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[The Cursed Earth]

I think Origins is better written, I honestly do.  But I prefer my Cursed Earth all Old Testament and weird and full of broken bits of old America (rather than an endless desert with Wild West bits in it), and the Judges' origin story to be a sort of mythical tribal memory (rather than an admittedly brilliant political thriller). 

It was a daft story for kids, but Dreddworld would be nothing without it, so The Cursed Earth for me.

I thought of a few things to say, but I won't.  I'm just going to stay away from this thread for a while.

[Mandroid.]

Well, Tour of Duty was freaking amazing.  I don't even know if I'm making the right decision here, but I don't feel too bad because it's not going to win... Mandroid.

A proper, old-skool look at something I've missed a lot since The Pit, great as it was, changed the focus of the strip: Dredd as a background presence, and Mega City One taking centre stage.  A reminder of how big and dangerous the city is, and how many citizens are either living in terror of crime or committing it themselves.  Also of how quickly the city can overwhelm and destroy you. 

Kev Walker's noirish, newly-simplified style was perfect for the job too.

Exactly what Johnson was proposing this time last year.

"ho hum, here come the dark judges again" with a bit of "a gang of kids on the run" type stuff. By the way, you can't see it, but I'm ducking for cover as I type this!

No, no, no, your opinion is clearly wrong.  Mortis is the best of the Dark Judges and that was his best ever scene.  I'm going to duff you up till you agree.

Definitely not Tharg's Head Revisited - Mark Millar's writing career wasn't even a twinkle in Gwant's magickal eye back then.  (In fact, I don't think even the bald lad's career had got past some Future Shocks and Ulysses Sweets at that point, but I could be wrong.)
It was, in fact, its spiritual sequel, A Night 2 Remember, in the bit written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Dave Gibbons.

[Necropolis]

Definitely Necropolis.  Yeah, the last couple of episodes were a bit rushed, but like every decent Wagner epic, it didn't finish with the 'The End' caption.  The repercussions went on for years and helped shape the lead-up to Mechanismo and the culmination of the democracy arc.  (I just wish Garth Ennis hadn't been the one to kill Big Tommy Silver - like McGruder, he deserved better.)

[The Apocalypse War]

I read The Pit when it came out, and the Apocalypse War a few years after that in reprints. (I mean, I probably read some Apocalypse War episodes when they came out, but I was very young and can't really remember.)

The Pit was amazing - I re-read it after buying the audiobook a couple of weeks ago. But as for gung-ho, balls out destruction, and the mega-epic that paved the way for all subsequent ones, Ezquerra art all the way, gleefully nasty incidents of execution and torture, and massive disaster scenes that cinema hadn't yet learned how to do properly, it's got to be The Apocalypse War for me.

(Also, huge portions of The Pit had Alan Craddock on colours.  No.  Sorry, but just no.)

I know who I'm drawing!

Mark Millar?

BACK OF THE NET!

Fair enough.  I watched it to the end - glad I didn't give up on it.

Tony Foster from Comic Scene joins me with Absolute Swamp Thing vol 1, and to talk about the History of Comics project on Kickstarter.

In your podcast app or on the website at
https://megacitybookclub.blogspot.com/2021/03/151-swamp-thing.html

Thanks Eamonn! I'll be listening to this at work today.  Should be a nice contrast to the Easter bunnies and chicks I'll be painting on a window

Coincidentally, I've just been listening to Michael Palin reading his audiobook version of Erebus, where it was mentioned that the smallpox vaccine was developed in 1798!  I had no idea we'd been using vaccines for so long.   (Also, a quick look at Wikipedia tells me that smallpox was eliminated completely in the 20th century. Nice work, conventional medicine!)

I've never quite understood all the hate for TWD.  I've enjoyed it all the way along - I mean it's not the best show ever made, but it's better than most.  It was Negan who made my brother give up on it, but that's another thing I don't get - for me he's been a fairly engaging bad guy, [spoiler]and his character development after he was allowed to live was very intriguing for me.[/spoiler]

Sorry, JBC - I didn't mean to ignore your point.

One study can't cover everybody and some people will get the virus twice, or two viruses once (and a medic must consider this possibility, being exposed to more viruses than most).

I don't think you or anybody you mention is lying. Even the article I linked to did not find a 100% adherence to this pattern, so exceptions are logically, statistically, and practically very probable.

Fair enough.  We're agreed on that point at least.

My elderly parents' next-door neighbour is an ambulance worker, and has had the virus twice in the space of eight months.

Sorry to quote myself, but I suppose there are four possibilities here:  1) I'm lying. 2) My parents are lying.  3) My parents' neighbour is lying. 4)  Natural immunity isn't enough to keep you safe.