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Topics - The Legendary Shark

#1
Creative Common / Judge Dredd - Lockdown
28 February, 2024, 10:37:21 PM

This is the last Dredd script Bolt & Co. accepted from me.  :'(

It was written in 2020 during the Lockdown (remember those crazy, dreamlike days?) when I wondered how Judge Dredd would fare under similar circumstances. The excuse for throwing the unlockdownable Judge Dredd into lockdown seemed to flow quite naturally from my previous story, which was nice.

~~~^~~~

Judge Dredd

Lockdown

20~~~^~~~20


(NB: This story follows mjh_JUDGE_DREDD_014_who_goes_there_v1.3.txt)


PAGE ONE (4F)(NO TITLES).


PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE:

Justice 12, a little banged up, comes in to land at a Justice Department aerospace port. It is descending into a subterranean quarantine pit (QUARANTINE PIT JDASP-02/06). The pit is an isolated cylinder cut into the ground, which will be sealed off by a heavy door or set of doors once the ship to be quarantined is inside.


DREDD (FROM JUSTICE 12)                        How long?

CONTROL (JAG)                                  Mandatory twenty-four hour minimum, Judge Dredd - plus indefinite extension if anyone shows symptoms.

DREDD (JOIN)                                    Hmph.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Dredd, Joseph. Senior Judge, Street Division, Mega City One. Priority.






PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO:

Aboard Justice 12, flight deck. The ship has landed. The pilot, Judge Hendry, talks into a comm. In the co-pilot's seat is the grizzled Judge Tutor Carpenter. Judge Dredd stands behind them, between their seats, arms folded, in charge. Grumpy. (Dredd should be rock-solid throughout this strip, anchoring it down, impervious to and unmoved by the action around him.)

HENDRY                                          Confirming power down and systems slaved, Control. J12 out. /  That's it, Sir, we're down safe.

DREDD                                          Okay. Disembark.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Assessment Report Sixteen, Auth. Code Zero One.






PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE:

In the rear of Justice 12, Judge Dredd oversees the group of cadets (Nikki, Margaret (top class cadet), Scotty, Douglas (steadfast), Dykes, James (athletic), Erickson, Robert (unsure), Barnes, William (reckless), Stern, Eduard (Dredd wannabe, on a gurney – he was infected by a John Carpenter's The Thing in the last story, but was treated in time to save him; perhaps we never see him, just glimpses of weird shapes and the expressions of anyone who looks at him), and Chapman, Sally (fearless)) as they disembark. Also disembarking, somewhere, are Med Judge Carrington and the four civilian survivors from the last episode. They are all carrying the cold weather gear they were wearing in the last story. No need for details – just giving you a cast list to choose from.

DREDD                                          Relinquish all weapons. Stow your gear in the lockers. Move directly to de-con. Cadet Nikki, take point.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Report begins:







PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR:

The cadets have disembarked Justice 12 and are giving their equipment to two Med Division Quarantine Specialists, Judge Pete Cork and Judge Dud Pour, who fill specialised trolleys with their weapons. (We never see their faces or their bodies, just their clumsy, oversized, slightly comical, slightly cartoonish, heavy-duty haz-mat suits.) Med Judge Carrington is organizing the survivors (you can either get rid of the survivors through a 'Civilians' door or use them for set-dressing), the cadets organise Stern's gurney. Hendry and Carpenter disembark together. Dredd is last off. (All this detail is just so you know what's going on – use what you need, when you need, if you need.)

HENDRY                                          What am I supposed to do for twenty-four drokkin' hours?

CARPENTER                                      Paperwork, for me. Scores. Evaluations. Reports.

HENDRY (JOIN)                                  "Flew to Antarctica. Got exposed to plastimorph. Crashed. Flew back."  Done. Now what?

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject visibly annoyed by quarantine, but remains pragmatic.





######






PAGE TWO (5F).


PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE:

Dredd strides past Pete and Dud with no intention of giving up his Lawgiver – or anything else.

PETE                                            Sir... technically I should take your weapon too...

DREDD                                          Unnecessary. Carry on.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Well, for the most part.







PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO:

The landing bay now empty, Justice 12 is blasted by sterilising chemicals and pinpoint lasers while cleaning robots go aboard.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject passed through decontamination process without incident. No indication of enjoyment, not even subconscious cues.






PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE:

Dredd is the first to stride out of the De-Con Unit and into the Quarantine Suite, still pulling up the zip of a fresh uniform (including shiny new helmet) and barking into his helmet mike.

The Quarantine Suite is a spacious but Spartan, functional room with Spartan, functional furniture (bunks, couches, tables and chairs, small galley, three med-pods, head, a few computer terminals, no windows, cctv (with subtle flashing lights) and sensors everywhere). This is the room in which Pete and Dud, seven cadets (one in a med-pod), Judge Tutor Carpenter, Med Judge Carrington, Judge Pilot Hendry, and (maybe) four civilians, will be cooped up for twenty-four hours. With Judge Dredd. There's no need to get all this in – just setting the scene so you can pick and choose what you need when you need it or, of course, invent something better.

DREDD                                          Admin? Report!

ADMIN (COMMS, JAG)                              Ah... On its way, Sir. Ten, maybe twenty... Problem with access, Sir – your personal office has pretty high clearance and the adjutant I sent over...

CAP (REPORT)                                    Manner initially brusque but controlled.






PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR:

Judge Tutor Carpenter approaches a neat stack of files placed on one of the tables, tagged with his name. The sight pleases him. Hendry follows Carpenter, glum and gloomy – like a teenager denied a hot date. Dredd's in the background, trying not to lose his patience with Admin. Maybe Med Judge Carrington's supervising the cadets as they wheel Cadet Stern towards one of the med-pods with the help of Pete and Dud. (Again, just scene-setting, everyone's basically just settling in.)

CARPENTER                                      Ah, good! Grud bless Admin!  Can't wait to write this up – they learned a lot.

HENDRY                                          If you say so. / Who's Dredd so pissed at?

CAP (REPORT)                                    No urge to micromanage, shows trust in the competency of his group.






PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE:

Pete and Dud are examining and preparing Cadet Stern before putting him into the med-pod. Med Judge Carrington and the rest of the cadets stand ready to help. Again, I don't think we should actually see Stern, just bits of him (some of them perfectly normal and some of them absolutely not normal), or just the expressions on the cadet's faces... But, it's up to you – you're the artist so, whatever works!

PETE                                            Those protuberances might be a problem... And the fronds... But i've definitely cured worse. / Right, Dud?

DUD                                            Definitely, Pete. / He'll squeal a bit, though.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Side note – Possible weakness if properly, and carefully, exploited.





######






PAGE THREE (6F).


PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE:

Things have settled down to a routine. Pete and Dud fuss over Stern's med-pod, Carpenter goes through his files, Hendry is super-bored, Med Judge Carrington is reading medical reports at a terminal and Judge Dredd has a large box of files on his desk and another three boxes on the floor – he is working through them at a fair lick. The cadets are amusing themselves with impromptu unarmed combat practice. Maybe the four civilians (the rescued scientists) are playing D&D. Out of all that, the focus of this panel is Carpenter and Hendry. Carpenter has paused over a written report, pen in hand, to ask the super-bored Hendry, sat at the same table with his open-mouthed head thrown back, a question.

CARPENTER                                      Chapman shot the dog, right? After Barnes missed?

HENDRY                                          Oh Gruuuuuuud get me out of here.

CARPENTER                                      Why don't you read some technical updates, or something?

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject sees no need to impose his will on the group...






PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO:

Focus on Med Judge Carrington, studying his screen – a technical paper on  plastimorphic infections. If you need a title, something like Plastimorphic Infection Inhibition Factors, Chapter 16: Neo-Morbidity. (Or not, maybe a detailed diagram of a plastimorphic (John Carpenter's The Thing) cell... Or something... so long as it's technical and complicated.)

HENDRY (OFF, JOIN?)                            Pfa! "Widget 38b-7 Mkiii has been superseded by Widget 38b-7 Mkiv. Operation and functionality unchanged." Which means that when whatever it is breaks it'll be replaced by something exactly the same but made by another company.

CAP (REPORT)                                    ...content to leave his colleagues to their own devices...






PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE:

Focus on the cadets, practising unarmed combat in an area they've cleared of furniture (or maybe an in-built exercise area or something).

HENDRY (JOIN?)                                  It's meaningless. All the real technical info comes from pilots.






PAGE THREE, FRAME FOUR:

Focus on Pete and Dud, in their ludicrous heavy-duty haz-mat suits, tending to the mysteriously afflicted Cadet Stern's bio-pod. Maybe a comedic scene.

HENDRY (JOIN?)                                  Take Justice Twelve, for instance. Another pilot told me she was twitchy.

CARPENTER (OFF)                                That why you crashed it?






PAGE THREE, FRAME FIVE:

Focus on Hendry, waffling on. Carpenter, back to his writing, is only half-listening.

HENDRY                                          No, that was all me, Carps.      Well, the tentacles didn't help. Thanks, by the way.

CARPENTER                                      No sweat.






PAGE THREE, FRAME SIX:

Focus on Dredd, from Hendry's point of view. Dredd has paused in his paperwork to give Hendry (us) a hard stare. Hendry's monologue peters out, getting smaller until it's gone. (The letterer can decide at which point it's best for the speech to become illegible, whatever looks best.)

HENDRY (OFF)                                    No, "twitchy" means that her controls are unusually... sensitive... and you... have to be... gentle...  with...  her...

CAP (REPORT)                                    ...for the most part.





######






PAGE FOUR (5F).


PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE:

Each frame on this page I am going to say focuses on Judge Dredd – but takes in the activity throughout the Quarantine Suite - sat stiffly at his desk, doing paperwork and fielding calls from Control on his helmet mike or desk-comm. The other activities in the Quarantine suite are the only real movement (Hendry walking around mega-bored, the cadets amusing themselves with training and quizzes, maybe some shenanigans with Pete, Dud and the mysteriously afflicted Cadet Sterns, Carpenter getting synthi-caff and a bun, Carrington doing the rounds and taking notes, maybe the four civilians lounging about or having larks), with Dredd rock-steady at the centre. Have a play with it. (It might be a good idea to consult with the letterer on the layout of this page.)

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put him through. / Liaise with Dep-Chief Migdalski, Sec-Ho Six. He's got Wallies on the brothers. /  Sure. Dredd out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject's drive for activity apparent throughout.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO:

Dredd.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / No. Dredd out.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME THREE:

Dredd.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put her through. / Got it. Access my personal D.B., search key Riley, S. I'll have control flash you access. / You too. Dredd out.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd is annoyed at this call.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put the creep through. /  I ain't listenin', Max. You owe me five – if you're lucky. / Uh-uh, Max, you played me, an' that ain't done, got it?  /  No deals, Max, no promises. If this is bogus...






PAGE FOUR, FRAME FIVE:

Dredd back to work.

DREDD                                          Control – Dredd. / Units and Tek support to Dock 16, Pier 12, EZS Marlene Degaulle. Reactor violation, possible Euro-Dem involvement.  /  Tip-off. Could be nothin'. /  Roger that. Dredd out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Even in relative stasis, the subject is... relentless.





######






PAGE FIVE (5F).


PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE:

24 hours later. The quarantine is over. The doors have opened and everyone is standing to attention (even Cadet Stern is back to normal, if a little queasy) so Dredd can formerly dismiss them.

CAP (REPORT)                                    The remainder of the quarantine period passed without incident.

DREDD                                          You cadets scraped an okay. Flight crew too. / Crew dismissed.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject adhered to protocol, controlling his impatience.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO:

Everyone leaves the Quarantine Suite, Dredd will be the last one out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    First in, last out. Admirable, in a stale kind of way.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE:

When the Quarantine Suite is empty, Dredd pulls the latch to close the door behind him. A cctv camera light, watching Dredd, is flashing.

CAP (REPORT)                                    The subject is a curious mix of irresistible drive and immovable self-control, but shows limited intelligence, relying on the perceived power of his reputation.


SFX (FLASHING CAMERA LIGHT) (IF NECESSARY)      BIP BIP BIP






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd looks at the cctv camera, noticing the light is flashing.

CAP (REPORT)                                    My review of this latest footage reinforces what we already know.

SFX (FLASHING CAMERA LIGHT) (IF NECESSARY)      BIP BIP BIP

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject remains unsuitable for repli-replacement at this time, pending further data points.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE:

Dredd rides away from  Justice Department Aerospace Port 2 on his Lawmaster, back out into the City.

CAP (REPORT)                                    But we have time, My Brethren, and our o-port into their systems.

DREDD                                          Control / Patch me through to P.S.U. /  Flickering cam-indicator. Just a hunch. Could be nothin'.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Through stealth, guile, and superior logic, we will steal this ludicrous city from beneath these fascists' ignorant noses...





######






PAGE SIX (1F)(TITLES).


PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE:


Judge Dredd, flanked by two other tough street judges (with a Tek Judge bringing up the rear, if there's room), kicks a door in, Lawgiver at the ready, spoiling for a rumble. Inside the room is a small band of aliens and lots of very lifelike human suits and masks and judges' uniforms. Professional infiltrators! The Big Cheese, the alien who's been recording the report, is sat at a console reviewing cctv footage from the Quarantine Suite (maybe a pile of VHS tapes and player – a really antwacky system?), currently showing the camera's view of Frame Four from the previous page (P5). The microphone, attached by a wire to an ancient cassette recorder, hangs forgotten in the Big Cheese's hand. This conspiracy has just come to an abrupt and (for the aliens) completely unexpected end. (You can, of course, break this page into more frames if it's easier.)

BIG CHEESE                                      ...replacing them, one by one, until, for the most part...

SFX (DOOR)                                      KERRASH

BIG CHEESE                                      ...Oh Norge...

DREDD                                          Dream's over, Creeps! Back up against the wall!

STRAP:                                         The End.



#2
Creative Common / Judge Dredd - Who goes There?
21 February, 2024, 09:23:18 PM
This one is close to my heart. It's one of the last two Dredd scripts commissioned by Zarjaz before the unthinkable happened. It's a love letter to one of my favourite films and it breaks my heart that I'll never see it in print. Still, this is the next best thing, right?

So open the popcorn, dim the lights, and enjoy...


Judge Dredd

Who goes There?

20~~~^~~~20



NOTE: THIS STORY FOLLOWS ON, 160 YEARS LATER, FROM JOHN CARPENTER'S 1982 FILM, 'THE THING,' SO, IF NOTHING ELSE, IT'S A GOOD EXCUSE TO WATCH IT AGAIN FOR RESEARCH!



PAGE ONE (4F)(TITLES).


PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE:

Justice 12 flies through an Antarctic rad-blizzard.

CAP                            Antarctica, winter 2142.


CONTROL (JAG)                  Control tzzzustice twelve, reading increasedsszzz zzzzssst...

HENDRY (FROM JUSTICE 12, JAG)  Control, please repeat... Control? Control, respond.





PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO:

Aboard Justice 12, flight deck. The pilot, Judge Hendry, talks into a comm. In the co-pilot's seat is the grizzled Judge Tutor Carpenter.

HENDRY                          Hendry to Dredd, long-range comms down. Rad-blizzard.  E.T.A. two minutes.


CARPENTER                      Concise. Excellent.


HENDRY                          Well, Carps, you know The Chin – not one for small talk.





PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE:


In the rear of Justice 12, Judge Dredd addresses a group of cadets (Nikki, Margaret (top class cadet), Scotty, Douglas (steadfast), Dykes, James (athletic), Erickson, Robert (unsure), Barnes, William (reckless), Stern, Eduard (Dredd wannabe), and Chapman, Sally (fearless)). Also aboard, somewhere, is Med Judge Carrington. They are all in cold weather gear. No need to get them all in – just a cast list for you.)


DREDD                          Give me a standard search grid. Cadet Nikki, take point. Still no contact with the survey team so stay sharp. Weapons authorised.





PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR:


Justice 12 lands on the ice. The rad-blizzard is easing.

DREDD (JOIN)                    Cadet Erickson, that means safety off.





######





PAGE TWO (6F).



PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE:


Justice 12 has landed and Judge Dredd, Med Judge Carrington at his shoulder, leads the cadets out into the rad-blizzard. The cadets know what they are doing – already fanning out. Carrington is reading a med-scanner, Dredd and all the cadets have their Lawgivers in their hands.


CARRINGTON                      Maybe something north-east, three hundred metres... coming this way...

DREDD                          What?

CARRINGTON                      Can't tell. Too much interference.





PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO:


A dog comes running out of the easing rad-blizzard. Bullets slap into the snow around it from an unseen gunman.


SFX (GUNSHOTS, OFF)            BAM BAM BAM


SFX (BULLET IMPACTS)            PAFF PAFF PAFF






PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE:


Ignoring the dog, which keeps on running, Dredd aims his Lawgiver in the direction of the gunshots. Carrington and some of the cadets are throwing themselves to the ground.


DREDD (JAG)                    Cease fire now, Creep!






PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR:


Dredd runs into the rad-blizzard towards a Lawgiver gunshot.


SFX (LAWGIVER, OFF)            B'DAM

DREDD                          Drokk!








PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE:


The rad-blizzard has almost petered out altogether. Cadet Eduard Stern stands over the body of a dead civilian scientist, Lawgiver still smoking. The dead scientist's brains are scattered on the snow and his rifle is still in his hand. Dredd has just arrived.


DREDD                          Cadet Stern?


STERN                          He was shooting at you, Sir. In my judgement...





PAGE TWO, FRAME SIX:


Is Dredd furious or disappointed? Cadet Stern certainly can't tell.

DREDD                          Get back to the ship, Stern. Turn your Lawgiver over to Judge Tutor Carpenter and await instructions.





######






PAGE THREE (3F).


PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE:


The Big Reveal! The frozen remains of MacReady and Childs from the end of John Carpenter's The Thing. Med Judge Carrington is scanning the bodies. The rad-blizzard has passed and the sky is clearing.

CARRINGTON                      Great. All this way for hundred and sixty year old ice-rubes. They couldn't have mentioned that?





PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO:


Dredd senses danger.

DREDD                          Our jurisdiction, our problem regardless... That smell...






PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE:


Carrington is concerned by a reading on his scanner.


CARRINGTON                      Oh stomm... Dredd, there's traces of alien d.n.a. here...






######






PAGE FOUR (2F).



PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE:


A John Carpenter's Thing lunges out of a snowdrift at Dredd, who is bringing his Lawgiver to bear. The Thing is Classic Thing – all heads on stalks and bits of dog and men and monsters, teeth and claws and tentacles and eyes and fronds and slime and all that good stuff!


DREDD                          Drokk! Plastimorph!

THE THING                      eeeeeeeeeeeeee!






PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO:


Dredd fires an incendiary round at the Thing, engulfing it in white-hot phosphor flames.


DREDD                          Hot-shot!

SFX (LAWGIVER)                  B'FAM


SFX (PHOSPHOR FLAMES)          WHOOMPH

THE THING                      eeeeEEEEEEEEGH!





######






PAGE FIVE (5F).



PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE:


Dredd barks into his helmet mike. The Thing is little more than smouldering charcoal.


DREDD                          Dredd to all - Standard plastimorph protocols. Search by twos, Lawgivers to incendiary. Cadet Nikki, coordinate and control.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO:


Aboard Justice 12, Hendry is firing up the engines. In the co-pilot's seat, Judge Tutor Carpenter is excited.


CARPENTER                      Damn! No two Snowcone Runs are ever the same, eh!? This'll be great experience for them!

HENDRY                          Yeah, if they live through it. Hendry to Dredd, you coming back aboard?






PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE:


A hologram of Dredd's head on Hendry's console.


DREDD                          Negative. Take off and purge the area, standard scan and burn. We'll deal with this location.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR:


Justice 12 takes off.

HENDRY (FROM JUSTICE 12)        Roger that.

CARPENTER (FROM JUSTICE 12)    Cadet stern! I Told you to...






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE:


Justice 12 wobbles in the air.


CARPENTER (FROM JUSTICE 12)    ...Oh Jovus Grud Almighty...


THE THING (FROM JUSTICE 12)    eeeeeeeeeee


HENDRY (FROM JUSTICE 12)        Stomm! You've gotta be drokkin' kiddin' me!*






######






PAGE SIX (4F).



PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE:


Later. It's all over. Carrington and Dredd stand over the remains of Childs and MacReady. The cadets are burning Things on pyres like 20 year veterans. They've even managed to save four shell-shocked members of the civilian survey team (Turman-Foster Co).


CARRINGTON                      Guess these two dealt with this lot all those years ago. Guess you'd call 'em heroes.

DREDD                          Guess you'd call 'em dead. Make sure they get burned with the rest.   

DREDD (SHORT JOIN)              Dredd to Justice Twelve, come in.






PAGE SIX, FRAME TWO:


More or less the same as the last frame, emphasising the fact that this all seems routine.


COMM (HENDRY, JAG)              Sorry about that, Dredd – We kinda' crashed. Wasn't bad but it took us a while to get the antidote into Stern. Two or three days and a really good plastic surgeon, he'll be fine.

COMM (HENDRY, JOIN)            Couple more sites to lase – be with you in ten.






PAGE SIX, FRAME THREE:

Justice 12 has landed on the ice and the cadets are helping the survivors aboard. Dredd will be the last to embark.


DREDD                          At the double, cadets! We got other places to be!






PAGE SIX, FRAME FOUR:


Justice 12 flies away, over a clear and beautiful Antarctic vista.


COMM (CONTROL, JAG)            MC1 Control to Justice Twelve, reading you back on grid. Any problems down there, Dredd?


DREDD (FROM JUSTICE 12)        Negative, Control. Just a routine thing.



STRAP:                         THE END.


* This line was added by the Zarjaz Editorial Team, the only change requested :-)
#3
Creative Common / Does my (a.i.)art look big in This?
23 January, 2024, 09:32:37 PM
#4
Creative Common / Judge Dredd - Flowers
07 June, 2023, 08:15:11 PM
Judge Dredd
Flowers
~~~^~~~





PAGE ONE (5F)(TITLES).


PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE:

MC1. The aftermath of a firefight with a mutie gang. The muties, six or seven of them, are all dead except one, who is dying. Dredd, bullet wounds in his leg, flank and arm, is struggling to get up, using his Lawmaster for support.

DREDD:     Nnh... Dredd to Control; scratch that raiding party. Meat wagon to Mises and Rothbard.

CONTROL (JAG): Roger that. Do you require med-assist?

DREDD:     Negative. Nn... I'll ride to Sec-Ho...





PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO:

Med Judge Anjo enters the scene, giving Dredd only a cursory glance and tossing him three med-packs while she heads for a dying mutie to render aid.

ANJO: Oh stop whining. You'll be fine.

DREDD: Whining?

ANJO: One still alive here, Control.





PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE:

Anjo scans the dying mutie with a medical scanner.

ANJO: Easy there, handsome. I'm a med judge, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?

ANJO: Unfortunately, though...





PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR:

The mutant will not survive. Anjo has found something important in the data on her scanner. (In the background, Dredd is applying the med-packs to his wounds.)

ANJO: Holy drokk...

ANJO: Where do you come from?

MUTIE: Whu... what? Help... Help me... Please...

ANJO: I can't, you're too far gone. Answer me, quickly, and I promise you'll be you buried – not sent to Resyk.






PAGE ONE, FRAME FIVE:

Anjo questions the mutant, who answers as he expires in her arms.

MUTIE (DYING): Th... thank you. I'm... hnnh... from... Radiacja... out by... by... Weaver's C... annhhh...*

DREDD (OFF): What the drokk? Are you out of your mind? Have him buried?






#####





PAGE TWO (6F).


PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE:

Anjo calls in her find, simultaneously pointing at Dredd, who has finished applying the med-packs and is preparing to mount his Lawmaster.

ANJO: I lied.

ANJO: Anjo to control, i've got something. Flash it to Med-Department immediately. Priority Green Two.

CONTROL (JAG): Roger that. Stand by.





PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO:

Anjo adjusts the dials on Dredd's med-packs. Dredd is an impatient patient.

ANJO: Why do you street judges never read the damned instructions?

ANJO: Wounds like this heal better at seven – takes an extra minute at most and doesn't leave a scar.





PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE:

Anjo receives her orders from control and, already walking away from Dredd to her Medmaster bike, motions Dredd (who is not happy) to follow.

CONTROL (JAG):     Control; data verified. You have a Go for retrieval, depart immediately, Priority Triple Red, over.

ANJO: Understood. Anjo out.

ANJO (JOIN): Dredd, you're with me.





PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR:

As Anjo rides away, Dredd turns the dials on his med-packs back up to level 10 (MAX) as he calls control.

DREDD:     I'm with...? Hhhrrrrh.

DREDD:     Control, what the Hell's going on?

CONTROL (JAG): You are ordered to render Med Judge Anjo any and all assistance – Priority One command.





PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE:

Unhappy with his orders, Dredd rides off after Anjo.

DREDD: Understood, Control. What's this about?

CONTROL (JAG):     Sorry, Dredd, Med-Div eyes only. You'll have to ask judge Anjo, this is her show. Control out.

DREDD: Hmph.





PAGE TWO, FRAME SIX:

Dredd and Anjo approach one of the City Wall gates, where a group of five more Lawmaster mounted street judges have just assembled in readiness.

ANJO: Come on, Dredd, keep up. No time for idling.

DREDD: Idling? Damn it, Anjo...

ANJO (JOIN): And this is a Medical-Division operation, understand? While it lasts, you address me as Sir, Ma'am, or Judge.





#####





PAGE THREE (6F).


PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE:

As they ride out of the city into the Cursed Earth, Dredd, pulling alongside Anjo, demands to know what's going on.

DREDD: Okay, Ma'am, what the Hell is this?

ANJO: That mutie had pollen in his system from Boletus Necare. We've been searching for a viable cloning source for years.

DREDD: Anjo, I swear to Grud...





PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO:

Dredd is far from happy at the answer he gets from Anjo.

ANJO: It's a kind of flower. Now come on, let's shake it!

DREDD: A... flower...?





PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE:

Six days later, the group of judges, now looking a little the worse for wear, arrive at the neck of a canyon. A crude hand-written sign calls the place "WEAVER'S CANYON. POP - 0 (COSS ITS A CANYON, DUMMY)"

CAP: Six days and nights' hard riding later...


ANJO: Readings are spiking, Dredd. We're definitely close.

DREDD: Anjo, wait! That canyon's a perfect ambush point!





PAGE THREE, FRAME FOUR:

Anjo doesn't stop, despite Dredd's warning, and hurtles into the canyon.

ANJO:              So, keep me covered. It's what you're here for, isn't it?

DREDD:     Grud damn it!

DREDD (JOIN): You heard him! Form up and stay sharp!





PAGE THREE, FRAME FIVE:

Muties begin firing on the judges from the canyon tops. The judges all fire back, except Anjo – who is too intent on her goal to even draw her weapon.

SFX: VARIOUS WEAPON SOUNDS, AS REQUIRED.





PAGE THREE, FRAME SIX:

Anjo rides on, ignoring the firefight going on all around, protected by Dredd and the other judges.

ANJO: Nearly there! Come on, men, we're close! I can smell it!





#####





PAGE FOUR (6F).


PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE:

At the far end of the canyon, Anjo has stopped her bike and is scanning towards a low hill in the middle distance. Dredd and the rest, some injured, are speeding to catch up. Dredd is very angry but quite controlled.

DREDD: Okay, Anjo, I've had enough of this!

ANJO: You and me both, Dredd – and didn't I order you to address me as 'sir'?





PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO:

Dredd is chewing Anjo out but Anjo isn't listening. She's pointing towards the low hill.

DREDD: I'll address you any Grud-damn way I please, Anjo. You're reckless and you're putting us all in unnecessary danger. I don't care what...

ANJO: Your concerns are noted, Judge Dredd.

ANJO (SHORT JOIN): That way.





PAGE FOUR, FRAME THREE:

Leaving a thoroughly grumpy Dredd in his dust as the other judges arrive, Anjo speeds off towards the hill.

DREDD:         Hn.

JUDGE:         Jovus – is this gal an asshat or what? Makes me feel like a damned cadet again...

DREDD:         Stow it. Asshat or not, she's the judge in charge here – and you're on one for insubordination.

DREDD (JOIN, SMALL):     Damn it.





PAGE FOUR, FRAME FOUR:

Anjo has parked her Medmaster at the top of the hill and dismounted, carrying several empty sample cases, as Dredd roars up in a cool mood.

ANJO: We've found it! My Grud, Dredd, look at it!

ANJO: It's... Beautiful!





PAGE FOUR, FRAME FIVE:

The plain at the bottom of the hill is carpeted with countless beautiful flowers (a bit like daffodils). Anjo is handing Dredd a sample box but Dredd is not going to be picking any drokking flowers!

ANJO: Here, help me.

DREDD: Oh no, Anjo. Not a chance.

DREDD (JOIN): You pick – I'll keep watch. That's what I'm here for, right?





PAGE FOUR, FRAME SIX:

As Anjo fills her sample boxes, Dredd spots a mutie raiding party roaring towards them in the distance.

ANJO: Suit yourself. You know what these are, Dredd? A cure! A cure for stage three Grubb's, fungetigo, Mush-Face Syndrome and Grud knows what else!

DREDD: Best hurry it along – we're about to have company.

ANJO: These beauties will save tens of thousands of lives!





#####





PAGE FIVE (6F).


PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE:

The sample boxes full, Anjo places them all in Dredd's care.

ANJO: Here. Get these to safety.

DREDD: Anjo...







PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO:

Anjo gives Dredd his orders. Dredd doesn't like it but, technically, this is Anjo's show and he has no choice.

ANJO: No questions, Dredd. I've done my part, now you do yours!

ANJO: You're better equipped to get this lot back to the city than I'll ever be. I'll hold 'em off – you go!

DREDD: Grud-damn it, Anjo, I will not...





PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE:

Anjo rides off, Lawgiver finally in hand, to confront the mutie raiders, leaving Dredd and the other judges to take the precious boxes back through the canyon to Mega City One.

ANJO: You will follow your orders, Judge Dredd!

ANJO (JOIN): Now get the Hell out of here before I put you on a charge!





PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd and the other Judges hurtle through the canyon again, taking fire and firing back, again - but this time with more success.

SFX: VARIOUS WEAPON SOUNDS, AS REQUIRED.





PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE:

Back at the canyon entrance, safe again, Dredd passes the sample boxes he's carrying to another judge and orders the group to keep going.

DREDD: Here, take these. Stop for nothing, clear?

JUDGE: What about you?






PAGE FIVE, FRAME SIX:

Dredd rides back towards the Canyon, leaving the others to make their own way back to the city.

DREDD: I have a... Judge to recover.





#####





PAGE SIX (5F).


PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE:

Back in the city, some time later. Dredd, mostly out of uniform, wearing several med-packs and a scowl, carries something we can't yet see through a brightly sunlit and busy Med-Division hospital.

CAP: Six more days and nights' hard riding later...





PAGE SIX, FRAME TWO:

Deeper inside the hospital, Dredd, still carrying something we can't see, enquires where Anjo is. The nurse on the reception desk is startled at what Dredd is carrying.

DREDD: Med Judge Anjo?

NURSE: I.C.U. Suite One-Four-Six. Third Level...

NURSE (JOIN): Oh my...





PAGE SIX, FRAME THREE:

Dredd walks down a corridor towards Anjo's room. Everyone who sees what he's carrying is as startled as the nurse on the reception desk was.





PAGE SIX, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd enters Anjo's room. Anjo is unconscious, extensively wounded and hooked up to all kinds of healing devices. Dredd is carrying a bunch of flowers – the type retrieved from the Cursed Earth.

DREDD: Don't know if you can hear me Anj... Ma'am, but Med-Div says these... flowers of yours are the real deal.





PAGE SIX, FRAME FIVE:

A vase by Anjo's unconscious form now contains the flowers. They've been stuffed into the vase rather roughly. A card attached reads, in Dredd's no-nonsense handwriting: MISSION A SUCCESS. REGARDS, DREDD.

DREDD (OFF): Just stopped by to say...

DREDD (OFF, JOIN):     Hmph.

DREDD (OFF, JOIN):     Good job, Judge Anjo.


STRAP: THE END.
#5
Creative Common / Strontium Dog - Baster
22 February, 2023, 07:40:36 PM

Strontium Dog

Baster
20~~~^~~~23





PAGE ONE (5F)(TITLES).

PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE:


An alien agricultural countryside (the planet Ballagh), quite high up, atop a hill, quite flat below and beyond. We are on the edge of an antlerpod (a kind of pumpkin with two antlers growing out of the top) farm that has been looted and razed to the ground – but I want to reveal that slowly so, for now, we'll concentrate on P'Itt, an alien farmer, as he carries a spade to the site he has chosen. On clear days, this spot will afford an excellent view of the rolling countryside below. Today, however, is a dark, dreary, misty, rainy dead cat of a morning. The ground is all muddy. The antlerpod field is hard by. (Dotted about the countryside, as you see fit throughout the story but fairly unobtrusive, billboards proclaim vast swathes of farmland as belonging to Baster Inc., with maybe even his portrait on some of them.)


PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO:

P'Itt drives his shovel into the ground.

SFX (SHOVEL):              SCHLACK


PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE:

A human hand, covered in mud, grabs out from the antlerpods.

P'ITT(IN ALIEN LANGUAGE):  AAAH!


PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR:

P'Itt swings the shovel at Johnny Alpha (for it is he – buck naked and covered in mud), who blocks the attack easily if weakly.

ALPHA:                      UFF!


PAGE ONE, FRAME FIVE:

Johnny throws the shovel away, he is exhausted, beaten and bloodied and covered in mud, doesn't want to fight.

ALPHA:                      HN.  ENOUGH.


###


PAGE TWO (6F).


PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE:


Alpha can hardly sit up.

ALPHA:                        YOU... HUHN... YOU GOT A SAW, BUDDY?


PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO:

P'Itt notices that each of Johnny's ankles has been shackled and padlocked to the end of a heavy chain, at the ends of which drag large iron balls...


PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE:

...which have left a double trail in the mud and antlerpods as far as the eye can see.


PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR:

P'Itt takes a small device, about the size of a cigarette lighter, from his pocket.


PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE:

The device is a pocket laser knife. The laser-blade (like a mini-lightsabre) is very small, about the size of a toothpick, but cuts through the padlocks with ease.


PAGE TWO, FRAME SIX:

P'Itt looks up as he cuts through the second padlock, hatred on his face.

P'ITT (IN ALIEN LANGUAGE):      BASTER!

ALPHA (OFF?):                  YEAH.


###


PAGE THREE (6F).

PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE:


Free of his shackles and beginning to regain some of his strength but still covered in mud, Alpha stands – unsteadily – and accepts a canteen of water from P'Itt.

ALPHA:                      MUCH OBLIGED, FRIEND.


PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO:

Having drunk, wiping his mouth and handing the canteen back to P'Itt (who wants Alpha to keep it), Johnny has a pressing concern. Johnny sees the full horror of what happened here but we, as yet, cannot.

ALPHA:                      I CAN SEE YOU'RE...          BUT...            YOU GOT ANYTHING I CAN WEAR?


PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE:

A little later. Johnny, with a plastic fertilizer sack taped to each foot and a hessian feed sack serving as a chest and modesty (just) covering jerkin (and maybe a hat made out of another bag), and the canteen P'Itt gave him, Johnny is ready to go and holds out a hand to the alien. P'Itt thinks Johnny wants to shake hands.

ALPHA:                      ONE LAST THING, BUDDY.          NO.  LASER.


PAGE THREE, FRAME FOUR:

Johnny tests the little laser blade, smiling.

ALPHA:                      DON'T WORRY.        I'LL BRING IT BACK.


PAGE THREE, FRAME FIVE:

Johnny walks back the way he came, following the trail he left in the mud. P'Itt watches him go, having picked up his shovel again.


PAGE THREE, FRAME SIX:

P'Itt resumes digging.

SFX (SPADE):                SKLETCH


###


PAGE FOUR (6F).

PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE:


Night. P'Itt has finished digging six graves; one for his father-in-law, one for his mother-in-law, one for his wife and three smaller ones, for his children. Labour completed, he leans on his shovel for a moment, maybe smoking a cigarette or a pipe, gazing off into the clear, star-spangled distance.


PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO:

P'Itt is dazzled by a sudden bright light.


PAGE FOUR, FRAME THREE:

Just over the horizon, in the direction Johnny went, something like a small nuclear bomb has gone off.


PAGE FOUR, FRAME FOUR:

P'Itt drags his father-in-law's bloody body to its grave as the horizon burns.

SFX (FROM THE DISTANT EXPLOSION, DEEP, LOW):        BHOOUMMM


PAGE FOUR, FRAME FIVE:

P'Itt cannot contain his tears as he drags his wife's body to her grave against a smouldering horizon.


PAGE FOUR, FRAME SIX:

P'Itt sits, inconsolable, by the smallest grave, unable to stop hugging the body of his youngest daughter – probably best wrapped in a clean, white sheet for modesty's sake. The horizon is dark now. Just shadows and stars.


###


PAGE FIVE (6F).

PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE:


Morning. A beautiful, clear, sunny, idyllic morning. P'Itt is trying to carve inscriptions into the flat sides of split logs. (The alien hasn't marked the graves with wooden crosses but with wooden rectangles to symbolise the doorway to the Next Room.) The inscribed logs go at the feet of the now filled-in graves. P'Itt is having trouble with the carving – the wood is hard, his only tool is a broken and jagged old chisel and his hands are cut and bruised. He has just cut himself again due to the distraction described in the inset.


PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE INSET

In the distance, an oddly-shaped explosion – like a rugby ball stood on its point girded by two concentric rings of hot gas.

SFX (ODD EXPLOSION):                    PAFFT

P'ITT(IN ALIEN LANGUAGE):              OW! (AND THEN A SPIKY ALIEN SWEAR-WORD)


PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO:

Sucking on this new cut to his hand, P'Itt spots a hover bike approaching, still some distance away, kicking up a dust.


PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE:

It's Johnny Alpha, legendary Search/Destroy agent. He's back on top. Back in his own clothes, tooled-up, the sneckin' winner, Baby. He's riding a heavy-duty hover bike laden down with captured weapons and boxes of interesting 'confiscated' stuff. There are also many bags strapped to the bike (each one containing a human head).


PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR:

Alpha has stopped the bike but not dismounted, not too far from P'Itt. He throws P'Itt a neatly tied bundle.

ALPHA:                                  SORRY, BUDDY.    AN' THANKS.


PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE:

The bundle has spilled open at P'Itt's feet and contains; the sacking 'clothes' Johnny left the farm in, all neatly bundled up and tied with string, the water canteen and laser P'Itt gave him and the head of Baster, looking startled, along with a digital warrant reading OFFICIAL S/D PHOTO-WARRANT. BASTER, REET. DEAD OR ALIVE. REWARD: Cr 1,500,000. Johnny is already riding away.


PAGE FIVE, FRAME SIX:

P'Itt throws the head after Johnny and shouts a very rude alien word.

P'ITT (IN AN ALIEN LANGUAGE):          (A VERY RUDE AND PRICKLY WORD.)


###


PAGE SIX (4F).

PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE:


In tears, P'Itt takes up the small pocket laser knife (maybe a gift from his wife, though I don't know how you'd convey that), cradling it in his sore and bleeding hands.


PAGE SIX, FRAME TWO:

P'Itt is happy to see the laser still works. We've pulled back a little, following behind Johnny but still looking back, and are starting to see the ruined, still smouldering farm buildings.


PAGE SIX, FRAME THREE:

Baster's head, still looking startled, lies in the road, gazing at nothing. Maybe a crow or some alien equivalent is taking an interest. Behind the head we see more of the farm and the first inklings of the crosses.


PAGE SIX, FRAME FOUR:

Johnny riding at us, Baster's head and the farm dropping away behind. We can now see the hideous, bloodstained crucifixes in the front of the ruined farm – three adult-sized and three... much smaller. Alpha looks grim.



STRAP: THE END.
#6
Links / Taschen art books Sale
04 February, 2023, 07:22:31 AM


February 02–05
25–75% Off Display Copies
while stocks last


Some really tempting stuff on the list, including Spider-Man and Star Wars.



#7
Website and Forum / I like the new Look!
02 February, 2023, 01:12:06 PM
I've just spent a pleasant half-hour or so rummaging through the new look forum and I think it's pretty Zarjaz.

Well done, team, you deserve an extra oil break for this - but Tharg probably won't allow it, miserable robo-enslaver as he is!

(However, I do miss the "Active Topics" page.)

#8
Creative Common / A.I. Art
26 January, 2023, 12:32:31 PM

Artists accuse Adobe of tracking their design process to power its AI.  "A curious setting in Adobe Photoshop's privacy preferences has the artistic community on edge this week."

#9
Events / 2023 - The year we make Contracts...
01 January, 2023, 01:47:34 AM

Happy new year, everyone.
I wish you all the very best of fortunes over the coming year.
Sharky
xxx

#10
Film & TV / Boldly Going, in General...
06 December, 2022, 08:40:11 PM

I thought I'd start a general Star Trek thread because a) Trek is awesome, 2) there isn't one , and Γ) Trek is awesome.

I haven't watched an entire series of classic Trek for ages because, to be frank, it gets to be a chore. That's not to say I'll never have a DS9 or TOS binge again, but for now I just like to dip in from time to time. And I have to admit that I haven't done this in a while, either - being too distracted by the shiny new final frontier. Tonight, however, I felt moved to dip back in and chose the Voyager season five two-parter, Dark Frontier.

It's episodes like this that make me love Trek so much. It basically boils down to the Captain not giving up on Seven, who rejoins the Borg Collective, and risking it all to save her. Yes, yes, I know it's all bollocks but it's profoundly aspirational. I for one would love to live in a society where nobody is ever abandoned, and that the well-being of the individual is the responsibility of the collective. (And there's also the delicious moral ambiguity of staging a heist in the first place...)

And speaking of Voyager, has anyone else been watching Prodigy? Kate Mulgrew reprises her role as both Admiral Janeway and a holographic training instructor to a group of enslaved kids who find a Federation starship to escape in and their adventures thereafter. It's animated and I'm finding it quite charming, as good as Lower Decks in its own way.
#11
Judge Dredd

The Action of the Tiger

~~~^~~~



PAGE ONE (4F)(TITLES).


P1F1

Somewhere in Mega City One, exterior, night. A large terrorist bomb is exploding, ripping several judges and many citizens to shreds. Judge Dredd is caught at the edge of the blast, which is throwing him and his Lawmaster through the air.

CAP:                        Mega City One, 2142AD.  Democratic terrorist cells wage constant war against the beleaguered Justice Department.

CONTROL (OFF, JAG):         Control to Dredd! New intel – it's a trap! Back off! Repeat...

SFX (EXPLOSION):            KRAKKA-KOOOM

CAP:                        Mega citizens, however, get no vote on where the bombs are placed...


(somehow try to fade from this frame to the next to indicate a passage of time during which both Dredds are unconscious – if that's practical...)

++++
   
P1F2

A dark, large 'training arena' filled with rubble and ruins. (I imagine this training area as a large portion of semi-destroyed City which has been encapsulated inside a dome – but it could easily be a section of the Undercity. It's up to you, so long as it's sealed-off from the outside world. There are cameras and speakers dotted unobtrusively around the place.) Judge Dredd (*actually a copy of Judge Dredd*) recovers his senses. His uniform is battered and torn, Lawgiver and badge missing. He has one hand on his damaged helmet, trying to push through a massive headache. He's using his other hand to push himself off the rubble-strewn floor.

DREDD:              Uuh... Dredd to Control.          Control, respond.               Damn it.

++++

P1F3

On his feet now, but still a little unsteady and using some ruined structure for support, Dredd assesses his situation. He is feeling weak and off, and his eyesight isn't working properly.

DREDD:              Dredd in the blind.  Blast must've thrown me into some derelict area. Don't recognise it.      Eyesight impaired. Concussion.     

++++

P1F4

Dredd reacts, slightly too slowly, to a burst of gunfire aimed at him. Most of the shots miss but one pierces his side, leaving a bloody but non-fatal wound, and another grazes his arm. The voice of FreeDem Commando Captain Zeeroks comes over the speakers.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):   B-Team - you're up!

SFX (GUNFIRE, AS REQUIRED):     BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM

DREDD:                          Ngh!  Drokk!   Control – taking fire!

++++
++++

PAGE TWO (5F).


P2F1

Trainee and youthful FreeDem Commando Cadets, the first two of a group of six, leap at Dredd out of the darkness and shadows. Dredd, not at his best, reacts too slowly and is punched (or kicked) in the face.

COMMANDO #1:                    Here we go, boys!     Take him down!

DREDD:                          Hnkh!

++++

P2F2

Dredd manages to twist or dive away from this fierce assault, receiving more blows in the process. (The FreeDem Commandos are not using their guns but attacking Dredd with clubs and knives.)

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):   Remember your training, recruits! And be alert – this one's a tiger!

COMMANDO #1:                    Ha! Too easy!

++++

P2F3

Resisting a welter of blows, Dredd snatches up a length of metal pipe (or something) from the rubble...

DREDD:                          Nnf... Only warning, creeps – back off! Now!

++++

P2F4

...and uses it to fight back, braining one of his assailants, Commando #2.

DREDD:                                  Okay, have it your way...

SFX (STRIKE TO COMMANDO #2'S HEAD):     KRAKKCH

COMMANDO #2:                            Aargh!

++++

P2F5

The tables have turned. Dredd, still in a weakened condition, fights back like a wounded tiger, taking out two more Commandos.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):           You're not impressing me, recruits!

DREDD:                                  Me neither.

++++
++++


PAGE THREE (5F).

P3F1

Dredd is victorious, if even more battered and ragged. The six Commandos lie dead or dying at his feet as he throws away the metal pipe (or whatever) he's been fighting with and calls out to the unseen Zeeroks.

DREDD:          I recognise your voice, Zago Zeeroks of the so-called FreeDem Army.  Sending juves to do your dirty work. Surrender now or face the consequences.

++++

P3F2

Dredd recovers two guns from the downed Commandos, one in each fist, snarling at the voice of Zeeroks coming from the speakers.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):                   You have no authority over me, fascist puppet.

DREDD:                                          We'll see about that, creep.

++++

P3F3

Six more Commandos attack from the shadows. These ones are better than the first six, more seasoned and better armed, this time attacking with guns. Dredd receives another non-fatal gunshot wound but fires back with his captured weapons – one in each hand.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):               Alpha-Team - he's all yours.

DREDD:                                      Too chickenstomm to face me yourself, huh?

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):               I only fight real men, puppet!

++++

P3F4

The first of Dredd's shots miss or cause only superficial damage to the attacking Commandos.

DREDD:                                      Damn it... aim's off.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):               Remember, recruits, he's been weakened for training purposes but he's still dangerous!

++++

P3F5

By the time Dredd's shots start to take the Commandos out, including Commando #3, they are almost on him.

DREDD:                                  You'd better believe it, numbskulls!

COMMANDO #3:                            Rush him! Aargh!

++++
++++


PAGE FOUR (6F).


P4F1

Dredd has killed all but two of the Commandos, who grab him and try to push him to the ground whilst wrestling with his guns.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):                   Imbeciles! This exercise was designed to be easy for you! It wasn't even armed!

++++

P4F2

Dredd manages to shoot one of the remaining two Commandos as they push him over backwards whilst kicking out at the other's face.

SFX (GUNSHOT):                                  BLAM

SHOT COMMANDO:                                  No... Aaah!

++++

P4F3

The last Commando, knocked senseless by a boot to the face, falls over backwards in a spray of blood and snot and teeth but manages to hold on to Dredd's other boot, which comes off in his hands.

SFX (KICK TO FACE):                             SMATCH

LAST COMMANDO:                                  Uhk

DREDD:                                          What the...?

++++

P4F4

Dredd, now very much knocked about and down on one knee catching his breath, is once more victorious. All the Commandos are dead or dying. Dredd is taking his boot from the dying grasp of the last Commando. Something about the boot concerns him.

DREDD (SMALL):                                  Oh. Right.

ZEEROKS (FROM SPEAKERS, JAG):                   All my recruits. Damn you, puppet. Damn you to the deepest Hell.

++++

P4F5

The looming, battle-scarred figure of FreeDem Commando Captain Zeeroks emerges from the darkness. Zeeroks is armed but all his weapons are still holstered or slung – he wants a fist fight.

ZEEROKS (JOIN?):                                So be it. Guess I'll have to take you down myself.    Got any fight left in you, puppet?

++++

P4F6

Dredd, on one knee, head spinning, body exhausted, drops his weapons and makes no move to attack.

DREDD:                              Fighting is illegal, citizen. I recommend you turn yourself in immediately.

++++

PAGE FIVE (5F).


P5F1

In a large Justice Department dormitory, filled with sleep pods and all the activities surrounding them, Judge Dredd (the real one) sits up in his sleep pod, having just awakened. He has a splitting headache, which concerns the Sleep Chief, Med Judge Indra.

INDRA:                              Problem there, Judge Dredd?

DREDD:                              Headache. Some kind of dream-loop during the sleep cycle.   Kept re-living a bomb blast from last night.

++++

P5F2

While Dredd puts his shoulder pads etc. back on, Indra checks the sleep pod.

INDRA:                              Hmm. That shouldn't happen. Let me just check the...              Oh Grud...

DREDD:                              Problem, Sleep Chief Indra?

++++

P5F3

Indra, concerned, makes her report of unauthorised technology secreted in the pod.

INDRA:                              There's a neural duplicator in here. Somebody just remotely copied your mind!

DREDD:                              Who?

++++

P5F4

Dredd, now fully back in uniform, or pulling on his final piece of equipment, issues orders. He is not pleased. Indra is not pleased either.

INDRA:                         I... I don't know.  But, by Grud, when i find out...

DREDD:                         Trace the signal, Indra. I'll leave the investigation here to you. Keep me informed.

INDRA:                         Roj. Control – I want an immediate red-one level diagnostic on all sleep machines and a deep trawl on all accesses in the last month...

++++

P5F5

Dredd rides his Lawmaster away from the Sector House in which the dorm is located, several other judges (also on Lawmasters) follow him.

CONTROL (JAG):      Control to Dredd. Signal pinpointed, details sent. Auxiliary maintenance tech Jum Jumber in custody. Confirmed FreeDem Army connections.

DREDD:              Roger that. On route.

++++
++++


PAGE SIX (6F).


P6F1

Back in the 'arena.' Zeeroks, his fists bloodied, stands over the unresisting form of the copy of Judge Dredd, who is down on his knees; beaten, bashed, bruised and bleeding but unbroken. Zeeroks has not noticed the real Judge Dredd's Lawgiver pointing at the back of his head.

ZEEROKS:                        Fight me, damn you! Why won't you fight me?

SFX (LAWGIVER):                 KLIK

DREDD (OFF):                    Because it's illegal, Creep.     Surrender. Now.

++++

P6F2

Judges take Zeeroks away while the real Judge Dredd, with a couple of others looking on, watches the copy struggle to his feet.

ZEEROKS:                        Damn you, Dredd!  You can't do this! It's not even real!

DREDD COPY:                     Judge Dredd. Tried to keep him here as long as I could after I realised.

++++

P6F3

The copy of Judge Dredd makes his confession while the real Judge Dredd checks his Lawgiver.

DREDD COPY:                     Took me too long to figure it out, though. Guess I ain't as sharp as the original.

DREDD COPY:                     I plead guilty to twelve counts of murder, impersonating a judge and being an unauthorised neural copy housed in an unlicensed clone.

++++

P6F4

The copy stands ready to be executed, unafraid. Dredd pauses before firing.

DREDD COPY:                     Request immediate exec... Check That – Immediate deactivation.

DREDD:                          Granted. How you want it?

DREDD COPY:                     Thorough.

++++

P6F5

Dredd executes the copy with three deadly accurate shots – two to the chest and one to the head.

DREDD:                          As a clear and present danger to the City, and for your confession, I hereby sentence you to death.

SFX (LAWGIVER):                 B'DAM B'DAM       B'DAM

++++

P6F6

Dredd walks away, leaving the other judges to tidy up.

CAP:                        Mega City One, 2142AD.  The Justice Department cracks down hard on the vicious democratic terrorist cells.

CAP:                        Mega citizens, however, generally don't care.

STRAP:                        THE END.

++++
++++
++++
#12
Creative Common / Blue Murder
14 September, 2022, 11:06:46 PM

BLUE MURDER


BOOK ONE: NEW BLUE.


Book One, Part One: Shades of Blue.

by Sharky

++++


PAGE ONE (6F)(NO TITLES).

PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE: A shadowed figure descends on a rope into a long, dark, silent shaft deep in the earth. The only illumination comes from his torch. His outline looks a bit like Rogue Trooper with extra gear – but it's not him, we're just teasing the reader a bit. This is Eldrion Karassus, the Indiana Jones of geneticists – you can reveal that it's not Rogue whenever and however you like – or maybe not use the idea at all! (The name of the narrator is Vane, who is not present here.)

CAP (VANE):                        "WAY I HEARD IT, THERE WERE LOTS OF OLD DEFENCE SYSTEMS..."

++++


PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO: Karassus has reached the bottom without incident and unhitches the rope. He's in an ancient, 1,500 year old Genetic Infantry lab which has been extensively damaged and eroded over the years by earthquakes, floods and animals – some of the ancient machinery has even been enveloped in stalagmites and stalactites. There is no power and none of these machines or computers will ever work again – except one. The only undamaged thing is the Gestation Pod unit, which was designed to last this long and even longer. There's no need to reveal all this at once, of course.

CAP (VANE):                        "...YOU KNOW – LASERS, TASERS, MASERS, GRAZERS... EVEN MISSILES, SOMEBODY SAID."


++++


PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE: Karassus explores the ancient facility.

CAP (VANE):                        "WISH I'D BEEN THERE, THOUGH – RIGHT FROM THE START, YOU KNOW?"

++++


PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR: Nothing works. Everything's dead. Ruined. Decayed.


CAP (VANE):                        "I WOULD'VE BRAVED ANY NUMBER OF DEFENCES FOR THAT PRIVILEGE."

++++


PAGE ONE, FRAME FIVE: The only intact thing is the Gestation Pod, in which Abel, Baker and Charlie will develop from single cells to full maturity as soon as the pod is activated. One of the pod's sub-systems has activated.

CAP (VANE):                        "SHOWS YOU HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE, THOUGH – TO BE DEFENDED SO VIGOROUSLY."


POD COMPUTER (JAG):                CONTACT DETECTED. SCANNING FOR ACTIVATION CODE. NOT FOUND. SCANNING FOR SECONDARY CODE. NOT FOUND.

++++


PAGE ONE, FRAME SIX: Karassus touches the pod's control panel, activating it merely at his touch.

CAP (VANE):                        "THAT'S WHY WE'VE GOT TO DEFEND THEM NOW."



POD COMPUTER (JAG, JOIN):            SYNCHRONISATION COMPLETE. INTERFACING WITH TACTICAL ALGORITHMS. COMPLETE.

KARASSUS (IF THERE'S ROOM):            WHAT THE...

POD COMPUTER (JAG):                INITIATING CODE ONE GESTATION SEQUENCE.

++++
++++

PAGE TWO (6F).

PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE: Later on, outside. A battered old truck, driven by Karassus and with his assistant, Dr Barla, in the passenger seat and the Gestation pod in the back under a tarpaulin, bounces along a dusty, lonely desert highway. (Maybe there can be some clues that this is Nu-Earth fifteen hundred years after the war ended by having distant mountains with craters blown out of them or hills formed around huge, rotting old tanks and stuff? The Wormhole has shrunk considerably over the centuries and is now no more than a small black dot in the sky – no bigger than a large crow in flight.)

CAP (VANE):                        "PROFESSOR KARASSUS HAD BEEN CORRECT. HE FOUND A POD – HE SAID IT WAS THE POD."

++++


PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO: From a high place, a  Xentrikka Sentinel espies the truck, which is small in the distance. The Sentinel is a kind of alien police unit, whose primary duty is to prevent any unauthorized travel to or from the planet. After that, it pretty much isn't concerned what anyone does. I see it as a kind of cross between one of the soldier bugs from 'Starship Troopers' and a Terminator – but more bug than robot. Incredibly fast, incredibly resilient and incredibly lethal.

CAP (VANE):                        "MAYBE THE BLUE PRIESTS WERE RIGHT,    AFTER ALL."

++++


PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE: The Sentinel rushes towards the truck at incredible speed. Karassus is more annoyed than concerned. Dr Barla is worried – but then, Dr Barla is always worried.

CAP (VANE):                        "MAYBE THE GOD OF WAR DID SEND THEM TO FREE US."

++++


PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR: The Sentinel has ordered the vehicle to a stop and Karassus has complied. Nothing else moves in the desert silence.

CAP (VANE):                        "I DON'T CLAIM TO KNOW."

++++


PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE: Karassus shows the Sentinel his travel authorization papers. The Sentinel scans them minutely, maybe with a light-beam or something.

CAP (VANE):                        "ALL I DO KNOW IS THAT, RIGHT NOW, THEY MAYBE CAN FREE US."

++++


PAGE TWO, FRAME SIX: Satisfied, the Sentinel returns towards its vantage point at incredible speed, leaving the truck free to continue bouncing along its lonely way.

CAP (VANE):                        "BUT NOBODY WILL LISTEN TO ME, KILLY - THEY ALL THINK I'M MAD."

++++
++++

PAGE THREE (6F).

PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE: We are inside the 'Mind-Space' – the virtual reality into which the developing minds of the three gestating Genetic Infantry clones have been 'plugged' in order to train them. Although still physically embryos, their military training begins from the moment their consciousnesses are activated. At the moment it's just a featureless black place – all shadows within shadows and nothing but the computer's voice to perceive.

COMPUTER VOICE:                    INITIAL CONSCIOUSNESS LEVELS ACHIEVED. DOWNLOADING LINGUISTIC AND COGNITIVE DATABASES.

++++


PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO: A hologram begins to form in the gloom, the only source of light or interest in the whole, infinite place.

COMPUTER VOICE:                    DONE.

COMPUTER VOICE:                    INITIATING DRILL SERGEANT.

++++


PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE: The hologram resolves into the Drill Sergeant, who will train the clones from Day One to be the perfect soldiers – the clones will  literally be 'born ready'. The Sergeant himself is the Paragon of military instructors – he 'knows' everything about war and was constructed using the scanned brain patterns of thousands of combat veterans of all ranks as well as a fair few tacticians, military engineers and all manner of other people involved in a typical, or atypical, war. Maybe he's like the sergeant from 'Full Metal Jacket' but in G.I. form? He is taking a moment to inspect his appearance – a soldier has to be smart!

COMPUTER VOICE:                    DRILL SERGEANT RUNNING.

SERGEANT:                        HMN.

++++


PAGE THREE, FRAME FOUR: The Drill Sergeant stands stiffly at ease in an entirely proper military stance.

COMPUTER VOICE:                    TRAINING WILL NOW COMMENCE.

SERGEANT:                        SOLDIERS – FOR SOLDIERS YOU ARE; THERE ARE NO CADETS HERE – WELCOME TO FORT MINDSPACE.

++++


PAGE THREE, FRAME FIVE: The Sergeant manifests a big gun (or something more militarily impressive) out of thin air to demonstrate his words.

SERGEANT:                        IN THIS PLACE, I WILL TRAIN YOU TO MILITARY PERFECTION. IN THIS PLACE, I CAN MAKE ANYTHING REAL.

SERGEANT (JOIN):                IN THIS PLACE, YOU WILL SUFFER, YOU WILL BE TESTED TO YOUR LIMITS AND YOU WILL LEARN.

++++


PAGE THREE, FRAME SIX: The Drill Sergeant, unarmed now, holds up a hard, scarred fist as he begins lesson one.

SERGEANT:                        YOU WILL BE BORN WITH THE EXPERIENCE AND REFLEXES OF TWENTY YEAR COMBAT VETERANS. I WILL SEE TO THAT.

SERGEANT:                        MODULE ONE; SUB-UNIT ONE – BASIC SELF-AWARENESS OF THE COMBAT SOLDIER.

SERGEANT (JOIN):                THIS... IS CALLED A FIST...

++++
++++

PAGE FOUR (6F).

PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE: In the spacious but basic gene-farm of the Fiyyaland Bluerays Gladiatorial Club, where gladiators are grown in tanks (most don't reach maturity – it's a hit-and-miss affair these days, more art than science). Karassus and Dr Barla have just finished unloading the Gestation Pod from the back of the truck and lowered it to the floor. It is still largely covered by a tarpaulin so we can't see the G.I.s  developing inside. Karassus is trying to convince the Gladiatorial Club's owner, Alvin Honey, that he hasn't just wasted a lot of money. Alvin isn't convinced.

HONEY:                        WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, KARASSUS? IT'S THE LAST CIRCUS OF THE SEASON NEXT WEEK AND WE'RE JUST...

KARASSUS (CUTS HONEY OFF):    TWO POINTS SHY OF MAKING THE MATCH OFFS, I KNOW, ALVIN – HOW COULD I NOT KNOW?

KARASSUS (JOIN):            I'M YOUR CHIEF GENE-WEAVER, AND I TOLD YOU THAT THIS NEW PROCESS ISN'T WORKING. IT CAN'T WORK, ALVIN    –  I TOLD YOU...

++++


PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO: Alvin is angry at Karassus – Dr Barla is trying to make herself unobtrusive.

ALVIN:                        DAMN IT, ELDIRION, YOU WENT AND DID IT, DIDN'T YOU? AFTER I SPECIFICALLY FORBADE IT!

KARASSUS:                    IT WAS THE ONLY WAY! AFTER YOU LISTENED TO THAT IDIOT CRANWELL...

++++


PAGE FOUR, FRAME THREE: Alvin is now beyond anger – he's moved on to economics, and the economics of the situation are suddenly looking very grim indeed. Karassus is motioning for the reluctant Dr Barla to help him remove the tarpaulin from the Gestation Pod.

ALVIN:                        BY THE BLUE... YOU DON'T EVEN DENY IT! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T SPEND ALL THOSE CALORIES?

KARASSUS:                    NOT ALL, NO – ABOUT 85%, MAYBE... DR BARLA – A HAND, PLEASE?

ALVIN (JOIN):                OVER TWO MILLION CALORIES – THAT'S IT, THE CLUB'S RUINED! THAT'S ALL THERE WAS TO SEE US THROUGH THE OFF SEASON!

++++


PAGE FOUR, FRAME FOUR: Dr Barla and Karassus remove the tarpaulin. We can't see inside yet but Alvin can – and is suddenly captivated.

KARASSUS:                    ALVIN, LOOK AT THEM. JUST LOOK.

ALVIN:                        I DON'T WANT TO LOOK! WHAT GOOD ARE A HANDFUL OF CELLS TO US NOW? WE NEED...

ALVIN (JOIN):                ...WE NEED...

ALVIN:                        ...FORNICATING HADES...

++++


PAGE FOUR, FRAME FIVE: Karassus points out features to Alvin that we can't see. Alvin has detected a fairly large glimmer of hope.

KARASSUS:                    JUST TWO DAYS AGO THEY WERE NOTHING MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF CELLS. NOW LOOK AT THEM!

ALVIN:                        THEY... THEY LOOK LIKE...

KARASSUS (JOIN):            THAT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE, ALVIN! WHAT DID I TELL YOU? LOOK AT THEIR SKIN, FOR A MESSIAH'S SAKE!

++++


PAGE FOUR, FRAME SIX: Alvin is suddenly disturbed by what he's seeing (which we still can't see).

ALVIN:                        WHY ARE THEY... QUIVERING LIKE THAT?

KARASSUS:                    I'M NOT SURE – BUT I THINK IT'S SOME KIND OF TRAINING, SIMILAR TO OUR OLD IMPRINTING TAPES.

KARASSUS (JOIN):            AND THE WAY THEY'RE DEVELOPING, THEY'LL BE HATCHED IN TWO, MAYBE THREE DAYS AS FULLY FUNCTIONAL WARRIORS.

++++
++++


PAGE FIVE (6F).

PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE: Back in Mindspace. The Sergeant is standing in deep space, in the debris field left behind by a huge, destroyed space-battleship.

SERGEANT:                EXCELLENT. YOU KNOW KNOW SEVENTEEN METHODS OF DESTROYING A KRAKEN-CLASS HYPERSTARDESTROYER.

SERGEANT (JOIN):        COMBAT EXPERIENCE MODULE THREE AND ALL SUB-UNITS COMPLETED SATISFACTORILY.

SERGEANT:                MOVING ON.

++++


PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO: The Sergeant stands at ease in front of three virtual Bio-Chips (as tall as the Sergeant in the Mindspace and lettered A, B and C).

SERGEANT:                YOU ARE READY, TROOPERS.

SERGEANT:                WHAT ARE YOU?

++++


PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE: The imaginary Bio-Chips stand proudly to attention. The Sergeant is proud.

ALL BIO-CHIPS:            SIR SOLDIERS SIR!

SERGEANT:                EXCELLENT!

++++


PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR: The Sergeant begins his final address.

SERGEANT:                AS YOU KNOW, YOU WERE DESIGNED TO BE DROPPED AND MATURED BEHIND ENEMY LINES BUT THE TRUTH IS I CAN'T TELL YOU WHO THE ENEMY IS.

SERGEANT:                ALL MILITARY FREQUENCIES ARE DEAD AND THE ONLY COMMS APPEAR TO BE DEDICATED ALMOST ENTIRELY TO ENTERTAINMENT.

++++


PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE: The Sergeant begins to fade away as the pod computer shuts down the hologram and the Mindspace.

SERGEANT:                YOU HAVE DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF WHO THE ENEMY MIGHT BE AND THE EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING TO DEFEAT THEM.

SERGEANT:                I HAVE PREPARED YOU AS WELL AS ANY SOLDIER CAN POSSIBLY BE PREPARED.

SERGEANT (JOIN):        THE REST IS UP TO YOU.

++++


PAGE FIVE, FRAME SIX: The Sergeant fades to almost nothing. The Mindspace begins to dissipate like a black mist.

POD COMPUTER:            TRAINING COMPLETE. DEACTIVATING DRILL SERGEANT.

SERGEANT (FADING):        GIVE 'EM HELL, TROOPERS!

POD COMPUTER:            MATURATION CYCLE COMPLETE. INITIATING BIRTHING SEQUENCE.

++++
++++


PAGE SIX (1F, TITLES.).

PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE: The Three Genetic Infantry clones stand ready, 'hatched' and fully matured. Unconcerned. Cool. Completely naked and not the least bit bothered by it (I don't see them as having genitals, having been designed to not need them – they're like Action Man dolls in that regard). It is maybe two days since Karassus and Alvin last spoke and they are both present for the 'birth' – standing momentarily stunned. (Abel is the leader, most like the original Rogue Trooper. Baker is the shock-trooper, the biggest and toughest. Charlie is like Venus Bluegenes, the engineer and medic (she has a pouch in her stomach where she can grow replacement organs and such for herself and the others). All three are next-gen G.I.s, with heightened abilities - including the ability to change their skin pigmentation into virtually any pattern from tiger stripes to leopard spots to pulsating octopus patterns - but only in various shades of blue.)

ABEL:                    ORDERS, SIR?


STRAP:                    NEXT: TELLY SHALL HAVE US.

++++
#13
Off Topic / The Philosophical Thread
16 June, 2022, 01:24:20 AM

I was listening to some philosophy lectures today while I was strimming the front field and the lecturer was addressing the question of why God allows evil, if God exists, that is. All the arguments were very clever, as were the counterarguments and side-arguments, but all of them assumed God to be a "complete and perfect being of infinite good."
But it struck me that this was a contradiction - how could a being be both complete and infinitely good? To be complete would require the perfect being to contain both good and evil, because to contain only one of these would make the being incomplete and therefore less than perfect and therefore not God.
I imagined God as a set of numbers from 1 to infinity. If this were so, then imagine the number 7, and all its multiples, as good numbers and 13 and all its multiples as evil numbers and all the other numbers as neutral. That would make the perfect being infinitely good, infinitely neutral, and infinitely evil.
Why does God allow evil? Because it's in His nature. If He exists.
Or is this just bollocks and I should stick to striming*?



*Which I'll have to continue with anyway because I haven't finished it yet. It's like a damned mutant copse with dock stems as thick as my finger and clumps of weeds like discarded mammoth skins. Lost count of how many times the bloody string snapped. Why don't these clever-dick philosophers ask why God allows that kind of thing to happen, eh? And why has He allowed me to suffer from a sore back?

#14
Film & TV / Star Trek: Strange new Worlds
10 May, 2022, 10:10:08 PM

Just watched Episode One and it wasn't bad at all. A couple of clanky moments aside, and a clanger (what happened to the rest of the USS Archer's crew? Maybe they said but I missed it), I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Best of all, this iteration seems to be going back to the episode-of-the-week format - which I was wingeing about on the Picard thread. Optimism levels set to mildly cautious, interest buffers nominal, enjoyment factor six - punch it!

#15
Books & Comics / Endlessly Re-Readable
25 January, 2021, 01:03:12 PM
We've got a thread for films, how about one for books and such?


The Brentford Trilogy - Robert Rankin
Odyssey/Iliad - Homer
Diary of a Nobody - George & Weedon Grossmith
Parallel Lives - Plutarch
The Bible (bits of it, anyway) - God
Conan - R.E. Howard
Discworld - Terry Pratchett
The Most Dangerous Superstition - Larken Rose
Fables of Aesop
The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Jeeves and Wooster - P. G. Wodehouse
Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein
Anything by me! :D







#17
News / Get Well Soon, Carlos.
05 September, 2018, 06:25:27 AM
From Facebook:


"Dear friends, due to something unexpected
must have without delay surgery on the next
week, September 13th, so I won't be able to
attend ICE Convention. I feel very bad for all
the people who are expecting me there but I
don't have any options but to do what the docs
say. Next year I'll be in as many Cons as
possible!"


I guess most of you have seen this by now but I thought I'd post it here for any non-Facebookers who may wish to add their well-wishes to the already massive pile.



#18
FREE GIFT with every purchase of GOODNIGHT, JOHN-BOY

👊Sláine Secret History: Sláine The Wanderer

Buy my comedy thriller set in the warped world of 1970s comics and download for FREE my explosive account of Sláine's origins.
See www.millsverse.com/kissmyaxe/ for details

#19
Off Topic / I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Prog
01 July, 2018, 07:43:32 PM
 This forum isn't silly enough. In order to rectify this, I suggest we all find silly things to do, silly things based upon the famously silly Radio 4 panel game, I'm Sorry, I haven't a Crew, or whatever it's called.


In this instance, however, the games will be based on Tharg's mighty organ. Let's hope we can pull it off between us.


To start, I suggest a game of Judge Dredd Film Club, suggestions for films likely to appeal to an audience of Judge Dredd fans. With an entirely justified sense of inevitable futility, I'll start us off with a few insipid suggestions:


Fargo
The Hunt for Dredd October
Giant
Dreddpool
BrokeJack Mountain
Grudfellas
The Clone Ranger
Dr. Joe
The Grud, the Bad and the Ugly
The Devlin's Advocate
The Day the Cursed Earth Stood Still
The Murd Man of Alcatraz
Mad Max Normal
Picnic at Hanging Drokk
Ben Hur, Hur, Hur
Look Who?'s Talking
The Devlin's Advocate
Judge Death in Venice
and, of course, Bring Me the Dredd of Alfredo Garcia


Now, it's over to you. I'll be awarding points for the best answers - and we all know what points mean, right? Drokk all, that's what. Okay then, get on with it...

#20
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