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I just finished reading Mick McMahon's magnificent 'Howler'. I have to say that's the worst beating I've seen Judge Dredd ever take! It's prompted me to wonder, has there been any other instances which you guys remember when Dredd took a hell of a pummelling? Is Howler the worst (or best!) or does Stan Lee deserve the accolade for best arse kicker? Your thoughts would be very welcome, and it just might prompt me to seek out other stories! 

[FLASH!]

Oh darn it! I forgot one of my fave childhood sci-fi films in that list (top 20); FLASH!

My top 10 would be;

1. Blade Runner
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Alien /Aliens (hard to pick between the two)
4. Ghost In The Shell
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
6. Robocop
7. Brazil
8. The Fifth Element
9. Escape From New York
10. Wall-E

And the rest..

11. Akira
12. Star Trek; The Undiscovered Country
13. The Terminator
14. Starship Troopers
15. Moon
16. Nausicaa of The Valley of Wind
17. Forbidden Planet
18. Serenity
19. Sunshine
20. Silent Running

I'd have cast Bruce Willis rather than Adrien Brody though.

Brody buffs up nicely but he's still too small. And like the film itself, he lacks the unbridled machismo I want from a PREDATOR flick. The only thing going for PREDATORS is the Fishy subplot but even that seems only there to pad out the runtime.

Unlike THIS, Bub

I actually quite liked Brody in the film, he was not your conventional hero and that's what I found appealing about the character. Laurence Fishburne was poorly used however, babbling like a psychotic buffoon (oh wait...). My disappointment with the film was due to the sometimes poor script and setting. I would love to have seen more alien flora and fauna, and that mysterious runner alien that is shot, what is he/it, and why were there not other creatures (alive that is) which our group could've encountered? The shot of the alien planet and sun in the sky was great, you got a sense that they're definitely not on earth, but the environment looked very earth like and failed to give a sense of being on another planet. And I was disappointed when I learned that it was not the Predator's home world, I would love to see that on film somewhere down the line. As for the Predators themselves, the super Predators did look menacing and badass, but it rendered the original Predators as weak, something which I find hard to fathom having grown up being shit scared by them in the previous films. I hope the next film (if we do get one) will be a bit more exciting, with a better script and set up,  and hopefully delve deeper into the Predator mythos much better. But it was refreshing to see a film with an iconic monster that didn't have the word 'Vs' in the title.

Seeing as the chance to see The Red Seas Vol. 2, 3, and so on, being published is remote, I'd happily settle on seeing them in the floppy. C'mon Tharg, Matt, Grud, Jovis - please make it happen! 

New Cit to MC1.  Wonder how long this Mutie can hang out on the streets before getting the boot to The Cursed Earth?

Ask Judge Richmond, nicely, he'll probably boot you out to the Cursed Earth sooner rather than later!

Welcome on board! 

I'm actually very proud of the fact that I can call myself a 'Comic book aficionado' and a Comic artwork collector......However I can only imagine,  the frustration of artists who work in the medium, when the term 'comic book' as applied to their awesome work,  is used as a derogatory term....as if somehow this is not 'Real Art'....FFS !!
I watched a great series on Sky Arts ( Ink...Alter Egos exposed ) recently ...where a very popular, comic book artist referred to himself as an Illustrator,  precisely to avoid the derogatory and / or negative  comments...

OK, we here are a select few...I understand that, but just because I love Comic Artwork, does not mean I'm dismissive of other types of art....Like everyone else,  there is some artwork I like and some I don't, but the stuff I don't like I don't just dismiss as 'crap'.....

Sometimes ( not very often ), I'm glad I don't draw for a living.......I think I'd end up 'losing the rag' when somebody suggested my work wasn't 'real art'.....

Cheers

So called critics can label it how they want but for me some of the artwork for comicbooks are art of the highest order. People like Richard Corben, Frank Frazetta, Moebius, Mick McMahon, Simon Bisley, Brian Bolland, Glenn Fabry and countless others,  to me their art is on par with the art we see hanging in galleries. They are the modern day equivalent of Da Vinci,  Michaelangelo or Picasso. That is how highly I regard their works.

[Dept.of Monsterology]

The prologue in the Meg was a great read. I know I said it reminded me of B.P.R.D a little, well I must say looking at those pages, the Dept.of Monsterology seems like a whole different beast. P.J's art was....how can I put it - mesmerising. My jaws just hit the ground when I saw those double page splashes. Not only the art but the script , the lettering, colouring - it's a fabulous effort from you guys. From what I've witnessed from those brief few pages, it looks like you're on to an absolute winner.

[work of fucking art]

That one page splash on page 2 of Insurrection is a work of fucking art. And there is no other way it could've been potrayed. It is both shocking and breathtaking in equal measure. Colin MacNeil, if you're reading this- take a bow.

Oddly, I quite enjoyed Salvation,even though that was a mess, but that's probably more to do with the setting than anything else. At least it was better than Alien Resurrection...

I agree.  Salvation managed to entertain me. Probably because it had some cool robot concepts.  It's not a great film but I don't think any of the Terminator films are great.  T1 was alright.  Melodramatic and slightly ridiculous, but the simple plot keeps it from being unbearable.  Had a good production team.  T2 just comes across as over the top to me now.  It is really the same concept as the first with a few twists and a lot more spectacle.  T3 was just plain awful.

I prefer Alien Resurrection to Terminator Salvation. At least with Resurrection, there was some nice stylistic touches which I loved and the cast were fun. There's a very Heavy Metal vibe in Resurrection, from the look and humour. Jean Pierre Jeunet is far more an exciting and accomplished director than McG, if you pit City of Lost Children and Amelie against Charlie's Angel: Full Throttle, there is no contest as to who is better. Yes Joss Whedon's script for Resurrection could've been better and even he admits that. But it is still a worthy addition to the Alien series in my opinion. Salvation had its moments but overall I was a tad disappointed with it. There was a lot of promise but ultimately it failed to materialise on screen.

And Resurrection's 'Betty' was far more sexier than all the machines in Salvation put together.

[We have to accept some women do have large breasts, so while it's nice to see variation in breast size and visibility in comics, in some cases it's absolutely fine to see large knockers, if the context demands it. Given the type of strip Flesh is, I feel they're fine, and I will continue to enjoy them.]

I'm going to stick my head above the parapet and say I actually quite like Flesh. 

In the context of the story, I'm going to accept a female and buxom rogue dino-wrangler come eco-warrior.  Women who have large breasts, who use them to their advantage in male company do exist.  Goodness knows I've fallen for enough of them.  The whole strip is about gratuitousness, especially when you consider all the giant dinos, brutal deaths, gore and chin tickling.  It's totally in keeping with the themes running through it. 

If you want subtlety and sensitivity in any shape or form, I recommend you read 'Blankets' instead.  It's just as awesome, and includes a woman, but in a very different way.

Where I may have had an issue is where the breasts may have been out of context.  For example, the female Judge a few months ago, who had her zip down to her navel and her breasts spilling out.  I mean, what the hell?  That's gotta be against regs!  Totally jarring and and out of context.  Of course there will be some female Judges with large breasts, as well as small, or firm, or droopy, or whatever.  But at the end of the day they are JUDGES, and in the context of the strip, getting them out serves no other function than reader titillation (excuse the pun), and is completely out of character/context/theme.

We have to accept some women do have large breasts, so while it's nice to see variation in breast size and visibility in comics, in some cases it's absolutely fine to see large knockers, if the context demands it.  Given the type of strip Flesh is, I feel they're fine, and I will continue to enjoy them.

Aye, totally with you on this one. I don't have any problem with the art, and to be fair, the depiction of Vegas' 'attributes' isn't that overly explicit IMO. I've seen far more explicit stuff in other anthologies such as Heavy Metal. I don't think it hurts to have a bit of cleavage or muscle every one in a while, as long as it's not too gratuitous esp. in the case of 2000ad which anyone can pick up to read.

Arthur Ranson has alas retired BUT he has a rather lovely website and a web comic he's using to learn how to create computer art. The man is quite brilliant.

http://www.arthurranson.com/

That is one awesome site, Colin. Thank you for the info and link! :-)

[Judge Anderson: Satan]

I'm still going through the Megs...just came across Judge Anderson: Satan. My word - Arthur Ranson's art?! 

It's absolutely mindblowing. And that Satan bloke is scary as funt. The ending was slightly weak for this 7-parter, but the artwork (and story at least 6/7 of the way through) was mesmerising. What's Arthur Ranson up to now by the way, can we please have him back for a special appearance in the prog/ Meg at least?

I'm also enjoying the recent Megs I bought on here, those Interrogations are really great, esp. the ones on Siku, Jesus Redondo, Dave Gibbons and Carlos 'The King' Ezquerra.

[cover]

Great cover from Alex, but had to slip it inside the prog at work!... only to find the same image on the back of the Prog! D'oh! 

Just got a glimpse of the cover over at Comic Vine, oh my! It is a bit saucy isn't it?! 

Sorry to hear about the loss of your father, Colin. I didn't know that, and it sounds like Alan Barnes was a great friend and editor.

We may not be family of flesh and blood, but we are perhaps a family of paper and dreams.

I couldn't agree more and a really nice way to put it, too! :-)