Simply one of the best series finales ever.

Not really the question you're asking, I know, but I thought the GOT ending was absolutely fine (no spoilers!). Admittedly, most of the big excitement happened in the previous couple of episodes, and I think that left some people disappointed. But after eight seasons, it was important to get the tone of the finale right, and a large part of the last episode was concerned with doing just that, while bringing the principal characters' stories to a satisfying end, which I felt it did.

For me, the best book, film or tv series have endings that allow the story to live on in the audience's minds for years after the plot has ended. GOT achieved that I think; there wasn't a single main character who, at the end of the episode, I was thinking, "well, that didn't make sense", or "that was out of character", or "I wish that hadn't happened." The ending made sense thematically and brought the series to a satisfying close -- while leaving plenty of opportunity for a spin-off series or even a sequel, some years down the line (which I wholly expected it to do) -- and that was good enough for me.

It's been my understanding that "bloody" is the equivalent of "f'ing."

Some of us do. They are religious terms being used in a casual, non-religious manner.

I was reading Ian McGinty's recent series Welcome to Showside, which he has described as an all-ages book. The art is very cartoony/anime. But the first issue contains a prominent profanity and a scatalogical term in the same word balloon.



Come on, dude. Are you making an all-ages book or not? (Nothing else like this occurs in the first three issues, which is all I have.)

Inspired by @draketungsten thread on the modern board...

So what is the first mainstream comic to use the word "hell" or "damn?"

I assume that (A) undergrounds, (B) european, and (C) Japanese comics broke the profanity barrier first.   (Zap # 0 (1968) has "Ah, your fullaf &*$^ you bitch" onthe first page.)  I'd further assume that the culprit was a non-code-approved magazine rather than a four color comic.  But I'm interested in the four-color comics, too!  

Non editorially approved, the cover to Ka-Zar # 1 (1970) supposedly has the f-word hidden on Zabu's back, but... yeah.  I dunno if that's 100% intentional.  

Some thoughts:  As intestine-draped as they were, I don't remember any profanity in EC comics.  

I'm poorly read in the Warren Magazines but from what little I've seen there wasn't a helluvalotta profanity there.  My spotty/quick internet research backs me up on this.  

"Damn" and "hell" were used fairly regularly in code approved newstand delivered Marvel comics by the mid-1970s.  These light curses mostly vanished in the '80s under Shooter.  (They were removed from newstand books altogether.)  Although, conversely, DC didn't seem to allow swearing in the '70s but became much more liberal than Marvel in the '80s.  

If I remember right, Sandman (The Gaiman version) was the first American corporate produced regular sized factory system book to use the f with permission.  Although it had to have shown up in magazines before that.  

Superman taking all his close friends to the Fortress of solitude was his effort to protect them from the relentless and coldblooded assault against him. Not at all like Night of the living dead.

Read it again. I will wager money that this will be blatantly and blindingly obvious if you look at the tone, structure and pacing of the narrative.

I was thinking more of Moore's work for American comics, which skewed strongly toward horror at this point in his career. I'm much less famiar with his British work.