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Ach, sorry to hear that. Get well soon, Sharky.

Each series is better than the last 
Apart from the Shakespearean opener - which spent a bit too much time being farcical for me - they've been fantastic. Favourite was 'Bernie Clifton' but the 'moving house' tale might take that spot, after a repeat watching...

'Special subs gifts'. Why not all subscribers, a freebie? (Looks a fairly thin volume).
While subscribing means dodgy/owned volumes, excessive time and storage and toy figures, keep on cherry-picking :-)

Expect so - will try again anyway... 

Happy birthday sir, and speaking as someone for whom 40 was a literal previous lifetime, I can affirm that it can get a lot better from there on in.

On the other hand, it can also get worse first, so keep that In mind. Being now two years off fifty, I'm very aware of living in my twilight years. An acquaintance swears blind I told her I didn't expect to live to see that particular milestone, so I take every day as it comes.
SBT

literal?

Imagine if Village People had included that judge, after all 
Great John Burns pic!

[not caring]

The spine art is a bonus, but the content's the thing for me. If it had been titles on the spines I could happily have skipped a few issues of the Dredd collection.

So... you buy books you don't care about because of the spine, while not caring about the spine...? 

I don't only care little about the spine, but find it a ruthless get-the-completists marketing ploy. With the minor annoyance - 'cos who cares that much really? - that they've persevered with leaving book titles off the spine.

That's better.

I presume 1977/1978 as it makes sense that a character called Sam Street was pitched to 2000AD before Sam Slade.

Looks more '80/'81, which sounds nitpicky but there's an evolution from the earliest progs (and Starlord) to that particular page. Have to agree, Carlos at his best right at this point...

1st. 2016  Alex Ronald
2nd. 2024  John McCrea
3rd. 2058  Cliff Robinson

Alex Ronald's sunshine colours — wow.

Edged-out: the brilliant Trevallion, a great Mummy Dredd and nicely designed Sign Of The Times from Jake Lynch.

1st. 383  Adam Brown
2nd. 391  Alex Ronald
3rd. 388  Leigh Gallagher

Fantastically violent & vibrant cover from Adam Brown :-)
The Lawless cover let down by those likenesses...

Chunky is indeed great - recommended.

Can't contribute otherwise... non-Tharg material doesn't get a look-in these days. The Hachette pile grows by fits & starts all the while, even though cherry-picking.

Felt tempted to pick up the bumper prog in Smith's but stuck with digital only...

Have struggled since the last jump-on (2050) - notable exception: Absalom - so hoped for better things and did enjoy it. Thrills that normally don't were more enjoyable than expected (more accessible I guess? That's my level... ).

Special mentions for Ace Trucking and Deadworld. I've loved every Ace tale since its risky return, Robson's fun script hits the perfect fun note. Deadworld was the standout strip, it's made me want to give the past books another try. The murky, zombie silliness isn't for me but this self-contained character portrait made me care about this place, suddenly. Wonderful.

Tharg's teasing of new Thrills is welcome. They're definitely needed, and personally I'd welcome some new concepts in 2018. Misses are fine too, try some things out and see what sticks. Way harder than it sounds, but we're allowed a wish-list at Christmas, eh?

Things work out in the end.

Looks like Pat wasn't just making it up.

I don't think he does make things up

You realise this is the internet, right?