Messages

1

Other Reviews / Re: Sandman TV Series

« on: Today at 12:56:34 PM »

Only watched the first episode.

To declare my bias - I have only read a couple of random issues that I picked up for 10p in a Waterstones in 1990/91, so am not familir with the story.  I am familiar with Gaiman as a personality rther than a writer, and to be honest, I have a had to elucidate low burn dislike of him - I say this as a Tori Amos fan!

My problem with the first episode, ironically, is that it needed to be less pedestrian and more "dreamllike"?  The story feels like it needed a more fairy tale "feel" rather than a real world one?  The direction(?) seems to ground everything in the real world, but it clearly isnt any real world we know.  I feel it needed a more heightened reality vision to sell the concept? at the very least,  the stuff in the dream world and featuring dream world characters needed something to distinguish them as "not of this world" more?

Might watch the second episode, but so far, it feels like an exercise founded on them finding a guy who really fitted the main character lookwise and building from there without a clear "artistic" vision that might have sold this one on me.

2

General / Re: Space Spinner 2000AD

« on: 31 July, 2022, 10:24:12 PM »

The Meggies

Best art is Ian Gibson - While he will be around for a good while yet, this feels like a peak for Gibson we wont see again - glorious stuff

Best writer is Wagner - the prog is really hurting for lack of Wagner and despite there beng a lot of rum stuff on the Meg, having Wagner here keeps the whole enterprise classier than its component parts.

Best story is Taxidermist -  a clean sweep for Wagner and Gibson

Best year remains 1990 - while it isnt as bad a drop off in quality as over in the prog, the Megazine is also struggling a bit.  Someone needs to realise that there are too many pages to fil every week, and not enough competent artists and writers to fill those pages...

3

General / Re: Space Spinner 2000AD

« on: 31 July, 2022, 10:16:15 PM »

May be too late for this but....


SPinnies

We've gone from an embarassment of riches just a few years back to  just plain embarassment.  At least this appears to be the worst year, with the worst ever Dredd in War Games surely marking some kind of turning point, even if we cant see it yet.

Best art is a tussle between Chris Weston and Dermot Power - given Weston will go on to do better, and Power might disappear soon, I'm giving this to Power ( Though there is still "treatures of Britain" to come)

Best Writer is another two horse race - John Smith gave us Firekind, ruined by a printing screw up and an OK Tyranny Rex, but also a pretty poor Dredd in the Morrison/Millar style of the time.  Pat Mills wasnt firing on all cylinders, but Finn, Demon Killer and Flesh were at least "2000ADish", so this one goes to Pat

Demon Killer wins best story, though it isnt Slaines best time travel story. This would have been a disappointment any other year, but here I'm thankful for small mercies and great art.

Snowstorm gets the best Dredd, even though its a paper thin knock off of better Wagner/Grant stuff.  At least it has some lovely MacNeil art to distract from that.

Best year is 1984 - we are so far from the quality of that year you can barely recognise it as the same comic, which is probably why Mills feels so valuable on a relatively weak showing.

Bring on 1994!

4

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 27 July, 2022, 05:38:26 PM »

I see a Labour Shadow Minister  has been sacked for attending a Picket Line.  Glad in one way that Starmer is making my decision to leave the Party justified so quickly.

5

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 20 July, 2022, 10:52:05 PM »

I like how the BBC are reporting the Forde Report as "both sides" being toxic, rather than what it actually says which is that the Right of the Party launched an all out war on Democracy, both within the Party and without. 

6

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 20 July, 2022, 07:04:22 PM »

Standing by this and my original beleif we are looking at Truss - should have bet on it, as its the only money I'm likely to make out of her Premiership.

My guess is the Tories will play the system to make sure Rishi gets through with Liz Truss to see off the threat of Penny Mordaunt, who would be the biggest threat to Starmer, but is also the "slightly" more moderate of the top three

7

Film & TV / Re: Star Trek: Strange new Worlds

« on: 16 July, 2022, 09:18:36 PM »

Is this still behiind a paywall? 

8

Announcements / Re: Rebellion 2023 offerings.

« on: 14 July, 2022, 05:12:25 PM »

How far behind are the case files now?

9

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 13 July, 2022, 11:13:25 PM »

My guess is the Tories will play the system to make sure Rishi gets through with Liz Truss to see off the threat of Penny Mordaunt, who would be the biggest threat to Starmer, but is also the "slightly" more moderate of the top three

10

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 06 July, 2022, 09:18:15 PM »

Boris's mandate arguemtn is such nonsense - what people thoguht about him 3 years ago before he proved his critics right is not really relevant to what the here andd now is

It's like finding the Bank Manager had been embezzling funds, but going "yeah, but his job interview was amazing, best we ever had"

11

Prog / Re: Prog 2289: Shotgun Diplomacy

« on: 06 July, 2022, 08:14:44 PM »

True enough - I've heard of more people with Covid these past few weeks than for a long time.  Though it is very consistently late for the longest time before that and it's still a pain when you've stumped up front to get it early when that is increasingly not the case (and the bills still run like clockwork!). 

I've always bought a copy from the shops rather than report one missing in the past, but that was when it was a fairly rare occurrence and I was nearer a Smiths on a daily rather than a weekly basis.  First World problems (Homeworking benefits outweight that particular downside!), but annoying nonetheless.

12

Prog / Re: Prog 2289: Shotgun Diplomacy

« on: 06 July, 2022, 07:12:22 PM »

No prog for me.... I'd normally pick it up from the shop, but if it doesnt turn up tomorrow, I'l be contacting Subs - cant see why the subs are so much worse now than during the pandemic?

13

General / Re: Forthcoming Thrills - 2023

« on: 06 July, 2022, 07:09:38 PM »

Indeed - thats a good image that is totally unused, but For Thargs Sake, recolour it!  Blue costume AND blue eyes!!

I would rather the Vol 1 of the 2000AD years was just Galaxy Killers, Journey Into Hell and any Specials stuff (Night of the Blood Freaks?)

Vol 2 would be progs 178 to 199 & Specials
Vol 3 would be Portrait & Specials
etc etc

Sell me more!

Can I be really nerdy and say that I hope that isnt the cover

Stront has distinct phases costume wise - Galaxy Killers and Journey Into Hell Alpha has double small shoulder pads; Death's Head through to Gronk Affair he has more bulbous helmet and left pad; Moses through to Rage he has the three band pad shown here...

Given that the new hardcover of 'The Son' has a classic Johnny from circa Death's Head era, I think you're waaaay out of luck there!

14

Film & TV / Stranger Things 4 *SPOILERS*

« on: 04 July, 2022, 06:27:17 PM »

So, now its over, what did people think of it? SPOILERS**

I thought it was pretty good - characters were fine, though Mike remaained as whiney and useless as previous series.  Loved Eddie and leaning into the Satanic Panic I thought was a good call.  ST is trying to do what Chibnall did with its gay charcters with its metal characters, though.  Dont have a problemw with Eddies demuse, but it could hvve been more meaningful - in what way is he the hero?  Or his death part of that heroism?  If he had kept running, he would have kept the bats occupied longer AND survived - I see the theme they were gonig for, but it lose something in the execution - shame after the Master of Puppets scene.

The ending I didnt grock at all.  OK, so 11 brings ax back from clinical death and reverses the gates opening - but Max is now comatose and her mmind is a blank when 11 tries to look... Then the gates silently open back up a coouple of days later... not so much a cliff hanger as a head scratcher.  Feel liek they';d have been better not having  a fake out "happy ending"  if that's where they were going to leave it?

Overall, I enjoyed it, but it still suffers with a lot of weak story telling that I've come to expect from modern TV.  How did Papa create a "chip" to block Ones powers? How does he know all about how Ones papers work now: "he takes all their memories" How would he know?

How did the Russians transport all those Demogorgons and such to Russia if they didnt have a way to subdue them?

I kind of wish they hadn't gone with the disaster ending - I know theres only one season left, but they were stretching credibility last season by writing everything off to a "Mall Fire" - was there also a hospital fire?

15

Games / Re: Warlord Games’ 2000AD System Creator Interviews

« on: 02 July, 2022, 10:23:56 PM »

Doh!

that seems the most obvious, even if it isnt tht much of the comics - robot vs robot action

I'm incredibly curious how an ABC Warriors game will work from the perspective of antagonists - will it be set on Mars?  If so, who are the big villains that you could put into the game?  If you set it in Nemesis times, then that makes that easer, but better to just make it a Nemesis game?  The Black Hole? 

Intriguing

Volgan war?