Bad Company

No!  Nothing To Do With Me -
Although I usually add a proviso the effect that it's unwise to provoke a man* who is both familiar with the poisons of antiquity and designing nuclear warheads.  You might class that as either bad company or an interesting guest at the dinner table.  And don't worry, I consider it bad form to murder one's hosts.
     Okay, back to the blog.  One of my most favouritest 2000 AD stories concerned Bad Company, a future war tale about the eponymous band of rapscallions, led by the tormented warrior Kano.  If Art can put down his plate of coal long enough -

The boys are back.  And bad.

     The story is initially set on the colony world of Ararat - great name, by the way - where a human army is fighting and losing against a ferocious alien race dubbed the "Krool".  Our protagonist is one Danny Franks, who is practically press-ganged into Bad Company, as they had suffered recent casualties and needed a bit more Krool-fodder.  Then we had a sequel, set after the destruction of Ararat and with Bad Company taking the fight to the very heart of the Krool empire.  Art?

Kano:  not a chap to get on the wrong side of, actually.

     There is a more recent iteration of the Bad Company team, entitled "First Casualties", which - of course! - has to stand the previous understanding of the war against the Krool on it's head.  Art?

Presto change-o

     Apparently Bret Ewins, the original artist, was terminally ill and unable to take up the pen for draftsman duties on this edition, so his boots were filled by Mr. Dayglo, who does a pretty fair job of copying Bret's style.  I won't say anything about this work as spoilers often provoke a killing rage.
     Which is where we came in ...
     What's that?  You were eagerly awaiting a respectful look back at the discography of that famous British stadium-rock band Bad Company?
     No.  Just that.  Although I do remember watching the Jeff Bridges film "Bad Company", where one of the titular rapscallions is stranded in the hinterland of the far West, and survives by shooting, roasting and eating a skunk.  

Roast skunk! 
I'd rather take my chances against Kano et al.

A word to the wise - as is evident, this is the only blog post for today, as we all have better things to do on Christmas Eve than read (or write) a load of salacious drivelling nonsense.

"The Deadly Mantis" (1957)
I know what you're thinking - how many different films about giant preying mantises have there been made, that this one requires a date to differentiate it from the others?  That's just me being precise.  Or pedantic.  One of the two, take your choice.  Art?

Hmmmm.

     The mantis looks rather silly when in flight, to be honest, and it's vulnerability seems to vary wildly according to what the plot requires at any one moment.  I did mention it being bullet and flame-proof earlier, and we see it shrugging off rockets, gunfire and airburst shrapnel; however, when our intrepid Colonel Parkman flies his Sabre jet at high speed into Ol' Manty, he inflicts a terminal injury.  I think the aerial collision was accidental, as Ol' Parky doesn't exhibit any kind of suicidal self-loathing.  Art?

A matter of scale

     For all that, the final claustrophobic battle in the Manhattan Tunnel is surprisingly well done and suspenseful.  I can provide evidence - 

Smog in Manhattan: the peril of our times

     This is probably because Ol' Manty isn't flying, where it looks silly, or crawling around, where it looks clumsy.
     Of course, I could be over-thinking this ...

Ah Me, Another Thief Of Time
As you ought to know by now, Conrad is a sucker for word puzzles of any description, and is never happier than when tackling a cryptic crossword.  Although numbers are not my forte, I also manage the easier versions of Sudoku, and in the Christmas edition of the Manchester Evening News (Gomorrah-on-the-Irwell's finest daily paper) I came across a number puzzle called 'Kakuro'.  Art?

With evidence of working it out.  Just for proof.

     Oh my does solving one of these puzzles eat up the time!  Even more so than doing the internet version of solitaire Mah Jongg.  I find it hard to put down without having completely solved one of the damn things.

Finally - 
Because it rhymes, here's the very excellent game "Escape From Atlantis", which is well worth playing and far better than the one-trick pony that is "Mousetrap".

Commencing escape!

     As you can see, Atlantis is modular in nature, and gradually disappears bit by bit, whereupon sharks, sea-serpents and octopii all attack your fleeing city-dwellers.  Great stuff!



*  We are using the term broadly here