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Messages - Tjm86

#16
Prog / Re: Prog 2369 - Turning the World Upside Down
16 February, 2024, 07:19:26 PM
Now that The English Astronaut has finished I've gone back to re-read it.  TBH it didn't really seem to land that well.

The overall concept seems reasonable enough.  Admittedly it is a fairly well-trodden "investigating the future to prevent a catastrophe" framework, it starts out fairly soundly.  Whether the significance of the dates lies in the Whoniverse is a little unclear.  Certainly it is fair to say that there are strong links to Dr Who in the tale, parallels with UNIT and so on.

Then of course there are the cultural divergences.  Shifting from modern protest through historical schisms and into full-blown cultural-icon manifestations seems a bit chaotic.  There is a definite sense of dislocation and discontinuity in the tale.  The shape of the modern comics industry seems to take a bit of pasting in that middle episode with talks of 'porny comics' and 'fifty quid statues'.  There is also the play with the standard scientific and military types.  Archetypes that are pretty much the staple of Dr Who at times and quite a bit of British Sci-Fi to boot.  Throw in a flying saucer and a giant cat being attacked by (Sherlock Holmes / Alan Turing / Quatermass?) and it is chaotic and then some.

It's hard to figure out whether Cornell is being incredibly clever or quite lazy.  The tale closes with a character as confused as the reader.  There is no real sense of closure, is that the point though?  Major Thomas Anderson never returned home but someone has, possibly?  Is that closing scene the modern day or the time at the start of the tale?  It ends with a fairly standard "and then he / she woke up ..." that has the potential to simply negate everything that went before.  It sort of undermines the whole story to some extent.

Overall it feels overloaded as a tale.  A little too much going on and not enough thought given to getting across the central idea.  It's still a little unclear what that idea actually is.  Is it questioning the possibility of achieving change?  There may well be multiple realities but ultimately we only ever inhabit one?  Why are we fighting over ideas rather than trying to find lasting solutions?  All of these at the same time?

It's a provocative tale to be sure but perhaps not for the right reasons.
#17
General / Re: Top 3 single episode Dredds
08 February, 2024, 09:31:00 AM
I am always going to go with "Alone In A Crowd" Prog 205.  Wagner perfectly captures the claustrophobia and paranoia of living in MC1.  That almost Darwinian environment that leaves citizens constantly looking over their shoulders.  Plus, for my money, some of Steve Dillon's best work.
#18
Books & Comics / Re: Whats everyone reading?
08 February, 2024, 09:25:27 AM
To be honest Hickman's X-universe left me cold.  There have been some dire runs since Claremont quit as lead scribe.  The worst has to be Chuck Austen's run but even then there have been few runs that have inspired.  Post House of M it picked up in places but only marginally.

It really is quite difficult to figure out what is going on with this current generation of X-men.  The resurrection idea is an odd one to throw into the mix, taking away any sense of risk.  The only one I thought they did a good job on was the Excalibur reboot.  Possibly because it was totally divorced from everything else and picked up on ideas rooted in Moore's Captain Britain stuff.
#19
General / Re: Let's gossip about Nobody
03 February, 2024, 10:51:06 AM
Those are the best types of threads in these parts.

All the more fun when we stray into arcane misunderstanding territory and dairy-product approaches to iPod maintenance!
#20
General / Re: Let's gossip about Nobody
03 February, 2024, 06:51:57 AM
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 29 January, 2024, 02:20:12 PMI used to think Dan Abnett was a pseudonym for John Wagner, and that Kek W was Mark Millar. So I'd best sit this one out.

I do indeed ... Kek-W was Mark Millar .... whatever did Kek-W do to deserve such a scathing insult!!!!!!
#21
General / Re: Space Spinner 2000AD
02 February, 2024, 01:56:02 PM
Quote from: AlexF on 01 February, 2024, 10:58:24 AMNever has the wait for Red Razors coverage been so desperately anticipated

Am I the only one who reads this sentence in the style / voice of Today?  ::)
#22
Books & Comics / Re: New Comic Book Day Megathread
02 February, 2024, 01:40:50 PM
Had a quick look at that Hinterkind.  That would most certainly not be out of place in Tooth.  In fact, there are similarities with quite a few series we've seen in recent years.  Shades of Kingdom, Enemy Earth, Kingmaker, Meltdown Man (okay, maybe not so recent there!) ... It looks like its well worth a gander though.
#23
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
02 February, 2024, 01:34:40 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 02 February, 2024, 09:20:36 AM
Quote from: The Legendary Shark on 01 February, 2024, 02:58:36 AMThe Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Massacre.

That's easy for you to say.
:lol:
#24
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
29 January, 2024, 03:53:52 PM
I think IP makes an important point about media development.  There's a hell of a lot that doesn't get reported which makes it hard to judge what is going on.  Too much of what gets out is what the big companies can sell.

As for the development itself, aye, animated makes a hell of a lot more sense with the insanity of Nu-Earth.  Not sure how to feel about the fact that they've gone with Friday over Rogue but that's more about the dogs-breakfast it descended into.  War Machine was definitely a very interesting take on the concept. Hopefully that's the focus and then they'll cherry pick some of the best ideas from GFD's run as some of those would be amazing on the big (hell, even the little) screen.

Just have to wait and see ...
#25
Music / Re: Band about 2000ad
29 January, 2024, 12:12:29 PM
Aye but what was the band like?
#26
Announcements / Re: Mystery Prog & Megazine Pack
28 January, 2024, 10:42:26 AM
I'm going to take pedantry up a notch here.  "Hand picked" means that humans were involved.  This states "by droids", negating that completely.  :o
#27
Prog / Prog 2367; A New Direction
27 January, 2024, 09:30:50 PM
Prog 2367 - A New Direction?

Mr Robinson on cover duties may be slightly ironic but only for those looking backwards.

Dredd; Better World

Okay, let's start with Mr Flint on art duties.  Simple: wow! This is absolutely someone who is at the top of their game.  Possibly someone this story deserves.

Williams and Wyatt on scripting duties.  Well, there have been comments about the issues this story is dealing with.  Most specifically the behaviour of a certain type of channel and presenter.  How it influences practitioners ... "the law is impatioanl above all else".

Isn't that the point?  Maitland is completely impartial.  She follows the data.  Her approach is predicated on data.  Dredd neglects politics because his focus is on the law. Layers upon layers and then we get to Major Domo!

3Rillers: the English Astronaut

These are always a challenge.An extended Future Shock but can it work over 3 issues?  Certainly you can't fault Helsby's artwork. (Unless you are being particularly anal about military uniforms of the '50s).  Where is this going?  Hard to tell from part 1 but certainly the idea of time anomalies is in play. Does that have implications for the present day?  Good question, well posed, deserves an answer ...

Full Tile Boogie
Ocean's artwork is impressive, to be sure.  In fact there is little if anything to criticise from that perspective.  From a script point then: nope.  This is laying out the challenges the crew face: an 'ancient regime' intent on exacting retribution, the implications of clonage (gosh, I've got "Friday" on my mind ... ) and all the political ramifications.

Now this is where Regened works to my mind.  It take the sensibilities of modern mange, merges them through the punk mind-set of Tooth and then extrudes the most extreme aspects of SF (TBH I'm thinking of Heinlein right now but I also get a Reynolds' riff).

Enemy Earth. Hmmm, a. it of a Chris Carter moment here.  So all of the events to date are predicated on the 'dinosaur killer' event of yore.  Not a problem because that just laid the scene for all of the events to date.  TLDR: things are seriously hotting up.

Thistlebone.  Davis captures that seventies film-making sensibility that many of its intended audience will appreciate.  Where are things going?  Isn't that the question?  Certainly there are plenty of questions.  Isn't that the whole point though?

TBH this has proven to be a far stronger prog than many of late.  Full Tilt Boogie is one of the stronger offerings from Regened and really does seem to capture the sensibilities of Tooth.  3fillers are always hit or miss.  It's a challenge to work out whether they should have limited themselves to a FS or pushed the script to its limits.  Two more weeks to see ...

Overall though, a far better offering than we've had of late.
#28
Books & Comics / Re: Whats everyone reading?
26 January, 2024, 06:05:47 PM
Currently working my way through Heinlein's Friday, a novel that I've had sat on my shelf for a while but strangely not got round to.  I do wonder how much of that is due to the complete lack of blurb so it's anyone's guess as to what the novel is about.  As one of Heinlein's more substantial tomes, it does make for interesting reading.

So the Friday of the story is an artificial person, genetically engineered, working as a courier for some arcane agency.  Part of me is wondering whether this was in anyway relevant to Gibbons' decision to name the new Rogue Trooper Friday or that was just a coincidence but that is merely an aside.

Set in a future balkanised America, the plot revolves around the lead character's misadventures during an obscure crisis that sees her on the run and trying to get back to her employers.  The nature of the crisis is unclear but the effects are enough to make life difficult for her and involve several near misses of a potentially fatal kind.

Like much of Heinlein's writing, a lot is made of polyamorous situations.  Various different kinds of marriage and relationships feature, as does Heinlein's rather 'flexible' perspective on sexual mores (for when the novel was written).  Written in the first person it rattles along at a brisk pace, almost breathlessly at times.  It is definitely of the 'pulp sci-fi' era but quite an enjoyable tome.

One of the interesting aspects of the novel is that it is so difficult to discern where things are going.  The rather peculiar nature of the crisis at the heart of it, the fragmented nature of North American society and the speed with which Friday has to navigate the crises she faces makes for a considerable amount of unpredictability.  In that respect it is all the more intriguing a piece of work.

Personally I've always felt that Heinlein is a little under-rated as an author.  Far more attention is given over to Dick, Asimov or Clarke from that generation.  Heinlein has more in common on some levels with Dick in that his characters tend to inhabit a shady world and struggle with complex situations whereas Clarke and Asimov's characters tend to be officials or persons of influence, largely able to control events.  Admittedly his libertarianism can be problematic at times.  Overall though, his work deserves far more attention.
#29
General / Re: Best 2000 AD strips of 2023 (non-Dredd)
17 January, 2024, 07:50:25 PM
I think for me one of the big problems is that there is a tendency to think, "oh, kids love Harry Potter, we need to pull on that."  So we end up with the likes of Lowborn High which reads like Harry Potter meets Waterloo Road.  Sorry, but that doesn't work too well. 

The best strips have been bonkers or managed to find a new twist on old ideas.  Pandora Perfect captures that manic, mischievous fervour that gives the old Cor / Buster stuff a sci-fi twist and then cheerfully rams it down your throat!  Enemy Earth took the old Survival and crossed it with Day of the Triffids on steroids with a dash of Independence Day crossed with the Fly. 

The biggest disappointment with EE has been the artwork that shows so much potential but doesn't quite deliver.  Mind you, when you look back at Henry Flint's early Rogue Trooper work you wouldn't think it was the same artist who is giving us the latest Dredd strip.

There have been some good Regened issues and some quality strips in individual issues but for me the trend has been downward over the most recent ones.  I'm at the point now where I groan at the prospect rather than look forward to it.  I know I'm not the target audience  but simply looking at them as a supportive critic I'm finding that a challenge.
#30
Help! / Re: Help me Hive Mind, you're my only hope...
16 January, 2024, 07:39:25 PM
Quote from: The Doctor Alt 8 on 16 January, 2024, 02:05:53 PMDone that. also 1/ changed the fuse.
                 
                2/ changed the socket.   It's dead Jim!


Okay, have you tried kicking the living daylights out of it, hammering it with a sledgehammer, running it over with a steamroller and then dropping a low yield tactical nuclear device on it?  Then turning it back on again?