New Poll: Should Slaine's latest series be his last?

[El Spurioso]

Ignorance, eh?  Care to point out an example or two?  Or, just to stir things slightly, an example or two of when their "previous suggestions" have been taken on board?

Not that I'm (publically) partial one way or the other in this debate, I just dislike accusations without justification, particularly when relating to people's *opinions*.

[Krustabi]

I personally think we should keep him & hype him super hard to the U.S Market in order to see the Superman crossover starring "Lois-Laine"









Yes!!!!

[thrillpowerseeker]

Of course Slaine should stay..

previous Thargs have tried 'Resting' him and the results have been dismal..large readership drop offs etc... the 2 particular periods I'm referring to are between progs 699-850 and 1199-1322 when the prog was Slaine free...2 of the shittest periods in its history!..

I dont Tharg will be rash enough to listen to a few vocal fanboys on this forum...Slaines still one of the most popular characters in the profiles section..

[buserian]

Ignorance, eh? Care to point out an example or two? Or, just to stir things slightly, an example or two of when their "previous suggestions" have been taken on board?

Okay. Ignorance - the guy who thought that the "boiled bunny" (sic) was a reference to Fatal Attraction. Previous suggestions taken on board - Slaine stopping time-travelling and returning to Ireland.

[Oddboy]

I've not seen Fatal Attraction.
What, then, was the boiled bunny a reference to?

Surely that was Tharg's suggestion - and freelance writers that want to continue working generally have to conceed to their editors.

[GordonR]

It is a reference to Fatal Attraction.  The OED even includes 'bunny boiler' now, and refers back to Fatal Attraction as being the origin of the expression.

Unless, of course, the "boil the bunny" dialogue in Slaine is a reference to some authentic Celtic expression none of us know about.

Simply listing several things as examples of 'ignorance', without explaining why they're supposed to be incorrect or ignorant isn't the most cohesive of arguments.

[El Spurioso]

So you're saying the boiled bunny *wasn't* a reference to the popular phrase "bunny-boiler", suggesting a woman obsessed by an unnatainable man (such as, say, the character FAIS whose obsessive nature has been the subject of the last few episodes), which derives from a scene in a movie?  It was, you assert, an entirely innocent movie-reference-free bit of Celtic-mythology which, coincidentally, happened to bring the phrase "boil a bunny" into conjunction with an obsessive woman?  Uh-huh...  

And as for the "stop time travelling!" thing, I suspect that happened because Pat Mills *chose* to stop Slaine's chronological adventures or (less likely, but possible), because the then-Tharg asked him to stop it.  It certainly wasn't at the suggestion of messageboard fans - if only because there wasn't a messageboard in existence back then, but also because Pat has gone on record at least once saying, and I quote, "If I was the sort of writer who gave [the fans] what they wanted, I'd be a millionaire by now.."

Make of that what you will...

And other than that, welcome to the community. :)

[Banners]

Okay. Ignorance - the guy who thought that the "boiled bunny" (sic) was a reference to Fatal Attraction

Isn't it?

M@

[Richmond Clements]

Oh come on people, think it over!
Obviously, Slaine has picked up the phrase during one of his jaunts through time.

[The Amstor Computer]

"previous Thargs have tried 'Resting' him and the results have been dismal..large readership drop offs etc... the 2 particular periods I'm referring to are between progs 699-850 and 1199-1322 when the prog was Slaine free...2 of the shittest periods in its history!.."

Leaving aside your odd choice of "two shittiest periods" in 2K history, are you really suggesting that it's Slaine that keeps the quality high & people reading the prog?

BTW - which previous Thargs asked Pat to "rest" the character? I don't believe I've ever read anything to suggest that retiring Slaine for a time was the decision of anyone but Pat himself.

"I dont Tharg will be rash enough to listen to a few vocal fanboys on this forum."

Neither do I, but that cuts both ways - he's not going to listen to any of the people who post here moaning about Slaine, and he's certainly not going to listen to the Slaine fanboys who think he can do no wrong, either.

"Slaines still one of the most popular characters in the profiles section.."

Voted for by "fanboys on this forum" :-)

[paulvonscott]

LATEST NEWS:  Pat Mills thread creates arguments shocker!  Many wounded, or slightly hurt!

[thrillpowerseeker]

heh heh heh..The mere mention of Pat Mills on here is enough for the Fanboy Red Branch to start contorting....as for Slaines chronological adventures..perhaps Pat stopped them roundabout the medieval period for good reason?..I mean what have the Celts done since then?.....

join us next prog when Slaine joins Allys Tartan Army in Argentina in 'The Quest for the 2nd round'..

[dweezil2]

The latest instalment of Slaine is undeniably better than the series(the title, of which, has slipped my memory) drawn by, i believe David Birchal. That was god awfull, and seemed to last for an eternity. I'd vote for Slaine to stay, the strip adds veriety to the mostly Sci-Fi themed strips. And it's a damn sight better than crap like Valkyries.

[buserian]

Apparently "bunny-boiler" is a popular expression I've never heard used. Entirely possible, given my general lack of interest in Hollywood's outpourings.

Okay, but the point remains we have a one-line pop culture reference vs. a three episode (at least) plot line that is interesting, different, relevant, and accurate. (In as far as "accurate" can be used about a simplified re-telling of a mythology for which there may be little basis.) In a comic full of pop culture references. Has any other writer ever been criticised for such a reference? Or just Pat Mills?

It isn't like this is unique - last week Mills was being accused of sexism, presumably because real men never talk about women like that, especially not lecherous, drunken thugs like Slaine. While (to grab a recent example) Cabs Inc. made the time of the month joke, which would seem equally likely to offend (i.e. only if you're trying to be offended...) but I didn't see any criticism - quite the reverse.

There's a double standard here. Pat Mills in general, and Slaine in particular, seem to attract criticism that would never be levelled against any other writer. I don't understand this, nor do I like it. So, I'm going to stick to "ignorant" as a pretty fair description of the treatment Pat Mills receives from certain vocal fans.

[buserian]

No need for a messageboard - the progs towards the end of Slaine's time-travelling contained a number of letters calling for either a return to Ireland or the series to be cancelled entirely. The Lost Years stories were trailed pretty much as a populist move - I seem to remember them even being mentioned in reply to one of the critical letters, but I can't be bothered trying to find the right prog to check... Perhaps it was all a coincidence, or perhaps Pat Mills, like any other professional writer, wrote stories that his editor thought people would read.

Either way, the vocal critics got what they claimed to want, yet criticisms of Slaine don't seem to have diminished. With that series, there seems to be no pleasing some people.

To change the subject almost entirely, the mention of pop-culture reminded me of something that has puzzled me for a bit. Now seems as good a time as any to ask - is Kawl's uncle meant to be played by Peter Falk?