Pat Mills on the history of girls' comics in issue #5 of "Comic Heroes"

"Another male writer was Joe Collins, who scripted 'Becky Never Saw The Ball' - about a blind tennis player! I used to treasure it as the most bonkers girls' story of all time, alongside 'Bunty''s 'Limp Along Lindy' and 'Flipper Feet' (a girl who's a champion swimmer thanks to her huge feet). Although I learned recently that they've all been surpassed by another 'Bunty' story called 'Penny's Pogo Stick'. It's World War 2, and Penny's dad is a top rocket scientist in Poland. She hides his rocket formulae in her pogo stick and pogoes her way across Nazi-occupied Europe to freedom."

Prize picks

Archibald

1. "Professor Penny Sackett, Astronomer And Physicist" by Andrew Mezei - light years ahead of the rest
2. "Moon Boy (Self-Portrait As A Young Man)" by Tim Storrier
3. "Margaret Olley" by Ben Quilty

Wynne

1. "Lines And Whispers - Redfern" by Scott McDougall
2. "Nostalgia (Empire Of The Coals)" by Tim Storrier
3. "Tekno-Colour" by Luke Barker

Sulman

Megan Jones' "Darwinian Cycle" is about the only one I'd consider hanging on my wall, though I did like the way John Dean had piled silicon onto a clear plastic curtain to "paint" the skull in "Made In China". A 2D representation doesn't do it justice.


See what you lot reckon - http://bit.ly/hQFAVY

These

This - http://bit.ly/gBGDjk

And this - http://bit.ly/eGxSqS

Textured vegetable protein

It's funny how when you're young you so desperately want to trumpet your musical passion to the world. For me, that was Canadian prog-rock trio Rush. I stencilled the logo from their 1989 album "Presto" onto my backpack. When "Nike" wore off the back of my high-tops, you can guess what four letters I replaced it with. The words "Rush are gods" came out of my mouth so often that a mate (who reads this site) tried it as the password to my computer account and gained access. From a "head shop", I got a patch with the band's name and symbol - a naked man confronting a pentagram - and had Mum sew it onto a plain black cap that I wore until it practically disintegrated. Later, I bought a Mr Men tee of Mr Rush, hoping peeps might begin referring to me as such. No-one apart from my flatmates even made the connection.

Drop the hero and get with a zero

I had a real love-hate relationship with the two-part opener of "Doctor Who" Season 6, "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day Of The Moon". For every striking image or charming line of dialogue (River Song is the Great Scene Robber), there was a plot element like Amy's quantum pregnancy or whatever the fug it is - exactly the kind of nonsense that ruined "The X-Files". To be honest, one of my favourite moments was when they used Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" in the second "Confidential".

The problem as I see it is Steven Moffat. His "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" was among the best stories of Season 1. Ditto S2's "The Girl In The Fireplace". His "Blink" was the undisputed highlight of S3 (if not the modern era), while "Silence In The Library"/"Forest Of The Dead" was right up there in S4. But part of what made those so special was that they stood out amid more conventional "Who" tales. You wouldn't want every ep to be as brain-bending, spooky or odd.

Except that Mr M. is now in charge of the show. Admittedly, his Season 5 opener "The Eleventh Hour" was wonderful, but "The Beast Below" wasn't. Then the convoluted "The Time Of Angels"/"Flesh And Stone", while it featured drama, amusing character developments and some temporal trickery, failed to live up to the legacy of "Blink". (Ask yourself which you'd rather rewatch.) As for "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang"...that was a mess narrowly salvaged by its emotional conclusion.

In my opinion, the star story of Season 5 was Richard Curtis' "Vincent And The Doctor". For S6, I'm pinning my hopes on Neil Gaiman's "The Doctor's Wife". Back when Russell T. Davies was at the helm, I would have confidently predicted the standout to be "whatever Steven Moffat does". That's no longer the case and it's a shame. The dude's an expert on "Who", an expert on TV generally and an immensely talented writer, but he appears to be getting caught up in his own web of continuity.

Looking back in disbelief

1. I played "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" for sport at a Catholic senior high school.
2. Our initial Dungeon Master was a female teacher (so Dungeon Mistress, then).
3. One module was written by her hubby, based on Aristotle's theory of the five elements.
4. We naughty boys managed not to get role-playing cancelled/banned for eternity.

The biggest hobo

Conducted a not very scientific experiment to determine how many bits of broadsheet newspaper were required to provide the same level of warmth as my beloved (non-ironic) wolf-print blanket. Concluded that a minimum of 36 sheets - the equivalent of about two copies of the "Weekend Australian", minus the supplements - were necessary. Furthermore, they needed to be tucked in tightly under the body. Which makes newspaper a piss-poor substitute for a blanket in practice. The tramp on his park bench is OK while he's lying perfectly still, but as soon as he rolls over, the "seal" is broken.

"Well, they said you was high class..."

A lads' mag on which I formerly worked had a "Secret Diary Of A Call Girl"-type column penned by an Aussie escort. One of that gal's most interesting revelations was that so-called "high-class hookers" are often just the regular kind using different aliases and dressing/acting fancier. So much for notions of exclusivity, eh?

What would Billy Field say?

Donated some unwanted clothing to Vinnies. Chucked in a book of "boy's own" stories. Gave it a fake dedication: "To Gareth, Happy birthday 2005. Sorry I broke your arm. Your friend, Oliver." Job done.