Messages

1

Prog / Re: Prog 2123 - It's Time To Bring The Magic Back.

« on: 18 March, 2019, 01:36:08 pm »

Yeah, subs are taking the piss now. Arriving on a Friday for me, while others are getting the next prog the next day?

It's an anti- Cal Hab conspiracy!

It arrived in NE Cal-Hab on Saturday, so it might just be your corner.

Excellent prog, and that may just be the best letter/tribute ever published in the prog.

2

Prog / Re: Prog 2122 - Your Planet Needs Thrills!

« on: 14 March, 2019, 09:51:19 pm »

So was that the last Skip Tracer ever? I wonder if time will be kind to this rather maligned strip. For my part I've always thought it's been full of great ideas, and the art of Marshall and MacNeil has never been less then stunning. As others have said, the biggest let-down has been the lack of charactersiation for the protagonist.

The recent podcast interview suggests that Tharg has commissioned at least one more series, unless I misunderstood.

3

Prog / Re: Prog 2122 - Your Planet Needs Thrills!

« on: 13 March, 2019, 12:48:38 pm »

Just to repeat the above, I hope Jaegir is back soon as well. Simon Coleby is outstanding on this and the series is one of the best things in the prog in years.

4

Off Topic / Re: The Older Dads Thread

« on: 07 March, 2019, 09:51:11 am »

Sure you'll have some tough moments. The feeding in the middle of the night is not as bad as some make out. You get used to it and generally it doesn't last long. Toilet training was our biggest challenge. Took 3 months and nearly every night there was an episode but again you kind of get used to it. She would change the bedding (which we had got out earlier) and I would clean the lad up. This we got down to a fine art and could do it in less than 5 minutes in the end.

To provide a contrast, toilet training wasn't too bad for my young one. The sleepless nights, on the other hand, played havoc with our sanity and emotions!

They're all different.

One other, serious point. You need to keep an eye on your other half. Post-natal depression is very real and rarely diagnosed. Health Visitors and GPs tend to focus their limited resources and time on a handful of parents in dire straits. If your partner needs help it will likely be you that needs to speak up. This was brushed over in the ante-natal classes I attended.

5

Off Topic / Re: The Older Dads Thread

« on: 07 March, 2019, 08:36:13 am »

Congratulations! You're far from alone here. Older Dads are quite common, judging from my daughter's peer group. You've got the benefit of life experience, which will be invaluable. One bit of advice I'd give is to try to get into shape before the due date (if you need to), as I was surprised by how physically demanding parenting can be.

There's also one other, very important, point. Being a Dad got me back into 2000AD- episodic content is perfect when you have little free time and are likely to be interrupted at any moment!

6

General / Re: Reprint This:- UK Comics I'd Like To See Collected Editions Of

« on: 04 March, 2019, 08:21:18 am »

Rogue Trooper: Friday
OK, this was a mess. A dull story from Dave Gibbons, and even worse scripts from Michael Fleisher. but the art from Will Simpson and Ron Smith is gorgeous, and for that alone I'd like a collected edition.

The Gibbons/Simpson War Machine story that introduced Friday and a couple of the Fleisher stories with art by Dillon and Walker are already collected in War Machine:
https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/graphic-novels/rogue-trooper/GRN471

I'm a bit of a fan of War Machine. It's very much of it's time, but it's a good piece. The Fleisher stuff, not so much, and I'd be very surprised if Rebellion has any plans to collect these. Maybe in a Meg floppy for the Ron Smith artwork alone?

7

Books & Comics / Re: Musing About Signed Comics

« on: 28 February, 2019, 01:20:07 pm »

This is something that I struggle to understand. For me, the value in a signed comic or book is in the memory I have of meeting the creator. In the way that Eamonn describes so well above. So I'm not really willing to pay much, if any, more for a signed book.

That said, I have bought signed books from Eamonn in the past because it's a good cause and they were books I would have bought anyway.

8

Film & TV / Re: Umbrella Academy- Netflix

« on: 28 February, 2019, 01:10:02 pm »

Yes, the ending is a disappointment, particularly after the series improved over the course. If it doesn't get picked up for a second series then that ending will look even worse.

9

Off Topic / Re: The Political Thread

« on: 27 February, 2019, 02:20:33 pm »

Turnouts for EU elections are dismal, so it's a ripe area for parties on the political extremes to target.

10

Prog / Re: Prog 2120 - Tankbuster!

« on: 27 February, 2019, 12:56:37 pm »

The ex-council doing this for me echoes the democracy arc. Fairly similar thinking there, in that when their ideology is threatened, any notion of justice rapidly goes out of the window, in favour of a coup, or some other illegal act.

Yeah, this seems entirely consistent with the behaviour of senior judges in other stories. The law comes second to preserving the judge system.

11

Off Topic / Re: The Political Thread

« on: 22 February, 2019, 11:32:31 am »

Someone named Bowser now runs Nintendo America.  The whole world is going to Hell.

"Everything is politics." Thomas Mann

12

Megazine / Re: Meg 405 - The Fear Factor

« on: 20 February, 2019, 03:46:49 pm »

I have just given up on Blunt. I haven’t a clue who half the characters are, what they are up to or why. Makes it a real chore to read it, I’m afraid.

It's not just you. I'm completely lost as well. Maybe Blunt would work better appearing weekly in the prog, if its going to continue?

13

News / Re: New specials: 2000 AD, Cor!!, Tammy, Vigilant, and more

« on: 20 February, 2019, 02:23:10 pm »

Same here. Sometimes, these things show up locally, but not always. And at that price AND with free shipping, it heads to total no-brainier territory. Plus I don’t have to find a local comic shop that will actually get the Villains special in. (That might sound harsh, but the nearest place to here that does FCBD takes me ~40 mins to get to, costs £4 in parking, and last time only got in one copy of 2000 AD and suggested I be “first in line”.)

I have very mixed feelings about FCBD and, in particular, how many of the "free" issues end up on eBay. Comic shops need all the support they can get but I'm not sure FCBD is the way to do that.

14

News / Re: New specials: 2000 AD, Cor!!, Tammy, Vigilant, and more

« on: 20 February, 2019, 09:46:58 am »

This package is a great idea on Rebellion's part. I would probably only buy two or three of these individually, but have instead ordered the lot.

15

Off Topic / Re: RIPs

« on: 18 February, 2019, 01:21:19 pm »

He's in the German original and it's semi-sequel. The Hollywood version is a very different thing with Meg Ryan and Nic Cage. I didn't think it was as bad as many critics suggested, but it took nothing other than the idea of angels living among us from the Wenders film.

It also doesn't have the benefit of featuring a performance by Crime & the City Solution, as Wings of Desire does!