Mind Mgmt is something I missed out on the first time around which I regret as it sounds mental. The new series is supposedly new reader friendly and doesn't require you to have read the original.
Is this true?
How is the new series shaping up overall?
I recently picked up this issue of 70's independent comic Star Reach which includes an Elric story which I don't think appears in any of the recent Titan collections. Art by Bob Gould, very much in that groovy Barry Smith/Tim Conrad mold. Cracking Jeff Jones cover.
This only lasted for three issues as a companion publication to Savage Sword of Conan, but by golly it had some great artists working on it - Neal Adams, Michael Whelan, Gil Kane, Ross Andru, Wally Wood, Howard Chaykin, Roy Krenkel and the great but obscure Jess Jodlomon (whose only other work I've seen is in Savage Sword #8). Definitely worth tracking down copies for your collection!
Found this for a mere £3 so didn't feel like I could pass it up. Will I miss any crucial info by not having read Heartbreak Soup?
For the uninitiated, these are two miniseries put out by Dark Horse which are connected to Mignola's Hellboy universe - Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea followed by Miss Truesdale and the Rise of Man. Basically, a Victorian era occultist discovers her past life as a gladiator and freedom fighter in a pre-historic civilisation.
Does it count as S&S? I say yes. The past lives aspect put me in mind of Howard's James Allison stories and the antediluvian world of Hyperborea is full of bloody combat, civilisational decadence, monsters and magic. It certainly has some of Mignola's taste for faux folklore and Jesse Lonergan's cosmic layouts. The art style might not be to everyone's taste being kind of cartoony, but I really enjoyed it.
This mighty tome arrived in the post meaning I now have all four of the Conan treasuries Marvel put out in the 70's (and two copies of #4, the one with Red Nails in it). Beautiful oversized Buscema and Alcala art, in colour, and semi hallucinogenic Alex Nino in the back up feature. Note to whoever's colouring the Reforged reprints - Marvel showed you how its done half a century ago with tech 100x more primitive that you have at your disposal. Look and learn!
I'm a sucker for the original comic art Artists Edition books where stories are reprinted from high quality scans of the original B&W art at original size. There was one done of Roy Thomas and BWS' adaption of Red Nails, but good luck getting a copy now without spending like a month's rent on it.
Titan have really gone to town on reprints of the classic Marvel stuff, both in omnibus and Reforged versions and did that excellent oversized edition of the first arc in their own series. They're obviously on board with frothing over quality art and oversized books.
So, how about going down the Aritsts Edition route? Someone's already collated Red Nails so the heavy lifting's already been done on that one, and I could certainly go for a de la Torre Artists Edition. DC have been doing a series called W.I.P. where they print artists edition equivalents of individual classic issues - something similar could be a way for Titan to test the water at a cheap price point.
Would you buy something like that?
...but now I can't get enough of it, especially the figure anatomy which I used to think was goofy. I still think it's goofy, but it a good way.
I've been roped in to repointing these patio slabs for the other half's parents. I'm still digging out the old mortar, but as you can hopefully see the gaps are quite wide and deep in places. I'll be using sand and cement and the two methods I'm toying with are
a) mortar bag to apply, finish off with pointing tool. Not sure if the depth of the gaps might cause an issue with the bag really filling them.
b) mask off the slabs to prevent staining and trowell in the new mortar. This was my original plan, however the slabs have uneven edges so I'm not sure how useless masking would be.
Any advice gratefully received!
So, this might seem like a strange request, but increasingly it's something I've been giving more and more credence to.
Many, many years ago as a teenager I had a friend whose mother was big into a local spiritualist type scene. She was a professional astrologer, IIRC. Once when I was visiting their house I briefly met friend of his mother who was also from that scene. The next day my friend told me that this second lady was renowned for her "second sight" and after meeting me had said to him that I "had a demon on [my] shoulder" which would cause me problems if not attended to. I was very much a sceptic back then and just laughed it off.
Fast forward to today, I'm in my fifties and despite having many advantages in my upbringing my life has certainly not gone positively over all. It's been a real case of one step forward, two steps back, and while I will always accept responsibility for my own mistakes, it really seems like outside circumstance keeps pulling the rug out from underneath me, for decades now. Last year was very difficult for me, and things aren't great right now and I keep thinking back to that idea of a demon (or something) attached to me and sabotaging me.
Probably sounds all very dramatic and self-justifying, I know. I know that, demons notwithstanding, even a belief in being "cursed" could subconsciously affect your behaviour in tiny subtle ways which can make it appear true, and likewise the opposite can be the case.
I'm open to the idea of some sort of entity leeching off me, but also that just the belief in the something like that could have a powerful negative effect on the course of my life.
So, whether there is an actual "demon" involved, or a more prosaic reason, what might realistically be done to deal with that? Since the explanation offered to me all those years ago was an occult one, I suspect engaging in some sort of ritualised banishment or similar would be the most apposite answer.
Stowage cage made from 0.5mm plastic rod.
Why do I do this to myself?!? 😂
I was looking to see if I could get some divisional symbol decals for 116th Panzer Division and discovered District Miniatures which has an anormous array of 15mm decals - tank numbers in all colour variations, divisional symbols for just about everyone including SS, lots of allied stuff including cool Soviet slogans and even shoulder patches for your infantry if your eyes can take it.
So, I'm going to aim to paint this lovely old Panzergrenadier box by 6th June, i.e. in a month's time. 6th June rings a bell...not sure why? 😂
Anyone else up for the challenge? Pick any unit, box, terrain piece, objective or anything really, commit to finishing it and post up some pix on the big day. 👍