Ken Aldred

They are. Unlike her earliest work, Bugsy Malone, which was a tasteless, horrific, gangster bloodbath.

I can’t really think of any period during which I stopped collecting or reading completely, but there have been transitions in the ways I’ve gone about it. 73 to 77 would be the initial phase when I bought solely from the newsstand, 78 onwards I’d discovered and focused on marts and shops where I could get comics not distributed to the U.K. and back issues, and that persisted all the way through until 2010. I don’t recall a single year during which no comics were purchased. Slowdowns due to focusing on education or being penniless, maybe. Due to health issues, I gave up making the weekly trek to the LCS in 2010, although, looking back, I should’ve done that much sooner. I experimented with going to a few of the London conventions instead, but ended up concluding those had also been far too demanding because of the same aforementioned issues. That won’t be a pandemic-related hiatus, as if and when things improve I won’t return to that activity, nor even miss it. I stopped buying back issue original comics in 2014, when speculator activity really began to escalate prices and, looking at how insane the market has now become, I believe I did myself a big favour and dodged the bullet with my timing. I’m still continuing to buy comics to read in digital format, which I can do in the house with the most minimal of effort and in a way which is the most comfortable and appropriate to my autistic health limitations. Prospectively, I can’t envisage my fondness for this medium declining any time in the future, regardless of how I decide to focus on it.

I’m sure that once I’ve had some sleep that will make perfect sense. For now, it’s just freeform word jazz.

A classic choice of a hack from the Silver Age.

I wasn’t paying attention. I thought that Bo1983 and grendelbo were the same boardie. Often hard to track name changes.

Infinite Crisis had a lot of tie-in material as well. I recently re-read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Coherent enough without needing to read the tie-in issues.

They could do with a similar triangle system on modern, interlinked storylines. As much as I like, for example, Jonathan Hickman’s flow diagrams inside his crossover comics, a cover indicator such as the triangle is much easier. However, some crossovers are so convoluted, such as Forever Evil was, with ongoing titles, mini-series and a glut of largely irrelevant (Villains) one-shots that precisely sequencing everything published that’s vital to the overall narrative becomes practically impossible. 90s Superman was a task of incredibly simple organisation, in comparison.

One character that I gave up on following in the 80s, one of my all-time favourites, is Dr Fate. I always liked the original version, Kent Nelson, and I’m aware that the power of the Lord of Order, Nabu, is actually channelled via the Helmet of Fate and the person wearing it provides a physical manifestation, and that the role can be passed onto others, but, the chain of succession became so convoluted and uninteresting, with one mediocre change of host and series after another. Here’s the history, which for me is a bit headache inducing… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Fate The consensus seems to agree with me, as Kent Nelson is the popular version in animated series and TV, and soon in the Black Adam film.

I was pushing 30 at the time. Trying to make you feel better.

They were quite solid reads with lots of good art, especially getting them cheap for 25p from comic marts for a few years. Loads of UK-distributed remainder copies.

Legion’s a very good example. A lot of well-written and drawn series that I dip into occasionally, but very little consistency in the way they’re handled over the long term: choppy, poorly-integrated material.

X-Men Numerous multi-title crossovers, mini-series, solo series, title reboots, history revisions, Wolverine guest appearances everywhere. It all got a bit out of control and far too much, really.

Despite the wooden acting, classic series.

Gerry Anderson’s series had great opening titles; Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet as well.

Yup. There are some great stories.

Not quite on Carl Barks’ level.

I was thinking that as well.

Is that a ‘Horror Comics of the 1950s’ hardcover?

Perfect synergy. Great, consistent writing, and so many of the A-list comic artists of the time at their peak.

Bo, like Darkseid, is.

It’s okay. Homage to Stallone’s Cobra film probably, as well as the more obvious Terminator.

Just superb.

Impressive range of artists, genres and comic Ages here.

I read it last year as a digital collection, same run. Interesting dystopian world building in the first few issues, but then loses momentum after the first story arc and becomes quite run-of-the-mill storywise, and poorly developed. Nothing that special, although you can see some of the graphical layout and tone as an influence on Miller’s DKR. Disappointing, and overrated.

Next it’ll be a hologram AI doing improvised stand-up comedy and becoming a worldwide megastar. The first significant indication of machine dominance.