Meg 267 : Storm Warning

[Al_Ewing]

Prickly Conscience Dept:

There was a version of the interview that I re-wrote to make myself look a bit less like a wanker (in a bit of shamelessly Stalinesque historical revisionism). That little bit of Orwellian memory-hole action was headed off at the pass, but I will say that at the time of the drunken Q&A session in question I didn't give nearly enough credit to brilliant artists such as Richard Elson, Rufus Dayglo, Dom Reardon and now PJ Holden (to name but a small few of the many), without whom I'd just be a chancer deservedly left on the slush pile. I sincerely apologise to them and also to John Smith, who doesn't get nearly enough credit in that piece for the consideration and kindness he showed me when I started out, which I can frankly never repay.

Also, I'm really sorry about all the bits where I sound like a massive, unrepentant prick - it's probably because I secretly am one.

[Hoagy]

So is the LOW LIFE coming out before the TANK GIRL?

[Bad Andy]

I personally thought you came out as a normal human being, Al. You've got a couple of years to go before you're as crazy as Alan Grant.

[DavidXBrunt]

Less, it seems. is more. Fewer strips means larger page counts for the strips and that makes all the difference. Loving the new style Meg.

I will say this though, with Low Life jumping to the Meg that makes less space for the characters that have appeared over the last few years. How about a few making the journey in the other direction. Bendatti Vendetta, Koburn, and especially Middenface are all much missed by me. Shimura was a spot on revival too, better than the original run.

[wadew1]

Out of all of the Megazine characters that have been on vacation, I think I miss Middenface the most.

I'd like to see more of him and more Alan Grant strips in general.

[Funt Solo]

Signed: Mrs Grant.

[Hoagy]

Bring back Paco Loco is I'll say.



"I'm sorry to say that I think the art could be letting Tempest down, bit of a mis-match in my opinion. It is just a bit too clean and forgive the phrase, 'manga-esque' for the story (despite the judge having 'ninja' trappings.
"

I'm looking into this deeply and see the villian looking exactly like my dad o n a bad day and Tempest as my dad on a good day. Only Bolt, that I think the art is great. Some of it really displays     ;Al Ewing
Tempest
My dad
Me

I love the dialogue and the bloody hand on the shoulder. Its done not too skittishly or graphically to lessen the enjoyment of said particular scene.

Laptop battery low, i'm afraid.

[JTurner]

Like others I was about to cancel my sub to the Meg, but this month it has really picked up, although not to the standards that it has been at in the past. At least I actually bothered to read the whole thing this month.

Tempest looks like it could go somewhere interesting and amusing, or else plummet into endless manga fight scenes.

Koburn is also in urgent need of a revival.

[House of Usher]

I haven't had time to read the Meg yet, but having just read The Black Dossier, I was quite excited to see it reviewed inside, and I managed to read most of the review before catching my train. It seems a bit churlish to me to rebuke Ed for being clever, when that's what Alan Moore appears to want and expect in his readers.

I was wondering, Ed, if I detected the hand of an editor at work who has never come across either of the phrases 'dramatis personae' or 'central conceit', or if I've just got the wrong end of the stick?

[JTurner]

Where are people getting their copies of The Black Dossier from?

[Buttonman]

It seems a bit churlish to me to rebuke Ed for being clever

If you follow that logic you might as well have Stephen Hawking compose a 64 page essay on quantum physics and publish it in the Meg. We could then all convene and pretend that by proxy we're clever too in an Emperor's new clothes style bout of mass delusion!

Take this bit "...Owes much to Jose Phillip Farmer's Wold Newton cycle (Amazon sales rank 189,640) and Kim Newman's Anno Dracula (Amazon sales rank 602,946) "

That could have been in Bulgarian and would have made the same amount of sense to me. I'm not getting at ED who clearly knows his stuff (I assume!) I am simply saying the piece was too reliant on obscure stuff, meaning it was a pointless read for me and I imagine many others who haven't completely devoured the racks of Forbidden Planet.

[Art]

Two fairly famous works there amongst fans of the whole fictional-characters-and-history-cross-over genre, which would certainly be worth following up on if you've any interest in that kind of thing. Mentioning them in the article seems perfectly reasonable, and if you've not heard of them then, hey, you have an oportunity to learn something new.

[TordelBack]

Mentioning them in the article seems perfectly reasonable,

Yup, the Wold Newton thing is really the direct predecessor of the LoEG idea, and Kim Newman is a repeat offender in the fictional character mash-ups.  I quite agree with Buttonman in a general about overly clever material, but these are immediate forebears of the work being reviewed - it'd be like reviewing early 2000AD without mentioning Action or Eagle.

[Art]

They both have a sad tendency not to be in print, so it;s worth scouring ebay for them.

[House of Usher]

I see that Art and Tordelback have already responded while I was putting the kettle on, but I'll chip in my two penn'orth anyway.

Your Stephen Hawking analogy is totally bogus.

What Ed wrote was not in any way gibberish, although your addition of Amazon sales ranks into the quote substantially detracted from its clarity. It confused me so much I had to check the Megazine article to discover th sales ranks weren't part of it, because the point you were making was entirely lost on me. Having read neither Newman nor Farmer, I have nevertheless heard of both authors and several titles by Kim Newman including the one mentioned.

All the quoted sentence says is that there is older fantasy fiction that has performed similar tricks to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the article it may be inferred that Ed has read both, but equally he may be sharing an observation made elsewhere by someone else, not having read either (although I doubt it). That's not showing off, that's research.

Personally, when I'm reading I like occasionally to come across something I didn't know before, otherwise what's the point? As Art says, that's a learning opportunity.