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My name comes from the football team I support. Brighton & Hove Albion.

LOL - sussed that one ages back, mate!

Knew a Mabs years ago... in real life. Can't be you though cos his Uncle wasn't called Bob. *snigger*

Very funny Bat King!   

[Dark Jimbo]

In fact, I didn't even know who he/she was! But seeing as it has been explained to me by my friend Dark Jimbo (as to who the person is), I'll leave it at that.

Is this the human emotion you call... friendship?

Yeah, something like that, Jimbo! :-)

My one is Mabs of course it's my nickname.

Initially I was going to go for Nexus Wookie, a name I use on other forums (a jalgemation of Blade Runner and Star Wars - a replicant Wookie so to speak)). But when I first registered my details for this board, I was having some problems. So I put in my nickname, and hey presto - Bob became my uncle. So I stuck with it. I've been meaning to change it for a more fancy name but I'm having great difficulty thinking of something amusing.

Sensitive Klegg? Anthrax Ghoulshadow? Just a few I've been pondering on!

Oh my god. That is absolutely gorgeous. 

I was planning on buying this when it came out in a collected trade, but those images have got me really tempted to buy #1 straight away. You know I spent a good 6-7 minutes just staring at that splash page. It's like Judge Dredd crossed with Where's Wally, so much detail stuffed in there.

Yeahrrh, get with it Hoo-Haa, this isn't like those dumb American comics where beloved icons are resurrected from certain death in particularly eye-rolling circumstances! 

Yeah, but... all right, but the point is... I mean, keeping in mind...

Oh balls, I can't think of a comeback.

[Cover]

Cover - Excellent work from Patrick Goddard. Love the detail and colour work, along with the humour.

Judge Dredd: Titan (Part Four) - Dredd and co venture deeper into the Titan prison colony, searching for answers, but soon Dredd comes face to face with the mastermind behind it all...

And I must confess, it was not who I was expecting. In fact, I didn't even know who he/she was! But seeing as it has been explained to me by my friend Dark Jimbo (as to who the person is), I'll leave it at that. The rest of the strip was bloody marvellous though with Henry Flint at the very top of his game. The flooded airlock panels were done with such amazing skill and detail, you could almost feel the water splashing off the pages. And the last page was jawdropping to say the least (art-wise, not the reveal) - in the smaller panel it looked like Flint was channelling John Burns with the black pen/paint strokes on the water.

Ulysses Sweet: Centred (Part Five) - Ulysses is up to his same old tricks, causing mayhem and driving people to the edge of insanity (not least our friend Barry!). There were several moments of hilarity, key one being his encounter with the harp playing angel! Paul Marshall continues to draw this mad man's escapades with wit and skill and you can definitely count me in as a fan.

Grey Area: Short Straw - A brilliant self contained story dealing with ETC agent Bulliet's trials and tribulations inside an alien 'cave'. We soon trackback to find out how he came to be in this spot of bother in the first place, and of course, the clue is in the title. I thought it was really fun one-off by Dan Abnett and Patrick Goddard, whose artwork is simply outstanding.

ABC Warriors: Return to Mars (Part Five) - Happy Shrapnel changes his name, and contrary to the pleading of his comrades, wants to turn his back on violence. It was quite funny seeing Hammerstein trying to change his mind only to be met with the same answer from Shrapnel/ Caine. Clint Langley's artwork looks terrific too. I'm enjoying this Thrill a lot.

Strontium  Dogs: Dogs of War (Part Five) - Johnny Alpha disguised as a Norm Brotherhood member, sneaks into their camp to gather intelligence. We again see the ruthless side of Alpha, killing without even flinching. War can do terrible things to man and it seems like Johnny is also a casualty of it.

Nice to see a letters page at the end with input from fellow Squaxx. So an excellent Prog overall.

I'd probably be among those wholeheartedly welcoming the return to the hit-and-move guerrilla narrative tactics of Portrait Of A Mutant if there was just a little more of that story's unfolding human drama in there as well. A final panel of a snarling villain swearing next week will be Alpha's last battle makes the events of that episode feel like more than scenery shifting, and deaths amongst the supporting cast are only involving if they've previously been given something memorable to say or do in the story.

Totally nailed it there, Sauchie: what I'm missing most from this strip is human drama. I enjoy action, but I need strong characters, too. And right now, everyone (including Johnny) is just devolving to STOCK  MUTANT or STOCK HUMAN.

I think the ruthlessness with which Johnny dispatches that Norm toward the end says a lot. If you look at the panels, he hardly flinches. Killing has become a part of him, he has become a casualty of war, by which I mean that he has lost some of his 'humanity'. I think (for me at least), there's quite a bit I can take away from the strip.

I don't think I'll pick it up, seeing as I read it already in the Meg. And as has been said prior, I found the story too brief and a little let down by the artwork in places (which being a fan of Flint, is hard to admit). But that Jock cover for the 2nd printing does sound very tempting...

I've seen it written both ways, my advice would be to go with the numerical one if that's what you'd prefer.

Yassa Povey had a Dog.

And a mighty fine one it was too!

I'm liking Ulysess too! Although I would say it's definately starting to feel too wordy for its own good by this point, something I worried might happen since the first episode. Can understand why some people might not like it, but don't quite understand all the outright hate - it's just meant to be a bit of fun!

I'd be happy to see it back, but I'd suggest that shorter stories (say 6 parts or so) are the way to go for this character.

I'm also liking Ulysses Sweet too! Yes it's a bit barmy and clearly not for everyone, but I find it quite hilarious. Also,  I agree that future stories should be a little shorter. Short but Sweet, eh! 

I did sometimes wonder why black people got tattoos. I'd be trying to put black ink over dark blue stencil on top of dark brown skin, and having a right old job to see any of the lines involved. I'd think 'Why pay over a hundred quid (sometimes double, triple that) for something that nobody's ever really going to be able to make out?'

Never tattooed anyone who was blind, though (or even heard of it happening, now that I think about it).

Another question, if you were booked into a get a tattoo, no deposit paid and then "somehow" went blind permanently, would you bother going and getting it done?

I think if it was me, I'd have a more bigger problem on my plate worrying about my blindness, and a tattoo in comparison would seem insignificant.

As for blind people getting Tattoos, I read that they also do Braille ones. Ultimately it's up to the individual whether blind or not, if he/ she wants one.

[Pirates in an Adventure With Scientists]

Pirates in an Adventure With Scientists

With much thanks to Mabs for netting it for milady we watched it - me for the first time - it was anachro-tastic and I loved the gleeful fannying-about with historical fact (of course in real life Darwin was PART of that grim "endangered species dining club" :S). The painting of Victoria as the villain is fantastically mad and the soundtrack (Tenpole Tudor and Flight of the Concords :O) is brilliant. The central cast of characters is strong but there's a lingering sense that some things hadn't been properly resolved - making you wonder where the books go and whether or not Aardman will go back to it (although with the huge gorgeous sets and long production time I could see why they wouldn't). Having just recently seen Were-Rabbit it's astonishing how much the animation has progressed as well - the sets were consistently extraordinary and I could happily live in those models forever. Also Hugh Grant sounded NOTHING LIKE HUGH GRANT here - very odd I'm normally quite good at spotting voices.

Overall - a grand and enjoyable romp that looks utterly breathtaking.

I agree, I was surprised to find Hugh Grant doing the voice of the Pirate Captain, and even more surprised because he managed to do a stellar job!

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, CrazyFox! 

Are you a tattooist, Dark Jimbo?! 

Used to be, until recently - after Uni I stumbled into an apprenticeship that led to four year's tattooing. Fantastic money, but I always knew I'd never stick with it long-term.

Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing, Jimbo!

Welcome to the forum, Fieldmarshal!