Evan Dorkin is excellent! Even his Bill & Ted comics for Marvel were great - he managed to sneak in T-shirts of bands like the Mr T Experience, Lemonheads etc.

The last issue of Dork (the autobiographical one) was also one of the best comics I have read ever.

Never checked out Hectic Planet/Pirate Corp$... any good?

(note that I actually read very few comics... Dorkin and Peter Bagge are the only two creators I really bother with.)

I didn't like Deadline too much. I thought Tank Girl was really overrated.
2000AD ruled (progs around 400 - 500 being the best ("Sooner or Later" being my favourite story ever)). I read new progs recently, and it was really boring, I'm sad to say.

Does anyone on the forum like Dan Clowes' stuff? Clowes completely rules. I discovered his comix when in Forbidden Planet, waiting for someone to finish reading "Action Figure Monthly" (or something). "Eightball" is the best comic ever. It was really funny before,but is less so now. I would advise anyone to buy "Lout Rampage", a compendium of earlier "Eightball" stuff. It's completely hilarious. I would consider Clowes the Chris Morris of the comix world.(www.fantagraphics.com).

"Hate", by Peter Bagge is also pretty entertaining, but a bit self indulgent (also at www.fantagraphics.com)

Not read much of Clowes' stuff, though I recently did pick up Ghost World and #30 (I think) of Eightball, both of which I enjoyed, though neither were really 'humour' comics. I'll pick up Lout Rampage someday.

If anyone cares, a new Buddy Bradley comic (I think it's an annual type thing) is due soon. Yessss!

Yeah, unfortunately Dan Clowes doesn't really write funny stuff in "Eightball" any more, but that shouldn't deter you from checking out his earlier stuff.
Some of "Ghost World" is funny, but in a subtle way, I guess.

Has anyone else read Peter Bagge's "Yeah!"?


And does anyone like Evan Dorkin's Eltingville strips?

>Has anyone else read Peter Bagge's "Yeah!"?

Nope, haven't really read much of 'Hate' either, but I intend to. Basically, having started this thread I'm going to scuttle off into the corner and take notes.

>And does anyone like Evan Dorkin's Eltingville strips?

Oh yes. ED must've had an incredibly geeky past.

I know little of the world of comics - used to read 2000 AD back in the late 70s/early 80s and thought it was ace. Robo-Hunter was my favourite, esp. all the ones in BritCit. (Iron Aggie anyone?) Alan Moore's Watchmen and V for Vendetta are indispensable - did he ever write any more Big Numbers? I have the first two. A housemate at university read Dave Sim's Cerebus, which has to be the most ambitious, intelligent, funny and poignant comic strip I've ever seen. Is it still going?

As much as it frightens me to think of this, I used to know some people who were exactly like the Eltingville characters...

Bone is good, too...

Love Bone, though only got a few copies.

I also have one copy of Yeah, thought it was swell. I must buy the rest. It only ran to nine issues - dunno whether that was intentional or Bagge/Hernandez's intention.

Did you know that an Eltingville... pilot is being made by Cartoon Network? Don't know if it's going to be a kids or adults show, but either way they'll have to tone it down for TV.

That reminds me, just how *bad* was the Tank Girl movie? It bore pretty much no resemblance to the comic, and pretty much killed off the character.

Oh, and Cerebus is still going. The plan is to reach 300 issues - they're not TOO far off, I think. Don't read it myself, but i intend to someday.

>I also have one copy of Yeah, thought it was swell. I must buy the rest. It only ran to nine issues - dunno whether that was intentional or Bagge/Hernandez's intention.

Replace that "intentional" with "due to poor sales" and it makes sense. Honest.

May I step in here momentarily to bang on about how brilliant Chris Ware's "Jimmy Corrigan -- The Smartest Kid on Earth" is? Well? And can I also provide a link, in the hope that at least one person will click it, buy the damn thing, and have their life improved a bit?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375404538/026-9056108-3236421

Oh, and Jim Woodring's "Frank"... http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560972793/qid=973124912/sr=1-6/026-9056108-3236421

... that's good too.

Dammit, Charlie, you beat me to it! 'Jimmy Corrigan' is astonishing � pure fucking art.

'Baby Sue' is also pretty head-stretching - at the other end of the spectrum as far as the technique is concerned, but ultimately dealing with the same kind of shit.

Oh, and Stewart Lee's your man if you want to talk edgy American comics. Where is he these days, anyway?

>Did you know that an Eltingville... pilot is being made by Cartoon Network? Don't know if it's going to be a kids or adults show, but either way they'll have to tone it down for TV.

Almost certainly, although much of Cartoon Network's output has adult appeal if not content. Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer wrote a few episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, notably the excellent one where Birdman stood in for Space Ghost.

>That reminds me, just how *bad* was the Tank Girl movie? It bore pretty much no resemblance to the comic, and pretty much killed off the character.

As a big, dumb action movie it's pretty good (though I appreciate that's not saying much), but there's very little of the charm of the strip.

Alan Moore never did any more 'Big Numbers'. Bill Sienkiewicz, the artist, went into meltdown because of the sheer complexity of the project and threw in the towel.
Alan Moore has recently returned to what he does best - fun comics. Check out 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' a wonderful 1900's romp featuring out-copyright characters such as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Mr Hyde (Dr. Jekyll's pal), Mina Harker (from 'Dracula'), Allan Quartermain ('King Solomon's Mines'), Captain Nemo ('20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'), Fu Manchu and Mycroft Holmes. Also read 'Top 10', a superhero version of NYPD Blue, and 'Tom Strong' a kind of Doc Savage for the year 2000. He's returned to peak form.

Also no-one's mentioned Frank Miller. His 'Dark Knight Returns' was the inspiration for the Batman films but far, far better. His 'Batman Year One' is highly recommended too. Also 'Sin City'.

Also try Kurt Busiek's 'Astro City'.

That's enough comics from me.

"I didn't like Deadline too much. I thought Tank Girl was really overrated."

Agreed. I didn't realise it was defunct though. When did that happen?

I hated '2000AD' too, and besides, nowadays we can see how hopelessly naive and optimistic it all was.

DW weekly/monthly had some good ones. "The Iron Legion", "City of the damned" (was that it?), The One About Beep The Meep, the one set in China with the Sontarans in it, the one with the Daleks in... they were all great, actually.

"Stockbridge Horror". And "The Tides Of Time". Crackers, both of'em.

A friend of mine lent me his Sandman (Neil Gaiman) collection , I'd read most of them before a looong time ago . Have to say I was fairly disappointed .All the complexity I remebered was gone and the characterisation seems well 2 dimensional .
Shame .

Of course the characters were 2-dimensional, they were just drawings.

>"I didn't like Deadline too much. I thought Tank Girl was really overrated."
>
>Agreed. I didn't realise it was defunct though. When did that happen?

About two months after my subscription started grrrr...

I was really enjoying Dom Morris' 'Sadist' an' all.

> Alan Moore's Watchmen and V for Vendetta are indispensable - did he ever write any more Big Numbers? I have the first two.

I think he wrote more but they were never published. Bill Sienkiewicz, the artist, went into meltdown after issue 2 due to the complexity of the project and threw in the towel.

Alan Moore has recently returned to what he does best - fun comics. Check out 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' a wonderful 1900's romp, featuring out of copyright characters such as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Mr Hyde (pal of Dr Jekyll), Mina Harker from 'Dracula', Captain Nemo (20,000 leagues under the Sea), Allan Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines), Fu Manchu and Mycroft Holmes. Cracking Adventure.

Also try "Top 10" - NYPD Blue with superheroes. "Tom Strong" is a kind of Doc Savage for the year 2000. Alan Moore is back on peak form.

No-one's mentioned Frank Miller. His 'Dark Knight Returns' was the inspiration for the Batman films but far, far better. "Batman Year One" is bat-tastic also.

If you don't like superheroes, try Miller's 'Sin City' or Dave Lapham's 'Stray Bullets' -cool beans!

No one's mentioned The Perishers or Fred Bassett yet.

Aargh that was me. I thought it hadn't posted so I retyped it all under a different alias. Please forgive me.

I do love Alan Moore, though.

The Perishers and Fred Basset

Thankyou.

>Oh, and Stewart Lee's your man if you want to talk edgy American comics. Where is he these days, anyway?

OKay, who's stolen Stewart? Own up.

2000 AD - was great. What's it like now?

Was Deadline the comic that printed that 'political' remix of the old Dan Dare strip?

Frank Miller - Oooh yes! Loved 'Dark Knight' and 'Year One'. Also have 'Give Me Liberty' which is interesting if a little histrionic. And talking of Batman and Alan Moore, his 'The Killing Joke' is absolutely superb. Truly, he does know the score.

>Was Deadline the comic that printed that 'political' remix of the old Dan Dare strip?

No, that was Revolver, a short-lived 2000AD spin-off aimed at 'hip' young adults. Don't remember much about it; I was too young to buy it at the time.

>
>I hated '2000AD' too, and besides, nowadays we can see how hopelessly naive and optimistic it all was.

I've heard 2000ad being called many things, but 'naive and optimistic'? Judge Dredd?
Nemesis the Warlock???? DR AND QUINCH????
NAIVE AND OPTIMISTIC?????


*Thrill circuits overload in fury*

>2000 AD - was great. What's it like now?
>

Nearly over. We've just reached November.

Alan Moore (esp. Dark Knight Returns) is the best thing to happen to comics, along with Love and Rockets and that Stray Bullets thing.

2000AD ruled when I was a kid, but I just read some of the old ones the other day and thought they were a bit pants. It's true what they say, you should never go back...

Dark Knight returns was by Frank Miller but you are right. Alan Moore an Dark Knight are brilliant.

okay who resurrected the dead dodo of a thread?

Getting a bolshy, all of a sudden, radiator?

Ah, they grow up, they get a mind of their own, wasn't long ago I was dandling Radiator Head Child on me knee...

hey, you said you'd never mention that!

"Dandling"?! While I admit to having a certain amount of curiosity, I am aware I may not want to know what that word means.

>okay who resurrected the dead dodo of a thread?

That's rich coming from you, RHC. Boothby boothby boooooothby.

Main Entry: dan�dle
Pronunciation: 'dan-d&l
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): dan�dled; dan�dling /-(d)li[ng], -d&l-i[ng]/
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1530
1 : to move (as a baby) up and down in one's arms or on one's knee in
affectionate play.

Another word for me to learn and misspell.

2: I don't want to go into details

>2: I don't want to go into details

So I was right to be cautious about wanting to know the meaning?

Nik, you are on dodgy ground I suggest leaving it alone.
At least for a year or two.

>Nik, you are on dodgy ground I suggest leaving it alone.
>At least for a year or two.

Heavens! Are you a geologist? I thought it was rather odd that my front door seemed to be sinking. It's ok though - I'm moving soon.

Meanwhile, back at the thread... League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen is indeed the best title out at the moment... although under-printing and distribution problems have made it a bugger to get hold of. Mourning the end of Preacher although Garth Ennis doesd tend to milk the whole begorra-it's-feckin-great-to-be-Oirish-so-it-is angle. Used to crowbar it into Hellblazer a lot as well.