Messages

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Books & Comics / Re: SPACEWARP - New Venture from Pat Mills

« on: 06 April, 2019, 05:27:47 pm »

I’m not really a fan of segregating comics by the sexes either. Girls like sci-fi and they certainly like horror. And girls comics of the past have shown that their stories go down well with a male audience too . Some of them. Those of a less mushy romance bent😉

Girls’ comics show they’re  certainly partial to their horror and they had their share of dystopian sci-fi too.

Again, I think maybe Pat Mills wants to mirror 200ad again for a modern audience.

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Books & Comics / Re: SPACEWARP - New Venture from Pat Mills

« on: 06 April, 2019, 04:12:54 pm »

Looks very interesting, and I’m interested in getting this.

Curious about this though: “Introduced by alien robot editor Schlock” . Pat Mills has said that he came to disagree with 2000AD having a fictional Editor in Tharg, so I wonder why he decided to do this. Then again, part of the reason for this project is to test if a similar comic to the original 2000AD would work, again, so maybe that’s why, I.e have all components present and see how they work in the current world.

Also Schlock also seems to be the name of an alien freedom fighter fighting against a human empire* in one of the strips (as it’s a work I’m progress, maybe that will change) and while I think Future Shock type tales are always a good idea in an anthology,  calling them Future Schlocks....? Really?

Overall a good idea, and interesting that they’re presenting the background and production stuff publicly.

Despite the description of certain tales being a bit too similar to stuff that’s been in the Prog, there is variety, and they may do different things with the stuff that seems similar. One bloke vs dinosaurs does seem different to a whole bunch of cowboys, for example.

Anyway, we’ll see.

*Sound familiar?

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Off Topic / Re: Where dust goes to gather...

« on: 06 April, 2019, 01:35:03 pm »

I doubt i’ll bother with the Masterpiece line, too big, too expensive, too much like a collectors piece than just some fun to liven up the work space in my flat. The Generations line are more in my ball park, cheaper but still impressive little toys for what they are and appealing to a certain bit of nostalgic jpy. God knows the world meeds that right now.

Fair enough. I was slightly shocked at the size of Optimus when he arrived. I did read the descriptions before buying, but it doesn’t quite do it justice. And the mp36 is smaller than the first MP version!

I found myself hankering for the G1 size, (or something in between) but with the quality of MP, if that makes sense. At least the size made me feel like I was getting more of my money’s worth. Heh.

Sideswipe is to scale with Optimus, and as a far smaller character is actually a pretty nice size. So I guess your average sized mp isn’t so big, but in scale certain characters just dwarf the others.

And I believe the MP Shockwaves are on the bigger side of things. Old Mongrol would be about two thirds his height at least I’d think, if not half. (Difficult to tell with Mongrol, as he is one of the larger Warriors, but he stoops a lot. Also his scale does seem to change a bit from comic, to comic.)

I looked at the Generations line. Yes they look very nice.

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Off Topic / Re: Where dust goes to gather...

« on: 06 April, 2019, 01:17:03 pm »

I like that.

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Off Topic / Re: Where dust goes to gather...

« on: 05 April, 2019, 03:48:04 am »

Bringing it back to 2000AD, I see a face off between an axe wielding Optimus Prime and Mongrol in the  future. (In a posed figures display kind of way, I mean, not a playing “take that!” “Mongrol Smush!” Click! Click! Kind of way. Honest. Their size is comparable, although they’re not to scale. If they were, I think Mongrol would be far smaller.  We think of ABC Warriors as giant robots, but they seem quite small compared to Transformers. Even Mongrol. I think only Mek-Quake in kill-dozer mode would compare.

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Off Topic / Re: Where dust goes to gather...

« on: 05 April, 2019, 03:30:28 am »

Heh. After buying transformers as a kid, (then reluctantly giving them away, cos I was ‘too old’) I bought a couple of the Masterpiece figures* recently. Paid way to much for a Hasbro Optimus MP-10. (MP-44, is the latest, but that one is ridiculously expensive and I wasn’t keen on the paint job.) Thankfully I paid much less for a second hand Tamara MP Sideswipe (sorry ‘Lambor’), although probably too much for second hand.

Pretty nice looking figures with decent engineering. Worth it? Not really, I can see some design issues. (Sideswipe seems to want to come apart in robot mode. Unless I transformed it wrong,) and Optimus has minor issues. For the money I think they should be much better...

... yet I’m glad to have them. Prime in particular is a monster size compared to the G1 toy I had as a child, although I ironically prefer the metallic paint job of the older figure. I love the fact he has a back now, though, rather than having a huge gaping hole into the cab, like the original. The articulation on these MPs is pretty decent compared to the originals too, although that’s not saying much.

I won’t be collecting them all. Probably just one or two (or three or four. Yes I know. I’m so sad.) more, if that. Eyeing am MP-36 Megatron next, (or a movie Bumblebee. He’s one movie range figure that looks really good, although I’m largely sticking G1 otherwise) but if I do, it would need to be a good deal, Great looking figure from the front, but the kibble on the back is atrocious!

Oh, and the sheer amount of Knock -offs on eBay is shocking! It’s hard to tell which is original sometimes. Tempting too, as they’re often nice quality at half the price, but I want to keep them original. I see boxless Takara Megs on eBay that are supposedly original, at a much reduced price, but how do I know these sellers aren’t fibbing?

* kind of fooled myself into thinking ‘the MP range are adult collector figures at that price, so okay to buy. Yes, I’m a fool, but they are quite nice. Thankfully, they don’t seem to lose value all that much as production is limited, so I might even make money back if I ever decided to sell. (Not that I’m considering that yet.) Assuming I don’t damage them.

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General / Re: Ipad Pro 12.9 for reading Progs..opinions?

« on: 31 March, 2019, 08:01:46 pm »

On my iPad* I zoom to read the text in the Tharg's intro comfortably, but I can manage it without it. (Obviously I definitely need to zoom in for Damage Report.)  The comic text is comfortable to read without any zooming, though, despite the pages being smaller than the printed version. I'll admit, part of me would like a bigger device, for the full sized comic experience, but I don't think I'd want the iPad larger for anything else, as it's just that the right size marrying ease of portability with use, internet and apps. A compromise maybe, but a very small one, since comics really are fine on it without zooming.

*second to latest model. The one smaller than  the 12" jobby. I believe it was the one that came out after the last iPad air, when they made cheaper options by cutting down on screen tech. Resolution is the same as previous though. And I believe the processor is more powerful, which just goes to show how expensive that retina whatever it is tech actually was. And stuff still looks smashing on it.

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Film & TV / Re: Last movie watched...

« on: 30 March, 2019, 11:37:37 pm »

Us

Kinda different. I liked that. I think some of the stuff meant to be scary turned out unintentionally comical (although they need not be mutually exclusive) and I think they should have made itjust about the family, rather than this being a widespread event. That would have been more eerie I think. I liked the twist, altbough, it wasn't entirely unexpected. I wonder how much was remembered and forgotten by the two women however. She said little about it, suggesting she was born to that world.  It then again she had gone insane, and it does explain the extent of her  actions somewhat

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Film & TV / Re: Last movie watched...

« on: 23 March, 2019, 07:11:48 pm »

Captain Marvel
Fun film.I guessed the twist before it happened, and kinda wish they’d made the Kree morality a bit more ambiguous, but I enjoyed that a lot.

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Film & TV / Re: PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE NEW STAR TREK: DISCOVERY SERIES

« on: 17 March, 2019, 12:01:30 am »

I’m not convinced that the Red Angel is future Spock, because he stated that the mind he melded with was human. That being said, since he also stated that the Red Angel had some kind of psi-dampener* that limited the telepathy, maybe a half-human mind would be interpreted as human, particularly as older Spock had mellowed somewhat in his attitude towards logic. (Curiously, young Spock and old Spock seem to be Spock at his most human, albeit for different reasons.)

I think the Red Angel more likely to be future Michael, although that might be too obvious.

I enjoyed the episode a lot, although I didn’t pick up on the fact it was the security lady who spaced cyborg lady.** That makes more since it puzzled me that Michael would activate the mechanism while in mid sentence and look so surprised. Divvy me...

*Probably not the actual term, but I think you understand  what I mean.
** I need to sort out my memory, working out memorising names better.

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Film & TV / Re: Leaving Neverland

« on: 13 March, 2019, 06:12:27 pm »

It's partly the history of the accusers that has me doubtful. I.e I read about the father of one of the kids apparently trying to get Jackson to fund his TV endeavours... or else. And being a bit of a weird bloke, it seems like Whacko Jacko would be an easy target for blackmail. Of course, being strange doesn't mean he wasn't guilty...

That being said, I haven't seen this documentary, and probably never will*. I have read it is rather one sided, just following the two men who have had a questionable history, and not covering the other side.  Of course that doesn't mean the allegations aren't true.

I'm not convinced either way, but the comments here make me wonder.

I had my doubts concerning Saville too, initially thinking alleged victims were just trying to cash in on an eccentric but well meaning man who was no longer around to defend himself. Then another person came forward . Then another. And another... and I was confronted with the strong likelihood that it was all true.

*Not because I'm in denial. I just want to avoid the graphic stuff that I understand is described.

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Film & TV / Re: New Rogue Trooper Film!!

« on: 11 March, 2019, 06:31:08 pm »

Surely we don’t need any MORE comparisons with The Raid?!!
Ah, hell... it’s Duncan Jones, I’ve got total faith in him.

I didn't mind the article until I read that bit. So. Annoying!

Anyway, I have mixed feelings concerning the comparison with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Raid.

On one hand I'm not sure how it would work. I really like the Guardians... films and for all the darkness of the Rogue.... strip there is some humour to be had with Rogues biochips, etc. It could work.

I haven't seen The Raid, but I understand it generally went down well. I hope it doesn't involve Rogue stuck in a big building, fighting his way through to save budget, but I guess the budget could be also shaved setting it largely in a quarry environment too...

Reservedly hopeful.

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Film & TV / Re: PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE NEW STAR TREK: DISCOVERY SERIES

« on: 09 March, 2019, 04:40:46 am »

Check out the start of this new episode! Kudos for showing footage from the original series pilot with original actors and effects, and still not being afraid to update the look and effects later, but I felt it all worked. I was amazed how similar the two actors who play Pike actually look, when they moved from a shot of the original’s face to the current actor. That, or they did a good job of making him up. He does seem quite a bit older though, and if the pilot occurred during the five year mission, it shouldn’t be that long ago, at all.

Anyway, a really good episode, I thought. A good homage to the pilot ST episode episode in a way that felt logical (ahem) and furthered the current plot.

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Film & TV / Re: Last movie watched...

« on: 08 March, 2019, 01:29:55 pm »

I really like the Apes movies but can never remember which one is which or what order they go in. Is the one with the big nuclear bomb at the end stil chronologically last or did that get retconned?

That was Beneath... It was second made, but it was the last one chronologically... but not in a timely wimey way as the apes from Escape... travelled back after those events, if that makes sense.

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Film & TV / Re: Last movie watched...

« on: 25 February, 2019, 01:44:23 am »

Alita: Battle Angel

Despite my reservations, mentioned above, I thought I’d give it a chance. I’m glad I did. I enjoyed it a lot.

I did find the CGI of certain characters very noticeable (Likely as it involved humanoid types. I probably wouldn’t have noticed so much if it were just vehicles and scenery). Apart from Alita herself, I’m particularly referring to that huge male cyborg. (Forgive me, I’m terrible remembering names.) But it didn’t really take me out of the film or bother me much. It just did seem more like a CG animated movie than live action in places because of it. Which, I guess it was, anyway, really.

The big eye thing for Alita, I’m still not convinced it was really needed. It turns out it’s not typically a cyborg thing, as there’s actually lots of cyborgs in this film with regular faces. I guess it sets her apart in that she is literally an older generation of cyborg specifically designed as a soldier, and a Martian one at that, although I figured the Martians were human colonists in this case rather than aliens, but I could be wrong. But I got used to it, and she’s all round very endearing.

It ended in a way, strongly suggesting there should be a sequel. I hope this happens, but if it doesn’t, the film still works in a ‘she’s found her place in this world, and the struggle continues’ kind of way.

Part of me thinks they missed a gag, by not showing an after credits scene of a scavenger finding her half a boyfriend on the junk heap as she was found, but it’s probably a good thing they didn’t do that.

I actually wouldn’t be surprised if something like this did happen in the sequel (she survived the fall from a similar distance after all) but maybe they shouldn’t.