Thrill power overload
Comics. Just comics. 2000ad.
I began my #progslog in an attempt to read every copy of 2000AD which amounts to somewhere in the region of 2400 comic books given that it goes back to 1977. So far so good and I am getting through between 5 and 10 a day…
There are so many storylines that modern day films and books have taken from and as early as 1978 you can pretty much read the Plot for jurassic park in one of the strips.
Oh and a prog is just the name that was used 41 of the weekly publications.
This could take a while
To be almost exact I have about 2 and a half thousand of them. They date back to 1977, and I have every single issue Of the weekly copy of 2000ad.
Ever heard of Judge Dredd? Well it’s the one where you’ll find him.
I started reading when I was young and when I got the chance to buy all of the collection I did so about 18 years ago, and now I’ve continued to buy it every week.
But here is the thing, I’ve not actually read them all. So, I have decided that every single day as much as I can, I’m going to read 7 of them, and if I have any luck in about a year and a year I will have read every single one of them.
I realize it’s pretty ambitious and I’ll probably fall short but I think they deserve to be read again from the beginning so that is my intention.
Oh and when I read them my intention is to pop each one of them in a protective little bag and slot in a backboard and do my best to preserve them for as long as possible.
Actually I think that’s going to cost a bloody fortune. Oh well.
A sad day indeed
Carlos Ezquerra passed away today and it is a sad day indeed. Whilst many have drawn Dredd it was Carlos’ work that was so instantly recognisable and held me captive from such a young age. Carlos brought Dredd to life and so much of what we now know and love about Dredd and the Mega Cities was of his making.
Beyond Dredd there is his work on Strontium dog and others. He really was one of the greatest comic book artists ever and his work has always meant such a lot to me and delights me every time I see it.
I remember going to a con a few years ago just to see him and was gutted when he couldn’t get there because of air traffic controllers somewhere or other and when I eventually got my hands on a piece of his work it was like all my Christmas’ rolled into one.
Below is one that I have shared before that really shows just how amazing an artist he was and by all accounts he was a pretty top bloke too.
RIP Carlos…
More than just a comic book to me.
If you’re a comic reader you know that now and again you stumble upon something that just grabs you and demands your attention and from then on you’re hooked. For me, from the minute I first read SAGA by Fiona Staples and Brian E Vaughan, I knew this was going to be one of those experiences.
The reason I got into it was because of the owner of the local comic shop Simon Shaw. I told him I was after something new and he asked me what I liked. I explained the sort of stories and art that I enjoyed and almost straight away he was in no doubt that I would love Saga and he was absolutely right.
As much as I like to think I know a bit about comics, I don’t really and when you meet someone like Simon you realise what real passion looks like and there is something so brilliant about just knowing someone like that because that passion is truly infectious. For the years that have followed I have bowed to his superior knowledge so many times and whilst my wallet may have suffered he has never been wrong.
It is with a real sadness though that I won’t get to have my arm twisted to pick up something new any more because Simon passed away this week. He was only forty and had beaten cancer and a heart attack took him far too soon.
Thanks for everything mate I will miss you and I’m sure I will think about you every time I read it.
Afterwards 