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Just reading an old(ish) magazine and found the following film review:

"This is one of those films where everyone involved babbles on endlessly to the press about how they love the old comics, but you only have to see the film to know what they really think (ie that they're rubbish).  Something of a joke, as the comics were way more complex and clever than this dire effort, which can't think of anything to do besides go for a campy parodic melodrama."

Anyone know which film they're describing here?

The Gold Class service sounds good to me - I'd certainly pay an extra 50p - ?1 more a month if it meant getting my prog on the Saturday rather than the Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.

It's frustrating to know that my prog will be sitting at home, while I'm at work - the choice is to buy another copy or get it after its available in the shops, which isn't really the reason why I subscribed.  As with yourself Dean, I like to think that by subscribing I'm giving a bit of extra cash to Rebellion that would otherwise be snaffled by WHSmith.  Maybe the site could have a "progwatch" message each week, which would tell us if the subscriptions have been delayed.  It would save me leaving work early on a Monday, only to find it's not there, to repeat this on a Tuesday and find I have to work until 6.30 on the Wednesday to make up my hours!:)

I always thought the comic was printed a week or two in advance, so sending it out a day or two earlier couldn't hurt could it?  Still, the special offer on the graphic novels is a small step in the right direction.  You're right about exploring the marketing opportunities of stuffing the subs envelopes full of junk mail - if it makes money for Rebellion, I certainly wouldnt mind, and if it helped my subs copy turn up on time, even better!

So who's fucked up this week?  The subs have been terrible for the past couple of months - Who's to blame?

And apparently, Kev O'Neill was going to do a couple of episodes of Book 2:

Quoting from Fantasy Express 3 (1982)

"We've become so fascinated by the characters of Torquemada, Nemesis, Great Uncle Baal and the possibilities that they suggest that we're now projecting stories which we're not possibly going to get around to until two or three years time. The whole scope of the story has expanded; it's become a great epic, which is very hard from Pat Mills point of view to pace with only four pages a week, but we agreed on only four pages so that I could remain as the regular artist on the strip for its first serial. The second serial, drawn by Redondo, features a one episode intro which flashes back to Torquemada's childhood and then goes onto a spider planet story.  In the middle of Redondo's 15 or 16 episodes there are two by me, where we meet Great Uncle Baal again, which I'm really looking forward to as that was one of my favourite installments from the first serial."  Shame this never came to pass!  My memories a little rusty - Did Uncle Baal eventually feature in Book Two?

As for reprinting it, most Definitely.  Call it Nemesis Book 1.5 and give it a old style Titan look so I can put it with my others!  And while your at it, book 10 would be nice...

That was my point, Jamie - I know of the one Stront Dog book (it sits pride of place in my collection), and I covet the original "full cover" version that was advertised but I think never used(without the black stripe down the left that obscures an image of Wulf threateniing some barkeep!).  However, the "Portrait" will be the first "new" B&W reprint by Titan, as opposed to a reprint of an older Titan collection.  

Stront was criminally under represented in the original run of Titan books, and it's a real step in the right direction to see this one come out - any news on the cover yet - and could you use the original full cover art from the first book?  That would be fantastic!

Hmmm.

The idea of a complete PJ Maybe has a lot of potential, especially as you can throw in an Ennis story ;)

I do believe Titan need to rethink their policy of issuing repeated versions of old collections - The Slaine book should have took the chance to rectify the mistakes of the past and reprinted vital stories like "Bride Of Crom" in sequence.  I,m sure you'd sell more copies by marketing "the complete Slaine" over a number of volumes, rather than rely on the "Fabry" factor.

Hopefully the "never before by Titan" Strontium Dog book(s?) will mark a change of reprint policy.

I was wandering through Birmingham Town Centre today  at about 1 O'clock and saw a guy with a big grin on his face and a large card envelope/package under his arm, leaving Waterstones.  The address in huge black marker pen was to "Matt Smith, Rebellion etc."!!  

So was it anyone here sending in a submission, or possibly even an established Droid sending in his latest work?  If it's the former, then good luck!

errr....That should be that DON'T appear!!

Its no secret that I absolutely love the feature.  It's interesting that Inferno caused such an uproar - I presume this was after the Cursed Earths troubles, so was the final straw, rather than being really terrible in itself.

While the article once again uncovers a load of new info, there are a couple of things that appear in the article that I'll share here for anyone who's interested - the first may have been in the Mega-History, so apologies for repeating this....

When 2000AD was launched it got a critical mauling from the Guardian.  Pat Mills was interviewed and misquoted in the piece, which seems to have been particularly incensed by the portrayal of evil Volgan/Russian troops. The article implied that the strip was no more than commie bashing propaganda on the part of 2000s publishers.  Pat Mills duly wrote a fairly light hearted response to the article and hand delivered it to the Guardians office, assuming that the papers 'right to reply' policy would mean some comeback.  Needless to say, he was fuming when they totally ignored the letter.

Secondly, I have a copy of a special edition of IPC News, which was published to celebrate the Queen and Prince Phillip visiting Kings Reach Tower on 16th Feb 78 (found at a car boot sale!).  Prince Phillip actually visited the offices of 2000AD (presumably while the Queen went off to Womans Realm!) and met with Kelvin Gosnell, where they had a "friendly disagreement" about Star Wars.  Apparently, The Duke dismissed Star Wars as a "fairytale fantasy with spaceships" (somewhat missing the point there methinks, Phil!).  Actually, Kelvin Gosnell looks a little like Lucas with that beard!

The following quote always has me in stitches:  "When introduced to the Duke, the normally talkative Kevin O'Neill was lost for words.  "I didn't know what to say to him." admitted Kevin.  "But," he added, "I thought he was very friendly.  He wasnt aloof as one would have imagined."  The idea of Kev "the beast" O'Neill being let within 100 yards of the Duke is almost as astounding as the quote - Tell me it's not true Kevin!

Although the creators always say the publishers were embarassed and in some cases wilfully destructive towards the comic (and I've no doubt they were), it seems odd that they chose 2000AD for the Duke to visit, given the hundreds of other comics they published at the time - I wonder why (if indeed it was there choice)

Nick Landau hated Ezquerras stuff, and did his best to avoid printing any... Hence only one volume of Strontium Dog, despite the characters obvious popularity.  However, I'm not sure he's choosing the stuff now, and with Titan SD books being such a glaring admission, it can only be a matter of time.  And didnt Jamie Beamish say on this site that Portrait and Schickelgruber were being collected as book 1, out in July?

No, the universal soldier just thought he did!

Plus Swifty in Sooner or Later, Durham Red mark II, the Stainless Steel Rat and Meltdown Man Nick Stone...

There are also a fair few, shall we say less thrilling tales to feature time travel...

Timehouse, time flies and Mother Earth spring to mind... I've successfully wiped Chronos Carnival from my memory after years of extensive therapy, but given the name, did that feature time travel in any form?

 

Slaine of course

And DR & Quinch travelled throught earths history

And Kano was on that planet where time ran backwards, if that counts

And Flesh of course...

Well theres Dredd and Anderson via Proteus, plus Mean Machine.  This of course means that any Dredd related characters have access to the technology.  Death also travelled through time via dimension technology (which seems inextricably linked with time travel tech) to Deathworld during the purges.  Obviously there is also the generation killer.


The other obvious users of time travel are the Stronts of course. Alpha, Wulf, Stix, Bubba and gang and Sabbat all travelled in time.

Friday travelled back in time to meet dredd in the Prog 900 thingamee.

Robohunter visited his own past as a ghosty

Nemesis, Torq and the ABC Warriors used the time wastes to travel around time to such an extent that their continuity is nigh on impossible to unravel!