Any questions for Pat Mills?

[JOE SOAP]

I don't believe it........    I had no idea...gutted.

It was his second visit to the aul sod, in an official capacity, in the last few years though I do believe he visits relations here on a regular basis.

[Molch-R]

Out of complete ignorance, I thought that, if anything, he'd show up at forbidden planet.

Ah, Pat was in Ireland as a guest of Big Bang, so would have been bad form to sign elsewhere.

[Call-Me-Kenneth]

Cheers for the info guys, if anyone hears about him coming back over, please get in touch!

[shaolin_monkey]

I'd be interested in Mills's views on women portrayed in 2000AD and comics in general.  Does he feel they are over-sexualised and objectified?  I'd be interested in this in relation to his recent Flesh strip too.

[ming]

what does a comic needs to do nowadays to grab a kid's attention? IS there anything a comic can do...?

License an established property and give away a free bit of plastic with every single issue:


That Mortal Kombat tie-in strip showed us the way. If Rebellion wanted to attract younger readers, 2000ad would be like Look-in, with a couple of strips based on phone apps, telly shows or films, and the rest of the mag packed out with puzzles and text features.

At the risk of being tarred with the 'he's the loon who keeps doing stuff with Lego' brush, I keep coming back to the possibilities of getting kids into various 2000AD strips via Lego.

My boys (three and nearly five) are all too aware of Spider-Man, Batman, Darth Vader et al. through their peers and it seems that a lot of that comes back to Lego.  2000AD the comic (even back issues) isn't suitable for them yet but there are so many characters and stories that would work really well as Lego sets and I want my kids to grow up as familiar with this stuff as I was.  Lego comics abound, and it would be a great way to brainwash kids with something a damn sight more interesting than all the other tat I see on display...

So, to turn that waffle into a question...

Pat:  If you were seven years old and 2000AD Lego was available, what would you choose: a Ro-Busters playset (Mr. Ten Percent, Ro-Jaws, Hammerstein, Mek-Quake - maybe a Praying Mantis and a building with half a rocket stuck in it) or Flesh (Claw Carver, Reagan, a Trans-Time base plus dinosaurs and tasty-looking TT employees).  Your pocket money will only stretch to one...

[Skullmo]

Will we ever see any more Finn?

[Ancient Otter]

It was his second visit to the aul sod, in an official capacity, in the last few years though I do believe he visits relations here on a regular basis.

Third, I met him after he did a panel at the Electric Picnic music festival. Total gentleman!

[Professor Bear]

RE: Shako - thank you.

[Frank]

I'm not even sure you take much interest in the wider comic industry, but the big talking point recently was Grant Morrison persistently drawing attention to the many instances of non-consensual sex in Alan Moore's work (the inference being that this demonstrated an unhealthy interest in the topic). What's your own opinion on the use of rape in fiction generally - especially the way the sex-murder of a girlfriend or wife is often the inciting incident which sets the male hero off on a quest for revenge?

Bonus question: do you have any illuminating anecdotes about either Moore or Morrison?

[Skullmo]

Favourite colour?

Pet Peeves?

Come on we can make it like a Smash Hits magazine interview!

[Frank]

Favourite colour? Pet Peeves? Come on we can make it like a Smash Hits magazine interview!

He's already answered all the usual who would win a fight between a shark/polar bear/T-Rex/Hitler questions in his work.

[Skullmo]

Will Slaine ever cross over with the rest of the Millsverse?

I would love to see him battle ABC Warriors.

[Albion]

What character from any era in comics and created by someone else would Pat most like to write?

[WhizzBang]

Is there anything about 2000AD that Pat would have done differently in retrospect?

[Frank]

Some of the best laughs I had all year were in your strips. The bit in Defoe where they're hacking the still-living and complaining Spiriter up to burn him in the furnace of the car, and the brilliant full page of Quartz saying "YES, HAMMERSTEIN, I AM YOUR FATHER" were piss your pants funny.

Most writers of comics (and films based upon comics) seem afraid to balance comedy and drama in the same narrative. Do you think this is (A), because they feel the uneven tone will confuse the reader; or (B), because the big boys laughed and called them silly for reading comics when they were kids.