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Oi Slips!

Are you Doctor Who? because we seem to have very different definitions of "recently"... I changed my name to Spooky The Cat fairly, er, 'of late' (heh), but before that I was Steev. I believe we argued about things of some nature or other. Good naturedly, of course. At least I hope it was good naturedly, as I aim to go to DreddCon this year.

I'm the one who hates Lord of the Rings, sci-fi in general and fantasy especially, but loves horror movies etc, remember. I only changed my name because of my job and I didn't want to be traceable here if at all possible. I have a client who may feasibly come here one day and I don't want him knowing too much about me, y'see.

Anyway- "recently"... depends upon your point of view.

Spooky The Steev

Here is wot I thunk.

Cover: Bleuh. Bland and mimsy. And Tharg doesn't look like Tharg. And her from Dead Men Walking doesn't look like her from Dead Men Walking. Where's the scars?

Dredd: Bleuh. Never an admirer of the Ormston droid, and the story was uninvolving. Kid dying was highlight- if only because it got a reaction from me. As James Herbert stopped writing stories where kids die after becoming a father, so my newfound fatherhood means I am more acutely aware of how nasty the scene was. Glad it was in there, as it was the only thing that stands out, but I didn't like it. (Similarly *the* scene from Muriel Gray's 'Furnace'... ARGH! But fantastic book)

Dead Men Walking: Not sure. As said, unfortunate to have two prison-dramas running side-by-side, but this was okay. I fully expected to hate it, and didn't. On the DrX Scale that means it scores +50 (expectation 10%, actuality 60%).

Synnamon (or whatever): Bleuh. Is it Dante with tits crossed with, erm, Bison and Rose O'Rion (or whatever)? I think it may be. Not as unreadable as Atavar, The Scrap or that thing drawn by Colin MacNeil- er, Vanguard?- but not very inspiring.

Durham Red: What? Eh? Who? When? Where? Eh? help! Lots of pages of meaningless piffle that made NO sense to me. Two Durham Reds was it? What? I obviously haven't been paying attention have I? And why isn't Simon Harrison doing cool things with a computer anymore? It looked flat and grey, read like it was deliberately trying to piss me off, and offered me know reward other than a painful scalp from all the scratching. Bleuh.

Nerve Centre: YAY!

Hang on. Terror tales in some metal mag? What? Have I missed some announcement on that? Tharg had better collect them for mass non-hairy consumption soon then. Not impressed.

And I don't want to renew my subs til at least next may... does that mean I can't have those fridge magnets?

I was all happy when the prog plopped through the door along with the 30th anniv Fortean Times this morning. Now I'm all niggly. Bah. Thanks, Tharg mate.

Steev

I got level eight. Worship me, oh puritans.

Steev, the baddest man in the whole damn town.

Er Logan, I've enjoyed SiniDex since the strip was printed and I first read it, you've no need to give me a link to it. If I want to I can get up, walk the eight feet across my studio, and pick it up off the shelf!

Steev

I like Sinister Dexter. Sometimes of late it's been the only thing in the prog worth reading.

('of late' meaning in the last few years- not the really rather wonderful last ten-odd progs)

Steev

Am I the only person in the whole world who absolutely fucking HATED The Matrix? You'd have to actually nail me to a seat to get me to even stay in the same room as a TV showing Reloaded.

Steev

I'm up for Wishmaster Vs The Ghoulies or Critters Vs Hannibal Lecter. That'd do me fine.

As for the FvJvAsh- the rumour has been around for months, as it says, but there's no way i can see Brucey agreeing to do it without Sam being involved. I played pool with Bruce and Sam just after ED3 opened and even back then bruce was quite clear on the matter that he'd never do an Evil Dead without Mr. Raimi.

After Spidey2 Raimi did say he wanted to do another horror movie- though I'm not sure if he ever explicitely said it would be ED4, or whether that was fan misinterpretation. He's doing 30 Days of Night now, isn't he? (Now THERE's an overrated comic if ever there was one).

Personally, after the shambles that was Army of Darkness, I'm not sure I WANT to see another one anyway. Leave my memories alone!

Steev
Who left school because Evil Dead 2 came out on video. Long story.

It'd have to be 'Stay' by Shakespear's Sister. When Siobahn Fahey walks down the stairs, Steev's sexuality suddenly slotted into place and I never bothered with notGoth nonScary girls again.

Then 'Dominion' by the Sisters- because of Patricia Morrison on horseback, with her hair blowing out behind her like one big sperm-catcher.

Steev

Well, I *am* Goth, and so what has been heard tinnily bleating from my earphones on the way to and from work this week has been-

The Boatman's Call- Nick Cave
Evidence of Heaven- Faith & The Muse
Empires- VNV Nation
Pure- Gary Numan
Belladonna & Aconite- Inkubus Sukkubus

And at home,

Best of Cambridge Folk 1999. Cos my ickle baby son loves it!

Steev

Well, I hate to disagree with such esteemed company- especially after the literary merit of, er, 'Cursed Earth Asylum' (although it's the most easily-readable of the Virgin novels, Mr Bishop, so don't shout at me) and (probably) 'Dredd Vs Death'... but I'm really enjoying 1602. I'm not normally an admirer of Mr Gaiman. I understand others are and yes, he's very clever -probably, but his work has always been deathly dull and written like irritating 'spot the reference' A-level/ undergraduate wank, to me. If Alan Moore cut his hair, stopped mumbling around the park like Aqualung,  drinking from a metaphorical and metaphysical can of Tennants Super, stopped scaring kids, embraced them instead,  and began to believe what was written about him, he would become Neil Gaiman- the Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen of comics.

That said, while it does feel like Gaiman is "writing down" to an audience not au-fait with his usual references (which is maybe where Mr Rennie's comments spring from), I applaud him for taking the "rich tapestry" of the Marvel Universe and doing with it what he did for so many years with Shakespeare and folk-myth in Sandman.

And saying all that, I have to confess that I don't buy many comics beyond the prog and the meg (2 in fact, at the moment... 1602 and Thor: Vikings, which is fab) so, to me, it wasn't "hyped" at all. I just bought it because, while I don't necessarily like gaiman's work, I *am* interested in what he does. And it was cheaper than those big, apparently dreadful novels he writes.

I'll buy the series, as long as it doesn't go on too long and outstay it's welcome.

Spoo The Steev
(Who has been trying to order the Dredd Vs Death novel from Ottakas for two weeks, Mr Rennie. They haven't heard of it, can't find it on their system and now claim it's "probably out of print" Sigh.)

All Quiet On The Western Front!

Absolutely emotionally-demolishing war movie that I only watched for the first time a month ago, as part of my Charley's War rediscovery.

And that one where the German biker gets his head lopped off by piano wire strung across the road.

Steev

Had the first prog bought for me by my dad, read the first 50 or so. Stopped and got UK marvel stuff instead, I think because I wasn't allowed more than two comics a week! Picked it up again at prog 180- coincidentally the same week as I found the majority of the ones I'd missed in a second-hand bookshop for 5p each- read it solidly until just before it *first* went to the logo we know and love today, at which point I stopped for about a year. Met a guy at work who was happy to flog me his back issues that I didn't have for a flat fiver, enabling him to go out on the piss one Friday night the week before we got paid... picked up the very next prog (around 580) and haven't missed an issue since.  

Now a subscriber with every intention of being here for the duration.

Steev

I bought a Durham Red fascia from this 'ere website not too long ago. Advertised for the Nokia 3310, all fine n dandy when it arrived. Hurrah, thought I, I can at last change my spidey one for something else.

Oh ho.

Not only does it not fit the phone properly, never clicking into place and sliding off at innopportune moments, but of all the fascias I've had it is the ONLY one that has become chipped to bloody buggery within mere weeks of purchase. The paintjob just won't stay on it and I am left with a phone that looks like I fling it around the flat each morning before I go to work.

Shan't be buying another one of them, then!

Bah!

Steev

Back from two weeks of inlaw hell, and only the thought of being able topost this has kept me going...

Cover: Preferred the Bollandaise one, as the other one made my eyes hurt, but dissappointed in both to be honest. Not with Mr Irving, but rather that the double cover malarky should've been done a couple of issues back to mark the start of the strip and this month's should absolutely definately positively have had a Charley's War cover.

Am I the only one pissed off that my subs copy is different than the two newstand editions (in that it has two covers), and am therefore battling the urge to track down the other two to "keep the set complete"? And- are we sure ALL subs copies had cover 'b' at the front?

Right, this'll be brief.

Dredd: Marvellous. Rennie again out-writes Wagner. Carlos brings the eighties back in style and Steev giggles happily.

Bendatti, Devlin: yeah yeah yeah. Ho hum.

XTNCT: haven't been over keen so far, but really got into it with this one.

Harry 20: have read so many times, I barely concentrated. Great stuff though. The "I'll pass for Toad" panel still cracks me up.

Apoc.Soon: I'm with the naysayers.

Death: Lovely episode. Genuine and scary/ disturbing. My favourite so far.

Have I forgotten anything?

Oh yes, the small matter of Charley's War. I've never read these introductory strips, so this is all new to me- and while I can honestly say that it gets much, much better as it goes along, these were incredible, wonderful stuff. Top marks to rebellion for doing this and, if anyone's reading, PRINT THEM ALL. When Harry20 ends, double the page count. Fuck the 2000ad archives stuff and the proposed Euro-strips, bugger off Bendatti and Devlin, use the page count for Charley. This is the best thing the Meg has ever done. And that Porteus guy from the letters page can bugger off too.

Pat Mills's intro stands as a testament to why he's my hero. He's a real writer, in the truly artistic sense. I'd pay to read his shopping list, because I know it'd be written with honesty and written from the gut- which cannot be said for a lot of the wannabees faffing around the Nerve Centre at the moment. We need more Pat Millses, or the future is  Sonny Steelgrave shaped.

Aoplogies for the rant. I go.

Steev

All that came through my door this morning was a bill.

Am seriously annoyed now and to make matters worse, it's nowhere in town either. Is this some kind of limited edition or something?

Steev