2000ad prog 1607
Cover: very Greg Staples, 90’s-style painting, like it, although it is a bit static - maybe a BOK! sound effect is needed…
Judge Dredd: well-told by Robbie Morrison, not that keen on Paul Marshall’s artwork, I was never a Cam Kennedy fan the first time round. Why do all the gangsters have weird noses? Should surely make Dredd’s job easier - arrest everyone with a weird nose, job done. Good to see Shaggy in the Big Meg, where’s Scooby?
Future Shocks: wasn’t impressed. Westerns in space, come on… and with the artwork feeling a bit ’80s, reminded me of Colin Wilson, the whole thing feels a bit dated. Actually I’m probably just bitter, because I got rejected with an FS updating Stagecoach to the future (the story, not the imagery - I didn’t have any bloody stetsons and laser guns). Liked the gun coming out of the coffin on it’s own, though, nice twist on Django.
Lobster Random: love Simon Spurrier’s way with words. Still feel a bit like nothing’s actually happened for about three weeks. And Carl Critchlow’s scratchy art is still a real let-down after the lushness of Disraeli’s work on the Vort. Last panel is brilliantly menacing, though.
Stalag 666: as mentioned elsewhere: that’s more like it! (What does it take to get some frickin’ snakemen with rocket launchers on quad-bikes around here?!) Particularly like the last panels on page two and three. Although some Akira-style speed lines rather than some haphazardly applied background motion blur would really kick things into gear.
Red Seas: initially underwhelmed (not aware of the back story) but the dialogue has really drawn me in. I really like the sense of foreboding in the last couple of panels. But the art doesn’t do anything for me: I just don’t think Steve Yeowell’s linework is evocative enough to be that sparse. I never get a sense of backgrounds from his work (what was that mecha thing he drew a while back, with the pastel robots and the environmental theme? Detonator X. Awful). The third panel on page 2 is the first time I’ve seen him draw a proper face for ages, everyone else seems to be walking around looking pained with their eyes closed.
Finally, the classic T-shirts. Was never a Shakara fan, but that is a wicked shirt. No arguments with Bad Company and Dante, although I would be more likely to shell out for a Kev O’Neill Nemesis and Chopper shirt without all the crowd noise. What I wouldn’t give for a shirt with the Supersurf logos and kneepad stickers from the Song of the Surfer GN — to the interwebs!
**Batman music**