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Dear God, Make It Stop!

This month's American Reaper is even more execrable than usual, with a pointless double-page title spread and SIX PAGES of talking heads that would make even Brian Michael Bendis weep.

[Cover]

Well that was a mixed bag...

Cover -- Nice, but we were were spoiled by last week's cover...

Dredd -- a very workman-like episode from the Carroll droid.  Nothing special, but not bad either.  Deals with the post-Chaos world well.

Savage -- page one was awful.  [spoiler]"You've stolen my rations" "Don't distract me!"[/spoiler] -- I don't think I've read such dire dialogue in a comic since 1973.  However, it picked up a bit when it became obvious what Mills was doing this week, and added a great contrast to recent weeks, and to the general theme.  I suspect that [spoiler]The Savage Convention[/spoiler] will become a common phrase around here.

Ampney Crucis -- now this has been a bit of a surprise.  Not only has it got, erm, actually interesting in recent weeks ... but there appear to be some fascinating ideas going on. The Babbagists are a very cool concept, and a quick Google revealed that Von Herder was Moriarty's gunsmith in Sherlock Holmes.  Good stuff.

Red Seas -- I've been moaning for years about how dull this is, and it seems that others are now starting to agree.  Won't be sad to see the back of this.  It's a shame, 'cos Ian Edgingon is such a good writer, but this just misses the spot totally.

Strontium Dog -- there's something still not right about this story, and I think I'm going to have to follow others' advice and re-read it in a single take.

Inside-back advert -- A super comic con, you say?  Blimey!  Must get me to that, then!

[Cover:]

Cover:  I've never gone for D'Israeli's covers before, but you can't go wrong with Alan Moore Dirty Frank.

Nerve Centre:  NOOOOOOOOO!!  Tell me it ain't true!  I f**kin' *HATE* [spoiler]Visible Man[/spoiler].

Dredd:  Wow.  Simply stunning.  Ewing has paced this just perfectly and Harrison's art really makes this something special.

Brass Sun:  Great stuff again.  Like so many other have said, this is already one of my favourites.  A brilliant high concept.

ABC Warriors:  Eh?  Why would somebody in the year 206x refer to 9/11 like it was a recent memory?  Even worse, how many even think of 7/7 today?  Other than that, a solid episode.

Red Seas:  Oh, hang on.  It's not in this week.  I just get so used to skipping the pages when I see it.

Low Life:  Peters & Lee block -- made me laugh.  "It's all a bit starry starry night" -- brilliant.  "[spoiler]I eat money[/spoiler]" -- brilliant.  "[spoiler]Trim my hedge fund![/spoiler]" -- inspired!  Utterly fantastic.

The Simping Detective:  Drokk me!  I'm running out of superlatives here.

Well, aside from the nasty surprise in the Nerve Centre...

BEST PROG EVER!

One question has bugged me for the last 12 years ...
Given that we've already had Prog 2000, what will the 2000th prog be called?

[The King of Kong]

Just a heads-up -- if you've got Sky or Virgin, obscure channel Current TV is showing The King of Kong this Thursday (1st Sept) at 8pm (repeated on Saturday at 2pm), as part of their season of "50 greatest documentaries".

For those not in-the-know, it's a fly-on-the-wall doc following the battle between the man who holds the world record on Donkey Kong and his new arch-rival.  It's cute, it's slightly manipulative, but overall it's entertaining.  You've never seen so many scary haircuts in one room, not even at a comic con.

Definitely recommended.

Dear Mr. Tharg,

Whilst gaining pleasure from your famous organ in the civilised comfort of my bed on a Saturday morning, I was forced to gasp in astonishment at the rampant insertion of a rude word in the background of Prog 1748's Dredd.  I nearly choked on my muffins.

As a right-minded citizen I am disgusted, etc., at having a 'CLIT' thrust in my face while reading.  I am referring, of course, to the background sign 'Titty Clitty Bang Bang'.  Over the years I have come to expect sexual interference from John Smith but I am not used to this kind of thing in the hands of John Wagner.

What I want to know is:

• What are you going to do about this wanton gynaecological intrusion?
• Is this the first time that the word 'clit' has appeared in the Galaxy's Greatest?

Yours,
Outraged of Southport

(Loving Ben Willsher's art by the way)

I came across the cover for one of the new Doctor Who audiobooks, "Tsar Wars" (sounds familiar) and thought it looked familiar.  I went checking through my old records and found...



I always loved the way they had to skirt copyright by making the Starship Enterprise and Luke & Leia not quite right.  (If I remember correctly, Music For Pleasure re-issued the Big Bond Themes LP because the cover looked too much like Roger Moore; bizarrely, the replacement cover had the back of his head instead.)

[I am A.Cow. Hear me moo!!]

I am A.Cow.  Hear me moo!!

After years of clinging onto the Usenet newsgroup I've finally started coming here (mostly to get away from Sc*j* and his relentless twattering).

That's about it,like.

Of course, one day I'll become a famous scriptwriter, like y'know, when Tharg finally sees fit to recognise the genius implicit within my Future Shock about the big disk at the bottom of the ocean.  By the time they finally decipher the hieroglyphics surrounding it, it's too late because the disk has revolved -- to point at the symbols which translate as ... "spin cycle"!