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Got mine today but I was worried for a day or two!!

"Especially when suffering a double hernia after laughing so hard at how seriously you folks take things. This thread and mine have kept the whole office in stitches for days."

C'mon John, you don't really expect us to swallow that do you?? You seriously expect us to think your rants in 2000AD and earlier this week were just a wind up to keep you amused? I don't buy it. You've invested too much in your writings, taken too much time to think about the issues. You're just looking for a back-door to escape with some dignity because almost universally your opinion has been derided and you've shown yourself to be a bit of a dick.

If you meant what you wrote then in reply the other members of this board have had their say, loud and clear. If not then you really need to get out more.

The joke's on you, sorry that's wrong...you are the joke.

No probs. You did me a real favour there and I really appreciate your effort.

John

Now you come to mention it I'm not sure.....;)

The last Toxic issue was 31. I have a letter from the publisher cancelling the subscription at issue 31 which is still in my issue 31.

That wooly went out of his way to buy me a copy of Extreme edition 1 because I was having difficulty getting one. That deserves a large "Hazzah" for services above and beyond the call of duty.

Thailand...truly a beautiful jewel in the crown of SE Asia.

Can't say I've been to any of the places your sister is going but the bits I've seen are truly paradise on the whole. Even Bangkok is well worth spending a week....if you can get over the pollution. After walking on the streets for half an hour I was physically sick. The shopping is excellent. The Grand Palace is just that, take a boat trip to the floating markets on the Chao Phraya river and a trip around the Khlongs by boat.

I went to the Allied War cemetary at Kanchanaburi, not morbid in any way and a really peaceful place for contemplation. From there it's only a brief trip to the River Kwai and "that bridge" although if you're afraid of heights don't try walking over it.

The islands are great and are accessible by train and boat or by plane. Koh Samui is superb and gives you access to Koh Phang Ngan. This was featured (and crucified) in that blasted movie of "The Beach". The full moon parties on Koh Phang Ngan are superb but accomodation must be booked days in advance or you'll be sleeping on the beach!!

Also try Koh Phi Phi, accessible from Krabbi or Phuket (but avoid staying in Phuket as it's package tour hell). Koh Phi Phi really is paradise and of course is where "The Beach" was filmed. It's very Lo-Tech and that just adds to it's beauty.

Koh Samet's quite nice I hear but avoid Pataya unless you like golf. I gather Pataya is the "Blackpool" of Thailand.

All in all it's a beautiful country with so much to do. It's also very close to so many other interesting places. Take a flight to Hanoi in Vietnam, that city is so interesting and oozes history. Hpoe this is of some help.

"Yep Colin Macneil was fine, I liked some of the stuff he used to on dredd too, it was the other guy who really f*cked things up!!!"

Wasn't the other guy Simon Harrison? Used to draw Bradley? I remember liking the Bradley tales and I think his artwork suited an off-beat story such as that. The characters were excellent and the stories were fun in a "short attention span" kind of way.

However, Harrison's work on Strontium Dog just didn't suit the story or character in terms of style or history. There's no doubt it alienated a lot of people who'd grown up with tooth and I for one cannot remember the Final Solution storyline other than it included Feral and Johnny died. I lost interest in the story because the artwork was difficult to follow at times, it didn't fit with my long-term picture of Strontium Dog which started with reading Starlord on a beach in Tenby aged seven!! It's hard to readjust to a new interpretation of such a well established character when the vision is so apart from the standards that you expect. For further evidence see Millar's Robo Hunter, the new Harlem Heroes, the new Mean Team etc. Even to a degree Friday Rogue Trooper.

I guess one of the problems for me is I just can't accept Johnny Alpha drawn by anyone else but Carlos Ezquerra, just like Sam Slade is by Ian Gibson. Nemesis suffered the same fate as Johnny Alpha, and I have the same feelings for later Nemesis episodes as for the Final Solution. I liked the artwork in Book II of Nemesis and still do. I thought Redondo's artwork suited the feel of the character and his nature based in a crossover between fantasy and sci fi. However John Hinkleton's interpretation tore my love of the story apart and I ended up skipping large chunks as I couldn't bear to associate this interpretation with the story I had so loved.

I guess that these stories are so mainstream within the comic and so established that they can't cope with brave but radical attempts at reinterpretations. Still it's a lesson learned....I hope.

I think the person who is currently the highest bidder also posts on here under the name "Tarantino", he's got art for sale on the Classifieds board at the mo. I'm also wondering if he's the same fella who used to advertise in Comics International for "copies of Prog 2 wanted" around the time that the Judge Dredd movie was out. I seem to think that that bloke was called Justin as well, although it doesn't mean they were the same person!

Personally I just want to see the artwork go to a good home where it will be looked after and appreciated. I spent over ?100 getting my three pieces of artwork framed, two pieces from tooth and one from pre-ban Action. They hang in my study and I get a lot of pleasure from having them. If I was the person having to sell this piece of tooth history I'd be extremely gutted.

I was just browsing ebay looking at stuff I can't afford when I came across this page of Harlem Heroes art from prog 1. It's the inside back cover of Prog 1, and it's an important piece of tooth history. I hope the person who buys it understands the importance of that page.

Link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2197593114&category=12589" target="_blank">Prog 1 art

How about Shane McGowan versus Mark E Smith?

Or Kylie Minogue and Rachel out of S Club 7 in bikinis in a paddling pool full of jelly? Er.....I better go now.....sorry.

I've still not been able to get hold of a copy of Extreme Edition 1 despite perusing various comic establishments and newsagents. Does anyone know where I can get a copy? Does anyone know if they're available through this website???? Thanks in advance.

"You know, were all missing the obvious candidate...
Sean Pertwee!"

...or David Troughton, or his brother who played Piers Fletcher Dervish in "The New Statesman", or the Troughton grandchild who plays cricket for England (how very Peter Davidson!)

Follow the link for a look at this book.It seems to be looking at the results of a research project into the audiences of "Judge Dredd". Not my usual bedtime reading but may be worth a browse.

Link: http://www.ulp.org.uk/books/catagories/mediaaudiences/knowingaudiences.html" target="_blank">New Martin Barker book

"Can anyone remember if Starlord-era Stronty stories, for example, have ever been reprinted elsewhere? Egven in an old 2000AD annual or Special?"

The Sci Fi specials in '86, '87 and '88 all carried reprinted material from Starlord. IIRC the Maxwell corp. owned 2000AD around this time, although I'm not 100% sure of that and don't have those specials to hand to check it out.