Messages

I'm looking forward to seeing the cover for this!  I get my copies of this and 13 in a week...

--Grant

There is some crossover between some series, especially if Pat Mills had a hand in their development, but time has not been kind to any idea of continuity.  Ro-Busters/ABC Warriors, Judge Dredd, Flesh and Nemesis could all be in one continuity, and Rogue Trooper Series Two and Strontium Dog are both "alternate universes" which have crossed into it.

For the most part, though, the majority the series are quite strictly independent unless there's some crossover story which suggests otherwise.  In recent progs, Tiger Sun Dragon Moon is set in Judge Dredd's future (for some reason), but neither of those strips are in the same universe as Second City Blues, Dante or Sinister Dexter.

--Grant

That explains even more.  Dry Run was written by Tise Vahimagi, who either wrote or edited a number of very good academic-level TV reference books, including a simply excellent study of the MTM studios.  He sure couldn't write a comic to save his life.

I really never enjoyed Kev Hopgood's art, either.  Principally it was the inking, as his pacing and anatomy was quite good, but I also hated the way Tanner's posh girlfriend only ever opened her mouth when she was shouting at Tanner.

--Grant

You don't say!  Huh.  That explains why most of the action in Beyond Zero takes place on an airship, then.

--Grant

Brosnan was the writer of the Zero series, starring cyborg cabbie Tanner, which started with Night Zero in prog 607 and continued through three series, ending in prog 745.

--Grant

Link: http://www.locusmag.com/" target="_blank">Obituary in Locus magazine

Sweet!  We're finally getting our big fat telephone books!

--Grant

Many of those were printed in the Eagle Comics series "Judge Dredd Crime Files," but they first saw print in a 15-week series of mini-series called The Mega-Rackets.  Blobs, Jimps and Prezzel Logic were three connected one-offs in progs 290, 295 and 304 featuring a gang of "master criminals."

--Grant

Thank you, Tharg!

Also, the new Thirteen collection looks, like, totally zarjaz and stuff.

--Grant

I'm mildly amused about how the one time Junker got the cover, it was to promote the flashback episode.  It almost drives home the point that once, there may have been an interesting scenario in which to slot that character, but instead, they went for sixteen weeks of "Retired Space Cop Works Shit Job."   It's like "Johnny Alpha: The Salmon-Fishing Years."

--Grant

The Slaine cover was as-solicited, the (ugly) Jim Murray one.  The only change was in the creator banner across the top, with the first names omitted.  It reads MILLS - BELARDINELLI - KINCAID - McMAHON now.

--Grant

Thanks for getting the word out, Gavin.  Awesome news.

--Grant

Ooooh!  I can't wait to see the new Ezquerra cover!

13 should also be in stores today.  Hope they changed the cover of that one as well.

--Grant

"Let's not speculate until we know for sure."  - Dredd, "Atlantis."

Dear Rebellion,

Please provide specifics.  This week, if you would.

Love,
Grant

I'm sure it varies from region to region, but I'll tell you with confidence, the graphic novel shelves at the big box bookstores in the north Atlanta suburbs all look the same: one set of shelves with a selection of haphazardly-selected Marvel/DC/Dark Horse trades all thrown askew and beat to hell, and four times as many shelves with manga volumes all arranged alphabetically and stacked neatly.

The impression I get is that B&N, Borders, B-a-M, etc, could not care less about another shipment of Daredevil or Avengers because it might sell or it might not, but it's going straight to the black hole of that section and the staff's not going to look twice at it.  Superhero readers aren't going to get their Ultimate X-Men fix from Borders because they're already getting it from their LCS.  So if the local Borders buyer/rep did happen to decide that the north Atlanta stores really needed two copies each of Dredd vs Death, they'd get thrown into that black hole with a shrug.

I dunno; I've considered every so often trying the Cyborg 009 manga, which I don't know that I've seen at comic shops, but I know Borders has it.  I can rely on Borders to stock all of whatever manga I want, but I can't rely on them to stock JLA or anything superhero.

This past weekend, I was in the gorgeous, lovely city of Asheville, NC and fell in love with a bookstore called Malaprop's.  Their graphic novel section had four volumes of some Japanese comic or other, and shelves full of indie stuff - Rent Girl, Fantagraphics, even Edward Gorey!

--Grant