Messages

Agreed. Ugh.

SBT

Hello Mr Buttons

Did I email you?  I thought I'd sent a pm!  Thank grud I've got it right this time and not replied publicly or something!

Yes,  I'd love it. 
Also I really enjoyed our last meeting and the night of passion we shared with big John Burdis and that Pete Wells.  Though between you and me,  Wellsy left me most unsatisfied due to his amateurish bedroom skills,  and as for Burdis- I just wish he wouldn't insist on wearing those shorts and being called "Sergeant Major Sausage".

Anyway,  I will PayPal you at the end of the week if that's okay.

Best of love, 

Your "widdling winkie". Kiss kiss. 

Thanks guys,  I think we'll continue with it then.  Though I reckon it may well become the very definition of "guilty pleasure"!

SBT

Last night we decided to give the first episode of 'The Last Ship' a go. Has anyone else seen this?  And can anyone reassure me that it's not as straight -up obvious as it seems and that there are some twists to stop it becoming the most predictable formulaic show US TV has put out since the eighties?

It's beautiful to look at,  apparently very expensive, and the first ep rattled along at a good old pace...  but my grud,  it was by the book! 

Mysterious us navy mission to the arctic is cover for some scientists trying to find a cure for a virus that is spreading across the world.  By the time they are allowed to break radio silence,  80% of the world's population is dead and the ship must find fuel and supplies while developing a cure and outwitting the Russians. Manly man captain,  manly man second in command, lesbian bridge officer,  spunky Brit scientist and her untrustworthy Brit assistant (who is most likely a double agent)- sheeeesh.

Fun though.

SBT

My local newsie has one on order for someone. I seriously hope it's not the same guy who had a standing order for the Marvel Figurine Collection and who then didn't pick them up for months, meaning every time I went to buy milk I had to explain that no,  it's not me and yes,  I've already had mine.  Sigh.

SBT 

Hmm.  Not keen on the cover,  though it's a striking image and it's always good to see the use of a speech balloon. I think it was simply that Quartz didn't look like he did inside.  A personal preference though. 

"Ahhhh!  Sharks on legs!" is one of those lines that you just know means nothing in the prog is going to equal.  Definitely should have been on the cover.

Geeks,  Norwichmass and Twisted Tales did absolutely nothing for me whatsoever.  T. Tales again I found impossible to follow,  as I really don't think Byrne is a good storyteller and have no idea why Tharg continues to run the strip.  Similarly,  Norwichmass was muddled and Geeks just not funny.

Savage will be missed.  By far the best thing,  with both art and writing synching beautifully to race along clearly and beautifully. Yeah,  wherever Bill goes next,  I'll happily follow.

Two out of five this week.  Par for the course.

SBT

WHS always do this.  It's why I would never even consider having a regular order with them for anything.

If subbing isn't for you,  simply place an order at your nearest local newsagent.  I don't know why more people don't do this- it doesn't matter if they currently stock it or not,  any newsagent that carries UK magazines can get any UK magazine simply by ordering it.  If they say they can't,  they are lying and can't be arsed to keep your custom.  I've never been charged any kind of deposit for any magazine or comic in 40 years of using local newsagents.  Currently I have the prog,  the meg and the beano on order from mine and pick them up on Wednesdays.

SBT

I grew up in these places.  They were my temples.
Every two months I'd get the train up to Victoria with my mate,  and we'd go to the Comic Mart at Central Hall in Westminster, then on to Forbidden Planet one and two,  Paradise Alley,  Fantasy Inn,  Comic Showcase,  and occasionally off to one in Chelsea or one at Elephant & Castle- the names of which escape me. 

There was certainly an atmosphere in them back in those days.  Whether good (Alan Jones behind the counter in FP2, /while he wrote for Starburst,  discussing films with us in the height of the Nasties paranoia and being obviously unnerved by two 12/13 year old kids asking about stuff way beyond legal!) or bad (the snob we encountered in Comics Showcase who took it upon himself to patronise us through puffy,  spittle spraying lip's and from behind bottle thick glasses).

I didn't get to They Walk Among Us until years later,  and Dark They Were And Golden Eyed's name and adverts alone uses to worry the hell out of me,  so I never went.

SBT

I've only been reading Conan for a little over a year,  but in that time have amassed the complete run of everything Dark Horse have put out and about half of Marvel's CtB comics/ many SSoCs and most of the post-cancellation mini series and follow-ups.
Of them all,  my favourites are DH's Conan the Cimmerian (the first arc of which is probably exactly what you're looking for! ) and Brian Wood's Conan the Barbarian.

I know the Wood run is controversial, but to me it's one of the most beautiful and affecting comics I've ever read.  Yes,  it's not quite the Conan of Howard's stories (though I'd argue it's closer than is claimed,  and certainly more evocative of the original than those awful Arnie movies or much of the Marvel run) but they are great stories, beautifully told.  Also,  they are what initially fired my love of the character as an adult,  having left him firmly in my childhood when I'd sneak issues of SSoC home,  feeling all guilty because of the boobs and blood. Wood's Belit (especially in the initial arc drawn by Becky Cloonan) is the first female comic character in decades with whom I've fallen completely in love.

But if big old brutal Conan is your thing,  I'd recommend Conan the Cimmerian and the ongoing series of Dark Horse King Conan mini series. 

Certainly don't start with the current run,  Conan the Avenger. It's an odd fit and possibly not very good.

SBT

I'm not going to be there this time,  as I'd somehow missed all the hoohah and am at home with the boys while herself is somewhere in Europe.
Have enormous fun, do cool stuff and stay safe y'all.

SBT

Nice to see Amazing Spider-Man #33 mentioned, doubly so as I bought a copy the other day.  It still reads wonderfully and it more entertaining and thrilling than 99% of comics I read currently. Even if, in this age of the internet, Ditko's rendering of streaming water is amusingly reminiscent of certain bukkake and "heavy cummers" websites.

The OP's criteria are quite specific,  so I don't think ASM #121/122 counts. But The Night Gwen Stacy Died is absolutely the greatest comic story ever told, bar none.

Swamp Thing #40, The Curse,  is surely in the running.  Except...  except... it still has that ludicrous ending with the world's most dangerous supermarket knife display,  which still wrenches you from the narrative. 

I can think of a few early Hellblazer issues that might have a chance.  And I'm tempted to make a shout for Conan The Barbarian #6, Devil Wings Over Shadizar,  for many reasons not least BWS drawing a giant bat with aplomb. Oh,  and the later Conan issue, Man Crabs of the Dark Cliffs,  because it has the best title ever.

Single most perfect?  Most rereadable?  Most cherished? Yeah,  ASM #122, death of the Goblin,  the aftermath of Gwen's fall,  Spidey changed forever, Marvel sweeping aside the rule book and writing their own.  Yeah,  that.

SBT 

Many thanks sir,  now it all makes sense.  Or at least,  as much as anything around here.

SBT

So,  two Harlem Heroes volumes but no Finn book two or Bonjo From Beyond The Stars/ Dash Decent? 

Do I hear green,  drunken-on-polystyrene cackling and see the shadow of alien fingers flicking Vs? 

SBT

Top prog this week,  with not a bad strip in the mix.  Great and worthwhile starters for both Survival Geeks and Norwichmass Threeeeelers,  while Dreddy,  Billy and the robot bucket head continue to be hugely enjoyable.

When basking in the afterglow of thrillpowe and pondering this thread,  it occurred to me that I've habitually referred to the 3llers as "Norwichmass" for so long now that I've completely forgotten the etymology of that particular bit of nonsense. 

Anyone care to to remind me? 

SBT

From an entirely selfish point of view, I say keep the floppy.  Yes,  it's true that the vast majority get piled up unread,  they do provide an easy source of strips when the mood takes me, without having to lug boxes about and unbag multiple comics, then refile them later.
Red Fang,  for example, has been buzzing around my conscious for a while,  and is now to hand. 

While having a complete set of everything renders any and all reprints an unnecessary luxury both in terms of cost and space,  at this point in my life,  38 years into buying the prog, I may as well embrace the plain fact that these things are essential to me,  and just go with it. 

The lack of FINN volume two,  however,  is a continual source of frustration.

SBT