Prog 38

I recently read the book by Stephen Morris of New Order (good, but not as good as Peter Hook's books), and several times he mentioned that during the recording of the earlier New Order albums there was often downtime in which Peter Hook would read through his pile of Progs. Looking at those timelines, he would have been reading Progs around 1981-1983, still four or five years from where I am now. So, I'm still some years from my New Order period, but there is plenty of entertainment and edification to be had before then, starting with November 1977 - Christmas and 1978 just six weeks away.

Prog 38

12 November 1977

I am not enthused by the first few pages of Inferno, and it is only as I reach the final page that the story finally grabs me with some brilliant-looking artwork and a storyline to match. We begin slowly this week, with Zack and Slim working on some manoeuvres and tactics in a practice session. While the image of one of the bikes dominates the page, the rest of the story swirls lightly in its shadow, and not a lot is driving the story forward. That changes as we turn the pages, and the broader story of corruption and bribery progresses. The Wolves manager, Charlie Vance, is taken by Mr Torso and Mr Chubb and threatened in classic Mafia style to go along with their nefarious scheme to have the Wolves throw their next match. Quite how he will do this is revealed as the game begins and he offers chewing gum to the team. However, the three former Harlem Heroes don't partake in this gum, instead choosing to have some of their own brand in recognition of their aeroball past. This proves to be a fortuitous decision for as the game evolves we have the best page of the whole strip as one of the bikers begins to hallucinate. We have both drama and eye-catching artwork combine to show what he is seeing before he eventually crashes in an inferno. With their best bikeman out of the game, it remains to be seen what will happen for the team in next week's issue. As I said earlier, the first few pages weren't all that I had hoped for, but this final page vanished any memories of the slow start, and I am delighted with how we finished. With the sporting action looking fantastic and the cogs and wheels of a larger story grinding away in the background, there is something for everyone, and this story is beginning to heat up. We are still far from boiling point, but the next few weeks should be a lot of fun as the story continues to unfold. 

Rating 6.5/10

Best line: "They haven't come to support us, they've come to watch us die!"

Judge Dredd gets a jump start this week, with an innocuous first panel giving way to a sudden appearance of Judge Dredd and immediate and surprising violence. Little Billy is being put to bed by his mother, who tells him to go straight to sleep or Judge Dredd will get him. In the very next panel, we see judge Dredd at his best, bursting into the room and demanding to know where Billy is. With the aid of Judge Giant, he snatches up Billy and between the two of them, they do their best to twist his head off. Billy's mum is horrified, and even more so once it is revealed that it is not her son she was putting to bed, but rather a robot impostor planted by an industrial spy trying to gain more knowledge of her husband's business. With Judge Dredd on the case, things escalate quickly and the story comes all at once. When the spy comes to check on why the robot is no longer sending back intelligence, Dredd is ready and waiting and we find that the backstory involves Hugh Howards, a trillionaire who is holding the children of all of Mega-city's top industrialists. We don't have long to dwell on this information as Judge Dredd and his cohorts storm Hugh Howard's penthouse and begin kicking ass and taking names. I didn't realise it at the time, but most of the story is behind us already, and all that remains is for the villain of the piece to fall to his death while Judge Giant catches Billy who was falling with him. We do have a tidy bookend at the end, as the news is broadcast on TV we see a family watching and the child being told that if he doesn't behave Judge Dredd will come and get him. This story moved very quickly, and I was impressed by the storytelling and the way we managed to get a complete story in just four pages. The villain was dispatched with rather easily, but that isn't a complaint and felt right for the story. I like a story with no fat on the bone, and that is certainly what we have here. There was not a lot of depth to it, but the panels flew by in such a rush that I didn't have time to consider the characters or the wider city. Fast and furious, this may not linger long in my mind, but it was an enjoyable ride while I was in it. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "We're trying to rip his head off, ma'ma"  

The following Invasion story is just as fast-moving, and at first, could well have come from the pages of Battle Action, the very comic that is advertised on the next page.  We start with a typical storyline, with Prince John now with the resistance the Volgans are preparing a manhunt using men suspended from helicopters. Although Bill Savage tries to keep Prince John's identity a secret from his own men, one notices the gold he is wearing, and smelling easy money investigates as Bill and Price John are sleeping. Although they awaken, he has already seen the royal crest on Prince John's ring, and with easy money in mind, he immediately runs to the Volgan garrison and sells out his friends for dirty money. The Volgans raise an assault, but they are fought off by Savage's hardened crew of toughs, the final Volgan helicopter crashes in flames and throws out a single survivor - Jake, the very traitor who had gone to the Volgans with the information about Prince John. As Prince John looks down at him, Jake begs for a royal pardon, only for Bill Savage to interrupt with a shotgun blast to his back. Prince John is stunned, but Bill shows him that Jake had a knife hidden in his hand and Volgan dollars in his pocket. Once again, this story is told quickly, with action taking precedence over intricate storylines. I've glossed over the action here, but the action sequences were the bulk of the pages, and we had some very good scenes of the resistance fighting off the Volgans. I consider myself a story man first, action man second, but even so both Invasion and Judge Dredd have been very enjoyable, and just what we needed to turbocharge the first half of this week's issue. Not normally what I would gravitate towards, but even so it gave me a warm feeling inside. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Gypsy Jake don't know who this kid is- but he can tell a bit 'o gold from a mile off -like that ring the kid's wearing!" 

A did a double take when I read the first page of Dan Dare, there seems to be an obvious reference to Star Wars, even though it was still six weeks before its release in the UK. With two star-slayer cruisers about to attack, Dan calls on Pilot Polanski to take evasive action, who responds with "Sure Dan, this is just like old times durin' the solar wars" Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I can't help but think that this is a nod to the arrival of Star Wars in the UK the next month. Pilot Polanski lives up to his name, and some clever flying sees both the attacking ships destroyed before they make an emergency landing on the planet Minian to make urgent repairs. Minian is a slave planet for the Star Slayer empire and is heavily mined. After landing, and camouflaging their vessel, we finish with Dan taking Bear and Hitman to meet the slaves, in hopes of inciting a slave revolt. This gives us a lovely piece of art from Dave Gibbons as the three men stand together as a portrait, and my eyes feast upon it while my mind immediately wants to jump ahead to the next issue.  The flying scenes in this story were well told, but it was once on the planet that the artwork and story came to life. With the introduction to a new world and a new subplot, there was plenty to keep the reader engaged, and even devoid of action this was the most attention-grabbing part of the story. The scene is set for a thrilling next part to this adventure, I can only hope that we have more opportunities for Dave Gibbons to flex his artistic muscle. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: Sure Dan, this is just like old times durin' the solar wars"

When we last left MACH 1 John Probe and Tanya Maski had been recognised on a train and were considering leaping off the viaduct. We don't have to wait long to find out what they decide, the very first panel catches them in mid-air as they plunge towards the ground. Smashing through the roof of a house below, they take to their heels and disappear into the forest, and soon enough the night. Covering one hundred miles on foot, they reach the secret laboratory where Tanya gained her hyper-powers and using some of those hyper-powers they are soon inside the complex. There is more trouble inside in the form of a hyper-dog, but showing no mercy, this threat is dealt with before we have a confrontation with the scientist responsible for these hyper experiments, and his latest achievement, hyper-kiddies. Fighting hyper-dogs is one thing, but fighting hyper-kiddies is a whole new ball game and one that awaits us in the next issue. I have enjoyed this story as it builds week by week, and it reaches another new level this week. There are seeds sown in this story for future developments, in particular the panel where Tanya reveals that Probe's boss has given her a secret code, one that Probe is not privy to. The whys and hows are not known to us, so there is scope for the story to develop further in this direction at a later date. The panels with the action were all short and sprinkled throughout the strip, keeping it moving without dwelling too long at any single point of the story. Fast-moving, dynamic, and with a great story hook, this is the highlight of 2000AD this week.       

Rating 7.5/10

Best line: "It's a hyper-hound!"

Last week's Future Shocks was a two-part story, with the first part introducing us to  Zak and Daryl, two robot repairmen intent on destroying the world's first self-repairing robot. I enjoyed the first half of this story, but I am disappointed with the way in which it finishes this week. Zak and Daryl dispose of the self-repairing robot easily enough, despite it appearing unstoppable in the last issue, and then return to their  Robot Repair HQ. It is then that we find out that they are self-repairing robots themselves, and to the unknowing human race, they are justifying their own existence. The revel in itself was good, but then it drags on for the rest of the page as they elaborate and expand upon it, something I felt Future Shocks had previously avoided. It felt like padding, and this week's conclusion could have been half the length, although this would make for an awkward length overall across the two parts. It was interesting enough, but a little too uneven for my taste, and the final page felt like a letdown. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "This'll take care of our metal friend..." 

Prog 38 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: MACH 1

Best Line: "You unspeakable monster...you've transformed children!" 

Best Panel: