Messages

I couldn't agree more.  The Liberals thought they could do a deal with the devil and come out smelling of roses.  They got the (on some level accurate) blame for letting the Tories anywhere near Downing Street again but at the same time the PLP seems to be utterly determined to give the Tories a bigger mandate next time round.  The same arrogance that drove them out of power is keeping them from recognising what they need to do to become a credible force. 

Tjm - hope your arm improves soon, that kind of constant pain can really get you down if you're not careful.

Taryn - good stuff!

Cheers folks.  I cannot recommend damaging the Rotator Cuff strongly enough.  No, seriously ... I definitely cannot recommend damaging it.

BTW Taryn, glad to see things going so well for you.

... My attempted jokes would probably be more obvious if they were actually funny.

Well, David Cameron is not that obvious and definitely not very funny so I wouldn't get too upset.

In fact there is little if anything funny about the current shower.  What is most disturbing is that we now have a generation of young voters coming through who never have experienced a full on Tory government and only have Blair / Brown's Tory lite as a comparator for Labour.  Fifteen years of this ... "Be afraid, be very afraid."

OMG, London under Sharia Law! At least Scotland remains loyal to Israel. Etc.

I know that there are some that would love to see Britain as an Islamic state.  I've seen videos in the past.  That said, I've rarely if ever heard the sentiments repeated so I don't think that they are too credible.  Considering the number of councils in the UK that have muslim councillors already I'm not sure how much support there is amongst muslim politicians.

That said, it could be common sense kicking in.  Although we have a large muslim population in this country there are more that are not.  Are they really willing to pick a fight with radical atheists?  I don't see that happening in a hurry.

Having said all this, you could well have been joking and I've completely missed it!

Quick question Zen. Does that collection include Tornado and Starboard?  They aren't in the same league as tooth but Starlord comes close at times.  Also Warrior and Revolver are worth a look as is Crisis at times.  It can get a bit pretentious on occasions but there is some cracking stuff in it.  The pre ban action is also worth a read if only from a historical perspective.  Post ban it can be quite a slog at times.

I know you were thinking in a different direction but just wondered if you'd considered these as well.

You know, part of me feels really shitty and perhaps I should be posting on the Black Dog Thread right now.  On one level it's been a really crappy day.  I've had nothing but grief and criticism for a lot of what I've tried to do.  Part of me feels like a complete and utter failure.

Then I stop and think... I've got two great kids and a fantastic wife.  I've got a kid in one of my classes who have parents that don't want them and have to deal with the belief that they don't matter but turn up each day.  I've got a kid who has a brother in hospital with a serious medical condition and a mother out of her mind with worry.  I've got kids who have been pretty much written off as a waste of space but keep on fighting.  I've got a colleague who has a son with Leukaemia. Who the hell am I to think I've had a crappy day? 

I want to shout: "Derek Slade! Screw you!"  I got through today.  My arm is killing me and I can't sleep for more than a few hours without turning over and screaming in pain.  But I'm still going.   

Here's to another fun filled week.

... and the British population continue to be right royally screwed ... mainly by their own consent.

If that is the case then I guess I'll be emailing Gosh to see about getting a copy from them.  I had been holding out to see what Rebellion came up with on that front.  As you say, something as important in the history of Dredd deserves something just a little special.  That said, What I personally would love is a hardback of the second volume of the case files with these pages now included and then keep going with a premium case files collection.  ***sigh***

And Disposable Heroes appears to not be making a comic-book-style return from the dead.

Tried twice to source the FCBD from DH.  Both times I ended up having to find it somewhere else.  I know a lot of folk had positive experiences with them.  Unfortunately I wasn't one of them.

That said, I wouldn't wish the loss of livelihood on many folks.  There is a certain comic retailer in the Welsh capital whom I would not touch with a barge pole having had fingers burnt (and have since met a number of others with similar experiences) but even so ...

Shortly after Thatcher came to power, we got Mcgruder, a strong,uncompromising woman.  In the mid 80s we got Silver, who wasn't adverse to some extra judicial force to keep the plebs in line. 

After McGruder again we get Volt, a bland grey haired administrator.

Only thing is, Thatcher came into power in 79 and we didn't get McGruder until 82.  McGruder didn't leave until 86 after The Warlord.  Perhaps more accurately the Chief Judge mirrors the character of the PM of the day?  By 82 Thatcher was more confident in her position and more uncompromising.   By the mid eighties she seemed fairly unassailable on some levels.  Although she was unpopular in the country in some quarters there was no coherent opposition.  Labour, much as today, was pretty much in a wilderness.

No prizes for who you are comparing Volt to then.

The Luna 1 stuff crossed my mind but I thought that was being covered in another volume chronicling Dresd's Lunar Marshall Tour (amongst other things).

Jayzus, I couldn't agree more.  Why the magazine has always left such a gold mine alone is a mystery to me.  Much as we've had Tales From the Black Museum, why can't we have Tales From the Big Meg?  I would say that this is where Carrol's strength really lies.  His best Dread's have always been Dreddless strangely enough.  Even in this hardened time there is still a massive scope for stories exploring the human dimension of events of the last few years.

Maybe a challenge for the next short story comp?

Again Prof, a valid point.  I would make one exception though from fiction: the late Sir Terry P.  I always felt that he was the Dickens of our generation (except a damn sight funnier).  For me he really managed to nail the human dimension of so much of what was going on at the time.

Thinking about the Apocalypse War and some of the precursor stories got me thinking about the tendency Dredd writers have had over the years to reflect on current political and social events through the strip.  This in turn got me thinking about the current state of MC1.  Now I'm more than happy to be shot down in flames on this one but I was thinking, how much of what is going on is a commentary on the current Austerity politics?

I'm thinking about the struggles, the overwhelming cutbacks, the need to outsource and seek foreign aid (Texas City judges), the diminution of power on the world stage .... Not sure whether this is being done consciously or subconsciously.  It just seems an interesting parallel.

Personally I would have to say that Captain Skank is an important story as part of the build up to the Apocalypse War.  The same with Battle of the Black Atlantic.  A Sov Block volume would certainly make sense, particularly from a historical perspective.  Those stories were very much of their time and reflect some of the major themes and concerns of the time.

I've got just one word for you ......



Lost.