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: