Just a quick nod to the (relatively) new comic shop in Finsbury Park, Fantastic Realm. If you’re in the area, they’re just by Wells Terrace. They also have a nice website.
Batman - The Lazarus Syndrome
Comic-fuelled nostalgia made me do some research into a couple of BBC Radio plays I remembered from my youth - one Batman and one Superman piece, both produced by Dirk Maggs. While I was unable to find the meta-fictional “Superman On Trial” (which had Lex Luthor interviewing comic book writers and artists), I very happy to find Batman - The Lazarus Syndrome at The Radio Nostalgia Network. They’ve also got a good collection of classic superhero radio programmes from the 30s and 40s, but it was the Maggs radio play that I was particularly pleased to find as it’s a real stand-out memory from youth.
As it turns out, Dirk Maggs is a bit of a radio star. As well as the Batman and Superman pieces, he produced further radio series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide and his UK-based Independence Day spin-off sounds pretty good too. Any further links will be posted as and when they are found.
Direct link:
Batman - The Lazarus Syndrome
http://radiomemories.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=246130
2000AD retrospective
There’s an excellent retrospective of legendary British sci-fi comic 2000AD over at Dogmatika. Darran Anderson’s essay is split into three parts and singles out some of the most noteworthy stories in the title’s history. I haven’t been a regular reader of 2000AD for some years (the last time I picked up a copy I just felt old and bewildered), but I still have a lot of love for it.
Direct links
Part 1: http://dogmatika.com/dm/features_more.php?id=2758_0_5_0_M
Part 2: http://dogmatika.com/dm/features_more.php?id=2824_0_5_0_M
Part 3: http://dogmatika.com/dm/features_more.php?id=2943_0_5_0_M
Vertigo first issues
Hoping to whet our appetites for sweary comics, Vertigo are offering free PDFs of their “Mature” comics. First issues of several titles are on offer, including Sandman, Hellblazer, The Invisibles and 100 Bullets. I’ve only read a couple of them so far, but having a full issue to evaluate is better than the usual 3-4 pages offered by the DC site.
Direct link: http://www.dccomics.com/news/?nw=6186
