Sorry, I missed updating the blog last week - kids do as your parents tell you and don't drink too much. I came unstuck at a hazy beer Fest at the local pub, and while I had a fantastic time on Saturday, Sunday wasn't so kind to me. Nobody told me when I was younger how much worse hangovers are once you're over the age of fifty, or that they last multiple days. Sigh. Still, here I am a week later and once again ready to indulge in a pile of old comics. Rest assured, no beer in hand as I read this week's issue, I'm strictly on the tea today - and will be for the next few weeks. One last piece of advice - don't get old.
Prog 123
28th July 1979
Terrorists have infiltrated the Power Tower, the source of Mega-City One's power via molten rock pumped from the centre of the earth. The terrorists are known as the Doomsday Dogs, and within minutes of the news breaking of their seizing of the tower, Judge Dredd and a host of other judges converge on their location.
The Judges make short work of the Doomsday Dogs, and they are soon rounded up and their bomb defused. All thoughts turn to the leader of the Dogs, a Mutielander named Father Earth, and Judge Dredd rides to the south wall to confront him and his 10,000 followers.
Dredd warns Father Earth, telling him to turn around and take his followers with him. After delivering this message there is nothing more Dredd can do but ride home to watch the election. With everyone voting remotely with a touch of a button, the election will occur simultaneously, and this jolts a thought in Dredd's mind. This mass voting will draw a huge amount of power, requiring lava to be drawn through the auxiliary pipe in the Power Tower. Dredd deducts that this is where the Doomsday Dogs have planted a second bomb, and a call to the Power Tower confirms this is correct.
While Dredd tries to stop the election, the robots attempt to defuse the bomb. Both fail, and in the final panel we see the bomb detonating and the Tower exploding.
It's hard not to look at the final panel and think "9/11" The imagery is strong, and the sight of the top of the tower exploding while people below flee is evocative and resonates strongly. Although I am not North American, I still have strong memories from that period of history, and seeing something similar sketched out twenty-five years early is an eerie feeling. The connections to the US are strong throughout the strip, even more so as the US has just had an election. The talk of no recounts, and no swingometers, was timely and pertinent and brought a wry smile to my face. The more Dredd touches on the real world the better it becomes, and seeing global events in Dredd's playground gives us a detachment and a chance to see ourselves through other eyes. It all helps that there's a cracking story behind it. That story is escalating, and a final confrontation may be some issues away. This is just what I wanted, and after several weeks of one-off stories, we are getting something substantial. The payoff is immediate, and already we have been pulled deep into the world of Mega-City One and the Doomsday Dogs that Dredd is up against. The story is currently riding the crest of the wave and with both art and storyline creating a strong pull, we could be riding this for some time.
Rating: 8/10
Best line: "There'll be no recounts, no swingometers, no boring commentators- because all your voting will be over in one second!"
In the first two panels of Disaster 1990, Bill Savage and Professor Bamber sail past some well-known London landmarks. After passing by New Scotland Yard, the pair arrive at Harrods where they find some people sheltering inside.
There's trouble afoot, and inside a class war is about to break out. Savage doesn't take sides, he merely fires his shotgun to gain everyone's attention and calms the situation by disarming one of the thugs.
Further help is near at hand as several boats of British Commandos arrive. They had been doing sea training when the floods came and are now trying to help wherever they can. They see Savage's shotgun, and he is forced to surrender it to them. With things settled, the commandos move on, as do Savage and the professor.
Out on their boat, Savage and Bamber argue while eating some food Bamber stole from Harrods. The argument ends with Savage telling Bamber that he will let him off at the next piece of dry land. As they approach the security prison that the commandos are checking out, Bamber looks back at Harrods through his binoculars and sees the commandos approaching Harrods in their boat. Savage can see something is amiss, as at the prison they find the dead bodies of the marines floating in the water, all stripped of their weapons and uniforms. The people at Harrods are about to be ambushed by criminals dressed as the commandos, and there is nothing Savage and Bamber can do about it.
I'm struggling with this story. It doesn't seem to fit with the other stories in 2000 A.D. and although I love the character of Bill Savage and the art, the story has the feel of the stories that would later feature in Battle Action. This ill-fit colours a lot of my thoughts about the strip, and I am judging it unfairly compared to the other stories in the comic. Putting that aside for now, this issue does take a step forward and sets the scene for some action next week. There was conflict this week, although no action, and this merely raised the temperature for things to reach a boil next week. Having a class war (or perhaps skirmish would be a better phrase) on the pages was a nice touch, and was distinctly British. Even though Savage saved the day at Harrods, he was still looked down upon and turfed out at the first opportunity. Even in times of disaster, some things remain the same. This was also a pointer to how much things have changed since the 1970s. Now Harrods is full of American tourists buying stuffed bears, rather than bowler-hatted men getting their hampers. This issue introduces us to all the main players for next week, and with Bill Savage once again facing overwhelming odds I expect some innovative action and sharp lines from the man.
Rating: 6.5/10
Best line: "Get back, I say! You've no right - no right to be here! I had an account with this shop for years!"
On the pages of A.B.C. Warriors, Hammer-Stein has been tasked with recruiting Deadlock of the Order of Knights Martial to his team.
We are introduced to Deadlock in the first few pages and learn a little about this mystical order. We also see their spaceship, the Watch-Tower get hit by a meteorite and falls from the sky.
The Volgs are pleased that their weapon has worked and they rush to the site of the crash. So too do the A.B.C. Warriors, intent on saving Deadlock and recruiting him.
A fierce battle ensues, and the outcome sees the Hammer-Stein and Deadlock victorious. Deadlock tells Hammer-Stein he knows why he is there, and that he will join the group - but only if Hammer-Stein meets one condition. Hammer-Stein must beat him in a tournament. If Hammer-Stein fails then he must surrender his life.
There was a lot of lore crammed into this story, and I have skipped a lot of it in the summary. Deadlock and his order are heavy on the mystical and we learn a lot about them as the action carried through the comic. This was cleverly done, with their story unfolding as they fought the Volgs, and by the time Deadlock met Hammer-Stein, we knew a lot about him and his men. There was a touch of Jedi about him, and although it would be easy to point to the Star Wars influence given that Star Wars was out the previous year, I think the idea existed independently. There is nothing here that feels derivative and although it mines some of the same mystical vibes, it never comes across as a direct steal. The character of Deadlock is well-rounded, and although it's hard to see how Hammer-Stein can beat him, I do look forward to seeing him as part of the team. A robot Grand Wizard, what is not to like, and he took the story to another level as he charged into battle. The final images of Deadlock presiding over a court martial took us back into the mystical realm and seeing Deadlock in robes only amplified the wizard aspect of his character. I didn't like everything I saw here, but with Deadlock stealing every scene he was in, it was an enjoyable read and one I look forward to seeing more of.
Rating: 7.5/10
Best line: "Purge the filth that dares to attack us! Cleanse with fire and sword, my brothers!"
Captain Kenny Harris has discovered that Project Overkill has planted a controlling gizmo in his brain, and with nothing to lose, he crashes through the security of a USAF airforce base and at gunpoint forces a neurosurgeon to operate immediately to remove it.
This surgeon, Captain Peter Schaefer, operates without anaesthetic and removes the gizmo. The pain is too great and Harris falls unconscious, but when he comes around he is grateful to Schaefer and tells him the whole backstory of how this came to be.
Schaefer agrees to help Harris, while far away Project Overkill knows that Harris has removed his controller and at that very moment is ordering his death.
While some of the stories this week were bereft of action, Project Overkill opened with a smashing action scene, before pulling back into its conspiracy-fueled storyline. Harris's introduction to Schaefer was dramatic and gave the story a push where it could have stalled. The recruitment of Schaefer, while a tad unbelievable, was just what the story needed, and with another ally at his side, Harris becomes a more interesting character. Let's hope Schaefer lasts longer than the last guy who helped Harris out. The final page matched the first page for interest, and what it lacked in action it made up for in intrigue. Once again we got to see the men behind Project Overkill. The agent sent to dispatch Harris looks particularly cool, and it was enough to sell me the next issue while putting a nice capstone on this one. This wasn't one of the best stories this week, but it was a solid issue and did everything it needed to do.
Rating: 7/10
Best line: "It's got to come out now - no pre-med, no anaesthetic...nothing! Pain doesn't matter to a dead man - and I'm dead if that thing stays there!"
Branded a traitor for helping the Mekon steal the crystal of Life, Dan Dare and Sandor are attempting to escape Earth. They have stolen a ship, but Dare is struggling to get the power up and with the surrounding ships turning their guns on them, it is looking like a short flight.
Luckily Sandor is quick and gets the shields up just in time. He then tells Dare what to do, and the pair escape Earth and the pursuing vessels.
As they fly away, Sandor tells Dare that he doesn't believe that it was Myriad who denounced them, but rather a Krulgan who has the ability to take on the appearance of others. Finding this Krulgan is their only chance to prove their innocence, and their first port of call is a satellite world called Topsoil, which is a refuge for cast-offs from around the universe.
The satellite world of Topsoil looked dead cool and was the highlight of this week's story. Good thing too, since the rest of the story failed to get a rise out of me and I was underwhelmed until this final page. Dare's rocketship escape was drawn large, and while I appreciated the artwork, I never fell in love with the action on the page. Sondar bringing the idea of a Krulgan into the story felt like a last-minute decision and was shoehorned in, making for an awkward reading moment as they flew away from Earth. The concept was sudden and unexpected, not in a good way, and broke the natural flow of the story, veering us off into a new quest. The arrival at Topsoil erased this aberration, and by the story's end, I was once again happy with the direction we are heading. I just wish the idea of the Krulgan had been introduced earlier or in a more subtle way than what we read here.
Rating: 6.5/10
Best line: "It is my considered opinion that he is now celebrating his grisly triumph amongst creatures of a similar ilk...in a place that harbours the scum of the solar system!"
Prog 123 final ratings:
Overall: 7/10
Best Story: Judge Dredd
Best Line: "The name's Harris - and this gun says I'm no nut! Now take off your shirt and stand against that wall!"
Best Panel: