tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post69966664217193160..comments2013-11-17T17:17:39.923+00:00Comments on Pointless Philosophical Asides: Reading log - Q2 2012Patrick Hudsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-76790942291714171452012-07-27T16:56:30.002+01:002012-07-27T16:56:30.002+01:00Hooray! I hope you enjoy Panoptica!
There was the...Hooray! I hope you enjoy Panoptica!<br /><br />There was the 80s sitcom 'Sledge Hammer' that was more a parody of Dirty Harry, but the name at least implied that Mike Hammer was in target. I've heard of that SPillane film, too. From the little I know about him, he sounds a bit deranged, an impression that I, the Jury did nothing to dispell.<br /><br />Ah, that old chestnut, where to start with Dredd!<br /><br />My own prejudice suggests starting with the Case Files volumes and reading them in order, stoppping somewhere around vol 5 or six. For a long time Dredd was a vehicle for a mix of SF satire of the 70s stylee (think Soylent Green, Logans Run etc) and gung-ho boy's adventure stories. The two elements come together in early 'epics' like The Cursed Earth', 'The Judge Child' and 'Judge Cal'. IMO, the 'great' era is defined by the artwork of Brian Bolland, (although there were a number of fantastic artists working on it in those days, incl Mick McMahon, Ron SMith and - of course - Carlos Ezquerra at his height, who created the whole look).<br /><br />Sometime towards the end of the 80s (around the time of The Judge Dredd Megazine) it fell prey to a problem that afflicts a great many long-running series and became, increasingly, about itself. In addition, I think it began to take its usual flip and silly satire a little too seriously. 'America', for example, has laways seemed a little adolescent to me. (In fairness, I think I'm very much in the minority here.)<br /><br />Speaking of minority views, I also think the first 20 mins or half an hour of the Stallone movie isn't too bad, and there are some good bits later on, too (the Angel Gang is pretty much spot on).<br /><br />This is quite a handsome volume collecting a grab-bag of Dredd strips from many eras. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Best-22Judge-Dredd-22-n/dp/1853757187 <br /><br />It has the whole of America, but only excerpts of stories like The Cursed Earth and The Judge Child. It's hard back, though, with good colour repro and a decent price. There's a similar 'Best of 2000AD' volume, NB.Patrick Hudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483247439912550014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7456818260601216123.post-61887257705004397932012-07-26T12:35:45.968+01:002012-07-26T12:35:45.968+01:00The Mike Hammer novels are nuts. They'd be a g...The Mike Hammer novels are nuts. They'd be a great parody of hard-boiled detective stories if it wasn't so obvious that Spillane is serious. You remind me that I must track down that 60s film where Spillane himself plays Mike Hammer, though.<br /><br />You'll be pleased to know that I recently bought a paperback copy of "Panoptica", so it's in the reading pile.<br /><br />At the cinema for Batman the other day I caught the trailer for the upcoming Judge Dredd film - where should I start in reading the comics before I see it?Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03185607466557136654noreply@blogger.com