Prog 58

I'm loving Dan Dare at the moment, and the cover image has me intrigued from the moment I first see it. Elsewhere in the comic Inferno continues it's strong run and MACH 1 has a fresh start that piques my curiosity. Not everything is great, Judge Dredd is disappointing, but there is always the promise of next week. Let's dive right in and see what's hot and what's not. 

Prog 58

1st April 1978

At the end of Dan Dare last week, two crew members of the Eagle were facing a big problem looking at them through the viewer. The front cover of Prog 58 reveals that that problem is much bigger than even I could have imagined, with a huge slug-type creature staring them down. As big as a street block, it is a lardy menace,  and with the motor reactors of the Eagle dead, the story is delicately poised. 

One of the crew members of the Eagle has experience in such matters and surmises that as it isn't moving it might be dead. The only way to know for sure is to get out and have a look and this they do forthwith. 

It seems that he is correct as the creature shows no signs of life as the approach. A swift kick to the creature changes the situation dramatically as arms with pinching hooks burst from the body and pull the crew member inside. 

Back on the Eagle, Hitman has returned after losing Dare on their own expedition. He informs the crew that Dare is probably dead, but unknown to him at that very moment Dare is awaking to an alien scene. 

Surrounded by humanoid beings, Dare turns on his psycholator and immediately is able to communicate with them. They mean him no harm and are in fact in danger themselves from a more dangerous foe, the Slurrgs.

The Slurrgs are mindless beings that burrow into the seabed, causing massive seaquakes and volcanic eruptions. Through these actions, they are slowly tearing the planet apart. 

Dare is escorted back to his ship by the aliens, and there he sees that it is a Slurrg that is threatening his vessel. Dare's comrades are at that moment shooting needle missiles into the Slurrg, which only worsens the situation as it releases what are known as Snappers, all mouth and crab-like claws. 

This wasn't quite what was advertised last week. When we left the Eagle in Prog 57, they were looking at a humanoid figure through the viewer. The threat revealed on the cover of Prog 58 is far from humanoid, although considerably scarier. I am happier with these creatures, and the rest of the story saw me carrying fear in my heart.  The aliens that Dare encountered didn't impress me. They are weak, and if not for the appearance of Dare one wonders what would happen to them. That aside, I do like these different branches of the story, and the way they intersected at the end. The Slurrgs were a 10/10 for me and carried the story this week, as well as providing the hook to bring me back next week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "L-look! Out there - - it's as big as a street block!"

We have an odd story for M.A.C.H. 1 this week. The first thing that grabbed my attention is that it is illustrated by John Cooper, something we haven't seen for a while. The second thing, which I only found at the end, is that it is a single-issue story, again something we haven't seen in some time. 

The story picks up from where it left off, with John Probe walking in the Everglades to return to his boss, Sharpe. Hearing the cries of a hysterical young lady, he encounters a woman crying for help for her younger brother who is about to be eaten by a crocodile. 

With his hyperpowers put to good use, Probe rescues the boy and then carries him home for the woman, who we find out is named Louise. 

Louise lives in an unsettling environment, in the swamp with the strangest family you ever did see. Grandma and Pa look as though they have stepped out of another time all together, while brother Ike says very little. The young, good-looking, Lousie is the most normal of all of them, and Probe wonders why she lives with such weird people. 

Probe has more to consider after speaking with Pa and learning that he likes living out here off the beaten track, even though some loony with a meat cleaver did attack him and take his arm clean off one night. 

Probes thoughts on the matter are interrupted by a scream and thinking the worse has befallen Louisie he runs to the source. There he finds the young lad, with hen feathers on the ground and blood on his fingers. It's all very strange and Probe has much to consider that night as he is told to lock the door as it can be dangerous at night. 

Sitting alone and trying to piece together the clues, Probe fails to notice a cloaked figure enter the room behind him, axe raised in a manner that suggests that evil is afoot. 

The blade drops towards Probe's head, and he avoids it just in time. Moving quickly, he tackles the hooded figure and is surprised to find that it is Louise. It is now that the computer tells him that the girl is a homicidal psychopath who has lured him here to make him her next victim. 

An unexpected turn at the end of this gothic tale, and one that makes the weirdness of the previous pages worthwhile. A return to single-story issues, this was a change of pace from the previous Dolphin Tapes story. I enjoyed the crispness of the storytelling, and the artwork of John Cooper was a fine match, all clean lines and uncluttered. An interesting turn, I hadn't expected southern gothic to appear as a genre with the pages of MACH 1, I found the story engaging and it had me guessing throughout. With a rewarding finish, this was a timely story for MACH 1, giving us a chance to breathe after last week's issue. It didn't quite feel like a MACH 1 story, but there was enough here to keep both casual readers and long-time fans happy. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Yes Sir, it's quiet and off the beaten track out here. I kinda like the place...even though some loony with a meat cleaver did attack me and take my arm clean off one dark night." 

