#eljackinton

[judgeanon]

So now that there has been time for the dust to settle, what are you final feeling on End of Days?

Better than expected, still not as good as I’d hope. I appreciate Williams trying his absolute level best to give everyone in the team something to do and also not just doing another whizz-bang fight an army of bad guys kinda thing, but I also think the twist was a bit too smart for its own good, and as the story kept going it just sorta started to lose that sense of destructive urgency. Not a fan of bringing Izaaks back or the whole Sovs plot that got resolved in less than an episode either. But I did like Anderson being kind of a heartless monster when the situation required it. Serious Anderson is terrifying and I dig it.

So overall, ehhhh, well... it’s still better than Enceladus I guess.

[judgeanon]

How are you feeling about End of Days so far?

Ehhhh, ‘s OK. I think it’s doing something interesting by making a “mission Dredd” epic but instead of being an action story it’s a horror one. I just don’t think it’s particularly horrifying. Like, in theory it is, and there’s some gruesome imagery, like the aftermath of Hunger’s attack, but it’s not quite landing for me.

Also, the crossovers and cameos are kinda jank. Hoping they keep them at two.

[judgeanon]

Odds on Dredd losing a body part and getting a cyborg replacement within the next five years of the strip?

I hadn’t really thought of that. They seem to be pretty happy with just the eyes, but just to be on the safe side, I’m gonna give it a 25% chance.

[judgeanon]

Question: If you had to take one 2000ad story/series that you found disappointing, underwhelming, or just plain didn't like, and redo it, which would you pick and what would you change about it?

I’m gonna refrain from doing the obvious answer of Hershey’s solo series and instead, I’d go way back to DEATH PLANET

Because Death Planet was the first major disappointment I got while doing my prog slog. They had a shot at creating the very first female heroine in 2000AD and completely botched it by giving her a male co-star who made all the right calls and always saved the day with his rough and tough ways. Meanwhile, Lorna just stood in a corner angsting over how useless she was and yadda yadda. Got a bit better near the end when they introduced a villainess who hated Lorna for personal reasons and she gained some more protagonism thanks to it, but goddamn that was an eyerolling couple of progs.

In a similar way, MOONRUNNERS had a very interesting premise, and while it developed way better than Death Planet, it was still kinda low energy and boring. The concept was solid and even a bit ahead of its time, but it needed to be more thrilling in its execution. And it could’ve used more Belardinelli weirdo creatures.

[judgeanon]

Thought I'd have asked this sooner but what are your hopes for the Rogue Trooper movie?

I hope it’s good!

The long answer is that I hope it does a good job of keeping the characters simple and engaging while the world around them is both gloomy and insane. I’d like to see a certain sense of escalation, where it starts as this eerie weird war tale and steadily ramps up into an all-out Fast and the Furious-style crazy bullshit action happening all around. And through it all, I’d like it to retain that pervading sense of War Is Hell that Rogue touched on. Which honestly might even hit harder nowadays, what with the whole “war-ravaged planet where even the atmosphere has become poisonous” shtick.

[judgeanon]

Dunno if you've talked about it yet, but your thoughts on the most recent Max Normal series?

Felt like it ran a bit too long and the ending was slightly anti-climactic, but it was tons of fun. Absolutely loved the different explorations of identity and expression in a city that doesn’t give a crap, and I really appreciate that it didn’t fall into any generational pitfalls. Cornwell does some really cool art, too. Good stuff all around!

[judgeanon]

Yo, just curious on what you think the allegory of the most recent Dredd arc is going to be. I'm still trying to figure out wheter the mek-judges are supposed to be stand a stand in for drone warfare or victims of workplace prejudice, and right now it could go either way (and knowing 2000ad, that could be deliberate). What do you think?

To be honest, I hadn’t even considered there being an allegory. Maybe it could be read as an analysis of the mechanization of work creeping into more and more human places, but instead of presenting it as a completely terrible thing, it kinda puts the humans a bit to shame by showing machines being more comprehending and sympathetic than them. 

Of course, the question of whether that comprehension comes from any genuine feelings or if it’s just part of their programming hovers over it all, represented in a way by Dredd’s staunch refusal to accept machine law, even when disguised as humane. He believes that judgement always has to come from a human’s own sense of justice and that that cannot be programmed.

But, in typical Dredd fashion, things are simply not as clear-cut. And it’s worth asking if programmed empathy is really that bad compared to the judges’ usual brand of brutal apathy and disdain.

I’m rambling a bit away from the initial question but I do think there may be some of that in there. Ultimately, I think the best Dredd stories are the ones you can question and question endlessly and never quite get a "proper” answer.

[judgeanon]

So what's your take on the curious news of Rebellion setting up a film and TV studio? I find it a bit odd, since they're not massive on the video game scene, so it's not like Blizzard setting up their own film studio since they're massive and can clearly afford it. If I was thinking cynically I'd suspect they'd gotten frustrated not being able to find a network for the Dredd TV show and decided to cut out the middle man. Thoughts?

It’s definitely odd. I know they get a lot more money out of videogames even if they aren’t a major studio thanks to digital distribution. They also recently got that massive catalog of old comic IP’s, but comics being what they are, I doubt that’s been a major enough boost to justify a studio. Thinking about it, maybe the UK offers tax bonuses and support to TV and movies done in country? I wouldn’t know since I’m not big on either but I know some countries do.

Also, I don’t think that’s thinking cynically at all. It’s more practical than anything. Cynical would be “they just set it up to farm IPs to other producers without caring what or if they even do anything with them”. Y’know... like the Fleetway Film and Television.

Isn’t it nice that they’re starting with such a huge example of what NOT to do?