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Topics - Buttonman

#21
Games / Judge Dredd Online Slot Machine
26 June, 2015, 07:29:30 PM
I stumbled across this online and was surprised it didn't come out with more fanfare. I'm assumng it's licenced so it must be the stigma of gambling that has kept it under wraps.

It's a pretty straightforward way of losing your money with the cracking city backdrop poster being used. I'm not sure who the 'bad guy' is on one of the reels. Dredd also dances out and shoots random wins - the big jimp - gambling is illegal!

You can play a demo version HERE with no risk to your Prog buying cash.
#22
Off Topic / Please Feed the Troll
19 April, 2015, 08:04:59 PM
Trolls are generally regarded as the nasty people of the internet but they do good work too. Inspired by this guyI thought I'd try my hand at baiting the odd unsuspecting newspaper comments box activist. I have time on my hands you understand.

The result have been mixed and I gave myself away somewhat with my massively right on approach to the question of immigration. Still I'm up to about 50 comments and a positive score of over 2000 so I must be doing something wrong.

I can see why people can get obsessed with this with the instant gratification and flame wars that blow up over any little thing. Does anyone else post randomly about the net  and if so what fun have you had?

Here are a few of my fledgling efforts...

#23
Prog / Prog 1906 : LOVE IS A LIE
01 November, 2014, 02:33:45 PM
Longer tage line but couldn't fit it all in. Nice John Higgins 'Greysuit' cover with us getting shot at - again!

Dredd continues his war on non-existent crimes with the law been bent all over the place. Why doesn't he just plant some sugar and be done with it?

No letters but a BIG cliffhanger for Gene!
#24
Longest tag line in a while!

Nice cover from the always reliable Alex Roland - I think he's trying to give the Lawlord an even bigger chin than Dredd!

Enjoying the Dredd but wonder if it's going to resolve by Prog 1900? If so a lot of set up for a quick resolution. I did think that [spoiler]the guns in space that can target individuals was very reminiscent of Captain America : The Winter Soldier [/spoiler]- what came first off the ideas board?

I'm not convinced by the traitorous actions of the old Earth space lady = turnaround coming, wait and see! Not read the rest yet - sue me!
#25
Megazine / Meg 348 - DIE HARD!
17 May, 2014, 12:38:30 PM
Nice Glenn Fabry cover with Dredd the breakfast of one of the cast of 'Where the Wild Things Are'.

Floppy is Book 2 of Janus with added Karyn if the excitement wasn't enough. More Karyn next issue!

Features include a Mark Buckingham interview and a preview of the Summer Special.

Will gorge on the strip shortly but NO Dreddlines again! Why do Tom and I bother?!

So it's not lost to the ages here is my unworthy effort concerning Meg 347.

Dear Dreddlines,

Thanks for Meg 347 which was a great medley of all that you do well. All the strips from the Dreddverse (as it should be) and each had something different to offer.

My favourite had to be Anderson which has quietly become the stand out and most intriguing strip you have on show. Mike Dowling is the heir apparent to the master who is Arthur Ranson and Alan Grant hasn't written a script with this sense of unease and foreboding for some time. Basically it's a return to Anderson's glory days - who saw that coming?!

The Dredd strip followed a similar path to Cass' with an unknown yet familiar villain doing the dirty while our hero stands by, unable to act. No doubt Anderson's resolution will be more thoughtful and subtle but I'll let you know whose I prefer!

DeMarco offered a second heroine of the issue and, again,  gave as good as she got. The female heroes have always been given a fair crack of the whip at the Megazine and it's a credit to you that they aren't seen as tokenism but equal players to the more macho elements.

All the best

#26
General / Who's This Dredd?
10 April, 2014, 08:00:29 AM
Number 11 - doesn't look like one of the  usual suspects. Good to see that Cosplay is giving Dredd some exposure following yesterday's 'Good Morning'.

Nice Eagle
#27
Prog / Prog 1871 : Eat the Rich
01 March, 2014, 01:04:04 PM
Early Paisley Prog - Letters free.

Damage Report takes the huff with those who felt the new line up of Dark Judge were less than stellar. Judge Sourpuss will see them off.

Dredd continues on his tapeworm hunt and the rest awaits my next visit to the can!

There is a new 3riller (which also features in Jon Davis-Hunt's cover) and a Terror Tale so a lot to dip in and out of.
#28
Megazine / MEG 338 - Dredd Comes Down Hard on Crime
13 July, 2013, 09:54:56 AM
A Prog / Meg double? I say yes! Early rise for Glasgow Comic Con rewarded with an early post droppage.

Cracking Cliff cover woth some real squelch action.

Nice looking Dredd by Boo. It's one of those jumpabouty timeline jobs with a start in the middle and then '6 days ago' - non-linear narrative to all you boffins. One shot story - good fun.

Interview with TC who wrote the dredd. Wait until the toilet calls for that one.

Ditto Q&A with Lee Garbett.

More Boo and TC in a 'Tales from the Cursed earth'. Still to read but not ticking the 'variety' box so far.

Bit of action in Dan Francisco and a Twisted Tale from Bob.

A full Meg rounds off with Insurrection and a Dreddlines page with only 3 letters which are a bit longwinded and belong to none of the main contenders (me). Ade Bowen , Dan Banks and J. Cowie take a bow!

Good Meg stuffed with content. A treat that keeps on giving!
#29
Prog / Prog 1841 : BLOW OUT
13 July, 2013, 09:48:01 AM
Lovely Dave Taylor Dredd cover - the skeleton doesn't jump out it's a great image.

Dredd : Concludes Wastelands. A little bit quick and neat at the end but a good arc with cracking art. Reminded me of a 1950s film noir but with more robots. Top thrill!

Defoe : Defoe fires up his wheel but has to wait for the kettle to boil before taking off. Good fast paced episode.

Age of the Wolf - Not a fan but a decent big double page spread.

Sinister Dexter - A look at Ramone & Tracy's happy relocation - that ain't gonna last! Decent outing but no action.

10 Seconders : Not entirely sure who is doing what to whom and for what purpose but it looks nice.

No letters.

Good, enjoyable Prog with nothing too amazing but plenty of thrills bubbling away.
#30
Anyone watching these?

I've seen the first six and the quality is pretty good - plenty of guest stars popping up - Ed Helms, Seth Rogan, Conan O'Brien - and some great bits. Best episode so far for me was Tobias' with him dressing up as the Thing from the Fantastic 4. Targeted in a reality show sex predator sting he has lots of great lines like "I wanted to show my daughter my thing" amongst others.

Will try not to gorge on thes rest but I probably will - it is a rainy bank holiday after all.
#31
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22542222

Luckily Dredd was on the scene - Judge Burdis whose side were you on (apart from the law, obviously).


"Mr Poole said two other members of his club, one dressed as the 10th Doctor and the other as Judge Dredd, had waited outside the venue."
#32
Megazine / MEG 333 - THE BLACK SUNS RISES
16 February, 2013, 12:11:22 PM
<SIGH>  No Dreddlines again and 18 pages of Reaper - If I wasn't a subber I may have thought twice about shelling out £5.60 for this.

Two Alan Grant Dredds, one with Anthony Williams and one a 'Lost case' with Karl Richardson.

Karl is also the subject of the interrogation and Hondo looks good.
#33
Film & TV / The Creature Feature - Name Some Films
21 January, 2013, 12:22:18 AM
Despite having two unread blogs I thought it might be time to do another <pause for collective groan> and what better than animals and stuff?

'The Creature Feature' will review a film each outing that has an animal or type of animal (eg bird) in its title. The animal doesn't need to appear in the film itself and it can be an unrelated animal name eg Seal in 'The Seventh Seal'.

To stop it being to easy or dull I will restrict outings to one per franchise - sorry Bat, Spider and Panther fans. The same goes for 'Wolf' that's getting three tops and is already widely covered by the 'W' blog.

I searched my diaries and mental lists and could only manage 75, many of which I've done before or may be hard to locate. Anyone come up with some that aren't in this list of 75?


101 DALMATIONS
ALPHA DOG
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMONKS
BAD NEWS BEARS
BATMAN
BEE MOVIE
BIG FISH
BIRD
BIRD ON A WIRE
BLACK SNAKE MOAN
BUFFALO SOLDIERS
BUG
CAT PEOPLE
CAT WOMAN
CRY WOLF
CURSE OF THE WERE RABBIT
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
DOGVILLE
DONKEY PUNCH
DUCK SOUP
EAGLE VS SHARK
ELEPHANT
FANTASTIC MR FOX
FOUR LIONS
GI JOE RISE OF THE COBRA
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
GRIZZLY MAN
HAWK THE SLAYER
HORSE FEATHERS
JACKASS
JULIEN DONKEY BOY
LIONS FOR LAMBS
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MOTHMAN PROPHECIES
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST
RAGING BULL
RESERVOIR DOGS
SECOND HAND LIONS
SNAKE EYES
SNAKES ON A PLANE
SPIDER-MAN
TADPOLE
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
THE BIRDS
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
THE CAT FROM OUTER SPACE
THE CROW
THE DEER HUNTER
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
THE ELEPHANT MAN
THE FOX AND THE HOUND
THE HOT CHICK
THE LION KING
THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
THE MALTESE FALCON
THE OX-BOW INCIDENT
THE PINK PANTHER
THE RAVEN
THE SEVENTH SEAL
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
THE WILD GEESE
THUNDERBIRDS
TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD
UNDER DOG
WAG THE DOG
WAR WOLVES
WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT
WHALE RIDER
WHERE EAGLES DARE
WHITE CHICKS
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?
WILD CATS
WILD HOGS
WOLF
WOLF CREEK
#34
Prog / Prog 1809 : THIS ONE'LL KILL YA!
10 November, 2012, 01:00:33 PM
The three way Dreddworld thrill reaches maximum excitement as...

Well let's just say it's hotting up.

Some masterclass Dredd from Ewing with Hershey harking back to the Judge Child mission and reflecting that Dredd may not have been right back in her rookie days. Every issue these days seems to be a classic with far reaching consequences for Dredd, the City and indeed me.

No letters page this week although Tharg does bask in the glory of hoodwinking us all again.

Did anyone get a Meg today? Due by the old shedule but I don't know if the new monthly format will push it back a week.
#35
Megazine / MEG 329 - UNHOLY TERRORS
13 October, 2012, 07:33:06 PM
Not a great cover for me - the Anderson is nice but the rest looks like a pre-teen's art collage.

Bad news from the Editor is that the Meg is going monthly from it's present 4 weekly format - 1 less Meg a year!

Dredd in 'Ratfink's Revenge' was OK - the scabby one finds the undercity as do some other iso-cube escapees. The Troggies come worst off as always and Dredd does his 'Captain Captured' routine once again.

Anderson takes on another mad cult in another abandoned church - nothing much here.

Snapshot is turning into a long exposure and I'm past the caring and looking forward to the wrap up which is happily next month.

Dredd's 'Killer Elite' is a load of old nonsense but fun stuff. Basically it's 'Crusade' with crims with a touch of 'The killing' amply sprinkled about.

Still to to the reading bits but 4 pages on the TMNT is 4 too many for me.

Nothing stands out this month but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
#36
Off Topic / Wot I Ate On My Holidays
03 October, 2012, 08:44:19 PM
Who remembers  this great thread from last year when it was generally agreed that my holiday dinners looked great as did my shirts? Our friends from the colonies tried to argue that their back street shack selling 'slaw' on plastic plates was best but were proven wrong with my Applebees based evidence.

With this in mind I'd be interested to read and view other boarder's meals that they have taken on holiday. Like that little girl's school dinners blog - she totally ripped me off. I'll get the ball rolling with this excellent dinner taken in Spain at THECOSH recommended Casa Mingo. They serve any dinner you want as long as it's roast chicken. I went for the chicken. For full comments this chap does a mean Tripadvisor.



I would also point out that I have 28 photos from this trip and will post them all unless five people use the hashtag #pleasegodnomore
#37
Megazine / MEG 328 - BUMPER MOVIE SPECIAL
08 September, 2012, 06:28:11 PM
OK, it has no Dreddlines but that's no excuse for no Meg thread by 6.30 pm.

As the title suggests it's a bumper issue with loads of movie stuff including Jock's concept art.

Dredd gets two good outings - 'Ratfink's Revenge' sees the scabby Angel plot his iso-cube escape and 'Killer Elite' sees GRennie expand on his previously dormant 'Global Psycho' plotline. Starts out well and it looks like it's going to be a serial killer version of 'Crusade' - but in a good way!

Anderson continues her assessment and Snapshot moves along at the regulation pace.

Great issue with lots to read including the short story comp. winner.
#38
Help! / Best DVD Burner?
24 August, 2012, 11:07:50 PM
I'm having a few issues with DivX and it not burning my Pawn Stars and Storage Wars effectively - It starts but cuts off at the teaser bit.

Can anyone recommend a good, reliable and (obviously) free program? I've tried Real Player but they want $40 for the proper burner. Lots of the supposedly free ones are only limited trials (Goddamn them all to Hell) so any pointers would be appreciated.
#39
Megazine / MEG 326 - BIG TROUBLE IN HONDO-CITY!
14 July, 2012, 01:50:39 PM
NOT MAD ON THE COVER WHICH HAS GOOD COMPONENTS BUT THEY DON'T MARRY WELL INTO THE COMPOSITE IMAGE - LOOKS LIKE A PHOTOSHOP MASH UP.

CAPS off.

Dickens Dredd continues along with a wang appearing in this week's outing.

Chris Weston interview has its second part and this looks like the pick of the Meg for me.

Samizdat Squad goes from grey to faded as we get a flashback and Snapshot and Hondo continue and conclude respectively.

Alan Grant text story with Smudge art to illustrate.

NO Dreddlines! I sent a great one too! Look at this exclusive quote :

"As a one off this is great stuff but I don't know if we need 'A Tale of Two Mega-Cities' of 'Bleak Sector House' any time soon!"

Sigh! The world's loss is my trash folder's gain!
#40



Annnnnddd...We're back!

Yes, with the Lockerbie bomber dying today and taking our secrets with him, we can finally publish once again. Of course there may be a napkin, diary or stain that could send us back to the Hague, but for now let's don our Empero Isafanni suit, charge the glasses and unveil perhaps the most exciting project in the history of man. Yes, like the space race, all night petrol stations and peanut butter Kit-Kat Chunkies all rolled into one, we proudly announce 'LETTERSENTERTAINYOU : The Road to 10,000'. The Beast has churned the data and we are now less than 150 items of reader input until the monumental mile stone is reached.

From the early dawn of  Chris' The Cat' Catto's musings in Prog 8 we have come a long way, with only slight downward deviations (Middenface McDredd), to the heady heights of today with rival letters based fan publications rubbing shoulders with the heavyweights such as The Beast powered LETTERSENTAINYOU. Before it is cruelly cancelled this thread will document each letter, drawing or joke that Tharg sees fit to print with a special prize awarded to the author of the coveted 10K letter.

In the fallow weeks when there are no letters to review we will keep the spirits up with some new exciting features :

NAME THAT DRAWING - A random picture will be posted and no prizes offered for the lucky reader who guesses its title.

HAS MY TOWN HAD ANY LETTERS PRINTED? - Readers nominate their town or that of a friend or relation and the Beast will advise of that place's letters pedigree - a useful feature for gauging property prices and the quality of the schools.

AM I THE BEST BRIAN? : Note everyone can be a Stephen Watson of Paisley, but are YOU the holder of your own name record?

RANDOM LETTERSENTERTAINYOU - A random Prog from the BB (Before Beast) days is nominated and LETERSENTERTAINYOU runs a review of it.[/list]

Right to business. The first publication to scrutinise is MEG 324 which hits us for six with a lovely inside back page Dreddlines. It even has a one line Editor's reply to a letter - they must have know we were reviewing!

First to bat is Matt Crossman of Cambridgeshire who doesn't sound like a cross man at all. He sounds almost happy, like that chap from the books, you know, Mr Topsy-Turvy. Matt likes everything including the free 'Drokk' track that sounded like feedback to us. He almost cries foul on the John Carter article but it's hardly a diatribe and he's soon back on message as he offers love for the movie reviews and Strange & Darke which, to be fair, more seasoned correspondents enjoyed too.

Matt has a full football team and one substitute of letters and is running slightly lopsided with a 7:5 Meg to Prog ratio. He is the King of the Crossmen with Gareth and Ian of Farnborough notching only one each. The Beast notes Gareth who scored in Prog 55 was also from Cambridgeshire - a possible letters sibling? Please advise if it is, as letters sibling are rare - there is usually a weird one and a normal one.

Next up is exotic foreign correspondent Michael Renehan of Indonesia. My Mum went there once. Jakarta? No, she took the plane. Michael is celebrating the extension of his lead in the all Indonesia Letters Championship with this his fourth score. He leads the trailing pack by, er, 4. All his works have graced the Meg with his cherry popper appearing in Meg 267 in 2008. He also hold the 'Renehan' record but lags behind Michael 'futon' Crouch of Naughty Norwich in the Michael reckoning. Sofa's 26 including 'Thatch the Warlock' in Prog 521 doesn't look like being troubled anytime soon.

Michael's letter is basically a quest for clarification on what 'in the nip' means - has he never seen 'Father Ted' or indeed used the internet? The Editor happily answers however and shows that his smutty thesaurus was a wise investment. Michael also thinks 'John Carter' needed something - from the sounds of it two hours of cuts would have been sufficient.
Zack Hawkins sounds like a boy band member from Minnesota and he may well be, but for our purposes he's the writer of letter 9848 on the Beast Database. Zack makes his a double with this offering following his memorable Meg 315 debut. He also becomes the Hawkins daddy doubling the scores of the hapless Marcus, Dave and Tom.

Zack's a tough cookie using only three superlative in his first sentence - I bet Tharg was wincing at that salvo! Zach keeps up the untough love with plaudits for all of the strips including a risible Dredd and a bum Black Museum. Still he likes and isn't afraid of saying so, so fair play to him. Is there no tough critic out there prepared to say it like it is?

Not from the next reader at any rate as we hear the familiar hollow ring of Alan 'Hollo' Holloway reverberate through the halls of Beast Towers. Alan does have some sway around here given he's a Top Ten letter writer with 26 notches on his bedpost, er, keyboard. This is his 16th Meg offering and first of 2012 following a solid 3 in 2011. He first appeared on our radar in Meg 74 (Vol. 2 No. 54) in 1994 and has never had a letter of the week, like Linton Porteous.

Alan bigs up the Dredd and says it was great that if featured superheroes without looking daft. Exsqueeze us? Daft didn't cover it - nonsensical would be a start. Alan likes a bit of the rest but describes the orgy scene in 'Strange & Darke' as 'well freaky' - he's clearly never been to Reflex on a Saturday night.

Rat farts, it's Tom Proudfoot now. Looks like we picked a bad week to reignite the Beast's boilers. Tom scores the longest letter of the issue with a full 6 inches of mirthless drivel. Still size isn't everything as we regularly tell our wife, it's what you do with it that matters. What does Tom do with his? Well that's for the courts to decide. As for his letter where to begin? Nowhere? No we have to be fair and go through it and point out every bit of style, wit and insight...

Tom is 21 today in letters terms. His actual age is not known as the records were destroyed in a Zeppelin attack. He first bothered this particular Beast back in 1983 with a Prog 309 effort. After a childlike drawing in Prog 427 he's been like a pesky gnat over the years with at least 3 published in each year since 2008. This is his second score (in letters terms, he is from Em'bra after all) of 2012 and he's on course to at least match 2011's 4.

We round off on a high with 'Mr Letters' Stephen Watson of Paisley who once again breaks the world record, moving the ceiling to 83 and a lead of two over Crocodile Dunwriting. This makes it a pair for 2012 for Watson and he'll need to move some to break last year's tally of 11. He now has 45 Meg letters to his credit (a record) and 38 in the Prog (not a record). 1999 was the last year we failed to see Mr Watson and at this rate the Knighthood must be a formality.

Watson has a reputation for saying it like it is and this must have gained the respect of the editor who is happy to publish all of the eloquent brickbats which are offered. "Bit Cold" - WHACK, "Old Hat" - SMASH, "Filed under 'Forget'" - KA-POW!. He does add some crème fraiche to the turd pudding by saying the Mark Millar interview was OK before giving a lurid snap shot of his mind's eye as he goes into graphic detail about his Mr Tumnus fixation.

This was a pretty good Dreddlines to get us back in the groove. We end with the Beast at 9851 records and the podium in sight. Please provide your nominations for our exciting new features - it could be your name up in Paintbox lights.

With the Jubilee, Olympics and Eurovision Song Contest on the horizon can The House of Tharg make it to 10,000 Beast entries this year? No chance - ETA November 2013. See you then!