Messages

Bridget first, then Absalom

SBT

Stickleback and Albino.

How lovely to vote for two recent characters for a change!

SBT

Danny Franks and Kano.

SBT

Thrax and War Marshal Kazan.

SBT

Giant and Matt Tallon. I had a thing for Mean Arena, and invented an undertable version that me and my mate used to play with ping pong bats, a ball and two subbuteo goals.

SBT

Mean Angel and Mr Artie Gruber- responsible for the first panel in a comic I can remember scaring the absolute shite out of me.

SBT

I think the most startling things about returning to 2000AD are:
1. The stuff I remember as being great from back when I was a kid is in fact genuinely great and totally stands the test of time (although you can't go wrong with Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, Bryan Talbot etc.)
2. The current editorial standards are absurdly high. The writing and the art are stellar, the output is easily comparable to today's prestige television shows. I was honestly gobsmacked picking up the latest Progs.

Grud, yes. Matt Smith has been an exceptional editor across two decades- which reminds me: are there any other comic editors who have put in that length of time without readers regularly calling for "fresh blood"? The man is a powerhouse, and any small criticisms I may have are purely cosmetic... in that, I very much want a revamp of the look & feel, and i would appreciate perhaps more stories told in episodic format, without being written for trade paperback collection. But I'm not an editor, and I trust Matt- a trust that has been built up by happily buying his comic for the whole duration and never once feeling it was creatively sterile or "close to the end of its ideas".

It will be a sad and alarming day when Tharg sheds this particular editorial skin.

And welcome!

SBT

I think the prog has been "this good" for a very long time. And by that, I'm aware that many people have differing opinions as to the quality of many of the strips, but that that range of opinions has been much the same for at least the last ten years. Personally, this last year has one of my favourites- even though I'm striking a three out of five average across most runs of stories. Like you, I'm not following The Order- but I have a suspicion that were I to dig out the progs and set a weekend aside to reading it all, that would change.
While the comic is a very different beast from that of the 80s version, I still find it a vital and entertaining part of my week.
And even back in the 80s, in that beautiful mishmash of Dredd, Slaine, Halo, and all the rest, i think i still ran a three out of five average- as I was never fond of Rogue Trooper or Robo Hunter, to name just two.

SBT

I will be purchasing this just as soon as it goes to print. Not digital I'm afraid, and I really hope it's at least a bi-monthly: that way the stated intended audience (which both my sons are) won't get impatient in between, and wont forget about it. Of course this means I'm down for at least two copies. Sigh.

I would hope Pat has the frequency firmly in hand from the off. If anyone could master that, it's him. Such a shame it's not available in newsagents though. A long while ago Jim gave a guesstimate (if memory serves) quote of half a million (was it?) to launch a new weekly on the high street. Wonder what it is now...

SBT

Bad Bob Booth and Torquemada.

Or, Trump and the Pope. Much of a muchness.

SBT

Dante and Savage.

SBT

For me it's that, despite reading Stront from Starlord #1, the story 'Bad Boys Bust' was the first time I really began to turn immediately to the strip on cracking open a new prog. And the design of the Bad Boys chilled me at that age- something about them really freaked me.

I'm not sure, without checking, what else was running in the prog over those weeks, but my gut tells me it was a particularly creative time.

SBT

Having been pondering the surprise character introduction in 2191, I've been idly fantasizing about the cover to 2192. Imagine my surprise on seeing the announcement on Facebook that not only was it almost EXACTLY as my most fevered imaginings had hoped, but the artist was EXACTLY who I'd hoped it would be.

Now, if the tagline is [spoiler]"The only bear on the judges' Death List"[/spoiler], the eruption in the SmallBlue Underpants will be legendary.

SBT

Johnny and Wulf.

SBT

It's gotta be Bubo (and the Bad Boys), closely followed by Nelson Bunker Kreelman. And again I'm shocked as to why 2000AD never gets those "rogues gallery" accolades that seem to shower the likes of Batman, Dick Tracy and Spidey. Sheesh.

SBH