Prog 16

Prog 16 has a great cover, and I already feel ten years old and filled with anticipation when I see it. The first sixteen Progs have seen a variety of covers, and all of them have done their job, filling me with expectations and excitement. And even better, the stories within have lived up to the promise of the cover. With that in mind, Prog 16 looks like it will be another thrilling ride.

Prog 16

11 June 1977

Invasion starts the issue with a man-hunt storyline. The Volgans have brought in a bounty hunter, an Aussie called Quarry, to pursue and kill Bill Savage. The story is as expected, after several near misses, and a battle spilling over several pages, Bill is victorious as he tricks Quarry into driving over a cliff-edge and into, wait for it, a quarry. Very clever stuff from the writers, maybe too clever. It did seem like a lot of setup for a wordplay punch line, but this is exactly what I want to see, and I can't help but smile at the joke. Once again, Invasion delivers a strong start to the issue, and Bill Savage's battle against the Volgans continues to hold my attention. The dialogue doesn't feel as fresh as when I first started, but the stories are still well told, with a good balance between character and action which I enjoy so much. 

Rating: 6/10

Best Line:  "Didn't get your quarry this time, Bounty Hunter. It got you!"

Phew, Flesh is intense this week. With Reagan taking on Old One Eye, we are reaching the climax, and the page is filled with intense rage. The look on Reagan's face as he stabs his electric goad into the dinosaur is reminiscent of Ahab and his obsession with Moby Dick, and this tale is every bit as profound as man battles beast. There is no conclusive outcome, Old One Eye throws Reagan off, but it is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire, as he lands on a spider's web, and seconds later is injected with poisonous venom from one of the enormous spiders. I shall not sleep well tonight. Elsewhere, Old One Eye exacts revenge on the Controller, biting his legs and throwing him aside. A grim end for this week's issue, and I see nothing but doom in the next issue based on all that has happened here. It is a very real horror story, one cannot imagine the pain of being eaten alive, and several of the panels are quite chilling. Not necessarily a story I want to read, but a story I must read. I can't wait to see how things play out in next week's issue.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "Get off me you furry nightmare!" 

There is a pause in the action for Harlem Heroes this week as the story sets up for what will be coming up in the following issues. Facing a gruesome set of characters that make up the team Gorgons Gargoyles, we learn that this team is made up of androids, and the surgeons that have put them together have down a Frankenstein-type job judging by their crude appearances. There is further danger ahead with the reappearance of Guber. He has undergone surgery and now looks like a dead ringer for the leader of Gorgons gargoyles, the leader he soon dispatches with, planning to take his place in the match. There is revenge, and death, on his mind as he appears in the gargoyle's dressing room in the final panels. The art captures this mutant team well, but the story itself doesn't contain much action. However, it is a necessary step as we build the foundation for what comes next, I can in no way fault it for that. It's a placeholder, but not bad for it.   

 Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Looks like they mislaid some of the pieces!" 

Dan Dare, has an inventive style on the first page, running the other way across the centre spread as it tells its story in portrait rather than landscape. Still in the clutches of the Mekon, things are particularly grim for Dan this week as he faces interrogation by the blob. the blob is exactly what it sounds like, an alien that is a blob-like creature that clings to Dan's head and sucks his memories out. Highly unpleasant judging by the panels I see. Things get worse from here after the interrogation reveals that this Dan Dare is the same Dan Dare the Mekon is familiar with from the past, Dan is about to be put to death by the Margoz, semi-intelligent worm-like creatures that will eat Dan piece by piece while keeping him alive. Great, another reason why I won't be able to sleep tonight. The writers are really torturing me this week. But that's what I'm here for, and I enjoy squirming uncomfortably as I read. The story is continuing to be inventive, and the art week is as enthralling as ever, and it's hard not to fall in love with this story a little more every week. Another strong entry in the Dan Dare canon, a shame I won't be able to sleep between now and the next issue. 

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Fangs of my father! I cannot let them do this to my comrade..!"  

M.A.C.H. 1 is featured on the front cover, and the excitement of seeing the Capitol Building rising out of the sea as a weapon is matched by the story within. We are thrown into the deep end, as John Probe, on board an SR1 Blackbird, flies over the Devil's triangle (think Bermuda triangle) only to find himself attacked by this building as it rises from the sea.  Plucked from the sea he meets his nemesis early on, one Adolph Kemper, yet another in the long line of villains with a secret lair, in this case, a copy of the Capitol Building hidden under the sea. The story starts strongly, with this undersea lair and an evil-looking villain, but the second half of the story is its weakness. After confronting and beating some henchmen, John is face to face with Adolph Kember who brings his electron weapon to bear upon him. However, he is thwarted as John pulls a conveniently placed mirror from the way and reflects it back to Adolph, killing him. It all seems too easy, and convenient, and I do feel cheated by these final pages. However, the first pages were excellent, with some top-notch art and action, which just about tips the balance of the story to positive. This week is a drop from last week's excellent episode, but it still has plenty to like in it, and it was good enough for the front cover.       

 Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "Holy mackerel, Probe! Either somebody moved Washington, or I'm going crazy! Coming out of the water...it's the Capitol building! " 

Judge Dredd doesn't quite live up to what was promised in the last issue, but it comes close. We left Call-Me-Kenneth and his maniacal robot cronies on the steps of the hall of justice preparing to bring their own justice to the humans. This week we have Judge Dredd flying a sky-bus to Atmosphere control, a space station that controls all weather over Mega-City 1. Dredd's plan is simple, change the weather control and let an electrical storm of 7 million megavolts loose on the robots below. Things in the space station aren't so simple though, and Dredd must override the computer, something he achieves by wiring in Walter, the lisping robot, to short out the override computer. With the electrical storm raging, the brains of the robots are scrambled and they begin to attack each other, the battle is won, and seemingly also the war. It is Dredd who delivers the warning in the final panel, Call-Me-Kenneth is still alive somewhere and the final showdown is still to come. This story never reaches the previous heights, but the final colour page is eye-catching and lingers in my mind after I've put the comic down, which is always a good sign. I have a good feeling about the story, and any thoughts that it could be better are banished by the prospect of next week's issue.   

 Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "Smash! Crash! Bash! Mash! Come and get it, human trash!" 

Prog 16 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Dan Dare 

Best Line: "My buddy Joe's dead..it's almost over! Old One Eye's over there...it started with just the two of us..and that's how it's gonna end"

Best Panel:

Prog 15

 Time slipped away from me. I missed one week because I had too much on, and the next thing you know I am here three weeks later trying to catch up. These stories had me eager with anticipation, and now I'm trying to recall what happened in the last issue. However, a quick read of Prog 14 has got me back up to speed and I'm ready to take the plunge into Prog 15. Let's go!   d

Prog 15

4 June 1977

We are still at the Doomsdale Nuclear research centre in Invasion as the resistance prepares to destroy the station. The plan is simple enough, the Brigadier and two other men will approach the entrance dressed as Volgans and bluff their way in. A good enough plan, but sadly it doesn't come off as a suspicious Voldgans yells an order in English which the men respond to, giving themselves away. At this, Bill swings into action, vaulting over the Brigadier and into the station. It's all action here on in as he seizes a large truck of acid, and smashes it into the reactor plant wall, spilling its contents everywhere, before making his escape into the sea. Back at the resistance safe house, the rest of the team is about to give up hope on him, when he suddenly appears, concluding another action-packed episode of Invasion. Although not as good as the previous issues, the story still has plenty going for it, and as I have missed the last couple of weeks, I was pleased to have the story back in my hands, seemingly fresher after the break I had taken. The story still has a lot of potential, and although I don't feel like we advanced a lot this week, I have high hopes for the coming months.

Rating: 6/10

Best Line:  "they've blown it - even with the fancy dress! You lot stay put and cover us!"

Hell is unleashed in Flesh as the dinosaurs finally storm the base. Page after page the carnage unfolds as all manner of monsters wreak havoc. The opening splash page sets the scene, with two huge Dinosaurs leading the charge. From here on in the story is mostly Dinosaurs smashing and eating as much as they can, until Reagan and Claw Carver make an escape with the Controller. The final panels hook us in for next week as Reagan promises to end it with Old One Eye in a final reckoning. This week it is all about the art, and we have some amazing panels as the dinosaurs rampage. I could read this three times and still be finding new things to delight in. The story temporarily takes a back seat to all this excitement, but with a final reckoning on the horizon, things bode well for the next issue.  Not the best Flesh issue so far, but certainly the most eye-catching.    

 Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "I don't believe it - they're even driving cars now!" 

I was wondering how the sudden death playoff would play out in  Harlem Heroes and I'm not disappointed in how things eventuate in this issue. With one-on-one combat deciding the victor, Zack is drawn to take on Red Macardle to fly and fight until a sudden-death strike is scored or one of them begs for mercy. It lies up to expectations with Red Macardle playing dirty and tough as the game becomes a brawl. Just as it looks as Zack is about to beg for mercy, he surprises Macardle with a head butt and goes on to score the winning goal. An enjoyable romp, and it seems plenty more is in store for next week with the return of Gruber. While I'm not overly fussed about the on-field action, I do enjoy it this time around and find the conclusion of the story rewarding. The artwork is sharp, and combined with the excitement of the game I rate this issue perhaps higher than I should    

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Famous last words, Jock!" 

Every week I praise the art in Dan Dare, but this week it is the dialogue that grabs all the headlines and the inventive storyline behind it. As Dan crash lands on a strange planet, we enter a new phase of the story. All the crew members are killed, except Dan, Rok, and Captain O'Grady. Dan and the Captain are trapped in the wreckage, but Rok uses a blade of charged atomic particles to cut them out. It is here that we have some great banter between Dan and Rok, and this repartee will continue throughout the issue. At the centre of the planet, The Mekon detects the crash landing and sends a search party to the surface to kill all survivors.  The three survivors fight off the search party, however, one escapes and brings back reinforcements that lead to the capture of all three. Brough t before The Mekon, Dan worries that he may recognize him, but feels reassured by the fact that several centuries have passed. However, it is a false up as O'Grady tells the Mekon Dan's name, and all are led away for further interrogation. All in all, it's excellent stuff, and I devour every word on the page. As I said earlier, it's always the art that grabs me, but here every word carries humour or weight to it, and I make sure I don't miss a single line. Hopefully, it continues like this for the next few weeks. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best line: "We are the only three left alive D.D.! If I didn't have to keep this helmet on, I could award the dead crewmen the great honour of eating their bodies!"  

This is the strangest M.A.C.H. 1 so far, and I would say the best. John Probe is sent to the mountain Kingdom Of Bepal (no great stretch of the imagination required to work out where that might be) to speak to a survivor of an invisible attack. The survivor tells of being threatened with an invisible death when he refused to smuggle opium on behalf of the Bepal ruler, Kivu Lama. John meets the Kivu Lama, and after a bit of sleuthing discovers how the opium smuggling operates. After evading capture by the Kivu Lama, John finds himself confronted by two Yetis- the very creatures that deliver invisible death. John manages to kill one of them, but the other escapes and takes revenge on the Kivu Lama. I enjoyed this story from start to finish; it avoided many of the cliches of previous stories, and it was good to see John Probe take on something more mysterious. A couple of good action scenes in the middle of the story kept things moving, and I found it to be the best M.A.C.H. 1 story I have read up until now.  If they were all like this, I would be very happy indeed.     

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "Invisible Death? Poppycock! It just goes to show how primitive these people are!" 

Judge Dredd and the robot war continues, and just like last week things have ratcheted up further. Dredd may have escaped his shackles, but things are still looking dire. With the help of Walter, they assemble a ragtag band of robots. With limited options, they grab control of the factory and reprogram the computer to produce a line of Robots that serve humans. After a confrontation between the two opposing forces of Robots, a fight breaks out as Dredd swings into action. The battle is won as the rebel robots are smashed to bits, but the war is far from over as Call-Me-Kenneth appears on the video screen, his squad of heavy metal kids on the steps of the Grand Hall of Justice where they are about to liquidate every Judge. A grim ending indeed, and the final words "more next week" have me drooling. What a way to finish the issue, and although it didn't reach the same heights as last week, the story remains the flag bearer of 2000AD. With the cast of characters expanding, and the robots finding new ways to threaten and destroy, I can see this evolving for some time yet, and I intend on reading every issue of it.   

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "Freeze, you walking soup cans!" 

Prog 15 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Dan Dare 

Best Line: "You and the other wobots...heck! You've got me at it now!"

Best Panel: