Topics

1

General / Which do you prefer?

« on: 22 January, 2023, 04:53:22 PM »

Just out of curiosity...

Clint Langley's photoshop work with actual photos, like in the Books of Invasions, or his linework like in Joe Pineapples?

Think I'm going to have to go with his current style - the Invasions stuff was great but could get a bit messy at times, and that style's culmination in Sexy Ostriches just didn't hit the spot for me at all.

However, his Belardinelli tribute in Slaine and his current Meg and Prog work is just lovely - I could look at it all day.  I also preferred his old Sláine-in-Robin-Hood-times stuff before he recoloured it, I have to admit - I preferred the lovely penmanship unblurred by photoshop filters.

I may be adding similar questions about other artists to this thread, if anyone indulges me with an answer.

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Books & Comics / The New Adventures of Pat Mills

« on: 13 October, 2022, 12:34:18 AM »

After everything he's said for creator's rights, to then jump on this bandwagon is just baffling.

TBH, Mills has never been about “creators” rights, he’s only ever been about his rights.

Presumably, his position has been that it’s up to other creators to stand up for themselves and maybe it’s his supporters who’ve cast him as a champion of creator rights in general, but his willingness to replace artists at will on his strips (and the shameful exclusion of Martin Emond from the Accident Man credits) seems to indicate that he regards the artist as very much secondary in the creator hierarchy. In that light, his willingness to embrace AI ‘art’ is unsurprising.

However, we should probably break this out into another thread rather than completely derail this one…

Done!

I don't claim to understand much about either NFTs or AI art, but the latter makes me uncomfortable as someone who makes his living - well, half his living - out of commissioned artworks.  He's got his own Jimmy Who? by the sound of it. Not cool.  I remember Gordon Rennie making the same point about Pat's crusade for creators' rights actually being a crusade for one creator's rights. 

It doesn't need to be said, of course, that Pat made 2000ad what it is, and created some of the best series Tharg ever gave us.  I'll continue re-reading early Sláine and Nemesis for the rest of my life.  But I don't believe he's done anything particularly special for a very long time, and I've found myself getting increasingly tired of his brand of angry narcissism.  I hate to say it, but I don't miss him much in the prog.

3

Film & TV / Trainwreck

« on: 17 September, 2022, 12:00:48 PM »

People were recommending the Woodstock 99 documentary to me left, right and centre, including a bus driver after it turned out I was the only one on board and we started chatting.

Weird - I remember the festival happening, though I was already a bit too old for the Nu Metal stuff that seemed to be the order of the day back then - but I don't remember hearing any controversy about it.  Which is incredible, given that it really did seem to be a clusterfuck, which was the doc's proposed title. 

I'd planned to watch the first episode last night but ended up watching all three, fascinated as the joy and optimism gradually became a 90s, sunburnt version of Kids Rule OK.

4

Books & Comics / Jerusalem

« on: 30 July, 2022, 05:45:14 PM »

I've gone from not reading anything for way too long, to tackling this fecking Odyssey of a book.  It's been a few months now, but according to my Kindle app, I'm exactly halfway through.

It's been worth it though.  At first, we go from slices of kitchen sink drama (albeit in many different time periods throughout Northampton's history) to a brief glimpse of the afterlife.  Now, I've discovered that what we saw was only a tiny sliver of a way, way bigger afterlife, peopled by a kind of dead Famous Five that get up to all kind of adventures amongst its dizzyingly huge architecture, outside of time though offering brief glimpses into the chronological world, in which time is a kind of jelly holding every event that every happened. Christ, my brain.

Like pretty much everything I've read by Alan Moore, I'm looking forward to finishing it then rereading it, forearmed with the knowledge amassed from later chapters that will put the earlier stuff into context.

5

Other Reviews / 2022 Sci-Fi Special

« on: 15 July, 2022, 12:20:51 PM »

Very quick review here, but I really enjoyed this one - best Sci-Fi Special in a long time.

Dredd was great - one of Mike Carroll's best, and it somehow captured a bit of 80s MC1 nostalgia, with all its mayhem and weird vehicles and the like.

SinDex was very nice too; much in the spirit of the early SinDex one-offs in the Christmas specials.

Special mention to Fiends; which was truly chilling, and contained a nice slice of history (my German mate Hannes recently told me of how his dad used to take similar trips through the Wall to West Berlin, which I hadn't realised was possible).

Death - great stuff, and really good fun to see so many different faces of the Joker, again a bit of nostalgia involved re. when 2000ad wasn't afraid to prod some very powerful companies' lawyers with a stick.  Not sure Dredd would so readily encourage Death to hand-pierce so many Mega-Cits however.

Anderson - Good stuff, fairly nailed her character as Alan Grant developed her.  I still find it hard to deal with her looking like a 25-year-old, but ah well, suspension of disbelief and all.

Middenface - Liked this too.  Sort of a Judgement on Gotham vibe, with serious inebriation.

6

General / Side-side-vote - The golden goose-stepper

« on: 25 June, 2022, 11:11:24 AM »

Spurred on by Broodblik's vote re. Dredd writers, I've started thinking about Dredd's age and decided to make my own referendum.

Dredd is old.  He began to feel his age over 30 years ago. He can't last forever. It's a problem, and I'm not sure how to solve it.  What should happen?

1.  Permanent Kraken - He should die, and Rico should take his name.

2.  The standard solution  - He should die, and (yawn) have his brain / bio-chip inserted into Rico to make them the same person.

3.  Dark Knight Returns (kind of) - He should become Chief Judge, and leave the rough stuff to Rico.

4.  The Taggart solution - He should die, and an ensemble of supporting characters should take over.

5.  The DC solution - the real-time thing should be quietly shelved, and a floating timeline introduced.

6.  The Stront - he dies, then we just dip into past cases here and there.  (But he isn't resurrected).

7.  The half-Stont - he doesn't die, but we still just go back to past cases (like that recent Apocalypse War one).

8.  The Dan Dare - the whole strip is dropped, and other writers occasionally resurrect him (though Grant Morrison isn't allowed to have Judge Death do what the Mekon did to Dan in Revolver).

9.  The Narcos solution - Dredd's brain is put into a Mechanismo robot, and now HE knows what it is to be discriminated against.

10 - something else.

It's boring, and cliched, but I think with a gun to my head I'd have to go with 2.

EDIT - no, feck it.  I'll go with 3.  Obviously that's just kicking the can down the road but it's the best I can think of.

7

Film & TV / The Boys Season 3

« on: 25 June, 2022, 10:16:13 AM »

Well, so far I've had a blast watching it this season.  I've got over the fact that Hughie isn't Scottish, that MM isn't still suckling from his mother, that the Female and Frenchie have names, that the Black Noir twist can't happen, and that Butcher doesn't have the same reason for hating the Homelander.  Butcher's accent seems to be getting a bit better too, or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

This season seems to have upped the Ennis-ness considerably, and no longer seems a toned-down version of the comic.  I was a tiny bit disappointed to see Herogasm reduced in scale - a house, not an island - but the depths of depravity are pretty much unchanged. Not many TV series show people fucking octopuses.  Also, Love Sausage has arrived!

The writers have very skilfully weaved the comic storyline around current events too; the whole thing is oozing with toxic Trumpiness even though the orange clown doesn't exist in this universe.

Looking forward to more.

8

Other Reviews / Battle Action Special 2022

« on: 08 June, 2022, 10:36:56 PM »

Only three stories in but I must say it's great so far. I used to really, really hate Garth Ennis when he took over Dredd, but my grud, he's a fine writer these days.

Weirdly meta approach to Kids Rule OK but it works very well, and Dredger is Billy Butcher all over again, in a good way.  Things are just as violent as they used to be but the bit of swearing and sexual references mean that this isn't for the age group the originals were aimed at.

Looking forward to the rest.

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Film & TV / The Batman (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

« on: 12 March, 2022, 11:03:03 AM »

Watched it last night. It was fine. Visually spectacular but more of a music video than a film; not a whole lot going on in terms of character development.  Also it fecking chucks it down in Gotham, all the time - thought Ireland was bad.

There was a whole lot more Batman than Bruce but good call in giving the origin story a rest. 

Anyway, all in all, not bad but behind the first two Nolan films IMHO.

10

General / Advent Calendar Creeptic Crossword Solution - SPOILERS

« on: 31 December, 2021, 05:14:03 PM »

Across
1. See how many in front of the bonfire - find a bodyguard! (5, 4)
COUNT PYRE (See how many - count; bonfire - pyre)
3. Saying article, ex-hero has a godly influence (7)
MAXIMAN (saying = maxim; article = an)
4. Tripod constructed around ring becomes a transformer (7)
PROTOID (Anagram of 'TRIPOD' around 'o')
7. Pirate sounds like Daddy Pig (4, 3-2)
PAPA POR-KA (self-explanatory!)
8. Smash a sturdy box - find a demon inside (6)
HASTUR (SmasH A STURdy..)
9. Pretender halfback in scrambled SIM (7)
MIMESIS (Anagram of SIM containing 'Semi' backwards)
10. Jack's master is found with unsettled, stoic air (8)
ISCARIOT (Anagram of 'stoic air')
14. Force Adam to be cast out when god appears (10)
TORQUEMADA (Force = Torque, Anagram of 'Adam')
16. Smelly leader? Smelly leader left - ought Thor to be confused? (6, 5)
SLOUGH THROT (First letter of 'Smelly' = 's', left = 'l', 'ought', anagram of 'Thor')
17. Luge wrecked - excavation needed to uncover the armed head (7)
GULEDIG (Anagram of 'luge', excavation = 'dig')
18. Krool confused for another enemy (5)
ORLOK (Anagram of 'Krool')
19. A bit of a shake for the rogue biologist (4)
JUDD (Part of the word 'judder')

Down
2. A double-crosser, but not in any specific way (7, 7)
TRAITOR GENERAL (Unspecific = general)
5. America goes after the beast; the ancient beast (7)
SATANUS (The Beast = Satan, America = US)
6. Sore bad boy (4)
BUBO ( a type of sore)
7. Nip back and look for a bent lawgiver (3)
PIN ('Nip' backwards)
11. Inside is a gangster, a bad brother! (5)
SAGAN (...iS A GANgster)
12. An embarrassing mistake or just a big loudmouth? (6)
HOWLER (self explanatory!)
13. It took so messed up a creature to possess a super body (3, 5)
IOK SOTOT (Anagam of 'it took so')
15. Live all over the place with courage, as a space buccaneer (4,4)
EVIL GUTS (Anagram of 'evil', courage = guts)

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General / Spoilery Advent Crossword help

« on: 24 December, 2021, 03:04:23 PM »

SLIGHTLY EASIER SOLUTION:

Here are the stories the villains in my crossword come from. There's a wee bit of crossover so I'll just say which series they FIRST appeared in if they've appeared in more than one (Nelson Bunker Kreelman, for example, popped up last in a Dredd story,  but would be listed under Strontium Dog here). The number after the story is the number of characters from it - obviously Dredd gets the most!

Dredd:  5
Strontium Dog: 3
Slaine: 2
Zenith: 2
Rogue Trooper: 1
Nemesis: 2
Nikolai Dante: 1
Ace Trucking Co: 1
Edginton Universe: 1
Indigo Prime: 1


MUCH EASIER SOLUTION:

Here are the clues again,  but now with the names of the stories beside them.

1. See how many in front of the bonfire - find a bodyguard! (5, 4) - DANTE
3. Saying article, ex-hero has a godly influence (7) - ZENITH
4. Tripod constructed around ring becomes a transformer (7) - Bad Company
7. Pirate sounds like Daddy Pig (4, 3-2) STRONTIUM DOG
8. Smash a sturdy box - find a demon inside (6) EDGIVERSE
9. Pretender halfback in scrambled SIM (7) NEMESIS
10. Jack's master is found with unsettled, stoic air (8) INDIGO PRIME
14. Force Adam to be cast out when god appears (10) NEMESIS
16. Smelly leader? Smelly leader left - ought Thor to be confused? (6, 5) SLÁINE
17. Luge wrecked - excavation needed to uncover the armed head (7) SLÁINE
18. Krool confused for another enemy (5) DREDD
19. A bit of a shake for the rogue biologist (4) DREDD

Down
2. A double-crosser, but not in any specific way (7, 7) ROGUE TROOPER
5. America goes after the beast; the ancient beast (7) DREDD
6. Sore bad boy (4) STRONTIUM DOG
7. Nip back and look for a bent lawgiver (3) DREDD
11. Inside is a gangster, a bad brother! (5) STRONTIUM DOG
12. An embarrassing mistake or just a big loudmouth? (6) DREDD
13. It took so messed up a creature to possess a super body (3, 5) ZENITH
15. Live all over the place with courage, as a space buccaneer  (4,4) ACE TRUCKING CO

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Books & Comics / The Comics Code Authority - a few questions

« on: 15 November, 2021, 01:38:27 PM »

I've been reading a few 1980s / 90s DC and Marvel comics (neither of which I have a huge knowledge of) and was wondering about the Comics Code Authority stamp that most of them still had at this point.  I was under the impression that it was very restrictive regarding sex, violence, drugs etc but there's quite a bit of all on show within the pages.  80s Wonder Woman, for instance, starts off with a fairly explicitly-described mass rape, as well as a post-coital prostitution scene.  Daredevil had some serious ultraviolence and overt references to heroin addiction, and then there was that godawful John Byrne story about Superman and Big Barda in a porn film.  There was the Punisher, of course, who was clearly a murderer and yet was the star of the comic.  All of these, I seem to remember, had the CCA stamp on the cover.

So, did the CCA morph over the years to allow more of this kind of thing? Or was it just there for lip service to worried parents when the 70s and 80s rolled around? I know it was established after Seduction of the Innocent crippled the industry, but I honestly was amazed at what the comics were getting away with a few decades after that shitshow.

13

General / Dredd in the US

« on: 08 May, 2021, 04:12:33 PM »

Alex Ross's lovely painting in the other thread got me thinking.  How well known is Dredd as a comics character in the States?  I would imagine most comics creators, and the more devoted comics enthusiasts, are at least aware of him, but for everyone else it's an obscure Stallone film.   

Which is a crying shame, really.

14

General / Dredd's real-time ageing?

« on: 10 April, 2021, 03:59:53 PM »

 So, I'm wondering - has Dredd gone the way of Batman, Spiderman and that lot?  That is to say, has Tharg given up on the whole 'real-time ageing' thing?  I mean, he was feeling his age over 30 years ago.  I know he gets new skin now and again, but he's remarkably well-built and nimble for a geriatric.  I know ageing is slower in the future and all that, but other old people in MC1 look like old people.

I remember Cyber-Matt talking about how there's no reason Dredd can't go on forever, like Superman and co.  But we'll have to give up on the idea that Dredd ages in real time if that's going to happen, surely?

15

General / Artists at their best

« on: 08 April, 2021, 11:10:26 AM »

Just having a re-read of some old progs (spurred on by Conrad and Fox's podcast - thanks, guys).  I was thinking then about the stories that showed artists doing their best work ever.  Here's a few that sprung to mind:

Steve Yeowell - Zenith Phase 3.  I loved all those crisp straight lines and stark blacks and whites.  Also he'd got rid of that square jaw thing of the earliest phases and his characters looked more human.

Colin McNeil - Song of the Surfer.  Now, obviously he was brilliant on America, but nobody does getting shot to bits like Colin, and that's what SotS was all about. 

Carlos - It's a tough one to call. Colour, I'd say Necropolis - all those gouache purples were just perfect for the murk of the DJ-run city.  Black and white, maybe Strontium Dog - Rage, when he really got Johnny's look and the dusty Wild West style down to a T.

Glenn Fabry - Sláine the King (and the Miniseries).  Obviously his colour work on Demon Killer was amazing, but his B/W stuff on Sláine's home turf was spectacular.

Mike McMahon - Sky Chariots, because of course it's Sky Chariots.

Kevin Walker - Dredd in Sin City.  His new style at its absolute best.

John Hicklenton - Nemesis in Deathbringer.  He'd really refined that muscular, dripping-with-filthy-detail style by then.

Kev O'Neill - Classic Nemesis; around the celebrated Great Uncle Baal scenes.

Henry Flint - A toss-up between his take on Nemesis; the first time I realised he was truly an artist to be reckoned with; and Dredd in Total War; when I realised he was a Dredd artist to be reckoned with too.

Belardinelli - It's going to be Sláine again, specifically The Wicker Man.

Ron Smith - that's a hard one.  The Daily Star Dredds maybe?  Other than that it's the Otto Sump stories, the Fatties stories or the one about the immigrant kid with pyrokinetic powers. Anything that shows off ugly cits and zitty teenagers, basically.

That's all I can think of now, but of course more will follow.