The Heimdall Identity Crisis

So, there's this new film out next May called Thor, right? And it's all about the Marvel Comics character. I won't bore you with plot details and such, but it's safe to say the guy playing Thor looks spot on:


That's all well and good, as is the looks of Thor's daddy, Odin and his step-brother Loki. In fact, all the cast of the Asgardians look about right to me. Mind you, my calm, collected hippyish world view isn't shared by everyone. Now, bear with me 'cause this is going to get silly...

There's this guy in Norse Mythology called Heimdall, who's the guardian of the Bifrost (sp) bridge between Asgard and Midgard. And he's also in the film. Would make sense, right? I mean he is part of the Norse Pantheon so it makes sense he's in a film starring one or two of the primary gods. Only in the film, he's played by Idris Elba. Who is a pretty decent actor! Admittedly I've only seen him in one or two programmes and one of them was The Losers, which isn't renown for it's Oscar potential, but still a lot more fun that a lot of that nonsense! For some bizarre reason all I can say to his casting as Heimdall is... So what?

For those who haven't been following movie news, white supremacists have decided to boycott the film because of Mr. Elba being cast as a Norse god... Because... that's wrong apparently... Now, I can sort of see where they're coming from yes, Heimdall is a Norse god so therefore he would traditionally be white and most likely blonde. But, this Thor's inspired and based on the comic rather than the original mythology... So I'm struggling to see what the problem is. I will admit at first I was a bit surprised, again for the reasons of "aren't the Norse gods usually white?", but in the long run, it didn't fuss me. If it makes the end product better because they chose the right actor for the job, I couldn't care less for the actor's skin-colour. The best comparison I can think of is Angel Coulby, that's right, the lass who plays Gwen in the BBC tv series. Once more, and I'm probably not the only one, I thought "Hang on, isn't Guinevere usually white?" But again, it didn't bother me beyond that initial reaction. She is pretty good in a series in which they've taken many liberties with the source material.

Now, I am aware that it primarily boils down to hate. Which is one of many things in the human race I will never understand. I don't see the point of hate, dislike yes I can see the point of that, you can't like everyone in the world that's just weird. But hate? Really, what is the point? Intolerance never solved anything and just ends up causing more friction. I'll admit I have said I hate something like, for example, Justin Bieber, I may not like his music, and some of his comments I found ill-informed and slightly offensive, (I have huge issues with idiocy in all it's forms.) but I can't really say I hate him. If any of his crap shows up on tv, I'll simply groan or grunt or make some sort of disapproving noise and change the channel. And that's really all there is to it. I don't see the point of people going out and assaulting someone just because their skin is a different colour or they have a different sexual orientation, or a different belief. I just don't understand it! And really the only thing I can think of about these white-power idiots angry and upset over something as minor and trivial as a guy's skin colour, all I can say is if you don;t like the decisions concerning the film, don't watch it! It's one film, it's not going to shake the world's foundations or fundamentally alter people's beliefs about Norse mythology, the most it'll do is raise awareness of it and I see nowt wrong with that.

Oh and before I go here's some more food for thought, you know Jesus? Well odds are, because of where he was born, he was an Israeli and therefore not as white as the paintings make him look...

"It's got a guy dressed as a beaver on the cover and I think he's riding a stuffed pig..." Or: Thought Bubble 2010, My Review.

I'll explain that sentence in a moment, but first here's what Thought Bubble is.

For the people who don't know, Thought Bubble is the Leeds Sequential Art Festival! A celebration of art and in particular, comics. It's an annual thing and is part of the Leeds Film Festival, spinning off thanks in part to it's partnership with the comic book chain Travelling Man, and it is brilliant!

Now, partly my reason for raving about it, since most comic conventions take place over a weekend and are usually in some place I have little way of travelling to, Thought Bubble is ace because of it's location! For me at least, Leeds is pretty easy to get to, to and from. Also, being a small convention, there's lots of people there advertising their own small press ventures. Some of them are amazing and all of them love the medium. Which improves everything! The atmosphere was vibrant, kind of like going to a gig! Savile Hall was full of life and cosplayers. Amongst all the various manga characters who I've never seen nor heard of, there was a Manga -looking Robin, Wally, 2 Spider-men, 2 Deadpools, 2 Judges (One Dredd, one McMahon), Darth Vader, Lady Vader and a baby Vader, some Harley's, some Jokers and a single lonely Storm Trooper among others. It was fun.

Of the small press stuff, I saw some great comics on offer, with tables and exhibitions from Reet comic, Orang-utan Comics, John Allison (the man responsible for Scary Go Round), Futurequake Press and many others. A full list can be found here: Thought Bubble Exhibitors
As well, I also picked up some great new reads including a printed version of one my favourite webcomics, Necessary Monsters. Basically concerning a secret agency called The Chain, comprised of a variety of monsters who keep an eye on the others...I recommend this one, if you like your horror films and always end up rooting for the monsters, you'll love Necessary Monsters.

There wasn't just small press people there, oh no. There were also industry professionals attending! Among the many present, there was Adi Granov, Bryan Talbot, Andy Diggle, D'Israeli, Ian Edgington, Al Ewing, Rob Williams, Paul Cornell and Tony Harris! And not forgetting the Guest of Honour this year, Mr. John Romita JR. That's right, we had the man who illustrated Daredevil, X-Men, Spider-Man, Kick-Ass and Starbrand present and signing and sketching and attending panels! And he was one of the funniest men I've ever been in the presence of. And again, many others were there, but I can't remember them all of the top of my head. Still, it was an amazing experience and I had a whale of a time.

One of the only things I do regret about this year was the fact I didn't get to see any of the panels. Now, in part that's my own fault, since they're usually allocated a corner of the hall, I'd poke my head in and have a nosy at who's on and maybe grab a seat as opposed to organising my day around some panels. But then, where's the fun in that?, No, unfortunately this year all the panels had to be relocated to a hall in the Royal Armouries opposite the main con room. This is mainly because the con and the festival on a whole has increased in size since last year. All of the main hall now, was taken up with tables for pros and amateurs alike. In fact, if I recall, there were even tables outside in the entrance! I do hope that the con gets bigger in the coming years (hell, I'd even like a table there at some point...), but I also hope they can contain it as well.

Now about that sentence in the title.... As much as I'd love to keep that out of content, ambiguous and therefore hilarious, I feel I should explain myself. After the main con had finished and it was busy closing up. A friend and I decided to wander along to the Alea Casino to see what was happening after hours at Thought Bubble. Last year, we happened upon a bizarre hybrid of pictionary and instant character creation. This time there was an auction going on... Before I do go any further, I would like to know who was the auctioneer? I reckon normal ones would be a lot more entertaining with someone like him banging the hammer. And having Catwoman and the Silk Spectre being in charge of the items and money collection was also nice. Anyway, as the night went on and things started to venture into daft items, our auctioneer began to talk about a book, which I ended up buying. It does indeed have "A guy dressed a beaver on the cover, I think he's riding a stuffed pig or something..." It was worth the opening bid of a tenner, and I made him laugh which I think only sealed me getting it! I won't tell you what the book was, that'd ruin it but suffice to say I'm still undecided whether it was worth it. Then came the Gorilla Quiz!

Basically, it was a quiz all about Gorillas in comics from the fifties. As well as entertaining the crowd with some witty outbursts, I scored an amazing 3 out of 10! I was impressed despite never reading any of them... And after that more drinking at the after party! In which I noticed I was sat a few feet away from Paul Cornell. Briefly.

Sunday's Masterclass with John Romita Jr was fantastic, he has a lot of stories about working for Marvel and his experiences with other creators (good) and editors (mostly bad...) and he dropped a hint about another upcoming creator-owned project after Kick-Ass and The Avengers! Andy Diggle's Breaking Into Comics talk was also very informative and has helped clarify a lot for me. So, who knows maybe I'll get lucky and be writing comics for a job at some point!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and I had an amazing time. The only downside is it's over now and I have to go back to the real world and work. Bugger.

I Believe I Have A Newfound Respect For Comic Artists...

Now, I already had a lot of respect for them. But since I started doing my own web comic (www.mousels.com/tangent), I have a LOT more...

Sequential Story-telling is such a hard thing to master! Personally, I don't think I've quite got the hang of it yet. But it is incredible what some artists out there have accomplished! I'd say personally my stuff's basic by comparison, or just below I don't know. And the speed! It's amazing how fast some of these guys can work. Me and Mike have taken a brief hiatus so I can catch up with myself, if you get me. Because as I've said previously on this mess of a blog, it takes a lot of attention does this baby. I was, for a while rushing a page, so it'd be ready for the next week! And I had work and other commitments on top of that! I'm surprised I haven't abandoned it yet! So, for the next couple of weeks Mike'll be sorting out some sort of filler material for the sole purpose of giving me (and him suppose, what with the colouring and all...) the opportunity to make like tomato sauce! And by that I mean catch up...

That said, keep checking Tangent for updates!

My Busy Week, incl. Rockula, Chester, and Pirate Metal

So, yeah this past week's been a bit hectic.... I should start when it officially started for me, Last Friday!

Friday 8th October
I left at around 10 in the morning and headed off to Leeds, and then to Manchester, and Chester. Trains are ace! No seriously, I prefer them to buses, there's less hassle and rocking around. Much more pleasant journey. After arriving in Chester I promptly met up with a group of approx. 30 friends for a huge geekend!

Saturday 9th October
Geekend continues, we watched many films of varying quality. Including the awesomeness that is Rockula! No seriously, check out this film, it's ace! It's a vampire rom-com musical! In which a vampire named Ralph has to rescue his true love. Ressurected every 22 years only to be killed by a pirate. Who has a rhinestone pegleg. And a ham bone... So, he starts a band! It's bloody brilliant, the songs are funny and well produced and Toni Basil plays Ralph's mum, Phoebe! She's.... strange. But really track it down, it's well worth the effort!
In that same night, we also had a costume party, in which I was a Black Lantern version of myself. I'm proud of the costume. If anyone wants to see the results, watch my DevART page for a comparison between the design and final product...

Sunday 10th October
Pretty much the same, minus the costume party. But it had added Twilight-bashing and Dean-from-Supernatural in a daft rom-com, which had Clea Duvall as a tomato-girl!

Monday 11th October
Headed back to Lovely, lovely Leeds! Got up at 9, finally got back home at 3:30! The good thing was I wasn't hallucinating this time around (Don't ask.)!

Tuesday 12th October
Nothing much happened, spent most of the day catching up with things, the internet primarily. And began to draw the web comic. To date, it's still not done. Then at some point after 5 I headed off to Leeds for a Fantasy Art thing.

Wednesday 13th October
Went down to Bradford with my best mate and his girlfriend and went on the Uni Radio. Listen to ...And Be Done With It on RAMAIR 13.50 AM! Wednesday's 7-9pm! It's brilliant! There plugging out the way. The web comic's still not done. We went to the pub after, and the new studio's looking nearly there!

Thursday 14th October
Met my new girlfriend (Hi Nic, if you're reading! xx) and headed down the White Rose with her and her older Sister after a brief meeting at hers. Then I went down town. The comic's still not done. Noticing a pattern, Ladies and gents?

Friday 15th October
Hung out with my girlfriend, my best friend and his girlfriend. Not much, but STFU, this is my blog, I can talk about what ever bollocks I want!

Saturday 16th October
Started the day at 7:30, I had work at 8.... Ugh, I know people say they hate their bosses, but really. One of mine is an absolute cunt. May the bastard die screaming horribly. Fuck him, fuck his bad attitude and moronic decisions. The man has no idea how to run a supermarket! I could run it better than him, and I think he knows it... Anyway, after I finished at 5. Went home, got changed and left at 5:15. To go to Sheffield.
To one of the best nights of the year! I went to see one of my favourite bands ever. ALESTORM! Support one of the bands I do actually quite like, SABATON! They were ace! Yes, me and my mates got a bit lost on the way, but we right up there at the front, rocking and getting slightly crushed to songs like Captain Morgan's Revenge, Uprising, Cliffs of Galipoli and Keelhauled! Guess whose songs are whose... Yes, it was an amazing night out, despite my ears ringing and my voice slightly hoarse. My back weirdly, never felt better! Oh, and I met the band as well!

Sunday, we had a stock take, but that left me bitter and threatening horrific acts of hubris on my superiors involving pencils and ropes and stuffed owls...

And that is why I haven't got the next page of the web comic up!

In The Mouth Of Madness, A Review...thing...

"Visit Scenic Hobb's End! Home of the maddeningly horrific works of novelist Sutter Cane!"

...

Actually... don't.

So I was watching In The Mouth Of Madness last week, and I thought it was pretty good! Alright, I'm a John Carpenter fan anyway so there's a touch of bias but bear with me. It was a great film, wonderfully atmospheric little horror, dealing with madness, literature and scary squid-shaped thingees...

And you can't fault a film which starts with your lead character shouting "I'm sorry about the balls!" while being dragged kicking and screaming into a padded cell. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I've always been fascinated by H.P. Lovecraft's work, but I've never read any of it. Partly because I'm a visual person, and I love descriptions of monsters in novels. And Mr. Lovecraft's beasties are usually left obscure and not seen (I think), and to me, that's a bit boring. Sometimes I do like to know what I'm meant to be scared of. This film is a big tribute to him and his, complete with the weird foreboding sense of unease. Anyway...

It all starts with a man, no not our loony hero John Trent. But rather another loony. One with an axe. He attacks our John but not before asking "Do You Read Sutter Cane?" So, Sutter Cane's this famous horror writer, right? And his stuff's really good, and like H.P.'s. Only he's gone missing. So his publishers send John Trent with Cane's Editor/ Publicist, Linda Styles, to track him down and get his latest bit of work. The titular In The Mouth of Madness. Then thing's get weird....

It turns out that this place all his books are set in, Hobb's End, is actually real and not a fictional location! And things get weirder, paintings start changing, kid's disappear and Sutter's acting all smug and evil. Mind you, he's played by Jurgen Prochnow so that's understandable. What kind of name is Sutter anyway? Oh, and after reading a bit of the book, Styles is acting a bit off and the villagers are mutating. Poor, John meanwhile, is oblivious to all of this. Or trying to ignore it.

The film is really good with the whole paranoid mood. Everyone seems out to get the pair, from the kiddies with the semi-melty faces to the creepy old biddie who owns the local B&B. And the whole thing about the villagers all claiming to be written by Cane and not being real. As well as the town itself, not supposed to be existing.

It was a good film and the ending, which I will not ruin, was about right. If I say it's part of Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, it should give you an idea of what to expect. But, as much as I liked it, I do wish there had been more of the monsters involved. Yes, there were some in it, but I do like my monsters and I would have loved to have seen some more utilised when scaring Trent. As well, I didn't think there was enough in terms of atmosphere to scare people. Yes it did get me thinking in certain bits, but overall if I want to be atmospherically spooked by something, I really want it to be a bit more there..

Still, I do recommend you see this one. It's a clever film and will make you think about the power of literature and beliefs. The only thing I hope is that Stephenie Meyer doesn't have the same power or end up with a similar cult following with her series...

That and I can find a region 2 copy of this film, it were great and I'd love to see it again...

Loiterers 2!

Well, after months and months... Alright, more bordering on a year or two now, I have finally got in mind a sequel for my first Youtube short, Loiterers! Woo!

Can't give much away yet, I haven't even started the script yet. However, I can say it will have more antics featuring abusing popular literature, films and other stuff! And a big world-changing event! (Budget-pending...). As well, this one's also going to be a bit more professionally done. I may even hire a decent camera! (Budget-pending...)

In the meantime, to bide you over, here's the original monstrosity!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSPE4xUbP0s

So, stay tuned. Will post more info as and when I can be arsed!

Lost Season 1: A Review/ Summary/ Thing (SPOILERS ABOUNDS)

So, long after the whole thing is over, the final season has now finished and is probably out on DVD by the time you read this (probably), I have finally gotten 'round to seeing what the fuss is all about! For this I would like to thank my good friend Saz for lending us the box-set. And about the spoiler thing, yes I know it's long after anything could possibly be spoiled on Lost, but you never know.

Firstly, the concept is a fascinating one. Bit boring on the face of it, Survivors of a plane crash on a desert island. But then you have the twist that the island's weird. Very weird. I like the whole it's a mysterious island with normal people dropped head first into the freaky shit. Mysterious island... I'm sure there's some Jules Verne connection there... Anyway, despite the lack of giant chickens, the prog was an interesting one. Instead of focussing on the island being weird, they put all the emphasis on the characters which has begun to appeal to me. I'm a bit of a misanthrope, so it's rare for me to like people outside my social circle. (Nothing personal to anyone, I just have issues with idiotic strangers, you'd be surprised how many are out there!)

I'll get my negative points out of the way first. The length of the season. I'm not overly keen on the whole 22+ episodes format. It's all well and good for some things, but god can it drag scenes out... It felt like some of the episodes were there for obvious filler, not that there's owt wrong, but it did feel like there were some eps which weren't needed. After that, I didn't really have many complaints with it. There were odd moments where I desperately wanted them to get on with it. But overall I did like it.

The locations were beautiful, it was much nicer to watch it when you didn;t have to look at interchangeable grey buildings, which some progs suffer from. As well it also helped when odd things happened like the polar bears. Yes, plural. But you're not interested in the pretty pretty backdrops of Oahu. You want to know what I thought of the story and the characters. So the story, after said plane crash we meet our heroes! Who I will get to momentarily. So, plane crashes on island, people scramble around to survive. They make friends, begin to prep for the long haul and so on. As they go exploring they find in order, a transmission repeating a distress call from a french woman, a polar bear, boars, another polar bear, a breifcase full of guns, some caves to live in, an 'Other', a concrete hatch in the middle of the jungle and another plane full of drugs. Oh, and some big clanky monster made of black smoke, but he doesn't show up til the end. Are giant amorphous smoke monsters male of female, or are they gender neutral? Anyway... During all this we also learn about our survivors through flashbacks! Seems everyone had issues which they were running away from/to/whatever. Some were fascinating, others not so much, but they were very well rounded and thought out. Still wish they'd had a bit more on Hurley.

Now then, the survivors. Wasn't too keen on Sawyer, he got on my wick... Not sure why, maybe it was that was an arrogant cock-jockey. But he didn't do owt for me, I felt a little for him after they revealed a bit of his backstory, but not enough to fully care. Still he did have moments.
Kate and Jack, they seem to pretty much be the main couple. Jack had a bit of old-school hero about him, all square-jaw and clay footed. Bit boring in that respect, but I get him. He's a doctor so he's always got that altruistic streak. Same for Kate, the good- bad girl. The con with the heart of gold, found myself feeling a touch sorry for her all this shit and it's still happening to her. Sawyer didn't help there... I smiled a lot when Jin and Sun made up during Exodus part 1. I really wanted them to at least be friends after that messy break up thing earlier in the series. They were cool.

My favourite characters of the series by far had to be Hurley, Charlie and Locke. Hurley was great! While you had the other 'pretty' cast members running like giant headless chickens, you've got Hurley there keeping up people's morale! He built them a golf course for god's sake! That was brilliant! Also, I liked how as well as compiling a list of the survivors, and helping keep up spirits and reading semi-eulogies during the main funerals, he was earnest! He knew he couldn't do much, but he still tried, bless him. Charlie has the same thing going, that earnestness. As well as being a British rock star (is there any other sort in American popular fiction?) he also got through his heroin addiction. I think. That one scene in the last ep... But still, it was nice him bonding with the lovely Claire. And being nice and friendly with the others. And Locke. Mr Mystery. This former paraplegic survivalist is the most intriguing character by far. He does genuinely want to help the rest of the 815 Survivors, but I don't think it necessarily means getting them off the island. As well, he adds to the weirdness of the Island, how does a guy who was in a wheelchair get up and walk around? Still interested to know why he knows so much about survivalism, not much cop for it being a paraplegic box company employee...

So, yeah I liked it! I'm curious as to what happens next and I hope it does make sense to me in the end. It had one or two little niggles, some characters I don't think were necessary. Some eps it could have done without but overall a very good and well made series so far! I may do another on the next season, so keep checking!

Random updates on things

Quick post concerning everything that's happened in the last two weeks or so in regards to me.

1. I have seen Inception, it is glorious!

2. I have been neglecting the webcomic, I know. Someone please rap my knuckles for it...

3. But, hang on, I wouldn't be able to draw then...

4. I'm getting off topic.

5. I has been on holiday to Whitby. It were fun and inspiring. For some reason I always have found Whitby inspiring...

6. Probably the timelessness of it and the Abbey always looks spectacular.

7. And decent vampires come from there!

8. There's also lots of pubs. That's always a plus!

9. I also saw The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus. It too was a very good film, and again one from the now defunct UKFC. May give it another watch, just to see what I liked about it.

10. I went for two potential jobs on different film crews in Yorkshire. I didn't get either of them.

11. I should really be working on getting stuff for a little interweb short of my own sorted. My second to date.

12. I believe over the next week or so I shall be off to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

13. I have been neglecting the webcomic.

Klowns and Poncey Immortals: Additional

Forgot to add to the previous post, Dorian Grey was also one of the more recent films produced in part by the now defunct UKFC. I watched it partly in mourning. Still I suppose there are better films out there which were made with help from the UKFC. It will be sorely missed...

Klowns and Poncey Immortals

I saw two films today....


In something I may continue with in this blog, along with the general bollocks and the slightly mental ranting. I thought I'd have a go at film reviewing. Now, these aren't to be taken seriously or should be any basis of decision making on your part. I like humans who can think for themselves. But anyway..

I saw two films today, one was better than the other, in two examples.

The first, Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

This was hilarious. And bad, in a good way mind. The plot, if you haven't gathered from the title involves the titular "Klowns" being aliens from... somewhere space-y. It's never elaborated on and it's all the better for it! Who cares where these giggling beasties come from? Let's just see what they do to the poor people of Cove Crescent. Be it popcorn guns, balloon-animal bloodhounds or turning victims into sinister ventriloquist dummies, these klowns have an epic arsenal of circus-based weaponry. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning...

We meet the populace of Cove Crescent, young lovers Mike and Debbie see a shooting star in the sky while they're at the local make out spot. Investigating they come across a newly arrived, lit-up big top, which have some very unusual performers....

After narrowly escaping, the pair along with a couple of other characters, including a pair of Ice-Cream Van driving brothers. I'd say they're probably the comic relief, but this film is part comedy so that's redundant. But it's a hell of a daft film and well worth a watch, most of the film involves the klowns capturing the populace in outlandish ways. I will never ever trust shadow puppets ever again... That and it has a killer soundtrack.

The second one I watched was Dorian Grey.
I hope I don't need to explain the plot, but for the sake of clarity here it is in a nutshell. Dorian's a young, handsome man about town. HE gets a painting done whilst he's young and good looking, then he stops ageing. And the painting starts. After years of youthful decadence, he's gets bored or scared, that he's done something stupid and panics. The painting you see, has every wrinkle, blemish and injury Dorian's ever received since it's completion. Bum bum, BUUUUUUUM!!!

It was an okay adaptation, if I'm honest, all the bits were there, Dorian being a young berk, the painting , him not ageing. But it was a bit boring, Dorian and his mate (whose name I can't remember. It may have been Henry)had a lot of screentime together which is all well and good. And there was lots of naughty debauchery on Dorian's part. But not enough consequences. Dorian honestly didn't show much of a change when he wanted to repent. He got all teary-eyed and then went to a priest. But I wanted a long montage of him realising what a bastard he was, dammit! He was being a debauched Bacchus-child for a good few years, at least twenty judging by the old people's make-up and the change in backdrop. Oh, and Rebecca Hall's character's age. Where was all the horrific nightmarish shit he got up to?!That would have been fantastic, seeing him suffer from Acid-tinged flashbacks featuring grossly surreal imagery of women in corsets and men in very little (No really, Dorian likes both). It should have been like the video for Lyla by Oasis only with Period dress.

As you may be able to tell, I didn't reckon much to Mr. Grey's shenanigans. Still the final look of the painting was pretty good. You don't see that many period zombies nowadays. At least, until the film of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes out...

Overall, I want you to guess which film I liked more...

Here lies the UKFC....

Read this and feel angry at the fools behind this decision...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10761225

Now, I've never been the biggest fan of any government we've had over the past however long I've been aware of politics. But this takes the cake of jaffa. The main investing body behind a lot of British films is being cut from the budget. Now, I've always wanted to work in the film industry and I'm struggling as it is to find a door to put my foot in, this is just making it harder to find an open door. How is a young man such as myself supposed to get a foothold in an industry where it's hard to stay in work and near impossible if you don't know anyone? Which I don't! If I'd had a film with a producer and some small backers behind it, I could probably have got some more funds for helping make it the best I possibly could.

It's been claimed by the Culture Secretary that this and 16 other public bodies "would lose their funding as the government committed to "increasing the transparency and accountability of its public bodies, while at the same time reducing their number and cost"." What I don't get is why get rid of somethig which was doing well? They had their best year ever and made millions and now the government's getting rid of it without thinking about the future. Bloody typical.

Anyway, I'm probably going to be following this if it goes anywhere. I'm still annoyed that the government picked that for scrappage so quickly. Still though, if like me, you enjoy great British films like This Is England or In The Loop or anything like them. Please do something to stop this idiotic decision.

I promise my next rant will be more bile-filled and coherent.

About The Comic

Firstly, thanks to all who are reading it, it's not easy but at least the fact we're getting readers and hits and other 'tech stuff I can only vaguely understand (Michael explains it, but only some of it makes sense), shows that it is not in vain. But when we inevitably start to fall behind on updates and such, please bear in mind neither of us are doing it professionally. We both have jobs and other things on. I will try to keep up with the illustrations and I will endeavour to kick Michael whenever necessary in regards to colours and such. Still keep reading!

An explanation and introduction

Hello, I'm the Loiterer and welcome to my little soapbox.

First things first, the title. A Pinch Of Salt. This pretty much describes how best to take anything you read here. I am sometimes prone to angry, slightly insane rants which may offend people. Please note, that is not my intention, I'm just like that. Other than that, I'll probably use this to describe anything that happens on the interwebs, on Mousels.com or whatever is currently getting on my wick. So... That's all I can think of at the moment, Hope you all like it!