> you, I'll still read the next instalment!
Didn't grab me at all, I'm afraid. Just seemed gleefully but pointlessly
brutal. and the same problem I often have with war stories, where the enemy
are just irredeemable monsters to be wiped out. Maybe there'll be more to it
as it goes along, but my first impression is, Wagner's come a hell of a long
way as a writer since then.
Time Killer's crap, always was. I've no idea why they've picked this, out of
all the actual good stuff available to them, to reprint.
> Family - The story continues. Still waiting to see where it goes.
Si F's art's always a pleasure, but the writing's not very clear. Anyone who
hadn't read the first episode would probably have been completely lost. The
mention of "powers" made my heart sink.
> Black Siddha: Bad karma - A genuine new series from Pat Mills. Okay, I'm
> interested, but there were way too many talking heads and the usual
> mumbo-jumbo Mills chucks in to prove that he's done some research. The
> big thing here is Simon Davis' arts, which might turn me into a fan. The
> carved mural pages were especially good. This might prove to be a good
> one. At the very least, it's good to see Mills doing something new.
Mills's take on a different mythology - could be interesting, and looks
great. One gripe though - it falls into the usual cliche that asians in
Britain do nothing but arrange marriages or try to escape arranged marriages
twenty four bloody hours a day, 365 days a year.
> Sinister Dexter - A one pager Sin/Dex. Oh, for an advert.
No big deal. Lightweight, throwaway, like Sin Dex usually is.
> 2000AD Progs 1322 and 1323
>
> Cover: 1322 - My sort of cover at last: a striking image with a speech
> bubble. Kev Walker's art manages to look better than his recent Rogue
> Trooper rubbish, even though it's a broadly similar style.
I'm on record as loving Kev's current stuff, so naturally I like this.
> Cover: 1323 - I *really* like Clint Langley's art on the current Slaine,
> but although this is a strikingly unpleasant image it's dreadfully
> murky.
I'll leave this till I comment on Slaine generally.
> Judge Dredd vs. Alien: Incubus - Good story, good art. Diggle and Wagner
> seem to work well together, as do Flint and Blythe.
Does exactly what it says on the tin. I like.
> Caballistics, Inc. - It's still too early to tell on this one, but it's
> readable, entertaining stuff and I like the Doctor Who references.
Yep. Promising story, cool attitude, extremely nice art, although I bet I
didn't catch as many of the references as some.
> Slaine: Moloch - Dark though it is I adore the art. If you're prepared
> to look at it, the detail is wonderful. The story is very action heavy
> at the moment, but I think that once we get past the back-story it
> should be quite interesting. So far, I'm still happy to view this as the
> real sequel to 'The Horned God'
Sorry Robin, but I'm going to have to disagree with you about as much as
it's possible for one human being to disagree with another on this one. This
is *fucking horrible*. It makes the Secret Commonwealth look like Sky
Chariots. Generic bodybuilding barbarian fights generic scaly nasties in
generic dark and smoky fantasy-land. Sequences lifted wholesale from
earlier, good, stories, without any of the context that made those stories
good. Dialogue almost Scojo-standard. Art static, unreadable and
astonishingly ugly.
Whatever happened to Mills's noble motives when the series started to avoid
all the "mighty-thewed" cliches of the barbarian genre? To present us with a
handsome human hero in a recognisable northern world, and rehabilitate the
ancient celts from their image as woad-covered savages who needed civilised
by the stern but fair Romans? I'm starting to think that was all Angie.
Slaine has finally become nothing more than an extended Heavy Metal cover.
> Sin/Dex - You know the score.
Yep. See above.
> Nikolai Dante: Hell and High Water - So, this *does* pick up the story
> again. Good. An interesting change of pace story-wise, and more John
> Burns art.
Proper Saturday-morning-serial-style getting out of certain death
cliffhanger thing - end the last story with something our hero couldn't
possibly have survived, and then just have him survive it. Heh heh. Story's
a bit of a retread of the one with the couple trying to escape the "right of
the first night" with the ex-executioner, but it's nice to see Burnsy's
starting to get the character right.
> All in all, still worth the money.
>
>
> Regards
>
> Robin
> --
> Robin Low
--
Patrick Brown
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Robin Low
<greg@NILSPAM!sadwings.demon.co.uk> writes
>Carlito is a nice example of how to write a fairly charismatic lowlife,
>something we've not had a lot of lately.
My problem with Carlito is that he's a credible character. I generally
prefer characters to be a bit more off the wall, at least in comics.
It's a personal taste thing. That said, Rennie's recent 'Dredd goes for
a synthi-caf' drawn by Ian Gibson featured some fairly ordinary joe-cit
characters and that was an excellent story, which will probably remain a
personal favourite of mine.
I'm possibly reacting to the artwork to some extent. If someone with a
slightly quirky style - like Gibson - had drawn Carlito then I may have
found him less ordinary.
Robin Low
Brown <patrick...@IHATESPAMyahoo.co.uk> writes
>"Robin Low" <Ro...@celephais.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:hMDF7CA+...@celephais.demon.co.uk...
>
>> Slaine: Moloch - Dark though it is I adore the art. If you're prepared
>> to look at it, the detail is wonderful. The story is very action heavy
>> at the moment, but I think that once we get past the back-story it
>> should be quite interesting. So far, I'm still happy to view this as the
>> real sequel to 'The Horned God'
>
>Sorry Robin, but I'm going to have to disagree with you about as much as
>it's possible for one human being to disagree with another on this one. This
>is *fucking horrible*. It makes the Secret Commonwealth look like Sky
>Chariots. Generic bodybuilding barbarian fights generic scaly nasties in
>generic dark and smoky fantasy-land. Sequences lifted wholesale from
>earlier, good, stories, without any of the context that made those stories
>good. Dialogue almost Scojo-standard. Art static, unreadable and
>astonishingly ugly.
>
>Whatever happened to Mills's noble motives when the series started to avoid
>all the "mighty-thewed" cliches of the barbarian genre? To present us with a
>handsome human hero in a recognisable northern world, and rehabilitate the
>ancient celts from their image as woad-covered savages who needed civilised
>by the stern but fair Romans? I'm starting to think that was all Angie.
>Slaine has finally become nothing more than an extended Heavy Metal cover.
I may be guilty of trying to be too positive, especially with regard to
the dialogue, but on the whole I do think Moloch is a massive
improvement on just about every Slaine story post-The Horned God.
True, so far it has all be hack and slay, but I think that has merely
been a prelude - we'll see if I'm right.
The murkiness of the art *is* a genuine problem, but there's good stuff
there if you look hard enough. The monsters are terrifyingly repellent,
and whilst Slain's warpspasm is not the most interesting we've seen,
it's on a par with many.
The key thing is that Mills has stopped preaching (so far) and I think
this bodes well for the rest of the series.
Greg Meldrum
<Ro...@celephais.demon.co.uk> writes
'Crazy Guy' not crazy enough? I see what you mean, but I think the
character's greatest potential could be his casual commentary in the
face of chaos, and his disbelief at being considered 'Bato Loco',
particularly if Gordon puts him into increasingly ludicrous situations.
I could see him working well if each time he returns, the scenario is
guaranteed to be one step crazier than last time. Also, he has a
catchphrase, an immediate bonus for a recurring character. There's
something very appealing about a character who gets stuck in lunatic
ventures and is fervently convinced of their own innocence. (I found
that to be one of Ace Garp's more endearing features.)
To be honest, I'm not sure 'off the wall' is a description I'd regularly
apply to Rennie's writing.. he tends to be a little more grounded. I
thought 'Bato Loco' was a step in the right direction though. The
opening page, dodgy colouring aside, certainly caught my attention.
Sven Olafsson
>
> The key thing is that Mills has stopped preaching (so far) and I think
> this bodes well for the rest of the series.
Sing it loud, brother!
Sven.