Prog 31

 24th September 1977 I had just turned four years old, reading comics was still in my future, as was the concept of blogging about them on the internet. Yet here we are, I'm all grown up and reading comics daily, and thanks to modern tech I'm able to share my humble Prog Slog with anyone who might stumble across it. Living in the future isn't quite like the comics, it's both better and worse, but I'm pleased to have stuck around long enough to experience some of the highs and lows as the pages of the calendar slip by. So today, back to reading a comic from forty-five years ago. Four-year-old me wouldn't have appreciated it, by rapidly-approaching-fifty me sure does.

Prog 31

24 September 1977

One of the things I like best about Invasion is the way the writers plant a seed on the first page, and then follow through with it to give us a nice circular story by the time we come to the end. In this case, it is the Volgans speaking about Savage as a hunted animal, a theme that will thread its way through the story before paying off on the final pages. With Bill Savage and Silk trudging through the snow of the highlands the story is chilled, but things warm up soon enough as they come to an abandoned ski lodge. This is the perfect location for the action that propels the story in the next couple of pages as Bill defeats Volgan snow troops with a variety of implements that are close to hand. It's always fun to see him adapt to his surroundings and use the environment around him, and I take particular delight in seeing him skewering a couple of Volgans with ski poles, not pleasant but it is an image that sticks in the mind after reading. With a Volgan snowcat arriving at the scene, we are all ready for a final set piece that will tie a bow to all of this. Bill and Silk watch on as the Snowcat ploughs into the building, only for the Volgans to be attacked by some Highland Wildcats which have made the lodge their home. Thus the theme of hunted wild animals is complete, along with the nicely worked pun of the Volgan snowcat being attacked by wildcats. All I can do is applaud this cleverness, something that appeals to me immensely. I don't rate the action quite so highly, there were some sweet spots as I mentioned, but this week wasn't crammed full of action as we have seen some other weeks. Overall it is good, but never quite great.    

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "They're our own British cats, Volg! Highland Wildcats!"

My feelings about Judge Dredd are mixed. It has some fantastic panels (the final one in particular) and the story is well told, but overall I get the feeling we have seen this all before in different forms. The story comes across to me as a Judge Dredd remix, rather than something truly original. For all that though, it is not bad.  We have a recurring character from Prog 2, Whitey, who is plotting his escape from prison. With the aid of another prisoner, he manages to turn off the Mega-City weather controller, something we came across in an earlier story, and the city is brought to a halt by snow, something the citizens haven't seen for decades. The rest of the story is about Dredd battling the elements and Whitey, before the inevitable conclusion which sees the lawman triumph. We see Dredd use his brains and brawn throughout the story, and the snow-filled panels add an extra layer of drama to the tale. This week's story was always going to live in the shadow of last week's 10/10, but it is good enough in its own right without ever crossing over to essential reading. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "We programmed a hot sunny day- but whoever is jamming us has programmed snow!" 

Shako picks up considerably this week, and the pages are alive with action. With Shako creating havoc on the Soviet ship in his search for food, the story at first appears to be another devoted to Shako devouring humans in a variety of colourful ways. However, it's not to be, and after an initial page of such panels, the story spreads its wings with the KGB taking a hand and knocking Shako unconscious, before the Americans make a surprise entrance and steal Shako away on their helicopters. This isn't the end of the matter and on the final page, the Soviets shoot the helicopter out of the sky, leaving Shako heading to the seabed and possibly a watery grave. This story is much brighter and faster-paced than the previous week, and with a range of characters steering the action, it isn't as two-dimensional as some other issues. It's not the best Shako episode I have read, but it does up the tempo and opens the way for more thrilling action in the coming weeks. It feels like we have turned the corner, and I'm enthralled by this new direction that had previously been hinted at but never followed up on. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best Line: "And this here is an American bear. We're just recovering our stolen property!" 

Reading last week's Dan Dare I made mention of Star Trek, and I'm going to do so again here as the plot in this issue could well have been drawn directly from Captain Kirk's Captain's log. Dan Dare and his crew land on a planet inhabited by what looks like Ancient Romans. They are a peaceful people and request that Dan and his crew forgo all weapons, which the begrudging do. Things aren't quite what they seem, and after a welcome banquet Dan Dare finds two of his crew members killed, their hearts ripped out of their chests. Noticing his hosts have fangs, Dan realizes that he could be next on the menu, an event we will have to wait until next week to see unfold. Despite the thought that the writer had been watching reruns of Star Trek when writing this, I can't help but like it. If you're going to be inspired by old TV shows then what better inspiration than Star Trek. I enjoy this issue immensely. One could say it's corny or over the top, but surely that's what this is all about, and I wallow in every panel showing Ancient Romans and fanged foes. Odd that I faulted Dredd for retreading old ground, but I delight in seeing old tropes dredged up for Dan Dare. Perhaps that's because I value Dredd for its innovation, but from Dan Dare I just want to see a good old-fashioned adventure romp. Next week promises to be a corker, and I certainly want to see how Dan is going to extract himself from this situation.      

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "No wonder they don't need fighting weapons..they've all got fangs!"

M.A.C.H. 1. is getting wild. We last left John Probe in the woods with a crashed UFO on one side and a team of crazed lumberjacks on the other. From here it could go either way but it's the lumberjacks who make the first play - attempting to kill John Probe. The next few pages practically write and draw themselves as Probe fights them off in a variety of situations and with a smorgasbord of weapons, before the lead lumberjack, Dutch, comes to a gruesome end with his own chainsaw. I don't want to sound bloodthirsty, but this is one of the best panels of the story as are the preceding three for four, and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a villain get their just desserts from their own weapon. Satisfied, I turn the page to see all attention directed to the UFO which now takes centre stage off the story. Firing laser beams in all directions, it takes out the remaining lumberjacks, although luckily enough not John Probe or Billy (Phew!)- some guys have all the luck. Sending Billy for Help, Probe enters the UFO and the story shifts again. The interior design is how I imagine every UFO to look, and the artist doesn't fail me in his interpretation of "UFO Int."  The story begins its wrap for the week here, as Probe discovers some organic material, just as a signal is sent from the UFO, calling four more craft to the area. It's hard to guess where we might go from here, right now it seems anything is possible. Perhaps John Probe will be carried into space, or maybe he'll fight them off, it's hard to say, but that's the beauty of this story right now. Nothing is predictable, and each week I turn the page never knowing what I will find next. M.A.C.H.1. is on quite a run and matches anything else in the comic recently. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "You mean this white stuff could be all that's left of the U.F.O. crew?"

Tharg's Future Shocks is slightly longer this week. With these stories, it is all about the final twist and although I like this story, it doesn't slap me in the face with its final panel the same way as previous instalments have. Earth is overcrowded, but there is hope as an offer goes out to resettle on a paradise planet. Crowds swarm to take up the offer, but Jed Orville is determined to be one of the settlers and bullys and fights his way to the front of the queue. This brings us to the conclusion, as he and the others that fought themselves to the front find themselves beamed down to a hostile planet, Earth all the better for getting rid of them. It's not the most dramatic twist, but it is a fitting end that I didn't see coming. I do like to guess how these stories might end each week and I get a kick when I don't guess it correctly, so on that front, I do enjoy this story. The artwork is also gritty and suits the dystopian future the story speaks of,  a fine match between word and image. A solid story again, but not to the same heights we have previously experienced. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "This ain't paradise - it's a frozen hell!"

Prog 31 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Dan Dare

Best Line: "What the..? They're dead! Their hearts have been torn out!"

Best Panel: