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Topics - JTurner

#1
Creative Common / Self- publishing eBooks
01 November, 2012, 11:55:01 AM
I've been out of the scene a bit, and I'm not sure what formats people like working in here, but obviously there are a lot of .pdf comics being produced. If anyone wants help in producing ebooks in .epub or .mobi format (including getting them ready to upload to, say, the Kindle store to be sold) let me know.

I've published a couple of eBooks for my library, one of which is sitting up on Amazon now. I can help people with templates for dropping in content, file conversion or (if I've got time) doing the whole process for them. They're not ideal for comics, admittedly because of the fixed sizes of images, but read on tablets they are okay.

I'm looking into how to author digital comics formats with options to zoom into frames, etc, but I'm not able to help with that just yet.
#2
Help! / Prog storage
18 October, 2012, 09:53:03 AM
I'm thinking of re-subscribing, but I'm already taking up plenty of shelving space with progs and megazines from between 96 and 04, as well as trades. We've a small house and the spare room is now for the sprog rather than the progs. About the only place left is the loft or under the stairs - I'd go for the latter, but it's damp and musty under there (Oooer missus).

Can anyone out there recommend a good damp-resistant means of storage? I've seen some plastic comics boxes but they seem to be for US formats. Or do you think that just bagging the individual progs will be enough?
#3
Books & Comics / 6th Hitchhikers book
17 September, 2008, 07:08:26 AM
Appologies if this has been reported on elsewhere on the board, but I couldn't find any mention.
Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl author) is to write the sixth instalment of the Hitchhikers trilogy.  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/se ... feed=books

After reading "The Salmon of Doubt" I'd actually be more enthusiastic about the unfinished Dirk Gently novel, but I'm glad that Hitchhikers wont end on what Adams admitted was such a depressing note.

The article says that Colfer will be writing as Colfer rather than Adams, which I personally don't think will be such a bad thing. I do think his books are very readable and genuinely imaginative and amusing, and since no one Hitchhikers book was quite like the others, the change of style may not be too bad.
#4
Off Topic / Scientology books just turned up...
27 May, 2008, 07:25:29 PM
I know some of you guys work in libraries, so I wondered if any of you also recieved some free L Ron Hubbard scientology books. We got a box of them (complete with Dewey classification instructions). They got our address correct, but the name of our library wrong, so it must have been a blind mail-out.

I'm pretty offended by blatant propaganda at the best of times, and perhaps it's just the current whiff of Scientology in the media, but I found it pretty creepy having this crap dumped on us.

When we can be bothered we're mailing it straight back (just making sure that Tom Cruise and co pick up postage costs).
#5
Events / Alan Moore & Melinda Gebbie signing
16 January, 2008, 03:11:13 PM
Dropped into GOSH comics this afternoon to find that Alan and Melinda are signing copies of Lost Girls on Feb 2nd.
I couldn't find this mentioned elsewhere on the board, so I'm sorry if this is old news, but if might be of interest to those in the London area.

http://www.goshlondon.com/
#6
Games / Rebellion really need to promote their games...
02 October, 2005, 11:55:36 PM
I hope that things will improve by the time Rogue Trooper is released.

I'm no halfpint at 5ft 9, but I had to stand on tiptoes to reach a copy of Sniper Elite on Saturday. In Game in Oxford street there was a grand total of 3 copies on the shelves (2 after I nabbed one), and not because they were going like hot cakes. I didn't see any in HMV. The new releases shelves admittedly had loads of Black Hawk down, but Sniper Elite is by far the superior game, it just is nowhere to be seen. It was like trying to get a porno mag down from the top shelf.

As a brief review, I would say that this bodes well for RT. The graphics are poor, but it is very atmospheric, and the combat takes stealth in a whole new direction. Although you don't get Berlin as a sandbox, play is not linear. It's actually a little like Hitman Contracts - finding your own way through the level. It certainly shows that Rebellion have improved on their designs since Dredd Vs Death.

If you want a copy though you'll find it easier to go to Amazon, it's also pretty cheap, ?25 from the shops when I was expecting the usual ?32.
#7
Film & TV / Howl's Moving Castle
25 September, 2005, 07:03:49 PM
I saw this on Friday and would recomend it, though don't expect another Spirited Away.
The plot is less focussed, at times feeling like a mass of subtext with the text left out. Not that that's a bad thing, but I had the oddest feeling that I was watching a piece of theatre rather than a film.

The sheer poetry of ideas and wonderful animation make this well worth the effort. I saw the dubbed version, and was a little dissapointed with some of the acting, maybe because the cast was a little confused by the less than straighforward roles, though Billy Crystal was good as a comic relief fire demon. Purists may want to look out for the subtitled film.
#8
Off Topic / Sniper Elite
15 September, 2005, 05:20:17 PM
Another Rebellion title out next week, but is anyone else thinking of buying it? It looks a lot more interesting than the usual WW2 titles, being that it crosses over into the cold war, and may actually involve more than mindless blasting. Has anyone out there played a demo? I've only read a couple of previews in Edge.
#9
General / Article in Edge
18 July, 2005, 03:03:53 AM
I was re-reading last Month's Edge (videogames mag, one of the better ones not aimed at the demo disk brigade) and stumbled onto an article I hadn't read, the Biffovision column (I'm not sure if anyone here reads Edge), basically a regular column by an independant journalist. In it he writes...

"A few years back I interviewed the CEO of a well established British [games] developer. The firm had aquired a stable of international brands, which it hoped to develop into games. For reasons which can only be described as inexplicable, the company was also looking to turn several of these brands into big budget movies. During our interview, the CEO made a real fuss about the major stars with whom they were already in negotiantions and, without a hint of humility, revealed that he was even helping to write the screenplays himself.

As far as he was concerned his films were already in the can. But as our conversation progressed it became clear to me that here was someone - again a perfectly pleasant chap - who was utterly out of his depth, splashing around in an industry he didn't understand."

Firstly, I know that loads of game developers aquire licences every day, but I found it amusing to wonder if this was Rebellion - aquired licences to be developed into games AND films, the licenses must have come from another medium.  

The article itself, among other things, asked why games need to justify their existance by making that cross media jump to film and TV. I'm also risking re-igniting that old chestnut, do tooth characters (or comics in general) need to also justify themselves by crossing media boundaries, but hell, after reading that piece, I just had to post this... If this is Rebellion, then arguably they've not shown much success in crafting good games from the licences, either... (meeoww! I can be such a bitch, darling).
#10
Help! / A good read or just habitual behaviour?
22 May, 2005, 07:06:37 PM
Just why do I read 2000AD? I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just doing it out of habit, because to be honest, the last month or three has been so dull, appart from the odd good Dredd script and Anderson in the Meg, that I'm considering not renewing my subscription.

I just get the feeling that the comic is stagnating, that there are no new ideas, just re-hashes and extentions of Future shocks masquerading as stories like Second city blues. There's the odd gem like Cabalistics, but with everything eventually ending up as a graphic novel anyway, I might as well just buy the collected versions when they arrive.

Please, can someone help to restore my faith?
#11
Off Topic / My first protest march!
20 March, 2005, 02:27:11 AM
Sorry, this one's a bit rambling, because I'm tired and want me dinner, and am just putting down what comes into my head.

Back from the stop the war march through London. It's sad that the first thig I hear on the news is "There wasn't as many people as last time.". I'm sorry, but he police always average down the numbers, and even then they think it was 45000, and that's pretty respectable in my book.

One thing that did occur to me was how the whole thing must look to the non-protest set, those that arn't interested in politics, those who are pig ignorant, etc. The majority of the crowd seemed to have done there best to look like a bunch of hippies/ bums/ wierdos - basically stereotypes, like it as not. As we paraded through the West End, plenty of suits and shoppers were clearly criticising/ taking the piss/ getting annoyed that this crowd was disrupting their Saterday commercialism worship. It's a shame, because I really don't think that your average individual (who probably reads the Sun or Daily(hate)Mail)could ever identify with these people, and just disregard the whole thing as loony leftism - the protestors are just preaching to the converted, not communicating to those who need converting. And not for one second am I going to believe that any politician other than those in far left protest groups are going to take notice.

I was depressed with the alternatives to Labour that were being banded about as the real way to protest. The Respect party, and the communist party being the two that caught my eye, and I'm sorry, but neither George Galloway nor the reds could realistically govern this country. Even if those 45000 marchers don't vote Labour,Tory, or Lib Dem at the election, that number is peanuts, and will do no damage. The rest of the public will vote in either the Tory or Labour, and neither party will pay attention to protest, because lets face it, protest is just bark with no bite, and then the media water the whole thing down by saying that not many people turned up. I'm not saying that we should turn to violent protest, but whoever said that "If democracy worked, they'd ban it", was right.

Still, I'm pleased to have made my stand - and I'm glad that we still have a right to protest (but for how long?), and the chants were funny. But will today really change anything? I doubt it, not while both main party's would advocate war alongside the US. If one main party declared that they'd sever all military ties with America, then the war could become an election breaker. But for now it's just about Asylum seekers and the NHS.
#12
Off Topic / Jerry Springer, the Opera
09 January, 2005, 05:21:41 PM
I swear, those protesters were whipped up by the Beeb, as I doubt anything else would have persuaded me to watch this drivel. As far as social and religeous commentary are concerned, this message board and Monty Python have done far better jobs.

Maybe it just didn't translate well to screen (as theatre rarely does), but I felt that this was a dire and frankly dull piece of performance, with neither spark nor imagination. I didn't even find it offensive (but I find very little offensive, appart from my own behaviour on occasion).
 
This really should have been banned, but for reasons of quality rather than decency. How it got rave reviews, I'll never understand.
#13
Off Topic / The trained monkey is still in there.
03 November, 2004, 03:21:34 PM
09.20 - 3/11. And it looks as though America is still without hope.
#14
Off Topic / The Village
22 August, 2004, 07:33:32 PM
I really would reccomend this. For anyone who was dissapointed with Signs, this is a real return to form. It's genuinely creepy in places, and the twist is actually worth the wait, though I'm proud to say I got it after 20 minutes. I'll say no more to avoid spoilers.
#15
General / The Filth
13 August, 2004, 05:45:37 PM
Has anyone also read this? I just picked up the GN having not seen it anywhere but in Ottakars bookshop.
Basically it's Grant Morrison and Chris Weston up to their dastardly mind bending tricks. Comparisons can be drawn with The Invisibles, but unlike that series, the Filth is almost pure metaphor and symbolism, which actually makes it far easier to read, as it becomes a pretty subjective experience.

By the way, Art - there's a very Cosmonaut X moment, with a chimp shot into space by the russians where cosmic rays gave him human intelligence - a coincidence?
#16
Help! / Free MP3 player?
13 August, 2004, 05:32:08 PM
On Amazon, the gadget shop has made a mistake and has stated a ?0.00 price for a ?200 mp3 player. If I ordered this, would they be legally obliged to give it to me for free, or would they bill me the full ammount? Anyone know?
#17
General / It's all a bit odd...
13 July, 2004, 03:01:54 AM
I go away for a few months (cos I work, unlike you guys. Having an accessable internet connection at your workplace should immediately nullify your job title to the status of "mindless dosser") and suddenly this place, it... it... it...

LOOKS LIKE A REAL WEBSITE!

It's like the village inn has been taken over by a chain of theme pubs. Now any talk of "knob gags" or "Rogue's Nads" and you'll be served with a large cocktail.

Now that's an idea, 2000AD cocktails...

Okay - if a tooth character were a drink, what drink would they be? I can't think of any right now, so you lot can start.
#18
General / How about a SinDex computer game?
24 May, 2004, 03:23:32 AM
I just bought Hitman Contracts this weekend, and it made me think about how more natural a success a SinDex game could have been to a Dredd game. It's also more likely a better bet than a Rogue (why's this guy blue?) Trooper shoot-em-up. A choice of at least 2 playable characters in cooperation and plenty of moral ambiguity make for far more playing options.
How about it, Rebellion?
#19
Off Topic / St Georges day?
23 April, 2004, 03:59:23 PM
Is it St George's day today? I'm hearing that it is.

Maybe if we had popular brand of British alcohol then we'd have a chance of making it a big event. As it is, we could all have cups of tea?
#20
Off Topic / Resetting my PC.
20 April, 2004, 10:55:40 PM
Wow! Has anyone else actually reset their PC back to it's factory settings with a restart disk? I did this yesterday, and my PC feels turbo charged, and doesn't crash every time I open up two programs at once. Better than de-fragging it, I'll reccomend this to anyone with an old computer that's going robot senile. Only trouble is that you need a good day to back up all of your files onto loads of CDs, and then re-install any software.

I lost my copy of Dreamweaver though :( The CD turned out to be scratched, and now I can't re-install it.