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Those are items of sheer beauty.  This thread needs to be renamed to "The 2000ad Original Art Torture Thread!"  Envy does not even begin to describe ....

Fair point.  This has strayed into the politics thread so maybe we are now in the Threadjacking thread ...

Also the air strikes in Syria / Iraq had been going on a lot longer than the image of Aylan Al-kurdi on the beach.  The effect was, you correctly note, to escalate the campaign.  Unfortunately a lot of the lessons of the twentieth century regarding conflict against a disbursed, poorly equipped opponent seem to have been ignored.  It is worth remembering that the only successful action of this kind was in Burma and the reason for the success was the Ghurkas.  The French engagement in Indochina in the fifties and early sixties is probably more reminiscent of what is happening now, with the added complexity of an opponent that is not geographically bound.

Ultimately though isn't that what ISIS are after?  Provoke outrage and knee jerk reactions to show that they are right and that Western Civilisation needs to be conquered?

On the subject of Bloody Sunday, I do wonder at the parallels with My Lai.  An atrocity committed by young men, poorly led and completely out of their depth.  Involved in a conflict that they should never have been involved in to begin with.  This is not to say that their actions were justified but as Tordelback says, 'not one jot learnt from ... history' and ultimately some poor bar steward of a squaddie is in the line for a murder conviction.

With the best part of forty years worth of Dredd it is not going to be difficult to fill 80 volumes.  In fact the challenge is going to be deciding which of the best is going to be left out.  Sorry but I find it difficult to justify the inclusion of what is generally considered dross in a 'mega collection' that is supposed to showcase the best.

I think Crusade's been confirmed as being in the collection, sadly.

Seriously?  Why?  I mean, is this a story that has any redeeming features?  Austin's art is okay but goes nowhere towards redeeming a part of Dredd history that should be expunged from memory.

All those Titan volumes. I was set to pick those up at one point, but gave up when the first went out of print and rapidly became insanely expensive. I'm surprised Titan hasn't reprinted them.

There seems to be something about Dan Dare reprints that makes them hard to get - one of the first things I did when I first got regular internet access was try to fill the gaps in my Hawk Books collection, only to discover that would possibly set me back thousands even though I was only missing three.

Better grab this one quick, before it starts to transcend the laws of mathematics or something.

It seems to go in phases.  A few years back a single Hawk Book would have set you back the best part of £100 with some very peculiar peaks (Terra Nova trilogy was quite scarce / expensive for a while).  I keep my eye on prices just out of curiosity and they seem to have dipped.  Troutmark in Cardiff have had a fullish set for the best part of a year now.  I asked how much the Reign of The Robots Volume in the window was going for and was told it was £45.  This is similar to what I've seen on eBay for a while.  Having flicked through the Titan volumes I would go for the Hawk volumes any day but then I had the advantage of picking up quite a few when they first came out / were not quite so in demand.

What would be great, and I think I've mentioned this previously / elsewhere, would be if they then reprinted the Eagle 80's stories with Ian Kennedy's spectacular artwork.  That NBC suited soldier cover has to be one of the greats.

[Shade, The Changing Man]

Bachalo I can see is a much more accomplished artist than I remember from Shade, The Changing Man days (I've been 'away'...). Beautiful stuff.

Strangely, for me Bachalo peaked in the early to mid 90's (around the time of the Death mini-series' and his initial stint on Generation X / Generation Next).
Having Mark Buckingham as his regular inker at the time probably helped mind you...

I've always felt the same.  I tried his Steampunk series but I found it too heavy on the eye.  A bit like Clint Langley.  It is gorgeous to look at but a sod to read.  The colouring doesn't always help either.

Please let this happen:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/09/lego_saturn_v/

AMEN!

...when you have to explain to a sci fi fan who either Chris Foss or Harrison were.

I would say that if they don't know the answer then they are not true fans!

Pardon my ignorance but fourth volume of what?

Titan had been reprinting Johnny Red from Battle just as they did with Charley's War.  They have done three volumes so far but have stalled at the moment.  If you haven't had the pleasure then these cannot be recommended highly enough.

... you start to talk about the Cold War and have to stop for 5 minutes to explain what communism is.

... you quote Blackadder / Red Dwarf / Monty Python and they look at you clueless.

.. a minor conflict you served during is part of a GCSE history textbook.

instead of a 3riller, it's a 3-roller.

Okay, it's not one of the best.

Said it would be a head slapper!  I'm with Echidna on that one ....

This week's Droid life ....

Sorry, this one got me.  I just know I'm going to be going with the forehead slap when it finally clicks but at the moment 'I got nuthin!'

Is the FCBD Dan Dare in this volume or was it a stand alone new strip?

It is.  I think they put that in as a demo to whet the appetite. 

It is worth reading for Belardinelli's and Gibbons' art alone.  The stories have stood up reasonably well all things considered.  As with a lot of Dare from the original Eagle, through tooth and the eighties Eagle to the recent Virgin strip there are bits and pieces that stand out better than others and this collection is no exception.  It has to be remembered that this is from the era where it was still aimed more at children than adults and it does show on occasion.  Overall though, especially if you haven't read it before, I'd say go for it.

[I have purchased every FCBD issue]

Really shitty news, I have purchased every FCBD issue since its creation and enjoyed them all without exception, in fact they were the only ones I actively sought out avoiding all the Marvel/DC rubbish!
I can only hope that the decision is reversed for the following year!

Dude! I think you've been stung there.

Only 99p from Disposableheroes.com, so I don't begrudge them! 

For some it is the only option.  The other of course being Eamonn's sterling signed special (for charity).