TimC

Ask him if he remembers this - http://blog.2ubh.com/2012/08/pretty-sharp-character.html

The sweary rabbit is the last story in the second volume. Like much of it, it seemed reminscent of something I'd seen done better elsewhere.

The bit with the prison governor's kids did make me laugh, though.

I've read the first two collections of Unwritten now, and am underwhelmed. Is it worth persevering? Or just more meh?

I suspect this is one of those situations where certain varieties of attempted humour really don't work on the internet. But I'm not sure which of us is at fault.

Followed by a "MAAN! Fuck Mike Carey!!"

Aye, he's a reasonable man.

If I recall, Delano planned for "The Fear Machine' to be at least a year long, but editorial demanded it be shortened some way in - hence the rather confused ending.

There's no denying it's flawed, both in scripting and in some dodgy art changes, but there's still a lot to like in it. Plus ca change.

Die Hard was indeed based on a novel, "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorpe.

There are many films that are far deeper and more complex than the source novels - 'Point Blank' and 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', to name a couple of favourites.

As with most of Milligan's run, I enjoyed this a lot more than the rest of you whinging bastards, but won't argue the toss right now.

But anyone who's assuming the magic bullet that John tossed back to Gemma is the same one he took from her probably needs to think on.

Actually, I'll amend that slightly - I do care about Doctor Who canon, but only in the sense of getting very annoyed at silly fans who do believe in it and try to use it to suggest that a particular story somehow "doesn't count"* (and oddly, just by coincidence, it usually just happens that the data set "stories that aren't canon" overlaps fairly precisely with the set "stories I don't like very much"). Bollocks to the lot of 'em - either it all counts or none of it does, and either way the upshot is the same.

I wouldn't be daft enough to talk about 'canon', but still reckon that anything on TV 'counts' more than anything in any other medium. This doesn't necessarily map onto your venn of geekness - I much prefer the DWM strips of the Colin Baker era to the TV stories of the time, frinstance, but they still don't really count.

This position does, however, mean that McGann gets in on a technicality. But only for 90 terrible minutes.

*Except, as TimC will doubtless be along to point out at any moment, for the 8th Doctor. As any fule kno, "Paul McGann doesn't count".

Pshaw, sirrah!

Can I just suggest Michelle Gomez again? An obvious alternative for #10, but even better as a real #12.

Fenella Fielding is the best suggestion so far. But then, she is generally the best.

Now here's a Constantine-featuring movie we can all get behind -

"The idea of this film is that our gang is on this global tour, and we’re selling out these grand theaters all over Europe—in Berlin, Madrid, London—but we sort of get into a little bit of trouble when we run across my doppleganger. He’s the world’s number one criminal, Constantine, and he happens to look an awful lot like me. I won’t tell you any more than that, but let’s just say mayhem ensues.

"We talked about putting me in makeup and having me play both roles, but we decided Constantine needed to be a guy who could do a Russian accent. And, you know, I’m a pretty accomplished actor and all, but besides the Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island films, I’ve only really ever played myself. The great thing is, I have like 3,000 relatives back in the swamp, so it was quite easy to find a frog who could play Constantine."

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/01/30/muppets-sequel-exclusive/

Some confusion between 'Royal Blood' (Ennis's prince ripper thing) and 'Bad Blood' (Delano's future Constantine thing), maybe?

So, I saw that new Django film.

It's pretty good. Not quite up there with 'The Great Silence', but there's a lot to like.

Cornell himself on the cancellation -

http://www.paulcornell.com/2013/01/the-end-of-saucer-country.html

I've opted to complete the arc as planned, with maybe an added 'end of season' feel, and finish Saucer Country on an 'end of volume one' note, with a big outcome decided (the last three issues are set on election night) and one enormous (and complete) reveal of the truth behind one of our mysteries. But this will not be an ending, and you won't learn what really happened to Arcadia on the night she was abducted.

I know that'll disappoint our loyal audience. So I make this promise to you: I will, one day, finish Saucer Country, in one way or another, in a dramatically satisfying way. That is to say, I won't just put up the remainder of the plot on my blog or something, I'll find a professional means to actually complete the story, ideally in comic book form, or as a novel or, hey, go on, a movie. The rights revert to me reasonably soon. We'll work from there.

Sad but not surprising news - Saucer Country finishes with issue 14 in April.

That means that for the first time in 20 years, I won't be buying any regular Vertigo titles. Dial H will be only DC title I get, and I'd be surprised if that lasts much longer.

It was fun while it lasted.

Of course, Dangerous Habits - the one with the octopus!

How could I have forgotten?

Nah, it's all about the scalpels. Cover of issue 61 sort of thing.

Off to watch the DVD now.

i don't remember ever seeing john butchering a man to death , so i'm not so sure what you mean about the second part. lol

Ah, but imagine if it was the point of view of an angel...

I like.

There's two scenes in that film that would transfer perfectly - the sort-of-psychic needling match with thingy from This Life, and that victim's point of view sequence.

Want to watch it again now.

Good call. So that's McDowell as old John, Bettany as young John.

Maybe someone should just to a re-edit of Gangster No. 1?

I'd have to steel myself to trudge through Jenkins again, and drink very heavily to even start with Carey.

Not that that's usually a challenge.

Anyone for a Justice League Dark movie, then? With Guillermo del Toro?

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/01/07/guillermo-del-toros-dc-movie-dark-universe-is-being-written-now-will-happen/

Swamp Thing is “a rockstar” to him, Etrigan the Demon is “amazing.” He also notes that wants to do “the Constantine of the comics” and that The Spectre, Deadman and Zatana Zatara will all also appear.

On a more obscuro/anoraky note, I've just found the three Dragon's Dream Dan Dare reprint books from the turn of the '80s as a set in a bookshop. They reprint the Man From Nowhere and its two sequels: does anybody know if these were the first Dare Collections to be published?

I think they were indeed the only reprints until the Hawk Books run in the late 80s.

Coincidentally enough, last week I picked up a Dragon's Dream collection of Druillet's Lone Sloane strips from 1973. Proper brain-frying stuff - I'd guess it's a big influence on 'Prophet', to put it politely.

Jess Nevins' best guess was Blackshirt, the gentleman crook created by Graham Jeffries, but it's not terribly convincing.