Woop! It's your Wednesday Phantom and Alien! I think it's good.

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Read the rest of the story!

Alien had a birthday party? He has a birthday?!?!?!:eek:

He has several every year. In volume three the mystery of his age an origin is pondered over briefly. But lets just say that once Alien gets hold of that Time Travel Hat*, his history gets a little- shall we say- confusing? :D

*Probably in volume 5

He has several every year? I still think that's funny that he got hold of a time travel hat. You know time travel without a capsule is not very comfortable.

Alien's hat = cute!!!
Alien's birthday = we want some!!!

Friday's Phantom and Alien madness! The journey through the sewers comes to an orangey stage. Do you wonder why Green Face Jeff told them to 'beware the orange'? Well, we shall see what happens, won't we? ;)

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Catch up on the adventure!

Do you think it's time Alien got some more costumes? I personally like putting him in odd little outfits. I even made an episode in volume 3 where he ends up in a costume shop, with hilarious results.

Hey, yeah!!! Although, just let's not overdo it. Besides, he is cute even without any special costumes. But from time to time... He's great! (The best was, though, when he had this detective costume and even started to speak differently... "MY PIPE'S EMPTY!!!" :D )

Alien didn't used to have costumes, but I think they're cute... He's cute either way, Hookbill! But I agree with Legate, lets not overdo it...

Of you're feeling a bit out of touch with the world, why not check in with the news? I hear it's quite new...

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And now; The Phantom continues his journey home and meets a strangely familiar fellow....

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Comic Archive

I feel I have to make an appeal to you other Downers out there. As I approach the end of my time in University my schedule is becoming more and more hectic. I would deeply appreciate any articles you wish to have in this little paper. I don't know if you can tell how they are rapidly becoming more and more cobbled together at the last minute. :eek: So... HELP!

Dear Sir,

I would like to complain about the misrepresentation of the Ministry of Homes, Houses, Smials, Barrows, and Sundry Other Domiciles in your article on vacuum cleaners. You misstated that the Ministry announced an abolition of dust in favor of the government-sponsored alternative, brust.

This simply is not the case. We understand that dust forms an integral part of the lives of many in our communities, and we do not wish to discriminate against them with the passage of unfair laws. Therefore, those who do continue to have dust in their homes within one month will not be arrested and thrown in jail without trial as is customary; instead they will be automatically vaulted into the highest tax bracket, no matter what they actually earn. We feel this is a much fairer alternative to the usual draconian legal measures, and plus, we really need the money.

Sincerely,
Mnemosyne
Minister of Homes, Houses, Smials, Barrows, and Sundry Other Domiciles

P.S. Anyone found to be illegally sheltering a vacuum cleaner in his or her home, house, smial, burrow, or other domicile without a license shall be arrested and thrown in jail without trial.

Dear Mnemosyne,

I read your letter with Interest. Unfortunately, Mr Interest was not interested in your letter and had me beaten up for about five hours. It was not fun. However, your complaints have been filed in a burning filing cabinet in some field. Hope that settles your nerves a bit.

Yours,
The Editor's fleas.

And now it's time for some Phantom and Alien goodness. This week, Lal and Lommy visit the Orange King while Alien has 'other' ideas.

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Catch up on the EPIC story of P&A!

On Friday we'll see just what Alien has in mind. It won't be pretty.

Oh my Varda - Alien's eyes are green? Is he hypnotized? Would this cause him to do something he wouldn't ordinary do? Is there anything he wouldn't ordinarily do?? :eek:

He's supposed to look happy. :p
The old "^_^" type expression. I couldn't get it to look right with him wearing that mask. In hindsight, I should have had him take it off in the sewers. Maybe. We shall see.
We manage to utilise more of his facial features in volume three. For example, here is one of my favourite panels from an upcoming episode;

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See how happy he is?

I'm quite certain there is a yellow spandex costume gathering dust, mildew and cobwebs somewhere here on the Downs, left behind by a certain frog. It's a shame to let it go to waste. Why not let Alien give it a little spin?

Really now. If the Downs just kept on sleeping, as was reported previously, when a certain Downer allegedly sneered at BWH and stole his house, do you think they would care more just because you are getting busy with uni? tsk.

I wish to register a complaint Mr Hookbill, but seeing as you are not a doctor I'll put some cream on it instead.

Narfforc aka Prof Green Lips aka Potty Harry aka Doctor Roo......blah,blah,blah... woffle, woffle....can I have my medicine now please nurse.

It's Friday, so you'll be wanting your latest Phantom and Alien episode I suppose.

http://www.freewebs.com/joelcornah/Episode%20073.JPG

Find out more here!

Aww. Poor Alien. He's so sad. :(

Poor Alien? The little twerp! Poor Orange-person!

Poor Alien, this makes me sad.

So, for the three of you who still read this thing, here are this week's headlines;

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The epic adventure continues! The Fish Man's plans are almost complete and The Phantom is miles away from the action! Oh dear

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Keep up with the Comic Archive or you'll be late!

Anyway... I sometimes wonder if I should keep doing this, especially at this time of year when very few people are active on the forum. After 150 I may take a break and come back when my brain is less of a goo-like substance. That is, unless, others start submitting stories. :(

I think Hookbill, if you need a break from the Downer, then by all means take one. But you can't stop forever! There are people here (like me) who would go insane if they didn't have the Downer anymore.

BTW, I liked the first story this week a lot!

Don't worry! The Phantom and Alien are still here! Well, Alien is at least...

http://www.freewebs.com/joelcornah/Episode%20075.JPG

READ THE REST OF THE STORY!

:D

Alien has a great expression on the third frame from the end, and Lommy on the next one. :D But Alien's clue to the riddle and Lommy's final question just cracked me up (mostly, because the latter sounds like real Lommy ;) ).

Heijjjjjjjjjj although I do agree. :D

I loved that! I was confused when I saw 'M' 'E' though, I thought Alien started with an 'A' and ended with an 'N', then I had to slap myself. That was brilliant!

Did anyone notice how Lommy's eye's change in the last four clips?:D

I wonder how all this will turn out? Roast pumpkin seeds, or lots of pumpkin pies!:smokin:

I did! The character's expressions are my favorite parts of the strips! For this last one, I sat there looking at Lommy and wondered, "How does Hookbill do this? Does he sit there and draw it just so, or does he just wing it and it turns out like this - consistantly good?"

A bit of both. :D

Lommy and Alien are quite difficult, I have to say, as they only have one visible eye at a time. The Phantom offers different problems since I have to rely solely on his eyes to get an expression across.
Who knows? perhaps one day we'll see what's under that hood of his. :eek:

Slumdog Millionaire :top 5 dvd this year
 

Danny Boyle has been a favorite of mine since I saw Shallow Grave, since then he's gone on to make three masterpieces(Trainspotting,28 Days Later and Millions), a near perfect film(Sunshine) a guilty pleasure(The Beach) and a total miss(A Life Less Ordinary). Slumdog Millionaire comes out of nowhere and it could very well be his best film and one of the best films of the decade. Visually like Boyles previous work it's stunning, Apocalypse Now and City of God come to mind and there are dutch angles galore. The raw style mixed with the amazing locations make this film one of the most cinematic experiences you'll ever see. The Sound is perfect, I haven't heard audio like this in a while. This film needs a Sound Oscar nomination, it sounds that good. I went into seeing this knowing very little about it and the person I took with me didn't know anything about it, so I'll just say it's about a young man that goes on Indias Who Wants to be a Millionaire, it's a very unconventional film where they tell the story of his life in flashbacks while he plays the game. It's funny, sad, thrilling, basically a very enjoyable film that deserves numerous Oscar nominations. Also the lead actress is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, if she isn't a huge star after this I'd be extremely surprised. If the academy doesn't honor this film with numerous nominations it will be a shame but this film will be studied in 20 years and whoever sees this will love it, so even if it doesn't get a single nomination it won't matter. Don't miss this film, it's perfect!

Danny Boyle has come up with some interesting cinema, certainly defining himself as someone above average. What he achieves in "Slumdog Millionaire" is transcend the line between inspiration and a miracle, awakening an emotional connection to the very special element great cinema can deliver. The packages might have changed, and the contents are more controversial and maybe a bit more tied to reality, certainly taking us to an exotic local, teaching us that our world extends beyond our freeway and limited perception of how more than the other half of the world's population has to deal without certainly preaching to us.

The tale of two brothers' lives is told to us through episodic flashbacks tied to an episode of India's "Who Wants to be a millionaire?". At first, the story introduces one of the brothers as being the subject of a very strong interrogation to find out whether he is being truthful about some knowledge that might be relevant to the game. As he answers the questions, we discover that this young man's life story might be more interesting than we originally expected.

There is an element of freshness in the way the story is presented, as we accompany Jamal through his life odyssey from a young child in the slums to a man who is determined to save those he loves. There are some strong emotions in the film, and Boyle's direction keeps the film dynamic and engaging.

Prepare yourself to be overtaken by emotions as varied as joy, pity, happiness, anger, revulsion, surprise, and an exhilarating conclusion rarely seen in movies anymore. This film has made me grateful to be alive and that we still have people in cinema like Boyle who understands the power and beauty of the medium. He knows that the perfect mix of a great story and the respective imagery can provoke unforgettable memories in its audience.

from http://www.leuboo.com/shop/slumdog-millionaire.htm

Wow. I never thought I'd see spam in this newspaper. :eek:

That's how popular it is, Hookbill. :D

I thought this newspaper was spam.

That's amazing, just reading the posts in this thread, looking for new stuffs, and then that...:eek:

It's just not news!

Today spam, tomorrow wrapping a fish supper. It's the fate of all the best newspapers... :D

Wait wait wait, news from the real world? Do not want!

I guess this means you've officially 'made it', Hooky.

Here's your Friday Phantom and Alien!

The Fish Man attacks the guards outside The Great Barrow Itself, kidnaps Underhill and prepares to take over. The Phantom gets a lift back home...

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Keep up with the EPIC tale! :cool:

Not long to go before the climactic climax of this exciting adventure for The Phantom and Alien! But before Volume three starts there will be a short break. I'll probably do a quick adventure for Phanston and Ailsbry; Private Detectives and then move on to something... different. ;)

This 'something different' will be a week or two so of guest comics. Yep. From now until then I will be calling on anyone who wants to make a P&A to do so. I don't know how many there will be, but I'm hoping for a few. But it will be different than last time. Once I have established who will be doing them I will assign them challenges for their comics. They'll range from "Do Sir Phantom and Master Alan" or "Something where Alien wears a hat" all the way to "Kill off so-and-so in a hilarious manner".

Hope that sounds like fun.

Sounds, at least... Okay, let's see what can be done about it... ;)

Fun. If you were to draw for this, could you upload a drawing of P and A, or do you need to draw it using paint?

Either. Whichever you are more comfortable with.

Anyway. I've been called away on important government business tomorrow morning so I'm posting this weeks Downer an hour early. If this offends you then you can take it up with your local MP. I think his name is Mister Underhill.

Well, here goes...

Thanks to Oddwen for the main headline and to TGEW for the second one.

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Thanks to Alien, Swamp City is now burning down. How will the friendly sewer oranges cope? We shall see...

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Comic Archive

Well, the adventure continues on Wednesday.

When I first started The Downer, this is kind of what I had in mind. More reader involvement. I really did not imagine writing so many silly articles about nothing in particular. I mean, look at some of these things! It's a wonder I haven't been sectioned!

'Tis Good!
 

I liked the Downer this week! Especially the second story.;):p

No, I liked the whole thing. I liked the last part of Phantom and Alien, where lal makes that hilarious comment!

How did you find out about that? I thought it was a big secret??? :eek: