Prog 46

1978 has arrived and nothing bad has happened, it turns out the future isn't nearly as scary as we thought. Out with the old and in with the new, and there are some changes in the world of 2000 AD. Dan Dare makes a welcome return to the cover, while deeper within the comic we learn that there'll be a new addition to the storyline up next week. All positive things to look forward to, and I already have a good feeling about this issue before I've turned a single page. 

Prog 46

7th January 1978

New year, new look, and we begin 1978 with Dan Dare on the cover and still struggling against the might of the Starslayer Empire. 

As Dare's ship approaches the Dark Lord's planet, it is greeted by the sight of bodies orbiting in spacesuits, Dark Lord is making a point by having his enemies floating around the planet until they starve of oxygen and die. 

Dare is still a captive on his own ship, his men hypnotised and under the command of the Dark Lord. However, that changes once they land and they are released from this control so that they might witness what the Dark Lord has in store for them. 

As they are forced into space suits, Dare takes his chance and pulls the Starslayer Captain in amongst his own men and surrounds him. The outcome of this is Dare is pulled from the huddle of men, now in his spacesuit and in the hands of the Captain. 

But, things are not what they seem, Dare has swapped places with the Captain, and it is the Starslayer who faces being put into orbit. 

With Dare disguised as the Starslayer Captain, we leave the strip, Dare lined up with the other guards and plotting his next move.

I was pleased to see Dan Dare on the cover, and this was a refreshing change after the last few months. Dan Dare always impresses with its Dave Gibbons artwork, and a front cover is certainly a selling point to any fan. 

Inside the comic, the story is processing nicely. A neat twist with Dare and the Starslayer guard changing places, although I felt rather jaded when I could see what was going to happen in the first panel of action. The story is picking up with Dare's men released from the secret weapon, and I anticipate some well-rounded action as the entire cast comes into play in the next couple of weeks. 

Not spectacular, but well crafted and another solid building block on our journey through the Starslayer story. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "No good screamin' pal--you're stuck in that space suit like us! None o' your soldiers spotted us do a changin' o' the guard on ya...not even your Dark Lord! Now it's all up to Dare!"

Several weeks ago we had a quaint time travelling story in Future Shocks, that told of a time machine being built at home. This week we have a similar story, as Tim Matthews builds a time machine in his front room and immediately puts it to us to travel back a million years. 

He is most disappointed to look through his window and see the same old street exactly as he left it. In his rage he destroys his machine, only to find that it did work - a little too well, and had transported the whole street back in time. 

With no way to return to the future, he and the street face being stranded with some very hungry dinosaurs.

A tasty little tale, it is paced well across the page and a half. A brief setup, then the action, and the final twist. The final twist wasn't a great surprise, but it was well executed and gave the story the spicy ending that I like to see in these stories. Not best in class, but a fine example of the genre.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "No! I'm still in the same crummy street, in the same time!"

The battle of the Mach men rages on, as Mach-1 fights it out with Mach zero. It is much the same as we saw last week, but this time Sharpe intervenes, sending his own men into the fray. 

As they fire a grenade launcher into the melee, Mach zero realizes that it is Sharpe who they should be fighting, not each other, and together the two Mach men take control of the battle and walk triumphantly out of the house. 

Zero has given himself up, happy to be put into Sharpe's hands on the back of a promise that the scientists will try and restore him to a normal person. The promise doesn't last long, and the ambulance he is transported in is blown up by a Chieftain tank, and then driven over a cliff. 

There is no chance, and Zero is dead, leaving Mach-1 to curse Sharpe. There is a video message left for him, Sharpe has left the country until Mach-1 cools down. Mach-1 doesn't look like he will cool down anytime soon, and he ponders the double-crossing Sharpe. 

The most intriguing part of the strip is the final words that tell us that John Probe will be taking a break to think things over, and next week we have a new story to look forward to. 

Not quite the spectacular finish I expected, this is a story finishing on a whimper rather than a bang. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but my expectations were sky-high and it never reached those heights. I am buoyed by the fact that it will return, and with plenty of unfinished business between John Probe and Sharpe the story could potentially run for much longer in the future. A disappointing finish this week, I remain positive for a future run. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "It's a ball of fire! Zero's dead! And that was no accident!"

A full-colour page of Judge Dredd is a wonderful way to start this week's story. Finally, Dredd is about to meet Mr Moonie, and having it happen with two coloured pages makes my heart swell in anticipation. 

The story doesn't disappoint, and Dredd and his ever-faithful Walter arrive at Moonie ranch, ready to meet the main man himself. What they meet instead is a luna projection of Mr Moonie, who recounts his life story as Dredd and Walter negotiate a series of traps. 

After avoiding the river of mercury, and a luna dust storm, they finally come face to face with Mr Moonie, and it's a face one doesn't forget in a hurry. Mr Moonie may have made his fortune on the moon, but it came at a cost. The cost was a luna virus that horribly disfigured his head, leaving him to live out his life as a virtual recluse.

Mr Moonie has one final surprise in store for Dredd and Walter, as he traps them in a glass cylinder before applying a moon vacuum that sucks the air out of the room. Things look grim for Dredd, but Walter emits a high-frequency sonic wave that shatters all the glass, including his own and leaves Dredd free to lay the hand of justice upon Mr Moonie. 

The story concludes naturally enough with Walter reminding Dredd that he is his humble servant, while Dredd comes to the party with one final pun. 

I wanted more from this story than what I got. I expected Dredd's confrontation with Mr Moonie to be spread across several issues, rather than just this one. Mr Moonie was also a disappointment, and although he came close to defeating Dredd he didn't feel any more dangerous than any other villain we have met before. On the plus side, Walter is always a scene stealer, and he was strong throughout this week's issue. The dialogue was snappy, and the colour pages were a real thrill, it is unfortunate that this thrill couldn't be maintained for the rest of the story. A good Dredd, but some way off being a great Dredd. 

Rating: 5.5/10

Best line: "Bullets won't penetrate...pumps sucking air out... *can't breathe*"

Colonel Rosa Volgaska is back in business for the Volgans in Invasion, and even though she is key behind the action this week, she remains in the background as far as Savage is aware. 

With Prince Harry in tow, Savage and Silk are on the move. They have some misfortune as they encounter Volgans travelling in the same direction as them, but the misfortune proves to be for the Volgans as Savage tricks them into getting caught in the Solway killer tide. 

Rosa is watching remotely from the camera her soldiers are carrying and we find that she too was aware of the Solway killer tide, but hadn't alerted her forces. This plays out again over the page, as Savage runs into a Volgan trap, only for the Volgans to be caught in a surprise explosion. This explosion is the work of Rosa, who tells us that it's all part of her master plan, and she doesn't want Savage caught too soon. 

Without a direct confrontation between Colonel Rosa Volgaska and Savage, this was a battle fought by proxy. Savage is completely unaware of Colonel Volgaska's machinations behind the scenes, and the story is currently moving beyond his control. The scene with the first entanglement with the Volgans and the subsequent flood was for me the highlight of the strip, and the rest of the story was a little too pedestrian. However, I'm always a fan of behind the scene manoeuvrings, and this story has that in spades. With Colonel Volgaska's plan still to be revealed, we have some way to go and it could be sometime before Prince John reaches safety. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I'm watching you poor fool. Both Savage and I know something you do not...that Solway has a secret!"

We finish this issue with Inferno, as the Hellcats pursue Cullen into a hologram meteor shower.

He is soon lost in the mists, and the Hellcats face a much more immediate problem, they are no longer in a hologram meteor shower but rather a real meteor shower. They do their best to fend off what is thrown their way, and after two pages of this action, Moody Bloo manages to hurl one back to where it came from, destroying the power source and allowing to Hellcats to escape. 

It is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire, for as they stand at the start of the maze they are faced with four androids, all programmed to home in on body heat. It's a cliffhanger finish and a very well-drawn one at that. 

Most of the story was dedicated to escaping last week's predicament, before facing the next obstacle. As such, it didn't feel like much happened this time around. The pace of this story has slowed, and as much as I appreciated the artwork, I felt something was lacking. The hologram meteors were a diversion and not one I enjoyed, and the androids look to be much more up my alley. Next week is potentially much better than this week, and I can only hope that comes to pass. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Now get back where ya came from, ya over-grown sugar-pea!"

Prog 46 final ratings:

Overall: 6/10

Best Story: Future Shocks

Best Line: "Oh, dwat! You're hurt master! Speak to Walter"

Best Panel: