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Two progs into my subscription and I'm still not getting Thrillpower above average.

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DREDD: Great little tale - well done Mr Rennie. I'm glad  you never felt the need to bolt-on some pyrotechnic action to the story.  Gibson art seemed a bit sparse.

RED SEAS:  Enjoying this adventure - nice bit of action and about time DANCER did something vaguely heroic. I'm glad to say that I don't know where this is going.

ASYLUM:  Good running gag with the Reverend's mutilation livens up an otherwise dull fight sequence.  This climactic fight seems to have been going on for ages.  

FUTURE SHOCK:  One twist (the sister) was predictable, the second twist (the pads are bombs) needed rereading to get and then I thought "So what?"  The President was a pratt who trusted the Captain so why didn't the Captain just abandon ship and leave him to crash into a sun or something?  Didn't like the half comic tone and didn't like the obligatory ending where everything blows up.  And where was the subtext?  The character identification?  Liked the art though!

SINISTER/DEXTER:  Mr Abnett really is taking the piss now.  Last week we had characters saying "Oh no, I keep saying crap puns".  This week we have characters saying "Space Pirates, they are crap aren't they".  Are we meant to be amazed by the clever post modern mocking of the genre? It's been done to death.  

I have no objections to Mr Abnett writing good adventure stories but SIN/DEX stating that the readers will accept any old crap and his slagging off of Comic Fans in this month's meg make me despair.  Use your comedy to kick up at targets above you not below you on the pecking order. And never make the assumption that putting blokes in a dress is intrinsically funny.

What's next? "Old people, they smell of piss!", "Train Spotters, they are sad aren't they?" "Ginger haired people aren't very nice to look at are they?"  SIN/DEX have to climb up a giant aliens bum?

(In my Humble Opinion, of course).

JUST GOT THE FIRST OF MY NEW SUBSCRIPTION THIS MORNING ALONG WITH MEG 4.17.

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What can I say about it? How about: "Oh, this is distinctly below par."

DREDD: OK - goes nowehere though. Maybe I missed something.

RED SEAS: I continue to enjoy this - but everyone moaning about the art is making me think twice about the art.  I still think it's good but you've got to me - the zombies look too clean....

ASYLUM: I started off liking this but the "all action finale" isn't working for me.

PASt IMPERFECT:  Enjoyable stuff from Mister Rennie. I assume a twist isn't requisite on these tales (just a heavy dose of irony).

SIN/DEX: More direness from the deadly (dull) duo. Even does the really bad thing by having characters say "Gee, I can't belive I just said that". If Abnett doesn't believ in his cheesy puns, how does he expect us to?

For reasons too complicated to go into just now, I'd like to know a little bit about the MEAT(?) virus that the naughty judges used in the DREDD story INFERNO. I've blotted a lot of the tale from memory and don't have any back progs so could someone fill me in on what it was, how it affected people, whether there was a cure etc.

cheers
Mister Tips

If anyone is bored, how about trying to identify each of the 15 visible bits of art (on the frames) in the 2000AD FILMS PLC advert?

For extra marks - give a compelling reason why they should make a film of each....

So to balance out the PRETTEEE LADIES thread, who do you think draws the most studly men?

Gibbons (never a hair out of place)
Bolland (oh the symetrical anatomy)
McMahon (you know what they say about blokes with big feet)

I was most impressed by Dylan Teague drawing Bonnie Charlie Prince in this month's megazine as well.

All,

I've got a cunning and fun plan to get as many of us mentioned  on the 2000AD input page as possible.  I was thinking about sending Tharg a letter that starts something like...

"Dear Tharg,
We are a gestalt mind species from the planet Boh-ar-Ders. Over the years we have assimilated many individuals and would like to offer you some of our thoughts on the current run of Progs..."

I'll then insert a single line of praise or criticism from each one of you that bothers to answer this thread.

At the end I'll sign off with
"Our thoughts are obviously too many for an average earthling to bear so we have them transcribed into a format more acceptable to your singular minds on the thing you call the internet.  Try linking to http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=fan&page=messageindex  to get a further flavour of our thoughts.

Yours sincerely
"

Whaddya reckon?

The only problem I can see is who gets the postcards (Floyd!)

Wake has done the business again and posted up the last of the three interviews I did at the MONIAIVE Comics Festival back in September.

I hope you enjoy it.

Link: http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=droid&page=interview&choice=8" target="_blank">Interview with Cam Kennedy

I don't know if you've noticed but Wake recently added a new section to the site that allows everybody to have a read at the sort of things that get sent in to the Future Shock submissions pile.

YOU, the boarder, can decide for your self whether these are Zarjaz tales or whether Tharg was right to put a stop to unsolicited submissions.

And if you are an established writer, hey, you get the chance to pass comment on a story by that annoying little pedant who's been slagging you off all year.

There are some great stories and ideas bouncing around in there so if you can spare five minutes, why not read and vote on a couple of them.  

I admit it that this is a shameless plug because I've just posted one but go ahead - I guarantee that at least one of the stories is better than Bison...

Link: http://www.2000adonline.com/index.php3?zone=submissions&page=scripttest" target="_blank">Tharg's Script Test

Wake,

probably being a bit petty here but isn't it about time that the screen plays from "You know who" were moved from the main page of the Fan Fiction section.

I don't think it's right that they are featured more prominently than the rest of the Fan Fiction produced by sane and rational people; especially the much more worthy 'zines like "Class or '79" and "ZARJAZ".  They deserve more credit and advertising than him and his screenplays.

If it's a pain for you to move them somewhere less prominent (or even delete them) then don't bother but every time I go into the section they bring back unpleasant memories...

Like I say, it may be being a bit petty but I'm in a particularly unpleasant mood this morning.

And while you're at it, I keep getting a strip called BISON turning up in my Weekly Prog - can you do something about that as well...

Lovely People,

I'm fortunate enough to be popping to the Moniaive Comics festival this weekend.

I've also asked permission from Tharg and the festival organisers to conduct a few "micro" interviews with the likes of John Wagner, Alan Grant, Cam Kennedy etc.  If he's amenable, I'll then ask Wake to publish the results on the 2000AD website along with some photos.

These aren't going to be long interviews, after all Moniaive is a bit of a chillout time for the writers and artists that attend so I was thinking along the lines of:
- What was the very first thing you had published?
- What are you working on at the moment?
- What would you say were the biggest things you learnt between the two?
- What are you doing next for 2000AD/Megazine and why should we be excited about it?
- What do you think of this 1000 page script? (OK, maybe not!)

Any other questions (excepting Swap Shop style "What colour underpants are you wearing?", "Whose your favourite; Steps or S-CLub?") would be gratefully accepted - especially if they are better than the rubbish I come up with.

Any of the rest of you going along? It'd be nice to put a face to the names.

cheers
Mister Tips

Link: http://www.moniaive.com" target="_blank">Moniaive Comic Festival 7th and 8th September

MY PERFECT HALO MOMENT
All of this talk of Ian Gibson, his babes and all of the people saying how they are in love with Halo Jones made me reminisce about my perfect Halo Jones moment.  If you are still up using the message board at this time of night then this may help send you to sleep.

It was down in Manchester back in about 1988 ? I?m crap with dates.  I was at a ?Transvision Vamp? gig at The Boardwalk.  The Boardwalk is a very intimate venue, some of you have probably got bigger living rooms and Transvision Vamp weren?t very well known at the time.  Actually, they went from promising band to obscurity without troubling the charts in-between times.

Anyway, the gig starts and I?m right down at the front and on to the stage struts lead singer Wendy James.  This woman is absolutely gorgeous.  Five foot six of sex dressed in a motorcycle jacket (with ?The Clash? painted on the back), a Halo Jones ?Increased Leisure Citizen? T-shirt and a Minnie Mouse swimming costume!

I can?t believe it; tow of my favourite things; The Clash and Halo on one of my other favourite things.

The gig gets under way and they play an energetic set that has everyone pogoing as if their lives depend up on it.  It slows down a bit when they do their HALO JONES song (?I?m hanging out with Halo Jones??).  Then it all starts getting lively again and the kick into the perfect pop of I WANT YOUR LOVE (which I think was their biggest hit).

Wendy has stripped down to just the swimming costume by now. She steps forward and places her foot on the monitor just in front of me.  She?s right there in front of me; perfect woman, perfect thigh inches away from me.  I can?t resist.

I lean forward, stick out my tongue and lick her leg for what seems like an eternity. I?m oblivious of the gig going on around me; I?ve just melted into the delicious world of Halo Jones and Wendy James has been transformed before my very eyes into the perfect Ian Gibson drawn babe. An image of every Ian Gibson babe tingles through my entire body and I close my eyes in rapture.

A bouncer picks me up by the scruff of the neck, drags me to the back of the room and kicks fuck out of me.

Here's a poser for you...

When you read the history of 2000AD in the Megazine it's always full of comments like: "So XXXX sent in his script and it was appalling so I had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch...."

Does anybody know any juicy examples of this kind of behaviour that has gone on recently?  Does Tharg still have to dust off his old typewriter every now and again to apply "polish" to a script?

cheers
Mister Tips

PS: I was going to ask this on Scriptdroids but the 2000AD message board can, on occasion, be much more vicious.

When we vote for a story, why can't we vote for the art and the writing?  Sometimes the art is great and the story is tosh; sometimes vice versa.  

How does Tharg know which Thrills are popular?

Is it market research?

Is it the number of love/hate letters received?

Is it based on the votes on the website?

Is there weighting based on critical acclaim as well as popularity?

A combination of all of the above?

My boy just purchased a copy of The Art of Attack of the Clones.

In it are lots of pictures by the rather fabulous art-droid Dermot Power (I think Book of the Dead was one of his biggies).  I'd forgotten how much I liked his stuff - some of his designs (female Tusken Raiders) are great - lots of real world influences twisted nicely.

It must have been a great job, graduating from 2000AD to work on Star Wars; I don't think it'd be more of a fanboy dream unless he got to play the next James Bond.

Does anyone know of any other 2000AD art droids that have gone the film design/storyboarding route to Hollywood fame?

PS: Possibbly the best bit about the gig would be that he'd get to work with all these great designers, technicians and craftsmen and he would NOT be allowed to look at the terrible script.  

PPS: Sorry about the title but it is Eurovision week.

 

Here's an idea for a future shock.  I don't know where the inspiration came from...


The Lonely World of Johnny Snuggle
Johnny Snuggle is a big fan of the comic FUTURITY and it's top character CJ LAZER.  He has heard that they are planning on making a CJ LAZER film and he wants to be in on the action.
From his bedroom (which is a shrine to all things fanboy; Star Wars, Reservoir Dogs and Buffy posters line the walls and, when he's feeling a bit naughty, he'll pull out his little statue of an alien grey having a spliff),  Snuggle starts to write.
Snuggle doesn't get out much - he is a fatter, uglier, less well read version of uber-geek Harry Knowles (if such a thing were possible) and uses his email and websites to talk to the outside world.  He barely stops for tea - shouting thanks to his never seen mum who leaves plates of food for him.
He struggles with some of the dialogue and checks it's authenticity against his computer games, an old book of plays by Ernie Wise, his secret stash or porn videos (they must be art, they were reviewed in STARLOG)  and some Babylon 5 scripts before continuing.  
As his script takes shape, he begins to think his computer is working against him; it starts to underline words with red and green squiggles.
He ignores this and eventually, having stayed in his bedroom for two months, he finishes his script: CJ LAZER - CRIMINAL ERASER. He sends it to the editor of FUTURITY magazine for consideration.
There is no reply.  A few semi-abusive phone calls later - Snuggle can't understand why he seems to be getting the brush off and decided to post his magnum opus on the FUTURITY website.
He explains to all the helpful professional writers on the site how he is grateful for the opportunity to do this and how he looks forward to hearing their comments.
And then he begins to suspect something is wrong; the comments display a complete lack of understanding of Snuggle's vision of CJ LAZER.  
Some say it is too wordy. Others say it's not excting enough. Some don't even read it all the way through because they say they got bored!
They focus on the presentation, they pick nits in his dialogue. They just don't understand how good story writing, let alone, good screen writing works. How can they all be so stupid?
He attempts to explain this to them but still they fail to understand.  What can be happening? He repeats himself, ignoring any comments they make and focusing on what he feels are the real issues.  Can't they understand why his lines are always the best in any given situation? Can't they understand subtext? Don't they understand why he didn't write a synopsis? If they published other bad things, surely they can publish his?
Still they miss the point and at his wits end, he finally ventures from his bedroom.  Strangely, he doesn't seem to be in his house - it seems more like an alien space craft.  He calls for his mother.  In answer, a huge insectoid alien rounds the corner.
The Twist
The Alien explains the truth.  They had abducted Snuggle several months ago.  The Aliens had recognised that he was the most brilliant of his species and recreated his bedroom and all his interactions with the outside world in an attempt to learn from Snuggle's huge intellect.  But, advanced as they are, the aliens could not keep up with the sheer brilliance of Snuggles mind.
Snuggle can see it all now; the world begins to make sense again and he offers to help the aliens.  
In return for his kindness, the aliens explain that they are not really insectoids.
They  switch off their holographic projectors to reveal that they are in fact all fabulously attractive women.
"You have passed our test. We really wanted you to seed our race as our men are barren. We have forgotten how to love. Will you teach us the art of sex, Johnny Snuggle. Will you accept this challenge?".
Snuggle tosses his screenplay to one side; "Well up until now, there has only been my cat but of course I will. Though I think you'll find I'm a bit HARD to keep up with".
Everybody laughs, "Ha ha ha ha ha".
The Second Twist
The laugher dissolves and we see Snuggle sitting alone his bedroom.  On his computer screen is his CJ LAZER script with the word REJECT flashing over it in big red letters.
His mother and father look from the hallway at their child, their only child, as he sits alone laughing to himself.
Mother:"If only he would go out more, learn some social skills and meet some friends, maybe even a girl".
Finally, we see where Snuggle gets his delusional nature.
Father: "Perhaps, but when one is destined for greatness, you do not trivialise your life with such matters...."
THE END

Am I tempting fate by saying that "you know who" hasn't posted today.  

Either he's watching Star Wars and marvelling at how good the dialogue is or someone, somewhere has finally got through to him.

How can we find out what was the last post he replied to that drove him off?  Sort of like "Who killed Cock Robin?" but without the "Robin".

Wake,
is there a PDA version of the site around?  I'm trying to access it on my wee PSION but once the banners are in place I get about one line visible.  Any suggestions?

I was wondering if anyone new of an alternate publisher for short stories (future shock style) lurking out there.

They don't have to be British - though I do recall someone making a posting about someone called Black Dog or something (I can't find the exact post because there has been so much chaff flying arounf recently) - I do recall someone saying something along the lines that "Issue 4 had nearly 50% reprint" - I'm hoping that means they'll consider any old rubbish...er... my magnum opus.

Anybody help?

Wake/Matt,
just looking at one of the online poll and it looks that over 30% of the people who post have either written or have vague intentions of writing a future shock. (though my sums could be wrong).

Maybe it would be a nice idea to have an indicator of just how big/small the submissions pile for Future Shocks is on the Submission Guidelines page.  

I think this would be nice for the submitters and, bear with me, may even save you some time.

This would let all those who have submitted exactly how overworked you are and may discourage people from sending stuff in if the pile is very high and encourage it if it is really low.  A fortnightly update would probabaly be OK.

If you wanted to go the whole hog; you could even keep statistics of how many of the submissions were complete toss (i.e. failed to follow basic presentation guidelines, full of smelling pistakes, unhygenic), how many were rejected after reading the synopsis (and reasons; no hook, been done before, predictable, no structure, complete toss etc.) and how many were rejected because of the final script quality (too much dialogue, too many panels, not engaging enough, unbelievable charaters).  

These metrics again might encourage people to focus on fixing things before they get to you and save your valuable time.

Anyone agree/disagree?