Main Menu

2000AD Sci-Fi Swipe File

Started by ming, 30 October, 2013, 06:21:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

sheridan

Quote from: Dandontdare on 09 January, 2016, 03:00:23 AM
wow, good find.

I remember at the time thinking that it was an odd cover  - after weeks of training us to defend Earth against the invasion, this was the issue when we discovered that Starlord was just leaving us to it

- and we got a picture of a crab-sub. Huh?
He carried on the fight against InStellFed, including releasing some 'Info Data Control' which had been 'banned on all federated worlds' telling of their rise to power - all told in the 1981 Starlord Annual, with some of the illustrations possibly by Ian Kennedy, though if they are it looks like he didn't have a lot of time to do them.  Or more likely a bunch of spacey pictures lying around in IPC's image vaults with some copy hastily put together by an overworked sub-editor.

Lobo Baggins

Quote from: sheridan on 09 January, 2016, 05:48:19 PM
He carried on the fight against InStellFed, including releasing some 'Info Data Control' which had been 'banned on all federated worlds' telling of their rise to power - all told in the 1981 Starlord Annual, with some of the illustrations possibly by Ian Kennedy, though if they are it looks like he didn't have a lot of time to do them.  Or more likely a bunch of spacey pictures lying around in IPC's image vaults with some copy hastily put together by an overworked sub-editor.

He should have held some of them back - by the time of the 1982 Annual, he's got a six page Stronty script then there's eighty eight pages of reprint and filler material...

(There's also a publicity picture from the Doctor Who story Mission to the Unknown which I've never seen anywhere else, probably because it's a particularly unflattering shot of Verity Lambert...)

The wages of sin are death, but the hours are good and the perks are fantastic.

sheridan

Quote from: Lobo Baggins on 09 January, 2016, 06:08:21 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 09 January, 2016, 05:48:19 PM
He carried on the fight against InStellFed, including releasing some 'Info Data Control' which had been 'banned on all federated worlds' telling of their rise to power - all told in the 1981 Starlord Annual, with some of the illustrations possibly by Ian Kennedy, though if they are it looks like he didn't have a lot of time to do them.  Or more likely a bunch of spacey pictures lying around in IPC's image vaults with some copy hastily put together by an overworked sub-editor.

He should have held some of them back - by the time of the 1982 Annual, he's got a six page Stronty script then there's eighty eight pages of reprint and filler material...
No Ro-Busters either :-(

Gary Leach's The Exterminator almost made up for the not-really Starlord-y or 2000AD-y -ness of it all though (good artwork even though it's a not particularly shocking eight-page Future Shock otherwise).

Dash Decent

Not a swipe, but a homage.

Alan Moore gave "Chronocops" (Tharg's Time Twister, prog 310) the vibe of the early Kurtzman-era MAD comics.  Dave Gibbons underlined this with his art, making the piece into a true homage to Harvey Kurtzman and artist Will Elder.

MAD parodied Dragnet twice, in the third issue (1953, based on the radio series) and in issue 11 (1954, based on the TV series).  In both cases the parody was called "Dragged Net", but it is in the second go that the main character is drawn to caricature Jack Webb, the actor playing Friday.  (Webb also originated and produced the show.)

Gibbons made sure the lead character in "Chronocops" was clearly Webb, but directly in the style of Elder.



- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent

Additionally Gibbons added references to MAD in the background.  Will Elder and Bill Gaines (MAD's publisher) are name checked.  Potrzebie is one of the Yiddish/Polish mishmash words that would crop up regularly in early MADs (along with  furshlugginer, veeblefetzer, ganef, hoo-hah, etc).

By the way Mr Gibbons, "ingredients" has an "R" in it.



One of the background gags in the second "Dragged Net" parody is Will Elder's mother searching through the strip for him, calling "Villie" all the while.  Here Gibbons directly points to the MAD parody by including her search for Will(y).


- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent

Oh, and there's the TARDIS.  It fits the time travel theme well, and of course Mr Gibbons did a lot of work drawing Dr Who strips for DW Weekly/Monthly.  I assume the honking sound is a "Beeb" rather than a "Beep" as a nod to it's BBC owners.

- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent

The Chronocops emblem appears to be an hourglass with "CC" across the centre.  The CC is a homage to the EC logo.  It can also be seen on the time-traffic cop.

- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent

MAD's Joe Friday begat Moore & Gibbon's Joe Saturday, who in turn inspired the forum's own Joe Soap.  Joe Soap currently uses a photo of Jack Webb as his avatar but his earlier avatar - from "Chronocops" - was immortalised in a certain film...


- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

Dash Decent




(Mods, please remove if this creates any copyright angst.)
- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

TordelBack

I didn't know some of that, and it was fantastic to see it all set out so clearly. Great work, Dash, thanks a mill.

Dash Decent

#310
Thanks Tordelback!  It was a lot of fun to put together.  If I could edit it I would explain that EC was Gaines' company and add some examples of the "Villie!" joke from MAD no. 11. (You can see one example here, a detail from the final panel of the second "Dragged Net" parody, incorrectly ascribed to MAD no. 3 - Click!.  It's not the perfect example as in this panel she says his full name (as payoff to that particular joke), whereas in the previous panels she was only crying "VILLIE" - just like we see in "Chronocops".)

Another on-going joke in the early MADs were notes saying "Call your mom - Ed".  It's only just occurred to me that they could be a callback to this joke, in response to Elder's mother searching for him.

Intriguingly, the Wikipedia entry on Dragnet includes an incomplete list of parodies of the show.  It mentions "Chronocops" but neither of the spoofs by MAD!
- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

sheridan

Quote from: Dash Decent on 10 January, 2016, 01:00:22 PMIntriguingly, the Wikipedia entry on Dragnet includes an incomplete list of parodies of the show.  It mentions "Chronocops" but neither of the spoofs by MAD!
I hope you added the references then!

Skullmo

It's a joke. I was joking.

Dash Decent

That reminds me Skullmo, about this tax return you've submitted...

(Also: why?)
- By Appointment -
Hero to Michael Carroll

"... rank amateurism and bad jokes." - JohnW.

TordelBack