Alec Trench RIP

[thinky]

interesting gravestone from DARKIE'S MOB... we've seen this elsewhere haven't we?

[Misanthrope]

Famous story in 2000ad. There was also a poster on thargs wall, in his stories, of alec trench.

[Bolt-01]

I saw this as well, could it be an in-joke; or was there a REAL Alec Trench?

Surely someone would know?

Rotts.

[thinky]

couresty (ie ripped off from) BATTLE STATIONS (see link)

Alec Trench first appeared in a very early {2000AD strip} 'Future Shock', as a totally untalented writer whose work was constantly being rejected by Tharg from his Command Module at the top of King's Reach Tower!
He definitely did jump off a bridge with his typewriter; I seem to recall that he was picked up by a passing spaceship where he was tortured by alien nasties, for some reason or other. Can anyone else help me out here? I suspect he was killed but got resurrected as a zombie in a subsequent sequel Future Shock. Not sure. Anyone?
Anyway, somehow or other I found out that Alec Trench was an early pseudonym of Alan Grant's, and was able to ask him at a convention where the name came from.
According to Mr Grant, he first used the pseudonym when he was a journalist way back in the mists of time, working on a regional Scottish newspaper. Because nothing ever happened where he lived, he used to make up mad stories; the example he told me involved a Nazi U-Boat being washed up on the local beach during the War. Then he'd go and interview the local pensioners about it, and more often than not they'd say "Oh yes, I remember that..." and elaborate on the tale. Et voila! One interesting story for the paper, as told to the reporter by the locals. Genius...in a mad and twisted way.
Of course, he could have been bullsh*tting me.

Link: http://www.frothersunite.com/files/marbles/fanboy/Battle_Stations.html" target="_blank">http://www.frothersunite.com/files/marbles/fanboy/Battle_Stations.html

[Bolt-01]

HA Ha HA!

Thats sounds too much like something the Trout (Hail fishy leader) or Karne would do for my liking!

Rotts

[longmanshort]

"He definitely did jump off a bridge with his typewriter; I seem to recall that he was picked up by a passing spaceship where he was tortured by alien nasties, for some reason or other."

Ah, the sad story of the inept Alec Trench. He did indeed get captured by aliens after attempting to kill himself by jumping off a bridge with his typewriter chained to his leg. They offered me a deal, something along the lines of submit to their experiments for a day and then they'll let him go. But a day turns out to be a galatic day which is summat daft like six months. After enduring endless experiments (including one where they smash his foot with a sledgehammer) he convinces them to stand for a photo, only to trick them into standing in a disintegrator or somesuch.
Using the transporter, Trench goes back to Earth. However, his inept streak ran deep and he manifested himself high above London, only to fall to his death as he would have done anyway. I remember some quirky aside from a unmourning Tharg at the end.

"Because nothing ever happened where he lived, he used to make up mad stories; the example he told me involved a Nazi U-Boat being washed up on the local beach during the War. Then he'd go and interview the local pensioners about it, and more often than not they'd say "Oh yes, I remember that..." and elaborate on the tale."

Oh THAT'S how you do it! And here's me slugging my guts out trying to report the news when all I need to do is apply my imagination. Though, TBH, the people in Harrogate can't remember ACTUAL events, nevermind made up ones.

[Oddboy]

"He's a cloned time-travelling hitman who was once a woman. His partner is a redheaded 10th century robot cigar with years of experience on the streets, and his ship-mate is an umbrella-wielding mutant dinosaur with a secret crush on an older man. They must escape a prison platform hellhole in deep space!"

Link: http://www.2000ad.org/thrillpitcher/" target="_blank">Alec Trench's Thrill-Pitcher

[Matt Timson]

IIRC, some mad scientist type created a helmet that could raise the dead with the power of Haley's comet in the heady future of 1986.  One of those dead was Alec Trench.

The helmet ended up on Alec's head and the effect was reversed as Alec now had some kind of death touch...

Drawn by Ron Smith- around prog 300-ish.  Don't know who wrote it though.

[longmanshort]

The artist in the captured-by-space-aliens Trench story was by Ezquerra

[W. R. Logan]

I'm sure I've posted this before but here it is again, so just add the Alec Trench appearance in Darkies Mob to this list, plus did anyone notice the Wyatt gravestone?

La Placa Rifa,
http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/>W. R. Logan.

http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/images/Co79_logo.gif>


OK, I wrote this a few years ago for someone and I think I went as far as Prog 1000 but can't remember exactly.

So here goes with a list of Alec Trench's appearances within the pages of the Galaxies Greatest Comic.

Prog 102. Tharg's Future-Shocks. A Close Encounter Of The Fatal Kind.
Script by Alec Trench (R.I.P.)
Tharg's intro said, Alec Trench was a 2000AD Sci-Fi writer - one of the worst! In fact, none of his stories were ever good enough to buy. Poor Alec, in the end, he just couldn't take it...

Prog 129. A Day In The Life Of The Mighty Tharg!
Page 6, Panel 1, Remember Alec Trench. (no Picture)

Prog 162. Tharg And The Cheat.
Page 1, Panel 1, Was He A Saint? Trench.

Prog 176. Tharg The Mighty Stars In... The Great Human Rip Off! Part One.
Page 2, Panel 2,  Alec Trench His Spirit Lingers On.

Prog 177. Tharg The Mighty Stars In... The Great Human Rip Off! Part Two.
Page 6, Panel 6, Alec Trench.
This is the Prog where A-ALN-1 dies, so a moments silence please.


Prog 180. Tharg And The Thrill Suckers.
Page 1, Panel 4, poster with Alec Trench's picture on.

Prog 181. Tharg Strikes Back!
Page 2, Panel 4, A. Trench, Man... Myth... Or Magic?

Prog 182. Tharg Saves The Day!
Page 1, Panel 2, Alec Trench Our Inspiration.

Prog 263 - 264. Tharg's Future-Shock's. Alec Trench - Zombie.
Alec Trench's gravestone reads, Alec Trench 1949 - 1979, Hardly Missed.

Prog 283. Tharg The Mighty In The Shedding. Part One.
Page 4, Panel 3, A. Trench The Writers Writer.

Prog 284. Tharg The Mighty In The Shedding. Part Two.
Page 2, Panel 3, Alec Trench Truly Zarjaz.

Prog 285. Tharg The Mighty In The Shedding. Part Three.
Page 2, Panel 3, Alec Trench A Real Brammer.

Prog 304. Tharg And The Mice.
Page 1, Panel 3, A. Trench Do You Remember Him.
Page 5, Panel 1, Alec Trench.

Prog 309. Invasion Of The Thrill Suckers. Part Two.
Page 4, Panel 1, A. Trench Shakespeare?

Prog 435. Tharg The Mighty In Exit The Wally.
Page 1, Panel 3, A. Trench, A. Who?

Prog 436. Tharg The Mighty In Enter The Beast.
Page 2, Panel 4, A. Trench Do You Really Remember Him?

Prog 443. Tharg The Mighty In PSmith's Farewell.
Page 3, Panel 3, A. Trench.

Prog 467. Tharg The Mighty in... SUPERSUB!
Page 3, Panel 4, A. Trench Him!

Prog 749. Tharg In The Question.
Possible Alec Trench poster in the background of Page 1, Panel 3.

2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1983. Tharg The Mighty In The Day The World Died (Nearly)
Picture of Alec Trench in background of Page 2, Panel 6.

La Analy Retentive Rifa,
W. R. Logan.

[Queen Firey-Bou]

LOL logan, that is fairly rententive but we're jolly glad someone knows this stuff !

[Trout]

Heh, heh, heh...

You don't need a pseudonym to make up shit for the Press.

Just send something in anonymously. If it's a small enough paper, they'll use it.

A certain individual may or may not have sent regular reports of a sporting club to a small publication.

Those reports may or may not have included many words from the Viz Profanisaurus.

The individual in question definitely did not laugh like a drain at the sight of the words "rotoplooker," "Beetle bonnet" and "zuffle" in print in a serious news report...

I admit nothing.
:-)

- Trout

[SamG]

Indeed.  It is entirely possible that someone not a million miles away from this post may have had a (smallish) hand in that whole "Masked Super Hero in Tunbridge Wells" thing that happened a month or two ago.

Monday morning - send letters to paper.

Wait a bit.

Saturday - story hits reuters.

[Buddy]

Indeed, just make it up...

Remember some time ago when Liverpool were gonna buy a European player who turned out to be from some fantisy football gubbins and didn't actually exist.

The guy who started that is a friend of a friend.

Of course if you don't remember the story this'll mean nothing to you. Anyways.....

[BPP]

Alec Trench - 8 Years shall not stop him!

The Complete Alec Trench is now exhaustively chronicled here: http://wp.me/p1KBan-bq