Topics

1

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Cradlegrave vs. Rogue Trooper Rd 4 Heat 6

« on: Today at 06:23:55 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

One of my favourite ties of the Round, what contrasts. A done in one, short compact, horrific and timely. To a long sprawling epic that lost its way so many times and arguably had its finest hour under the writer of its opponent. Both had glorious art serving them well almost through in the case of Rogue. Feels like there is a favourite but I think there might might be an upset here.

Form book:

Cradlegrave - Bye; Scarlet Traces; Pandora Perfect
Rogue Trooper - Bye; Harlem Heroes (Reboot); Time Twisters

Cradlegrave - more info

Vs

Rogue Trooper (Rogue) - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 9th July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

2

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Brink vs. Taxidermist Rd 4 Heat 5

« on: Today at 06:22:47 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

Will the modern classic give a stuffing to the grandmaster? Interesting contrast in thrills here, with very different tones, but both showing superb craft.

Form book:

Brink - Bye; Mercy Heights; Shako
Lawless - Bye; Maelstrom; Dry Run

Brink - more info

Vs

Taxidermist - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 9th July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

3

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Mazeworld vs. Lawless Rd 4 Heat 4

« on: 05 July, 2022, 06:22:20 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

Hastily rescheduled tie as the previous one on the slot hadn’t actually finished its Round 3 predecessors at the time of typing! Battle of intricate art maybe. Both excellent tales as well, but you know (well if you read along) by view on the thrill deserving of a place in the final here!

Form book:

Mazeworld - Bye; Janus PSi Division; Damnation Station
Lawless - Bye; Samizdat Squad; Chimpsky's Law

Mazeworld - more info

Vs

Lawless - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 8th July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

4

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - D.R. Quinch vs. Nikolai Dante Rd 4 Heat 3

« on: 05 July, 2022, 06:21:26 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

Quite the tussle this one. Fan fav comedy classic D.R. Quinch by Northampton(shires) finest come up against Russia's greatest rebelling hero. A good forewarning about what this Round will do to you!

Form book:

D.R. & Quinch - Bye; Medivac 318; Glimmer Rats

Nikolai Dante - Bye; Age of the Wolf; Caballistics Inc

D.R. & Quinch - more info

Vs

Nikolai Dante - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 8th  July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

5

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Tribal Memories vs. Meltdown Man Rd 4 Heat 2

« on: 04 July, 2022, 06:23:56 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

Bit of a David vs Goliath meet up this one (just imagine now many cliched sentences like that would have been lost if Goliath had won that fight!). Weighing in at 4 Progs we have Tribal Memories. At an unbroken 50 (!) Progs we have Meltdown Man. Mind as the other cliche goes size is certainly not everything.

Form book:

Tribal Memories - Snapshot; Witchworld; Megatropolis

Meltdown Man - Bye; Stalag 666; Dash Decent

Tribal Memories - more info

Vs

Meltdown Man - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 7th July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

6

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Melatzoic vs. Slaine Rd 4 Heat 1

« on: 04 July, 2022, 06:22:35 AM »

Well we’ll start Round 4 with no gush of excitement. No giddy anticipation of the tough, enthralling ties to come. Instead to really fire up those juices with a service announcement! Turn around is so fast I’ve not been mixing up these thread openers the way I intended and just kept rattling on with the same ol’ format (for the posts the comp ain’t changing). I had plans and maybe next round, but for now, well if it ain’t broke and all that… what and EXPLOSION into Round 4 hey!

Mind the ties do all the heavy lifting for me! Really like this opener. A Mills derby, both thrills very different and Slaine hasn’t quite got the universal approval to date I was expecting. So who knows?

Form book:

Metalzoic - Harry Kipling; Judge Hershey; Armoured Gideon

Slaine - Bye; Bix Barton; Harke and Burr

Metalzoic - more info

Vs

Slaine - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 7th  July and the winner gets a place in Round 5 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

7

General / Forums Favourite Thrill - Round 3 into Round 4

« on: 03 July, 2022, 07:19:18 AM »

So Round 3 is done and we're down to the last 64 thrills - from an initial line-up of 343 thrills and as you might imagine the qualiuty is ranking up.

Round 3 saw some big, big losers. Its important to remember that the 64 thrills we have left aren't the 64 best thrills in the Prog, FA cup style we've seen some big hitters fall and some lesser light sneak in... though these are getting thin on the ground. The BIG looses in Round 3 include:

Absalom and Caballistitcs Inc
Button Man (!!)
Indigo Prime, Leatherjack and Tyranny Rex - its been a tough round for John Smith fans!

but we could all make our own list. All those joining Zombo, Hershey, Devlin Waugh and other mighty thrills that have fallen already... yet Sancho Panzer rolls on. The beautiful nature of a random draw.

Round 4 is going to be a stinker, but they all will from here on in. Its also going to feel short compared to what we've got used to - hence my mind has turned to what's next already and I think we'll have a short palette cleanser after this one before we enter a tourney I've had in mind from the start, based on one of these tourneys main inspirations and that one will be longer yet! - anyway that all to come. For now we have:

64 thrills
32 ties
4 weeks

of Round 4 to get through.

See you Monday!

8

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Dark Judges (Dominion etc) vs. Cursed Earth Koburn Rd 3 He

« on: 30 June, 2022, 06:16:38 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

The Round ends with two Dredd world series. Dark Judges gave sentence to an unrated story from the dark-times in Mambo. The rejuvenation of Death and co deserves a good run though… but will it get it as it comes up against Ezquerra’s most Coburn of characters with the super cool dusty cop? Koburn gunned down Terror Tales last round, one of the better series of done in ones so it has form. Pucker up folks as we kiss Round 3 goodbye…

Dark Judge (Dominion, Torture Garden etc) - more info

Vs

Cursed Earth Koburn - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Sunday 3rd  July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

9

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Missionary Man vs. Freaks (inc Faces) Rd 3 Heat 63

« on: 30 June, 2022, 06:15:57 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

Last day of Round 3 might not have the high level draws we’ve seen in some ties this round but they do make for interesting match-ups all the same. Missionary Man, always a bit of a favourite of mine had to fight to get past the original Mean Arena. While Freaks simply spat in the face of Corps, having done for Movie dredd in Round 1. So does the form book make Freaks the favourite? We’ll see how that pans put…

Missionary Man - more info

Vs

Freaks - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Sunday 3rd  July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

10

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Helltrekkers vs. Stickleback Rd 3 Heat 62

« on: 29 June, 2022, 06:29:34 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

Well breathers can only last so long in round 3 and we’re right back at the hard stuff. Helltrekkers is a forgotten classic that seems to be getting re-evaluated of late. Had a decent tussle with Ten-seconders last round. Things though will be harder here, as it will be for its opponent Stickleback didn’t have much of a challenge in Round 2 facing Harmony. Tough one to call this.

Helltrekkers - more info

Vs

Stickleback - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 2nd  July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

11

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - 13 vs. Banzai Battalion Rd 3 Heat 61

« on: 29 June, 2022, 06:28:27 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

We need to cool down after yesterday's big draw match-up, maybe this will allow that? 13 has fought off Angel Zero and Tales from Beyond Science and Banzai Battalion weeded another Andy Clarke strip on Snow/Tiger and then cropped Meet Darren Dead. This might be more low key than the big game yesterday but there still might be a little interest (see what I did there!)

13 - more info

Vs

Banzai Battalion - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 2nd  July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

12

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Ro-Busters vs. ABC Warriors Rd 3 Heat 60

« on: 28 June, 2022, 06:09:04 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

For me the biggest tie of the Round - gotta love a local Derby, LFC Vs EFC, United vs. City, United Vs. Wednesday - they add so much extra spice. When doing the draw and getting to this last week I noticed this was possible, but didn’t think it would come out and then YEAH! A real derby at the top level (we did get Ant Wars vs Zancudo last Round, but that’s not in the same league if we’re honest). The form book goes out the window as cliche would have it, so the fact that ABC Warriors have gunned down Dead Man Walking and Ro-Busters have allowed Family to burn means nothing. This one will be about who wants it more… I will add more cliches as the tie goes on…

Ro-busters - more info

Vs

ABC Warriors - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 1st  July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

13

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Firekind vs. Mean Team Rd 3 Heat 59

« on: 28 June, 2022, 06:06:58 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

It could be said that John Smith Thrills have had a bit of a rough ride over the last couple of rounds, losing out to tough draws. Surely that can’t happen here? Firekind has seen off American Reaper, but Mean Team, which smashed Rain Dogs in the skull, is a different level… for some (personally not a fan at all). So we’ll see how this one progresses.

Firekind - more info

Vs

Mean Team - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 1st July and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

14

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Full Tilt Boogie vs. DreadNoughts Rd 3 Heat 58

« on: 27 June, 2022, 06:29:00 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

Two new favourites in play here, both with only one full series, both with at least one more on the way. So I guess we have an easy metric to help you decide this one. Which of the two are you looking forward to returning the most? Full Tilt Boogie, which struggled to see off Vector 13, is the sort of thrill the prog needs to shake things up and pull the prog into a new age and a new audience. DreadNoughts, who took out the mighty Paul Grist’s Demon Nic could therefore be said to be backward looking, reflecting on past glories, but is far from it feeling absolutely relevant and as current as FTB in the context of the time it's being created. Which one are you happiest to see back?

Full Tilt Boogie - more info

Vs

DreadNoughts - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 30th June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

15

General / Forum’s Fav Thrill - Dandridge vs. VCs Rd 3 Heat 57

« on: 27 June, 2022, 06:27:25 AM »

So here we are final week of Round 3 and quality here will set us up well for what's to come. There are some stunning ties here and a proper local derby to really add some flavour - I was so chuffed when this one was drawn as it's a right good tie (you’ll only have to wait until Tuesday…). Round 4 will be coming soon (Monday next week I imagine!) and it's going to start to get super tough… or tougher at least!

Curious one this. VCs straddles the ages, being one of the early strips that provided nostalgia for the Prog as it reformed to an early entrant from Rebellion’s time. You can vote for all, either, or whatever aspect and folks did in numbers in an easy victory over Citi-Def. Dandridge is in danger of being a forgotten curio, never quite gripping folks enough to become a long running thrill, but fun while it was here and enjoyed enough to see off Urban Strike and Orlok. Different class of opponent for this one though.

Dandridge - more info

Vs

VCs - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 30th June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN