Prog 122

I've rated this issue highly, although I found a lot of disappointment among the pages. Despite its faults, the issue was still enjoyable and I lot of what I read remained with me after I put the comic down. I think that says more about me than the comic, and it's true what they say about art- what you see depends on what you bring yourself to the piece. When we look at art it reflects our own selves back at us. This must make me a kick-ass lawman of the future, or maybe just someone who reads comics more than they should.      

Prog 122

21st July 1979 

It's been a while, but the Cursed Earth is back on the pages of Judge Dredd. The story is quickly laid out with the introduction of the main characters on the first page. At a trading post outside of Mega-City One, we meet the Doomsday Dogs - part of a much larger band of Mutielanders intent on destroying Mega-City One. They are led by Father Earth, a strange mutant with plants growing on his body. Father Earth is leading a crusade against Mega-City One, perceiving it as the root of all evil and wants to destroy it stone by stone. 

Inside Mega-City One, the Judges receive reports of 10,000 Mutielanders approaching. Normally the walls surrounding the city would be enough to repel them, but the sheer number of them has Dredd voicing concerns. 

While the city prepares for the local election, Dredd's mind lingers on the approaching Muties. While arresting the local street crime that goes on during an election, Dredd thinks that the only way the Muties could get in would be if they had people working on the inside.

At that moment we are whisked to the central Power Tower where Mega-City One's power and energy are produced. While the robots there are watching the election on TV, they are approached by some hooded men. These men pull back their hoods to reveal that they are followers of Father Earth.

The strip concludes with these followers planting explosives at the scene, while Dredd hears the alarm and expresses concern that if the Power Tower goes there will be a raging volcano in Mega-City One. 

Another excellent story from Judge Dredd, and it looks like there is plenty more to come as the story has left itself room to stretch across multiple issues. It brought yet another new concept into the world of Judge Dredd, and it's always a delight to see more of the world revealed, this time with the cult of the Father Earth followers. Two years in, and we are still learning about the world of Judge Dredd. The characters and plot were introduced quickly, and after an introduction that told us all we needed to know we were down the essentials of the story, The clean artwork matched the crisp storyline, and the story flowed naturally across the pages. It is timely to see an election taking place in Mega-City One given that the US election takes place this week, and once again it is scary to see how accurately Judge Dredd translates into modern times. Great artwork captures all the drama of the story, and the images of the Doomsday Dogs were the most arresting of the comic. This isn't quite top-shelf Dredd, but all the elements are in place, and I look forward to seeing if the next issue can top this one. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Who told you jokers to watch the election, huh? When robots get the vote, then you can watch the election! Until then, get up them pipes!"

Bill Savage has been shot with a spear gun and had his ambitious vehicle stolen, and this week Disaster 1990 begins with Savage climbing an observation tower in the hope of finding his vehicle and the man who shot him.

Scanning flooded London, Savage can see nothing, but after an hour he finally spots his vehicle parked outside the Bank of England.

Seeking revenge, Savage quickly makes his way there and discovers the scientist he previously met, Bamber, opening the vault with a gas torch. Savage is about to have his moment of revenge when he finds that two hoods with weapons drawn are behind him. Bamber has been captured by them and they are using him and his scuba equipment to cut a way into the flooded vaults. 

The odds are against them, but Savage and Bamber hear noises within the vault, and they sense a way to escape. Flinging open the vault reveals that it has become a giant nest of water rats, all of whom rush out and descend upon the hapless thugs. Meanwhile, Savage and Bamber shelter underwater using scuba gear. 

The rats are soon gone, leaving the dead thugs and Savage and Bamber look deeper into the vault. There is one more moment of action as the king rat jumps at them, but Savage is quick with his shotgun and the rat is blown to pieces. The story ends with Savage and Bamber in the amphibious vehicle, once again in the depths of flooded London and Savage pondering upon what else they might face.

This was a step up from the previous week's story, and although it is still an episodic self-contained story it kept me wanting to read into next week. The story was tightly focused, and with no additional elements thrown it we remained with the familiar and what had already been introduced. The flooded city was key to the story, rather than merely a backdrop, with the flooded vaults and scuba gear essential to the story being told. We had Bamber back on the pages, and although he isn't a particularly likeable character, he did work well with Savage to keep the story moving forward. Although there were only a couple of panels of intense action, these images were well done and the art was once again a highlight of the story. Disaster 1990 is a great concept, and after several lukewarm episodes, it is finally beginning to deliver all it promised. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "It's OK, Bamber - the King just lost his crown!" 

Hammer-Stein has been ordered to recruit Mongrol, a robot obsessed with seeking revenge for the woman who recreated him, and A.B.C. Warriors begins with the two squaring off at a supply dump that Mongrol has been stealing from.

The expected battle never comes, as Volg commandos descend from the skies. The rest of the story concerns itself with the A.B.C. Warriors fighting off these Volgs alongside Mongrol. The battle climaxes with Hammer-Stein saving Mongrol's life, and with Mongrol now in his debt, Mongrol agrees to the team until the debt is repaid. 

Mongrol is now part of the team, but the mysterious officer behind this recruitment has one more task for Hammer-Stein - to recruit Deadlock, Grand Wizard of the order of knights Martial, a task that should promise to be one hundred times more difficult. 

The ghost of Lara, the woman who saved Mongrols life in the last issue, loomed large over everything we saw here. In his first confrontation with Mongrol, Hammer-Stein mentioned Lara, which triggered a rage within Mongrol that carried us through the rest of the strip. We saw images of Lara several times and each time only served to emphasise the pain Mongrol felt within. Although not as heart-wrenching as last week, this was still an emotion-fueled episode and one that retained the consistency of previous weeks. We know very little of what Hammer-Stein will face next week, and the name of the next member is intriguing and makes next week all the more interesting. The story of Mongrol across the last two issues has been superb, and one can only hope that next week delivers something just as good. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I've opened old wounds...Mongrol can be hurt after all!" 

This week we find what Project Overkill is all about as Kenny Harris reads the secret file handed to him by the now-dead Colonel Martie. 

Project Overkill consists of every scrap of data known to man processed and stored on the Overkill computer, a vast supercomputer secretly built deep underground in the desert. 

The computer and project were completed several months ago, but just as it was activated the roof of the bunker collapsed, killing everyone associated with the program and losing the Project Overkill computer forever. 

Harris guesses that his plane came down somewhere near the site of the bunker and that the project is still functioning, although it has now gone bad. Renting a car, he wonders how he could outfox a computer that is predicting his every move. 

He decides to do the unexpected, and instead of taking his information to the president, he drives his car into the desert toward where his plane came down. He notices that he is being followed by a truck, and again he goes with the unpredictable, turning directly toward the strict and firing at it with his gun.

He eventually forces the truck into crashing, and pulling the driver from the wreckage he hopes for more information. However, the driver is dead from a broken neck, although Harris does find that the driver's skull contains wires. With this, he realises that the Overkill controls its operatives with a direct channel to their nervous system. This raises further questions as Harris remembers that he was unconscious for two days - easily long enough for them to operate and place a control gizmo in his own skull. 

Things are really ramping up in this story and although I am losing interest in the overall premise, and am still addicted to the intrigues. We learnt a lot very quickly this week, and the story lost some of its mystery as we found out the history of Overkill. I would have been quite happy to remain in the dark in regard to the big picture for now, and having the enemy that Harris is up against laid out for me does raise the question of how much longer this story will be with us. I thought the air of mystery about Overkill could have remained for a while longer yet, and it does feel like we are into the final third. There was some good action in this week's strip which accelerated the plot, and with the reveal of the file, things are moving at a fair clip. This wasn't as good as the previous episodes of the series, and with the action moving back to the desert it feels like we are coming full circle. I'm still enjoying the story, but I really need a strong episode next week to bring me back into the fold. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Kenny Harris ain't running no more! Let's see if overkill predicted this!"

Dan Dare has been accused of treason, and as this week's strip begins he finds himself attempting to make an escape from a building surrounded by security forces. 

With the help of Sandor, Dare lures some window clearers in and snatches their anti-gravity packs. With their grav-packs, he and Sandor fly out the window to freedom. However, guards in the building across the street open fire at them, and Dare quickly comes up with a plan - fly back to the space complex where they least expect them. 

This they do, and at the spaceport, they steal a brand new spaceship. It is both a space cruiser and a fighter, but as they take off Dare finds that he hasn't built up the required power. As the craft rises it is a sitting duck for every laser cannon on the nearby gunships. 

Once again it all felt too easy for Dan Dare, and this detracted from some of my enjoyment of the strip. While I liked the artwork and the action, I was underwhelmed by the overall direction of the story, Like so many other issues of the last few months, Dare blasted his way out of one situation and into another. It was enjoyable enough, without being nourishing, and I found myself hungry for something more substantial. On a positive note, the story did feel like it was moving quickly, and there was little time to dwell on the situation as Dare went out of the frying pan and into the fire. I like Dan Dare, and once again the artwork was strong, I just wish he had something more complex ahead of him and the story could be as exciting as the action. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "So far, so good! But these grav-packs weren't built for commuting! They're starting to overheat already!"  

Prog 122 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: A.B.C. Warriors

Best Line: "We've had eight years of Mayor Grubb's misrule. We need a woman's touch at the controls!"

Best Panel: 

Prog 121

Many times I have read 2000 A.D. and thought to myself that the more things change the more they stay the same. Many parts of 2000 A.D. are just as relevant today as they were forty-five years ago (and conversely, many things are a neat time capsule from the era it was written). This week it was Project Overkill that caught my eye with its conspiracy folding out in front of us. Conspiracy is everywhere in 2024, and I can see different parts of the story that read just as well today as they did in 1979. Shadowy government organisations running experiments on the unsuspecting public are the meat and potatoes of Twitter and Facebook. Even so, Project Overkill remains essential reading, and it is an intriguing tale that is unfolding. Pre The X-Files, and long before the conspiracies surrounding 9/11 and Covid-19, credit must be given to the writers for mining this material long before it hit the mainstream.   

Prog 121

14th July 1979 

Last week's Judge Dredd story was told from the perspective of his robo-servant Walter. That story framing continues this week as Walter again has his scrapbook at the hyper-laundry and is telling another Dredd tale.

Although Judge Dredd appears to be the perfect lawman, he makes mistakes, and that is where Walter's tale takes us this week. We roll back one year and drop into the story as some crooks escape out a window. In the alleyway, a judge appears and orders them to halt. At first, they do so, but then they realise it's not a lawman at all. Rather, it is a small boy dressed in a Judge's uniform, with a water pistol in lieu of a gun. 

Dredd appears and apprehends the crooks, as well as giving the small boy, Ralphy, a warning about impersonating Judges. Ralphy has had a tough childhood, his parents were killed in a monorail rail accident, and he is now in the care of his Aunt and Uncle, who don't really care at all. 

Dredd pulls him out of this situation, and despite being too old, he manages to get Ralphy a place at the Justice Academy as a cadet. Ralphy does well at the academy, but one day he witnesses a hi-jacking and leaving the academy he calls Dredd for help. Dredd arrives and the crisis is averted, but Ralphy is thrown out of the academy as it's forbidden for any cadet to leave the academy, even for a hi-jacking.

The story seems to end on a down note, but in the final panels, Walter explains that Ralphy is now in an orphanage and Dredd visits him every week. He treats him like a real son, and Ralphy is happy to be the only boy in Mega-city One with the great Judge Dredd for a father.

Last week I commented that the story was the second to dig into the connections Dredd forms with those around them, and this week makes that a trilogy. Not only does he meet Ralphy and take him under his wing, but we also learn that he has kept in touch and is still a father figure to the boy. Although similar to the story of his niece, whom Dredd also looked after, this story ends with Dredd keeping in touch with Ralphy rather than turning his back on the boy to protect him. Like those other two stories, I found this streak of humanity running through the story gave it a freshness and a relatability we don't always find in the futuristic world of Dredd. Although it has shades of unease and darkness, Dredd's humanity makes him an empathetic character. I don't always relate to his law-at-all-costs attitude, but I do warm to his interactions with the children we have seen recently. We seem to have picked up a consistent theme of late, and I will be curious to see how long we remain with it in the coming issues. I think this will close the curtain on this phase now, and I would be surprised if the next story opens with Walter at the laundry mat, and Dredd once again protecting young children from the world around them as well as Dredd's own feelings. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Leaving the academy was a major breach of discipline, for which there is only one punishment. Cadet Ralph Bryce, you are expelled."

Disaster 1990 opens with scene-setting panels showing Bill Savage approaching the flooded houses of Parliament in his newly acquired army amphibious vehicle. Surprisingly someone is still there, and Bill meets Professor Bamber, a hydrologist who is excited at the prospect of studying this widespread flooding.

Bill has bigger things on his mind but agrees to help the professor obtain some underwater equipment. Bill gives him a ride to Picadilly Circus and drops the professor off at a flooded sporting goods store where he can get some scuba gear.

As he drives away Bill comes under attack by some people sheltering in a high building. He manages to escape, but as he drives away he realises how precious his boat is, and begins to fear for the safety of the professor who he's left alone at the sports store.

He goes back and as he enters the store he is shot by a spear gun. He passes out, and as he comes around he realises he has to leave the spear in his side to prevent further blood loss. The rest of the strip sees Billy gearing up with hunting goods and leaves us with the final image of him, fully armed and ready to hunt down who shot him.

Apart from the scenes of flooded London, I am beginning to tire of this story already. The backdrop of competing factions competing for resources is interesting (and something we have seen plenty of) but on these pages, it is reduced to Bill fighting off a foe, and then facing a new one the following week. The final panels do give me cause for hope, and the sight of Bill Savage kitted out and about to hunt down an unknown assailant promises to give us a well-rounded story arc. I'm not so keen on the single issues that have started this strip, and perhaps the wounded Bill Savage on the prowl can be spun out into something all the more substantial. The comic looks cool as hell, and if the story can match the art for intensity, the following weeks should see a rapid improvement. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Yeah, this is what I want - a long-barreled shotgun...the sort duck hunters use..." 

We have previously met three A.B.C. Warriors, this week we met a fourth - Mongrol. Our introduction to Mongrol is both instructive and destructive. We see exactly what type of character he is as he's escorted into the strip by military police before he smashes their vehicle and tosses them aside. 

We learn that Hammer-Stein has been charged with bringing Mongrol into his squad, but before that can happen Hammer-Stein takes us through Mongrol's backstory.

Mongrol is a robo-partrooper taking part in the airborne assault of Zarnhem. It's an intense fight that ends with Mongrol crashing to the ground when his reserve chute fails to open. While Mongrol's body is destroyed, his head lives on and he lies in agony on the battlefield for a week.

Help comes from an unexpected source, as he is found by some battle-combers who scour the battlefield for robot remains. One of his savours is a beautiful young lady, while the other is this woman's aunt and is a little less beautiful. 

That night, the young woman introduces herself as Lara and she offers to help Mongrol escape. She works all night to repair him, but she cannot get the electric motor to start. While she is working on this problem, members of the Volg Secret Police burst in.

The secret police take Mongrol to their headquarters, and once there they give Mongrol a large electric shock in an attempt to extract information from him. This shock gives his body life, and he rises from the table and smashes his way through anyone who stands in his way.

Arriving back at Lara's cottage he finds she is dead, shot by the Volgans. Roaring with animal pain, Mongrol staggers out with Lara in his arms. After burying her, his only thought is to kill Volgs and avenge her death. 

And so the strip ends with Mongrol, a robot so vengeful even its allies are scared of it, on Hammer-Stein's mind as he prepares to tame him.

The episode laid a lot of groundwork for what is to come, and although the plot didn't advance forward, Mongrol's backstory was worth the indulgence. Now we know of his past we can understand his intense rage, and Hammer-Stein's conflict with him next week will be all the more interesting given that Mongrol no longer feels like a bad guy. The softer moments of the story were highlighted by the artwork, and the first image we got of Lara was more than enough to express her empathy and give us an insight into why Mongrol feels like he does. The final image of Mongrol carrying Lara's body, and the caption referencing beauty and beast drew a line back something we have seen many times on the pages of 2000 A.D. A Beauty and the Beast story, and a Frankenstein monster story combined, we have seen similar themes in Judge Dredd, Mach Zero, and several other stories over the last couple of years. As always, this is handled delicately, and I particularly like this one because it hid what it was in the folds of the story, and it wasn't until this caption that I realised it was a beauty and the beast story. Now we know more about Mongrol, it should be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks, and I hope he becomes part of the team. His backstory is more than enough to make him one of the most interesting members, and I think there is plenty more to be told here.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Laaaaraaa!"

Project Overkill begins this week by looking back. A flashback to the Vietnam War shows our hero, Kenny Harris, saving the life of Dave Martie of the CIA. 

Flashing forward ten years, Harris arrives at Martie's office, requesting help. There is a further recap as Harris explains all that has happened the last couple of weeks, and Martie agrees to help Harris find the source of this disinformation that is being spread. 

In the CIA computer room, they find the information files, but they have no idea of the source. However, a chance mention of Project Overkill by Harris changes the outlook. At these words, Martie becomes concerned and tells Harris to meet him later at his house and he'll show him a secret file on the project. 

Later at Martie's house, Harris arrives to find the house in darkness and an intruder in the lounge. This intruder is dressed like the men Harris saw in the desert and as he radios his base he identifies himself as 74. 

Harris is beginning to join the dots but fails to notice there is a second goon right behind him. There is a scuffle, and the matter is resolved by Martie who appears at the door and fires two quick rounds from his pistol.  

Harris is relieved to find Martie is still alive, although Martie tells him he has taken several shots from the thugs, and he doesn't have long left. Giving Harris the file, Martie tells him that he has stumbled onto something big. He is about to say more, but death is upon and Harris is left holding the file and contemplating the trail of death.

Meanwhile, in the desert, the members of Project Overkill are aware of what has happened. They decide the experiment must continue, and they will maintain surveillance of the subject. 

The opening page wasn't my cup of tea, but the rest of this week's story exceeded expectations and was just as essential as anything else we have seen in the story. We are living in the age of conspiracy, yet I'm reading this with fresh eyes and I am totally caught up in the web of intrigue woven here. Every panel had me asking questions, be it the weapons they carried, the way the information was being spread, and just what exactly is Project Overkill. The story wasn't rushed and gave us another taster that has me licking my lips in anticipation of future issues. We did have a change of artist this week, but the high standard set by Ian Gibson in the previous weeks was kept. The lines are not quite as clean, but the action was rendered well on the page and it wasn't too much of a speed bump. I feel the story is just reaching its tipping point and next week promises to be a good one. It has a solid foundation I'm on board for whatever happens next,. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Now listen! The file is all that exists on Project Overkill. It makes the Watergate coverup look like a mugging. You must...urgh!"

Dan Dare is accused of treason, and as this week's strip begins he is being marched towards a panel of inquiry. 

Dare is shocked to see that the panel is all the same, all genetic clones of the greatest Magistrate who ever lived. The inquiry doesn't take long, Lady Myriad has already given evidence before Dare arrives, and the verdict is delivered immediately - Dare is guilty.

Dare's personal effects are to be sold to pay his debt, but it's pointed out that he doesn't have anything apart from the Cosmic Claw that is currently being tested by the scientists.

Hearing the claw is in the building, Dare attempts to contact it via a mental link. He achieves this, and the claw comes racing through the building back to him.

The guards can see what is about to happen, but they are powerless to stop it, and the claw arrives in the room and onto Dare's arm. Dare immediately stuns the guards with a blast from the claw. It seems he has the upper hand, but we find that as soon as the claw burst into the room the whole security system was alerted and now the building is surrounded. Dare is trapped, and not even the Cosmic Claw can save him.  

A fast-moving Dan Dare story this week and there was plenty to like. We had a good balance of action and storyline, and I have become more interested in the outcome of this little jaunt. The Claw is still too powerful and an easy out for Dare, but it did provide the focus of this week, and several panels were dedicated to showing the claw flying through the building. Sandor is underutilized, and little more than someone for Dare to talk to, a situation I would like to see change in the coming weeks. It would make the story well-rounded and take some of the pressure off Dare on the storytelling front. The genetic magistrate was a nice idea and the concept was well executed on the page. It was sci-fi without getting too sci-fi and did just enough to remind us that we were in the future. Like Project Overkill, there are still questions to be answered, and although I didn't find the cliffhanger to be thrilling, I do want to come back and find out why Myriad accused Dare of treason, something that can only be resolved by placing my order in at the newsagent. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "You're just a bunch of freaks! What the hell happened to this planet while I've been away?"

Prog 121 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Project Overkill

Best Line: "I gotta leave the spear in me for a while...Don't want the wound to bleed! I'll have to put up with the pain till I've done what I've gotta do!"

Prog 120

The new stories all got off to a great start last week, and this week they build on that foundation with another great issue of 2000 A.D. There was not a single story I didn't like this week, and every story demanded my full attention and that I come back next week. These stories may be forty-five years old (oh, how it hurts me to write that) but I find them fresh and exciting and I am reading them with the same joy as I would have when I was young. 

Prog 120

7th July 1979 

Suspended animation is the name of the game this week, and Judge Dredd starts his story by pulling an old lady out of suspended animation. He is after information about her son's death, and although she doesn't know of his death, she is hardly surprised. She tells Dredd that her son had been blackmailed for years by a man who seemed to know every little secret of the family. 

Dredd leaves her and makes for the squalid Ryker's Shuggy Hall, a futuristic version of a pool hall. There Dredd finds his man, Jurgen Monks. Monks makes a run for it, attempting to escape down a laundry chute, only to accidentally kill himself by climbing into a garbage disposal. 

All Dredd manages to save is Monk's address, and later, while the cops are trawling through Monk's place, Dredd uncovers the scale of the blackmail racket. This leads to the question of how a small-time crook like Monk had access to such large amounts of personal information.     

The connection between all the blackmail victims is they all have family members in suspended animation at the Forever Towers Home where Dredd started this tale. Dredd arrives there in time to find Dr Gold drawing information from his next victim, and after Dr Gold attacks Dredd with liquid cryogenic gas, Dredd shoots him with a homing bullet. 

The headshot isn't fatal, and in a final twist, we learn that the Justice Building also has suspended animation chambers to keep prisoners alive until science can cure their wounds and they can serve out their sentences. 

A lot of great things in this week's story, and it was a good read on many levels. The plot was fast-moving and I was tempted to quickly read through it. However, the art was equally thrilling, and I was constantly slowing myself down to linger on each image. There were many things we hadn't seen before, and Bolland has a way of drawing them from interesting perspectives, giving the story its unique feel and adding another layer of complexity to the story. The story itself was inventive, showing us several new aspects of Mega-City we hadn't seen before. In particular, the Forever Towers Home was an interesting concept and showed some thought had been put into the world that Dredd inhabits. We also had the Shugg Hall, which was instantly familiar to anyone who has loitered in a pool hall on the wrong side of time. It was updated nicely, with a game that looked futuristic yet familiar, and a cast of characters that were equally familiar with a touch of the future about them. Recently I have pined for a longer Dredd story, yet this is just what the doctor ordered, and although brief it fired my imagination and left an impression after I put the comic down.     

Rating: 8/10 

Best line: "Even death is no escape from the law!"

In Disaster 1990, Bill Savage finds himself in a Britain flooded by the melting polar caps. With only small groups of survivors, Savage muses that everyone will have to work together to survive, a notion that is quickly dispelled as a man called Martin appears and takes control of the situation. 

Dressed like a brown shirt, and sporting a Hitler moustache, it is immediately obvious that Martin is power-hungry and ready to play General. His first priority is not food and water for the women and children, but rather arming themselves for protection.

Martin organises a night raid on the flooded Imperial War museum, and taking Savage and some men with him, he soon has a healthy cache of weapons. Savage isn't one to sit idly by and watch this happen, and he heads to the basement for inspiration. 

Meanwhile, a rival gang, the Catford Mob, arrive and a fight begins between them and Martin's men. This fight is interrupted by the appearance of Savage in an ambitious vehicle. Martin thinks this will turn the tide, and is angered when Savage runs over Martin's pile of weapons, before driving the vehicle out the door and into the flooded London beyond. 

This was just the type of story I expected, and while I enjoyed it well enough, it didn't break any new ground. The bad guys looked like bad guys, and Bill Savage did the right thing in his usual rough-and-tumble style, without defining a moment that sticks in the mind. I did enjoy the appearance of the Catford gang and would have liked to have seen more conflict between them and Martin's men on the page, although that may be held back to future issues. I hope so, I would like to see different factions fighting for the resources with Savage somehow caught between the two. The appearance of Martin dressed like a nazi was something I quite liked, and did provide a striking image earlier on, However, Martin never developed much beyond this, although again I'm sure he will reappear in future issues and perhaps the character will develop from there. This was a solid issue without being spectacular, and it did enough to have me coming back for more next week, all in the hope that the story will deepen in the coming weeks. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Quack, quack, water off a duck's back! No guns, no power, Martin- you're dream's finished! See you on the beach!"  

A lot happens in this week's A.B.C. Warriors, which makes it hard to succinctly summarize. The robots are resting in a chateau after their last battle. In the officer's bunker far behind the lines, their new officer is maneuvring and demonstrates that he is not one to mess with, punching out another officer. He is still a shadowy character, and no one quite recognises his uniform, but they recognise he must be obeyed. 

This new officer calls back the tanks, leaving Hammer-Stein and the other robots exposed to a Volgan attack. This attack cones, and although the robots are in various states of disrepair, they put up a worthy fight, eventually defeating the Volgan droids and Old Horney, the very first Volgan war robot. 

Back at the bunker, the officer radios Hammer-Stein, telling him that he has passed his first test. Hammer-Stein asks him who is is, and what does he want, to which the officer replies that Hammer-Stein doesn't need to know, all he needs to know is that Hammer-Stein is the leader of the team and charged with taming a new fourth member, named Mongrol.

A spectacular issue, and there was so much that I couldn't cram in the summary. The opening image was fantastic, showing an arm in retreat with robots riding horses and using men to pull tanks. It was a standout and from that moment on I was hooked. Every scene was as compelling, and the images of the robots in the chateau with various body parts removed for servicing were fun. Joe Pineapples without a head was fun, as was Hammer-Stein with his arm removed. Even more pleasing was that both of these images played out later and became part of the battle against the Volgans. The Volgans they were fighting were equally interesting - the Old Guard. These old robots looked sensational on the page, and Old Horney looked just like he was described. I couldn't help but think how much work had gone into his designs and how long he must have taken to draw. The final fight between Old Horney and Hammer-Stein was fought with swords, another feature that draws the story back to the past. The first panel of the story put me in mind of the German retreat from Moscow in WW2 while the images of the two robots fighting with swords placed us firmly in medieval times. War is war, no matter when it was fought, and these images fit well with the overall narrative. We still don't know who this mad officer charge is, and with the story snowballing it looks like we might be in for a thrilling few months. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Then I'll have to fight without it! And maybe it'll give this stinkin' human officer a bigger kick if I fight with only one hand!"

I had a lot of questions after last week's Project Overkill and after reading this week's issue I have even more. 

Captain Kenny Harris crashed and landed his passenger jet in the desert, only for secret military personnel to appear and escort the passengers away. After being clubbed over the head, Harris awoke 48 hours later and is now looking for answers. 

The local sheriff is doubtful of his story but drives Harris out to the desert where he landed the plane. Harris is confident that the tyre marks from where he landed on the highway will prove his story, but when they arrive there is a road gang replacing that stretch of highway The leader of the gang working on the road tells them that they didn't look at what was there before, their job is only to replace it. 

Harris and the sheriff drive back to the sheriff's office, and Harris tells the sheriff to ring the airline, which will surely prove his story. 

This is the sheriff does, but hanging up the phone he arrests Harris. The airline has told the sheriff that Harris failed to show up at work a week ago and furthermore is wanted for the murder of two cops. 

Thrown in the cells, Harris has no idea that further machinations are moving against him. The shadowy organisation makes its next move, with the sheriff's deputy entering the cells with a gun and leaving the door open. Harris can see that he's about to be shot with the excuse that he was trying to escape. He leaps into action, fighting the deputy. The deputy is defeated and looks like he is about to give Harris some crucial information when he suddenly bursts into flames. With the sheriff's office burning down around him, Harris makes his escape. Driving off, his only thought is to find out who is behind this and make them pay. 

Things are ramping up, and we are deep in the mystery now. Last week was a tasty entree, and this week follows it with a healthy serving of intrigue and mystery. There are so many questions and unknowns in the story, yet it remained clear in its focus and gave us one linear storyline with just enough information leaked onto the page to keep us moving forward. I like the looks of the comic, but I especially like the feeling I get off the page. I could easily see this as an excellent X-files episode, and it predates that show's feel of intrigue and mystery. Harris may not be as sexy as Scully, but has just as many questions, and it looks like he is singular in his focus on getting answers. This wasn't quite my favourite story this week, but it was the one that had me most interested, and I think it may well be the first story I turn to next week.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I don't believe it! The heat - it's even melting the cell's bars!"

Dan Dare is back on Earth, but on the run after being accused of helping the Mekon steal the Crystal of Life. 

With the help of Sondar, he steals a shuttle bus and drives to the SASA headquarters to surrender to Colonel Wilf Saunders, the man who sent him on the mission to the lost worlds. Although there are guards waiting for them, Dare and Sondar manage to get into the building by crashing landing the bus and creating confusion. 

Bursting into the conference room, they find that Wilf Saunders died several months ago and has been replaced by Colonel James Venner. Dare tells Venner that the charges against him are a pack of lies, but Venner has Dare's accusor with him, Lady Myriad, and she reiterates that Dare helped the Mekon steal the crystal and is a traitor. 

Before Dare can say another word, he is hit by a stun ray shot from Venner's desk. As Dare is laid out on the floor, Venner stands over him, telling those present that Dare is just another space crook who has reached the end of the road. 

Just when it looked as though Dare was making progress, suddenly he finds himself at a dead end and facing termination. I liked the action in this story, and although the final pages didn't live up to the first few, I still left the story feeling good about what I had read. The action was solid without being spectacular, the story moved forward, and we have just enough unfinished business to bring us all back next well. In a comic packed with solid stories and plenty of intrigue, this story suffered with its position as the last story. I was slightly jaded by the time I got to it, and my mind was already a whirrr with all that I read before. I would have stronger feelings if this was the first story read, but my fatigue came into play and it wasn't quite strong enough to entirely win me over. Despite that, it was still s a solid issue, and on a better day I would have rated it an 8/10.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Pheew! I'm really getting through the hardware! I'll have to take out a load if SASA wants me to pay for it!" 

Prog 120 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: A.B.C. Warriors

Best Line: "Get that claw-weapon off Dare! Without it, he will be just another space-crook-- a loser who's reached the end of the road!"

Best Panel:

Prog 119

Spring has arrived in New Zealand. A time of renewal and rebirth, and a time of new stories - three to be exact. Not only do we have the thrill of these new stories, but we also have James Bond himself on the cover, with Roger Moore kitted out for Moonraker. A great tie-in, and although we don't get much Moore (sorry, not sorry) within the comic, it was worth it for the cover. It's hard to describe Moonraker as a great piece of cinema, but it was certainly entertaining, and these new stories are all off to an equally entertaining start. There is a lot to like within these pages, so ignoring the beautiful warm day outside (and the cold beer in the fridge) I'm going to jump right it.  

Prog 119

30th June 1979 

Judge Dredd, hyper-cop? That's not quite the title I expected for this story but I will roll with it as this week's issue blasts off. 

Further surprises follow when we find out that although it is a story about Dredd, it is told from the point of view of his Wobot Robot, Walter. Walter is at the laundry cleaning Judge Dredds's clothes. Speaking to the other robot servants there, Walter let it be known how proud he is to serve Dredd. 

Walter starts sharing stories of his time with Dredd, before settling down to tell the longer story of how he came to be imprisoned by Dredd.  

Dredd was called to a hostage situation at the bank, only to be intercepted by Walter bringing his lunch. Dredd's stew is interrupted by the appearance of one of the crooks, and in a flash Dredd is in action, coming to the aid of the hostages. However, one of the women held hostage is overly grateful, clutching at Dredd's leg leading to Dredd falling. The criminals now have the upper hand, but Walter comes to the rescue, throwing a cream pie in the face of one of the robbers. 

This saves the day and the crooks are locked away. So too is Walter, for the crime of striking a human. Laws are laws, and Judge Dredd sentences him to one month in prison for his crime. Walter is locked in with another inmate, and Walter's overly friendly manner and continued love for Dredd is all too much for the prisoner who by the end of the month is pleading for them to free Walter. 

The other robots are impressed by this story, although as one comments, he's glad he's not Dredd's robot. The others agree, with one saying that it takes a very special type of robot. 

An interesting angle for a Dredd story, looking at things from Walter's perspective, and while I applaud the innovation, I don't think it comes off. We are a step removed from the character of Dredd, and without his steel the story is flaccid. I couldn't help but think that telling the story from the robot's perspective was 'borrowed' from Star Wars (which in itself borrowed from Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress), which would have been inescapable at that time. While I wasn't fussed about the way the story was framed, I did enjoy various aspects of it. I liked that we got an insight into Dredd's homelife, and seeing him do little things like eating his stew for lunch was a nice reminder that he is human. This is the second such reminder in two weeks, last week we saw some intimacy with his family, and this added to the humanity of a man who remains firmly hidden behind the mask. Some nice character building here, and although I cringed at Walter Robot, I know that all this background will pay off when we embark on longer adventures. A nice background hum that fills the character without greatly propelling the story forward. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "That robot saved your life - you can't send him to jail! It's inhuman!"

The premise for Disaster 1990 is simple - there has been a nuclear accident at the North Pole, and now the UK faces a flash flood from the melted ice cap. 

The people don't know it yet, and we pick up the action with our old friend Bill Savage as he watches the news on a TV at a diner. There is trouble brewing outside, and a gang of thugs enters, threatening Bill for parking in their place. A fight breaks out, and Savage lives up to his name, striking the gang with one of the tables before all attention turns to the TV and the news that a massive flood is about to hit the UK in the next 60 minutes. 

Racing against the clock, Bill speeds into London to find his mother. He has a near accident and almost runs over a child. He manages to avoid hitting her, but he does write off his truck just as the wave is about to hit.

Grasping the child, Bill runs up the stairs of the nearest house, saving both their lives. Others in London aren't so fortunate, and Bill awakes the next morning to see only the top of the tallest buildings above water. The fight for survival has just begun. 

What a cracking surprise to see Bill Savage back on the pages of 2000 A.D. We last saw Bill fighting the Volgans in the strip Invasion, and he is a strong character who was an early favourite of mine in the comic. Although this story is set seven years previous to the last story, Bill is just how we remember, hard-talking, hard-working and hard-driving. I grinned as soon as I saw his face on the page, and already I had a good feeling about this strip. It's always good to reflect on a date that has already come in gone, and in this case, I remember 1990 well. I was seventeen years old, in my prime, and from what I remember it was nowhere near as bad as what Bill Savage is experiencing (Although we did have some dodgy music in 1990 - Milli Vanilli, anyone?). It is tempting to read the melting ice caps in this story and take it as an analogy for climate change, although from memory in the late seventies we were more worried about a second ice age coming, rather than the polar caps melting. Funny how things change. It's too early to know how this story will go, although it did end with the dramatic view of London underwater, but any time spent with Bill Savage is time spent with good company, and I am very positive as we look ahead to future issues. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Th-there will be major floods in the United Kingdom. P-People are advised to proceed to higher ground immediately. Th-this is because...this is b-because...the flooding will start in one hour's time! Oh, heavens!" 

Next is a new Ro-Busters adventure featuring the A.B.C. Warriors.  We already know Hammer-Stein, but on the first page, we meet a couple of other warriors fighting by his side in the war against the Volgans. There is Joe Pineapples, a robot that doesn't speak much but lets his bazooka talk for him. Then there is Happy Shrapnel, a robot taking the fight to the Volgans with two old Kolt 45s. He's always moaning, but apparently, he has a heart of platinum. 

In this issue, we see these robot soldiers in battle. They are commanded by officers far behind the lines, linked to the action via holograms, radio, and the ability to plug into the robot soldiers. They can sense their feelings, and even experience some of their pain, although this is tempered by a special pain barrier within the robot's circuitry. 

The robots face a gas attack, and the human officers insist they continue moving forward toward the enemy HQ. They fly over the top of the gas, and after crashing through the roof of the enemy's position, Hammer-Stein takes the fight to Volgans. By the battle's end, they take stock of their losses- fifteen rookies killed by the gas, another five killed in the air, and one badly wounded at their feet. 

There is nothing they can do to save the wounded robot, but Hammer-Stein opens him up and finds his pain barrier circuit. With a swipe of his knife, it is disabled, and miles away as the officers celebrate their victory, one suddenly finds that he is experiencing the deep pain of a dying robot. It's all too much, and the human officer drops dead, although the others around assure each other that he will get a medal for his bravery. 

Although it appears to be an accident, one human is suspicious and the strip ends with him pondering if Hammer-Stein is the leader he is looking for. 

Another welcome return, and based on my experiences of seeing Hammer-Stein's back story in Ro-Busters, I already have a good feeling about this story. From what I have seen in the first issue here, it would be very easy to compare this to Pat Mill's other key project at the time - Charley's War. The similarities are obvious, as too are the underlying themes, and I can't help but think of one as I read the other. Lions led by mules is the first phrase that springs to mind, and it's a topic that we have seen Pat grapple with many times on the pages of Charley's War and now here. It's easy to see the cross-pollination between the two, and although they are set centuries apart the themes are the same. So too are the battles being fought, and I was initially surprised to see gas being used on the field of battle in A.B.C Warriors. It drew a line straight back to World War One and helped to emphasise many of the points being made in the comic. The more things change the less they change. Like the other new stories this week, it remains to be seen how far this will be pushed, but with a great writer at the helm, musing on his pet themes, this is another story that promises a lot. This first issue is a cracker, and I guarantee there will be plenty more like it.     

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I say, Rodney...steady on with the old champers!"

Project Overkill is a great name for a strip and has me intrigued. Pleasingly, the strip lives up to its title and after the first issue, I am already hooked. 

Captain Kenny Harris is piloting an A-300 airbus with 180 passengers when suddenly he encounters severe weather and the engines fail. 

A skilful piece of flying sees him land the craft on a highway, but things take a turn when they exit the plane. A strange convoy pulls up, and a man wearing a respirator mask starts issuing orders for the passengers to be rounded up. Captain Harris questions where they are, and who these people are, but the only response he gets is that this location is a government establishment called Project Overkill, and the place is a secret, their reason is secret, and their identities are a secret.

Harris goes back to the plane to retrieve the flight recorders and is knocked unconscious from behind. Two days later he wakes up five-hundred miles away and hears the news that his plane has crashed in the Colorado Mountains with no survivors. He has questions (and quite frankly, so do I) and the strip ends with Harris vowing to get to the bottom of Project Overkill. 

After reading this strip, I have a lot of questions and a strong urge to read the next issue immediately. Take that as a recommendation. This looks like it may be one to watch, and like the other new stories this week, I am already invested.  We had some good action to start with, followed by intrigue after intrigue. The wheels are well and truly set in motion, and one can only hope that the following issues live up to this one. My one quibble would be how easily the convey leader gave up the information about the project. He said their identities are a secret, as is their location and mission, yet he freely named the project Project Overkill. Of course, Harris can't just go and google it like I can, but still, it is a thread that could be pulled. The striking artwork complimented the plot, and although it was the first image of the plane that caught the eye, my favourite panels came later in the story as Captain Harris was struck from behind. It had a minimalist style that served the moment well, presenting the danger in stark terms. An excellent start, and this will be a story to watch in the coming weeks.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Don't waste your time, Davey- the hails smashed the turbo-fans! We'll have to glide her down!"

I thought Dan Dare may have wrapped up last week, yet here he is once again continuing his struggles against the universe. In the opening panel, we see Dan using the power of the claw to avoid being arrested for treason, and the rest of the strip is dedicated to getting us to this point. 

Dare has lost the Crystal of Life to the Mekon, who is revitalised and stronger than ever. With Sandor by his side, Dare flies back to Earth to give his report of all he has seen. 

He thinks the people on Earth will be surprised to see him after two years, but as his craft enters the atmosphere, he finds that not only are the men of SASA expecting him, but they are also preparing to arrest him.

Dare demands to know why, and the list against him is damning- high treason, murder, space piracy. Even more surprising is the final charge - Princess Myriad of Lystria accuses him of helping the Mekon to steal the crystal. 

A blast of the cosmic claw stuns the soldiers around Dare, and the strip ends with him and Sandor escaping to find a hiding place.

A strong start to this week's story, and a panel that demands we know more. It was cleverly done, front-loading the action before letting the exposition in the rest of the strip explain how we got here. This plotline was a twist I didn't see coming, helped in no small part that Dare left the planet Lystria on good terms. I will be curious to see how Dare came to be branded a traitor, and I expect a lot more backstory to unfold next week. As much as I love the artwork, I haven't always been the greatest cheerleader for Dan Dare. That may change with this storyline, and the way it has unfolded so far has my expectations sky-high. Dan Dare delivered all I could want in this issue, and I am quietly confident for more of the same next week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "It isn't a welcome home party, Dare! You and that...Treen...have been under arrest since you entered solar space!"       

Prog 119 final ratings:

Overall: 8/10

Best Story: Project Overkill

Best Line: "What we ain't gonna do, Davey, is panic! Put out a mayday - and find us somewhere to land!"

Best Panel:

Prog 118

 “The Only Constant in Life Is Change.”

Not the wise words of my Mother, but rather the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. It's 2500 years since Heraclitus, yet his words still ring true as I read in this week's Tharg column that the next issue will feature three new stories. Some quick math on my part and I realize that means that some stories will be finishing this issue. With Dredd being a constant since the comic began, we will be bidding a fond farewell to Strontium Dog and Rick Random - well a least a fond farewell to one of them, the second I'm not so fond of, and will happily wave goodbye as it pulls out from the station. Some of these stories are ripe, and I can see them coming to a natural conclusion, and some are not quite there yet and I am curious to see how they can be finished in a satisfying manner. I love reading comics, but as I get older I find I am getting harder to please. If they can conclude these stories in a manner pleasing to me, then the writers and artists have done a very good job indeed. We shall see, and in the meantime, there is the thought that next week will bring three new stories. Change indeed, but that's a thought for next week.  !

Prog 118

23rd June 1979 

Judge Dredd opens with a story called Cityblock 2, a natural follow-on from last week's story focussed on a single cityblock. This time we learn that only 13% of the the citizens have work, with robots designed and built to do every little job. For some this leisure time becomes boredom and descends into crime, while for others their whole sense of being is tied into working. 

One such person is Arnold Short and after a preamble about this future life, we see Arnold losing his job as a nightwatchman to a robot. For thirty years Arnold has been on the job, and now he has no idea what to do with himself - his job was his life. 

After seeing Dredd dealing with other problems related to this work/life balance, the story snaps into action as a report comes of a sniper with a laz-rifle. Dredd arrives just in time to save a woman's life and we quickly learn that the shooter is Arnold. 

Without a job, he would rather be dead, and he challenges Dredd from one of the upper levels of the city block. Dredd responds by storming the apartment, kicking down the front door and returning fire. 

Arnold has no choice but to jump off the balcony, but Dredd is too fast and prevents him from taking his own life. 

Arnold is convicted on the spot to hard labour for the rest of his life, an outcome that he is very happy about. He can work away to his heart's content, while in the eyes of the law, he is rightly punished for his crimes. 

Although similar to last week, this was a step up in terms of intensity. The idea of a city block is now familiar, and we turned our attention to another aspect of Megacity life, with a fast and furious story that was far more compelling than last week. The art was a highlight, but without the dramatic tension in the story, it would mean very little. The two go hand and hand this week, and after being lowkey about the last couple of Dredd stories, I suddenly find myself back in his world and eager to see what comes next. I like that the concept of a blissful future where we all work less was turned on its head, and the fact that robots were doing all the jobs meant people were desperate to do something meaningful in their lives. As they say, be careful what you wish for, an automated future may not be the utopia that some dream of. A strong story concept and a firm vision of the future gave us a great platform for Dredd to do his stuff, and this story was a winner from beginning to end.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Sorry citizen - I can't let you do it! You might land on somebody!"

The final episode of Rick Random sees everything wrap up quickly this week. 

Landing on Shoya, Rick and his party find that a coup has taken place. An approaching troop carrier is shot down by Rick, and after shooting the survivors Rick gets Vanda to fly the vessel to carry his commandos to the seat of the action. 

Arriving a Shoya City they fly toward the palace. They come under attack, and Rick and his commandos attack the palace from the ground. Although losing men, Rick fights his way inside and soon he reaches the throne room with Jameela and Exon. They are surprised to see Baron Odana there, as they have already seen him die twice, but here he is very much alive. Odana attempts to kill Jameela, and Exon sacrifices himself to save her. 

Odana attempts to escape down a well in the floor with Rick hot on his heels. Rick wastes no time in shooting him dead before he can get too much further, leaving the last page to tie up the loose threads. 

When it's announced that Odana is dead, the coup effectively dies with him. With the situation back to normal, Rick Random explains that the death of Odana on the Columbia was a diversion and a sleight of hand as Odana was never on the Columbia - only an android built to impersonate him. 

With only the paperwork left to do, Rick bids all farewell as Vanda drags him off for a well-earned holiday.

A muddled ending befitting the story we have seen thus far, with the highlight coming in the artwork of Carlos. It looked starkly different to the previous issues and was perhaps the only bright spot in this damp squib of a finale. The finale had action but lacked any real drama. Rick Random blasted his way into the palace and then shot Odana as he tried to escape. It gave us scenes of people blasting each other but remained linear in its storytelling, and with no further issues to come there were no extra layers added to the story. The final scene of Random waving goodbye as he left with Vanda felt empty, and I couldn't find any joy towards the character as he disappeared. The one panel that was fun was seeing Odana meet his end, and with Carlos on art duties, he did look a lot like Wulf from Strontium Dog as he was blasted, as did another Guebin character later in the story. I used to have great expectations for this story, expectations that have faded week by week, and although I am loath to say it, I'm secretly pleased to see it come to an end this week. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I'll see you in hell for that, Odana!" 

Attempting to escape Hell-World, Strontium Dog Johnny Alpha has made his way to the Black Citadel, where he now faces Satan himself. A wave of demons carries Johnny and his companions forward, bringing them into the Black Citadel for a conversation with Satan.

Satan seems quite amenable to Johnny and his companions, curing Wulf of his gargoyle sting before reverting to his natural form as he explains the world they are in. 

Satan's natural form is human, although an ugly and disfigured human, and Johnny recognises him as Ronald Fiveways, the man who invented the dimensional warp, before mysteriously disappearing.

The next page unravels Ronald's backstory as he explains how a fire in his laboratory left him badly disfigured. Shunned by society and ridiculed for his ugliness, he turned his back on humanity and elected to escape to a completely empty dimension, one he could mould to his liking. 

This dimension became Hell-World, and just as people on Earth made his life hell, now he made a hell for people. In this world he became Satan, creating dimensional traps to bring people here for his own enjoyment.

Johnny gets angry at Ronald at this point, but Ronald has absolute power and there is little Johnny can do. However, Ronald has promised to return Johnny to his own dimension and he intends to keep this promise. There is one more promise he makes, he wants to be Johnny's friend and offers to fulfil any wish of Johnny's. 

Fame and fortune are on offer, but Johnny chooses the nobler option of requesting that the Hell-World be destroyed. Surprisingly, Johnny's request is honoured, and as Johnny, Wulf and Gronk, are warped back home, the Hell-World shatters. 

This just leaves us with the final two panels as our heroes reappear on a busy city sidewalk. Gronk can barely believe they are home, but as a policeman yells at them to move along, Johnny asserts that yes, they are indeed home. 

I'm surprised to see Strontium Dog finish this week. Still, it's hard to image a bigger villain than Satan, and I did get serious 'final boss' vibes when I first saw him on the page. Except for Satan, the story felt low-key as we trundled to a stop, and there was no exclamation point in the story as you might expect. The explosion of the hellworld was small on the page and was insignificant, and so too was the warp back to their own dimension by Johnny and friends. This could have been a bells-and-whistles finale, and after the previous shenanigans of Mr. Moon and Mr. Sun, I expected to see plenty on the page. Instead, we got Satan's back story, hardly riveting, and then he agreed to destroy the world simply because he liked Jonny. This was all too easy, and although it wrapped the story up in a timely manner, it was unsatisfying. I have always liked Strontium Dog, and this final issue did it a disservice. I shall remember Johnny and his friends for the earlier moments in this story, and the delightfully weird world in which they inhabited, and consign this final issue to my file named "Could Have Been Better"

Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "You there! Mutie! Move along!" 

 Dan Dare's attempt to reach the crystal of life looks doomed as he continues his battle against the guardian while in the background the Mekon has already reached the crystal. With one final throw of the dice, Dare uses the power of the claw to fire energy into the guardian's power terminal in his heel. This works, and the head of the guardian explodes with an impressive "Thwaaaam!"

With the guardian dead, Dare advances on the crystal, where he finds the Mekon smugly waiting for him. The Mekon has been rejuvenated by the crystal and ignorantly tells Dare that his powerful claw weapon has no effect on him.

But while Dare and the Mekon face off, from beneath the rubble comes Hagnar, bloodied and bruised, but very much alive. Hurling a rock a the Mekon, Hagnar misses, instead striking Dare and his claw weapon. The claw weapon fires a powerful blast, and seeing what it can do, the Mekon makes an escape.

Hagnar wants to pursue him alone, and an argument with Dare about this sees Hagnar punched out by the power claw. Dare rushes outside, but he is already too late and the Mekon has escaped the planet.

The final panels wrap up the story. The Thraxians have crumbled without a leader, and the Lystrians now control their own planet. However their treasured crystal now belongs to the Mekon, and in the very final panel, Dare vows to hunt him down, even if it takes the rest of his life.   

This was nicely done and felt the end of one chapter while giving us a reason to turn to the next. For a brief moment, I thought this may have been the end of Dan Dare altogether, but his final words make it clear that there's plenty of unfinished business here and he'll be back. The first page didn't fill me with hope of this being a great issue as it retrod the same ground we saw in the previous issue, this time with a different outcome. Last week we saw Dare fire a blast into the guardian power socket, and then be blown off his feet in an explosion. This week started before he fired a blast, and when he did fire his blast it was the gurdian who exploded, an explosion that had no effect on Dare. A case of rewriting history there, although sometimes a week can be a long time, and I'm happy enough to forget what I read last week. I enjoyed the look of this comic, and especially the Mekon now that he is restored. Hopefully, we will get more like this in the coming weeks and Dare tangles with the Mekon sooner rather than later. I haven't always been a fan of Dan Dare of late, but this was a solid finale. It wasn't as spectacular as one might have wished, but it ticked all the boxes in terms of action, artwork and plot, and got us to a good point to jump off into the next chapter. We now have a good foundation for Dare's ongoing battle with the Mekon, and I expect the next issue shall pick up from where we are now.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Eat power, Thraxian!"

Prog 118 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "There's no corner of space where he can hide from me! I'll hunt him down..I swear it! I'll make him regret this day, if it takes the rest of my life!"

Best Panel: