Prog 42

Christmas is coming! Prog 42 is dated 10th December 1977, just two weeks before the first Christmas I can remember. I was only four at the time, so there would be no 2000AD stocking fillers, but rest assured Santa took care of me. Let's roll back the clock and see what else I missed in the build-up to Christmas 1977.  

Prog 42

10 December 1977

 Judge Dredd leaves Meagacity-1 this week as a new story arc begins in new surroundings. Sent to the moon for six months of Luna duty, he is angry to find that Walter the robot has stowed away in his luggage. Walter just couldn't bear the thought of being away from Dredd for so long. 

The shuttle trip to the moon is eventful, with a Killjoy Destructor Missle (great name) fired at the shuttle as it approaches the surface. Taking charge of the situation, Dredd takes the missile head on, before jettisoning the cargo container which the missile destroys instead. 

This isn't the only attempt on Dredd's life, and after arriving on Luna-1 and making his way to his accommodation, the ever-faithful Walter discovers a small robot in the closest. The robot explains that he has been provided to be Dredd's robot servant, but he quickly reveals his true intention and attacks Dredd with an axe. Dredd avoids the axe, and as he questions the robot it goes into self-destruct mode and we finish the strip with Dredd tossing the exploding robot out the window before pondering who he is behind this. 

All the pieces are in place for another great story here. The new setting is good, but it's the plot and the humour that holds all the thrills for me. Luna-1 is well described, we get a couple of panels of backstory about it, our first view of it, and the people Dredd will be working with, add to this feeling of a colony in the wild west. The humour mostly comes from Walter, but it drips from every page, even when Walter isn't present.  Walter is always going to be funny, but there is much more to the story than just him. Judge Dredd looks great, reads well, and is the perfect start to this week's issue. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Well, get rid of him. It's bad enough with one of you" 

Future Shocks works as a palate cleanser after Dredd, and at a page and a half is just the punchy break we need before diving into Invasion. 

Dan Aulnick has built himself a mail-order time machine, and plugging it into a wall socket gives it a quick run before tea. Arriving back in  10,000 BC he is confronted by some unfriendly locals, but as he tries to leave he realises there is no power point to plug into and he is standard. 

Short, sweet, and with a nice little twist, this is all I could ask. Not enough time to be perfect, but it's well-worked and fits perfectly after Dredd. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Well, that's it. My first time machine finished and ready to go. If I hurry, I've just enough time for a quick visit to the stone age, before the wife wants me back for tea." 

I've never been one for circuses, so it is with some trepidation that I read this week's Invasion storyline. The circus is crucial to the story, as Bill and his team arrive in the city at the same time as the circus. 

They find that their safe house isn't so safe, and seek refuge in the circus, first losing themselves in the circus crowd, before settling in to watch the show under the big top. As the show starts, they are spotted by a Volgan officer and they quickly make their way out back. 

It is here that we get the biggest twist in the story. As the Volgans confront them, the bearded lady suddenly appears behind them and takes a hand in the situation. Cracking a couple of heads, Savage and his men are saved, but there is something all too familiar about the bearded lady. It is someone we have met before, and removing the beard we see that it is Big Nessie, a woman we previously met in the guise of a professional wrestler back in Prog 33. Here she takes a shine to the young Prince, much to the delight of Bill Savage who finds humour in the situation. 

I may not like circuses, but I liked this story. There was a lot packed into the pages, the escape for the safe house itself was a page of action, and it was a close-run thing before Savage escaped into the crowd. Every panel looked good, but none caught my attention like the very first panel when we see Bill Savage staring off the page at us, it's certainly one for the album. Like Dredd, there was plenty of humour mixed in with the action, and the story left me feeling good. The last two issues of Invasion have a different feel from the rest of Invasion. I liked this one much more than last week, and I'm curious to see where they will take us next.  

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Okay, Bill - you an' skinny Silk into me stall fast! I'll carry the little love!"

I was looking forward to seeing Dan Dare lead the insectoid slaves into battle against the Starslayers, but it is the Starslayers who seize the initiative, their tanks ambushing Dare and his men in the first panels of the story.  

The attacking tanks seem to burst from the page, leaving Dare and Hitman scrambling to fight back. Both acquit themselves well, Hitman destroying a tank using his shooting skills before they both team up to destroy the other two tanks.

Tanks dispensed with, the battle is won, but the surviving Starslayer sends a message back to their leader telling him that they have been defeated on the planet drone. 

With Dare's location revealed to the Starslayer leader, the secret weapon once again comes into play, a bright light appearing in the sky and all the insectoids falling under its spell. Hitman too is succumbing, but before he does he knocks Dare to the ground and places a Starslayer helmet on him, thus saving Dare from a similar fate.

