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Topics - Tjm86

#121
Prog / Prog 1963: Bugsplat
09 January, 2016, 02:01:33 PM
Nice cover by Ryan Brown with a real Mad Max vibe to it.

Judge Dredd kicks of Ghosts nicely.  Sexton's art is quality with a bit of a Brian Talbot feel to it in places.  Sets up the story nicely.  Caroll does what he does best, focusing on the larger Dredd world.  The last page doesn't really hold any major surprises but this looks like a good one. 

Kingdom kicks ass as always.  Page after page of relentless, overwhelming action. As always Abnett and Elson deliver.

The Order probably benefits from Burns' art.  Enjoyable but since I've not been able to buy into it completely I'm still not clicking with it completely.

ABC Warriors is another one that I'm struggling with although I'm glad Langley has shifted away from painted art. I'm finding his current style much easier to cope with in terms of following the story.  As with the Order it may fit together better as the story progresses but personally I'm still waiting for it to really click.

Strontium Dog is working much better for me now. The Top Tips for the Traveller notes are a cracking read alongside what is a largely scene setting episode.   The quote of the prog has to be:  "Children just be gagged or rendered chemically mute while on planet."   :lol:

Overall for me it was a good solid prog.  How was it for you dear?
#122
Books & Comics / Dreaming Eagles
07 January, 2016, 07:42:31 PM
This has been a while coming and I'm sure like many with memories of Battle and Ennis' early War stuff, eagerly anticipated. I have to say I'm now looking forward more to the whole having read this first issue as it is clearly laying the ground for what is to come.

Coleby's art is definitely suited to the material.  His stylised anatomy is familiar to us tooth readers and it is definitely on a par with his recent Jaeger material. The colour palette is well suited to the material and effectively conveys mood, supporting the overall narrative. Layout also aids the flow of the story.

There is precious little action, mainly flashbacks. Not that it is surprising considering that it sets up what is to come.  A few familiar tropes are called in to play; the PTSD dream, the inter-generational misunderstandings, the stoic and closed ex-serviceman.  It may be that this is what renders it a good rather than stand out start.  The dichotomy between the American 'fight for freedom' and the treatment of large portions of their population seems to be an underlying theme of the book. How this pans out remains to be seen.

Having enjoyed the Tukegee Airmen and the lesser quality Red Tails there were a few familiar scenes. In some respects it was inevitable that familiar ground would have to be trodden. Not sure if that makes for an inferior read or not.

Overall it has promise. It feels like it will read better as a collected edition (a nice hardback with lots of supporting historical information and character sketches). Certainly it is worth the read and with the promise of more to come there is a lot to like. I'm loathe to compare it to the recent Johnny Red revamp since both cover different territory. That said, it definitely stands up well in comparison. In some respects with both we are a little spoiled at the moment. Now if we can just get Titan to sort out there Johnny Red and Major Easy collections!
#123
Off Topic / In trouble with the wife.
11 December, 2015, 05:31:53 AM
So the wife got home last night late from work.  Youngest daughter feeling tired and sensitive so we plonked down to watch a bit of telly and have a cwtch.  Wife walks in, takes one look at the telly and starts to give me a row.

"I don't believe it, you are NOT getting her into MASH!"

"Mam, Mash is awesome!" replies my daughter.

Guess getting my eldest daughter into Star Wars and comics hasn't gone down too well either.  Still working on tooth.
#124
News / Bisley 'variant cover' for Crimbo
30 October, 2015, 04:33:41 PM
#125
Books & Comics / Starlord (UK, 1978)
29 October, 2015, 04:05:52 PM
I've gone back to these again after a long while.  I still have fond memories of picking up issue 2 in Watford way back in the day.  In fact it rivalled tooth to such an extent that I switched to Starlord for a while, particularly following the irregularities that resulted from the strikes of the time.  It was only with the merger that I came back to the fold. Looking again after all these years it is amazing how well it has weathered.  Granted some of the tales have not weathered as well as the others but overall the quality is impressive, particularly when you consider the talent lined up.  Redondo, Ian Kennedy, Ezquerra, Gibbons, Grover ...

I've always felt that Ezquerra did his best work on the early Strontium Dog's.  His particular talent for the bizarre in these tales was probably best equalled by the Hell's dominion storyline circa issue 100 of tooth.  The tales themselves are remarkably well written for a strip in it's infancy.  The other rival for star had to be Mind Wars with Redondo turning out some outstanding work.  The intricacy of the artwork is outstanding.

Some of the early Robusters leave a bit to be desired at times and show the influence of the age, a sort of cross between Thunderbirds and the Disaster Movie tropes of the times.  Artwork by Kennedy and Gibbons goes a long way to make up for the weakness in the writing at times.  The other weaker strips that came and went, TimeQuake, Holocaust, Planet of the Damned all read well.

#126
Hi folks,
it's that time again to have a bit of a declutter and these are just taking up space.  All I'm after is covering the postage but otherwise any of these  are free.

Cheers

Night Zero
Rose Orion
Plagues of Necropolis
Calhab justice
ratfink
marauder
purgatory
Janus psi div 1 & 2
Karyn
downlode tales 1-3
Disaster 1990 1 & 2
death planet
beyond zero
demarco pi v2
finn 1
Strontium dog tales from the doghouse
black siddha kali yuga
black siddha bad karma
black siddha return of the jester
lobster random tooth and claw
lobster random the agony and the ecstasy
lobster random the forget meknot
detonator x
black light 1 & 2
valkyries
harke & burr
ahab
harlem heroes 1 & 2
red fang
interceptor
freaks
faces
#127
Other Reviews / Case Files 1 10th Anniversary Edition
05 September, 2015, 02:03:40 PM
Wahey! It has finally arrived!  This is a nice edition, I have to say.  Rebellion has really upped its game in the last few years and if there was ever an advertisement for a Special Edition Case Files series this is it.  It may end up with a premium price but I have to say it is worth every penny.

The black and white pages seem clearer than some of the stuff that we have seen recently, especially in the Mega Collection.  The colour pages are nicely reproduced considering the possible source material.  Maybe now is the time to start an online petition for this?
#128
General / Case Files 1 10th Anniversary Edition
22 August, 2015, 04:38:52 PM
I'm just wondering if anyone else has ordered / received theirs yet.  I thought the publication date was about a week ago but there seems to be no sign of it.  According to my account it is ordered / paid for  so I was wondering if there had been a delay of some sort.  Figured I'd see what the general picture was before giving customer services a shout.
#129
Help! / Trying to remember the title
15 August, 2015, 07:10:42 PM
Hi all,
this is probably a long shot but I'm trying to remember the title of a novel I read back in the early eighties.  It was a children's love about life after some sort of crisis, I think the end of oil.  In the novel the father had been expecting the crisis and had set about stockpiling food in a hidden room.  It was this stockpile that made the family into a target.  I think it had the word 'castle' in the title but I wouldn't want to put money on it.  I know it isn't Man in the High Castle.

Any thoughts? :-*
Cheers
#130
Prog / Prog 1943: Cold Hard Kashan!
08 August, 2015, 12:33:40 PM
Well the cover by Rowland worked well for me.  Another quality piece for what is the highlight of the prog for me.  Coleby is perfect for the strip and again this is developing nicely, flicking between past and present to develop the lead character. 

Future Shock with art by John Higgins!  Reads a bit old school but works nicely. 

I think I've lost it a bit with this series of Outlier.  Going to need to go back and re-read from the start I think.  Richardson gets to let loose with a quality double spread.  Actually, thinking about it this again harks back to the good old days.

Helium lets loose with a couple of old cliches it seems that had been laid out over the last few issues.  Bit of a wordy filler compared to the action of the last couple of weeks.  Not horrendous, just a change of pace.

Judge Dredd starts channeling Game of Thrones as the White Walkers finally approach the wall.  Comedy timing from Dirty Frank:  "Dirty Frank always wants to go toilet when Judge Dredd is in immediate proximity.  But he feels safe too.  And look he gets a cuddle!"  Plus an interesting use of multiple artists for flashback.  Flint has really excelled himself though.
#131
Classifieds / GN Clear out.
07 August, 2015, 11:11:08 AM
Well, in an attempt to clear out space The following will be going up on eBay soon but on the off chance that these might be of interest I thought I'd give fellow boarders first refusal. 

Walking Dead 1 - 6, 13 - 18 ( blame Charlie Adlard! Started collecting them then he flogged me a personalised Compendium)  £3 each. 3 for £8.

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago (Dark Horse reprints of the original Marvel run)  1 - 7.  £8 each or full set for £50.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century one shots. £5 for all three.

All prices include P&P.

Thanks folks.
#132
Books & Comics / Johnny Red Book 4
16 July, 2015, 07:05:07 PM
Okay, colour me confused.  I had this preordered with Amazon who emailed a while back to say that they were cancelling the order as they had no idea when it would be printed.  This led me to believe that it was cancelled.  Needless to say this was disappointing news.  Now there is a preview / review on CBR with a September release date.  Nothing on the Titan books website and you can purchase it on Amazon for the exquisite price of £999.

So I guess my question is, does anyone have any idea what is going on with this?
#133
Other Reviews / Light and Darkness War GN
23 June, 2015, 05:00:38 PM
I always loved this when it first came out so I was chuffed that it was finally getting the GN treatment.  Fair dues to Titan they have done a nice job on it.  Same size as the original comic and the reproduction quality is on a par with the original (Epic released it on glossy paper back in the day). As seems to be a growing trend, it lacks a dustcover.   

An intro by some American Naval officer I've never heard of does give it a nice start, looking at the different way in which Vietnam veterans were treated compared to the treatment of WWII / Gulf Conflict / Afghanistan veterans which will probably help a younger audience understand some aspects of Laz's personality.  It is bookended by an article by Tom Veitch detailing development, illustrated with development sketches from Cam Kennedy and an article about the career and relationship of both writer and artist that led to the development of LADW.  All round this is a nice package.

Cam Kennedy's artwork is sumptuous and has to be some of his best.  The combination of Vietnam era military hardware and off the walls bonkers alien tech inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci just works even though it seems like it ought not to.  The only time his skills seem to fail is in the drawing of the car that Lazarus crashes at the start.  It lacks the accuracy that his military hardware possesses.

SFX reviewed this and commented that the characterisation was a bit lacking in places.  There are certain caricatures in places (the South African arms dealer) so I can see the point there.  That said, the pace of the tale and the action quotient tend to mask that out.

There are probably not many folks that have not read this on this site and I'm sure the general consensus will be that it is well worth the read.  If you have yet to read it, well, I can't recommend it enough.
#134
Film & TV / Independence Day Resurgence.
23 June, 2015, 04:39:08 PM
Okay so it probably doesn't top most people's 'please can we have a sequel / remake' list but it's out there.  CBR has an article about the movie but there was one bit that caught my eye:

Quote"Independence Day Resurgence" takes places 20 years after the events of the first film and serves as both a resurgence of the franchise and as a resurgence of the universe, as described by Emmerich. Since the events of the first film, the world has drastically changed with the formation of the new Earth Space Defense division, which has been tasked with protecting Earth from alien forces and has created man-made/alien hybrid machines from the remnants of the first alien attack.

This strikes me as slightly more than a little similar to the Scarlett Traces series by Edginton and Disraeli (the use of the leftover tec from the invasion).  That said, pretty much the whole plot of the first film could be seen as a rip off of so many other films so I guess it shouldn't even be remotely surprising that the sequel is carrying on in the same tradition. 
#135
General / Dan Dare collected edition
18 June, 2015, 09:44:54 AM
I know this has been discussed at length after the original announcement but I was wondering given the general trend at the moment if there is likely to be a bookplate edition?  The thought of a nice shiny new limited edition print by his Lordship Sir David Gibbons (well, someone get on an Knight him please!) is ever so slightly appealing. The thought was prompted by the 10th anniversary casebook volume 1 hardback which now includes a very appealing print by the Don himself (Señor Ezquerra).
#136
Prog / Prog 1934 - Warp Factor Ten!
06 June, 2015, 11:14:59 AM
This has to be the most appropriate tag line this year.  For a jumping on point  all the stops have definitely been pulled out, anyone who fails to be turned to the tooth by this is past saving, that is all I can say.

Davies' cover is a stunner for a start, twisted even for him.

Great to see Macneil back on Dredd again and a nice start to this tale by Carroll.  Glad to see him doing what he does best, focusing on the supporting characters in Dredd's world.

Absalom's back.  About blessed time, that's all I can say.  The art is definitely worth a closer look, like the graffiti in Newcastle.

Slaine, not quite my cup of tea but Mills and Davies pull me back in.

And then there is Helium.  Anything with Edginton and Disraeli is always worth a look.  Despite some brief similarities with Leviathan in places it starts off nicely.  Looking forward to seeing where this is going.  Also gets my vote for quote of the week:

"Kids!  They're like stubby half made people that you're not allowed to punch."
#137
Books & Comics / Marvel Secret Wars 2015
09 April, 2015, 06:45:39 PM
Okay, this is a bit of a guilty secret but I am a long time X-men reader in addition to my tooth addiction.  Spurrier's run on Legacy was enjoyable and All New has been a pleasant read.  What I am struggling to get my head around in light of postings at Ace comics is what is going to be going on when we hit the Secret Wars crossover.  Apparently all the titles are cancelled and we have new series with titles like X-Tinction Agenda.  I do wonder if this is going to be like the Age of Apocalypse, a series of interesting-ish titles before a return to normal programming.  Does anyone have any idea what is going on?
#138
Classifieds / Duplicate Clear Out
03 April, 2015, 04:25:48 PM
Like so many others I've collected a number of duplicates as a result of trying to complete my collection.  I'll be putting these up on eBay over the next few days unless anyone wants to make an offer on any of them.

7, 8, 11, 12, 13 £12 each
9 & 10 (issue 9 has the coupon clipped off the back cover and some tearing to spine)  £15

66, 67, 68 £4 each

71, 72 £15 each

221 & 222 £1
233 & 236 £1

217, 220, , 223, 224, 233, 238, 250-255, 257 - 294, 297-299 £1 each

301,  308 - 329, 332, 355, 359, 364,  366, 368, 377, 378, 387,
405, 412, 416-418, 421, 424 - 426, 436, 450 - 460, 481,
521 - 524, 526 - 532, 534, 535, 537 
50p each

Walking Dead Graphic Novels  1-6, 13 - 18 £3 each.
LOEG Century £3 each


Discounts on multiple purchases and postage depending on weight.

Any questions please ask.
Cheers
#140
General / Wagner interview on CBR
30 September, 2014, 06:27:20 PM
Nice little piece with a few titbits about the Christmas issue.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=55861