Ken Aldred

Absolutely. Burns is one of my favourite indie creators, and this a classic. I have the Kirby book, but haven’t got to it yet.

You have easy access online to a lot of this information, far more than I had in the 70s. That was total isolation in comparison, especially being out in the middle of nowhere in northern England, and not knowing other collectors, about fanzines, or where any outlets for old comics were, other than relying on the local newsstand. Don’t avoid the opportunity.

The only boards I’ve ever joined are this one and the UK’s autism board. In both cases, choosing clearly-defined groups of individuals which I have a lot in common with. Of course, there’s still a wide spectrum of personalities, the potential for confusion or hostility, but greatly outweighed by the many positive experiences. I actually feel quite threatened by the toxic risks of joining a more generalised medium such as Facebook, for example, being pestered by former school acquaintances who’ve forgotten how much verbal, physical and psychological abuse and damage was inflicted upon me. Common sense dictates that I keep a safe distance from them, and any resurgent memories. Who needs it. Even after 15 years I still look forward to coming on here, enthusing about comics, old-and-new, stories and artists, whatever I’ve been reading recently, films, music and the many more unrelated topics over in the Water Cooler. I hope I contribute enough that’s knowledgable and relevant about comics, although I do have a borderline level fluctuation between trying to be humorous at one extreme and quite intense at the other to contend with. Still, I suppose that gives me a bit of range, at least.

Text speak, that’s all.

That’s an interesting one.

Absolutely nothing at all like Sabretooth vs Wolverine.

And, quite a number of us seem to be keen video gamers with divided attention as well.

Agree. Same conclusion I reached with my game of randomly picking a month in comics on the Newsstand site, Golden Age onwards through to moderns, and looking at how many really appeal to me as quality examples of the medium, story- and art-wise. It has a sobering effect on nostalgia, as the number’s consistently very low; often single figures to low ‘teens. I still like reading comics, but it’s a technique which perhaps leaves me more grounded and not interpreting the older stuff as being somehow sacrosanct, a level playing field for all.

With premium comics you need the safety net of buying with confidence on the grade. Simple common sense and caution, especially for those of us on a budget who literally can’t afford repeat mistakes, or the fuss.

I did once get offered another copy of Heroes Inc for a dollar. But, I declined.

They wouldn’t depreciate to the level of Heroes Inc. I was given a NM copy of it for free. No such worries.

Hope everyone on the other side of the pond enjoys the festivities.

Yup. I knew it was a cheeky one.

Good idea. This storyline in particular is one of my favourite 90s comics. Truly exceptional.

Always interesting to play the connections game. Golden’s earlier BA art was quite Wrightson-influenced, very different to his later style.

That’s my favourite crossover cover.

Richard Corben : Flights Into Fantasy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4263438-richard-corben

Jack Cole and Plastic Man : Forms Stretched To Their Limits. Short but fascinating book. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/154669.Jack_Cole_and_Plastic_Man