Topics

436

Books & Comics / Anyone reading Ministry of Space?

« on: 04 March, 2002, 06:51:00 AM »

What do you think?

I've read the first episode, and I'm waiting for #2 to arrive this week. Looks like it's shaping up to be a damn fine short story. Chris Weston's art is gorgeous, and though I'd still prefer he coloured his own work, the wonderful designs he's come up with for the spacecraft more than makes up for this - Dan Dare meets de Havilland. Go do a search for the Gloster Meteor or de Havilland & find out what jet aircraft should REALLY look like.

Dashwood makes for a hugely enjoyable main character, a complete shit of a man, but a visionary in the classic British mould. The "I don't know how it was in Germany..." sums him up perfectly, and his willingness to put himself in the line of fire (even if it seems to be driven more by ego) gives us a character who really, truly believes in what he's doing. I've got my suspicions that the revelations in the next two episodes will change this view though.

Overall, a damn fine start to a promising mini-series, and a world that has a LOT of potential. Classic sci-fi.

437

General / Deadline...

« on: 24 February, 2002, 08:28:49 PM »

Another request...

How many issues did Deadline run for?
How rare is it now - and what's a reasonable price per issue?
Which issues are recommended reading?

Ta!

438

General / Now that Shakara's over...

« on: 21 February, 2002, 07:42:49 PM »

What did you think of it?
It's pretty much a given that the art was superb, but what did everyone think of the story?

Now that I've had a chance to sit down & read through the whole tale in one go, this is what stands out:

The story was overlong. Some of the earlier episodes could have been trimmed without any problem. Cut down to 5 or 6 episodes, the story would have been tantalising without being boring.

Though fairly simple on surface, Robbie Morrison has managed to pack quite a lot of background into the strip that could be explored in future installments.

The big weakness of the strip if it were to be carried on is "Shakara's" apparent invulnerability. It works if the story is a one-off, but it could quickly become VERY dull if the story were continued.

Any other thoughts?

439

General / Advice on moving comic collection...

« on: 21 February, 2002, 05:22:26 AM »

Bit of a cry for help...

I'm moving from the UK to Tasmania in April, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to ship my 2000AD collection.
All told, I've got somewhere around 1000 comics to shift, plus odds 'n ends like Crisis, Toxic & Revolver.
I started bagging & boarding them individually, but my funds aren't going to stretch to doing that for each & every one, so only the most prized progs are getting that treatment.
After I've done this, I'm planning on placing 25-50 in box files, then packing 5 of these box files to each shipping box.
The comics are then going into storage for 6 months before they're shipped out.

...And now I'm REALLY nervous :-O

I've heard all of the horror stories about collections going missing, boxes being soaked, individual comics going missing etc... & I'm wondering if there's anything I should be doing differently, or anything I SHOULDN'T be doing when it comes to shipping the collection?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

440

General / Where is Dredd going?

« on: 19 February, 2002, 12:16:46 AM »

Sparked by a message on the alt.comics.2000ad:

The last few Dredd thrills have left quite a few loose threads dangling, and I don't know quite where, or how they're going to end up.

1) The "Crystal Skull". This really looks like a setup for a future storyline, but isn't it more normal for Wagner to write these setup episodes himself? I wondered whether this might be the new "Chief Judge's Man" - the last two being dead & imprisoned respectively.

2) "Unnatural Selection". Looks like another setup story.

3) Rico. There's obviously something big planned for him in the future, but what? Plus - weren't there another three clones rescued in the Dredd Angel story?

4) Edgar, thingummy (forgotten his name - the judge pretending to be Hershey) & (possibly) Manners. The first two are almost definitely going to be involved in any big future story. Manners I'm not sure about... he looks more like a villain for Dredd stories in the Megazine, but with the fondness for crossovers, I wouldn't be surprised if he made the leap to Tooth.

5) The Judge Death tale planned for later this year. Is there any chance that this might tie in with the other elements?

Anyone got any ideas about where all of these strands are leading?

441

General / What Titan reprints are planned?

« on: 17 February, 2002, 06:37:27 AM »

I'm assuming we'll be seeing Phases 2-4 of Zenith collected & reprinted (though I could do without 4...), but what other classic thrills are going to see light of day, or more importantly - what other thrills would YOU like to see reprinted?

I vote for new bound editions of:

Bad Company & Bewilderness/Krool Heart, either as one complete volume or as two seperate books

Strontium Dog. If possible, reprint the whole damn lot over several volumes - and do it by tomorrow (copies for "review" to the normal address ;-))

Nemesis. Five volumes reprinting the entire saga. Two books per volume, including one-offs & filler strips.

Robo-Hunter. Ya just gotta!

Future Shocks. A bound edition of the absolute cream of the crop - it would make a pleasant change from collected mega-epics.

VCs. Pretty please?

Necronauts. Now. With glorious new cover from Frazer Irving. Please?

Rogue Trooper.

Anyone for any more?

442

General / Future ABC Warriors tales...

« on: 16 February, 2002, 11:28:36 PM »

Any ideas?
The latest series seems to be a return to form for the Warriors - and a far more enjoyable romp than Hellbringer - but what's next for the robots?
More short adventures on Mars would be interesting, but too much of a retread of old & recent thrills, so how about short tales from their past?

I just got my copy of The Mek-Nificent Seven, and reading the introductory stories for each character, there's a wealth of potential stories waiting to be told about the individual Warriors, Deadlock & Blackblood especially.
How about tales from the Volgan War with the Knights Martial & the Straw Dogs as central characters?
The Knights Martial were originally deeply sinister, before they were turned to farce in Khronicles of Khaos & there's a damn good story to be told with them as central characters.
Likewise, Blackblood & the Straw Dogs would be interesting, and in competent hands their tales could be fascinating - and gruesome for all the gore-freaks ;-)

Any thoughts?

443

General / Dredd in black & white...

« on: 16 February, 2002, 06:25:41 AM »

Any chance?
I've just been re-reading the Apocalypse War & it's reminded me how good Dredd in B&W can be.
I'll always enjoy Dredd in colour, but it must be 12 or 13 years since we've seen him in glorious monochrome.
If strips like Necronauts, Shakara, Carver Hale, Bad Company, Deadlock & ABC Warriors (you get the point ;-)) can do it, surely Dredd could handle a few progs sans colour?

I know there's the upcoming Death story with B&W art from Frazer Irving, but is this it for the foreseeable future? No plans for any B&W mega-epics from Jock, Ezquerra or Ian Gibson? Is anyone listening? ;-)

444

General / What would Jean Reno look like as Dredd?

« on: 11 February, 2002, 03:21:07 AM »

Something like this? :-D