Topics

1

Help! / Cover identification

« on: 14 January, 2023, 05:15:20 PM »

Okay so I stumbled across the following items on ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000ad-comics-31-bundle/125718472245?hash=item1d4567a635:g:DR0AAOSw9EtjwsCD&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAAkN3yYP1gaeeJDOfCVQGKsuk79nDG50rq6slc3ZdQ+S/CquYvFyVRb3SkcytYG6T0d+7cUInW5hlw+k0r3E1I8l2HhCzI1sOIz+P+lt0zWKvj8tXcgOrH6kCmOp6gvZCXsa4E5TmTpdjMQSwBd1n4Aj/e4N/rMRcSc6CaCtchfW3qdizyTuocqAkA5HuBVhDBiw==%7Ctkp:Bk9SR86ko5O2YQ&pageci=2bb01124-40aa-4c23-96e7-32a586750f02&redirect=mobile#shpCntId

and I'm really curious what those black and white covers - Kev Walker Tharg, seems to be two of those, Chris Weston Rogue and Brian Talbot Nemesis are from? I just don't recognise them at all.

I seem to remember there was a very limited run of a collection reprinting issue 1-10 and for some reason I think that might be the Kev Walker one But the others have me baffled? Any ideas?

I would have paid the £20 but its collection from Portsmouth only alas!

2

Megazine / Meg 451 - Scale of Justice

« on: 22 December, 2022, 08:15:16 PM »

Interesting with such a big format change and shift in the Meg most of the stories are ongoing. So feels like a big change... but much stays the same. Decent text pieces, same design, in digital format the difference is hardly noticable.

The reprint using IDW stock seems like a good idea, alas when you have it already not perfect, but many won't so all good.

So big change and no change.

Dredd is a solid Niemand, not his best but fun energetic Stewart K Moore art helps it fizz along.

Storm Warning  slipping and sliding through time and place is a well used technic but I'm finding it a little of a barrier to tie everything together here, let's see how it gets sorted at the end.

Death Metal Planet remains excellent but, I mean you see it coming and the bands plan does kinda make you grind your teeth in frustration.

Devlin Waugh remains the best thing in the Meg. Ales Kot just gets the series and builds tension and then slam dunks the ending.

Surfer is beautiful and excellent. It pure craft, just need it to progress.

Good Meg. The more it changes the more it stays the same.

3

Other Reviews / The Out - hardcover

« on: 13 December, 2022, 09:53:19 PM »

I've not read it - I don't need to, its brilliant, we all know that! What I want ot suggest is you all treat yourself to this if you are able. I bought is when trawling for other things, in a moment of weakness and whimsy... no regrets its a beautiful thing! AND that cover by Marguerite Sauvage, while not Mark Harrison is just perfect.

All I could wish for is there could be similar volumes for Brink and Lawless and I could have the perfect modern Dabnett collection, showcasing the diverse and brilliant art across those perfect series ... oh go on Tharg...

4

Prog / Prog 2307 - Grub's up!

« on: 05 November, 2022, 05:05:00 PM »

That rarest of lovely things these days a Saturday Prog. Can't remember the last time. Shame the cover is such a jumble.

Luckily inside is pretty damned decent. Dredd moves things on clearly and with some lovely character work with Dredd. I mean big (head) bad Sov Judge was lying is pretty easy going for twists but the rest is just excellent and how knows maybe there's a twist on the twist... I mean it needs it. Flint magnificent as ever.

Enemy Earth blasts out into the world above so we can see this enemy Earth we've been teased with. Its nice frenetic stuff, even if it does hucker down with very sterotype journey through post apocolypic world its earned this ... too much and there is a good flash back. Finally cranking up.

Hope is superb and horrible. So much as you where and as you where is mighty fine.

As it is with Chimpsky just brilliant - love this.

Hershey makes the absolute best of Simon Fraser's high energy, grand design art with a combative episode that is just thrill a minute. Breath-taking.

So yeah pretty fine Prog. And ON A SATURDAY!!!!

5

Prog / Prog 2306 - Titanic SF Thrills!

« on: 01 November, 2022, 05:12:48 PM »

Tired ol' tagline, but best Regened for some time. Its a cracker.

Dredd is energetic, fun and really places nicely with the Joe / Rico dynamic. Loved this one.

Bladers James Peaty lands a good un! Regened has been crying out for a good sports thrills and this one lands for me. The sport itself is kept simple and open enough for some expansion. The team / coach is a little cliche but brisk and enjoyable and while it clearly needs more parts to flesh this one out I'd welcome more.

Ulysses Sweet - Psychobaby by its grown-up teams creative crew is daft cheeky fun.

The Future Shock is the only real let down its rather long and overblown for what it is and the twist is muh!

Another nice Chopper wraps things up well. Its as playful as the previous story the winks to camera well used. Its brisk and exciting and all adds to Marlon's character growth. Great stuff.

Not sure what's going on with next weeks cover, but who cares when the Prog in front of you is this much fun!

6

Prog / Prog 2303 - Swarn Enemy?

« on: 11 October, 2022, 08:28:14 PM »

Two days, two Progs. With any luck we might be getting back on schedule, but I'll not count my chickens.

I'm not going to do regular running order as I have some Rob Williams issues, while both episodes are good they... well we'll get back to that.

Enemy Earth disappoints as it seemed to be exploding outside, which it needs, but no it dragged back in. Next week surely. Still not too bad at all.

Chimpsky's Law continues to delight as does Hope but both in such very different ways. Two great thrills, so contrasting in tone, style and art (all excellent) and yet perfectly at home back to back in the Prog. This is why we love the GGC isn't it.

Now the Prog is bookended by two Rob Williams Dreddworld strips. Both with glorious art - Henry Flint on Dredd seems to be trying something new again that is generally superb... except that Anderson pic page 4 is a bit... something ANYWAY. No issues with the art at all. Just fantastic. The stories too, particularly Hershey. My issue isn't that its just once again Rob Williams drawing on the backstory he's been developing for years now.

It fine, its his to do but its beginning to really make his take in the Dreddverse feel really limited and restricted. I'm bored of things refering back and back and back. Yes he's pushing the storylines forward, adding new elements but he has the world world to explore and wish he used more scope in doing that.

All that said both great episodes so yah know that's just me whining!

Good Prog.

7

General / No Tourney for a wee bit

« on: 10 October, 2022, 06:06:12 AM »

Hi follks,

Well its been a good run. I've kept the tourney's running week on week for a couple of years now, but alas things have caught up with me and for one reason or another that I'll not bore you with, I've not had time to get the next one ready.

I know what's next and I have it half planned, just want to get a little a head before starting. Hope two or three weeks, but I'll not put a clock on it.

In the meantime I'm sure you can entertain yourselves!

8

General / FFT - What if? Tie 24 - Nemesis the Warlock vs Strontium Dog

« on: 06 October, 2022, 06:25:08 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

Nemesis the Warlock - more info

VS

Strontium Dog - more info

What if the draw had just gone differently? It was all thriller, not filler in the latter round, but while that lead to some astonishing ties it also left some untested and so we’ll wrap all this up with some of those top tier match-ups we just missed out on. Simply put , I think, many wanted. Have at it…

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Sunday 9th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

9

General / FFT - What if? Tie 23 - Lawless vs Nikolai Dante

« on: 06 October, 2022, 06:24:36 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

Lawless - more info

VS

Nikolai Dante - more info

What if the draw had just gone differently? It was all thriller, not filler in the latter round, but while that lead to some astonishing ties it also left some untested and so we’ll wrap all this up with some of those top tier match-ups we just missed out on. I could have subtitled this - which of Colin’s favourite thrills does the board prefer? I mean I might change my top two if asked on different days BUT these two will never be far from my thoughts when I decide this. So Tharg’s two greatest thrills face off…

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Sunday 9th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

10

General / FFT - What if? Tie 22 - ABC Warriors vs Zenith

« on: 05 October, 2022, 06:01:00 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

ABC Warriors - more info

VS

Zenith - more info

What if the draw had just gone differently? It was all thriller, not filler in the latter round, but while that lead to some astonishing ties it also left some untested and so we’ll wrap all this up with some of those top tier match-ups we just missed out on. An alphabetical gulf divides these two, but which one is our favourite?

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 8th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

11

General / FFT - What if? Tie 21 - Kingdom vs Brink

« on: 05 October, 2022, 06:00:08 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

Kingdom - more info

VS

Brink - more info

What if the draw had just gone differently? It was all thriller, not filler in the latter round, but while that lead to some astonishing ties it also left some untested and so we’ll wrap all this up with some of those top tier match-ups we just missed out on. First up we had many Dabnett Derbies but this one evaded us… until now…

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Saturday 8th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

12

General / FFT - What if? Tie 20 - Flesh Book 1 vs Flesh Book 2

« on: 04 October, 2022, 06:13:21 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

Flesh Book1  - more info

VS

Flesh Book 2 - more info

What if we’d bent the rules? What if we’d allowed votes between specific books of different series? This was the first one that sprang to my mind as an interesting way to play with that idea. Yeah there are so many more it could have been but we can’t be here that much more!

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 7th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

13

General / FFT - What if? Tie 19 - Death Planet vs Colony Earth vs Angel

« on: 04 October, 2022, 06:12:47 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.
Created by Magnetica

Death Planet - more info

VS

Colony Earth - more info

VS

Angel - more info

What if we’d bent the rules? Why just two thrills face to face? Why not three. And if we’re doing that can you think of three better thrills to match up than these stinks from the early days? Fun match up this one.

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these three series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 7th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

14

General / FFT - What if? Tie 18 - Shako vs Hookjaw (Action)

« on: 03 October, 2022, 05:59:06 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.
Created by AlexF

Hookjaw (Action) - more info

VS

Shako - more info

What if we’d bent the rules? Hey we could have included Action stories into the tourney. If we had we’d have all wanted to see his battle of the great beasts surely. What if Shako and Hookjaw (the original not it magnificent mystical ‘sequel’) had clashed. Which was the best animal?

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 6th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!

15

General / FFT - What if? Tie 17 - Charley’s War vs Strontium Dog

« on: 03 October, 2022, 05:58:34 AM »

Sponsored by 2000ad in Stages - see links below.

Charley’s War - more info

VS

Strontium Dog - more info

What if we’d bent the rules? If Strontium Dog is our favourite series in Tharg’s Thrillporch is there another strip that could have toppled it from British comics history? Well I’m proposing there is and it's Charley’s War. We’re not just talking about this parts that appeared in the Meg. In these rule twisting ties its no holds barred. We’re talking the entirety of Charley’s War here. Is it better than Strontium Dog?

b]To Vote[/b] Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 6th October and the winner gets a place … well nowt this is just for fun.

What on Earth is ALL of this?

Hold on I thought all this nonsense was over? Well yeah but… see well I’ve explained that

For those that need ‘um and can be bothered to follow ‘um there’s some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN!