taking sides: The early Slaine v. The early Strontium Dog

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These are the latest 2000AD reprints. The first is all the McManhon/Bellardinelli drawn pre-rubbish Slaine stuff. The latter is not actually *that* early, but it does have classics like the time Johnny Alpha is drafted into the army of the Wolrogs, the time Johnny Alpha goes to HELL, and the time Johnny Alpha goes back in time to bring in Hitler.

Somehow the theory seems to have got out that "Strontium Dog" is incredibly humourless. Reading these should disprove that contention.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:07 (twenty years ago)

I think you'll find that the pre-Fabry Slaine is Teh Rubbidge. "we have a celtic hero and we have no idea what to do with him" versus the actual great warp spasming, tribe uniting, witch shagging lord of All That.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 14 April 2005 16:17 (twenty years ago)

The Fabry pen & ink Slaine is great. The post-Bisley Fabry painted Slaine is the stuff to avoid...

Strontium Dog. Best tile for a strip ever.

― David N (David N.), Thursday, 14 April 2005 23:02 (twenty years ago)

Pre-"Let's talk about TEH BEAST" Slaine is good fun but not as good as Johnny Alpha IN HELL. Although while the reproduction is better than some of the 'classic' 2000AD, it's still missing colour spreads.

Does the post-Hitler adventure 'Muties Luck' make an appearance? it's the best Stronty Dog story EVAH.

― Vic Fluro, Thursday, 14 April 2005 23:04 (twenty years ago)

Slaine = always unreadable sword+sorcery celtic mystic hoohaa, but at least with GORGEOUS artwork when Mike McMahon was drawing it (that incredible crosshatching, the equal of Crumb!)

Strontium Dog = I've never understood why the slapdash+ugly Ezquerra's artwork is so strongly favoured by many many 2000AD fans - when myself and Martin Skidmore interview P@t M~lls many years ago, he was cheeringly disparaging abt CE(whose least-worst work, to my mind, was on the early Stainless Steel Rat progs - poss. a better than normal page rate on those?)

― Andrew ell, Friday, 15 April 2005 05:43 (twenty years ago)

When he's on form, no one beats Ezquerra.

Vic - is the Mutie's Luck one the story where the scary evil mutant's identical triplets show up to spank Johnny Alpha?

Incidentally, is the Gronk Johnny & Wulf's beard?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Friday, 15 April 2005 16:22 (twenty years ago)

Apparently, if you mention to John Wagner that Johnny might be gay, he goes mental.

'Muties Luck' is the one with Johnny and Wulf on the gambling planet, and Johnny gives away all their money to a dead man after pushing his nosebone into his brain.

Ezquerra's art is powerfully gorgeous, especially on Strontium Dog.

― Vic Fluro, Friday, 15 April 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

I remember that Mutie's Luck one!

I love the way they never bothered explaining why Johnny Alpha is hanging out with this Viking guy, until eventually they felt obliged to and did it in the m-rub "Ragnarok" story, which had the air of being a two parter that extended into a fifty parter because other stories fell through.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Friday, 15 April 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

To be honest, at the tender age of eight or nine, I just assumed he was a big swede who wore fur and had a giant hammer, but came from the future. My hunger for backstory was formed later, by yank comics.

― Vic Fluro, Friday, 15 April 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

Ha. Me too. I never cared where Judge Dredd came from or why.

― David N (David N.), Friday, 15 April 2005 23:15 (twenty years ago)

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