Whats everyone reading?

[Theblazeuk]

He who controls the Spice, controls the Universe!

[von Boom]

The Guild controls space travel through their monopoly on the maths and techniques of folding space and navigation. Without them the Imperium would collapse due to the lack of trade between worlds.

Before Spice was discovered Guild Navigators used other drugs to increase their prescience in order to avoid hazards in their fold. The discovery of Spice as an aid to prescience increased their abilities to the point where space travel was 100% safe. For the Guild the Spice is a very powerful tool, and their weakness, in maintaining their monopoly on space travel.

Before the Guild there were other means of space travel, but they were barely FTL and very dangerous.

Herbert used the Spice as an allegory to oil, but magnified it's importance a thousandfold.

[Apestrife]

Darwyn Cooke's The new frontier.

Easy to get fooled by a colourful rounded art, and a plot that can be described as 60:s meta-men vs dinosaurs.

A bit like thinking Led Zeppelin III's cover has some colour to it, looking cheery enough and then finding yourself hit by the thunder of Immigrant song.

Wouldn't say it goes as far as I'd wanted it with for example John Henry, but it threw in some things of thought now and then. Especially with Man hunter. Also a bit jumpy, and it didn't help that I'm not a professor when it comes to who's who without the tights. But the story is nevertheless good. And the art... It's beyond that. It's brilliant with it's Kirby infused inks. A testament to the book that even if the hour was late, I couldn't help myself from sitting down with to eye my 4th world ominbus books for a bit. And to me, that's where this books sits on my shelf.

[Grugz]

still plodding through star wars twilight company but have "life debt" waiting once I finish...

[Colin YNWA]

It's brilliant with it's Kirby infused inks. A testament to the book that even if the hour was late, I couldn't help myself from sitting down with to eye my 4th world ominbus books for a bit. And to me, that's where this books sits on my shelf.

Praise doesn't get much higher than that!

[JudgeBriggs]

Just tried "Archangel" - by William Gibson, time travel set across WW2, so far so good...

[Hawkmumbler]

The Maxx #33...alright, i'll be writing more in depth about it later along with the rest of the last two weeks comics haul, but as an individual issue in anseries of superlatives, #33 is wierd as all hell.

[Colin YNWA]

Well 'eaven's to Betsy that was good.

Just read Elephantmen Vol. 1 Wounded Animals. Its my first taste of Richard Starkings and co's creations and by George its magnificent. It helps that I've always been a bog fan of artist Moritat's work since I first came across it in The Spirit a few years ago. When he's not on art duties Starking seems able to recruit the very finest to stand in and the whole thing looks suitable glorious. Both outlandish and unreal while being grounded in noir. An intoxicating mix. The story is a little open and mysterious over the whole, but the details that are building the bigger, still barely seen, picture are exquiste and executed it real timing and panache.

So I'm indebt to the boarder who sold me this volume. I'll be working on the best way to track down the rest of this as of right now!

[Colin YNWA]

Haden Blackman isn't a writer I know a great deal about, though I've heard good things about his Elektra. On the strenght of his Darth Vader mini's I may well give that series a go. By heck his Vader comics are great. Set in early post rubbish trilogy times just after Anakin has become Vader they really are ripsnotingly good, they really are. The only problem with them is the 5 issues I have (two five issue minis) take about 2 mins 34 secs to read in total. Not sure quite how as he crams quite a lot in there.

The art of both series is great. The first Lost Command is drawn by the always magnificent Rick Leonardi whose work actually drew me to these comics in the first place. Adore his work. The second Ghost Prison is 'painted' by whose work I'm entirely ignorant of Agustin Alessio but its really good, okay not Leonardo good, but very good. Kinda reminds me of Ben Oliver once (briefly) of these pastures.

Anyway if your a fan of Star Wars type comics these two series I whole heartiedly recommend. Quite astonishly good fun.

[Tjm86]

Charles Stross The Nightmare Stacks.

Billed as H P Lovelock meets Ian Fleming in the past.  Having moved past some of the old characterisation it definitely works.  A rather surreal scene involving middle England parents, a transgender partner, a son who no longer works for a bank but is literally a blood sucker with an Elfin partner, ... sorry but the whole combination of culture clashes just made me laugh out loud.

Stress is continuing to build on his world with this series and this volume definitely works.  I guess you may have to have experienced the Civil Service / HM forces mind set for some of the humour to work.  Granted it is not a patch on the late Sir Terry but it runs a close second for my money.

[The Adventurer]

I read the The Atrocity Archives last year, and liked it quite a bit. I really should follow up on the rest of Stross's Laundry series.

[Mardroid]

I read Leatherjack for the first time recently.

I found myself thinking "eh?", and "what?" a few times. It's kinda crazy,  but in a clever way.

I liked it overall.

[Dandontdare]

Well 'eaven's to Betsy that was good.

Just read Elephantmen Vol. 1 Wounded Animals. ... The story is a little open and mysterious over the whole, but the details that are building the bigger, still barely seen, picture are exquiste and executed it real timing and panache.

I bought the first four books and whilst it's great stuff, I did feel that it was rather slow moving - for a £25 volume the size of a phone book  the plot doesn't advance very quickly. The Strontium Dog and Judge Dredd crossovers that he did with Boo Cook for the Thought-tBubble anthologies were top class!

[GordyM]

I can easily recommend Dark Horse's newest title Black Hammer. It's about a superhero team forced into hiding and struggling to live normal lives. There's more to it but I don't want to spoil the surprises. Check it out.

[TordelBack]

Prog 1751. I think this 5/5 masterpiece is a contender for the Top Ten progs. And it's the first time I've read it. Wowzers.