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I really like Midnight Indicating Shame, but I'm not sure they'd sustain their own series. I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on for this one.

[Brink]

Brink - for years I thought the Mercury Event was actually the disappearance of the planet, which seemed an unbelievable thing to happen, and therefore maybe the space gods actually did exist. We learn this week that it's actually (just) the habs and other infrastructure in the vicinity of the planet. This makes much more sense, even if it remains unexplained. I can't believe I was that dumb!

I think we were kinda meant to think that weren't we? I was never sure as it left that element of doubt but it was certainly explicity said as if that (the planet going) was what had happened. I think to leave that massive question about the scale of things we were dealing with. To allow the thought of the elder gods actually existing t creep in.

Don't think it was daft it all. Think it was following the intent of the story and is a great example of the genius of the strip to leave us so befuddle and then strip things away with a simple reveal.

I was sad to see Sam Slade as bottom thrill for both Conrad and Fox since it was my second top thrill for this weeks batch of progs. Robo Hunter is what got me into 2000AD initially so I was pretty happy to see it return to the spirit of the Ian Gibson era.

I'd agree with this as Hogan / Hughes era of Robo-hunter is something I really enjoyed and not just in relation to what had gone before.

And new Mean Arena - YIKE!

Mind this is why I love the podcast. Fresh views and perspectives are what we all need and so much fun.

Round 3 heads towards its conclusion and things aren't getting any easier. It's time to start thinking about how hard Round 4 is gonna be cos lets face it as we near having just 64 thrills left we know they are all (well almost all) gonna be beauties and the tough ties we see this week will be the regular head scratchers in a couple of weeks time. Arh remember how easy Round 2 was!

Inspectre comes into this Round bruised after a tough tie with Bato Loco last time. It fought its way through only to hit Defoe - who brushed aside Bradley unsurprisingly in the previous round. Can he stay on his feet, or will with tough draw prove too much?

Inspectre - more info

Vs

Defoe - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 24th June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

Round 3 heads towards its conclusion and things aren't getting any easier. It's time to start thinking about how hard Round 4 is gonna be cos lets face it as we near having just 64 thrills left we know they are all (well almost all) gonna be beauties and the tough ties we see this week will be the regular head scratchers in a couple of weeks time. Arh remember how easy Round 2 was!

I think it's fair to say Sancho Panzer isn't one of the stronger thrills in Round 3, so far only having to deal with Venus Bluegenes, a great co-star in some dodgy solo material. So has its luck ended in coming up against a Prog Oner? Or will M.A.C.H.1's easy racism count against it? It didn't against Marauder that's for sure.

Sancho Panzer - more info

Vs

M.A.C.H.1 - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Friday 24th June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

p.s. congrats on Garth Ennis recognising you by voice alone!

It was pretty cool!

It certainly was. Great that he listens - hopefully regularly.

[Dredd]

Andy Clarke is certainly giving good cover at the moment. This one kinda reminds me of the stuff Cliff Robinson has been doing of late. Its a Dredd cover and the story itself is good fun and feels like Kenneth Niemand stretching some different muscles - which I think he referenced in a recent interview. Its a fun solid one off and nice to see a different tone. Niemand is so good with Dredd (and the other stuff). Also Nick Dyer art which is always a massive boon.

Hope creeps along, on all levels. good stuff.

Skip Tracer well its a decent episode again and I recognise the popstar from the previous story when Skip T was her bodyguard and I kinda get tingles about the other reveal, but nothing springs to mind. This is fine so far.

After however many John Tomlinson miss fires Kek-W shows have you can have an involved, twisting tale, make it frightening, shroud it in mystery and still have it make sense, have you care and make it hit home IN 4 PAGES! What an excellent Terror Tale and more from Kek-W like this - with great Warren Pleece art - this is the way these should be done.

Brink well its Brink isn't it. Another masterclass and I strongly suspect when read as one this will be even better - when read back to back with Book 1 even better again.

Looking forward to the Regened next week. They have been improving the hit rate of late and so I'm optimistic about what we'll get.

Round 3 heads towards its conclusion and things aren't getting any easier. It's time to start thinking about how hard Round 4 is gonna be cos lets face it as we near having just 64 thrills left we know they are all (well almost all) gonna be beauties and the tough ties we see this week will be the regular head scratchers in a couple of weeks time. Arh remember how easy Round 2 was!

Ordinary is a great creator owned tale that to be honest hasn't been tested before now, meeting Outlaw then Mother Earth. So a tie against Diaboliks is going to be much tougher. To be fair The Diaboliks haven't exactly had a hard time against Slaughter Bowl and O'Rork, though the former is a great John Smith one might have thought would fare better. A grim omen for Ordinary?

Ordinary - more info

Vs

Diaboliks - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 23rd June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

Round 3 heads towards its conclusion and things aren't getting any easier. It's time to start thinking about how hard Round 4 is gonna be cos lets face it as we near having just 64 thrills left we know they are all (well almost all) gonna be beauties and the tough ties we see this week will be the regular head scratchers in a couple of weeks time. Arh remember how easy Round 2 was!

Round 3 does still have glorious oddities like this tie. Tharg vs Ichabod such utterly different thrills and tones which just goes to show the far corners the Galaxies Greatest has stretched into. Tharg the Mighty has form having had to overcome Universal Soldier and Tor Cyan. Mind Ichabod didn't have it all its own way in a match up with Mechastopheles in Round 2. Here, well I think we have a clear favourite, lets see...

Tharg the Mighty - more info

Vs

Ichabod Azrael (and the rest) - more info

Just reply in this thread naming your favourite thrill of these two series at the beginning of your post (or use Bold tags so I can spot it easily) and say what you like about these wonderful stories after that.

Match ends early on the morning of Thursday 23rd June and the winner gets a place in Round 4 (of 9!!!).

What on Earth is ALL of this?

For those that need 'um and can be bothered to follow 'um there's some simple rules

Any questions, just ask as ever - and have FUN

[Leave it and let the talent create their own new things.]

I enjoy the stories we have but thing this sort of adaption thing is best left and so I say:

Leave it and let the talent create their own new things.

Of course it is!

[Yeah its Book 3]

Well the real answer is we don't know yet. Hopefully so much more to come. At this moment and accepting that everything else is pretty much just as brilliant I'd say

Yeah its Book 3

Just finished Season 6 at last and ... well it felt like a season cramped into 6 epsiodes and ther last episode was particularly rushed and had some cringey moments. Extra acting continues to be truly awful in places. It was okay but really this series has Season 3 which was excellent and the rest is different degrees of no bad.

[Step by Bloody Step 4]

Latest haul is an interesting bunch. Some not as good as I might want them to be.

Step by Bloody Step 4 I've wanted to love this comic. Si Spurrier is great, the idea is good, the art is lovely but to be brutaly honest the storytelling has been lacking to carry the wordless concept. I've give it another go down the line but this one is a noble failure.

Venom 8 surprise though it is to say, well even more surprising than the fact I'm reading a Venom comic 8 issues in is that I don't look forward to the Al Ewing issues and the Ram V ones are much stronger. Here Eddie Brook, displaced in time fights Kang for... well reasons. Ram V will be back soon.

The Rocketeer - Great Race 3 I mean this meant to be edge of the seat, hi-octance fun and frolics but it stretches credulity to breaking point.

Albatross Exploding Funnybooks 1 Eric Powell's new anathology I was expecting to be book of the haul, but, well in grand anthology style its a mixed bag, which given its all Eric Powell is actually pretty surprising. La Diabla is pretty fine, Hillybilly is excellent, Lester of the Lesser Gods just plays to the losest of Powell's tropes and is pretty poor. The Goon has moments when it does the same and moments when its it normal excellent stuff. So yeah a mixed bag. Which if I'm honest is a bit of a let down.

Dogs of London 2 wins title of the most chilling cover of the year. Inside its almost as chilling, but there a book further down the haul that tops it on that front. Alice Ever After 3 continues to do a fine job playing with the Alice concept. Slumber 4 chases through its nightmare landscapes well.

Any of the rest could have been book of the haul.

Time before Time 13 sets up the new arc very, very nicely at the same time providing a decent recap of where we are up to. Very good and very effective.

What's the furtherest place from here? 6 wonderfully throws all its pieces in the air and sets up potential for so much more to come. Never forget, frequent chapter headings aside this remains a double-sized comic for $3.99 still. I have no idea how!

That Texas Blood 14 moves the comics firmly into horror tropes - almost cliche, but does so so effectively as to out chill even Dogs of London. Truly horrible stuff in the best possible sense.

Comic of the haul though. Well its The Lion and the Eagle 4. How does Ennis do it, this time again accompanied by our own PJ Holden. I mean how. He plays with the same heart strings, using very similar instructments, the tools of WW2 combat and yet somehow he gets new tune out each time BUT still has the same emotional hammer blow even though it should all be so familar. Astonishing.

Next round's going to be tricksy.

Loving your work on these, AlexF. Chopper - heh!

Well I've done the draw (with both entrants where we have no decision so NO I'm not cheating!) in prep so I can start typing things up and yes its going to be very tricky.

And yeah these continue to be wonderful!