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1

Books & Comics / Jerusalem

« on: 30 July, 2022, 05:45:14 PM »

I've gone from not reading anything for way too long, to tackling this fecking Odyssey of a book.  It's been a few months now, but according to my Kindle app, I'm exactly halfway through.

It's been worth it though.  At first, we go from slices of kitchen sink drama (albeit in many different time periods throughout Northampton's history) to a brief glimpse of the afterlife.  Now, I've discovered that what we saw was only a tiny sliver of a way, way bigger afterlife, peopled by a kind of dead Famous Five that get up to all kind of adventures amongst its dizzyingly huge architecture, outside of time though offering brief glimpses into the chronological world, in which time is a kind of jelly holding every event that every happened. Christ, my brain.

Like pretty much everything I've read by Alan Moore, I'm looking forward to finishing it then rereading it, forearmed with the knowledge amassed from later chapters that will put the earlier stuff into context.

2

Other Reviews / 2022 Sci-Fi Special

« on: 15 July, 2022, 12:20:51 PM »

Very quick review here, but I really enjoyed this one - best Sci-Fi Special in a long time.

Dredd was great - one of Mike Carroll's best, and it somehow captured a bit of 80s MC1 nostalgia, with all its mayhem and weird vehicles and the like.

SinDex was very nice too; much in the spirit of the early SinDex one-offs in the Christmas specials.

Special mention to Fiends; which was truly chilling, and contained a nice slice of history (my German mate Hannes recently told me of how his dad used to take similar trips through the Wall to West Berlin, which I hadn't realised was possible).

Death - great stuff, and really good fun to see so many different faces of the Joker, again a bit of nostalgia involved re. when 2000ad wasn't afraid to prod some very powerful companies' lawyers with a stick.  Not sure Dredd would so readily encourage Death to hand-pierce so many Mega-Cits however.

Anderson - Good stuff, fairly nailed her character as Alan Grant developed her.  I still find it hard to deal with her looking like a 25-year-old, but ah well, suspension of disbelief and all.

Middenface - Liked this too.  Sort of a Judgement on Gotham vibe, with serious inebriation.

3

General / Side-side-vote - The golden goose-stepper

« on: 25 June, 2022, 11:11:24 AM »

Spurred on by Broodblik's vote re. Dredd writers, I've started thinking about Dredd's age and decided to make my own referendum.

Dredd is old.  He began to feel his age over 30 years ago. He can't last forever. It's a problem, and I'm not sure how to solve it.  What should happen?

1.  Permanent Kraken - He should die, and Rico should take his name.

2.  The standard solution  - He should die, and (yawn) have his brain / bio-chip inserted into Rico to make them the same person.

3.  Dark Knight Returns (kind of) - He should become Chief Judge, and leave the rough stuff to Rico.

4.  The Taggart solution - He should die, and an ensemble of supporting characters should take over.

5.  The DC solution - the real-time thing should be quietly shelved, and a floating timeline introduced.

6.  The Stront - he dies, then we just dip into past cases here and there.  (But he isn't resurrected).

7.  The half-Stont - he doesn't die, but we still just go back to past cases (like that recent Apocalypse War one).

8.  The Dan Dare - the whole strip is dropped, and other writers occasionally resurrect him (though Grant Morrison isn't allowed to have Judge Death do what the Mekon did to Dan in Revolver).

9.  The Narcos solution - Dredd's brain is put into a Mechanismo robot, and now HE knows what it is to be discriminated against.

10 - something else.

It's boring, and cliched, but I think with a gun to my head I'd have to go with 2.

EDIT - no, feck it.  I'll go with 3.  Obviously that's just kicking the can down the road but it's the best I can think of.

4

Film & TV / The Boys Season 3

« on: 25 June, 2022, 10:16:13 AM »

Well, so far I've had a blast watching it this season.  I've got over the fact that Hughie isn't Scottish, that MM isn't still suckling from his mother, that the Female and Frenchie have names, that the Black Noir twist can't happen, and that Butcher doesn't have the same reason for hating the Homelander.  Butcher's accent seems to be getting a bit better too, or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

This season seems to have upped the Ennis-ness considerably, and no longer seems a toned-down version of the comic.  I was a tiny bit disappointed to see Herogasm reduced in scale - a house, not an island - but the depths of depravity are pretty much unchanged. Not many TV series show people fucking octopuses.  Also, Love Sausage has arrived!

The writers have very skilfully weaved the comic storyline around current events too; the whole thing is oozing with toxic Trumpiness even though the orange clown doesn't exist in this universe.

Looking forward to more.

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Other Reviews / Battle Action Special 2022

« on: 08 June, 2022, 10:36:56 PM »

Only three stories in but I must say it's great so far. I used to really, really hate Garth Ennis when he took over Dredd, but my grud, he's a fine writer these days.

Weirdly meta approach to Kids Rule OK but it works very well, and Dredger is Billy Butcher all over again, in a good way.  Things are just as violent as they used to be but the bit of swearing and sexual references mean that this isn't for the age group the originals were aimed at.

Looking forward to the rest.

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Film & TV / The Batman (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

« on: 12 March, 2022, 11:03:03 AM »

Watched it last night. It was fine. Visually spectacular but more of a music video than a film; not a whole lot going on in terms of character development.  Also it fecking chucks it down in Gotham, all the time - thought Ireland was bad.

There was a whole lot more Batman than Bruce but good call in giving the origin story a rest. 

Anyway, all in all, not bad but behind the first two Nolan films IMHO.

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General / Advent Calendar Creeptic Crossword Solution - SPOILERS

« on: 31 December, 2021, 05:14:03 PM »

Across
1. See how many in front of the bonfire - find a bodyguard! (5, 4)
COUNT PYRE (See how many - count; bonfire - pyre)
3. Saying article, ex-hero has a godly influence (7)
MAXIMAN (saying = maxim; article = an)
4. Tripod constructed around ring becomes a transformer (7)
PROTOID (Anagram of 'TRIPOD' around 'o')
7. Pirate sounds like Daddy Pig (4, 3-2)
PAPA POR-KA (self-explanatory!)
8. Smash a sturdy box - find a demon inside (6)
HASTUR (SmasH A STURdy..)
9. Pretender halfback in scrambled SIM (7)
MIMESIS (Anagram of SIM containing 'Semi' backwards)
10. Jack's master is found with unsettled, stoic air (8)
ISCARIOT (Anagram of 'stoic air')
14. Force Adam to be cast out when god appears (10)
TORQUEMADA (Force = Torque, Anagram of 'Adam')
16. Smelly leader? Smelly leader left - ought Thor to be confused? (6, 5)
SLOUGH THROT (First letter of 'Smelly' = 's', left = 'l', 'ought', anagram of 'Thor')
17. Luge wrecked - excavation needed to uncover the armed head (7)
GULEDIG (Anagram of 'luge', excavation = 'dig')
18. Krool confused for another enemy (5)
ORLOK (Anagram of 'Krool')
19. A bit of a shake for the rogue biologist (4)
JUDD (Part of the word 'judder')

Down
2. A double-crosser, but not in any specific way (7, 7)
TRAITOR GENERAL (Unspecific = general)
5. America goes after the beast; the ancient beast (7)
SATANUS (The Beast = Satan, America = US)
6. Sore bad boy (4)
BUBO ( a type of sore)
7. Nip back and look for a bent lawgiver (3)
PIN ('Nip' backwards)
11. Inside is a gangster, a bad brother! (5)
SAGAN (...iS A GANgster)
12. An embarrassing mistake or just a big loudmouth? (6)
HOWLER (self explanatory!)
13. It took so messed up a creature to possess a super body (3, 5)
IOK SOTOT (Anagam of 'it took so')
15. Live all over the place with courage, as a space buccaneer (4,4)
EVIL GUTS (Anagram of 'evil', courage = guts)

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General / Spoilery Advent Crossword help

« on: 24 December, 2021, 03:04:23 PM »

SLIGHTLY EASIER SOLUTION:

Here are the stories the villains in my crossword come from. There's a wee bit of crossover so I'll just say which series they FIRST appeared in if they've appeared in more than one (Nelson Bunker Kreelman, for example, popped up last in a Dredd story,  but would be listed under Strontium Dog here). The number after the story is the number of characters from it - obviously Dredd gets the most!

Dredd:  5
Strontium Dog: 3
Slaine: 2
Zenith: 2
Rogue Trooper: 1
Nemesis: 2
Nikolai Dante: 1
Ace Trucking Co: 1
Edginton Universe: 1
Indigo Prime: 1


MUCH EASIER SOLUTION:

Here are the clues again,  but now with the names of the stories beside them.

1. See how many in front of the bonfire - find a bodyguard! (5, 4) - DANTE
3. Saying article, ex-hero has a godly influence (7) - ZENITH
4. Tripod constructed around ring becomes a transformer (7) - Bad Company
7. Pirate sounds like Daddy Pig (4, 3-2) STRONTIUM DOG
8. Smash a sturdy box - find a demon inside (6) EDGIVERSE
9. Pretender halfback in scrambled SIM (7) NEMESIS
10. Jack's master is found with unsettled, stoic air (8) INDIGO PRIME
14. Force Adam to be cast out when god appears (10) NEMESIS
16. Smelly leader? Smelly leader left - ought Thor to be confused? (6, 5) SLÁINE
17. Luge wrecked - excavation needed to uncover the armed head (7) SLÁINE
18. Krool confused for another enemy (5) DREDD
19. A bit of a shake for the rogue biologist (4) DREDD

Down
2. A double-crosser, but not in any specific way (7, 7) ROGUE TROOPER
5. America goes after the beast; the ancient beast (7) DREDD
6. Sore bad boy (4) STRONTIUM DOG
7. Nip back and look for a bent lawgiver (3) DREDD
11. Inside is a gangster, a bad brother! (5) STRONTIUM DOG
12. An embarrassing mistake or just a big loudmouth? (6) DREDD
13. It took so messed up a creature to possess a super body (3, 5) ZENITH
15. Live all over the place with courage, as a space buccaneer  (4,4) ACE TRUCKING CO

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Books & Comics / The Comics Code Authority - a few questions

« on: 15 November, 2021, 01:38:27 PM »

I've been reading a few 1980s / 90s DC and Marvel comics (neither of which I have a huge knowledge of) and was wondering about the Comics Code Authority stamp that most of them still had at this point.  I was under the impression that it was very restrictive regarding sex, violence, drugs etc but there's quite a bit of all on show within the pages.  80s Wonder Woman, for instance, starts off with a fairly explicitly-described mass rape, as well as a post-coital prostitution scene.  Daredevil had some serious ultraviolence and overt references to heroin addiction, and then there was that godawful John Byrne story about Superman and Big Barda in a porn film.  There was the Punisher, of course, who was clearly a murderer and yet was the star of the comic.  All of these, I seem to remember, had the CCA stamp on the cover.

So, did the CCA morph over the years to allow more of this kind of thing? Or was it just there for lip service to worried parents when the 70s and 80s rolled around? I know it was established after Seduction of the Innocent crippled the industry, but I honestly was amazed at what the comics were getting away with a few decades after that shitshow.

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General / Dredd in the US

« on: 08 May, 2021, 04:12:33 PM »

Alex Ross's lovely painting in the other thread got me thinking.  How well known is Dredd as a comics character in the States?  I would imagine most comics creators, and the more devoted comics enthusiasts, are at least aware of him, but for everyone else it's an obscure Stallone film.   

Which is a crying shame, really.

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General / Dredd's real-time ageing?

« on: 10 April, 2021, 03:59:53 PM »

 So, I'm wondering - has Dredd gone the way of Batman, Spiderman and that lot?  That is to say, has Tharg given up on the whole 'real-time ageing' thing?  I mean, he was feeling his age over 30 years ago.  I know he gets new skin now and again, but he's remarkably well-built and nimble for a geriatric.  I know ageing is slower in the future and all that, but other old people in MC1 look like old people.

I remember Cyber-Matt talking about how there's no reason Dredd can't go on forever, like Superman and co.  But we'll have to give up on the idea that Dredd ages in real time if that's going to happen, surely?

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General / Artists at their best

« on: 08 April, 2021, 11:10:26 AM »

Just having a re-read of some old progs (spurred on by Conrad and Fox's podcast - thanks, guys).  I was thinking then about the stories that showed artists doing their best work ever.  Here's a few that sprung to mind:

Steve Yeowell - Zenith Phase 3.  I loved all those crisp straight lines and stark blacks and whites.  Also he'd got rid of that square jaw thing of the earliest phases and his characters looked more human.

Colin McNeil - Song of the Surfer.  Now, obviously he was brilliant on America, but nobody does getting shot to bits like Colin, and that's what SotS was all about. 

Carlos - It's a tough one to call. Colour, I'd say Necropolis - all those gouache purples were just perfect for the murk of the DJ-run city.  Black and white, maybe Strontium Dog - Rage, when he really got Johnny's look and the dusty Wild West style down to a T.

Glenn Fabry - Sláine the King (and the Miniseries).  Obviously his colour work on Demon Killer was amazing, but his B/W stuff on Sláine's home turf was spectacular.

Mike McMahon - Sky Chariots, because of course it's Sky Chariots.

Kevin Walker - Dredd in Sin City.  His new style at its absolute best.

John Hicklenton - Nemesis in Deathbringer.  He'd really refined that muscular, dripping-with-filthy-detail style by then.

Kev O'Neill - Classic Nemesis; around the celebrated Great Uncle Baal scenes.

Henry Flint - A toss-up between his take on Nemesis; the first time I realised he was truly an artist to be reckoned with; and Dredd in Total War; when I realised he was a Dredd artist to be reckoned with too.

Belardinelli - It's going to be Sláine again, specifically The Wicker Man.

Ron Smith - that's a hard one.  The Daily Star Dredds maybe?  Other than that it's the Otto Sump stories, the Fatties stories or the one about the immigrant kid with pyrokinetic powers. Anything that shows off ugly cits and zitty teenagers, basically.

That's all I can think of now, but of course more will follow.

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General / The Pit Audiobook

« on: 19 March, 2021, 02:07:57 PM »

I've got through all the Penguin audiobooks now, and The Pit is pretty darned good. 
Unlike America and Halo Jones, there's a third-person narrator here, and it works well too - there's just too much action and too many characters to follow without it.

This is just as frantic but tightly plotted as the comic, and the actors do the job nicely.  Dredd's slightly-softer-than-expected voice suits the desk-job sector chief Dredd better than the fascist authoritarian of the  America audiobook, and while it's not as good as Karl Urban's masterful version, it's much better than Toby Longworth's (no offence to Mr Longworth; but I think his other characters were better than his Dredd).

In fact, Guthrie sounds a bit more like the Dredd of the old audiobooks and the game. I'd have imagined him as a fast-talking street punk type, but it's not a problem.  Star of the show for me is, unexpectedly, Fonzo Bongo!  As an odd blend of Shaggy from Scooby Doo and Scarface, it can't be an easy one to pull off, but he fecking nails it.

Hoping they do more of these audiobooks; it's looking more and more like I'm going to buy any they put out.

14

General / Halo Jones Audiobook

« on: 15 March, 2021, 08:01:10 AM »

I thought I may as well do a separate thread for it here, rather than carry on in the News section.  Anyway I listened to it all yesterday, and was a lot more impressed than I thought I'd be.  Halo's voice works perfectly for me; from innocent teen to battle-hardened soldier.  The other voices too are fine - I would have thought Toy had an American accent rather than a London one, but it helps to distinguish her from other characters.  Same situation with Life Sentence - I kind of had her down as having a Southern states drawl rather than sounding a tiny bit like Pete Wells.

Didn't expect the emotional punch either.  Maybe it's because I'm older now and I haven't read the whole series since I was younger than Halo is in Book 3, or maybe because it's because the last year has felt like one of the three years Halo loses in Moab, but theme of loss seems a lot more apparent.  Halo's life being gradually stripped of all joy and meaning genuinely brought a tear to my eye, and her fantasy of murdering a child seemed way more chilling.

I'm not sure how this would play out to a listener unfamiliar with the source material, though.  As Jenny points out on Eamonn's podcast, it's not at all clear that Lux Roth Chop is a prepubescent child, given that he has an adult's voice. I don't think it's clear either that the Glyph sacrifices his / her life to save Halo and Toy.

But all in all, as I said, very pleasantly surprised at the quality. America was enjoyable but I definitely prefer this.

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General / Bisley does Zenith - all very odd

« on: 28 February, 2021, 09:07:57 PM »

Just discovered these, which I've never seen or heard about before. 
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/zenith-phase-ii/4050-60466/

While I do like the style of cover art - which presumably led to Bisley's cover run on Doom Patrol - I'm also moved to wonder what the actual feck.  Zenith smoking a fag?  The utterly unrecognisable lumpy face on the second issue?  And, weirdest of all, Zenith's dad is Donald Trump? 

Also, I thought they weren't allowed to reprint Zenith back then.  My brain is reeling.