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A pedant writes...

The speech bubbles in Brink (page 2, panel 4) are going to the wrong people. Those hands belong to Kurtis, but it's Regina that's saying "There wasn't much to work up."

A pedant corrects...

Nope, the balloons are correct. It's a flashback panel - hence the red background - so the arms are Reggie's, back when she had two.

I had the same thought as Funt. And, ah, um, while we're all being pedants, um,
...
_{the panel following the problematic one is also red, but is not a flashback}

Anyway... ahem... great prog your Thargness!

And while we're at it, here's a short video that features Simon Bisley drawing one of the Horned God pages!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18Z-hF3HETM

Nice! Thanks for posting. Pat's voice is much less stentorian than I had imagined.

I wonder if the robots actually would run the sector better than the humans.

Probably, but... They got taken over by a "meme virus" or some such in the recent Atlantis story. So I'd say security is a problem. Preventing crime is their raison d'etre (I guess) - if they become completely autonomous and capable of evolving their understanding, who knows, perhaps they could even reach the same conclusion as Judge Death? There's no army to take them on, only Judges - who may shortly all be desk-bound donut-munchers.

[Dredd]

Mike Perkins on cover duty - well framed, makes the robot look nicely menacing. A great drawing but the colouring isn't particularly striking - it might look better in black and white. I wonder what another colourist might have done with it. I guess most cover artists do their own colouring.

Dredd is excellent, a logical progression for the robot judges. Really looking forward to where this is going.

Brink has picked up a bit, I am quite gripped, but I find it a bit too much "tell" and not quite enough "show".

Herne and Shuck happy to see a longer series, thought the first two mini series were decent.

Future Shock is fine.

Silver is mainly filling us in, with a bit of action, all good. The spidery art appeals for the most part, it is a bit Critchlow-esque. One panel, the portrait of de Silver on page 4, is a bit ropey, but otherwise I'm digging it, especially the vehicle designs and backgrounds.

Harlem Heroes II is terrible

Perhaps the other Harlem Heroes books sold well or something. Or maybe Tharg is a fan.

Maybe Tharg wants more Steve Dillon in the collection. Fair enough - he was a top artist. I caught Cinnabar but I missed his other takes on Rogue, perhaps we'll see some of that too?

I've read Bernard Cornwell before but never Sharpe

I liked the TV series but I've only read the first book, Sharpe's Eagle, very recently, and it was pretty great. I'll have a go on a few more. I think they might get a bit samey though.

I also recently read Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. Enjoyable but extremely technical on the sailing front. I couldn't entirely figure out what was going on in the sea battles. I'd definitely recommend anyone to give it a go but some of it I found hard work.

We3, on the other hand, is one GM volume that will never be anything less than great for me. That one hit home at the time and remains just as powerful on every re-read.

Now We3 is a funny one. When I first read it, it didn't blow me away the way its reputation had it, but not read it in an AGE and really must return to it as I have a sense I'll enjoy it much more now?

I like We3 a lot but don't return to it often because it upsets me in a 'Bambi's mum' kind of way. Even now thinking about the final scenes gets me emotional. I had a similar response to Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Those darn CGI animals! I'm a grown man, you cannot manipulate me in this way! Oh OK then, it seems you can.

If I had that Dan Dare tie clip then they'd have to show me some damn respect.

It's a shame we can't just like a post. So, in lieu of that:

 

That is a really interesting photo. Those Secret Service agents are doing a bang-up job of keeping him covered until they get to the car, aren't they?

They probably weren't expecting him to lunge back up and pose for prospective shooters. He's a crazy, crazy guy. Great photo - the photographer must also be a bit nuts! They interviewed him on Today and he said effectively he just automatically did his job as a professional photographer, but still.

Can I ask where you guys obtained your copies of Wolfie Smith please? It's still listed as 'Coming Soon' on the Hatchette website and therefore can't be added to the basket yet. Thanks

I preordered mine from Forbidden Planet. Postage has gone up a lot, although the parcels tend to be well packaged.

I've started the Wolfie Smith volume too. Never read any before. Quite readable, if old fashioned. Interested to see where he ends up.

Of these less famous old-school thrills reprinted by Hachette I think Return to Armageddon was my favourite mainly because it was so bonkers. Meltdown Man was OK, and looked good, but I found it a bit dawdling.

Will we see any others? I've not read Ant Wars or either of the M.A.C.H.s.

I read the Red Queen volume this weekend. It's a hefty tome, the content looks thicker than the spine! It's solid Dredd, and has some Maitland stories - worth picking up. Jake Lynch's art gets better as it goes along and is really good on the Atlantis story. The Orlok stories are OK if inessential. The Harry Heston stories are good - I'd like to have seen more of him.

[Silver]

Good prog, enjoyed all thrills, especially Silver, but...

It's a shame but I'm starting to lose patience with Brink. It's a solid (if glacially paced) police procedural, but there's nothing particularly new here. We've been put on a tangent from the Mercury investigation, again, and there should be a good reason for that, but I'm not feeling the invention I saw in the first four books.

I was hoping after the last interminable chapter, which was mainly a dude going over things we already knew about with his wife in their hab, this chapter would be getting on with it. But no. I'd rather see the series wrapped up well than continue to tread water.

I hope next week a sudden revelation will occur and I'll have to eat my words.

Hope you don't feel like you've wasted money based on my recommendations and at least had fun trying stuff!

It's all good Colin - really glad to have read them all. If I don't read 'em I don't know if I'll like 'em! So I'm really appreciating your list - it's good to extend my comfort zone and try new things. Keep it up!

115 - Spider-man: Kraven's Last Hunt

I'd thought about picking this up long before seeing Colin's write-up, as it's often mentioned as one of the best spider-man stories. My experience with Spidey is limited to a few comics (like the Gwen/Goblin one) and the movies. I'd not read anything with Kraven in before. So I was coming to it fairly cold. So perhaps that explains why I didn't get on with it. It's so melodramatic; there are pages of ranting and raving; Spidey seems ridiculously underpowered; the motivation of the characters was a bit bewildering.

SPOILER

^{Its use and treatment of suicide felt suspect and left a bad taste in the mouth.}


I did not like it at all. Bit of a disappointment I'm afraid.