Prog 20

Out with the old and in with the new as they say. Last week we bid a fond farewell to Flesh, and this week I'm looking forward to meeting its replacement story. I can't even begin to imagine what the writers of 2000AD have in store for us, so it is with eager anticipation that I open this week's comic. 

Prog 20

9 July 1977

I don't have long to wait to see the replacement for Flesh as the issue jump-starts with the latest thrill - Shako. Already it has my attention with the heading "Shako! The Eskimo word for the Great White Bear. It means simply...Killer!" Okay, that's enough, I'm sold on it already. If the next few pages can live up to the opening then I'm going to be one very happy boy. Good news - the next few pages do indeed live up to this opening. A great white bear crosses paths with a crashed aircraft, a capsule to be recovered from the bear, and a group of men sent out is dispensed with. It all happens quickly, and I do love these stories of man versus beast. The panels in which Shako encounters men are the best, and I slow down my reading with every panel in which this happens. Shako looks like a humdinger from the start and as much as I loved Flesh, this looks like it may be just as good. Early days still, but the artwork appeals to my eye, and the final panel of Fulmuth and Buck Dollar preparing to go out and get Shako means I will definitely be back for more of this.     

 Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "Lousy fools! Get a plane, Dobie. No crummy bear gets the best of the C.I.A.!" 

For all of the excitement in this week's Invasion, I just don't the same kick out of it as I usually do. There are several panels of excellent art that I could easily come back to, but the story isn't as gripping as I've come to expect. It is a letdown, especially with the art looking explosive this week. Bill Savage and his men encounter Volgans on bikes, and after dealing with some Volgans in a cafe, Bill finds himself caught up in a net of Volgan riders. Some old pals of his come to his rescue on their bikes, making for the excitement in the story but without a real investment or payoff. The artwork carries the day for me and salvages this week's edition, and one can only hope that next week the story matches the artwork. Invasion has delivered plenty of times before, and I'm confident that I will enjoy next week's edition much more. 

Rating: 6/10

Best Line:  "Coming up, Volgs- bacon, beans- and buckshot!"

We've been on a roll recently with Harlem Heroes, and this week's is another doozy. Artie Gruber remains at the centre of all the action, which is great as his ugly mug makes for some splendid panels. We also have Louis reappear for the Harlem Heroes, which as far as the story goes is a welcome return. The story itself continues forward with the Heroes fighting among themselves until Louis arrives, his brain flying in on a self-propelled unit. It looks futuristic and sci-fi, which I like seeing on these pages. His arrival calms the players, and soon enough they trick Gruber into revealing himself. Thus, with a bomb in hand, Gruber threatens them all in the last panel, rounding out a short, but very worthwhile, addition to the ongoing story. Harlem Heroes was sagging a little early on, but these last few weeks it has greatly gone up in my estimation, and I find this week another worthy addition to the story. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best line: "And what do I find when I come to demonstrate my new toy? The proud, heroic sportsmen of Harlem brawling like alley-cats!"

Dan Dare is a story of two halves this week. The first half is great, Dan Dare trying to pilot an alien ship and let the fleet know that he's not the enemy. This he achieves by using the engine to send a morse code signal, which luckily one old spacer recognises. This is the high point of the story for me, and unfortunately, it goes downhill from here. The second half of the story deals with once he meets with the federation as they take an aircraft to the surface of the planet where the Two of Verath have been taken. With Dan Dare and company facing Big Brother Killer Robots armed with flame guns, their quest to reach the Two of Verath before the bomb is set off seems hopeless. Of course, this is par for the course for Dan Dare, but it lacks the thrilling edge of the other stories, and I'm beginning to feel we've seen something similar before. Here's hoping that the forthcoming action will once again raise the story to previous heights, but this week's edition feels like a filler.  

 Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Cremate...cremate...cremate..."  

