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Off Topic / Re: RIP Stan Lee
« on: 12 November, 2018, 09:09:33 pm »
Few will leave the legacy of Stan Lee. A life lived well.
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2
General / Re: Space Spinner 2000AD
« on: 12 November, 2018, 01:10:50 pm »Well even though I'm only half way through I feel I have to comment on Episode 132.
First and foremost I'm of course deeply flattered that you dedicated the show to me my playing the song written in tribute to my forum name at the start (and I assume) and end of the show. Very touching.
Thanks! For the record YNWA was the number one for that month, for one reason or another, but who am I to go against someone's weird podcast obsession?
I think it was a re-release of the song (by a Liverpool band) following a ferry disaster on the Mersey...
It was actually for the Bradford disaster.
Please everyone knows I was just being cheeky right?!?
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General / Re: Space Spinner 2000AD
« on: 12 November, 2018, 07:49:18 am »
Well even though I'm only half way through I feel I have to comment on Episode 132.
First and foremost I'm of course deeply flattered that you dedicated the show to me my playing the song written in tribute to my forum name at the start (and I assume) and end of the show. Very touching.
Secondly Doug Church Block is actually named after one of the original art / design team on 2000ad. Pat Mills really rates him and his influence on the comic as he more than ably expresses in the linkie below.
https://www.millsverse.com/10-of-the-best-celebrating-some-of-2000ads-unsung-heroes/.
Oh and wonderful show - thank you for making me laugh like a goon on the way into work this morning with you description of Pluke - Gold!
First and foremost I'm of course deeply flattered that you dedicated the show to me my playing the song written in tribute to my forum name at the start (and I assume) and end of the show. Very touching.
Secondly Doug Church Block is actually named after one of the original art / design team on 2000ad. Pat Mills really rates him and his influence on the comic as he more than ably expresses in the linkie below.
https://www.millsverse.com/10-of-the-best-celebrating-some-of-2000ads-unsung-heroes/.
Oh and wonderful show - thank you for making me laugh like a goon on the way into work this morning with you description of Pluke - Gold!
4
Film & TV / Re: Doctor Who Series 11 Discussion
« on: 11 November, 2018, 07:58:39 pm »
Well lows followed by highs it is.
Thought that was bloomin' great. Timely and moving. Thought Jodie Whitaker was superb.
Thought that was bloomin' great. Timely and moving. Thought Jodie Whitaker was superb.
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Announcements / Re: 2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection
« on: 11 November, 2018, 07:01:18 am »
That's really good to know that folks are using the Ultimate Collection to spring board into 2000ad and I was wondering if folks who where into Dredd and had picked up wider 2000ad stuff in a more 'managable' way than just plunging into the Prog... though I still stand by the fact this is they way to do, I'm not really one to speak on that!
So great to know this is working as a way for Tharg to get his mucky mits on more fresh blood.
So great to know this is working as a way for Tharg to get his mucky mits on more fresh blood.
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Announcements / Re: 2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection
« on: 10 November, 2018, 05:57:29 pm »As a completely new reader to it all...
So Pale fire when you say new are you saying that the Ultimate collection is your first exposure to 2000ad. If so that's cool. Do you mind me asking what made you give it a whirl.
Be interesting to know if others have been drawn to Tharg's bosum by this collection.
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Prog / Re: Prog 2107 - Hostile Takeover!
« on: 10 November, 2018, 05:53:25 pm »
Arh the Prog continues to be fine.
The revalations in Dredd do need a little fleshing out but damn it a great episode and as Richard says Franks 'origin' reveal is big enough in itself.
Skip Tracer cranks things up as it hurtles towards its much improved conclusion.
Brink is just sublime once again but didn't we just know no tails were being shaken.
3riller - Infestinauts Are Go! is a fun little distract which looks great. Three parts feels like it will be the perfect size for this too.
Kingdom - damn as has been said just don't skip to the end - there's no letters page so don't bother flicking to the bacl - okay... damn that a big ol' ending!
Great Prog.
The revalations in Dredd do need a little fleshing out but damn it a great episode and as Richard says Franks 'origin' reveal is big enough in itself.
Skip Tracer cranks things up as it hurtles towards its much improved conclusion.
Brink is just sublime once again but didn't we just know no tails were being shaken.
3riller - Infestinauts Are Go! is a fun little distract which looks great. Three parts feels like it will be the perfect size for this too.
Kingdom - damn as has been said just don't skip to the end - there's no letters page so don't bother flicking to the bacl - okay... damn that a big ol' ending!
Great Prog.
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Other Reviews / Re: The completely self absorbed 2000ad re-read thread
« on: 10 November, 2018, 07:31:46 am »But we're heading for the recovery aren't we? Sin Dex?
Yeah but that strip will take some time to develop to the classic it is. The recovery will be a very bumpy and uneven thing to as I recall.
We'll see.
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Other Reviews / Re: The completely self absorbed 2000ad re-read thread
« on: 09 November, 2018, 09:51:23 pm »
He does some really nice effects with shadows during the story. So for example showing the dabbled shadowing of folks standing under leafy trees in bright sunshine. Some really nice, very labour intensive lighting effects like that - all done with ink I should note not that there new fangled computer colours that... eerr graces... so many strips of this time.
If its the Uncle Pat thing its margins of course, don't know where that 'e' comes from. But about 4 parts into the story in the gutter we get 'Flesh created by Pat Mills' stuck as a clear after thought into the margin (no 'e'). I'm guessing he got upset about the strip being resurrected and kicked off at David Bishop? I'm guessing there of course.
Yeah I'd all but stopped reading at this point, back in the day, and soon at the point where I'd stopped even getting the Prog. I have read them all since then, but I'm not as familar with the stuff I'm covering now.
If its the Uncle Pat thing its margins of course, don't know where that 'e' comes from. But about 4 parts into the story in the gutter we get 'Flesh created by Pat Mills' stuck as a clear after thought into the margin (no 'e'). I'm guessing he got upset about the strip being resurrected and kicked off at David Bishop? I'm guessing there of course.
Yeah I'd all but stopped reading at this point, back in the day, and soon at the point where I'd stopped even getting the Prog. I have read them all since then, but I'm not as familar with the stuff I'm covering now.
10
Other Reviews / Re: The completely self absorbed 2000ad re-read thread
« on: 09 November, 2018, 09:10:02 pm »
Prog 979
So 1996 starts off with a number of short(ish) stories hiding behind a long form Dredd - which is magnificent and put all behind it in the shade.
None of them are bad... well most of them aren't band... but again they provide definition of the middle order elevated by not much else around them ... aforementioned Dredd aside.
I've always has a real soft spot for Flesh - Chronocide its not especially great I just really enjoy it for all its action movie cliche. If nothing else Gary Erskine use of shadows is just superb. I do wonder how angry Uncle Pat got about it as his name suddenly pops up in the margines after the first few parts.
Speaking of movie action cliche that's the very thing that Kid Cyborg works so hard to avoid. I'm not sure I enjoy it but by heck it earns points for trying to be something different. Its like its trying to be along form version of Shaky's Beyond Belief. The difference is Shaky Kane's single panels are effortless delights, Kid Cyborg is straining to be leftfield and that's why it feels forced rather than carefree.
Darkness Visible is a really fun little five parter (don't get many of them). Its refreshing in its tone, dark and close. Simple and chilling. Nice change of pace and doesn't over stay its welcome.
Best thing to say about Venus Blue Genes is it really emphasizes how much Dan Abnett and Simon Coleby have both come on since 1996.
So 1996 starts off with a number of short(ish) stories hiding behind a long form Dredd - which is magnificent and put all behind it in the shade.
None of them are bad... well most of them aren't band... but again they provide definition of the middle order elevated by not much else around them ... aforementioned Dredd aside.
I've always has a real soft spot for Flesh - Chronocide its not especially great I just really enjoy it for all its action movie cliche. If nothing else Gary Erskine use of shadows is just superb. I do wonder how angry Uncle Pat got about it as his name suddenly pops up in the margines after the first few parts.
Speaking of movie action cliche that's the very thing that Kid Cyborg works so hard to avoid. I'm not sure I enjoy it but by heck it earns points for trying to be something different. Its like its trying to be along form version of Shaky's Beyond Belief. The difference is Shaky Kane's single panels are effortless delights, Kid Cyborg is straining to be leftfield and that's why it feels forced rather than carefree.
Darkness Visible is a really fun little five parter (don't get many of them). Its refreshing in its tone, dark and close. Simple and chilling. Nice change of pace and doesn't over stay its welcome.
Best thing to say about Venus Blue Genes is it really emphasizes how much Dan Abnett and Simon Coleby have both come on since 1996.
11
Film & TV / Re: Grant Morrison developing The Invisibles for TV
« on: 09 November, 2018, 08:57:18 pm »
Morrison's best work is defo Animal Man still... or Zenith... or maybe the Batman run... or JLA (re-reading that soon)... or 7 Soldiers... no no its Animal Man...
12
Prog / Re: Prog 2106 - End Times
« on: 09 November, 2018, 08:52:14 pm »
So very late to the party this week as my sub didn't arrive yet and I got impatient and rather than wait for my copy to arrive I popped to WH Smiths today and picked one up.
So the big change this week is 3riller - Infestinauts Are Go! in for Fiends, now last week I discussed how a bit of balance and variety makes the truely perfect prog and this change gives us that. Infestinauts is a fun quirky little thing which has a nice fresh different tone... however what it also proves is variety alone doesn't trump quality and while I enjoyed it its just not as good as fiends and as such this weeks Prog has an uphill battle.
Mind it ably supported Kingdom and Brink remain very very best Tharg has to offer and Skip Tracer remains the thrill its turned into and great fun.
Dredd of course adds more and more big moments and small clues. By George (and we're past spoilers now right... Hershey's reaction to Dredd's proclimation is just delivered perfectly - just great comics. This story has a lot to cover in its last three parts, but man its going to be fun finding out how its going to do that.
So what was good remains very, very good. The swap however drops the quality just a notch. So we're down from the very very best Tharg has very given us to just a very very great Prog... times are hard its like the 90s all over again...
So the big change this week is 3riller - Infestinauts Are Go! in for Fiends, now last week I discussed how a bit of balance and variety makes the truely perfect prog and this change gives us that. Infestinauts is a fun quirky little thing which has a nice fresh different tone... however what it also proves is variety alone doesn't trump quality and while I enjoyed it its just not as good as fiends and as such this weeks Prog has an uphill battle.
Mind it ably supported Kingdom and Brink remain very very best Tharg has to offer and Skip Tracer remains the thrill its turned into and great fun.
Dredd of course adds more and more big moments and small clues. By George (and we're past spoilers now right... Hershey's reaction to Dredd's proclimation is just delivered perfectly - just great comics. This story has a lot to cover in its last three parts, but man its going to be fun finding out how its going to do that.
So what was good remains very, very good. The swap however drops the quality just a notch. So we're down from the very very best Tharg has very given us to just a very very great Prog... times are hard its like the 90s all over again...
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Off Topic / Re: Podcasts
« on: 09 November, 2018, 08:43:27 am »There’s this amazing new podcast by some Mackem areshole...
Finally got around to starting to listen to this (can't believe I first heard about it in June - sorry Pete!) and its bloomin' fascinatating.
Put aside the fact that I'm not involved in SEN work its still a brilliant listen on a number of levels. First and foremost more lovely* Pete 'Lovely' Wells and his infectous humour. Secondly an insight into a really important but often forgotten (by those not involved) part of education.
But thirdly and most importantly really good lessons in storytelling as you begin to understand quite the amount of thought and consideration that's gone into what appear on the surface to be simple stories but when you break them down are fantastic examples of quite breath-takingly compact storytelling designed and executed to get across so much. Truly Mr Wells (Lovely) is the Wagner (J) of children's storytelling.
Well worth checking out and and have to make special mention of Episode 3 where Pete talks to a hero of the field (from what I can gather) Les Staves who gives a frankly chilling insight into how much this area has moved on since the 70s. While we watch the world do its best to lurch into a downward spiral its heartening to see how much as a sociality things have progressed.
Thanks for the heads up Pete and sorry it took me so long to get to this.
*I've realised its impossible to type Pete Wells in a sentence without also typing the word lovely... see.
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General / Re: Ipad Pro 12.9 for reading Progs..opinions?
« on: 08 November, 2018, 09:53:20 pm »I use ComicCat on android and it seems spot on, used to use Comicrack which I liked, but one day it stopped working and even deleting it and reinstalling wouldn't sort it...
Yeah I lost Comicrack the same way. Such a shame.
I'm trying Astonishing Comics but its far from perfect but I'm too lazy to go for anythign else!
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Other Reviews / Re: The completely self absorbed 2000ad re-read thread
« on: 07 November, 2018, 10:01:15 pm »
Funt Solo I think you underestimate now how great Mr Twisty and Susan vs. Galaxatron sounds. I'd buy that in a second AND especially if it turned out to be a comic strip based on a helicopter computer game... which would make as much sense as Urban Strike actually did!
Genius sir.
Anyway the first thing I want to talk about in very early 1996 is PARAsites I've enbolden it just so I remember I've typ...
...sorry where was I this seemed to be some sort of sequel to Wirehe...
...so I was saying something was I ... but nothing nothing about it is memo...
...hold on was I talking about something...
Anyway I forgot to mention in 1992 that there was no way that Wireheads was ever coming back and thank God it never did hey...
Hold on what's that next to new Flesh its PARA...
...so did you say something...
Genius sir.
Anyway the first thing I want to talk about in very early 1996 is PARAsites I've enbolden it just so I remember I've typ...
...sorry where was I this seemed to be some sort of sequel to Wirehe...
...so I was saying something was I ... but nothing nothing about it is memo...
...hold on was I talking about something...
Anyway I forgot to mention in 1992 that there was no way that Wireheads was ever coming back and thank God it never did hey...
Hold on what's that next to new Flesh its PARA...
...so did you say something...