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Lovely People,

I'm fortunate enough to be popping to the Moniaive Comics festival this weekend.

I've also asked permission from Tharg and the festival organisers to conduct a few "micro" interviews with the likes of John Wagner, Alan Grant, Cam Kennedy etc.  If he's amenable, I'll then ask Wake to publish the results on the 2000AD website along with some photos.

These aren't going to be long interviews, after all Moniaive is a bit of a chillout time for the writers and artists that attend so I was thinking along the lines of:
- What was the very first thing you had published?
- What are you working on at the moment?
- What would you say were the biggest things you learnt between the two?
- What are you doing next for 2000AD/Megazine and why should we be excited about it?
- What do you think of this 1000 page script? (OK, maybe not!)

Any other questions (excepting Swap Shop style "What colour underpants are you wearing?", "Whose your favourite; Steps or S-CLub?") would be gratefully accepted - especially if they are better than the rubbish I come up with.

Any of the rest of you going along? It'd be nice to put a face to the names.

cheers
Mister Tips

Link: http://www.moniaive.com" target="_blank">Moniaive Comic Festival 7th and 8th September

IIRC, a lot of the investors in LEGIONNAIRES had the opportunity to appear as extras in the film.  Maybe they could do soemthing like that with whatever they plan to produce with this budget of ?410?

On the current budget, we should be able to get "stars" of the calibre we see on "Help, I'm a celebrity. Get me out of here!"

...Wild Geese that fly with the moon on their wings...

one of the most imaginative ideas ever portrayed in TV - is that he is a being who exists in every photo ever taken

There's a magnificent Alexei Sayle sketch where a woman takes back her photos to Boots because there's a Cardinal in every one.

Saturday or Sunday?  I'm going up on Saturday with my family. I was going to stay over to do some schmoozing but decided that this would be a bit sad because I don't know anyone and would have to rely on my wit and ready charm to "latch" onto some unfortunates (no chance there).  

I don't mind meeting up to say hello (But I shall follow strict internet safety rules and insist that it is a public place and that at least a dozen people know where I am going).  

You might be able to book one of the local hotels by quoting Sue Grant's name as she block booked them all in anticipation of the festival.

Damn! Let's try this...

If that fails, I think it's at www.moniaive.com

Link: http://www.moniaive.com" target="_blank">Moniaive Comic Festival 7th and 8th September

I am - but previous posts I've made asking haven't solicited much of a reply.  

I'll repeat that it's well worth a visit though. L

Last years event was great.

The MONIAIVE COMICS FESTIVAL 7th, 8th Sepetember may be small but it's perfectly formed.

There aren't gigantic queues for signings and sketches so you can actually chat to the artists and writers.

Can you imagine anywhere else where you'll end up in a room with John Wagner, Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy and only about a dozen other people? A marvellous opportunity for some face to face chats.

Also last year DIG-L and BISH-OP did a great panel - I don't know if they are attending this year (the itinerary mentions "Editors" - hey, it might even be Tharg himself).

And Moniaive is a very friendly little village.

Hope the link I've posted works and hope to see lots of you there.

Link: Moniaive Comic Festival 7th and 8th September

I agree with PVS on this. Other than the incongruity of the last line, Rogue has really perked up in the last couple of issues. More power to Mr Rennie's elbow for that.

But that last line is a bit "He's a cop on the edge" and not too far removed from something that I read somewhere once...
"My comrades are dead.  But vengeance has a face. And I am it. For I am Vengeance. I am Rogue Trooper"  

OK, I'm kidding with the last bit...

"...a staple of comics..."

Should we be satisfied with just getting a staple? Surely we can do better than that?

Perhaps Bish-Op could tell us:

Did those Space Girls and De Marco covers increased the circulation of the organ?
(c) Benny Hill 1969.

And I agree that IMHO this week's cover isn't the best regardless of t&a.

Must be said that I don't mind the odd brazen hussy picture but when you tot up this weeks' 2000AD and Megazine t&a count it's pretty high.

The Megazine could have been a crossover issue with Heavy Metal Magazine. People having sex with robots in Judge Dredd and melon breasted goth/bondage babes in two of the other stories.

I'm sure mostly the women are written as STRONG female characters (but in the Dredd story I thought they were treated as whores or hags and a lot of the emphasis seems to be placed on titillation).  

Was this just bad planning? Didn't some editor spot all the voluptuous vixens on display and see a theme developing?  

Does this depiction of women put off female readers from joining the fold?

It's a pity you've never read JUDGEMENT DAY. I thought it was rather good; mass destruction on a scale you wouldn't believe, the death of supporting characters (handled well not just thrown away), some good cameos from early dredd villains and a good villain in the Joker vein.  

It also has one of those great DREDD moments at the start of the last episode ("Beyond duty there is..." - I can't remember it exactly, perhaps some kind soul would scan in the first page of the last episode for us).

And it finishes with one of the greatest pictures of all time (though credit for that should probably go to Carlos rather than Ennis).


Maybe that's what Ennis is best at; he does have an ear for (admittedly foul) dialogue and comes up with the odd absolutely corking line (see also "Privileged elite" from Helter Skelter) but sticks them messy stories.  

Could he make a career out of being a comic script doctor (like they have in movies)?

Can you imagine him: "I'm just giving it a last polish!"

PS: Now I've written this, I'm not at all sure that Ennis wrote Judgement Day; I hope he did or I'll sink even lower in the message boards estimation...

"and it does have some fantastic setpieces. "
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I especially like the bit where Dredd is facing about a thousand Vampire Judges and he just warns them that  "Yes, they'll probably kill him but how many of them will die if they mess with him".  And they all back off. Not an action set piece but a great character moment and a great bit of writing.

The retroblast gives me the feeling that I'm rereading an old prog from the 80s.

What I really want is the feeling I got when I read a prog in the 80s.

I do like your suggestion about reading it with the mindset of a teenager; I'll try that but I feel I might just end up thinking everything is "so unfair", I've got too many spots and can anyone possible masturbate this much without it being bad for their health...

I love Ezquerra's art and I love John Wagner's writing but ROADHOUSE isn't pulling my chain either.  Calling it "not bad" is damning with faint praise.

This Summer Offensive hasn't worked for me at all; Dredd has been the usual quality, Bison has been terrible, VCs has been an old plot executed well and I thought the first Rogue Trooper story was poor and overlong; the one-part weapon of war thing was much more the sort of thing I expected when I heard about the retroblast - well done Mr Rennie and Dylan Teague who did a good job emulating Gibbons (if slightly static in action scenes).

The Retro Blast/ Summer Offensive has made me feel like I'm reading a 2000AD Tribute Band, if you get my drift. Enjoyable, you can sing along with all the familiar old songs but it's not like reading the real thing...