We dont post Meg reviews as often as we should. Hell, we dont put up Megazine podcasts as often as we should, but if you wanna tell the ladies of the Megacast off for that you’re a braver man than I am.
Luckily Alski has been cool enough to send in a review of the latest issue, so big thanks for that. I would chip in with comments but I havent actually gotten round to reading this one yet. Yeah, I know… bad nerd.
You can check out more of his stuff over on his website HERE
Dredd
Robbie Morrison takes liberties with Charles Dickens as Dredd goes all “Great Expectations”, although it seems to be one of those stories in which Dredd himself is only a peripheral character. Part one is intriguing and certainly nicely told, but personally I find it hard to find any love for the washed out colouring in Dave Taylor’s art.
Samizdat Squad
Yet again, the biggest use of this strip is to waste my time. It’s not one of Arthur Wyatt’s best scripts, it’s not even some of PJ Holden’s best art, but it just seems to appear, make little impression, then it’s gone. Possibly the dullest strip the Meg has seen for some time.
Snapshot
I feel that this one will be more effective when read as a whole, as it’s now getting a little stale as a partwork. Conspiracies and murders abound, but I’m finding it quite hard to actually give that much of a sneck about the main characters or their motives. I hate to say it, but Jock’s art isn’t giving me a buzz, either, and I normally love it.
Hondo City Justice
This is more like it! The central pairing of Inaba and Junko is well played, some of the dialogue is more Downlode than Hondo City, and the strip works all the better for it. It’s all quite talky, but underneath is a quite linear story (so far) that can be enjoyed by anyone. Mike Collins provides this months best art, merely by being clear, well coloured and thoroughly dependable, similar in feel to much of John Higgins’ early Twoth work.
Text Articles
A good interview with Chris Weston, a shorter but still good one with David Hine, plus an excellent text story from Mike Carroll that should come with a massive “SPOLIER” label, as it drops huge hints about the aftermath of Day Of Chaos. I was most unchuffed, but it’s still a great story.
Freebie – American Gothic
This is a sweet little treat from the past, a horror cum western story that manages to keep it’s feet on the ground and tell a solid tale without going too weird. Ian Edgington’s tight script is backed up by some pretty good (but obviously early) art from Mike Collins. Just the right length with a good sprinkling of originality, this is a real lost gem. Backing up are two genuinely creepy Terror Tales from Al Ewing’s vault, showcasing quite easily why he went on to become a Prog regular later on.
Overall
Pretty good, although “SS” still grinds my gears. There’s a ‘slump’ feeling about the Meg at the moment that it needs to shake, so hopefully there will be livelier replacements for Samizdat Squad and Snapshot when the time comes.
Best Strip: Hondo City Justice
Thanks for the warning on Mike’s Dredd short story! I’ll steer clear for a few weeks I think.
Horses for course otherwise. I quite liked Snapshot and Samizdat but wasn’t at all keen on Dredd or Hondo. Dredd because I really don’t need a multi episode Dredd world homage to Great Expectations and Hondo because it doesn’t do much for me, particularly artwise which is unusual as talented people are on the art duties.
Overall though. Pretty good for me but a weak Dredd is hard to recover from.