Prog 12

 The cover of Prog 12 promises much, and the picture of a menacing Mekon has the comic trembling in my hands with eager anticipation. Like a greedy child, I want to skip straight to the dessert menu, but first I know I have rot eat my vegetables. How many pages of Invasion, Flesh, etc lay between me and The Mekon, I'm not sure, but I know I will have to retrain myself from speed reading the first stories of this issue before I reach Dan Dare and the return of the Mekon. Let the meal commence!  

Prog 12

14 May 1977

It seems that every other Invasion story centres around a form of transport. previously we have seen stores featuring the rail system, aircraft, shipping, and now this week we go underground for a story set in Londons Underground. Spread across four pages, every page seems to have one great panel that captures my attention, and although similar stories have already been told in Invasion, I read apace. The Volgans are using the tube system to ship victims to a liquidation camp, but Bill and his resistance fighters are about to put paid to that. After warning the local Eel n Pie stall to avoid the area the next day, Bil Savage and his team fight for control of a train, before using it as a weapon to blow up the death camp. A relatively straightforward story, it doesn't cover any new ground but does give a chance for the Bill Savage character to shine. As always, the art has a real-life grit to it, and the action scenes are gripping yet realistic. Not the most avant-garde work, but always a dependable start to the comic.      

Rating: 5.5/10

Best Line:  "Nearly there- they say smoking can damage your health - as the Volgs are about to find out!"

The siege of the base continues in Flesh this week, and we have now reached the third day of the siege.  Reagan continues to argue with the controller, who it turns out has been feeding rotten meat to the dinosaurs, inflaming their appetites. This comes to a head as the dinosaurs charge the laser fence and break their way into the compound. It takes all available manpower to repel the attack, and things are set up for the next stage of the story as things are left with only one night-watchman on duty. As the spiders who were lurking under the base rise to the surface, he is their first victim and we are left in the balance as promises of a spider rampage are in our future. Last week was all about the slow build, this week we have the action come to the fore and we have plenty of lasers and dinosaurs for those that lust for such things. I was far more a fan of the previous issue and its tensions, but still, I'm happy with the way the story is heading this week, and the final panel of a giant spider eating the watchman will most probably give me nightmares tonight. Take that as a recommendation.        

 Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "The Controllers mad, Joe! All he cares about is stuffing Dinosaurs into the fleshdozers! I'd like to stuff him down one..only his heads too big!" 

Although Harlem Heroes begins with the image of cyborg Gruber, the rest of the story centres around their forthcoming match against the Flying Scotsmen, a team consisting of the toughest men from Aberdeen Scotland. Aberdeen has seen the boom and bust of an oil economy and from the now empty towns comes a team of hardened ex-oil men. Most of this week's issue s given over to the story of the team the Harlem Heroes will be facing, and apart from a spiky first encounter with one of the opposition players, very little happens. However, a lot of groundwork is laid down for the next issue, and as always there's enough there to make next week's issue essential. For me, the highlight, however, was the modern history of Scotland, a now independent country that prospered in the oil-rich 1980s before a later decline. It adds an extra spice to the story and I am happy to see that future Scottish fans are just as passionate as the ones in current times. 

 Rating: 5.5/10

Best line: "Well, you can buzz off again, Jock!" 

Well, here we are - Dan Dare and the promised appearance of Mekon.  I rated last week's issue highly, but this one immediately tops it as Dan arrives in a futuristic London. There is a lot to enjoy on the first page, and before I dive deeply into the story I take some time to appreciate all the little details on this page. Once we get to the story itself there is just as much to recommend it with the appearance of several new characters, all of who provide something different to the story. First Dan encounters Rok, from the planet Wolf-4. Rok is a wolf-type creature who feeds on raw meat. After trying to eat Dan, he then realizes who he has in front of him and offers him a job as a navigator on his ship. Dan accepts, hoping to get to the galactic rim and discover who masterminded the Biogs invasion. We leave Dan and Rok behind and meet two other new characters. First, on a prison ship, we are introduced to Mekon who is just impressive here as he is on the front cover. He then travels to Verath where we meet the Two of Verath, a mutant made of two bodies, both of whom are evil. This is a fantastic character,  one is clever and the other barbaric. Paired with Mekon, the future for Dan looks like it will be filled with the most amazing villains. This bodes well for next week's issue, and even if Dan and Mekon haven't met yet, everything is in place for the future. Not a dynamic issue this week, but plenty to like about it, and worth it just for the introduction of all these new characters.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "No mutt's lunching off Dan Dare!"  

M.A.C.H. 1 falls back onto the old USA vs Great Britain rivalry in this issue, as John Probe is at a NATO base to see the new American weapon, a laser tank that doesn't need ammunition. Things go astray as the tank is taken over by enemy agents who use it to attack the visiting Generals. John detects that it targets metal objects, so strips down to only his underway to take out the threat. I'm pleased that we don't have another kidnapping, or rescue story this week, and it's refreshing to see John Probe take on an enemy head to head. Plenty of action and good use of his abilities make this story a winner for me, and doing it all on his underway adds to the sense of humor that pervades this entire comic. I haven't always been a fan of M.A.C.H. 1 but the last two issues have been great 

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Gotta strip for action!" 

"The war with the Robots grows worse minute by minute. Thousands are dead. Citizens are advised to stay indoors - the judges are handling the situation." - what a start to Judge Dredd. Last week was just the beginning, and this issue the Robot wars continues, with plenty of losses for the judges. With the arrival of the heavy metal kids, large industrial robots, Dredd and his colleagues are up against it. Dredd comes to the rescue, literally riding rings around them and leaving them to destroy the road beneath them before they plunge to their death a mile below. The story is good, and the humor as always is top-notch. Especially the final page as Dredd returns home to his Italian housekeeper who insists on making him minestrone. Not as good as last week's issue, but still each page is worth exploring, and as always Dredd dominates every panel he appears in. Hard to put down, this ends the issue on another high.    

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "March, march, into the fight, we'll crush the fleshy ones tonight! Call-Me-Kenneth says it's right, for slaves to kill their masters!" 

Prog 12 final ratings:

Overall: 6/10

Best Story: Mach 1 

Best Line: "Get off, woman! I'm going after Call-me-Kenneth!"

Best Panel: