Ken Aldred

Congrats! That's also recently been set up in the UK and I'd been considering signing up for it, but then got the offer I posted about earlier. Much the same random lottery or invite system, either way.

Always been difficult not to get carried away buying too much from the comic show cheap boxes, which you could really live without. Read once and squirrelled away, not really that economical. I called it a day when I’d run out of space in one room, and dreaded the thought of eventually blocking the lounge with stack upon stack of comics and becoming a classic, extreme obsessive-compulsive hoarder, overwhelmed by newsprint.

I’ve always loved the inventive stories and exciting artwork in comics, the American dialogue, ever since I was first introduced to them as a young kid and got books that were distributed to the U.K. newsstands in the 70s. Looking back, I suspect that I switched on to them more and became a very focused, diehard collector in the late 70s as a means of detaching from the abuse and subsequent depression that I experienced at secondary school, as a punching bag with then undiagnosed, very detached autism. It was a medium that I was thoroughly engrossed in, anyway, and so it had a practical, counteractive, therapeutic effect during that time, which was quite hellish for me. And, through other subsequent traumas, comics have always been there, faithfully seeing me through the dark days. I’ve posted ad nauseam about going to the bus station, comic marts, local comic shops and waxed nostalgically about those early times, but I didn’t appreciate until recently what the fundamental, supportive importance of collecting, or, more specifically, reading comics has been to me. Perhaps a little on the dark side, but, that’s the core dynamic of it all.

It wasn’t drawn by Curt Swan, so to you it’s most likely worthless drek now.

Great sketch. Love atypical choices like this.

That really does exemplify the difference between him and all too many creators at conventions who, in comparison, almost treat your fervent comics admiration as a nerdish inconvenience. Even under the most difficult circumstances, he still wants to give his utmost for those who’ve had an intense, lifelong appreciation of his work. Third post I’ve made, but, really, it’s hard not to be just as impressed by his words there as it is to be saddened by the finality of the news.

Very similar for me, a little older though, but Perez’s FF and Avengers comics were some of the first I collected off the newsstand when I started in the late 70s.

Without a doubt, one of the greatest super-hero comic artists of all time, a brilliant storyteller, always putting 100% effort and incredible detail into his work, and, one of the nicest creators you could ever hope to meet at a convention. Extremely sad to learn that another of my comics icons is suffering this way.

As well as liking the stories and pictures in the comics, as a British kid I found there was nothing like the smell of American newsprint first thing in the morning. Also, safer than napalm.

I actually don't find it that bad. You can make quite a bit of progress, and then you hit a set piece here and there which is quite deliberately annoying, such as when you're suddenly locked into a confined area and the game throws loads of aggressive opponents at you, and the old favourite of spamming you with grenades. I'm a fairly patient attrition player, so I'm happy to chip away slowly at the opposition from cover, look for choke points, etc.. And, if I get owned, simply try out a different strategy. A lower difficulty allows you to get a feel for the controls, muscle memory, as well as unlocking Crushing here, but then it becomes rewarding to have to work out new, more cautious strategies when you go for the more masochistic settings.

My favourite Spidey / Doc Strange team-up, with excellent Frank Miller art, a good story, and an appearance by punk band, Shrapnel. Kang does not appear, and so apologies for being on-topic.

Breton’s a good choice for that as you get extra Magic attributes. I’ve used it. More flexibility and variety as a battlemage than just slugging away all the time with a sword.

Always got to be different.

One can hope for true understanding between the different tribes of comic nerds, one day. I’m a boomer attempting to demonstrate an Age-inclusive mindset in the thread. I like my Moderns.

I agree. In previous Ages, were Spider-Man and Thor comics, for example, always consistent, were they never patchy, mediocre or even very poorly-written and / or poorly-drawn, and, despite that, somehow still considered superior to the modern versions, at their best? Rather than give up in defeat, hasn't it always been the case, then and now, to look around at other material to find the best being published at any particular time, rather than tar everything, without examination and comparison, with the brush of a singular, brief, Modern Age misfire such as One More Day? It strikes me as ongoing, detached confirmation bias, not truth by way of exploration, immersion or experience. Regardless of my chronological age, I've always gone for the latter.

The general opinion online seems to be that Willis just phones it in and doesn’t bother even trying anymore, and is pretty much guaranteed to underwhelm.

I agree. It’s a very good story, worth a read.

More satisfying if you build something that works best with your own playing style and levelled skills. Mine was a combination of maxed armour and weapon smithing, enchantment and archery.

You’ll get owned at first. It requires analysing his skill set, but you can counter-strategise.

You want to get to level 80 to try taking on The Ebony Warrior.

The game I ‘finished’ before Uncharted 2 and 3. Legendary Edition, PS3. Many RPGs end up with that kind of time investment if you don’t watch it. My end point was to leave Paarthurnax in control after the ridiculously easy Alduin boss fight. No justification to remove him.

Strangely enough, I made my similar post without seeing yours, pretty much at the same time.

Just finished Uncharted 3 again on PS3, Crushing difficulty. My planned itinerary when I get the PS5 is to complete the Uncharted series and also Horizon Zero Dawn PS4, and then GOTG PS5. That should keep me going a while. Also looking forward to a complete run through of Mass Effect for the first time with the Legendary Edition, never having played the first game or quite a bit of DLC, which although a PS4 title runs in 4K on the new console.

Succinct and very, very accurate.

One ridiculous Black Friday ‘offer’ I saw was from another of the UK’s biggest hi-fi retailers, bundling a PS 5, unavailable elsewhere by itself on their website, with a high-end Denon AV receiver, only being released by them for the eye-watering, extortionate price of £4800. So, that’s basically slightly over 10x the retail price of a disc version console alone. I laughed a bit. I hope people aren’t quite that desperate.