Monday 10 August 2015

Time Capsule: The Matt Smith Era, Part 4

 A deep, dark part of me wishes his hair had stayed this mental
for the rest of his time on the show.


See what happens when I take some time away from work?  All of a sudden I'm overwhelmed with the need to blog.

Time Capsule has been left to linger for a whole year, and while that's quite apt given the name, it does show just how little effort I've been able to put into this site recently.  But there's no time like the present to change that, so let's pick up where we left off with new-Who series 6, a.k.a series 32 in total.  Amy's been pregnant, then not, and has been getting taunted by a lady with an eyepatch who can open catflaps in reality, the Doctor remains unaware of the death he's marching towards, and Rory, well, Rory died again for a hot minute.  It's all getting so exciting!

Click ahead to see how quickly that excitement dies.

Saturday 8 August 2015

Comic Musing: JUDGE DREDD: DARK JUSTICE

Judge Death anxiously awaits the dawn of 3D comics,
so he can poke out your eyes with his gross fingernails.


Oh hey, it's another infrequent update.  Hiya!  Hope you're keeping well.

Anyways - comics.  Secret Wars, which I've gone over before, is now well-underway, and it's been taking up a considerable chunk of my attention...not to mention my wallet.  But it's not the be-all end-all of my funnybook affections - in particular, I'll always have time for some properly British weirdness from 2000AD, the weekly anthology book/deliverer of Betelguesian THRILL-POWER (delete as apt) which the uninitiated would best recognise as home of Judge Dredd, fascistic future policeman.  The majority of great comic talents from this damp little island, on both the writing and art sides, earned their stripes in 2000AD before applying for work with the big American publishers - and like bands that began underground or pro wrestlers coming from the independent circuit, it's frequently their 2000AD work that shows them at their most ingenious and daring.

...having said that, the creators at play on Dark Justice - a Dredd story first serialised in 2000AD Progs 2015 and 1912 to 1921, and now available as a handsome hardcover collection - don't fit that mould.  John Wagner created Dredd with Carlos Ezquerra back in 1977 and has stuck with that world, and the company that features it, ever since, while Greg Staples has lent his masterfully moody painting many comics publishers, Magic: The Gathering cards, film concept work, you name it.  This isn't the work of developing talent, it's pros at the top of their game.

It is also a story about lisping zombie policemen murdering people on a spaceship.  You need a review beyond that?  Really?  Fine, let's dig into the necrotic flesh a little deeper.