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Are there any other Bloom County fans out there? And does anyone know the score with regards to re-prints?

I was just wondering if anybody out there knew what the score was with regards to Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows. I'm a huge fan, but I think the last issue I bought was #36, and that was maybe three years ago. Has he abandoned it? I certainly hope not. Sublime as Shanna and Red Sonja are, great as his covers and pin-ups are, I really miss Liberty Meadows in my monthly bag of new comics...

I just noticed that John Godey's novel, The Taking of Pelham 123, hasa been re-printed to tie-in with the new Tony Scott movie. Whatever you think of the movie, I really recommend giving the novel a read. It's an excellent thriller. It's also extremely different in tone to the 1970s film version, which was specifically tailored to Walter Matthau's comedic talents when he signed on to star.

Fun trivia: ...Pelham 123 was very nearly Steven Spielberg's second movie, but the producers decided to go with the more experienced Joseph Sargent, and Spielberg went off and made Jaws.

Hi, everyone!

I'm currently thinking about buying a Blackberry and I wondered if any techno-savvy Squaxx had any advice?

Would I be better off buying a laptop?

I'm really new to all this technology - I'd never really used a PC until about six months ago - so it's all a bit daunting and a bit of a black art to me.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Best wishes to all,

Sefton Disney

Hola, amigos!

You don't have to talk to me for very long to realise that I love Westerns. And I especially love Westerns All'Italiana, the maddest, baddest, cruellest, funniest and most surreal take on the genre.

So, I was just wondering if there were any other Spaghetti/Tortilla Western fans out there who wanted to chat about their favourite movies and related topics.

To kick off - Django and The Big Silence. Both awesome films, but who's cooler - Franco Nero or Jean-Louis Tritignant?  

Vamos y Matar, Companeros!

Borag thungg, fellow Squaxx!

Quick query: in Nemesis the Warlock, Vol. 1, Pat Mills says that the unfortunate Sir Olric was partly a spoof of Michael Moorcock's Elric, in response to some comments Moorcock made when 2000AD launched.

Does anybody know what Moorcock actually said?

It must have got under the Guvnor's skin, because I don't think there's a prize for guessing who Elfric in Slaine was based on!

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Live long and prosper!

- Sefton Disney

Borag Thungg!

Talking about Jesus Redondo elsewhere reminded me - am I the only Squaxx who has a real soft spot for Zippy Couriers, the strip from the 1990s he illustrated?

I think it suffered a bit because it went against the macho 2000AD grain, but I rather liked its soap-opera/"girls comic" feel and gentle comedy. It made a really nice contrast to the likes of Joe, Johnny and Rogue. Guess I am a big softy, after all...

I also loved Moonrunners for much the same reason.

I think the "girls comic" vibe was an interesting direction Tharg never really followed up on - and perhaps he should have.

Any fellow fans out there?

I have memories of a story which ran in the 1981 2000AD Sci-Fi Special, alongside Nemesis The Warlock: The Sword Sinister. It may (or may not) have been called Southern Comfort (or Southern Discomfort). My memory is that it was a Future Shock, somewhat in the mould of The Crazies and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, about a man who returns to his home town only to find it over-run by zombies or homicidal psychopaths of some kind (caused by the folly of hubristic science, I believe). In the end, just as the hero thinks he's escaped, he's killed by one of the crazies who's hiding in the back seat of his car. The art may have been by John Cooper.

To the best of my knowledge, it's never been re-printed anywhere.

I don't have a copy of the 1981 Sci-Fi Special anymore and (as you've probably noticed) my memories of the story are pretty hazy, although I remember very clearly that it scared the shit out of me when I was 10!

If any Squaxx Dek Thargo can supply me with details of this story, I'd be eternally grateful - sometimes I think I must have dreamed it!

Any ideas, anyone?

Massive thanks in advance,

Sefton Disney

I've just been reading some old progs and reprints and I want to send a shout out to Jesus Redondo, a massively under-rated 2000AD artist.

He was one of the key early 2000AD artists, and illustrated some of my favourite older thrills - Project Overkill, Return To Armageddon, Timequake, Nemesis The Warlock and countless Future Shocks - but his work seems to get overlooked these days (as does the work of so many of the European and Latin American artists who made such a great contribution to 2000AD's early days).

I love the energy and looseness of his line work, which is totally European and very 2000AD. Does anybody out there know what he's up to these days? I'd love to see him contributing a new strip to 2000AD or the Megazine.

I've just been reading Kids Rule OK over at Comics UK. Fantastic stuff (as long as you skip the exceptionally dodgy ending)!

Action never fails to flabbergast me. How did they think they'd get away with it? And how did they for 36 weeks?

It says a lot about our supposedly liberated culture that I reckon Action would actually be more controversial in 2009 than it was in 1976.

It also says a lot about the state of telly in 2009 that a comic strip for kids from 1976 has more drama, grit and realism than a prime-time re-make of Survivors...

By the way, if you dig Kids Rule OK (or Quatermass, Survivors or Crossed for that matter) check out Simon Clark's novel Blood Crazy. Not for the squeamish, but one of the finest doomsday novels I've ever read. Right up there with John Christopher, the King of the British Apocalypse. The novel's explanation for the tide of irrational violence that sweeps civilization away is inspired and very thought-provoking. And, of course, Blood Crazy is probably the best title for a horror novel ever.

On a cheerier note, I'm about halfway through Skellig by David Almond, which I've been meaning to read for years, but only got around to buying when the TV version reminded me. I think the novel's fantastic - deceptively simple, but brilliantly imagined and beautifully written. Did the movie do it justice?

Happy bookworming!

- Sefton

I know the rights to old IPC comics are something of a fraught area, and a few things have been reprinted elsewhere, but are there any plans to reprint material from Starlord And Tornado? There's that much of it, and I'd really like to read Planet Of The Damned, Timequake,the Roman-era Blackhawk and Wagner's Walk again.

Any news?

Hello, everyone. My name is Sefton Disney pretty big moment in the life of an aging Squaxx Dek Thargo  - my very first posting to a message board.

Please be gentle with me!

I'm 38 years old and I've read 2000AD every week since I half-inched Prog 76 from my cousin back in the day. I also read the Megazine and I'm a fan of all the 2000AD-related comics - Action, Battle, Tornado, Starlord, Crisis, etc. and I'm fascinated by the history of British comics generally.

I also love Strangehaven, The Walking Dead, Liberty Meadows, Northlanders, Age Of Bronze, The Goon and Red Sonja/Conan.

Judging from what I've read on the boards I like pretty much the same stuff as everybody else when it comes to TV, movies, books, etc.

I especially love westerns and the classic horror movies of the 1960s and 70s. John Carpenter is my all-time favourite film director.

Music-wise, my particular passions of the moment are extreme metal and classic/prog rock, with a bit of power-pop and alt.country thrown in.

And that's about it for now. I really look forward to cahtting to you all.

And don't forget - Alan Moore does, indeed, know the score. but Pat Mills is the Guvnor!