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Messages - Tjm86

#31
Help! / Re: Help me Hive Mind, you're my only hope...
13 January, 2024, 03:54:58 PM
Quote from: The Doctor Alt 8 on 13 January, 2024, 04:13:50 AMThanks again NapalmKev.


Now my microwave combi oven has stopped working (Yes I've changed the fuse AND tried using different sockets)

Ah, but have you tried turning it off and then back on again?


<ducks ....>
#32
News / Re: Sad News about John M Burns
01 January, 2024, 10:35:24 AM
f***!  Unfortunately this is going to become a tad more common considering the pedigree of some of our favourite artists.  :(

An amazing talent and a gracious man.
#33
Help! / Re: Help me Hive Mind, you're my only hope...
31 December, 2023, 11:03:20 AM
Please do not make any hasty decisions Doc.  I would completely agree with you regarding the advice you have received.  However well intentioned it might have been, it misses so much about how much your mother meant to you.  Let us know when the crowdfunded is set up.

Have you spoken to Citizen's Advice and Shelter?  It sounds a little like your caring responsibilities have limited your employment options in recent years, would that be fair to say?  Also, has your mother left a will of any kind?  Is there an official executor of her estate?  Have you spoken with the landlord?  These would all be relevant to how best to proceed.

Make sure you are taking care of yourself too.  We're here for you if you need anything, even if it is to sound off about things. 
#34
Megazine / Re: Meg 463 - Mega-City’s Skull Cracker!
27 December, 2023, 08:39:27 AM
Well, I would suggest checking out the last Battle series Rebellion put out if you've not already done so.  Definitely worth it and there's another one due next year.  Not only was Ennis on fine form but he has started to pull together a wider team of writers to give it legs.  Some bloody good stuff there.
#35
Off Topic / Re: The Black Dog Thread
27 December, 2023, 08:36:39 AM
Isn't it nice to know how competent these companies can be?  :-\ Not sure they appreciate how much of a challenge dealing with a letter like that can be.  Anyone would freak out at something like that, especially when they wrap it up in heavy-handed legalese as well ... "If you do not pay the full amount within 5 minutes of this letter being posted through your door we will send in the bailiff to take full payment in a manner that will make Shylock look utterly reasonable ..."

Wish we could offer more than best-wishes and support.  Would say that if you do think of anything specific that would help then please sing out.  In the meantime, keep on updating up with your situation and know that there are folks out there that do give a damn about you and want to see you get on.
#36
Books & Comics / Re: Whats everyone reading?
24 December, 2023, 07:33:24 PM
Having started a re-read (well, partial and then finishing off the series) of Patrick Tilley's Amtrak Wars, I have to say it does end in a very odd way.  ISTR reading somewhere that Tilley was considering a new series to follow this up before he passed away.  Certainly I can see why as there are more dangling threads than a teenager's ripped jeans.

It's definitely brain candy overall.  Nothing particularly deep and in some respects the characters are even shallower.  Describing Steve Brickman as a tw** is probably fairly accurate.  Certainly he comes across as incredibly narcissistic and opportunistic.  Then again so do half the characters.

The racism that permeates the series can also be a little hard to swallow at times.  This is especially true of those parts of the storyline that take place in the territory of Ne-Issan which seems to account for a substantial part of the series.  It's not just the strictly hierarchical society that is described but also the way many of the Japanese characters are portrayed.  As time goes on it does become a bit wearisome.

What is most peculiar though is that at the heart of this series is some sort of prophecy about a super-being that is going to unify the Plainfolk, a sort of hybrid American-Indian / African-American offshoot of the gang survivors of the distant holocaust.  For a plot device that seems to be central to much of the action, the fact that it is left unresolved in the final novel is baffling.

I suppose if it were not for the fact that it such an easy read and right now I just need something that is not going to engage my brain too much, I doubt very much I would have bothered.  Certainly compared to Fade Out and Mission, these are very poor fare.
#37
Announcements / Re: 2000 AD - The Ultimate Collection
22 December, 2023, 02:34:55 PM
Dead Men walking goes back a bit.  One of Cook's earliest pieces.  Mash up of a prison movie and a zombie movie IIRC.  Not bad as these things go.  A one and done.

ISTR Kingmaker being left on a bit of cliffhanger with unresolved threads.  Mind you we've only just had the next volume of Helium and some of us are still waiting for Tully and Gibbons to finish off a Dan Dare story from 40 odd years ago ...
#38
Other Reviews / Re: Johnny Red - The Hurricane
22 December, 2023, 11:03:48 AM
Quote from: Barrington Boots on 21 December, 2023, 11:03:44 AMOne of the reasons I think this is so good is because Garth Ennis obviously loves Johnny Red so this is written from the perspective of a fan to have all the stuff that makes a great story. Tough action, dogfights, johnny being stoic, Von Jurgen being the noble baddie, Yakob, Vorishkin and Nina, it's all there. The artwork is just amazing especially for the aerial battles.

This is the second outing for me as I picked up the series including its variant covers when it first came out.  Some great work by Ian Kennedy, Carlos Ezquerra and Mike McMahon, as well as Burns' covers.

On the flaws in the tale, aye, it's hard to argue with these imperfections.  His love for the genre and for Battle in particular do come through in this and a lot of the other work he has done of late.  The Battle / Action mini-series Rebellion has just finished is a cracking read, the Johnny Red tale is one of the highlights though.  If you've not read it yet then I would highly recommend it.

Ennis' maturity is definitely a strength compared to some of his earlier Tooth and Preacher stuff.  I would say his run on Hellblazer is probably the closest I've come to something comparable to his War Story strips.  The ones he did for Vertigo were spectacular.  What they all seem to show is that freed from the constraints of the sensibilities of the comic industry circa 40 odd years ago, there is incredible mileage in a more honest approach to war stories.

When you think about it, Charley's War is probably the closest they came to the sort of honesty that is needed.  It captures the nuances, the complexity, the brutality and the discrimination that existed at the time.  Mills got away with it by researching the hell out of it and skirting around issues at times whilst making sure they couldn't be completely ignored.  Plus an amazing artistic talent to bring his vision to life.

Ennis doesn't need to worry about those problems so much now.  There's far more recognition of these issues for a start, plus an appetite for this type of tale.  There's certainly no shortage of talent either.  Plus the work caters to a far broader audience.  This is no longer a "children's" genre which helps.

BTW - if you've not yet had a chance, I'd also recommend "Stringbags" which he did with PJ Holden.  A cracking book and well worth a look at the fliers of the Fairey Swordfish!  The other one I would recommend is "American Eagles" which is illustrated by our own Coleby.  It looks at the Tuskegee Airmen but also at the wider issue of race relations in the states.
#39
Quote from: Richard on 20 December, 2023, 04:00:15 PMSince 2000AD is now no more futuristic a name than 1977AD, can we just rename it Galaxy?

Get thee behind me Satan!!!!!!!!
#40
Books & Comics / Re: DC 'Crisis Events'
19 December, 2023, 09:03:53 AM
I suppose with not having much experience with the characters in question, it didn't really mean all that much to me.  Then again, it was also very much a 'refrigerator moment' in terms of plot devices so I take your point.  Not read much DC of late but then I've pretty much given up on American comics as far as current stuff is concerned.

Moving back to Infinite Crisis, a re-read of Day of Vengeance.  One thing I've always felt DC do well is their magic stuff.  From Hellblazer through Sandman and Swamp Thing to Books of Magic (the original mini-series), there does seem to be a bit of a maturity to it that Marvel often lack.  In terms of DofV, this holds to a certain extent.  It does descend into standard Superhero fare but by and large it treads the more interesting tracks of the DC verse.  The idea of the Spectre on the rampage, decimating the coherent structure of magic, probably makes a lot more sense to someone better versed in DC history but as a relatively experienced reader it worked as an interesting story.

Having worked through all the linked mini-series, it was now time to retackle Infinite Crisis itself.  So much of it made far more sense now.  Clearly this is a weakness of this 'event'.  If readers need to dig back through a good couple of years worth of storylines just to make sense of events then something is going wrong.  At the very least there needs to be a helpful guide to point readers in the right direction and give some sense of important events.  Why is Batman so paranoid, what the hell are the Omacs, what is the problem with Wonder Woman, who is this 2nd Superman ... too many questions that need answering to follow the story.

That said, once these problems are overcome, it's okay as these events go.  Perhaps a little overloaded with the Rann-Thanagar War, the Omac crisis, Spectre going bonkers and several alternate Luthors, one of whom is trying to destroy the multiverse to create one perfect Earth.  Then you add in a psycho Superboy.  Yep, a little too busy really.

Maybe that's the real problem here.  Things got out of hand, overly ambitious.  The end result is a mediocre read rather than something impressive.  Where Crisis on Infinite Earths is still held in high regard decades later, I'm not sure this is going to last as well.  Given the ambivalence folks have towards Zero Hour, I'm still undecided on whether it is worth a punt ...
#41
Off Topic / Re: The Black Dog Thread
15 December, 2023, 07:04:19 AM
Quote from: Jade Falcon on 14 December, 2023, 06:23:29 PMNow I've got my ex-work at me claiming they overpaid me.  Which considering I still had holiday entitlement I doubt.  They said I owe them £24 and that If I don't pay they'll take it to a 'collection agency that will add charges'


Well if nothing else, ask them to provide proof of the debt, how it is calculated and what it is for.  Also ask them for details of the holidays you took and your total entitlement.  Any outstanding entitlement should have been paid with your final salary so if it isn't there, they are in debt, not you.

TBH I had something similar when I left the RAF.  The mattress I was issued was in an almighty state but the block corporal didn't record that so they tried to charge me for it.  I argued with them, refused to pay and nothing ever came of it.

The amount they would have to pay a collection agency far outstrips the debt in question so I'm a little baffled that they are wasting their time and money.  Then again, as you say, this is a company that invokes double speak to pretend to be a quality employer (stop that laughing at the back!)
#42
Some cracking stuff there.  Would say on the Tooth front you need to add in the early Rogue Trooper stuff.  Some absolutely amazing artwork from the likes of Gibbons, Kennedy, Ewing and Wilson, plus some absolutely batshit crazy stuff going on. If you enjoy that you will love Jaegir.
#43
Help! / Re: Help me Hive Mind, you're my only hope...
13 December, 2023, 04:01:02 PM
Aye, thoughts and prayers with you all at this time.  If there is anything we can do then please just shout. (or make Tardis noises ...)
#44
Not sure how it feels having a Christmas prog as a continuation prog like this.  It doesn't quite scream 'special' in the same way really.  That said, there are some quality tales here to make up for things. 

Niemand and Foster's Dredd strip pays more attention to Rico than to Dredd himself although arguably as the Dead Man makes an appearance it could be argued that he is there, albeit in spirit / hallucination form.  Rogue Trooper is another strong one although possibly more because of Coleby's artwork than the strength of the story itself.  Both are stand-alone tales which does help although in both cases they draw on old material.  Not necessarily a critical flaw but it's possible readers less familiar might find the tales less satisfying.  Anderson is another tale that works well but lacks something to really lift it.

Would have to agree with Fink on Azimuth.  The artwork is top-notch even if the story is now straying more and more into matrix territory.  We'll just have to see where things go.  I'd also have to agree with the position on Stront.  A bit of a mixed bag and the sudden shift in artwork threw me briefly.  Certainly it is true to Johnny's character as we've seen countless times through the years.  He's always been one to stand up against bullies and this was no exception.

Helium is just rattling merrily along as the world is expanded once again.  D'israeli's artwork is as sumptuous as ever as Space Battleship Yamato makes an appearance!  Cue another plot twist. 

As for Enemy Earth.  Not sure why this has turned out to be as disappointing as it has.  That early glimpse was exciting and intriguing.  Somewhere along the way it seems to have lost things.  Whether it is this 'alien threat' direction or the artwork, I'm not sure.  Perhaps I need to go back and try again, see if I can recapture that lost appreciation.

Devil's Railroad is one that just hasn't really captivated right from the off.  Nothing really specific to put my finger on, as with EE.  I guess it is just one of those types of stories that I don't connect with.

Rounding out with Feral and Foe though, things are as chaotic as ever.  This whole series has kindled a far greater appreciation of the strip with plenty of humorous nods to D&D.  It's also helped that some of the expectations about characters have been upended as the tale has progressed.  Bit of an info-dump episode but executed well ...

Overall then, a reasonable Christmas prog but not one of the strongest. 
#45
General / Re: Forthcoming Thrills - 2024
07 December, 2023, 08:01:11 PM
Oh my word, now that is a thing of beauty.  At last Rebellion is getting its head round the sort of treatment some of this material deserves.  That Scream volume is 'screaming' (sorry) for my hard earned groats ...