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In 'Sirius Rising' I get the feeling that John Smith is writing a second superhero epic after his superb 'New Statesman'. There was much in the story to remind me of Alan Moore's 'Captain Britain' story line. Both have a bunch of diverse and intriguing 'super-powered' folk teaming up to try to stop a world threatening power but feel completely out of their depth and fear and desperation rule the day. You have a genuine feeling that no one is safe. In 'The Herod' we have a creature as fearsome as 'The Fury'. The title character while playing his part isn't necessarily the focus of the action. Finally you have glorious, glorious art throughout worthy of the brilliance of the story.

Now I'm not saying for one minute that Smith is ripping off Moore. Far from it in fact he cranks in more ideas than Moore got close to in his brilliant 'Captain Britain' story, but then Smith always does. It's just that brilliant atmosphere of dread and fear, the epic scale that make both feel the same to me.
I've come on here time and again praising John Smith and once again in this story he's produced yet another classic. I really do have to reappraise who my favourite 2000ad writer is!

Epic Stuff.

Well unlike a lot of the recent bits I've read issues 1100 - 1174 are generating a heck of a lot of stories of interest and note. Next up is 'Balls Brothers'. Have to say I really enjoyed it, it was good fun with silly satire aimed perfectly for what I see as the 2000ad audience and the art was intrigate and amusing.

It struck me as 'Big Dave' done right for 2000ad. Now don't get me wrong I liked big Dave AND I think one of 2000ads biggest strenghts is that by and large its incredibly robust and can be the home for a vast variety of strips and for me (as I've commented before) 'Big Dave' is the exception that proves the rule. It just didn't sit right in 2000ad. 'Balls Brothers' has similar set-up, at least superficially, humourous cartoon violence for its own sake, they rip the piss out of deserving targets, though 'Big Dave' had loftier aims its fair to say, and big dumb central characters played for laughs. Now I think 'Big Dave' is possibly a better strip but 'Balls Brothers' is a better 2000ad strip.

Belting.

Well I've a load of stuff that has to go and while most of it is going to a local school there's some that I thought might be of interest to the good folk here. If anybody is interested just PM me, first come first serve. If you're just after one or two things then I'll sort it out but if you're after a few bits and bobs I will have to ask you to cover postage but I'll sort the rest. No charge either way for the comics themselves. If you ask for loads I might wait a wee bit and see if anybody else wants stuff just to try to share it out.

I've also got a load of old stuff, mainly black and white independents of varying degree of obscurity, typically late 80s early 90s  that for one reason or another won't be going to the school. I've attached pdf (fingers crossed) of these here too. Same applies as above, no charge for the comics I might ask you to cover postage if you ask for a few or more.

Progs: 316, 350-352, 992, 995, 1000-1012, 1100-1107, 1385, 1508, 2000

Annuals: 1988, 1991

Complete Dredd: 2-8

Best of 2000ad: 1 (complete but well read), 10-13, 20, 23

American Eagle reprints:
Judge Dredd: 7, 15, 20-22, 25, 31, 32

Judge Dredd Early Years: 2, 4

2000ad Monthly: 3

Quality American reprints:
Judge Dredd: 34, 35, New look 1, 48

Scavengers 13-17 (Flesh)

Judge Dredd Collection (Daily Star reprints): 2

Revolver: 1 (ok condition)

Crisis: 29-45, 50-52

Toxic: 1 (again ok condition)

Strip: 1-20 (for some reason I can't find 12 it might turn up but who knows?)

Deadline: 7

Manga Mania: 1

Superman (UK reprint from about 88 I think?): 1

Mad Magazine: 305 (Beverley Hills Cop II)

I also have the first 129ish issues of Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly. The first few aren't in great knick and things like posters have been removed etc etc. If anybody wants this as a job lot I'd prefer collection but see what can be arranged.
Anyway if there is anything of interest let me know.

Hunting Party was great fun, even if Andy Clarke's art was still developing. What intrigued me was the Sinister Dexter parody. I read it as a light hearted tribute, Robbie Morrison even managed to get a shoulder wound in there, however given that these two strips were really contending for most popular non Dredd strip at the time (or even most popular) I wonder was there a real sense of rivalry between the two??? If so all for the good as clearly both strips were firing on full cylinders at this time and there's nowt like a little competition to motivate this.

Well that was just class. The whole story was blistering but the full prog episode was really superb. It allowed the strip run to expand to its fullest and Abnett created a story that exploited that fact. It had a real sense of timing and drama and the desperate flight of Demi and Finnegan had room to generate real tension. 

I really wish I'd read this back in the day as I suspect that this brilliantly crafted chapter of Sinister Dexter would have felt all the more powerful. The epilogue was really well done and the emotional impact of the tale really hit home. I'm wondering whether people who read it as it happened thought that it really was the end of Sinister Dexter???

For those of you so inclined there's Comics Should be Good is running another of its top 100 polls. This time they're asking what the top 100 storylines ever are. If you fancy why not pop over and show 2000ad some love to try to remind the American comic buying public that there is a world outside their window (with apologise to the numerous fine folk from America who post here). Linkie to rules

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/05/comics-should-be-goods-top-100-comic-book-storylines/

Off the top of my head I'm going to vote for Nemesis Book 1, Zenith Phase 3, a Dredd epic (still debating which, Cursed Earth, The Pit...hmmmm) and possibly a few more... in fact I might try an entirely European vote just for the heck of it we'll see...

Anyway lists always fun.

Well lots of time on public transport has meant I'm fair flying through my latest batch of Progs. There's no denying that the issues 1110 - 1220ish has some fantastic art and are fantastic to look at. Alex Ronald's work on Missionary Man and Henry Flint's work on Sancho Panzer and 'Apocrypha' the Missionary Man story that wraps up the plot threads from 'Goin' South' are simply fantastic. Both offer a wonderful antidope to the numerous artists who hide inferior talent behind nice brush strokes.

Don't get me wrong not all the painted work is bad by any stretch of the imagination after all I'm just started on a John Burns Dredd but often the painted art work doesn't hold a candle to the glorious pen and ink work of these two (and others like Simon Fraser and Steve Yeowell).

The two stories couldn't be further apart in tone however. Sancho Panzer is a little too flippent and light-hearted to work for me. He's a great looking character and its a promising premise that I think would have worked better with a slightly more serious tone than it had. I'm talking Sinister Dexter here no need for it to be dark or anything. Then since Dan Abnett was already writing S&D maybe he was trying to avoid just that, who knows. Its a shame cos a great idea brillantly designed and drawn by Flint didn't quite come off as well as it might.

Missionary Man on the other hand, while action packed is dense and heavy in tone. It too is beautifully realised by Alex Ronald and Gary Caldwell and the whole package, much like the previous story in 2000ad is spot on. Disturbing wonderful stuff all round. The only shame is the story threads left over all seemed rather rushed away in 'Apocrypha'.

Am I right in thinking Missionary Man returns to the Meg from here? Shame if so, still I might just have to track them down to see how this all ends.

I might not be reading much Marvel lately but this is the way they can win me back!

A promo poster for a new Brendan McCarthy Doctor Starnge series coming out April next year apparently!

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2009/11/03/brendan-mccarthys-dr-strange/

I've been really enjoying reading the early Dante stories for the first time. Its been an absolute treat from the off. Since 'The Gulag Apocalyptic' I've enjoyed the darker tone the series has taken, while still being a delightful breeze to read. Up to now I'd been reluctant to come here and say how much I'm enjoying it as I doubt I'd be saying anything new (ahem) but 'The Great Game' has brought me out of my Dante reviewing shell. Not simply because it was brillant, which it quite clearly was, but because Valentine Romanov is such a delicious villian. Loved him. Such a shame he had to met such a final fate.

Superb, really superb. I'm already looking forward to going back and reading all of Dante in one go when I finally get through reading the Progs from my Wilderness Years, its rapidly shooting up my all time favourites list.

Just reading Prog 1108 and Tharg talks about the new website he plans to launch on AOL called 2000@d. Now I've heard tslk of other previous incarnations of the website and this forum but don't remember any talk of this. Tharg says it will provide an accompanyment to the Prog adn since I'm reading the issues its said to accompany I was wondering if it was archieved anywhere to have a nosey at?

was it of interest?

Well my reading of the Progs from my wilderness years starts up again with issue 1100 with a pleasent surprise with the first issue. 'laine - Lord of the Beasts'  is great fun and feels like Slaine of old, maybe not quite at his peak but returning to form that's for sure.

Not a massive fan of Rafael Garres, while he is better suited here than is is in Jonah Hex, there are still times when I find his art a little cluttered and difficult. Its certainly an improvement on the work in the previous few time travel stories.

Good fun.

Well submission one finally got knocked back. Tharg's feedback wasn't much to go on (understandably) and so I thought I'd post it here to try to get a little more feedback before submitting the next one which is ready to go.

Any advice gladly received and please be as critical as you like as otherwise I'll never learn.

Anyway enjoy.

For a while now I've noticed there's a great deal of love for the 2000ad trades here. Which always surprised me a little as I assumed many folk here would have many of the Progs. What I'd like to ask then is do people prefer to have the stories in trade format getting rid of the progs, or keep the original progs and therefore don't bother with the trades (I'm in that camp). The last option, which I suspect may be the one a lot do is to get both? If you do get both is it purely as you find reading stories in trade more convenient?

Anyway yeah so how do you prefer your thrills?

Well I seem to have over compensated for having a Prog free Saturday. In town yesterday I picked up not only volume 1 of Kubert's Tarzan (only £12.99 in a FP sale - thank you very much! Much as I don't like Forbidden planet always worth popping in to see what they have on sale) but also the latest collection of strips from Doctor Who Monthly. Half way through and have to say they're great fun. Far from perfect but so far good ripping yarns.

Has anybody else been reading these and are the other post Colin Baker collections worth getting? (I have a lot of the earlier strips already)

'The Beat' pointed in the direction of this piece of comedy gold (second video down, its only 16 seconds but does have language that might not make it work safe)

http://www.peterserafinowicz.com/2009/10/17/classic-movie-lines/

Well it would seem that all this talk of Judge Dredd getting old and winding down might be premature. If he's 70 (as my vague calculations make him) according to an article on the BBC he could still have another 30 years to go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8314442.stm

I've recently seen that Bacchus / Deadface will be getting an omnibus collection (well it will take a couple) from Top Shelf

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog.php?type=2&title=619

Alas I'll have wait until 2011 for this and those pesky issue I'm missing never appear on eBay ho-hum patience is a virtul.

Anyway that got me thinking is there any other stuff out there you'd love to see in a big phonebook collection that otherwise you've going up hope of getting. There's so many of these things being churned out but some stuff seems absent.

For me its 'Flaming Carrot' as the first 10ish issues are very hard to get hold of and I have a few other gaps in this series as well. It'd be well suited to an omnibus or two

Well here's an occasion worth celebrating.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/10/10/the-asterix-50th-anniversary-cover/

I'm defo buying this. We can talk about the quality of the work post Goscinny until we're blue in the face but when Asterix is good it some of the very best comics out there. Always worth reminding ourselves of this when we discuss 'big' selling American books!

Happy birthday Asterix (and Obelix of course)

Not seeing a thread for this. With a little little 'un at home this is the only con or festival that's really fair or realistic for me to attend this year even though the bug to attend something has bitten me (I even gave up on the X-Mas ATPs this year, damned new set of priorities!). So it looks like a day out in Leeds is the only option.

http://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/08home.asp

Looks fun mind.

Well the issues 1050-1099 have passed by without much comment. Not because I've not enjoyed them but Dante, Sinister Dexter and some great Dredd's aside not too much has stood out for reasons other than negative ones and who needs a thread saying how rubbish Space Girls was really or how great Wagner Dredd is and early Dante! The Anderson's have been ok, I very nearly loved Durham Red but not quite etc etc

Then I get to the Missionary Man: Marde Gras. Now I've really enjoyed the Missionary Man stuff I've read in the Megazine and I've said elsewhere how much I was looking forward to seeing Alex Ronald's art on the strip BUT man this was fun. Really great 2000ad material, fast paced, intriguing stuff that has just simply beautiful art. The ending has left me chomping at the bit for the next book.