Saturday, June 24, 2017

I Don't Like Mondas

...or 'Talking 'bout my regeneration'.


A rare publicity still of The Boomtown Cybermats performing their best known song.


We go into these last two episodes of Doctor Who's tenth modern season awaiting the full details of how John Simm's Master will interact with Missy, and where this unlikely reunion fits in with the reappearance of the original version of the Cybermen.
We also know that the Mondasians were there the very first time we saw the Doctor regenerate. We know what's coming, and will what happened before inform Peter Capaldi's ultimate fate in some way? He revealed on TV that he had already filmed his 'death', but also still had to return for the Christmas special. Is this simply to do with the non-linear way that programmes are filmed, or should we take note of Steven Moffatt's hints that there will be something different about this regeneration?
Not long now before we find out.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Miracleman - The Tomorrow Charade














The Marvelman/Miracleman story is a tortuous one. Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Gary Leach, Alan Davis, Steve Dillon, Paul Neary. The quality and originality of the strip when it appeared in Warrior was fantastic enough to leave a lasting impression on a generation of comic fans. Warrior stopped printing Marvelman, then Eclipse reprinted and allowed Moore to finish his story. Gaiman took over, and Eclipse went out of business. Understandably, there was always a clamour for more original material, for resolution of the plot threads left dangling.
When Marvel announced it had sorted the complicated rights issue, provided a lump sum for the frail Mick Anglo, and would be allowing Neil Gaiman to finally finish his own story, it seemed long overdue, and maybe went some way to make restoration for causing the problems to start in the first place. All they have managed so far is to make money from more reprints, and allow Joe Quesada to get his own Miracleman story into print. Solicitations cancelled and no explanations, it has all gone very quiet.
Is this strip destined never to be finished? Is there a secret Marvel agenda to suppress the end of the story? Will it be more of an anti-climax than the Stone Roses second album?
Maybe we are destined never to find out what happens next. Perhaps we need these areas of uncertainty in our lives.
But there are finished pages out there somewhere. Couldn't we just have a little peek? Please?

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Creme Eggs


Theresa May, today, trying to flog strong and stable confectionary.
It's not even Easter.