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:

Prog 117

Funny old week here, and nothing has gone quite to plan. This was supposed to be done yesterday, but instead, I drifted off to sleep on my bean bag while I plotted other projects that I will probably never, start let alone finish. Frankly, I'm surprised I have kept this up for two years without jumping onto another project. Let's credit the writers of 2000 A.D. for that. They have not only grabbed my interest enough to start a blog but held it for long enough that I have reached prog 117. When I first started I promised myself that I would do this up to Prog 1000. It's still a long way off, but with this much work behind me, I have no choice but to carry on. Luckily the comic is so good! 

Prog 117

16th June 1979 

 A manhunt for Judge Dredd and a good insight into the city of Mega-City 1 for the reader in the opening strip of this week's comic. 

The story is quickly laid out as we learn that 800 million people live in Mega-City 1.  These citizens are crammed into vast cityblocks, each housing over 60,000 citizens and containing everything a citizen will ever need, making it possible to live your life without ever leaving your block. 

Dredd is in Charlton Heston block when he calls out to a citizen the level above him. The citizen elects to run, and the rest of the comic is a long extended chase. 

This chase goes through gardens, across beaches, through hospitals, all within the block. Dredd's quarry snatches a child briefly as a hostage, before forgoing this plan and instead steals an ambulance. 

The story ends with Dredd apprehending the perpetrator and booking him for vehicle theft, kidnap, assault, possible manslaughter, eighteen other violations and seven traffic offences. Dredd asks the citizen why he ran - after all, he has a clean record, and the citizen tells him he panicked when Dredd called to him. Dredd tells him that he dropped a candy wrapper and that's why he called him, and then is left to muse on the sad cases that should never come before him, and that a crime is no less because someone is a fool.

Another very strong story for Judge Dredd, although the standout character of the piece was the city itself. We got a wonderful insight into how the people of Mega-City 1 live, and I found this to be the main thrust of the story. The chase wasn't given too much attention, and it did feel as though the creators were trying to show as much of the city and how it operated as they could. Dredd still managed to get one of his thoughtful musings in at the end, which brought us back to the actual plot, although I hadn't been too engaged with it until this point. Apart from good images of Dredd gnashing his teeth, my eye mostly lingers on the city laid out in the panels, and the wider panels showing more of the scene were the best. A couple early on set a high standard for this issue, and that standard was matched throughout the story. Beautiful to look at, this week's story pencilled out the world Dredd lives in and makes for a much wider canvas next time for the story to be stretched across. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "One spark here and I've got a riot on my hands. Trouble has got to be stamped on instantly - without mercy - for the people's own good"

Last week Rick Random solved the case of who had been murdering the Guebin delegation onboard the spaceship Columbia. It seems that his work is far from over though, and this week begins with Random telling the others that he thinks a much larger plot is at play. No one has been in touch with their home planet for several days, and when they attempt to communicate they find nothing but radio silence. 

Random tells the Guebins that the murders were merely a diversion for a coup taking place on their home planet, and the Guebins, with Random in tow, make for their planet immediately. 

They arrive to find a battleship blocking their approach to the planet. Jameela sends forth three cruisers, but they are destroyed by the battleship, and Random and the Guebins are forced to think of another approach to Shoya City.

Shoya's three moons are about to come into conjunction, which always confuses the ground-based defence-sensors. This is their chance, and Random leads a commando party of eighteen men down to the planet. They slip through the sensors and arrive at the surface. However, as they exit their ship they find a troop carrier rapidly approaching and they come under attack. 

Although we found out that the murders were part of a bigger story last week, this week's issue failed to pick up the ball and run with it. The story of the coup failed to excite me, and I am waiting for full-time to be blown on this strip. It did have some nice moments on the art side of things, but not enough to make me feel anything for the story. The enemy they are fighting is faceless, and a battleship blasting other ships loses a lot of the impact when we don't know who they are fighting. Many of the characters we previously met were put to one side, and Random's sidekick Vanda has become a mere adornment since the first issue. Next week is the final of this story, and from where I stand I can't see that it's going out on a high. We are going through the motions at this stage, and I'm about as excited to write about it as I was to read it.    

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "It's my guess the murders were just a diversion...to keep you all busy while someone mounted a coup at home!" 

Last week's Strontium Dog climaxed with several monsters rising out of the swamp as Johnny and his friends struggle towards the Black Citadel. The opening panel of this week's story shows these creatures in splendid colour and the story instantly takes on a far more sinister tone. 

Flash Harry quickly falls victim to these creatures, and Johhny resorts to his blaster to keep them at bay. However some tentacles grab him from behind, and he is drawn into the swamp. Trucker Don is powerless to save him, but Johnny still has his electronux and a blow from these frees him from the monster's grip. 

Hauled to the surface, Johnny continues with Don, Gronk and Wulf, across the swamp and up the Mountain of Skulls. The skulls are biting at their feet, and Johnny uses the electronux again to blast a path up the mountain. The swamp creatures are still following them, and they snatch Don, leaving Johnny to cry out about the evil of the world. This brings us to the dramatic final panel of Satan standing before Johnny, telling him that he is the limit. 

Flash Harry certainly didn't last long in the strip, but I can't say I'm saddened by his demise. It did kickstart this issue in grand style and everything from there on was great. Seeing the swamp monsters in colour, and taking out one of the party, was just the opening I wanted to see. It raised the stakes considerably and the use of colour was superb. Things stayed on a high as we saw further peril for the team, and there was again a glimpse of teamwork that gave these characters humanity. There was also the weirdness we have come to expect, and the Skull Mountain was a clever idea well executed on the page. We also saw Johnny Alpha using the electronux which was an expected treat. A different weapon from the blaster we often see, it was utilised twice in the strip, both times looking great on the page and working well in the wider context of the story. The strip ended on an all-time high with the appearance of Satan himself, and although I knew he would eventually appear, it was still an arresting moment on the page. A great issue, and easily my favourite this week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Yes, my friends, there is a limit! I am the limit!"

Future Shocks presents us with a story of two astronauts in distress. A call for help brings an alien worship to their aid. This warship asks what they need and the astronauts worrying about what kind of food might be supplied tell them they need a hand with bread and water. 

A food pod is dropped to them, and the larger alien craft continues on its way. The two astronauts open the food and are happy to receive the bread and water, but upon opening the third capsule they find they have received exactly what they asked for, a plate of hands. 

I'm not sure if I'd call this comedy or horror, but either way, I liked it a lot. I cant say I was surprised by the final twist, although it looked great on the page and was pitched just right. A nice mid-comic jolt, this did everything it had to in a page, and despite its brevity, it was one of the better moments in this week's comic. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Tell them they can give us a hand with just bread and water if they have it. That should be safe enough!"

In his quest to reach the Crystal of Life, Dan Dare is fighting against a half-human monster guard programmed to kill. In the first image, we can see that Dare is struggling in his battle, but the action quickly turns to the others seeking the crystal, namely Hagnar and the Mekon. 

Their tunnelling machine has already entered the inner chamber and as they approach the crystal Hagnar has visions of smashing it to pieces and selling pieces of it across the universe. The Mekon only wants the crystal for himself to save his life, and while Hagnar is gleefully telling his men of his plans, the Mekon slips out of the tunnel and rushes the crystal. 

As Hagnar follows him, the Mekon turns to tell him that he would never join forces with such a witless thug as him. With Hagnar's usefulness over, the Mekon blasts at the cavern's roof, collapsing it on Hagnar and his men. The Mekon is now victorious and free to do as he pleases with the crystal. 

Meanwhile, Dare's fight with the guardian continues. He is making little progress and they are steadily losing men against the beast. One of the Treens has an idea and tells Dare that if they get a powerful energy flow into the power terminal in the guardian's heel, it will overload its circuitry and blow the motor-cells of its brain. 

Dan attempts this, and while Sandor distracts the guardian, Dare sneaks behind. Using his cosmic claw he blasts a powerful beam of energy into the heel. It works, perhaps a little too well, and the strip ends with a massive explosion and Dare caught in the blast. 

This was almost my favourite story in this week's comic. The artwork was fantastic, and only surpassed by the work that had earlier appeared in Judge Dredd. We had several great images of the Mekon and Hagnar, and these moments were the best in the strip. The fight between Dare and the guardian was a step-down. Despite the fight taking place across multiple pages, none of it was as good as what we saw between the Mekon and Hagnar. Several weeks ago I said I preferred the scenes between the Mekon and Hagnar over the scenes with Dan Dare, and sadly that is the case again here. Dare's foes get the best lines, and the most striking images, while Dare struggles to make little progress in overcoming his obstacles. The fact that the guardian has an actual Achilles heel briefly amused me, although I was left with the thought that the writer was being a little too cute. Still, it was relatable, and I know from my own experience I have put clever things in my work for my own amusement as much as anyone else's. If Dan Dare gets the same opportunities to shine on the page as the Mekon and Hagnar I would be much more positive about all of this, but even so, I rate this one high purely on the art and drama that the Mekon brings to it.

Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "He should not have referred to me as a dwarf who floats on a cooking pot! But now--now for the sight that my eyes have craved!" 

Prog 117 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Strontium Dog

Best Line: "My god! Is there no limit to the evil of this world?"

Best Panel:

Prog 116

With Dredd recalling events from the past I almost feel compelled to go back and re-read some of the earlier issues to catch myself up. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to do so, recently I have been time-poor and I'm struggling to even read one comic a week. Imagine going back and telling my twelve-year-old self that, I wouldn't have believed it. My time with the comic this week was short yet just as enjoyable with Dredd opening the door on another strong issue that was capped off by Future Shorts. Time well spent I say, and I hope that next week I have more time to properly enjoy the following issue with a nice cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit.  

Prog 116

9th June 1979 

This week's Judge Dredd feels like a throwback to his earlier stories, helped in no small part by references to events we have already seen. This history is a key driver to the plot, and essential to what unfolds. 

Dredd's niece Vienna, daughter to his brother Rico whom he killed in an earlier issue, has been kidnapped by the electronics genius Harry Carmen. Carmen wants revenge on Dredd for locking him up, and he knows the guilt Dredd feels for killing Vienna's father. 

Dredd attempts a rescue but is caught in an ankle trap and can only look on helplessly as Carman has Vienna strapped to a table beneath a blade. Carmen is confident that Dredd won't kill him, although that isn't the only option available to Dredd and he shoots Carmen with a stun shot. From there Dredd shoots himself free of the trap holding him and completes the rescue of Vienna just as the blade is about to make its fatal swing. 

The story ends with Vienna hugging her uncle, and asking why he killed her father. Dredd gives a satisfactory answer and Vienna leaves happy. However, it's not a happy ending for Dredd as he tells Vienna's caregiver that she must stop Vienna from loving him as someday he will be killed too and he doesn't want Vienna hurt twice. 

There was a lot of talk of the past in this story, something I have glossed over in the plot description. We had a page of Dredd remembering what happened with Rico, and flashbacks to young Vienna and Dredd. It added depth to the story and was a welcome addition. Without the high stakes and family history, this would have been a fairly basic Dredd story, but as it is it was elevated and takes its place in the Dredd canon. I'm not sure that I knew that Dredd's name was Joe, although it must have come up previously. I don't have time to go back now and check, but I am happy to see this sliver of humanity on the page, and in a story where Dredd is referred to as a soulless machine, it gave us a touch of balance. A soulless machine he may be, but his name is Joe. Most of the artwork looked good, with the central pages touching on excellent as we saw a close-up of Dredd's face as he remembered his past. This page was central to the plot, and having the art reaching its pinnacle at the same time, gave the story a strong backbone that carried us through to the finish. I still long for an epic, but this is a great shorter story that was just as essential as the longer tales. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "How can I tell her that it was me who killed her Daddy? Rico, my brother..."

The riddle of the Astral Assassin continues this week for Rick Random, and I have a feeling the title carries the clue we need to crack this case.

Hyro Cardan of the sorcery world tells Random he knows who the killer is, and using his powers he recreates the past, showing Random a scene in which Baron Odana rises from his deathbed. 

Baron Odana is the murderer, faking his own death before killing others. Cardan calls the other Guebins to warn them, but there is no answer from Jameela Rodes and Random and Vanda arrive just as Baron Odana is about to murder her.

Random tackles Odana before he can fire a shot and after a scuffle, Odana escapes. A chase ensues, and Random realises that he can't catch Odana. As Odana makes for the docking bay and an escape ship, Random takes a faster route to the ship's gun. Thus, as Odana flies away from the ship, Random is ready for him and blasts him out of the sky.

Odana may be dead, but Random tells us that the story is far from over, with a war just about to begin. 

