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The worst of the Lib Dems aligned with the party's time in govt. But had Lab/Lib happened in 1997, things could have been very different.

Old man in pub confused that kids in 2021 don't like the same things he liked in 1981! More at 11!

It says a lot when a comedian gets all grumpy about not being able to continue with racist and sexist jokes while retaining the same level of popularity.

I'll definitely be getting The Out. A pity there's no HC. Here's hoping enough people can writing begging notes to Tharg to at least get us a webshop exclusive HC.

So he suggests things should go wrong and children should learn from bad things, because that will make them tougher. Which is tantamount to "we should be able to say what we want and get away with it" while ignoring the massive privilege he's had through his entire life.

It's extremely telling that he immediately gets grumpy with the interviewer because she says "but" rather than "exploring what I just said" — even though she was about to... explore what he just said. Presumably, he has agreed to an interview and thinks that means everyone will be reverential and let him say his piece unchallenged. The follow-up, though — which is precisely the same follow-up I'd have used as a journalist — was to ask whether racist jokes are OK, because they were once considered just banter. Cleese: "I think it's a very poor question." He argues it's too broad and not possible to answer such a question.

It really is. Here's how you answer a question regarding whether racist jokes are acceptable: No. It's really that simple.

Also, his tour will be based on a talk about why there is no hope, the central point being that "everyone wants to be right and nobody really wants to listen to other people's opinions". Which is garbage, again. What he's angry about is that people aren't listening to him and nodding along. They're challenging him, which rarely used to happen when he was considered a god-like comedy genius. Now, he's a doddery old fucker who can't move with the times — a Jim Davidson with a superior back catalogue.

The one thing he does hit on is that society is polarised and that is damaging. What he doesn't appear to understand is that in slamming people who want to avoid (not ban — just ignore and marginalise) shitty viewpoints and calling them "woke", he is part of the problem and another reason why things are becoming more polarised, regardless of dressing up his thinking in pseudo academia.

Chimpsky's Law

Ah. Now I think about it, I never read all of that, because once I got part-way through and realised the audio was online I'd always planned to sit down and listen to it. Oops. So just old and forgetful in an entirely different way.

[Dredd]

I've only read some of this so far, but a few things stood out:

Dredd was a massive arsehole here, to a degree that was quite disarming. Perhaps I've got used to a slightly more reasonable take on the lawman, but in this strip I was really blindsided by how it ended up.

Lawless made me feel old, in the sense I don't remember how we got to this point. And I really love this strip. When did Lawson quit? I assume this will eventually shift back to the status quo, mind, when the SJS march about the place shooting everyone.

Surfer brings back Wagner and provides a reminder of why his writing style is so missed when he's absent from the Prog. I'm intrigued to see where this goes and happy it's about a new character rather than Chopper, who must be getting on a bit now.

The floppy is a bunch of festive tales, which I'm sure will find Dredd bringing the good citizens of MC1 plenty of Christmas cheer, right? Right?

Tharg's Alien Invasions.

Mind you, had it been "being punched hard in the face vs Grudge Father", I don't see how the latter could win.

New thread: https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=48151.0;topicseen

[Judge Dredd]

No Zarjaz 100-page mega-special thread yet? Blimey. Then I'll dig right in:

We're in perfect-bound territory, as usual, and there's a nice wraparound cover by Toby Willsmer. A chunky Droid Life offers plenty of laughs before Judge Dredd does the same. This tale delightfully lampoons a certain high-profile tech figure, along with featuring a meet-up between three Judge Dredds. This is skilfully written. I know some people were suspicious of what we'd get, but it's a lot of fun and a one-and-done.

Next up, Deadworld is gruesome, with Tharg apparently having very odd ideas as to what constitutes a festive tale. A short break for a fun Doug Church interview and then we're on to the new Kingmaker, which kicks off a second after the series cliffhanger. New readers should be able to catch up easily enough, mind.

Dexter was a mixed bag for me — a nice enough tale in and of itself, but the realisation for the lead is about as cliched as they come. Then The Order comes knocking with some lovely visuals but, I'm struggling to keep up with the plot.

Tales of Mega-City One gives us a tale that neatly weaves through a classic Dredd, and then The  Out provides a little levity after an episode of dread. Proteus Vex rounds out a solid Prog of extra-length thrills, and bodes well for a new year that will begin with a line-up of Dredd/The Order/Kingmaker/The Out/Proteus Vex.

Rebellion is proud to announce the Fall 2022 launch of its highly-anticipated new graphic novel series – Best of 2000 AD!

The brand-new quarterly 200-page graphic novel series debuts in September and features a hand-curated selection of the most incendiary and exciting new science-fiction comics from one of the world's biggest and most influential comic book brands.

Six volumes of the US comic book-size, perfect-bound series will be released quarterly in book stores, distributed into the book trade via Simon & Schuster and the comic book direct market through Diamond Distributors.

Best of 2000 AD is the perfect gateway into the Galaxy's Greatest Comic – an ultimate 'mix-tape' anthology of full-colour stories specially chosen to be accessible to a whole new generation of comic readers who may never have picked up 2000 AD in its traditional format.

Each 200-page volume will be headlined by a self-contained contemporary Judge Dredd adventure, followed by a mixture of hidden gems from 2000 AD's vaulted history, a classic Judge Dredd case, and a graphic novel length feature presentation featuring global comics legends including Sean Philips (The Fade Out, Kill or Be Killed), Frank Quitely (We3,All Star Superman), Fraser Irving (Batman Incorporated, Die! Die! Die!), Kevin O'Neill (Marshal Law,League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Mick McMahon (The Last American, Batman), Pete Milligan (Enigma, X-statix), Rob Williams (Old Haunts, Suicide Squad), Al Ewing (Immortal Hulk, We Only Find Them When They're Dead), Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell), Alan Davis (X-Men, Batman) and so many more.

Each volume of Best of 2000 AD will also feature newly-commissioned critical essays by prominent comics journalists and popular culture writers, including Tom Shapira, Chloe Maveal, Rosie Knight, Ritesh Babu, Tiffany Babb and Adam Karenina Sherif.

The title boasts brand-new covers from an all-star line-up of New York Times best-selling and Eisner award-winning artists including Jamie McKelvie (The Wicked and The Divine), Becky Cloonan (Gotham Academy), Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Erica Henderson (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl), and Annie Wu (Hawkeye), with more to be revealed.

The entire six-volume series will feature design by highly-acclaimed designer Tom Muller (House of X/Powers of X).

"Even in the teeth of the pandemic, graphic novels had one of their best years ever and Best of 2000 AD has been tailor-made to give bookstores a great way to stock the very best of British comics," said Trade and Special Sales Manager, Owen Johnson. "With eye-catching covers, design, and impeccable storytelling, Best of 2000 AD brings the energy and creativity of Britain's biggest comics brand to the book trade in a new and fresh way, giving readers curious about getting into graphic novels an irresistible sampling of stories that will appeal to all palettes."

Following Rebellion's hugely successful 'Day of Dredd' promotion, which reached over 20 million individual social media accounts and saw international sales spike, during which comic stores, libraries and creators celebrated the cultural impact of the fan-favourite character Judge Dredd, Best of 2000 AD is the next step in building a wider international audience, and stands as a major jewel in the crown of Rebellion's 2022 publishing initiatives.

"It's called the Galaxy's Greatest Comic for a reason," said Rebellion CEO, Jason Kingsley OBE. "If you love your comics dangerous, thrilling and life-affirming but have never read 2000 AD then this is your moment. This new publication is precision-engineered for new and curious readers. We want the Best of 2000 AD to convert a whole new generation into 2000 AD readers for life."

The first volume of Best of 2000 AD is scheduled for release in September 2022. It will be available from book-stores and comic book stores globally through Simon & Schuster and Diamond Distribution.



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(Those with long memories will remember this was originally to be a 12-issue comic book series: https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=46131.0 — IP)

Banzai Battalion

[Shadows]

Shadows isn't the best strip by either of its creators, but it's been oddly overlooked regarding reprint. Bonjo, as stated earlier, has major problems when revisited today. Kev's art will always be great, but Shadows is the only one of these I'd want to read today.

DreadNoughts