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[The Mercenary Seas]

We've not covered the bundle of Image annoucements that came out of Image Expo yesterday. There's probably a lot to be excited about in 2014 here

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=50171

Or any of the other sites this has been covered on. Its funny there were a lot of books announced that I thought, yeah I'll check that out, but as the new title continued to role I started to feel it all sounded a bit homogeneous. Hopefully as we get more detail some will start to stand out. At the moment the book from Image I'm most looking forward too is the long announced little publicised The Mercenary Seas out next month genuinely seems to be offering something different, at least from other comics on the market at the moment. The actual story seems to be based in very classic adventure tropes. Really looking forward to it.

I refer the honourable gentleman to my earlier reply and the Rebellion publishing catalogue for 2014:

I think that's the second time you've won me at the Internet this week!

There's so much information there that I started to read, then had to skip read when I first came across this via Bleedign Cool, who not surprisingly have gone with a quite sensational angle of Laura Sneldon's reponse to the piece...

anyway its vast and with anything its hard to disagree with much of what Moore says, while at the same time I find some quite astonishingly silly. The point I want to raise, until I can find the 2 weeks I'm going to need to read it in full, is regardless of what he's saying by the heavens he says it in an engaging manner!

Wait, 208 pages for Brass Sun?  That suggests there's to a third story printed in the Prog before the trade comes out which would explain the long delay, either that or it's going to have a really, really long foreword and a massive sketchbook at the back.

Edit, either that or Amazon is just wrong, which is quite common especially when they're saying it's hardback (oh I sort of hope it is, Brass Sun deserves to be a hardback collection).

Great spot! My excitement for the year ahead just doubled. I think it's safe to say that Brass Sun was created with collected format in mind so book 3 should have an ending worthy of closing out the act. And hardback as well, lovely.

I kinda hope that's all right as it would mean more Brass Sun soonish which I'm all for and Tharg playing with formats and ideas. It might all of course just be Amazon nonsense.

If I was going to guess and of course this would just be an utter guess based on nowt but my reading, I'd suggest if Brass Sun was 'designed' for anything it feels more like something for the European market. Yeah part so far would fit beautifully into an album and it has a similar sensibility to a lot of what I read from Cinebooks...

... of course the truth of the matter is its probably written and structured to suit the story and a weekly anthology comic and anything else is just me reading too much into things!

Oh now we do like a bit of magnolia in the Taylor household...

I'd pass on Monopoly

...and not collect 200 credits?

You win!

Also .. Asterix as this was in the post this morning

I would argue that that book is the start of the Golden (Sickle) Age of Asterix books that doesn't end until the volumes not written by Goscinny (and you could be generous and stretch that until after Black Gold, I bloomin' love Black Gold). Up to that point I always felt things were developing and finding their legs (still better than Tintin before anyone chirps up). From Legionary forward everything is in place and in full flight, art, puns, plots, characters, satire*, everything from that book on is just perfect all ages comics.

*I do wish people on 'Team Asterix' would stop focusing on it being straightforward simple slap-stick fun. It is that but its also some of the best ever biting satire (and I say that without full reference to some of the stuff I don't get due to age and country of origin) deftly crafted and plotted and has quite brilliant characterisation. The art is quite exceptional too.

It is crazy fun but underneath that the best books are also quite quite brilliantly smart too.

There are only so many ways you can say wow but I'll try to find a new one for this its so good.

wOw

Look I completely understand the points you are all raising. All interesting points of discussion and the difficulties of the comparison are there for all to see. Except you are forgetting one major, major point.

Asterix is better than Tintin by about 17.6 miles, or to use Professor Bears terms by 6.4 limes compared to a Lada Riva.

God grief what is the point of a comic forum if we can't make such important decisions... well okay lists but aside from lists...

I'll take a Mega City One Monopoly while I'm at it...

...2000AD Trivial Pursuit? (OK I might not actually buy that one)

I'd pass on Monopoly but Trivial Pursuit I'd snap up in seconds, shame that will never happen. Surely Risk should be Dante?

Nice.  Just think how much more integrated the gallery section would look if those cupboard doors where also white! 

It's look like that snowblind issue of Alpha Flight. Too much white surely?

Holy crap! Is that a page from Skreemer?

It is I bloody love Skreemer, I think Wake still has some very nice pages left.

It appears the debate that once raged only in private conversations has hit the comicsphere's internet public domain.

http://comicsbeat.com/so-are-we-all-agreed-that-asterix-is-better-than-tintin/

Of course there's no real debate as anyone who thinks Tintin is better than Asterix clearly smells a little of poo...

...I'm just devastated that I can no longer call Henry Flint the definitive 2000ad artist for his wrong headed Tintin support.

WHY HENRY WHY DO YOU BETRAY MY LOVE!!!!?????

It is indeed. My God man you ability to retain information is quite fantastic!

I have to say for all the wonderful pieces I own that one is my favourite. If I could only track down her first appearance as well... you could probably tell me which Prog as I've not got around to checking that out yet....

So here we are. The very Zenith of my endeavours. I should let the pictures just speck for themselves really... but as if I would!







I have a small, but slowly blooming collection of original art and I wanted to use my nerd cave as a showcase for it. There is an argument that says that original comic art should not be displayed as it creates the risk of fading and damage and since they are unique to do so would be not only foolish but irresponsible. I however hold the counter view that the key to the debate is in the word 'art' and that art has no meaning until it is seen and those that see it can interrupt it.

Now its not as if putting these pictures up in my nerd cave is exactly making these pieces I have available to the public (though anyone is of course welcome) but it does mean the art is out, living and breathing as intended.

The fact that it is so therefore means that what you see here is only temporary and roughed out. The art will be safely stashed away again this weekend... which contradicts what I said but let me explain. I do need to take responsibility to preserving the art as well. So before the display is properly finished I'll be purchasing some clear window film that will remove UV light and reduce other factors that can harm art. I will also be getting proper card boarders cut to size for each of the pieces I have. These were put up firstly to get the frames up and in the right positions and also to make sure that the frames would work with all the various sizes of art I have. So the bigger pieces don't look cramped and the small ones don't look lost. I think they work okay.

You'll also notice that the left hand frame is empty. The reason I've mentioned before, I'm a cack handed twat and I managed to break one of the panes when sorting the frames out. It'll be replaced as soon as possible.

The idea is also to rotate the art so that no one piece is out for more than say 3 months at a time and will then be swapped over for another piece again reducing the time it is subject to any harm.

A couple of pieces aren't up yet as well. Under the 6 Gun Gorilla print I have another print of Tharg that Pye sold on the boards a while ago. That's going up under the one that's already there.

I also have plans to put up my Carl Critchlow cover from Prog 1856 but since that will be up permanently I'm getting that professionally done to protect it.

So there we have it. Things will probably slow down a bit around here for a while as the things I have left to do will be happening at a slower rate. I'm not done, far from it, but up-dates I guess will be a little more sparing from here on in as we're really at the fine tuning stage.

Thanks for all the interest and support to date it really has made doing this even more fun that it was always going to be.

If those bumps are individual dispensing-blisters on a quasi-organic 3D printer it might be pretty cool.

Oh I like the idea of Bagman being a 3D printer type device removes the problem of having so much in there and means that yeah Rogue could just pull out whatever he liked at any given time.