Although Random found the murderer and justice was served, this all fell a little flat for me. There was action across every page, and the story moved in leaps and bounds, yet I was untouched by all of it. The characters had no agency, and none of the interesting aspects of the characters were revealed. Random was told who the murderer was rather than discovering for himself, and the final delivery of justice came long range rather than face to face. The rest of the story was a chase and a lot of running down corridors, with only a brief fight punctuating the story. I have been hard on this story the last few weeks. I want it to be better than it is, and I am constantly disappointed by what comes next, and the fact that we still have a couple of issues to go doesn't exactly fill my heart with joy. This could have been a gripping detective story, instead, it feels like a wasted opportunity with empty characters and a plot that drives itself.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Odana! But it can't be! You - you're dead! Oh no! Noooooo!"

Strontium Dog Johnny Alpha and friends are close to exiting Hell, although, with only one ticket to freedom among them, some hard decisions are about to be made. 

A lot of these decisions are made for them as Wulf begins to turn to ice, a side effect of being bitten by a Gargoyle. Only Satan himself can save Wulf now, and Johnny decides to stay in hell and take Wulf to the Black Citadel. Gronk and the trucker Don decide to stay and help, and only Fly's-Eyes Wagner is left to take the ticket to freedom. Johnny ensures that he won't go free, and Fly's-Eyes is beamed into custody in another dimension.

The journey to the Black Citadel begins across the Wailing Swamp. From the swamp hundreds of hands reach up, all crying for freedom. Trucker Don makes the mistake of reaching to help one and is pulled into the swamp, while a new character named Flash Harry is freed. Flash Harry explains to Johnny that's how the swamp works - one comes out and one takes his place.

Johnny is unwilling to accept the status quo, and leaping into the swamp with a knife he frees Don. There is now an extra pair of hands to carry Wulf on the stretcher, and they feel they are making good progress. However, in the final panel, a frightful monster appears from the water and the team is once again in jeopardy. 

Another wonderful issue, and another feast for the eyes. The images of the final peril facing our friends primed us nicely for the next issue and left a strong impression before I turned the page. I enjoyed seeing the comradery build between the characters throughout this issue and the fact that they all decided to stay and help Wulf gave the story some semblance of stability in an ever-changing world. We see this comradery again later in the story as Johnny Alpha leapt into the swamp to save Don, again building the friendship between the four.  Mr Moon and Mr Sun were again standouts, although this week they didn't dominate the story as much as in previous issues. Overall this was well balanced, tied up some of the loose ends from last week, and set us forth on the next stage of the quest, all across six pages. Excellent. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Flash Harry's the name, squire. I won't shake your hands - that's dangerous round here!"

When we last left Dan Dare he was facing the guardian of the crystal. The guardian is a freak of genetic engineering created by scientists, a monstrous blend of living tissue and biotronics.

Although Dare uses the power of the claw and is assisted by Lystrian cadets, the guardian is too strong. The power of the claw is absorbed by the guardian's shield, and Dare is desperate to find a weakness in his foe.

Meanwhile, the Thraxian leader Haganr and the Mekon are still tunnelling towards the crystal from the other side, and the strip ends with them penetrating the inner walls and Hagnar crowing that the crystal of immortality is theirs. 

This was much better than previous weeks as the story tightened its focus. The bulk of the story was filled with Dare and his fight against the guardian. With no distractions and plenty of page time for Dan Dare, this felt much more like a proper Dan Dare story. The powerful guardian is a worthy foe, and I was rather pleased to see that Dan Dares claw weapon couldn't easily defeat it. I was wondering if such a powerful weapon was a good idea in a story such as this, but the balance of the story was restored with the guardian having a shield to repel such attacks. With the fight even there was plenty of time to stretch it across the pages, and the story was stuffed with great images of the struggles against the guardian. The final moment however belonged to Hagnar and the Mekon, and this was a nice catch to bring me back next week. I am desperate to see what happens next, and I haven't had that feeling for a while with Dan Dare. Things bode well for the future.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "So! We have beaten your precious Earthling, Mekon! The crystal of immortality is ours!"

Future Shocks is back, and so is the wonderful artwork of Belardinelli. The story is one familiar to most, Colin Ross prefers sleeping to getting up and as his wife calls at him to get up and ready he instead lies in bed dreaming of fighting alien creatures in fantastic worlds. 

His dream climaxes with him chopping the head of a particularly scary-looking alien, only to be suddenly awoken by his wife. It is then that we see his wife is in fact an alien, one that looks like the one he just dreamed of killing no less, and that Human-Alien marriages are common, but not always happy. 

It's great to see Balardinelli's work back on the pages of 2000 A.D. and he has some good source material to work with. His rendering of the alien life form is scary and I felt a little sick when I saw the final panel - take that as a recommendation. I do wonder if the writer Chris Stevens has a happy home life, he does seem to be working out some issues on the page, but I enjoyed every moment of it. Future Shorts rarely disappoints, and this is just the shock we needed to round out another solid issue.   

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Don't say I didn't warn you! In future you're going to get up when you're told!"  

Prog 116 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Future Shocks

Best Line: "If...if you killed Daddy, the...then you must have had a good reason. I still love you, Uncle Joe."

Best Panel:

Prog 115

This week sees the end of Ro-Busters, a story that has been a favourite of mine since its arrival on these pages. It's a sad farewell although if there's one thing that I have learnt so far reading this comic - something better is always just around the corner. It's hard to imagine what could be better than the consistent Ro-Busters, time will tell, and I'm sure in no time I will be raving about some story or the other, and this will just be a pleasant memory of the past.   

Prog 115

2nd June 1979 

Judge Dredd has his hands full fighting the DNA men created by the scientist Milton D. Frankenstein. It looks as though Dredd will be overwhelmed, but Walter Wobot comes to his rescue, pouring hot coffee over Dredd's assailants. 

With these monsters destroyed by some sharp shooting by Dredd, Dredd's attention turns back to finding the source of these DNA Men. It doesn't take long to discover that the fingerprints of the DNA Men all match each other and Dr Milton D Frankenstein, who Dredd tells us was dismissed from Mega-City University for his dangerous theories on DNA. 

With the pieces all falling into place, Dredd sets out to bring Frankenstein to justice. Meanwhile, Frankenstein is planning on making an escape, and with his first failed clone, Dennis, he is heading for the border. 

Dennis snatches up a pretty girl along the way, although all Frankenstein is worried about is crossing the borderline. Frankenstein crosses the border just as Dredd arrives, and is safe. However, Dennis is on the wrong side of the line, albeit with a hostage. Things take a twist when Dennis tells the girl that he has snatched that he loves her, and she responds that he is ugly.

With this, something snaps in Dennis and he storms across the border to Frankenstin and safety. He doesn't stop there, and we receive another shock as he grabs Frankenstein by the throat. He is angry that Frankenstein has made him ugly, and the saga ends as Dennis and Frankenstein plunge over the side together, Dennis getting his revenge by destroying himself and Frankenstein. 

We are still in a holding pattern with Dredd. These short stories are sharp and touch on all the usual Dredd tropes, yet aren't as rewarding as his epic stories. I liked and enjoyed reading many aspects of this story, yet it was soon forgotten once I put the comic down. I liked the way it twisted the source material and the look and feel of the overall story was strong. My only real complaint would be that the villain wasn't strong enough, although that is probably why this is a shorter story. The final twist was well done and overall the story moved quickly without wasting too much time. In comparison to Dan Dare, which has been moving at a crawl recently, this flew by and was a punchy start to this week's issue. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "W-well, I don't love you! Don't you understand - you're ugly! Ugly! ugly! UGLY!"

Plenty of red herrings and misdirection in this week's Rick Random, as the mystery of who has been killing members of the Guebin delegation deepens.

It looks like Random has locked up the killers, but on the first page, Garon Aldo is murdered with a projectile weapon. This raises a lot of questions and with only four remembers of the Guebin party left Random suspects that one of them is killing the others to gain power. 

The rest of the strip sees Random putting together more clues before the story climaxes with the arrival of Hyro Cardan, who announces that he has a surprise for  Random and that he knows who the murderer is. 

Just like last week, I was again frustrated by this story. It has great characters bogged down in a wordy plot that doesn't seem to advance much. We had a few more clues this week, yet nothing conclusive, and the plot seemed to be little more than Rick Random running from one clue to another. When this story began I expected to like it a lot more than I have, but it has failed to live up to its early promise. A spectacular issue may change my mind - based on what I have seen so far, I doubt one is coming.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Someone murdered Garon Aldo - probably with that air gun!"

In Strontium Dog, Johnny Alpha only needs four tickets for him and his friends to escape hell. The Weerd brothers hold these four tickets, and in the first half of the story, Johnny fights them and gains control of the tickets. 

From there it should be easy enough to escape, but nothing is easy here and as they run for the exit they find Mr Sun and Me Moon playing more tricks, creating earthquakes and opening the ground up to make it difficult. 

Things get worse with the arrival of the Gargoyles. Although Johnny manages to fight them off, he finds himself at the exit as the only one with a ticket, as the Gargoyles have all snatched the others. 

Johnny is no closer to escaping this hell, and I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like once he escapes this place given how much the hellscape is part of the story. The wonderful Mr Sun and Mr Moon were once again integral to the story and the standout characters. Anything is possible when they are on the page and we see this plenty of times throughout the strip. I was unnerved by this world earlier on, but I have become used to it now and it feels like a good fit for Johnny and his friends. The colour pages that open the story added an extra dimension to the artwork and were more colourful than we have previously seen, making the Weerd brothers even weirder than their name suggests. There was plenty of action this week, although some drama behind that action could have elevated it beyond the relatively low score I have bestowed upon it.    

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Look at them run, Mr Sun! So eager with their tickets in their little hands!" 

On the pages of Dan Dare, the Lystrian guerillas attack the Thraxian drill that tunnels toward the Crystal of Life. They look to have the upper hand, but Hagnar, the Thraxian leader, arrives with the Mekon, and between the two of them they repel the attackers. With the Lystrians beating a retreat, Hagnar and the Mekon restart the drill and make for the grotto that houses the Crystal. 

On the city side of the grotto, Dare is also preparing to make a move for the crystal. Cautiously advancing with Sandar at his side, he is wary of the crystal's guardian. He doesn't have long to wait before he sees what he is up against. A  gamma-sphere that acts as the eyes and ears of the guardian appears, and a panel later we see the fearsome creature that Dare must conquer next week.

The cover of this week's 2000 A.D. suggested that we were about to get a direct confrontation between Dan Dare and the Mekon, and although that didn't happen, there was still plenty to recommend this strip. After a stale few weeks things have finally begun to move, and this week we saw Hagnar at his very best, leading from the front with the Mekon by his side. This is still an uneasy alliance, but one that gives us great-looking visuals. The day will come when this axis of evil can no longer hold, and I look forward to seeing the fireworks when these two villains turn on each other. On the Dan Dare side of the story, things didn't move quite as fast, although we ended on a high note with Dare Dan coming across the guardian. The other three-quarters of the strip was given over the Hagnar and the Mekon, which is just as well as they are all the more interesting at the moment. Next week will be Dan Dare's time to shine, and I expect the story will return to his focus now that he encountered a proper enemy face-to-face. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Aye, now hold fast you spawn of a Thraxian she-goat! I'll blast the next man who runs!"

While a ship loaded with Robot refugees makes its escape, Hammer-Stein and Ro-jaws of Ro-Busters are fighting a rear guard action to give them time to escape to space. 

The ship makes a clean escape and the rest of the story focuses on Hammer-Stein, Ro-Jaws, Gottleib and Doc as they fight for survival. All make it back to their ship, The Dart, and with Gottleib again piloting they are soon safe from pursuit.

There is a final round of goodbyes as Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein say goodbye to Gottleib who is returning to his work in the movement. They also say goodbye to Doc, who is off to find Casey.  With false papers, Ro-jaws and Hammer-Stein walk off into the sunset, singing a song, side by side. 

This wasn't how I wanted this to end. After some of the other emotional moments in Ro-Busters, I had expectations of crying as I turned every page, but instead, I found myself reading with a cold indifference as the story went through the motions. For a story always so full of heart, it was strangely lacking this week. There were moments when it felt like the story was trying to be pushed in that direction, but it didn't feel natural and wasn't as effective as some of the previous issues. My final thought was that perhaps this was an issue too long, and we would have been better off finishing last week with our heroes going down a blaze of glory. I have many good memories of Ro-Busters and it was one of the best strips we have seen in 2000 A.D. so far. This final issue won't feature in these good memories, but it doesn't tarnish its legacy and everything was in the right place and we walked away from Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein.    

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Well, whatever we do now, Hammer-Stein... guess we're stuck with each other!"

Prog 115 final ratings:

Overall: 6/10

Best Story: Dan Dare

Best Line: "You have not escaped me, robots! You are machines- and there is only one penalty for machines that rebel...death!"

Best Panel: