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There are quite a few bad ones, let's face it:-


THE MAN WHO BROKE THE LAW - ghastly from start to finish, and followed directly by the brilliant THE PIT

BABES IN ARMS - art was ok...

THE JUDGE WHO LIVES DOWNSTAIRS - was not helped by garish Ewins artwork

BLIND MATE - simply shite

THE SUGAR BEAT - steenkeeng Steelgrove!


None by Wagner here...

Apart from the usual favourite suspects of THE APOCALYPSE WAR, THE JUDGE CHILD, NECROPOLIS, THE PIT etc., I have some best remembered JUDGE DREDD one-offs and few-parters:-

WORMS - brilliant idea of garbage disposal... and what a way to die!

THE POWER OF THE GODS - "...no deviations, or you'll find yourself listenin' through a third ear!"

AND THE WIND CRIED - surely one of the most moving MC1 stories ever

DEAD RINGER - I loved this, it had everything: interstellar cat-and-mouse, the Cursed Earth, Stookies "flee for your skins!", rock-hard aliens, Mechanismo, buggery, and that great little one-off episode when they landed on that planet where Dredd had God-like status!

Curiously, just realised three of these were written by Alan Grant!

Perhaps someone could answer this question regarding "random numbers".

Everyone knows there is not strictly such a thing as "random" - i.e. the lacking of any definite plan or prearranged order - as everything happens through cause and effect.

So when I ask my computer for a "random number" and it gives me a number, how does it arrive at that figure?

Every computer must be programmed how to respond to a specific question, but what program does a CPU follow to come up with a "random" number?

I'm guessing a pre-inputted sequence of numbers is followed until eventually the computer loops back to the beginning...

One of the finest stories in the history of 2000AD must be THE SONG OF THE SURFER.

SOUL ON FIRE was great, and then along came this relentless and bonkers race between the Meg's favourite perp, a few old skysurfer favourites and a bunch of unknowns.

It was exciting week in week out - the guns, the gore, the lethal "obstacles", the deaths, the frenzied commentary... and layered with emotional conflicts between Chopper and his missus, Jug, his fellow racers and the sinister Stig Corp.

And Colin MacNeil's art - some of the most colourful
and "alive" work I'd ever seen in a comic.

Remember the final page? I recall being left stunned by that. "I think he's GONE...!". Chopper dead? Yes, I wanted it to be so.

Alas, then the Megazine launched with Ennis' EARTH, WIND & FIRE and then followed with that horrible, soulless SUPERSURF 13 in 2000AD.

A classic case I think of a brilliant all-out blaze-of-glory end to a likeable character - made all the more riveting by the uncertainty of Chopper's demise -being almost tainted by needless continuing adventures which could never ever hope to live up to his finest hour.

Right, I'm juiced up enough now to rush out and buy the graphic novel [again - lost the first copy].

What about Clint Langley's SLAINE art then?

Even non-comics readers I have showed his work to are well impressed; it's instantly accessible stuff for sure, but Scota last prog was so impressive I kept going back for more and more - he adds life to those eyes like I have never seen.

Some reckon it is rather messy and unfathomable in places, but I found the same with Boo Cook's ASYLUM stuff at times and still loved that too.

The large shot of Moloch on his throne at the swarming a few months ago was alarmingly good I thought - never before had I wanted to re-read a story episode on the basis of the art alone, excellent though the recent scripts have been too.

Considering how unsuitable SLAINE art has been between Bisley and Langley, this man doesn't half bring Mills' scripts to life.

Imagine Langley on DREDD? Or would such detailed work be lost on other 2000AD characters?

When the strip first appeared, it was an inevitable symptom of the PULP FICTION bandwagon with the cute pop-culture talk and casual violence.

A few years and major developments later, I think Dan Abnett has strengthened as a writer and his world of Downlode is now well established within 2000AD - it can easily survive the odd clunky story, although clearly from INPUT S&D are not yet firm favourites.

The deaths of major supporting characters Demi Octavo and Rex Monday hint that no-one is safe, and semi-regulars have been corrupted and offed with delicious glee.

The Downlode Tales after the death of Demi Octavo slowly and carefully bringing the duo back together I found intriguing and unpredictable, and added loads of depth to the two hitmen.

Goes to show if a writer sticks at it with a couple of wobbly creations and lets their world expand, we can end up with a top story and some great characters.

Simon Davis' also deserves a mention as the definitive S&D artist!

The recent Strontium Dog stories - set before the demise of Johnny Alpha - have been largely well received.

However I think when a character is "killed off" by a writer, dead should mean dead.

Some INPUT letters have demanded Alpha's return, and "not accepted" the tale of his demise. They want history re-written.

Even creator John Wagner has hinted in interviews that his death was ultimately an inconvenience to writing further SD stories... hence the datelines for his subsequent tales. Suggesting some of the SD strips were apocryphal and "unreal" can surely not sit well with most readers.

I think it takes a brave writer to tackle the death of a major character, and the epic FINAL SOLUTION was a marvellous end to an era.

Then THE DARKEST STAR finalised things very nicely indeed - rest in peace Johnny Alpha; respect to Alan Grant and Garth Ennis.

One or two retro Alpha strips are OK - such is the versatile world of mutant bounty hunting - but I would hate to see such a top sci-fi character (and a now dead one at that) bled dry for the sake of familiar ground.

Next he'll be popping up in the passenger seat of Steve McQueen's Ford Puma!

How come no-one uses the chatrooms?

The IRC seems to work OK, and there's a stunning comms_droid at the helm this evening guys!

See you there!

I've been away for a while, and just heard Bob Monkhouse is dead.

AND Harold Shipman.

Two best entertainers this country ever had.

Does anyone have a keen interest in cult/horror/exploitation films ?

Particularly 70's/80's low budget oddities.

If the names Fulci, D'amato, Deodato mean anything to you, do let me know.

Insane Japanese shockers, too.