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Joe Stacey

@shipmind743.bsky.social

200 followers 940 following 1.4K posts

Humanist. Escapee from reality. Book reader. Game player. Roleplayer. Music listener. Blake's 7. Mass Effect. "Change their minds and change the world."

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Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 11h

I don’t have a good reason why I’ve never tried Commando Comics. Some things just pass you by. But I should give it go, especially as I didn’t realise that they did stories set further back than the First World War. I certainly didn’t know they did science fiction. I’ve probably missed a lot.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 11h

It features war stories from ancient, modern, and future times. It sometimes features fantastical elements. The interior art is black-and-white and the cover is in colour.
It’s featured the work of some well-known artists such as Ian Kennedy and Cam Kennedy.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 11h

A-Comic-A-Day has given me the excuse to consider comics I’ve not read alongside those I have.
One long-running British comic I’ve not read is Commando, a war stories book that’s been in publication since 1961.

The cover of Commando issue 5675 showing First World War tanks and planes. Art by Neil Roberts

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

I wonder if anyone has explored this in a comic story. I don’t know of an example, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there. I’d love to read that sort of thing.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

More interesting to me, what would this mean to the vast non-powered population of Earth? They don’t come back from the dead and neither do their loved ones. Why not? Why do individuals who have already been gifted with amazing powers also get to cheat death? It would seem to be unfair.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

But, as with other aspects of superhero comics, I like thinking about the implications for their everyday reality.
As I said, Superman did return from the dead. What would this mean?

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

Superman died. For real. No, really. Okay, he eventually got better.
But it was everywhere for a while. Comics were talked about by people who normally wouldn’t give the medium the time of day. Comics were being noticed.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

A-Comic-A-Day…
Do you remember when superhero deaths were permanent and meant something? No, neither do I.
But they did used to be big events. Take the Death of Superman storyline from 1993 culminating in Superman (volume 2) #75.

The cover of Superman (volume 2) issue 75 showing Superman's torn cape flying like a flag on a pole amidst the rubble. Art by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 1d

I love the effect of the glasses being the same colour as the background.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 2d

This is another one that I wish I had the time to catch up on. I know the basics. It’s about a Gaul named Asterix and his friend Obelix and their fight to resist the Roman Empire occupiers. There’s a magic potion and superhuman strength.
Not enough time in the world…

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 2d

A short A-Comic-A-Day as I’m flagging a bit.
My comic reading has mostly been British, American, or Japanese titles. One neglected area is European comics. One that was popular with friends when I was at school was Asterix the Gaul.

The cover of Asterix the Gaul showing Asterix punching two roman soldiers with Obelix in the background carrying a menhir. Art by, I think, Albert Uderzo.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

The art from Pere Pérez and colour art from GURU-eFX is top rate. They’re superb whether giving us action scenes or quieter moments.
There’s fine lettering from VC’s Joe Caramagna and an excellent Adam Hughes cover. I like those ‘Spidey over the city’ pics.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

This first issue is a good setup. We get time with Peter, Gwen, MJ, and Harry just living their lives. We see the origin of, presumably, our new antagonist. No idea where this is going, but I’ll be around to find out. There’s a real energy to Torn.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

Firstly, we have J. Michael Straczynski @straczynski.bsky.social back on a Spider-Man book and the feel is just right. Peter’s voice is spot on. The story is great.
Secondly, Peter and MJ are in the same book at the same time and the universe hasn’t imploded! What d’ya know…

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

Today’s A-Comic-A-Day is The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn issue 1 and this is how I feel…
…Very happy.
Torn is set while Peter was a student at Empire State University, circa ASM#50. A Spidey in the past story again… I like it.

The cover of The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn issue 1 showing Spider-Man swinging above New York. Art by Adam Hughes.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

Transformers UK did some amazing stories. Time Wars had some of the most memorable imagery.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 3d

That is really nice.

Reposted by Joe Stacey

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 3d

The reason the Right are so invested in the myth that the arts have no value isn’t because the arts don’t generate wealth (they do); it’s that studying the arts teaches people to imagine better ways of judging the value of an idea than by counting how much money it makes…

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 4d

I still want to read those earliest adventures. I must look up whether they’ve been collected.
I don’t have much more today, unless you count a struggle to stay awake.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 4d

I enjoyed the strangeness of Doom Patrol and always meant to read their earliest appearances. I never did. I’d still like to. Their debut was in My Greatest Adventure issue 80 from 1963, a number of years before I was born.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 4d

Definitely a short A-Comic-A-Day this time as I’m knackered.
When DC’s Vertigo imprint was started I tried a whole bunch of comics that I wouldn’t otherwise have picked up. I guess that was the point of Vertigo.
One of them was Doom Patrol.

The cover of My Greatest Adventure issue 80 showing the Doom Patrol in action. Art by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani.

Reposted by Joe Stacey

Marcus Chown @marcuschown.bsky.social · 5d

The only way the 1% can grab power is if they divide us.

(Ex-public schoolboy and banker Farage is very definitely part of the 1%)

Don't let them divide us.

Black and white. Men and women. Young and old. Rich and poor. Able and disabled. Christian and Muslim...

STICK TOGETHER.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 5d

Ahem! Anyway, I enjoyed Domu: A Child’s Dream and I wish I had time to dig through the boxes in the loft, find it, and reread it.
Nobody’s reading these things… right?
Probably just as well.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 5d

…I just know that, for a lot of things, especially books, music, film, art, I have a mental pattern for my experience of it. And the pattern (not even sure that’s the right word for it) is its own description.
This did not go where I thought it would.

Joe Stacey @shipmind743.bsky.social · 5d

I know there’s a child and an old man. There are psychic powers. But I’d need to read it again. I have an indescribable feeling associated with Domu. I’m not being grandiose, I literally don’t know how to describe it…