Topics

(short mention of 2000AD at the end)
BBC: Scottish Women in comics, Dundee exhibition.

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Very short review as I'm off out in a sec...

I bought it for completeness sake, and was pleasantly surprised - much better than than the usual IDW stuff (mini-series from 2000AD creators notwithstanding).

Great stuff, right from the cover onwards. 

To honour the ruby anniversary, the logo and the red bits of King Carlos' cover have a plasticy sheen to them.  I'm guessing the David Aja variant cover will have the same effect (being mostly black and white except for the red bits on Dredd's helmet)?

T.M.O tells us that all the stories in this special are ruby or red-themed, which leads to a bit of fun waiting for the red to appear (some a little quicker than others).

Into the special itself, and we've got six stories with one page interludes by various artists, just as in Prog 2000.  The first interlude is a nice series of widescreen black and white panels from Jock, depicting a party attended by Dreddworld characters, which leads us to the Dredd tale, Blood.  Fairly standard six-page one-and-done, though has a not-exactly judicial ending...

Rufus Dayglo draws a variety of early 2000AD characters to lead in to a M.A.C.H.1 / Zombo pastiche where the red theme is from Z.O.M.B.O's partner, Tarquin Ruby.

Mark Sexton draws an S.M.S. inspired Mek-Quake (that's what I think, anyway) playing with 2000AD figurines.  I'm thinking of Wash's voice here: "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

This leads in to a nice one-off Ro-Busters story, set in the Starlord / 2000AD and Starlord era where we find out the secret of a well-behaved Ro-Jaws!  Hammerstein's eye glows red when he's angry, and Mr Ten Percent's when he's stressed - the only colour in the six pages.  Over the page Cliff Robinson and Dylan Teague give us a centrespread (which isn't quite in the centre pages) of the Terrameks (and Charlie, and Mek-Quake).

Patrick Goddard takes us to the Doghouse where we're led in to a Durham Red tale (though Alpha features in almost as many panels as Red).  There's a character called Red, there's space vampires and lots of blood as Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen turn in a pretty good story.  Carlos' Durham seems to look quite a bit like Integra Fairbrook in this seven-pager.

Bryan Talbot provides a full-page portrait of Torque for his interlude.

Mills returns for a second story with the tale of how Sláine tried to get in to the Red Branch.  Ties in slightly to the themes that have appeared in the most recent book to appear in the prog, but largely self-contained.  As well as the Red in the title, there's quite a bit of the red juice too, though not how you'd normally expect in a Sláine tale.

Cyber-Matt makes a brave attempt to stick up for the droids who have made 2000AD great over the past 40 years, before being found out by green bonce (this inerlude is from Mike Collins).

Rounding out the special is a Nikolai Dante flashback where Romanov red meets the Faberge Ruby.  A few (non Danteworld) 2000AD characters appear in the first couple of pages but presumably only as fancy dress-wearing partygoers.  Almost a pity, as the Dredd costume looked to have an interesting Imperial Eagle shoulder pad...  A third source of thematic redness appears later in the tale...

First major pop-cultural story of this year would appear to be this one:


Charles Manson moved to hospital from prison.

Comic Book Sales Figures for October 2016 - Estimated Comics Sold to North American Comics Shops as Reported by Diamond Comic Distributors.

Interesting reading - (tangentally) 2000AD-related stuff includes:
(ranking) 288     Judge Dredd Mega-City Zero Vol. 2     369 copies sold
(ranking) 370     Misty     287 copies sold
Both of the above in the graphic novels section, the lowest ranked item in the comics section is:
(ranking) 388     Knights of the Dinner Table     2,252 copies sold
Presumably whatever the monthly IDW Dredd sells via Diamond in the US is less than that.

I wonder how long it'll be before we get a Trumpalike* in the pages of the two best comics in the galaxy?

This led me to ponder what other politicians and leaders have appeared in those hallowed pages, either as themselves or parodies of real leaders.

The very first ones were in Invasion! in Prog 1, with King Charles the Third (who would have thought he'd still be a prince seventeen years after the story) and Lady Shirley Brown (obviously Margaret Thatcher).

I'm not overly familiar with pre-Thatcher politics so any references to 1970s politicians would go over my head, even now.  The next characters based on a real leader I can think of was Cal, in the Day the Law Died (and wasn't he based as much on Nero in a TV series at the time?)  There must be more than that!

So, British Prime Ministers and MPs:

   
• Thatcher - in addition to the above, Iron Aggie appeared in The Human League story in Robo-Hunter.  Also she asked Tharg to recover Croydon
• John Major - certain grey-skinned bespectacled characters made appearances though no named characters
• Blair - who can forget B.L.A.I.R.1?  Also the puppet Blair in Zenith
• Gordon Brown - I think this one managed to escape being depicted in 2000AD
• Cameron - again, I can't think of any appearances, despite ripe material for parody
• Boris Johnson - making an appearance relatively recently in Bad Company

US Presidents:

   
• Carter - I thinkhe appeared in a Carlos-illustrated story, that Stainless Steel Rat time travel one?  A Tharg tale here or there?
• Reagan - a young Ron appeared in a Future Shock, where he wants to destroy the rest of the world and create a Planet America, Strontium Dog where he gets dragged around an alien planet, You Are Ronald Reagan in Twilight's Last Gleaming
• Bush - I don't recall either Presidents Bush making it into 2000AD or the Meg
• Clinton - the mutant leader Box Clinton in the Three Amigos
• Obama - I'd have thought he would have appeared, but can't think of any instances - what am I forgetting?

Other Politicos:

   
• not referring to the Megs, but wasn't there an Australian PM lampooned in the Chopper story Earth, Wind and Fire?
• Hitler - has appeared once or twice...

*not counting Bad Bob Booth, who appeared in the 1970s and was reimagined for Origins before the real Donald was pres.

The Placebo Judge Dredd poster prog on sale for less than £3 on eBay (sold by an Oxfam branch who I think have sold Tooth or RPG stuff before).

I considered putting this on the new comic book day megathread, but they're not newly released, so I've put 'em here instead.

I spent my birthday money today.  Should have spent it last week, but I completely failed to take my money to the comic shop with me, so it was delayed by one week.

Thanks in part to recommendations previously posted on this very forum, I'm now the proud owner of:

   
• Grandville Bête Noire by Bryan Talbot
• Paper Girls Volume 1
• Rat Queens Volume One: Sass and Sorcery
• The Graveyard Book Volume 2 by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

I was on the lookout for Lumber Janes, but they didn't have the first volume so I went for the Graveyard Book instead.  Only when I got home that I found out there was more than one volume of that as well, and I'd just bought volume 2.  Oh, well, there's always christmas money!

Short notice and probably only viable for Squaxx who live in North London, but I'll be dropping in to the Big Red on Holloway Road at 15:00 on Saturday for some birthday drinks.  For those not in the know, Big Red is a student/rock pub but if you're neither a student or into rock don't let that put you off.  If any of you intend to attend and don't already know me from Southern Contingent gatherings, I'll make sure to wear a Judge Death or Nemesis Tshirt.

Pub is: Big Red, 385 Holloway Road, London N7 0RY

The thrills continue - Thrill-Cast: Future Shock has been out for seven days now (and I only realised today!)  Blurb below:


Si Spencer and Jake Lynch talk HAVN, the new story for the Judge Dredd Megazine that explores a so-called "perfect society" in Scandinavia in the world of Judge Dredd.

Pronounced Har-ven.


Sounds interesting - seeing as most judge systems we've seen have been variations on the same theme (with a bit of corruption thrown in if they're in Las Vegas of Cuidad Barranquilla) I'm looking forward to seeing a liberal judge regime in Iceland (or thereabouts).

Judge Burdis may be away at another signing but a few of us staying in London Sector will be going to Forbidden Planet, and onwards to the usual post-signing pub.

Signing: Clint Langley, Alec Worley, Ben Willsher and Frazer Irving at Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftsbury Avenue, London


Pub:  Crown & Anchor, Neal Street, Covent Garden (one of the roads directly opposite FB).




p.s. I don't know why, but this forum keeps messing up my formatting - oh for plain text!

Local radio reminded us that it's today!  Have a good 'un!
Wikipedia explanation.


What did the pirate say when he took his wooden peg leg out of the freezer?


[spoiler]Shiver Me Timbers[/spoiler]

We're off to York for a wedding in a few days - other than Travelling Man, what's to do in the fair city?  We know about:

   
• The chocolate exhibition
• [/size]Betty's tea room
• [/size]Fulford Arms
• [/size]Duttons for Buttons
• [/size]Travelling Man
• [/size]OG Games
• [/size]Evil Eye
• [/size]Betty's tea room (it got suggested twice)
• [/size]Castle Museum.

As a bit of a companion thread to Things that went over your head I'm flipping it around.

Re-reading Varks today, I came across a few things that Kev had put into the background which appeared to be either pop cultural references I didn't get, or in-jokes.

First page, top-left of the very first panel the juve in distress is at the end of 'Aka Plaza'.  In the distance in the same splash panel can be seen the Aka Books building.  Is this anything like the Akklaim deal of a decade later (and a reference to a company I've never heard of), or am I missing something?

The Vark then runs off into The Frankie Block - an unusual name for a MC1 citiblock, unless it's actually a reference to something else

Is it to early to start a thread on this?  It's had it's launch party / signing, but is still on pre-release...

Tharg's Future Shop page.

Official website already live, including countdown - about a year and half at time of writing.

Orbital Comics, Thursday 1st September, 19:30 - anybody from here going?  Blurb below:

To celebrate the release of Steve MacManus ' highly anticipated memoir, The Mighty One: My Life Inside The Nerve Centre, Orbital Comics is excited to host a special book launch & signing on Thursday, September 1. We'll have copies of the book available ahead of its official release date, as well as drinks and a live discussion with the man himself. Don't miss what is sure to be an incredible night ... Zarjaz!

It comes up on other threads every now and then, but I'd like to know just who are the current owners of various things that have come from the House of Tharg in the past 39 years.  I know nothing, what follows is purely guess work.

From what I can tell, just about everything that's been published in 2000AD is now copyright Rebellion, except for the following...

   
• Dan Dare - not having the recent DD collection I didn't get to read the copyright notice in the front, but I'm guessing Dan Dare (plus the Mekon) is going to be copyright of the Dan Dare Corporation, while the stories which ran in the first hundred and a bit progs are copyright of Rebellion (along with the new characters created for the Galaxy's Greatest)?
• The Stainless Steel Rat - I'd guess this is similar to DD, in that the characters and stories are copyright of the Estate of Harry Harrison, while the adaptation is copyright of Rebellion.
• Shaun of the Dead and that adaptation of the film with Ewan McGregor - anybody's guess!
• I'd heard about the potential controversy regarding Summer Magic, and possibly other work by Alan McKenzie, but don't know the reasoning behind it.

Outside of the pages of 2000AD itself I gather that only stories from Tornado, Starlord and Crisis which continued into 2000AD's hallowed pages had their IP transferred, while all other work remained with Egmont.  Where does this leave Future Shock style stories which were reprinted in 2000AD annuals?  The only story which 'transferred' to 2000ad was really the character Finn, and I suspect if Rebellion owned Third World War then it would have been reprinted by now.  The only Revolver stories I can remember transferring were completed in Crisis (Dare and Rogan Gosh?) so would still be with Egmont (or their respective creators?)

Something else I wonder is what happens with the co-produced and licenced work:

   
• DC Dredds: Judgement on Gotham, Legends of the Law, DC Judge Dredd, Lobo
• IDW: the Dredd volumes, Rogue Trooper, Anderson, Mars Attacks Judge Dredd, et al
• Games Workshop: Judge Dredd the boardgame, the RPG, the Rogue Trooper boardgame and Block/Mega Mania.  Who do the characters and locations produced for the RPG scenarios belong to?  Who owns the copyright of Sly Stallone and Sam Fox Blocks?
• Dredd the Card Game: the company that produced this went bust (apparently owing payment to the artists who provided card art?) so who does it all belong to now?
• Judge Dredd (the 1995 film) - who owns that exactly, and particulary the DC adaptation?
• Dredd (the 2012 film) - this should be easier to work out, as the Megazine runs stories based on this every year and a bit!
• Mongoose - D20-based Dredd and Slaine and Traveller-based Dredd and Strontium Dog RPGs.  This would have been simpler when they all had the same parent company, but I think I read that Mongoose was bought out by it's directors and went independent from Rebellion again?
• Tin Man Games - produce computer-gamebooks
• just for an attempt at completeness - how about that Mirror quiz book with a Dave Gibbons Mekon on the cover?

As should be obvious by now, I am not a copyright lawyer :-)

Available for pre-purchase from the Abaddon website, blurb as follows:

ONE BAD DAY...Mega-City One, 2081, Joe Dredd's second year on the streets as a full-eagle Judge. He's got the experience, he's done the sked-time,but no Judge is infallible – all it takes is one bad day, and all those years of training can disappear in the simple pulling of a trigger. A routine arrest, an ambush, an explosion. The perp's down, but Dredd is bleeding and burned, his Lawmaster is destroyed, and he's in a bad part of town with no backup. For the first time in his career, he's truly alone...

Release date: 16 Sep 2016