Did the writers of M.A.C.H. 1, recently have a holiday in Japan? last time out we have John Probe fighting a Japanese soldier still fighting World War Two, and this week he is in Japan, defending the British Prime Minister from Japanese terrorists. At first, the story doesn't thrill me, and the first pages where John Probe saves the Prime Minister's life, and fights the head of the Japanese Anti-terrorist department are predictable and don't show anything we haven't seen before. However, things get much better later in the story when John is in trouble and it is the head of the Anti-terrorist department that does all the fighting and saves his life. It's an excellent reversal, and I enjoy the story for this unpredictable move. There are weeks where the story could have been lifted from any action film of the 70s or 80s, but little twists like this make all the difference, and even though it's a small thing it lifts the story above most of the others in this issue. The first half was average, but with this second part of the story, it gets a couple of extra points from me.    

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Hang on, Probe, now it's Khan's turn. I'll show you what I can do..." 

Judge Dredd plays directly to me and my interests this week. In a story that we would now call meta, Judge Dredd is smashing an illegal comics ring trading old comics. In a fairly straightforward way Judge Dredd gets his man before in the final page we find out that the comics being traded are a comic called 2000AD from the twentieth century. It is all too clever but never becomes smug, and I think the balance is just right with the 2000AD reveal only coming at the end, although I'm sure most readers saw this coming before we reached that point. The idea is better than the story itself, and there isn't quite enough meat on the bones for it to be as fleshed out as I would like, but it is certainly most enjoyable, and I can appreciate it with the need for it to be earth-shatteringly important. Once again, it's the humour behind it all that comes through brightest, and it's another great ending to the world's greatest comic. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "That's a good one! You tow oughta try out for fibber's playtime!" 

Prog 20 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Harlem Heroes

Best Line: "Fantastic stuff! No wonder those lawbreakers were charging a fortune for it!"

Best Panel:

Prog 19

A funny old week here, for most of the week I haven't had the time or energy to even think about what awaits me in Prog 19. I have woken today feeling rejuvenated, and now as the sun warms the outside world I am in my happiest of places with a cup of tea in one hand and the Prog in the other. Good times ahead, let's dive on in.  

Prog 19

2 July 1977

I get a kick out of the first panel of Invasion as it gives a historical nod to World War Two.  We see the V1 built by slave labour, only in this case it's not the V1 rocket, but rather the V1 highway, a high military highway covering Britain from North to South. I am immediately put in mind of Hitler building the autobahn in another reference to World War Two. I assume the V in V1 stands for Volgan, which I find clever and a nice touch. Last week I wrote of the anti-establishment feel of this story, and the comic in general, and that is once again central to the story here as Bill Savage connects with an underground resistance base manned by British soldiers. The angle is played up as Savage bumps up hard against army discipline, and the first half of the story mostly deals with this interaction before things come to a head and Bill assaults an office before heading out in search of some real action. This action he finds is the slaves building the V1, and Savages unleashes some of his frustrations on the Volgans, freeing the slaves and wiping out the Volgans using their own road-building equipment. I don't enjoy this as much as I should, it seems a little too on the nose, but another sip of my tea, a long breath, and I am back on board as Bill returns to the resistance base to collect his things, including the Brigadier's map, and some of his men. I like the idea of Savage leading a small band of men around Britain and in this last panel, I briefly consider him a Robin Hood-type character, fighting for those that can't fight for themselves. How this will play out, I haven't a clue, but there is just enough in this story to keep me on the hook for another week. 

Rating: 6/10

Best Line:  "Fair enough, Brig - you stay down here among the worms. I'm goin' up to keep the war goin'!"

"The morning after feeling! For seven days and nights the flesh eaters had rampaged through the trans-time base... gorging themselves. Now, their bellies full of human and animal flesh, they lay around...sleeping it off!"

What a great opening for the final episode of Flesh this week. I had forgotten that this final was upon us, and although I love the story this week, I turn the pages slowly and with a heavy heart knowing that this is the end. but, what an ending it is. After destroying the humans, and their base, Old One-eye staggers off to die. We follow her on this final journey. It is a journey of several days, and despite a couple of obstacles, she finally makes it to the Tyrannsoaurs' Graveyard. It is an impressive sight, and Old One-eye's final moments are beautifully captured. If this was the end, I would be more than satisfied, but there is one final twist that elevates this story further. Sixty-five million years later Old One-eyes fossil is discovered, dug out, and displayed at the Natural History Museum. The scientists are baffled by the human bones found within the skeleton, something that simply cannot be given that humans didn't exist at the time of dinosaurs, at least to their knowledge. The most dismissive of these scientists is Professor Gizzard, who hosts a dinner party within the skeleton itself. After delivering a rebuttal against the thought of man versus dinosaur he finds him trapped in the teeth of the skeleton where he becomes the final victim of Old One-eye. The comic works hard to reach this conclusion, that is quite a bit of work to set up this final scenario, but the payoff is great, and the captions of each panel make the story what it is and add a lot of weight to what otherwise could have been flimsy dialogue from the characters. Flesh has been a wild ride, and was the first strip that I brought into in 2000AD. This is a fitting ending, and one of the best of its run. The dinosaurs themselves have always been the main part of the story, and I am very pleased that we finish with Old one-eye rather than a human character.       

 Rating: 9/10

Best Line: "Children like to think of monsters and men fighting each other, but it's rubbish! This Tyrannosaur could never kill a man!" 

I enjoyed last week's Harlem Heroes immensely; this week's issue is a solid follow-up. With Artie Gruber wreaking havoc on the field, we left the last issue with a contact mine thrown towards Giant. We don't have to wait long to see the outcome of this in a dramatic first page and Giant leaves the ball for substitute Dale, who is immediately blown to bits. This ratchets up the on-field violence, and the Harlem Heroes prove themselves just as adept at playing hardball as the Gargoyles. We see several dangerous plays, all to the Heroes advantage, and once again I am finally won over by this on-field action. It looks great and propels the story forward while keeping it all about the team. Ginat is the moral compass of the story, and as he tries to keep his team on the straight and narrow tempers begin to fray, leading to disunity in the tea, disunity that the mystery man behind all their troubles is happy to see. Plenty of action, and with the gears of the bigger story continuing to revolve, this makes for a highly enjoyable few pages. 

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Quit buggin' me, Giant-- Or I'll lay one on you! " 

I like that in the first panels we see Dan Dare doing what he does best - flying a spaceship. As Rok points out, he is truly a great pilot. These first pages look good and capture what Dan Dare the pilot is all about as he expertly navigates his way through a rapidly closing door and tunnel to excite the hollow planet. It certainly is thrilling action, but the real danger comes in the following pages and every panel the Mekon appears in. As Rok and Dare scan the ship's memory banks they discover the Mekon's master plan to turn the Two of Verath into a living bomb to be captured and taken into the Galactic Council. I like how quickly this outlines the story to come, and brings the reader right into the story without drawing it out page after page. The rest of the story moves quickly, while we read what the plan is, the Mekon is already enacting it, and in the final panels, the Two of Verath are captured, while Mekon destroys the ship's memory banks, leaving Rok and Dare in an alien ship with no means of communicating with the federation. While not quite as good as previous issues, a lot of the story was laid out in this issue, and I think the next few weeks as it plays out will well be worth the ride.  

 Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Did I kill him? Probably not..he has the luck of ten thousand devils...!"  

Phosphate mining in M.A.C.H. 1, how topical.  M.A.C.H. 1 is ahead of its time in these first panels. However, I am reminded of the era it was written in a few panels later as a Japanese soldier is referred to as a "Nip," something my Japanese wife would be horrified by if she knew. Racist terms aside, this is a great issue of M.A.C.H. 1 as Simon Probes humanity battles his computerized self over the next few pages. Sent to an island to take care of a Japanese soldier still fighting the war 35 years on, M.A.C.H. 1 is not only fighting a man who is only doing his duty, much like himself but also representing big business as they turn an island paradise into a hell on earth. This makes for some internal conflict and a battle that Probe must win while fighting to do the right thing. The fight itself is surprisingly even, although Probe does eventually win, he doesn't kill the man, deciding that he did no wrong and was only following his patriotic duty.  However, in a war comic cliche, the Japanese soldier takes his own life, leaving Probe to ponder what it was all for. It's moments like this that lift this week's issue above some of the more awkward and cliched moments, and even though it's far from perfect I find myself reasonably happy with what I have just read. 

 Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "Okay, maybe I should have stopped him - but what happened only men would understand. Not a soulless computer" 

John Cooper handles the art in this week's Judge Dredd and his style is immediately recognisable in one of the first panels as some muggers assault a man in the street. This is a snappy issue of Judge Dredd, and the story is sleek and straight to the point, much like the artwork. A clean story, it tells two stories - one of the muggers that Dredd deals with by a seek heating bullet and the second half where he deals with the person who witnessed the crime but didn't stop to help. This is where we learn about how pollution-free Mega City-1 is as Dredd takes down his man for polluting the streets with his petrol-burning vehicle. It still has its sense of humor, I like that the man he pulls over has no criminal record, is named Nixon, and Dredd can only nail him with a pollution charge. This story has aged well, and one could easily imagine it being written today. The change in the artwork is refreshing, and the story itself is finely turned, making for a slightly different Dredd than I am used to, but one well worth reading. I don't think we could call this classic Dredd, but I enjoy it just as much.  

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "Bright Moon tonight - a muggers moon! I'm going to have a busy night!" 

Prog 19 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Flesh

Best Line: "It doesn't matter how you make our city dirty - pollute the air or leave a guy to die- the law will clean you out!"

Best Panel:

Prog 18

 Things are hotting up in the Prog, but it is freezing outside here. Far too cold to even contemplate going outside, so I am just going to cozy up on the couch with a pile of comics and a nice strong brew of tea. Hardly the most exciting lifestyle, but I know what I love, and right now I'm loving the Prog. I've had an entrée of some other comics of the time, but now I'm onto my second brew and ready for six shots of thrilling stories. 

Prog 18

25 June 1977

I am immediately warmed by the Invasion story this week. The very first panel is full of motion and fluidity as Bill Savage brings the heat to the invading Volgans. Once again we are in the world of Bill Savage, a world of cutting dialogue and thrilling action. The action, in this case, is Bill seizing control of a lorry of food belonging to the Volgan army and using it to feed the locals. The first two lines of Bill are entirely fitting of both his character and the Invasion story, as he first calls his men into action, before distributing the food to those that need it.  Every story needs a good villain, and this week Bill is up against Sload, an ex-detective formerly of the flying squad now working for the Volgans. I enjoy this angle, and it fits with the anti-establishment feeling I get from 2000AD. Intentional or not, every issue seems to push back on the establishment, and it is something that attracts me to the comic. Bill Savage doesn't take kindly to authority figures, on his side or not, and having a former policeman as an antagonist works well in the world of Invasion. This bend copper puts his villainous credentials on the table from the start as leans on one of his pre-war informers to find the resistance headquarters. In a nice touch, we see the man limping and with a sign that he was injured in the invasion. Little details like this add to the feeling and realness of the world, and the story becomes more authentic through such panels. Bill has a sidekick in this issue, as he meets a mechanic named Rogan who tells him what he has seen of Sload. Once again I am struck by the thought that this is very much a working-class resistance and by extension a working-class lead story, two things which I applaud.  The story reaches its climax soon after this as the Volgans arrive at the Isle of Dogs leaving Bill and Rogan to lead the escape. This is where all the action is as Rogan tunes up the vehicles and Savage smashes his way out of the trap in a big rig. It's impressive on the page, and perhaps the highlight of the story. The final page is a slight come down, as they switch to cars, and Rogan sacrifices himself to take out Sload. It sounds dramatic, but there doesn't seem to be any need for it, it doesn't add to the story, and we don't know Rogan well enough for this sacrifice to pay off emotionally. I am intrigued by the final panel. Previously I had written of how London-centric the story was, and indeed that London was almost like another character, but in the final panel this week Bill Savage ends with the line "We've made London too hot for ourselves - reckon it's time we warmed up the rest of the country." This opens up a lot of possibilities and although I don't know where they will go from here, I do know that I'll be going with them.     

Rating: 8.5/10

Best Line:  "Steam in and hit 'em lads! This grub's gonna fill British bellies!"

The penultimate episode of Flesh this week, and it is every bit as good as you might expect. The body horror of the previous issue is carried over as we see the Tyrannosaur with its three human heads throughout the first page. In a clever panel, one of the guards gives us a recap and explanation, neatly bringing us up to date and laying the groundwork for what comes. With the genetic codes between the dinosaur and the three men it was eating mixed up, we get this obscene genetic mutation. Being 1977, this is probably too early to be viewed as a statement about genetic modification, but it did give me pause to consider it. My horror at the thought of what has happened to the men is matched by the look on their faces, and I am almost relieved when I read that they can only live a few minutes. Luckily, they are put out of their misery as the guards open fire on their dinosaur body, sparing them of what no doubt would have been an agonising death. The captions across these panels, and the dialogue of those watching on, add to the horror of the situation and offers some poignancy for the men and their predicament. They aren't the only ones to meet such a sad fate, as we learn the Claw Carver is lost in time, with his gold, and facing a living death as he's stuck in the time void, unable to spend his ill-gotten gains. It's a grim story all around, as Reagan himself is about to face the curiously named judgement machine for his part in the debacle, and the inevitable long prison sentence that will follow. This story has always been about the dinosaurs as much as the humans, perhaps more so in some aspects, so I am pleased to see the final panel features Old-One Eye going off to face her destiny in what promises to be a thrilling final installment. This wasn't the most action-filled episode, but there was plenty happening as we saw each character's arc coming to an end, with plenty to mull over in the words as much as the images. The final promise of next week's issue makes this again one of the best.   

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best Line: "You were one of the leaders, Reagan- so you must take a share of the blame, you'll face the judgement machine" 

My faith in Harlem Heroes is restored this week with a cracking issue. The artwork on the first page grabs my attention, but it's the story within that keeps me feverishly reading as the Heroes battle it out with the Gargoyle team and their nemesis Gruber. The first panels promise much, as Gruber's internal monologue lets us know what he has in store for Giant and the team, and the game itself takes a hand on the next page as he is thwarted by the ball itself. Even better, in his attempt to hurt Giant, he manages to take out one of his own players, sending him crashing to the ground. Usually, I'm not overly fussed by the game itself, but it is well woven into the story here and one just can't ignore what's going on as it becomes an integral part of Gruber's plan and the Heroes' responses. Giant is saved by the ball knocking him out of the way for Grubers first attack, but on the next page, the ball becomes a weapon as Gruber strikes Chico in the face with it, sending him crashing into the score tank. At this point of the story, it is made clear how serious this threat is, and how serious the game is, as Chico is pronounced dead on the scene. On the final page, we see the game again becoming the main driver of the action, as Gruber plants a mine of the ball before sending it to Giant in the page-turning final panel. This sets things up for next week, and for the first time in a while, I can't wait to see what comes next. The artwork in Harlem Heroes is always good, but this week it is matched with some great storytelling, and with three stories down this is already looking like a superb issue of 2000AD         

 Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "And now you know why aeroball is the toughest game in the world! One of the Gargoyles is headed for the junk-yard and a Hero is destined for the morgue! Yet they're still playing on! " 

The drama of Dan Dare and Rok falling into a pit at the end of last week's issue is swiftly undone as they reach the bottom of the pit where they are saved by a forcefield. It seems too easy, but I'm happy to see where the story goes from here as Dan and Rok are confronted by the Two of Verath who follow them down. The force field element is brought into play as Dan uses it in his fight against them, and this pacified me as I am glad to see that it isn't just a convenient way to finish last week's cliffhanger and is an integral part of the world. the rest of the story moves quickly, especially compared to the first page, and by the end we have seen a confrontation with the Mekin, a desperate run to the ship, and consequently an escape from the hollow world, leaving us alone with the Mekon and the Two of Verath for the promise of a full reveal of the Mekons plans in the next issue. This week feels like a stepping stone issue,m, and after enjoying the last few weeks immensely, this week I am more circumspect in my praise. The artwork remains top-notch, but the story is hit and miss this week, making for a patchy entry into the canon. It's enjoyable, but not the full-blooded episode I have come to expect, making this a lean meal in the issue. 

 Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Shoot it down! I don't care how many of you die trying - I will have Dare killed!"  

I am beginning to feel that I have seen all these M.A.C.H. 1 stories before. This week we have a South American president in peril in a high rise, a gang of terrorists led by an evil German, and Simon Probe conveniently nearby when it all happens. If there was a M.A.C.H. 1 bingo card, then I think I've won this week's prize. I guess there is only so much you can do with a story like M.A.C.H. 1 but to the creator's credit, it is well done and I still enjoy it despite the feeling that there's nothing new here. the story itself plays out how you might expect, with John Probe first taking out the death squad coming from above, before switching his attention to those coming from the ground floor. There are several instances of his unique abilities coming into play, the terrorists using a flame thrower on him as he gains access to the building, John using a steam pipe to take out some of the terrorists, and an exhilarating slide down elevator cables that burns his hands. It's all a lot of fun, and I can't take it too seriously. I just go along for the ride, and in this case, it delivers exactly what I expect.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "President Arranga is an alley of Britain. Gotta save him! " 

Now that Call-Me-Kenneth and the robot wars have finished, we face a clean slate with this week's  Judge Dredd. It is an interesting turn and we are back to a humorous one-shot type story as we saw in the earlier Progs. I am pleased to see the familiar faces of Dredds landlady, Maria, and Walter the robot are still in his company as the story begins at his apartment. The story centres around Brainblooms, they grow like flowers but can imitate any known sound. Ilegal in Mega-City 1, Judge Dredd is on a quest to find who is supplying them, a quest that leads him to bio-criminal Ma Mahaffy, one hundred years old and still committing crimes. The most interesting part of the story follows, as Dredd is hypnotized by the singing blooms, declaring Ma Mahaffy innocent, and then almost taking his own life in a vehicle accident. All interesting choices and I am surprised to see his suicide attempt in a comic of the time, I appreciate it's there and it certainly adds an edge to the comic. This accident snaps Dredd out of this hypnotism, and he returns with a team of fellow Judges to defeat Ma Mahaffy with riot foam. It feels like a lot happens in these four pages, and I must admit that the first time I read it I felt it was slight, but after reading it a couple more times I can see there's a lot more to it than I initially thought. Any story that gets better with each reading is a bonus for me, and I do rate this higher now than I did an hour ago when I first read it. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "If you had any real brains, Ma, you'd know by now that crime doesn't pay. But I guess you'll never learn- if you live to be two hundred!" 

Prog 18 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Flesh

Best Line: "Meals on wheels time, Granny! If anyone asks where it came from - say it fell off the back of a lorry!"

Best Panel:

Prog 17

I am beginning to understand the cult of 2000AD. Each week it gets better and better, and every week I embrace the stories more and more. The best thing is that I know that best is still to come and I've barely scratched the surface with the reading so far. With so much to look forward to I find the weeks fly by as I have something to look forward to every Sunday afternoon - my half hour alone with the Prog. A small heaven, but I'll take it. 

Prog 17

18 June 1977

I hate dirty Volgs. Bill Savage hates dirty Volgs. Bill Savage loves killing dirty Volgs, and I love watching Bill Savage kill dirty Volgs. So, with great joy, every issue begins with Invasion and Bill's war against the Volgan invaders. The ever-familiar London is almost another character as the story begins with the Volgans running a slave market in Petticoat Lane. With Bill watching carefully we all know what's going to happen and enlisting the help of an Eastend pickpocket called 'Fingers' Frampton, Bill formulates a plan. The plan is simple enough, but it is well executed, and Frampton pickpockets one of the Volgs for the keys so Bill can get to work freeing the slaves. Although Fingers Frampton is shot dead on the spot, we learn in the final panel that he had radiation sickness and wouldn't have survived anyway. After the freeing of the slaves, the story is a string of actions and events, as Bill and the ex-slaves deal with the Volgs in a variety of ways, including crushing an armored car with a wrecking ball. It's grim, gritty, and a heck of a lot of fun, and even though there is a layer of London grime over the story, Bill's character shines through. His dialogue lifts the story and coupled with the splendid art for the action scenes this is another fine installment in Bill's seemingly never-ending fight. 

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "Don't worry, Mister Savage. I 'dipped' dozens of mugs here before the invasion!"

Flesh features on the cover this week with an image that intrigued me from the start. But first, I have to deal with the first panel of the story within the issue, and once again I am condemned to having nightmares for the next few evenings as we see an enormous spider advancing on the prone Reagan. This is exactly what I expect to see, and I'm not the least bit disappointed by this week's installment. Stakes are high as Reagan's first words tell us everything we need to know about the previous issue "The spider's poison is running in my veins..now he's waiting for me to die"  However, there is an old boy scout trick for every occasion, and I am delighted to see that Reagan remembered that he could the venom from his wound. Things look up from here, although I still have Reagan giving me the heebie-jeebies one last time as he says he can smell the spider's hot breath, that is until he plunges his knife through its head in a panel that would have had the twelve-year-old me yelling in delight. Still plenty more to come in the story, and I'm pleased to see Carver doesn't disappoint as a villain as Reagan confronts him as he loads stolen bullion into a time shuttle. The best part of the story is in these final pages, as the time shuttles are beamed into the future, along with the dinosaurs that are scrambling on the time shuttles. Finally, the creepy cover page is explained as we see the dinosaurs arrive in the future, with human heads as they got mixed up in the time machine. Horrific, yet strangely amusing. I don't know whether to be horrified or burst out laughing, but this seems to me to be what 2000AD does best, mix humour with the dark fantasy world they create. I'm still new to the comic, but I'm beginning to understand a little of the cult following it has, and I'm sure there'll be plenty more to come. 

 Rating: 7.5/10

Best Line: "Oh no! Johnson, Mills, and Shepard have got mixed up with a Tyrannosaur in the time machine!" 

I still haven't formed a strong opinion about Harlem Heroes. Week after week it makes promises that it never quite lives up to. I don't know how popular it is in the 2000AD universe, but I'm still trying to warm up to it. This week it opens with the first line of "Here come da Bogeymen!" which should get my blood flowing, and I'm briefly curious. The story this week focused on the game as we see the Gargoyle team of androids take on the Harlem heroes. With Gruber in with the Gargoyles, I expect to see plenty of life and death action, yet very little happens as the game unfolds much like any other game. It's only in the final panel that we see Gruber preparing to make his move. Another week where I feel we're building to something but we never quite get there. The final panel isn't quite the cliffhanger needed to get me rushing out to get the next issue to see what happens, and as much as I enjoy the artwork, this is another episode that I can't get a handle on.   

 Rating: 5/10

Best line: "He ain't..the only...one who's gonna...lose his head!" 

All week I have been thinking about Dan Dare and the flesh-eating maggots. This week delivers from the start with a two-page spread that highlights the peril Dan Dare is in, the evil mind of Mekon, and the stupendous art in general. Last week's story also had a fantastic spread, and each week the creators outdo themselves with the story. I want to find out how Dan gets out of this one, but I want to look at the art one last time before I turn the page... Phew, I sure am glad I turned the page because the action heats up and from here on in it's helter-skelter all the way. Rok frees Dan and gives the best line of the story (see below). It's all backed with dynamic artwork that captures every detail and conveys a sense of movement. As the fight spills across the next few pages, the Mekon is temporarily thrown to the ground, before Dan, O'Grady, and Rok find themselves almost free. This is not a comic for the faint-hearted, and O'Grady shows his weakness as he turns back to surrender, only to be served up some comic book justice as he's dispatched by a toppling statue. I am hanging on every word, every line, of the story, and as the final panel shows Dan Dare and Rok leaping into a pit I know next week will be just as thrilling. In a comic filled with thrills, this is the high point of the week for me and will be the first story I turn to next week.     

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "On my planet, we consider the margoz a delicacy. Try some..=chomp=.. they're delicious!"  

This week's M.A.C.H. 1 would make an excellent 80s movie, and to be honest I'm pretty sure I've seen it under a variety of guises. A downed plane, some nuclear weapons, an opposing force after the same goal, and snowy mountains, it reads like a treatment for a Sylvester Stallone film. It's not Stallone who's sent in to save the nuclear missiles though, it's our very own comic hero, John Probe. He's not alone though, this is a tough mission and he's accompanied by the SAS. The SAS were everywhere in the late 70s and 80s, every TV show, movie, or comic seemed to have the SAS in it, but seeing them in action here one wonders why as they come up against stiff opposition, and it's John Probe who saves the day again and again. He does have a worthy opponent, and the story hinges on his conflict with the leader of the eastern force.  It's all deeply familiar, but that works to the story's favor as the story is sketched out quickly across these tropes. I shouldn't like it, but I do, and it almost reads like a guilty pleasure. I'm not always a fan of M.A.C.H. 1 but this week was fast and fun, and before I know it I am spat out at the feet of the following Judge Dredd story. 

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "One man did that...? Half my unit is dead...? " 

Oh, that's right, Call-Me-Kenneth is still on the loose as Judge Dredd seeks to end the robot war. One wonders how much damage one stray robot could cause, but we learn soon enough as Call-Me-Kenneth battles his way to the oil depot. I have been reading this story for several weeks now, but the name Call-Me-Kenneth still makes me laugh. I love that such an innocuous name could be bestowed on an arch-villain who has brought war to Megacity-1. The first panel of the story is beautiful, a lovely fluid image of Call-Me-Kenneth fighting fleshy ones as he hunts for oil. This superb image is matched by an equally epic panel on the following page as Dredd astride his lawmaster surveys the oil depot. It gives a sense of scale, and yet again builds Megacity-1 in my mind to truly a megacity. The battle itself is over quicker than I expect, after exchanging shots, Dredd is caught in an oil gush that puts him on the back foot. Not everything is quite as it seems, and Dredd sets the oil on fire, condemning Call-Me-Kenneth to a fiery end. Not the climactic ending I expected, but I am pleased to see Call-Me-Kenneth get his just dessert, and I am kind of pleased I won't have to type Call-Me-Kenneth week after week anymore. With a couple of pages to spare, the rest of the story we see the good robots receive their rewards, including Walter the lisping orbit, who gets his freedom. However, it seems a life of freedom isn't for him, and by the end he is back at Dredds apartment, pledging to serve him, much to the chagrin of Dredds long-suffering cleaning lady, Maria. Indeed, the life of a judge is a tough one, and although the robot wars are over, it seems Dredd still has plenty more trials and tribulations ahead of him. I am pleased to see the story resolved, but I can't help but think that I will miss Call-Me-Kenneth over the coming weeks. For the first time since I started reading, he felt like a proper villain, with no sense of morality, an army at his command, and a leader who lead from the front. With hundreds of issues ahead of me, I'm sure there will be other characters and stores that will come forward, but for now, Robot wars is the benchmark by which I will judge all Dredd stories.    

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line:  "I wish I got a pleasure circuit!" 

Prog 17 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Dan Dare 

Best Line: "The spider's poison running through my veins...now it's waiting for me to die!"

Best Panel: