Following up on news reports that people would rather read a comic — sorry, book — than have sex, after a survey conducted by Travelodge, I scurried over to their web site to find the full text. What books would they rather read? Award-winning books like Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home or something scurrilous by Alan Moore?
Sadly, the survey isn’t among the press releases just yet, so an item for Monkey News will have to wait. But as you do when you go exploring on the ‘Net, I did find an intriguing list of items left behind in Travelodge rooms, including the following bizarre items in 2006:
1. Australian cycle racing team bike worth £19,000
2. Spys dossier (“Mr Bond, you may have defeated SPECTRE but you really have to do something about those memory lapses of yours after a quick one with Moneypenny”)
3. A pet dog (“Darling, why are buying dog food?”)
4. False teeth (“Dwahlink whif if youf buyin dog fud?”)
5. Porsche and Aston Martin keys (“Bond!!!”)
6. A hollowed out bible containing £250 cash (“At least I didn’t forget the drugs…”)
7. A full six foot length of snake skin (Was the snake found later in the air conditioning?)
8. Diamond ring belonging to an ex football player (And ex-husband when his wife found out, I expect)
9. 2 briefcases containing collectable glasses from famous people including Elton John (Well, it could have been something embarassing like two briefcases full of Wonder Woman comics, but Joss Whedon didn’t need them anymore)
10. BBC ID card (Michael Grade didn’t needed it anymore, either)
Apparently, the most common items left in a Travelodge room in 2006 were:
1. Mobile phone and chargers
2. Toiletries
3. Clothing items
4. Shoes
5. Books
6. Hen/ Stag Night accessories /adult toys
7. Jewellery /watches
8. Laptops
9. Electrical Gadgets Ipod, digital camera
10. False teeth /limbs
11. 2000AD*
* Oh, all right, I made the last one up. You should never leave a 2000AD behind. It will haunt you.
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, Links, Other Worlds
Webfind: Midnight Surfer, a 2000AD-inspired Chopper game