Prog 51

Today we say goodbye to a very good friend of mine - the Invasion story.  For fifty-one issues we have been with Bill Savage and every step of his fight against the Volgs. I don't know I will feel next week when I turn the page and Bill isn't there. So this is it, my last chance to say goodbye to a constant ever since 2000AD began. Thank you Bill, its been emotional.

Prog 51

11th February 1978

Dan Dare is just seconds from death as Dark Lord's star weapon flies towards his head. With only a split second to react, Dare activates the laser sword in his hand and manages to block the killing star. That's not the end of it through, and the killing star continues to circle him, looking for a weakness. It finds the weakness it is looking for, and Dare is injured in the arm. He continues to fight though and with one last effort manages to destroy the killing star with his laser sword. 

The killing star is defeated, but not so Dark Lord, and while Dare seeks medical attention Dark Lord escapes. Dark Lord immediately calls upon his men to launch the Armaggedon missiles, which they reluctantly do. However, his ship is in the path of the missile as it is launched, and Dark Lord is killed in a massive explosion. 

From here it is just a simple matter of tying up the loose ends of the story. The slave planets are freed and begin to work together. Dan Dare and his men prepare to leave on their next adventure and we finish with Dare telling his men that their next job might be a tough one. 

This was the ending that I expected and that the story deserved. There was no padding in the story, nothing outrageous, just a clean fight between Dare and Dark Lord, with the right outcome. Some may say that having Dark Lord killed by his own weapon cheapened the victory, but I felt that it was fair and true to the story, with his own ruthlessness counting against him at the end of the day. This has been a good ride through the slave planets and fighting the Starslayer Empire, but the timing is right to wrap this one up. The bar is set high for whatever comes next. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Dark Lord--your craft...it is...in the path of the armageddon missile!"

Poor Frank Hart is still on the run in the Visible Man. A man has to eat to live, and Frank finds nourishment at a wedding breakfast, that is until the Bride and Groom enter and catch him in the act.

Frank runs off and later laughs at the situation and the look on their faces. It is also at this moment that he realises that he wants to be part of the human race and can't go on living like this. 

With this in mind, he calls Dr Burnard, asking if he can return and potentially be healed. The doctor keeps him talking on the phone, all the while tracing the call, and soon Frank finds himself surrounded by uniformed men. 

Frank puts up a fight but is soon overwhelmed and loaded into the back of a van. He is taken to the doctor's laboratory, where the doctor reneges om his promise to help Frank. Once again it looks like Frank will be injected with all manner of poisons to see how the human body reacts, but Dr Burnard promises him he has something much worse in mind. 

What could be worse, I didn't know, but I'm scared for poor Frank. This is one dark story, and it feels pretty hopeless. I can't help but read this story with sadness, and sympathy for Frank, and although I know I'm being manipulated by the writers, I can't help it. Once again, another great entry into this storyline, with the artwork just as dark as the story. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to next week, but I certainly want to see it. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Why, you double crossing-! You had the call traced!"

Another inventive Future Shocks for this issue. We begin by meeting Arthur Upshot, a space garbage collector who gathers space junk and catapults it to the waste disposal centre. 

While Arthur is picking up junk in space, one hundred light years away an alien race prepares to invade Earth. They shoot a tracking probe towards Earth, with their flotilla of warships following. 

It is here that the two threads of the story collide. Arthur finds the probe, and thinking it is junk fires it off to the disposal centre. Meanwhile, the invading aliens report that their battle fleet has been destroyed. We see the hows and whys in the final panels - Arthur Upshot shoots his garbage into the sun, and that is where the battle fleet blindly followed their probe. 

A likeable story, told in a crisp and clear manner, I really couldn't ask for anything else from Future Shocks. The main character, Arthur, was made likeable in just a few panels, and that was enough to carry me through the whole story. A sweet template for how Future Shocks should be, I found this story very much to my taste. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Not sure what it is, mate, but I reckon that I'll hang on to this. It'll make a nice ornament for the wife to put on the sideboard at home"

It's war in this issue of Judge Dredd, but not as we know it. The Sov-cities have declared war on Luna-1, a war that consists of teams of four, with one reserve, facing each other in combat, all broadcast live on TV for the enjoyment of those at home. 

With Dredd stepping into the reserved spot, we get a close-up look at this war and modern combat. The Sov-cities have the advantage of better armour and a beam gun that can pierce anything. 

There is only one way they can be beaten, by using their own weapons against them, and with this in mind, Dredd charges headlong into the Sov-cities soldiers. He is too fast for them to get his range with their weapons and before they know it Dredd has disarmed them and won the battle with their own weapons. 

Dredd is given the last word in the strip as the commentator offers him the microphone for a few words. Dredd obliges, by stuffing the microphone back in the commentator's face before giving the viewers the very strong message that war is hell. 

Great stuff, and with some scintillating artwork that goes blow for blow with the story. I didn't foresee this modern war, and I was clapping my hands in joy to see this twist. With it turned into a game broadcast to homes, Dredd has a great soapbox to stand on with his anti-war stance. This was captured well with several intense panels, and there were many contenders for my favourite panel in this week's story. Dredd has been consistently good but is still capable of surprising me at times, and this is the best surprise we have had for some time. I rate it highly and for very good reason. 

Rating: 9/10

Best line: "Sure I got a few words. But first there is something I want to do" 

Invasion is at boiling point, and this week's strip is where it all comes to a head. With Savage facing down the powerful Georgi alone on the boat, things have tilted in favour of the Volgans. 

However, Savage is as resourceful as he is tough, and after taking an early beating from Georgi's fists, he finds himself scrabbling through a locker looking for a solution. He finds one quickly, a distress rocket launcher, which he then fires at close range into Georgi, sending him high into the air and overboard. 

From the other boat, a delighted Rosa assumes that it is Savage who is the victim, and she is shocked a minute later when they pull her own man from the water. With his rocket launcher still in hand, Savage becomes a one-man boarding party, taking out Volgans with his weapon before climbing about the Volgan vessel. 

The story is rapidly coming to a conclusion as a chained Nessies wraps herself around Rosa before plunging overboard. At the same time, American and Canadian aircraft and ships appear and escort Savage to safety. 

There is little left to tell. The Prince is safe, and as the US mobilise to take back Britain from the Volgs we are told that Savage plans on being the first one ashore when that day comes. 

A new story is promised for the next Prog, so this is goodbye to Invasion. It has been with us from the start, and for the previous 50 issues has always delivered a tight, thrilling story. It finishes on a high and all the boxes are checked with what I expected to see. I was very happy to see Nessie get one final cameo, and her self-sacrifice was a fitting way for her to go out. I have enjoyed the last year of this story, and the ending was a great capstone on a long-time favourite. 

Rating: 9/10

Best line: "Stuff them, Sunbeam. I reckon we can make it under our own steam, give us a hand to get to the bridge."     

Moody Bloo is fighting mad, and the first panels of Inferno see him striking out at his opponents. The match controller is unimpressed, sending him to cool off in the cage for two minutes, leaving the Hellcats to look for a replacement to take his place in the cave. 

Junk Jackson volunteers, but his skills aren't up to snuff, and soon enough the scores have been levelled. It's more than Slim can stand, he takes the game to the opposition in a rash move that leaves him with third-degree burns and a burnt-out jet pack. 

With the game lost, and most of the team injured, the Hellcats resort to placing an ad on TV in the search for replacement players. It attracts a weird crowd, but the most striking figure appears in the final panel - the man who calls himself the greatest biker in the world, Regal Eegle. 

Not a great story this week, but the final image has me enthused for next week. The game had a lot happening, but it was all bad and there was no ebb and flow to the story, rather it was just a series of bad events. Some new faces next week should hopefully inject some new life into the strip, so although I don't rate this highly, I still think the story has plenty of potential. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line:  "That ad sure pulled a weird crowd, Giant, it's dredged up the scum of the bike world...misfits...infernomaniacs...punks with nothing to live for" 

Prog 51 final ratings:

Overall: 8.5/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "D-Don't" worry about me, your Highness - it won't be long before the Yanks hit the beaches of Britain- an' Bill Savage'll be the first one ashore!"   

Best Panel: