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Well, since my FLCBS here in the US has not been able to get any Rebellion products in over a year*, I've finally given up and am thinking about getting a direct subscription from Rebellion for 2000 AD and the Megazine. But when I've had other overseas subscriptions before I often run into the problem of the comics being delivered in a shocking state - torn, creased, battered and sometimes unreadable.

So here's my question: are there any forum users here who have a UK-to-US subscription and if so can they tell me the quality of the delivered comics? (Obviously there's no accounting for certain factors, such as the local USPS, but just speaking generally.)

* Partly understandable due to COVID-19 and the issues Diamond ran into, but it's still been far too long without current thrill power. Added to which, the store reacted oddly - blaming me, lying to my face about things, and then ignoring my questions. Sigh. I really want to support them but their customer service is terrible.

If we're only talking physical books then 'The Red Seas' would qualify, even though that's had numerous digital collection.

Of course, if we're being really pedantic that's not true either... 😉

Why not? I'm in too, although I'm dreading what the spinning wheel will bring... Aunty's Choice would be nice.

Seven billion people already know how to self-rule, they rule most of their own lives. Just like you do. You obey your own rules and stick to your own morality, you decide who you want as your friends and who you want to work for, you decide what to eat and what to drink, you decide whether to lie or cheat or steal or murder or not. 90% of your life is self-ruled.

The flaw in your argument would be that it is only partly true and does not take into account when those partial truths of mine or yours collide with those of someone else. We all self-rule to an extent but we also do not all self-rule in the same way. There are laws I think are ridiculous but I am forced to follow them. Likewise, I follow some rules even though there are no laws enforcing them. We have limited choices, in friends, family, work, food.

That's the flaw. Not that you're wrong in saying we're all 90% self-ruled, that's probably true, but rathe that my 90% could be very different to your 90%.

Poor Charlotte Coleman, such a short life.

Instant happy n sad when I see images of Marmalade Atkins.

That was exactly my reaction.  I sometimes catch sight of her sister Lisa on Tracy Beaker, and think for a second that it's her.

Oh man, I had no idea! I just googled to see what you were on about . Now I am sad too. A horrible way to go too - I almost died of the same thing when I was 19.

Holy crap. I never knew she had passed. Her role (and the whole story) in Oranges are Not the Only Fruit had such a great impact on me when I was a teen. 

[1st: SIP - Venus Bluegenes]

1st: SIP - Venus Bluegenes
I posted about this one when I first saw it because I adore this. The black-and-white art is just so stark and simple, and the styling is near-perfect. If this doesn't win it's a crying shame. A really beautiful piece of art.

2nd: allistermac - Brett Ewins Dredd
Ah, maybe I'm on a black-and-white kick lately, I don't know, but this is a great throwback to the old days of 2000 AD.

3rd: Fungus - The Psychic & The Psycho
It's not the greatest artistically (sorry to say that, remember it's just my uninformed opinion) but it a beautifully framed piece that shows a huge amount of emotion and that's something a lot of art fails to do.

HMs: Albion's Sid! (again, the whole BnW thing); James Newell's Jack in the Box (fantastically themed and stylized); Morgan Gleaves Venus Bluegenes (lovely cartoon style to this one, it reminded me of a tattoo for some reason); and Nic Freeman's Ewins Tribute (just a perfect tribute).

I echo what others have said about some incredibly talented artists taking part in this contest. You're all amazing and should be proud of the work you've created. Thank you, one and all.

Not sure I'm doing this right, but here goes...

I always thought the scout-plane in The Masks of Arazzor (Prog #241, late 1982) looked similar(ish) to a 1970s Battlestar Galactica Viper...

Something about the placement of the three engines around the cockpit and the snub-nose. Most likely a complete coincidence though, I mean, how many variations of basic jet plane designs are there, right?

["This the new script?""Yeah.""So it's about a roguish starship captain?""Yeah.""And he just travels from world to world meeting aliens for the first time?""Yeah.""On behalf of this PEST organization, which stands for... what was it again?""The Planetary Exploration and Survey Trust.""Hmm.""You don't like it?""I don't like it.""Damn.""Don't worry, we can salvage something from it. Let's see... we'll drop the sci-fi angle, no one watches those kind of movies anyway. Make it modern day, cheaper too. Romance, we've got to have romance. Let's make him the personification of death instead of a starship captain, that will work. And we'll shorten and simplify the title, I think. If he meets people, let's just say something like that. If we can do all that, we might just have something. You never know, we might even be able to get Brad Pitt to sign on.""Works for me."]

Another quick and easy one about the first ever 2000AD movie... until Hollywood got their hands on it. Released in 1998, if memory serves.

"This the new script?"
"Yeah."
"So it's about a roguish starship captain?"
"Yeah."
"And he just travels from world to world meeting aliens for the first time?"
"Yeah."
"On behalf of this PEST organization, which stands for... what was it again?"
"The Planetary Exploration and Survey Trust."
"Hmm."
"You don't like it?"
"I don't like it."
"Damn."
"Don't worry, we can salvage something from it. Let's see... we'll drop the sci-fi angle, no one watches those kind of movies anyway. Make it modern day, cheaper too. Romance, we've got to have romance. Let's make him the personification of death instead of a starship captain, that will work. And we'll shorten and simplify the title, I think. If he meets people, let's just say something like that. If we can do all that, we might just have something. You never know, we might even be able to get Brad Pitt to sign on."
"Works for me."

Venus Bluegenes from the Brett Rogue Trooper story "From hell to eternity".

I adore this. Great work.

["Rosebud..." Dink Jowett gasped with his last breath.]

Here's probably the most obvious entry... and definitely the shortest one (hey, 500 words or less, right? )

"Rosebud..." Dink Jowett gasped with his last breath.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Only 8 words! That must be a record or what?

Here are my votes, in reverse order:

3) Eamonn1961 - Getting to Know You
2) TimTailz - Cold Blooded
1) The Legendary Shark - Old Dreads, New Hopes

ODNH just hit all the right buttons for me, that's why I picked it as the #1. It's the most obvious pairing and one that could fit into the comic without any alteration (we know SD takes place in Dredd's future, after all), which makes it a comfortable read. But it's also an easy read, and I mean that in a good way, because the writing is just so damn good.

The air conditioning unit was on the fritz. Every now and then the paper strands tied to the vent up in the corner would flare out, wave limply for a second or so, and then fall still again.

Shauna wrinkled her nose against the wafts of old man smell that would come across the room each time the strands fluttered. She was doing her best to ignore it. But then if it was bothering her it must have been killing Butch.

"So let me go through this one more time, Mister Gant, just to make sure I've got it straight," she said, idly stroking the ears of the white cat that sat in her lap, "if you don't mind."

"That's Judge Gant," the old man wheezed. It wasn't hard to see he made a habit of correcting people, and no doubt it was a habit he liked.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry. If you don't mind, Judge Gant..."

"If you must. Time is a luxury denied to me."

He wasn't kidding. Shauna guessed the geezer had to be a hundred and fifty if he was a day and he looked a decade or two older. When he spoke, each word creaked out in shower of dust, cheap cologne, and decidedly illegal nicotine. The butler-bot behind him remained perfectly motionless, blank eyes staring fixedly ahead, hands clamped on the handles of the old man's gimp buggy.

That bot was beginning to creep her out. Worse than spiders, she thought. She ran a hand through her long black hair, let out a deep sigh, and dragged her attention back to the package that rested on the desk between them.

"You want us to deliver this package..." she said, and used her stylus to poke idly at the perfectly square box, "immediately. But you've told us nothing about it, you won't tell us what's in it, and you won't let us scan it."

The cat stood, stretched in that way that would break the back of anything that wasn't feline, and sat down in Shauna's lap again. "Maybe it's tuna."

"You think everything is tuna, Butch."

"I'll be right one day," the cat said, sniffing. "Doesn't smell like tuna though. Smells dead."

"Like tuna?"

"And cold."

"Like tuna from the fridge?"

"Old too, rotten even."

"Like Genghis' can of tuna in the fridge?"

The old man impatiently rapped his knuckles on the desk, probably breaking a bone or two. "Ms. McCullough, please!"

"Yes, sorry. But despite all that, you're still expecting us to deliver this box by hand right into Justice Central?"

"That's right," he said. "It's a simple enough request."

"I'm sorry, Judge Gant, but if I'm being honest with you this stinks..."

"And not in a good way," Butch added quietly.

Shauna ignored the interruption. "...and Zippy Couriers only deals with legal packages. Frankly you'd be better off handing some kid off the street a hundred credits and asking them to take it for you."