MAGAZINE WATCH

Black Static
issue 12 £3.95
TTA Press

Subtitled - The UK's premier horror and dark fantasy magazine and it's certainly that. I wasn't aware of this magazine until I saw this issue looking out at me from Borders in Cardiff (they've not had Wild West Magazine in for the last two months - what's happening there?) and the fact that it publishes new fiction persuaded me to part with my cash.

I'm glad I did - the magazine is the horror answer to the excellent Interzone of which it most closely resembles. Fiction comes from a mixture of well known names and newcomers. And there are features from such genre luminaries as Christopher Fowler and Stephen Volk. I was especially pleased to see Stephen here as he hails from Pontypridd like myself and many years ago I interviewed him for the local newspaper because his TV show Ghostwatch had caused quite a stir. How you doing, Steve?

Add in all the book and film reviews an it's a great magazine and I'll certainly be picking it up more often.

Judge Dredd Magazine
issue 288
Rebellion £4.99

I stopped buying this regularly when they ceased publishing all the old reprint material such as Darkie's Mob and Charlie's War - a missed opportunity if you ask me as fans who had grown up with the likes of Battle Action, people like me, were enjoying them.

Anyway the fact that there is an article on Steve Holland's Bear Alley Book made me buy this issue and I'm glad I did - it comes, as does every issue these days, with a free graphic novel and this time it's Standley and Hairsine's, Harmony which was originally serialised in the early days of the magazine. Anyway maybe these freebie graphic novels are the way to offer more of the old Battle/Action type reprint material.

Of the strips inside - Judge Dredd is as usual excellent and Armatage is amazing but I found Tank Girl and Eats, Shoots and Kills to be boring. Maybe I'm getting too old for some of the more way out strips - hey I was one of the original 2000ad readers back in 1977. Some great text features inside so maybe I'll give the magazine, or megazine as it calls itself, another chance.