Prog 21

 Prog 20 felt like a milestone I should have celebrated. I chose not to celebrate this occasion as I am well aware of the enormity of the task ahead of me. There will be time enough for celebrating as we cross each centennial, but for now, the first twenty issues are merely the first steps in my journey. As I always, I believe in looking to the future, a strange thing to say considering I'm reading comics from 45 years ago, and it is with this thought in mind I plunge ahead into Prog 21.

Prog 21

16 July 1977

Invasion left me feeling hollow last week, but I'm happy to report that this week I'm back onboard and completely engaged with the story presented. It would be easy for Invasion to become cliché-filled and the fodder of standard war comics, but it remains a cut above with inventive storylines and characters. This week we have the dirty Vogans shooting prisoner in the manner of clay pigeon shooting, and you know that Bill Savage just isn't going to stand for that. Using using good old English clay, he infiltrates the Volgans manor house by muddying out the cameras, before using the clay again to disguise his men as statues. It is this twist that is central to the story, along with the manor house itself which offers up another opportunity for Savage's inventiveness as he calls upon a suit of armour to trick the Volgans. There's plenty to enjoy in these pages, and the set pieces provide some fitting artwork that captures the action perfectly and makes for compelling reading. There have been some average issues recently, but this issue sees Invasion return to top form with a cracking story and art that I rate highly.  

Rating: 8/10

Best Line:  "That's right, Volg- Uncle Bill's payin' a visit to your stately home!"

Shako reminds me a lot of old comics from the 1950s. Back then there were far more comics about man verse beast, and as an action story for boys there is plenty that the genre can deliver. I enjoyed meeting Shako last week, and this week we get more of the same with Falmuth arriving to capture Shako, and the capsule he has, while Shako continues to do what big bears do - eat and survive. We don't get as much blood and carnage as last week, but what we do get counts just as much as Shako defends himself. With Jimbo his main opponent this week, we get to see the psychological effect that the attacks on man have, as Jimbo drinks heavily throughout the story before a drunken, and eventually bloody, encounter with Shako. Like Invasion before it, there are some fabulous panels of action, and even though the story doesn't move particularly quickly, it is very well paced and the artwork carries the weight of the storytelling. Shako is still new to me, but he has certainly made his mark as I gobble up every word and line of the action. Any panel of the story would be worthy of mention, and I think there comes no higher recommendation than that. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Ahh! The yogi's got his *hic* teeth grinding into my tootsie!" 

Harlem Heroes is a flat spot this week. That's not to say that it's bad, but it doesn't reach the heights it has in the last few weeks. The match between the Harlem Heroes and Gorgons Gargoyles has eventually run out of steam, and last weeks cliff hanger of Gruber holding a bomb is quickly wrapped up with a well-timed throw from Zack. Gruber's disguise is revealed, leaving the Gargoyles to seek revenge upon Gruber, who seemingly comes to an end in the fight. It's not the epic finish one might expect for a villain, and indeed it proves not to be the finish of him at all as the mastermind behind all these schemes against the Heroes resurrects him. This feels like another stepping stone issue, as we end the match against the Gargoyles and look forward to the next issue and a match against the Bushido Blades in Tokyo. I am curious to see how Tokyo is represented in this story, having spent a lot of time there myself, and if the artwork is as good as this issue then we will be in for a treat. This week started strongly and finished strongly, so even though it was flat there is still plenty to keep me interested in the coming weeks.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "..I just don't get it, Giant! How could that shattered schmuck just get up and walk away?"

Dan Dare takes an unexpected twist this week and is all the better for it. These comics are at their best when they cover new ground, and as the story escalates I am pleasantly surprised to find that things are not what I thought. After battling off giant robots to get to the Galactic Council to report the danger the Two of Verath present, Dan Dare is informed that Chairman Lo-Han is already well aware of the Mekon's plan, and is not the least bit worried. The matter is already in hand and he is planning for the Two of Verath to escape and return to the Mekon. As most people would, Dan Dare feels used and foolish for the efforts he made, and this gets worse by the end of the story as the Two of Verath escape upon a ship, a ship that Dan and Rok then board as well. The Chairman is informed, but again he sees it all as part of a master plan, the Two of Verath and Dan Dare will take care of the Mekon forever. I love where this story is going, with a bigger picture emerging and strings being pulled behind the scenes. Before it was the artwork doing all the heavy lifting, but now the story is beginning to come to the fore, and things are getting more interesting with every turn of the page. If it continues like this I will be more than happy to blog about it for as long as it takes.

 Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Living tissue target - 2 metres ahead. The flame gun will cremate target...cremate..."  

This week M.A.C.H. 1 draws inspiration from Howard Hughes, with John Probe's antagonist being Harold Howes, an eccentric multi-millionaire living in terror of the outside world. In his quest to prolong his life he is drawing energy from an array of athletes, who have sold themselves to him. It brings into question the morality of people willingly selling themselves, and I can't help but think of professional footballers as a useful analogy. With the Harold Howes character and this thought in my head, I find the story intriguing and rooted in something all too familiar, which makes Probe's interaction with his own computer all the more interesting. The action itself is par for the course, and there is very little in the way of surprise as Probe deals with his nemesis. It is the characters themselves that keep this story on track, and I rate it highly for both the characters and the world they are set in. An unusual M.A.C.H. 1 but a very good one. This is proving to be a strong issue throughout, and M.A.C.H. 1 holds up its part of the comic. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "I bought you all, I own you! Kill him!" 

As I started reading Judge Dredd I was initially disappointed. The first page seemed too straight forward and I felt I knew exactly where the story was going. As it turned out, I was right, but Judge Dredd had a twist in the tail that contained both the cleverness of the strip and the humour, making me fall in love with it all over again. Starting with a solar gun, and Dredd heading for the Weather Congress, the story writes itself, but once Dredd has confronted the villain named Gorilla the final twist takes hold with Gorilla taking the place of a monkey and being launched in a rocket to the sun. At this point, the story all falls into place, and I can't help but laugh at the cleverness of the writer, both with the villain's name, and his final fate. In some of the earlier issues, the humour was slightly off, but here it is sharpened to a well-honed point, and the darkness of Dredd's world is lit by this humour, and of course the solar gun. Not quite top shelf, but close enough for me.    

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line:  "Outamyway punks - I want the solar sniper!" 

Prog 21 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Dan Dare

Best Line: "By stomm! The rocket's lifted off with Gorilla inside instead of the Chimp!"

Best Panel: