Sherlock Holmes And The Suspicious Brown Stain

COMIC COVERS OF THE WEEK

"Black Tower: The Raven Conspiracy #1" by ACO (Alex Cal Oliveira) is classic Vertigo.

Fine lines, fine lady from Nathan Szerdy for the front of "Justice League Unlimited #22". 

TRACK OF THE WEEK

"Deadtome" by Mgna Crrrta (US). Deliberately rough-edged yet dreamy electropop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grvRzqb1s9M

And, if I was still doing runners-up, "Net" is a beaut return to form for Otyken (Russia).

RANDOM TRPG-RELATED REMINISCENCE

This goes back to when I was running "D&D" on Saturday arvos at a local store. We were packing up for the day when one lass's dad arrived to collect her. She asked me if we could please keep playing for a bit so he could try the game. He seemed eager, too. I said, "Sorry, I can't stay, I've got some people from the 'Doctor Who' club coming over tonight." While that was true and there was a bus to be caught, I must have sounded like such a self-important nerd! I should have taken the time to explain I was moving house and the people in question were a nice young couple who were doing me a favour by taking a heap of gear I no longer wanted. Think before you speak, Addster.

Crabby patties

Is your Fantasy Premier League team ready for tomorrow? As usual, I decided I couldn't afford Erling Haaland. As usual, I'll likely regret not including the Norwegian ace.

Four-part series. Comes across like a mix of tourism-board hype, potted history and - believe it or don't - "Hitchhiker's Guide" entry. Truthfully, I'm watching for the excellent drone footage of ancient ruins.

Not the worst new Commander from "The Hobbit". Maybe a mite slow. The trick with Thranduil is finding the right ratio of legendary elves to the standard Sultai power cards.

Load-bearing property

The seven types of individual/group you encounter at the bottle bank:

1. SPONSORED SOT

This person, usually a ruddy-faced older gentleman, exclusively guzzles a particular brew, e.g. Tooheys Extra Dry, and brings numerous matching cartons of those to recycle - and nothing else.

2. CAR CLEANER

No trolley, box or bag. No preparation at all, in fact. Just an armful of receptacles gathered (and the straws removed) during an impromptu cleaning out of their messy vehicle in the car park.

3. FAMILY FRENZY

Parents and kids. Possibly a waggy-tailed dog. Much patient instructing of the younger members. Every possible sort of glass, metal, plastic and cardboard recyclable container used at home. 

4. EVENT EXTRAS

Industrial-strength plastic bags chockers with beer and soft-drink empties. There's no mucking around for these men/women in matching shirts, earning a bonus after their latest sporting fixture.

5. LONE LODGIST

They just now drank it and aren't too proud to recycle a single item and accept a voucher for a mere 10c. Means the next Coke or whatever will be cheaper, anyway. More common than ya think.

6. NEWBIE NIGEL/NIGELLA

This person has never been to the bottle bank before. They are a bit daunted and unsure of what goes where. They may ask for help, providing a chance to do your good deed for the day.

7. MIX MASTER

The opposite of the SPONSORED SOT, this saddo tries to buy a different beer, cider or soju every time they visit the grog shop. Well, at least the contents of my...er, their trolley are colourful.

Krudler

 
In a mysterious region known for spaceship-wrecks, Nine and Rose - voiced by Eccleston and Piper, not soundalikes - encounter a strange band of cartographer knights on a quest for a lost mapping vessel. When they find the legendary ship, though, its various systems are still operating and, far more surprisingly, a member of the original crew has survived the intervening centuries - but is now *desperate* to leave. "Dark Tides" is atmospheric, fast-paced and doesn't let up. I've already listened to it twice since purchase. The characterisations of The Doctor and Ms Tyler are spot on, with both given some suitably amusing lines. As for negatives...I'll simply say there are connections and developments rather similar to those in previous Big Finish audios. Considering BF have produced THOUSANDS of tales, those familiar elements can probs be forgiven.

The knight's tour guide

A shy, insecure NEET learns how to move forward in life after joining a baking club full of thoroughly nice chaps and chapettes. On a deeper level, this manga-ish GN is about mental hardship, the difficulty of sharing your feelings and the importance of emotional support. It's sweet and sad, but mostly sweet. Contains baking recipes with instructions. Packs a lot into its 132 pages. There's a long wordless sequence that works very well. Deserves to be mentioned alongside other worthy UK titles like "The Nao Of Brown".

Bottle frog

Picked up this dice-rolling game for cheap. 2-4 Hobbits race to reach Mordor and chuck the One Ring into the volcano-bin. Orcs may - probably will - slow 'em down. The Nazgul might - again, probably will - outright stop them. Good ol' Gandalf could provide help along the way. There are a couple of other variables and a few optional advanced rules (which I like), but that's the gist. There's only a small amount of skill involved, with things mainly hinging on the luck of the re/rolls. My friend SC would hate it. Indeed, I don't love it as, in 2P mode at least, it feels unfair. Perhaps I'm just unlucky! "Journey" clearly has its fans online, and I've seen photos where peeps have enhanced the play experience with fancy counters or appropriate miniatures.

Space corridors

"You needed them coming out of the waves, or out of the caves. You didn't need them walking slowly down a white, futuristic corridor."

"The [Nabataean] king holds many drinking bouts in magnificent style, but no-one drinks more than 11 cupfuls, each time using a different golden cup. The king is so democratic that, in addition to serving himself, he sometimes even serves the rest."

"Unless you have a viral short story in 'The New Yorker', you don't get to do a short-story collection."

"In 1888, in the period when the Ripper Murders took place, there was another series of killings in London known as the Thames Torso Murders or the Thames Torso Mystery and that's not been solved, either."

"You look at them now and they're really quite dull. You've got silly character classes that you'd never use, and quite staid dungeons and monsters."

Who opened their coat?

COMIC COVER OF THE WEEK

"Vampyrates! #2" by Rebeca Puebla (with one "c"). Can't resist a female pirate. Simple as that.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"4.3 Forty" by Knox. Earworm warning! Ultra-catchy pop-rock. He falls for a track star, she runs from commitment. (Or from over-commitment, depending on your perspective.) BTW, a 4.3-second 40-yard sprint would be close to record pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQMX92qh7U0

RANDOM TRPG REMINISCENCE

Our DM wanted to try running "Call Of Cthulhu" for a subset of our large "D&D" group. I was among the chosen. Instead of meeting at his place, the venue was the family home of one of the gals. My abiding memory is of how rich the house felt. One or both of her parents were doctors. Lovely furniture and art. The coffee table sported hardcovers about Hieronymus Bosch and whatnot (a cliche, I know). Couldn't tell you what happened in the "C/O/C" adventure...although I do recall playing a Roman Catholic priest named Father Nick Scathe. Was unduly proud of that character.