Prog 24

2000AD is slowly evolving, and this week is another stepping stone to the future. With Dan Dare wrapped up, we have a placeholder strip, Tharg and the Intruder, to tide us over until the arrival of Future Shocks next week. Some of the other stories are starting to look a little tired, and I wonder how much longer we'll be reading them before they too are replaced. I shouldn't wish the future upon myself so quick, especially at my age, but I do look forward to future developments and how this comic will look in another year's time. 

Prog 24

6 August 1977

Invasion returns to 1999 after last week's odd time stamp of 1994. Once again we are in 1999 and Bill Savage is facing down the Volgan invasion forces. Through his binoculars, he observes the Volgan man-seeking missiles in action, and in a familiar scene, the local resistance men of the Scottish border want to take immediate action. We have seen this type of story several times already, and despite knowing how this will pan out it is still an enjoyable read as Bill uses the local landscape to deal with the Volgans while delivering some of his best lines. After the local resistance men fail in their attack against the Volgans, Bill looks to the past to deal with the situation. Using parts of Hadrian's wall (look away now archaeologists) he uses them in a Roman-style catapult to stage his own missile attack on the Volgans. Despite all the fine action and dynamic art, Bill's final line in the strip is the highlight. The whole story fits his clever pun and final image, making for an extremely satisfying end to the strip. 

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "Yeah, the writings on the wall for the rest of them dirty Volgs. We're out to beat 'em on both sides of the border!"

We have a large eye-catching panel opening Harlem Heroes as Louis infiltrates the mind of Ulysses Cord. I was hoping this would be the main thrust of the story, and a step towards a final resolution, but Louis retreats from his infiltration, saying that it confirms his suspicions, yet offering up no more information. Feeling cheated, I read on as we see the second half of the game against the Bushido Blades. Unable to match them in brutality, the Heroes outsmart them with a series of maneuvres that leaves the Bushido Blades severely depleted and unable to counter their attacks. The strip ends with the Harlem Heroes next opponent, and the winner of the other semi-final, about to be announced. Although I was disappointed with the first part of the story, I enjoyed the second half well enough, and overall came away feeling pretty good about what I read. The future bodes well as next week we see who their opponent is for the final, and no doubt more will be revealed about Ulysses Cord. It feels as if we are nearing the end of this story, and I'm intrigued to see how it all shakes out. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "B-by Shinto!"

I thought the opening panel of Harlem Heroes was eye-catching, but M.A.C.H. 1. is even better with its unforgettable image of a man being forced to swallow molten gold. It's a fantastic start; the caption is bright and lively and echoes my thoughts about what I'm seeing. The rest of the story is formulaic but does contain the usual great action we have come to expect from M.A.C.H. 1. as well as the clever ending. John Probe infiltrates the smuggler's gang, gets taken prisoner, confronts the villain, fights the henchmen, and gives his opponent his just desserts in an appropriate manner, in this case throwing him into the molten gold. This episode doesn't feel as heavy as previous stories, despite the graphic violence, and at times is quite a romp. I prefer this story to some of the earlier cold war type stories, and overall I found it to be just the tonic after a heavy week at work.     

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Better look for a new job, Jacko, Karat isn't working in this line anymore-he's taken the golden handshake!"   

Tharg And The Intruder is a placeholder this week until the arrival of a new strip next week. It works as an introduction to the arrival of Future Shocks next week, as Tharg gives a youngster a tour of King's Reach tower, before showing him the type of content that awaits us next week - "Stories and images so strong that you will only be able to bear one minute's exposure to them" It looks promising and although this story is a throwaway it hypes me up for what we will be seeing in the next issue

Rating: 4/10

Best line: "Next Prog I will expose all you Earthlets out there to my strange stories "Future Shocks" - I have gathered in my galactic wanderings! Splundig vur thrigg!"

There is a peaceful start to Shako but it doesn't last long and soon enough the story is dominated by Shako battling two men. On a delightful first page, we see Shako in a family way with a female and a couple of cubs. However, by midstory both the cubs and female are dead and Shako is on the war path for revenge, Over the next three pages with see Shako claw, beat and maim the two men responsible, culminating in one having his head bit off and the other buried alive in the ice. It's grim, but I cheer on Shako with every turn of the page, and there is nothing better than seeing his fury unleashed on the hapless humans. Brutal and bloody, but strangely compelling and once again one of the best stories in this week's issue. 

Rating: 9/10

Best Line: "He's burying me alive!" 

Another top-notch Judge Dredd story this week, with dynamic and fluid art throughout, matched with a clever storyline. The story revolves around the wreath killers, a series of murders that the judges have so far been unable to solve. However, some sleuthing by Judge Dredd soon has us careening towards a final showdown with a couple of ambulance drivers as they carry out their next murder. As good as the story is, I can not get past the art and how brilliant it is on every page. Panel after panel catches my eye, and I could pick any one of them as a favourite. There is Dredd on his Lawmaster, Dredd crouching in dramatic poses, Dredd fighting the villains, all of it eye-catching and worth lingering upon. If Shako hadn't been so brilliant this week, this final Judge Dredd strip would have dominated the panel of the week with any number of the images within. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "He's gotta find that killer soon- or he won't deserve the name of Judge!" 

Prog 24 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Shako

Best Line: "Time for sleepies, big boy!"

Best Panel: