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Just a few thoughts: Don't publish it as a comic, publish it as a Heavy Metal style magazine aimed at an older audience.

How about Tharg tries to conquer Europe instead? Again maybe a mag-sized compilation starting with some classics from back in the day? New adventures of Storm are still coming out in Europe, so there is a market for science fiction/science fantasy.

Just finished reading Jack Kirby's '2001 a Space odyssey'. Wow that was good fun, the first 7 issues in particular. Its a shame when the more traditional superhero narrative of the Machine Man (nee Mister Machine, nee X-51) issues takes over as those early issues are some great craziness. I'd have loved to know where he'd have taken it had it not changed track, I assume cos of poor sales as its clear from the letters pages etc that he was building something.

Still if you can hunt down these little talked about Kirby issues I can't recommend them highly enough. Inspired.

Agreed. Issue 5 (Norton Of New York?) is one of my all-time favourite comics. You can still pick up the whole series on ebay for about a tenner, or less - at least I've seen it go for that fairly regularly. I've never been able to get my hands on the treasury issues adapting the movie, though.

Currently reading the 60th anniversary issue of F&SF.

[Battle]

I'm looking for the name of a WWII comic strip that I think appeared either in Battle or Action back in the mid/late 1970's. It concerned a young boy, living with his parents in Burma, who sets out on a violent, revenge rampage to slay a squad of Japanese soldiers who butchered his folks. The story was written in diary form, and was quite gruesome as I recall. Somebody suggested that perhaps this story was in Warlord, but perhaps it was too brutal for Lord Flint..?

This might be a story called Vengeance Raid. I haven't read it myself, but found a reference to it here: http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/ComicInformationPages/TemplateMemoryLane.asp?NewScreen=1

The poster thinks it appeared in Warlord. It would not be unfamiliar territory for Warlord as they definitely ran a strip called Fight Or Die, about a thirteen year old boy who joins the Norwegian resistance after the nazis murder his parents. That strip began in #52.

Hope that helps.
Cheers.

I started the '70s reading stuff like the Beano and finished it reading stuff like Epic Illustrated. Most of the British stuff I read - and I tried most of them at one time or another, either seemed to be a couple of years advanced of me at the time of reading, or a couple of years behind me. 2000 AD was the first homegrown product I could really settle down with. Having said that, my favourite was Starlord. Was there a bad strip in it? I don't think so. Shame it only lasted 22 issues.

I did buy Look and Learn for over a year, but not sure if that counts as a comic. Mucho recommended, though.

Watched episode one and taped episode two but haven't rushed to watch it. Didn't think Outhwaite was to bad though, if anything she stood head and shoulders above the guy playing the professor dude. He was atrocious.

You can say that again!

I notice it's five episodes long. Seems a funny number. Does anyone else think it was meant to be one of those nightly jobs like Torchwood or that court thing, but someone at the beeb decided it wasn't good enough?

I thought the same thing and was a bit peeved to find it's on weekly. Seems to dissipate any impact a single storyline might have had if spread over a single week.

Found myself troubled by ep.1 for the same reasons as Commando Forces. Echoes of Torchwood. Is it a BBC thing or signs of a wider malaise in TV writing?

Hello, and welcome aboard. Out of idle curiosity, are there many comic book shops in NI?

There are a couple, but not many. When I needed to track down comics in my youth I couldn't find any - I had to either do it via mail* or a rare trip to London, which always included a stop at Forbidden Planet.

*No internet in them days. Tell that ta kids these day, and they wouldn't believe ya! ;-)

I thought there was a Forbidden Planet in Belfast. Has it closed?

Does anyone know if Dark Horizons ever made a comeback?

Never mind all that. Tottenham have just slaughtered Wigan 9 : 1. I'm a very happy man. Five for serial-striker Defoe!

(Oh, and YES, we do need video-refereeing in football. It's been long overdue. Anyone remember Roy Carroll's 'blunder' against Spurs back in 2005? FFS).

Kane looks good. Nice cast. Has anyone seen The Whole Wide World (1996)? The biopic about Howard's life and death? I haven't seen it myself, but as it gets good reviews I was wondering if anyone could comment on it.

Welcome aboard.

Hello, and welcome aboard

Hello, and welcome aboard. Out of idle curiosity, are there many comic book shops in NI?

1: Supersurfer
2: Albion83uk 01
3: Iamthesystem

HM: Bolt 01

Elric also appeared in Star*Reach #6 (from 1976) as well as the excellent Dreaming City, by Roy Thomas/P. Craig Russell, which appeared in Epic #3 & 4 (1980). The art did deteriorate over the subsequent (esp. First) appearances, but the issues are just about worth picking up.

My memory of the early Invasion strips from back in the day was that it was the weakest strip in the book, I'm afraid. Just a shoot-em-up and a very quick read. Flesh, Shako, Dredd, Harlem's Heroes, Dan Dare were all much better story and art-wise and were what really excited me at the time.

Dire, uninspired, cliche-ridden shite, I'm afraid. This would have been dull even in the 1970s.

Even Laura Harris (?) couldn't save this turkey. Some fantastic "eyebrow work" from the lead actor though.

Hello there and welcome aboard.

Where did you stumble across 2000AD? In a comic shop or on the news stand?