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My maternal grandfather started me on this joyous road to ruin - he used to buy me 'Little Star' (you won't see THAT on "I Love 1974"!), and read it to me while I sat on his knee at his kitchen table.  I still remember the layout of the pages, the bright light of the kitchen window and the cigarette smell of his breath - some of my earliest memories.  'Course, he died of emphysema when I was only 3... lesson there, somewhere.

My Great Aunt used to supply me with 'The Beano' whenever we came to visit, right up until I was 13!  She was an utter sweetheart who grew up in the Raj, and was the single nicest, sanest, most levelheaded person I have ever known.  Here's to ya, Ruby!

My own father then compounded my damnation by buying me 'Look and Learn' (educational, don'cha'no), and supplying me with a bin-bag full of his collection of dog-eared 1950's Eagles and 'Count Curly Wee' collections, and then buying "me" the '80s Eagle when it first came out.  That, and bringing me a 'Victor' whenever I was off sick from school.  You've gotta love Dads!

Truly I was blessed with a uncommonly generous comic-loving family!  What a feel-good thread!

I liked it a lot, against expectations.  It ended way too quickly, obviously in the middle of the story.  Reads well in one sitting, makes a sensible contribution to the Rogue universe in fleshing out both the war and the Dolls.  Better than the repetitiveness of the Hit, the living hell of Clavell, the boredom and pointlessness of Karvanu, the drfting style of Tor Cyan, the competent aimlessness of recent flashbacks.  The best thing since Cinnebar and/or teh War Machine, actually. More please.

Holy sheet, Larf, that's brilliant!  Top marks, that man!

This has now been churning away in my skull all night, and while I know such fatuous crud doesn't warrant any further thought, but...  

If we can identify the 'fact' that the banana is a fine bit of divine product design, God's nutritious ergonomic gift to His opposable thumb creations, we are presumably ascribing a specific intention to God's actions in creating such a boon, and thus get a little window on God's attitudes towards His Creation - benevolent, indulgent, thoughtful, possibly a bit witty?  Might we not then ponder the intention and attitudes behind other magnificent examples of 'design', such as hydrocephaly, progeria, malaria, tsunamis, Mark Millar?  What kind of personality puts time and effort into refining those little treassures?  Ho ho God, You are a wag.  Let me prostrate myself before Your clearly superior moral judgement!  

(While an evangelical atheist myself, I'm by no means suggesting here that this is a valid argument to make about the nature of the Christian God - it's equally vacuous, and long addressed by sensible theologians under the 'Why does God allow suffering?" banner - I'm just throwing up an equally farcical conclusion from the same 'banana postulate', because I hate those tossers so very much.  I have a lot of respect for the teachings ascribed to Jesus, and much time for the attitudes of most of the sincere Christians I know - it's just turds like these with their bully-boy "but your wife and children wil DIE and go to HELL if you don't agree with us" tactics.  Filth).

Oh thanks a bunch for that, fegbarr.  Now my atheist heart is filled with boiling murderous rage, and I'm alone in the house with no-one to take it out on except my heavily pregnant girlfriend.  Just so you know when you read tomorrow's grim headlnes that it's on *your* head.

Can you say 'teleology', my pesudo-intellectual little friends?  Can you say 'sophomoric wank'?  This sshite didn't even seem clever back when *I* knew everything about everything (when I was 15, I think...).

The Jesus in the bible *I* read would kick these tossers' smug arses right out of the temple.  

The awful thing about this thread is that I will forever after think of you all in this way.  "The Collected Thrill Power Overload!", by Rumblefire!  Titter...

"That" comic is 'Green Lantern/Flash:Fast Friends' No. 1 (or Spanish translation thereof), and you can read it at the wee linky below.  It's a funny little thing, dealing with the implications of the adventures of the Jay Garrick/wotzisname incarnations of the characters for the Wally/Kyle versions.  Odd little thing, you can definitely see a Walt/Green Lantern parallel, but I hope the connections go no further than that... Alien X, yuck. Going for silly sums on EBay now, I expect...  

Link: http://www.lostlinks.net/comic/comic1.htm" target="_blank">Polar Bears!

Ah sweet, sharing that Rhapsody video is going to get me some smoochies from the missus tonight, yup you betcha.  Brilliant!

Speaking of spoilers, the Channel 4/E4 trailer for Series 2 is one of the most spoilerific things I have ever set eyes on (apart from the average Dr Who 'Next Week' slot, which those in academic circles might rightly call an 'Abstract', and which in our house now leads to a frantic dash to find the remote while everyone sticks their fingers in their ears and looks at the ceiling) - I am most glad to have seen all the cited episodes already (thanks RTE!).  

In particular, it ruins the single best most spine-tingling  opening scene of any TV episode I can remember.  Boo, I say, boo!

While frequently unhappy with Mills' more recent work  (Savage aside), I loved the Shadow Warriors.  Mills' gift for getting the very best out of brilliant artists was on display throughout - it can't be a coincidence that his strips boast some of the greatest pages ever produced by Bellardinelli, McMahon, O'Neill, Fabry, Bisley, Walker, Adlard, Flint and no doubt others I've temporarily forgotten (I'd include the fabulous SMS here, and Hammerstein's origin in particular, but the Black Hole stuff is the only work of his I know).  Mills may be prickly, inconsistent and not make a whole lot of sense (and I love the box of toys analogy), but he certainly can write comics that artists put their back into.

This story was pure madness from the outset, and I thought it delivered right to the end - what's not to like about bizarre robots beating each other into scrap?  There was hardly any Millsian mumbo-jumbo to dilute it all. Even Deadlock's inaction made sense in the end, and the President 'subplot' wrapped up well. Just a pity we didn't get any ressolution for the human 'characters' that we spent so much time on back at the beggining.  Measures up to the very best of the ABC Warriors, in my opinion.

I couldn't agree more with PVS about the 'ginger' thing.  It really is the acceptable face of racism, filling the role previously occupied by blondes in the 90's and women in general in the 70's.  It's not bloody funny, it's picking on people because of inherited and utterly superficial physical characteristics.  And before anyone starts, my hair is what a lovely lady once described as 'shit brown', now sadly heading for grey.  

As to Ireland being a glorified mudhole, as another native, I must take bumsex up on one point (phnarr!)... glorified?  (Tho' today it did look indescribably beautiful on a rare sunny Spring day).

"May I add that thus far I have not been exposed to "the Fleisher"."

Oh no, Krust, I think you misunderstand.  The Fleischer exposes himself to YOU.

If you really want an ego-boost, read 'Saucer' by Stephen Coontz.
Not only is each character more ridiculous than the last, but it's an SF book written by a man who's clealry never heard of either Science Fiction, Science, or Fiction. The only mystery bigger than how Coontz got it published is how I finished it.  And there's a sequel.  Hope for us all.

Mounted police are cool for many reasons, aside for the satisfying 'taste of your own medicine' for scumbags alluded to by Carlsborg.  Up close, the presence of such magnificent animals under the control of their (usually quite small) riders is a visual shorthand for authority and discipline.  It's almost axiomatic that if the cop can command the respect of that creature, they might just be worthy of your respect.  (Always assuming that they are)

Aslo, most kids instinctively love horses (round my way at least), and anything that lifts their heads out of the shite of decaying suburban life and makes them look up is a good thing.  Young chavs or skangers weren't born that way, but it's what they come to know.  

Not so fond of their role in riots though.  Being on horseback restricts your options to strikes on the head, seldom a good idea in crowd control.  And Peterloo always springs to mind... (yes, I know that was Hussars, but its the principle man, the principle...)

I forgot to get Rogue today, but I got some good compost dead cheap, and my firstborn sprog is due one month from today!  Yay for us all!

So after all that he survives anyway and the game is left open for a sequel

I'd call that Rennie learning from GFD's mistakes!  I still fantasise about a Rogue 'epilogue' where we see the TG emerging from the ruins of his Arctic base, and watching Rogue's receding Millicom-bound shuttle before staring down at the remains of his convincing robot duplicate.  You could (just about) allow Horst to remain in continuity, and then have Rogue return to a ruined Millicom, sabotaged by a shadowy figure...