A message from the writer of STALAG 666

[George Dread]

How dare this person imply they are complicit with Tharg. Disgraceful behaviour.

[LARF]

I think Stalag 666 is a great strip!

Whoever sent the letter to Tony should feel ashamed of themselves, what a nasty, horrid and vindictive thing to do and as someone else mentioned the letter is reflective of them rather than Tony.

I could spout on about this for ages but to be honest I'm speechless...

Tony keep up the good work man, you are a very good writer!!!!

[M.I.K.]

It's probably not someone who posts regularly on here. I can't imagine someone who'd do something like that being around on here for any amount of time without their  psycholooneymentalcaseness* quickly becoming apparent.


*not actual psychiatric terminology

[WoD]

The more I think about this, you should notify police even without the letter so that it is a logged event.  It might be a bit of a draw on your time, but worth it if it was to happen again.

[Queen Firey-Bou]

I am appalled!  just saw this over on Joe Gordons FP blog.

Big Hugs Tony, theres mental fuckers out there always ready to have a pop at people who put their heads above the parapet. Don't change what you do because of this. Dig in.

Its not too late to go to the police, I understand the shock reaction But its not too late, its not 999, but find the local police station number & talk to them, they'll log the event even if theres not enough to prosecute yet, but if someone very clever ( and theres a few of them around here ) can track down the IP & if the bastard strikes again, it'll all help nail him/her.

[Bongo Jack]

That's rancid behaviour, and one for the coppers, at the very least.  Does any part of the letter survive?  If not, there's still the IP address of the blog commentator to check up on.  Did the blog abuse only start with 2000ad, or was your earlier work a target?  There's ways to track down people like this if you put your head down, though if you did it yourself, there's always the danger you'll succumb to the obvious temptation to fuck him up.

Having said all that, I'd be lying if I said I didn't admire his tenacity in wiping his arse with copier paper, as it's quite coarse compared to bog roll, and if it bends while you're doing it, one of the sharp edges could jag into your ringpiece.  So few mentals these days follow through on their threats to wipe their arse with things that they find offensive that it's a devalued currency as literary critique.

But yeah:  cop shop, right now.  Unless you want this to escalate, which it can do - you're obviously not dealing with someone sensible here.

[Sciamachy]

Personally, from what I've seen of Stalag #666, it's great stuff. Not just saying that cos I count myself as a mate, Tony, there's nowt glaringly wrong with it at all. Don't let the poo-sender grind you down: you *know* you've produced some bloody good stuff over the years. The guy's clearly a nut-job, and loathe as I am to stoop to ad-hominem attacks, deranged nut-jobs aren't famed for their clear judgement.

[Wake]

Based on checking up on the IP address of one of the comments posted to Tony's blog, I don't think that the culprit is a registered member either here or at 2000AD Review. Messages posted on both sites are available for anyone to read, copy or print, not just other members.

[Old Tankie]

Hi Tony

Don't let one example of pond life put you off.  I think there are many of us out there who have enjoyed your story and the artwork by Jon Davis-Hunt.  For everyone that posts a criticism there are many others who just read the strip and enjoy it.  Hopefully we will see much more of your work and that of Jon Davis-Hunt in the future.

Well done, Mate, don't let the b.......ds grind you down!!!

[Cyber-Matt]

I have to say that in the eight years that I've been working on 2000 AD I've never heard of any contributor receiving anything like this before, and I'm shocked that someone out there could possibly consider posting hate mail as acceptable behaviour.

If the person responsible is reading this, let me just reiterate: It's a comic. They're just stories. Get some help.

Matt.

[Richard T Field]

Hi there

Have been off board but lurking for the last couple of months but i felt compelled to add my voice to the digust that most people have expressed.

I can't recall ever hearing of such a personal attack against someone who's job it is to try to entertain. For a minute I was going to try to rationalize it, ie 2000ad's an anthology so if there's something you're not digging something else will be a long soon that you may like so you know don't send poo to someone's house, but you can't rationalize with mentalists.

I'm not very good with the technical side of computers but to me it just seems so sinister and deranged for this 'fan' to spend presuambly a good amount of time searching for Tony's address before sending this hate mail. I'd deffo report it to the police and like others have said get someone searching for the IPs of people on your blog.

I think there's criticism and then there's this. I have very rarely commented on the weekly prog review threads as I mostly like to wait till a story's complete before judging it. When I do finish the story and if i don't like it I'll probably just sigh and hope for the best. I enjoy the internet when you can ask another reader what they understood by a story or quizzing them about something which happened in a Dredd story from 18 years ago (for example)
 
It's funny I'd just read Augie De Blick's comments about Ebay on CBR before I came here today

"I'd make everyone use their real name as their handle, first and last. You want to help reduce fraud? Kill anonymity. If I ran the message board universe, I'd do the same thing".

He's got a point.

p.s. Does anyone think its time to drop the whole Tharg thing? Just a thought but I note Tony said that the letter had mentioned Tharg in it. Does the hate mailer not realise that Tharg is a real person by the name of Matt Smith and that Tony Lee isn't a writer droid, Jon Davis Hunt isn't an art droid.

They're real people with real feelings, families etc.

[DomReardon]

Tony, I've already sent you an email expressing my feelings about this.
I felt compelled to post here also.
I agree with Tony that people should be free to express there views about any story that appears in 2000ad. I would, however, point out that we are not actually droids. That's kind of a joke. We are, in fact, ordinary humans equipped with all the emotions, vulnerabilities and baggage that any ordinary human carries around with them.
This unbelievable thing has happened to Tony and it is beyond despicable. It could happen to me or any other creator.
This is a sad, sad day for 2000ad. Whoever did this has made a lot of people very angry and upset.
2000ad is a fantastic thing, we all love it, it should bring joy and thrillpower to fans and creators alike. Not excrement.
If the person responsible is reading this- You have done an entirely terrible thing.
Nice one to all those who have posted expressing their horror and support for Tony. You can continue to show this support by going out and buying a copy of 'Raven's Gate' when it's released next year
If you (the culprit) think Tony's not perfectly capable of turning any form of publicity to his advantage then you clearly have not met the man.
Let's play nicely from now on. The person who did this may well have been encouraged by others who have expressed their dislike of the story overzealously.

[worldshown]

Posting to add to the condemnation of the perpatrator of this vile act.

For what it's worth, I have been enjoying Stalag 666. It's 'old school' charm has been a perfect counterpoint to some of the heavier strips that have been in the prog lately and would have been a good strip to get younger readers on board (although with a bit less gore).

I'm also enjoying Tony's work on Doctor Who:The Forgotten as well.

[callawolves]

Hi there,

I am a long time lurker on these boards. Massive fan of 2000ad and like to read and follow what others think and say about my favourite comic but dont really post comments to the board. This however was something I felt I would have my say on!

Tony, I like Stalag 666 and wanted you to know that there ARE people out there who appreciate your work. OK its not the best story ever written but it is entertaining, which is better than can be said about some things I have read in tooth before.  In the latest run of comics its actually either the first or second strip I read (after Dredd sometimes, though even that has been skipped until after your strip some weeks).  If people want to question MY judgement for liking this strip, then fair enough but hey I can only say how I feel and I do genuinly like it. Fab art (in my humble opinion) helps as well.

Don't give up and keep going with the writing. Just cause there are some weird scum out there shouldn't put you off. I personally dream about writing for 2000ad, but have neither the guts, or probably ability to make it! You obviously have something, or Tharg would not have given you the chance to write such a long strip. I get the feeling that the idiot who wrote to you is also probably a frustrated writer, but that his scripts are probably as stinky and sh*ty as what was smeared on the paper!      

Best wishes

David (callawolves)  

[Richmond Clements]

Callawolves- best board name ever!

Long days and pleasant nights to you.