We finish the story with Dare waking to find that Hitman is in a trance after sacrificing himself to save Dare. With two men now lost in a trance, Bear and Hitman, Dare reiterates that he won't stop until the Starslayer Empire is wiped out. 

My feelings about this story are mixed. It didn't have any real depth to it, and the major battle felt slight, despite Dare and Hoitman fighting the awesome power of the tanks, it felt like they defeated them all too easily. The insectoids were underutilised, they looked the most interesting on the page, yet we hardly saw them in battle. Despite all that, I enjoyed the story, with Dan Dare looking heroic in every panel. The tank's first appearance was eye-catching and kick-started the story, and this was the high point for me, along with the final panel of Dan Dare. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Look--the bugs...they've stopped moving...staring at the sky! What's happenin'?"

The first page of part 3 of the MACH 1 Death Ray story is entirely taken up with the launching of the cruise missile that will feature throughout this week's strip. It may not show John Probe, but it reminds us of where we are with the story.

We see John Probe on the following page, his Voshkod pod dangling beneath a parachute as they land near the target area for the cruise missile. Once again, I am frustrated that Voskhod is spelt wrong, "Voshkod" instead of the correct "Voskhod," this has been an ongoing issue throughout this story and my eyes always catch on the word when I see it. 

We see Probe in action immediately, as he seizes control of the situation, and the Russian cosmonauts, before springing from the capsule and taking to his heels.  Running too fast for the Russian scanners to track, he is soon one-hundred miles away and contemplating his next move.

His next move is decided for him as he sees a Russian cruise missile flying over some nearby hills. He doesn't get long to admire its flight, as a shot from a ground-based death ray shoots it out of the sky.

Peering over the hilltop, Probe sees that he has stumbled upon a secret base and the earth-based death ray. This leads us to the second part of the story, after destroying the death ray in space, now Probe must destroy the deathray on earth. 

The action comes thick and fast from here on in. Slipping into the base, Probe takes out the scientists behind the ray, and then takes control of the death ray itself to destroy most of the facility.  With the death ray itself about to detonate all that is left is for Probe to escape. 

This is the part of the story that I am not happy about. Seeing the cruise missile that was fired from the US sub, John Probe leaps on top of it and pulling off an access panel, rewires the missile - sending it a thousand miles out to sea with Probe as a passenger. Landing in the sea, near a US vessel, soon enough Probe is back home. 

Sharpe isn't pleased with John Probe working for the US, and in a terse exchange hands him a thank you note from the USAF before kicking him out of his office.  

An uneven story, and although it had its moments, my overall feeling is one of disappointment. I suspend reality when reading these stories, and happily accept all of John Probe's abilities, but seeing him riding the cruise missile after all that has come before was a bridge too far. Maybe I'm having a bad day, but I just didn't like what I was reading on the page. The first two parts of this story were solid, and I was hoping for a spectacular finish, but this was a tepid ending to what could have been a great story. Still enjoyable enough, and I have to accept that my high expectations were unrealistic in the face of what was delivered.

Rating 6/10

Best line: "Your Ruskie friends know something went wrong with the mission but they won't know how wrong till they peel this can open - so you just keep quiet - savvy?"

There was a mysterious figure descending upon the Harlem Heroes when we last saw them in Inferno, but he doesn't stay mysterious long. It is their old team-mate, Louis Meyer, now merely a brain living in an android's body.

With Louis onboard, they continue to put together their new team. Two more arrivals are their former teammates from the Washington Wolves. They then venture into the bad part of town to recruit another former teammate, and with a full complement of players that submit their teamsheet to the league, under the new name of "Harlem Hellcats"      

Starting from the fourth division they work their way up, and the first opponents they face are the Sickles, who from the outset look like a pretty rough lot. Just how rough, we'll find out now, but if there play like they look then the Harlem Hellcats are in for a heck of a fight. 

Now that the team has been rebuilt I expect this story to quickly move forward. Even though this week was all about the new team being put together, there was still plenty to enjoy. All the new characters look great, and they have some fearsome members on their team now. Likewise, the opposition looks suitably mean and gnarly, and one can feel that next week will be full of bone-crunching action. A good base to start from, next week should be great. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Here it is, boys! Our acceptance into the inferno league...under the name of 'Harlem Hellcats'!" 

Prog 42 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Invasion

Best Line: "You saved me from bein' burnt back there and now I'm repayin' you...besides, the men...need you...someone to...lead 'em...go beat those Starslayers for me, Dare!" 

Best Panel: