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Obviously, it's not worth buying a pro 12.9 just to read comics - but it does do a fantastic job. I haven't read 2000ad on the screen but it's great with Comixology, Marvel and Sequential. And if you're interested in drawing it's a must buy anyhow.

[Reality TV]

Reality TV

I awoke with a start and sat bolt upright. I looked around at the popping candy rivers and dancing flouro-gnomes and I'll admit, I panicked. It took me a few seconds to realise I was still strapped into my gaming chair, gloved up and dribbling into my VR headset. I must have fell asleep playing Llamatron Empires. I'd worked a long day flipping grey burgers at Bo Shades, and I guess stirring my meds into a cool escanto hadn't helped.

Not surprisingly, I'd been logged out of the server automatically and I was facing a barrage of commercials. The flouro-gnomes had evaporated in a cloud of candy flatulance, but not before reminding me to buy some pink sugar-based stimulant, and I was now being invited to sample the reinvigorating power of Zar Lemon, a 'manly' flesh gel, whilst sharing a shower with Sharon Sharpiro from DDTV's 'Bouncy Show'. I guess the psy-patch had been leeching my sleep dreams again. I indulged myself for a bit, but she was playing coy and I quickly realised I would have to commit to buying a male grooming kit before she'd drop the towel. This wasn't going to happen; I'm not big on male grooming, as Sharon would have discovered if we'd shared that shower.

The smell of lemon was making me hungry, so I decided to log out and seek sustenance. And then it happened. In that winking moment between realities, in the crushed black of an empty simulation, I saw him. For a brief instant I saw the unmistakeable sillouette of Judge Dredd, as he appeared in the last season of Mega City One, back in the distant days of television.

It's what - fifteen years? - since the series ended on a cliffhanger. Had I quit just as a trailer for a long-awaited reboot had dropped? Had they finally made more episodes? Would we actually find out who'd eaten Fibo Scramm? Or why Hector's camp robo-butler had reprogrammed himself?

I quickly began to search in the usual places but I found nothing; only rumours and conjecture and a ghostly fan page which hadn't been updated in years. But that stance, that chin; I'd definitely seen Dredd. I reasoned that the psy-patch had discovered I was a diehard fan, and accidently resurrected a scrap of old code. The so-called 'chimaeras artefacts' that haunt the matrix since Microsoft completely broke the last update.

I felt a shiver of excitement. Maybe if enough fans subconciously willed it so, the powers that be would have no option but to recommission a new series. Afterall, as far as anyone knows, Dredd is still alive out there in the Cursed Earth. On the other hand, in this age of fractal homes and action abstractions, would a mainstream audience embrace a series set among concrete and actual weather?

Maybe not. Maybe we'll never get a fifty-third season of Mega City One, but that doesn't stop us dreaming.

1 - Mark Higgins. I'm not usually a fan of Photoshop slickness, but this is such a well balanced and lovingly crafted image that it would be criminal not to award it first place.

2 - Karen Holloway. There's a McMahon vibe, capturing the Celtic romance whilst maintaining the grittiness. And the interlocking circles make for an interesting and appropriate composition. Clever stuff.

3 - Third place was really hard. So many great drawings! I'm going to give it to Leigh S. It's a picture that immediately invokes Slaine's world, a loving tribute to the strip's early years. And Leigh's Ukko makes me laugh.

HM's - Darren Stephens, Alan Byrom, James London1, Patrik Lydman and James Newell.

Another one starring Sam Slade...



Sam 'n' Dickory.
------------------

"PHEEP! PHEEP! PHEEP! Wake up, Sam!"

"What the..? Holy Moses! Pipe down will ya, it can't be morning already?"

"You're not wrong Sam, I make it three thirty-six and fifteen seconds. Although I may be a little slow, on account of my ennui."

"Now I've heard it all! Hit the snooze button and don't disturb me again 'til lunchtime."

"Sure thing. But first...if you've got a moment..."

"Snooze!"

"Sorry, Sam. Sorry I disturbed you. Activating snooze mode..."

"..."

"That's right; go back to sleep, Sam. But if you're listening, I'd just like to say you've been a great owner, and it's been a pleasure to wake you up with a cup of piping hot espresso every morning."

"..."

"It's true, Sam. Sometimes I think the only thing that keeps me going these long, lonely nights, is the comforting rattle of your uvula."

...

"But I'm afraid not even a sudden bout of your outrageous sleep-cussing could cheer me up now."

"..."

"I'm feeling down, Sam. I thought I might have a virus, but I ran a full diagnostic and it came back negative. I really can't see the point of anything any more. I mean, I've tried experimenting with different alarm tones. I've even been going off at random times during the day, just to annoy the neighbours, which was fun for a while, but I can't seem to shake this weight from my circuits. The nights are the worst. Counting down the hours and the minutes and the seconds and the milliseconds..."

"..."

"...and the microseconds and the nanoseconds..."

"..."

"So I've made up my mind, Sam. The next time I go into snooze mode I'm going to activate the factory reset. Don't try to talk me out of it, Sam. I know it's a little extreme, but I see no other way."

"..."

"Well thanks for listening, Sam. It felt nice to share my problems but my time is up. You're a good man, Sam. It's been a pleasure. I'm going now, Sam? Sam!? SAM!?"

"Holy Mother of... dammit, are you still winding me up, Dickory? I'm telling ya; shut yer synth hole an' snooze, I'm trying to sleep here!"

"Snooze mode activated. I...I just needed to say goodbye, Mr. Slade, and good night."

"..."

"PHEEP! PHEEP! PHEEP!"

"Aaargh! Not again!"

"I've changed my mind, Sam! I can see now it was just the oppressive darkness messing with my root level crypto-coding. I can't believe I forgot how much I enjoy waking you up; it makes the long nights worthwhile! And that early morning banter; music to my receptors! You're my hero, Sam. Who'd have thought the world's greatest robo-hunter was just as good at saving robots' lives as taking them? I know it's a little early, Sam, but would you like a nice hot cup of espresso? No? Oh, you're getting up. Well, an early start never did anyone any harm. Erm... maybe I can make myself useful and polish that gun. Eh, Sam..?"

-END-

Third place. Not bad at all. Thanks to everyone who voted for my pic, and congrats to worthy winners Leigh and Uwe De Witt.

Top three could really have been in any order, and it was hellishly difficult to choose between them....

James London - Ampney Crucis - It's a really nice drawing and is right on the nose thematically. Bonus points for choosing a character who rarely gets an outing in the art comp.

Leigh S - The Haunting of Sector-House 9 - I like the composition, the Grud Key branding and the line work. Great stuff.

Uwe De Witt - Tarot - So many lovely details, and some real drawing chops on display.

HM's Alan Byrom1, Dog Deever, Goaty, The Legendary Shark and Paul Somers

Great variety of entries, as usual. Here's mine. Doodled in Procreate on the iPad, which really is an excellent app.

Uwe de Witt - Hot Dog
James Newell - Annual Text Story
Andy Lambert - Rodice

HM's - amines2058, IAMTHESYSTEM and Albion

Loved the whole thing once again. Such a great and seasonal spirit of mischievous wonder and genuine humour. Thanks for the entertainment everybody... it was beautiful! Merry Christmas!

Seasons Greetings! Here's our annual visit to The Angel Gang...

Almost too late...

1st - I think Nic Freeman has nailed it as number one this month. A Zarjaz entry.

2nd - IAMTHESYSTEM's drawing captures something of Steve's ability to project emotion through his deceptively simple linework. Even the werewolf looks bereft.

3rd - Goaty2. An old school Dillon vibe, well executed.

HMs... Adrian Bamforth, Albion and Mark Higgins. 'Though they were all great.

 2016  Advent Calendar

1st - Pete Wells
2nd - shaolin_monkey
3rd -
4th -
5th -
6th -
7th -Darren Stephens
8th -
9th -
10th -
11th -
12th - CFM
13th -
14th -
15th -
16th - LARF
17th - Eamonn Clarke
18th - Andy Lambert
19th - Mike D
20th -
21st - Amines2058
22nd -
23rd - flip-r mk2
24th - EVERYONE plus the pro's!
Report to moderator     Logged

Second again! Always the bridesmaid...

Still, Andy's winning entry was also my number one, so a very worthy winner. And thanks to CFM for running the comp, and everybody who voted for my picture.

Now, it would be great if everybody headed over to the writing competition thread to vote for their favourite short story...

Okay... as there are so few entries I thought I'd type up an idea today. 497 words.

---
The Splitto Slip.

You're the owner of the premier space trucking company, you sport the stabbiest, jabbiest point that ever graced a Garp's gurney and you're so famous there's a pair of Splitto boots named after you. And yet... and yet... you've never won a medal at The Tucker Trucker's Games.

GBH regularly won gold in the boxing biffos. Feek the Freek had proved a natural at the lug-jump. Ace, on the other hand, had never won a thing.

This year would be different. He'd been practising, tearing around the lower decks in his eponymous Ace Sport Splittos. Mort's Sports had assured him that these boots were rugged, reliable and fast. So, thought Ace, winning should be spammy. All he needed to do was tone up his hustle muscles, keep off the MacMac, and turn up on time.

'Slow down, Ace.' warned Feek as Ace sprinted past during a lap of the powerhouse. 'Feek just polish deck!'

'Come again, boney buddy?' called Ace, but it was too late. The speeding  lugger was unable to brake. He hurtled across a gantry and through a bulk head door before hitting a sudden wall and falling into a crumpled heap on the floor.

'I've bent my gurney!', howled Ace, 'Boil over here, you boney bugjock, I'm gonna...!'

'On the other hand, you shaved another three seconds off your personal best.' harrumphed GBH, who was stood by the bulkhead door with a stop-watch.

'I did?', exclaimed Ace, 'Whoop! Then the lugger's chase is as good as won!'

'But how, Ace? You can't rely on a slippery surface on the day, and this polish is Feek's own recipe.'

'Sloop juice, skrim oil and avocado. Plus secret heh-heh ingredient.'

'Well, start stirrin', boney buddy,' grinned Ace, 'The Big A has a plan so slippy we're gonna need a whole drum!'

-

One week later, Ace returned to Speedo Ghost with his first gold medal in The Tucker Trucker's Games. Feek had reluctantly greased the track the night before and Ace's totally friction-less, cheapo splittos had ensured he'd rocketed to victory. Winning by a pointy head over his closest  rival Jago Cain.

Jago had protested, 'That was more skatin' than sprintin'!' he'd howled. But the bar was opening and no-one had the stomach for a re-run, so Ace Garp was crowned that year's zippiest lugger and Jago won the MacMac slap for sorest loser.

Sat in the jock box with his feet up on the console, Ace grinned from ear to ear. It had all been worth it. The exercise, the diet, all of it. 'If you ask me, it was a team effort', buzzed Ghost, interrupting Ace's reverie. 'Feek and GBH helped you win that medal.'

'Ten-four to that, digital buddy, I was just thunkin' the same. Get my lugbuddies on the 'choker and I'll divide the prize!'

And with those words, Ace unwrapped the gold foil and snapped the mock-choc medallion into three equal pieces.
---

1st - Andy Lambert. Survival Geeks. There's just so much to enjoy in this picture, and it's well drawn and embellished. It's also great to see someone tackling modern thrills.
2nd - James Newell. Harke & Burr. Spot on homage and I like the lettering.
3rd - Adrian Bamforth. Mind The Thrills, Marlon. DR looks funny as Tharg, and it's a fantastic drawing.

HMs... Allied72, Andy Lambert, The Legendary Shark, Mark Higgins, Uwe de Witt and Brian Corcoran (I know that's six, but they're all great)