A question on a recent welcome thread got me to wondering....we've got a number of boarders from outside the UK and I'm curious how they first discovered Tharg's mighty organ. How did the likes of Grant Goggans, Devon's Daddy and Goaty discover 2000ad, not to mention our very own mayor, Thryllseeker? Was it a childhood spent in the UK; an evangelical pen-pal; a life of dedicated geekery in the import section of the local comic shop or some random exposure to thrillpower after which life would never be the same?
It's great to have you all around though - continue to spread the word in your native or adopted lands and be true ambassadors for The Mighty One!
I'm not sure if I can be entirely considered a foreigner, being that I've spent roughly half my life in the UK, but...
When I was 10 my family moved to Scotland (because of my father's job). The little town we lived in, Inverbervie, held auctions every week. I loved comic books, so my mom bid on a box of Titan Judge Dredd Apocalypse War and Rogue Trooper books. From then on, I was hooked. I read 2000AD until we left six years later.
As they were so difficult to find in the States, I had to give up the habit. But a few years ago when my wife and me moved back here, one of the first things I did was seek out the closest Thrill Merchant. I have since purchased an entire collection of 2000AD!
Well, remember that, until Dez Skinn and the "Quality Comics" crew ran it into the ground with all their awfulness, the Eagle Comics Dredd reprints were really successful in the States - the first issue sold 100,000 copies, which is comparable to what Batman sells today. There was a good, steady readership for a while in the mid-80s, but I think it became one of those attempts doomed to overall failure since Eagle Comics (I think Nick Landau was involved...?) never seemed to make any attempt to connect with American fandom. You compare those to other period "indie" successes like Love & Rockets or Cerebus, with all their letters pages and the creators' time on the convention circuits, and the American Dredds just seemed off in their own corner.
Anyway, once I finally started getting tired of the X-Men and LSH, my best friend suggested I try some indie comics, and pointed me towards Dredd, which was available at every comic shop we ever visited. I bought two issues (like # 26-27, maybe?) and was hooked, and then he told me it was time to try the real thing and showed me a small box of 2000 ADs at Oxford Comics, which was at one time Atlanta's best store - this was when the comic shop shared space with an enormous new & used bookstore in Peachtree Battle. Those were the days.
So I started with prog 406, which was the earliest they had. This was probably the spring or summer of '86, so it was a back issue, and an awful place to start, with the last parts of three stories, the first part of one, and the midle part of "Helltrekkers," but everything caught my eye and I was hooked for life! Fortunately, lots of shops carried 2000 AD back then, and I was able to pile up back progs from several other stores. The old Dr. No's on Terrell Mill and 41 was where I usually bought them, although sadly I passed on their stock of 1985-86 Eagle & Tiger, which I'd love to have today.
Distribution was always very spotty. When I first visited England in July 1987, my collection went as far back as maybe prog 350, with lots of holes, so I spent quite some time in Gosh! and one of the earlier FP locations some of y'all remember nostalgically, filling in the gaps. Oh, and I had once found a random copy of prog 154 at a convention in a dealer's quarter box of magazines, so I remember buying progs 153 and 155 from FP just to expand the stories that I could read.
I did end up dropping it for a couple of years when the guy running the Titan Games & Comics nearest to me made the decision in 1988 - he was an idiot - that he had a limited budget for "import comics," and he could get more bang for his buck carrying Action Force than 2000 AD, and apparently just flat out lied to me, saying it was no longer available. I took him at his word and, since I wasn't happy with how "Oz" ended anyway, didn't press the issue. By then, all my other disposable income was going to records anyway and I just stopped going to comic stores. (A few months ago, John Freeman commented on my review of the Doctor Who "Cold Day in Hell" collection, and I mentioned to him that I'd dropped DWM around the same time, figuring that it wasn't just that DWM had a price rise concurrent with a cut in pages, but that I hit the age where collecting Siouxsie & the Banshees records held more interest than comics.)
I ran across 2000 AD again in early '91 - the early 700s - at Oxford Comics again. By this time, the old superstore had split in two, and the used books were all at this freakishly enormous, wonderful location in a huge old warehouse-type building just north of the strip mall, and the comic shop in a big room underneath. Nostalgia sent me in, thrillpower kept me around.
That's a great post. Thanks, Grant.
I'd forgotten that those QC reprints did well in the States, I never really paid them much attention as I'd read the progs and didn't like the smaller, colourised (Note, NOT colorized! ;D) format. Seems like they did their job though by hooking readers such as yourself!
I picked up a few issues of the american-format Dredd reboot (was that DC comics?), which were interesting, but not the Dredd we know and love - I believe they didn't run for very long. Does anyone know if they were ever collecetd as I only saw a few and would love to read the full story?
And Locusts - nominate your mum for a Krill Tro Thargo for that auction bid!
Mysterious foreigners...............I thought for a minute the BNP had joined the forum and were trying to be polite
CF: That's the biggest smile I've had all day.
Grant: Great post mate, ah nostalgia, second hand book shops, the mid-80s comics scene. Such memories!
Quote from: Dandontdare on 21 October, 2009, 07:17:41 PM
I'd forgotten that those QC reprints did well in the States, I never really paid them much attention...
To clarify: the QC reprints never did well, period. It was the Eagle line that sold. I seem to remember a short break of 2-3 months before the final two (# 34-35?) in the Eagle line were released, with the new, Dez-approved Quality logo. Then Dredd was relaunched with a new number one - that was when you had Dredd, Robo-Hunter, Rogue and The Steel Claw for 75 cents each, and 2000 AD Showcase (Dan Dare and Skizz, I think) and Spellbinders (Slaine / Nemesis / Cursitor Doom [trading as "Amadeus Wolf" for some reason]) for $1.50 each. There was less story in each issue, since they were printing the artwork closer to its original size, resulting in a lot of juggling of panels and repaginating everything. He also quit paying Bolland for new covers.
Evidently, this labor-intensive approach (which even extended to The Steel Claw getting some new story pages drawn by David Lloyd!) wasn't working against lower sales, since retailers weren't getting the word that the comics they used to order from EAGLE were now available from QUALITY. So within six months, Dez was doing the same shrunken artwork you got in Eagle, with unbelievably bad coloring and covers by people who didn't really read the interior art - check out all the 20th Century fashions worn by the Nemesis characters on the covers of Spellbinders. I want to say some people called "Sal and Bob" took over the publishing? I gave up on everything from that company across the board, except for Sam Slade, before the tenth issues, and just stuck with the originals, the Titan books and BO2K. Well, I do remember a Halo Jones comic which had ten pages of Halo Jones and an awful lot of backup, and how Ace Trucking ended up in Robo-Hunter, which also only got 10 pages an issue. And Ace got a lime green jumpsuit...
Years later, I found a random back issue of Speakeasy somewhere, which named this line "Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width Comics." Sounded about right to me.
Honestly, I really think the awful look of those reprints, and the massive increase in the line, did 2000 AD a lot of long-term damage. Retailers who did order them couldn't move them. You used to see huge stacks of them in quarter bins until around 2000 or so, but I guess whatever was left probably all ended up in landfills.
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 21 October, 2009, 09:24:41 PM
but I guess whatever was left probably all ended up in landfills.
No, I can safely say that they've all ended up in the comic boxes at the back of Albion Books in Hastings.
I remember these (my completist mentality toawrds 2000AD doesn't stretch to the reprints) and remember being shocked at how piss-poor they were. At one time, they were easier to get in UK shops (at least where I was) than the prog itself... which I always thought was near-suicidal for Tharg to in any way sanction.
SBT
I say it again: those 'Quality' Comics were a contradiction in terms. How could someone responsible for creating Warrior, one of the best British comics ever, produce those reprints? Not exactly sure when Dez Skinn stopped producing them but I know at one stage the artwork was stretched to fit the US format. I was horrified when I saw this. Luckily I didn't waste any money on them. They were not produced with TLC, that's for sure.
As for the Eagle reprints. Well, they were a treat. Worth it for the covers alone.
Yep likewise said it before and will no doubt say it again those Quality reprints where shocking. I suffered a few issues so that I had a copy of 'Flesh' which has always been a favourite of mine but am so glad to get shot of them now I have the new trade.
At least the Eagle stuff seemed to try. Those glorious Bolland (and others) covers and I remember a few of the productions being quite good. Not owned it for a while but remember liking the work on the Judge Child mini they released????
The Quality line was a real shame. Not having access to any of the lovely Titan reprints at the time in Ireland (I'm sure they existed, but I never saw them), the Eagle line was a great way of getting caught up on Dredd when I started getting really into Tooth in 1983, having started in the early 300's. Some of the colouring work was pretty cool (Apocalypse War worked very well, I recall), and the covers, oh those beautiful covers, were worth the price of the comic alone, frequently being appreciably better than the contents. Best of all, they were available in almost every newsagent, and that most critical of reprint venues, the railway platform kiosk. And then suddenly all there was in the shops was Quality, embarrassingly awful colouring with often pitiful covers, and I went scurrying off to the back-issue bin instead.
Don't know if I should admit to it, but I have all the QC Dredds, as well as both the DC runs. When you want something badly enough, you get it any way you can. Never take for granted how good you've got it here, Squaxx.
I've just been sent a E-mail notification from Dantondare that they'd like to hear my own story here.
I used to collect the old computer gaming magazines. I think it was British made one not so different from 2000AD that was my favorite. Excpet it reveiws, preveiws, and advertises computer games.
Computer Plus Video Games
It was in one them that I found this page.....
(http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp64/CLICKYMAN/CVG07300101SLCOMPPAGE.jpg?t=1256324253)
..... among others like it. Preveiwing, advertiseing and reviewing the Slaine Martech game.
It was on that competition page that I first layed eyes on those Slaine novels thinking they actuelly were paper backs filled cover to cover with words in sentences, in paragraphs, in chapters. Well, I was half right, anyway. I just didn't realise how big those particular units of thrillpower were and I really wanted that t-shirt as well. Shame, it's abit to late to enter the competition, but I have those particular volumes now.
Unwittingly, I had purchased a 2000AD prog with the famous Slaine: Dragonheist a year before in a local secondhand bookstore thinking it would sustain my thrill circuits on a bus ride back home from town. I sick from school and had to visit the doctors. At that time I didn't tresat with as much reverence as I do now. That Slaine was by memeory quite horrifying showing a picture of a man's internal anatomy revealed to the all seeing eyes of the Dragon.
(http://www.2000ad.org/covers/2000ad/thumbnails/361thumb.jpg)
That for me was huge leap from child friendly to striclty grown ups only when I was more accustomed to Huey the Duck, Lil Devil, and even the small collection of black and white pages of Super Baby, Super Boy while he was still in Smallville and Superman and some coloured Spiderman, Thor and Uncanny X-men comics I had aquired in my earlier years, but nowhere to be found. Does anybody remember Pig Iron
That one early Slaine might have been confused with those forbidden Conan strips as a first and never lasting impression.
CONTINUED NEXT POST, DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THE TEXT BOX
Going (off topic) back to the Eagle reprints, the Nemesis series was just outstanding. Stunning Kevin O'neil covers. I think he coloured his original artwork. And he drew extra panels on each page to change the proportion of the pages. Must dig them up. Oh, and the paper quality was amazing too.
The first couple of progs that I had then made consious effort to buy from acouple of the international sellers in the city were featuring Slaine stories.
I'd say they were mostly Slaine covers that ran from the start of Warriors Dawn to Time-killer, Tomb of Terror, Slaine the King and my favoirte at that time which is....
(http://www.2000ad.org/covers/2000ad/thumbnails/582thumb.jpg)
All secondhand. Buying only those with Slaine covers because that was safest way of collecting Slaine without reading them in the story. Most of those were in sealed plastic envelopes
Then I began collecting the Quality SLaine's brand new. Starting from....
(http://www.2000ad.org/covers/usreprints/mediumres/qslaine20.jpg)
.......to the end of that run. I brought some of the earlier ones later on. Including number one with the memorable Mike MacMahon piece of work. Featuring, Slaine warping out in ale house filled with Skullswords. Welcome to the Wound Feast. There were few that were Spellbinder. Amadeus Wolf would have been interesting to see more of in the regular progs. Of the Quality's I brought more of those finding them on Ebay and in other comic book stores. A couple of those were Judge Dredd, Psi Anderson, & Rogue Trooper. Still haven't quite got all of those.
Quoting Grant Groggins....
QUALITY. So within six months, Dez was doing the same shrunken artwork you got in Eagle, with unbelievably bad coloring and covers by people who didn't really read the interior art - check out all the 20th Century fashions worn by the Nemesis characters on the covers of Spellbinders.
End of Quote!
I've noticed that, with the Qualitiy's the paint work is of inferior quality. --Pardon the Pun-- and some of the covers are badly drawn. Combined with shoddy paint work. However, this doesn't bother me much. I still like them as long as they are in good condition. They are collecters items for the true collecters.
These just paved the way, for the upcoming era of work of which. Simon Bisley, Dermot Power, among others who's work is a is a damn good example of artist combined with painter. Not that I object to the sensible and mediocre colouring otherwise found in the rest of the prog.
I still praise the inking that is often left as it is. Uncoloured. I never have a problem with that.
It would interesting to compare the old Quality's with the old DC and Marvel and newer versions with the 2000AD that is now.
BTW, I now buy the progs for Judge Dredd, Stronitum Dog, Rogue Trooper, and Nemesis, Ace Garp, Dr & Quinch as well a few of the newer stories.
I've said most of the above a couple of times before, but don't mind repeating. 8)
Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 23 October, 2009, 08:08:42 PM
CONTINUED NEXT POST, DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THE TEXT BOX
What technical issues? Are you bad-mouthing my text box?
Thanks for sharing your "origin story" Thryllseeker!
That's an interesting route - the thing I love about that advert is the question: "please indicate your computer: Spectrum, Amstrad or Commodore 64".
Wow, that takes me back!
Eh? I am from Greece? How make you think that? I am from Gateshead (that in newcastle!) UK! My grammar maybe be poor as I am Deaf myself! Yeah it all greek to me! but how come you think i am from Greece? wonder not mind lived there currently to crap weather up North-East here!
well I first discovered 2000AD when my parents got me graphic novel when i was 12, Judge Dredd "Apocalypse War"
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QZEEQY5AL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
It very different as was read Tintin and Asterix at that time... I do enjoy the graphic novel, and when I was at college, i went to city newsagent in Nottingham, and notice 2000AD prog, and does first buy, oh which prog was that...
ooh it... 1171!
so sorry - I'm mixing you up with another boarder! :-[
There was someone from Greece, and I think they had a goat-related username, but it's evidently not you. Still Gateshead's foreign enough - I certainly can't understand a word people are saying around there!
lol dont worry Dandontdare, even i am from Nottingham! :)
and I'm only one here who never read Mayor threads here! :) yeah Anti-mayor! :)
Quote from: VinceBot on 23 October, 2009, 09:58:28 PM
Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 23 October, 2009, 08:08:42 PM
CONTINUED NEXT POST, DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THE TEXT BOX
What technical issues? Are you bad-mouthing my text box?
If ThryllSeeker's problems are anything like my own, the view in the text box keeps "jumping up" to the line above where you're typing, so you can't see what you're typing in. It only seems to happen when you're typing up large posts.
I would have mentioned it before, but when you look at the mess I made of explaining it, there's little wonder I didn't bother.
It happens to me as well.
Me too. We should probably be posting this on the website and forum area - there's a thread for this stuff so Wake and the team know about these things. It doesn't seem to make any difference if i'm using IE7 or any other browser.
Quote from: VinceBot on 23 October, 2009, 09:58:28 PM
Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 23 October, 2009, 08:08:42 PM
CONTINUED NEXT POST, DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH THE TEXT BOX
What technical issues? Are you bad-mouthing my text box?
End of QuoteI'm not sure but it mightbe a problem with your textbox or a problem on my end. Though since i havce recently started using a different computer, I have noticed the the small problem still persists.
This is where it starts, right here, it's happening right nowThe problem itself is when I have filled the text box, the scroller jump back up the the beginning of the page. Continueously each time I type a new character.
Although, it sometimes stops if I scroll downwards first, but not always.
The sensation of typeing like this could be discribed as scuba-diving with out a air-tank and a exceedingly limited lung capacity. As you would need to keep floating back to the surface for air nearly every thirty seconds.
I've actualley brought this problem up before. On that thread that was made about changes to the forum, problems that have been fixxed and new problems that have arisen, when the entire website had it's make over.
Right Now, it's has gotten more erratic. Lately, I have been using
Note-Pad, but thats like trading one problem for another as my postr will then need extencive proof reading and editing as my posts always come out in a one block paragraph with no spacing after I have copy n pasted it.
It would be okay if I could type blind, but I need to see what I am typing. Otherwise it's probably not going to make sence.
My oppplogies to
Vince Bot & the
Board Moderators if I have offended them with my comment. I just couldn't stand it anymore and started another message anew to contiue onwards. I'll try not to make a habit of it.
Quoting Jared Katooie....If ThryllSeeker's problems are anything like my own, the view in the text box keeps "jumping up" to the line above where you're typing, so you can't see what you're typing in. It only seems to happen when you're typing up large posts.
I would have mentioned it before, but when you look at the mess I made of explaining it, there's little wonder I didn't bother.Couldn't have put it better myself.
Quoting Mike Gloady....Me too. We should probably be posting this on the website and forum area - there's a thread for this stuff so Wake and the team know about these things. It doesn't seem to make any difference if i'm using IE7 or any other browser.End of Quote As I said earlier, I mentioned this before on that particlar thread, I beleive.
I don't think I was really clear about it.
There's also a secondary problem arising from this. It 's when I try to cut and paste sections of my post. The blue box keeps shifting around erratically making that nigh impossible.
So there are two paragraphs that I wanted to end this post with that are in the middle.
Now I got to somewhere else and rest my head, as typing this far has given me abit of a headache.
Maybe the problem is really a deterrant against my unfeasibly long posts.
I'm from Kentucky and my introduction to Dredd and 2000 A.D. is thanks to Anthrax and"I Am The Law"
Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 25 October, 2009, 04:00:05 PM
I've actualley brought this problem up before. On that thread that was made about changes to the forum, problems that have been fixxed and new problems that have arisen, when the entire website had it's make over.
Sorry, I can't say I'd noticed the issue posted. Perhaps I'd tested for it in the past but been unable to reproduce it. Our bug tracking isn't marvellous.
Quote from: ThryllSeekyr on 25 October, 2009, 04:00:05 PM
My oppplogies to Vince Bot & the Board Moderators if I have offended them with my comment. I just couldn't stand it anymore and started another message anew to contiue onwards. I'll try not to make a habit of it.
Not at all, I just don't like making short posts so I tend to add on phrases, quotes, accusations, jokes, or just rubbish. You'll have to try pretty hard to offend us.
Quote from: Mike Gloady on 24 October, 2009, 11:44:59 PM
It doesn't seem to make any difference if i'm using IE7 or any other browser.
Really? Thats strange because I can't reproduce it at all.
Can you screenshot me your browser, and post your browser version and OS version? Cheers.
About to go offline now but I'll do it first thing next visit. Promise.
SEE YOU ALL IN SIX MONTHS!!!!
Kidding.
Whereabouts in Kentucky, Bob? We'll be visiting my kids' mother in Louisville next month.
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 25 October, 2009, 05:29:37 PM
Whereabouts in Kentucky, Bob? We'll be visiting my kids' mother in Louisville next month.
In the mountains in the eastern part of the state,when in L'ville eat at The Cheesecake Factory and enjoy your trip. ;D
No Canadian readers here that i know about which is odd because 2000ad was imported to Canada since it started.
[Unless i count myself but i am not Canadian by birth but it was where i lived before moving to the UK]
Bob, we have Cheesecake Factories all over the ATL - in Louisville, we'll be stopping in Lynn's Paradise Cafe for a Hot Brown Sandwich, I think!
Peter, I've been wondering where the Canadian readers are for ages!
Quote...we'll be stopping in Lynn's Paradise Cafe for a Hot Brown Sandwich, I think!
That's prison talk, right?
Quote from: TordelBack on 25 October, 2009, 09:33:42 PM
Quote...we'll be stopping in Lynn's Paradise Cafe for a Hot Brown Sandwich, I think!
That's prison talk, right?
heh!