Prog 11

 I'm having a crisis of confidence. I looked at Twitter last week and realized how knowledgeable and deeply passionate fans of 2000 A.D. are. And me? Well, I'm just a nobody reading these comics for the first time with no knowledge or sense of the history I'm reading. For me, these are still just stories, very good ones, no doubt, but I haven't lived and breathed them a life time like some folks out there. This blog is a ten-year project so I'm sure that will change, but for now, I'm just a babe in the woods, far from home, and looking for a story of a brighter future to cling to. 

Prog 11

7 May 1977

I longed for Invasion to get out of second gear, and following last week's excellent start, the longer story arc continues to accelerate this week. The dogs hunting Bill Savage and the rescued prisoner weave in and out of the busy traffic of the main storyline, before the final straight has them coming back for the win. Early on Bill realizes the dogs are attracted to the scent of blood implanted in the prisoner's clothing, and after crashing the escape vehicle and then ploughing into a Volgan hovercraft, he uses the prisoner's clothing to set the dogs upon the Volgan pursuers. The opening page is dominated by a single image of the dogs on the hunt, which left me thinking that perhaps the following pages we would be short-changed, but there is plenty more crammed into the next three pages and I am struck again by how well balanced the story is. This is not the flashiest story of the issue, but it gets us off to a fast start for the rest of the prog. 

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "We'll never outrun them, we're doomed on Dartmoor!"

Things reached a flashpoint in Flesh last week, and this time out it is a more soothing edition of my favourite Dinosaur-time-traveling story. This week is like on action but instead focuses on building tension for future issues. This is done wonderfully as we meet the Controller who shows us the layout of the base and its defences before the next pages concentrate on the massing Dinosaurs just beyond the perimeter fence. Like a Hitchcockian thriller, each page cranks up the tension, and I can hardly wait for the release next week when it all kicks off. Nothing happens in the story this week, but it is gripping throughout and has me in admiration of the writer's skill.     

  Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Nonsense Reagan, how can the Dinosaurs break into my base? I'm too clever for them. My brain is huge, but a dinosaur's brain is the size of a kitten's!" 

I thought we had seen the last of Call-Me-Kenneth in last week's Judge Dredd but he is back this week and better than ever. last week was great, and yet I find this week even better, The artwork has gone up a notch, and Dredd resigning on the first page is a great setup for his return later in the issue, and then the final panel of him leading the judges into war. In between, we get some nice artwork as Call-Me-Kenneth is restored and then inspires the robots of MegaCity-1 to join him against the Fleshy ones. This is the Dredd I had hoped for and seeing his story come to life on the page is the highlight of Prog 11 for me.  The story concept, artwork, and dialogue are all of the highest quality, and with this issue, I'm beginning to understand the cult of those that follow 2000 A.D. And the best thing? This is all just set up for the next issue!   

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best line:  "Fleshy scum! You have given Graham your last order!" 

Dan Dare always has the best opening panels, with its two-page spread and colour, it immediately draws me into its world. Last week I gushed about the art, and it would be easy to do so again this week. The story further evolves this week as Monday's sacrifice into the sun destroys the Biog's fleet with an eye-catching opening page spread.  Strangely beautiful, I don't want to turn the page, and when I finally do I am rewarded with the setup for the next story as back at base Dan Dare faces the consequences of his actions. But the best part of the story, at least for me, is the final panel that, like Judge Dredd, has me positively salivating about what next week might hold. The words "its name.. Mekon" is enough for me to know that this blog will be continuing for some time.      

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "You've got no rank, no ship, no job...what will you do?"  

A Top Gear challenge this week in M.A.C.H. 1 as John Probe drives 1,289 miles across Europe in twelve hours. My modern-day thought of a Top Gear challenge saps the energy from the story, and I regret that it crossed my mind. I can't help but read John Probe's voice in a Jeremy Clarkson drone that spoils what otherwise would be a cracking story. For the record, John Probe outdoes Clarkson, not only fighting off gunmen on bikes but also taking his car in a smashing jump through a train before fixing it with his bare hands in 30 minutes. Top Gear aside, I actually find this an enjoyable entry in the M.A.C.H. 1 canon and I am tempted to call it one of the best so far. I'm always a sucker for a good route map and a car stunt.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "You've got to travel 1,289 miles in twelve hours...bad weather rules out planes or helicopters. So there's only one other way..." 

Oh, that's right when we last left the Harlem Heroes Cyborg Gruber was seemingly cornered after trying to kill Giant. That doesn't last long this week, as in a dramatic panel he punches out Sammy before busting his way out of the aerodome. The rest of the story sees the game continue, although it carries little interest to me the reader after the dramas of the first page. However, the final panels see the characters once again grab the story by the scruff of the neck as Giant speaks down the TV camera confronting the mysterious villain. Every story this week has had a fantastic final few panels, and Harlem Heroes is no exception. Although the story lagged during the game itself, this final page has enough of a hook that I found myself already wondering where we will go next with this. A solid entry, and one that builds to the future.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Gruber make mess of Sammy..." 

Prog 11 final ratings:

Overall: 8/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd 

Best Line: "Call-me-Kenneth will never behave again, Fleshy one!"

Best Panel: