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The whole thing with apps and smartphones in Saga just seemed silly and incongruous in that context, and there was a bit where the lead character says something like "You've never been so beautiful as you are now" to his girlfriend during childbirth. I mean, this is Sci Fi and all, but you still have to make dialogue at least vaguely ring true and sound like something someone would actually say. And it takes more than gratuitous nudity to make something 'mature' - Saga just seemed laughably juvenile and lightweight to me. It just made me cringe more than anything.

I think the thing I enjoyed about Saga was that the dialogue was so real and current.  I'm not sure why every new Sci-fi story would need to develop a new language, keeping it current gives the characters a realistic feel and I didn't have any problems with them downloading apps.  Yes there is corny dialogue like "you have never been so beautiful" but isn't this balanced out with lines like " am I sh*tting, it feels like I'm sh*tting"?

There is a slight twilight teeny feel to it but there is enough life in the characters for me to forgive that.  And, as you say, the artwork is very good.   

OK, my bad! 

I wipe mine out in public on a regular basis

Good thing I wasn't drinking tea when Colin dropped this particular typo into his post.  My colleague would have been covered! 

I agree there is no shame in reading whichever comics you like and there is definitely an elitism and snobbery around some.

Since I came back to the comics world I have tried to not limit myself to one particular genre.  Whilst it is true that there are plenty of so-so superhero comics, there is also lots of great stuff that has come out over the years e.g. Dark Knight Returns, All Star Superman, Planet Hulk.   

I do agree though that there is a problem with some of these comics that just run forever and don't really have a start, middle and end - most of the best stuff I have ever read does.   

Her acting was pretty bad!

I've seen plenty of horror movies over the years so bad acting is not an issue!

Well l done Sharky.  You would have thought that they would be able to process a warrant.  Shocking that they are so quick to use the police threat also.

DRAG ME TO HELL

On tv after Arachnophobia. I very much love this film, it being the only decent thing Sam Raimi has done since Evil Dead 2- but like Dagon, which I tried to watch last week and which I had previously been passionate about- I found it a drag this time. Maybe it's my mood, but it seemed so by-the-numbers this time. I turned off halfway through and went to Dave for Mock The Week. One to watch with the kids later, I think, as I feel it's still a genuinely great horror film and does actually deliver the scares without being in any way nasty or mean-spirited or grounded in any form of reality.

The thing that really annoyed me about this movie is that the lead girl was not really all that bad and put in a situation where she had to refuse the mortgage extension.  I mean, really - is that all it takes to be punished with eternal damnation?  Just couldn't get over how unfair it seemed. 

I know Sam Raimi said he did it on purpose so your average viewer could relate but it just seemed off.  Better to have her do something really bad like drink-driving and hit the old lady, in my opinion.

I loved the original Spawn comics on the 90s, thought it was a great concept and the artwork was stunning.  Unfortunately as time went on it became clear that they had run out of ideas and the story just wasn't up to it. 

When I came back to comics last year I was surprised that Spawn was still going as I would have thought it would have been canned by now.  I don't really have any desire to read the new stuff but I will pick up some of the tpbs of the older stuff to relive those glory days of the 90s.   

I have not picked up the trade but I read this when it was in the Meg. 

As usual Mr Flint's artwork is a pleasure on the eyes but ultimately it seemed to me like the story didn't develop much and ended very quickly.  I thought there was going to be more of the mutant angle with Anderson but it didn't turn out that way.

It's good to hear it has been selling well and perhaps they could follow up with a mini-series with a bigger story.

I was driving to work the other day and Radio 1 was on (yeah, I'm still youth).  Anyway, they were talking about Breaking Bad and someone was telling Grimmy about it.  He said something along the lines of 'it starts a bit slow but after the first 8 hours it really picks up'.  Grimmy replied that he doesn't have the time and 8 hours is quite a while for  something to take off - would you sit through 8 hours of a movie waiting for it to get good?   

Great stuff Shoalin.  That is one of the best things there - finding some old stuff in a box that you thought you had lost. 

Bit late to the discussion but just wanted to add my support Shark.  Hope all goes well on Monday and that this situation is not stressing you out too much.

[Saga]

Just finished off the comics I got for Christmas.

Saga book 1 of this much discussed and recommended series from Brian K Vaughn. I liked it! Magic v Tech meets Romeo & Juliet is perhaps not a gripping concept to begin with but there's some imaginative scene setting and character building at work even in these early stages. Artwork isn't entirely my cup of tea - colours lean too heavily on the bland pastels for me - but does work well when given grander scenes to depict. Would have read more if I'd had it to hand.

I have also just finished reading the first Saga tpb.  As you say, you can't move around the comics world at the moment without hearing praise for this and I thought it was justly deserved.  The universe that they have built is wonderfully diverse and I really like the mix of science and magic that they have used. 

I personally thought the artwork was great, I know what you mean about the grander scenes as there are some that are just brilliant (e.g. The Stalk at the end of chapter 5).  What really sets this above other comics is how realistic the relationship between Alana and Marko is.  Despite the crazy setting, it somehow felt real and it has drawn me in so that I will pick up the next tpb to see what happens to them next.

I can see why some people might think that this has been a bit overrated but I certainly agree that it is in the top 10 of comics that are currently released.

Some of us say this a lot on this board, but I've lost count of the amount of films I've watched recently and said "That was good, but should have been 20/30mins shorter". If you're telling a grand saga or adapting a complex novel, I can appreciate why you might need to go over two hours, but for me, every minute longer than 100 is another nail in the coffin of me ever rewatching a film - and 90mins is still the perfect sweet spot that every film should aim for. Whatever happened to leaving the audience wanting more?

It's got to the point that my girlfriend specifically looks up running times of films before seeing them, and excitedly told me Inside Llewellyn Davis is "only 1hr 45m!".

I'm all over that sentiment. There seemed to be a shift, for whatever reason I place it when 'Braveheart' came out, have no idea if that's a valid assessment, anyway around that time when movies went from being between 1 1/2 and 2 hours long to over 2 hours and hitting 3 almost as a standard. Well if not a standard then a heck of a lot more frequently.

Now 'Braveheart' being a big sprawling historical epic was fine as a long film. Long films seemed in the past to largely be the preserve of that type of movie. It made them feel special and as if they deserved to be carrying the weight of the events they dealt with - however badly and however they stretch 'poetic license to breaking point.

So yeah surely a return to more movies of a 'proper' length has all sorts of advantages? Surely cheaper to make (though I guess minute for minute more expensive, but overall?). Most importantly 1 1/2 to 2 hours is a good length of time to be sat still for. I'm getting older, my blander ain't as strong as it was...

... not even start me on expanding children's books to trilogies... don't even start me...

I think some of this is definitely due to Hollywood's obsession with overly complex plots for movies.  Things like the Dark Knight films try to fit so much in that they end up being longer.

This also reminds me of the 'good old days' when cinemas used to stop the film half way through and the lights would go up to allow a comfort break (and them to sell some more sweets).  With some of these lengthy movies, it would really help if they brought this practice back.

That's a great price for the Year One and Mars Attacks comics.

For anyone else though who missed Mars Attacks first time, there is going to be a tpb out next month with the full mini-series.  Won't be as cheap as Comixology but just so you know.