On Colony Earth Hunter and the Professor are looking at the wreckage of the crashed flying saucer. 

There is little they can do, and Hunter arranges for it to be taken to Cape Canaveral for further investigation. They arrive and find the aliens are already struck, and Cape Canaveral is in ruins. 

One survivor is organising the rescue operations, Astronaut Steel, and Hunter collars him to come to have a look at the saucer.   

Steel's assessment is that the damage is only superficial and he is confident that his boys can get it flying again. A plan is quickly hatched to get it airborne and for Hunter and Steel to fly it to attack the alien platforms. 

However, the aliens have noticed these going ons, and several alien saucers prepare to attack. With time against them, Steel and Hunter take to the skies in their saucer, flying by the seat of their pants and about to take a ship they can barely fly into a battle against four alien craft. 

The first part of the story felt slow, and in the second half it all seemed to happen at once. With every part of the story being essential, this didn't matter too much and the acceleration towards the end of the story and into next week's issue was fitting. A couple of things stood out to me. First, I did smile at how easy it was to spot the astronaut at Cape Canaveral, he was the one wearing a spacesuit as if it was everyday attire. Then there was how easy it was to fix the alien ship and fly it with no experience. Implausible, but forgivable in a story such as this. Next week looks like it will be action-packed, and after this issue, we are set up nicely for what comes next.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Ma boys ain't finished checking out the control functions yet -but - well, if you've flown an Apollo, anything else is kid's stuff!" 

Some sensational-looking art opens Judge Dredd, but the rest of the story is pure filler. This issue is merely a placeholder until Dredd's promised return to Mega-city 1 next week. 

Dredd is the toughest Judge on Luna-1 and we see him giving harsh penalties for infringements on the first two pages of the story, 

The rest of the story deals with the full Earth and its effect on people, an event that compares with the full moon and its consequences on Earth, only twice as bad. 

Judge Dredd has every available Judge on the streets and for the rest of the comic, we see them dealing with a variety of bad guys in every way, shape and form. There's not much more to this, the night ends and Dredd returns home exhausted, with Walter Wobot fussing over the soon-to-be asleep Judge. 

A filler from start to finish, I took very little from this story. The art was commendable, especially the first image, but asides from this nothing stood out to me. A variety of small-time crooks didn't provide the drama required, and there was no overall story to pull it all together. We return to Mega-City 1 next week, and that feels about right for where we are now. The moon is no longer as inspiring as it was, and with this story, the cupboard is clearly bare.

Rating: 4/10

Best line: "Serves the slowster right, I say! You're lucky Judge Dredd didn't see that towel he stole from the hotel, I always told you you should have married that nice Robinson boy!" 

Future Shocks touches on the theme of scale, and although the story is new, the concepts behind it are not. 

We are introduced to the Juggernaut, a new tank that lives up to its name. It is being put through its final testing before being pressed into service. With its fearsome armament and new tracker system, capable of detecting all objects in a twenty-mile radius, it passes the test with flying colours, destroying all the tanks put up against it. 

The test looks like it is over when suddenly another tank is detected on the radar - a tank as large as the Juggernaut itself. It is a lucky break, the tank only being detected when the radar operator was experimenting with the distance settings. 

Acting quickly, the commander orders missiles to be fired, but just as they are launched the radar operator reports that he had reduced the scanning distance to only a few yards and that the enemy tank they had detected was actually themselves. This realisation comes too late, and the story closes with the Juggernaut being destroyed by its own missiles. 

Cute idea and a likeable story. The opening images of the Juggernaut are impressive and give us a sense of scale from the beginning. I won't remember this story in a couple of months but I will certainly remember the look of the Juggernaut. This was just the palate cleanser I needed after the Judge Dredd story, and as a tightly constructed narrative, I found its two-and-a-half-page story far more engaging than the five pages of Judge Dredd.   

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "It's true, Sir, the thing's a giant, it's identical to us in size!" 

The Hellcats may have won a superliner in Inferno, but it hasn't made them any new friends as we see an angry mob throwing stones at their new vehicle on the first page. 

Moody Bloo is angry about this, but the rest of the team is unconcerned as they enjoy the luxuries of their prize, including onboard medical treatments that are rapidly healing the injured players. 

Their course is Beehive Jungle in upstate New York, an abandoned social housing complex overrun by bikers and vandals, and also the location of the android factory that produced the murderous Pearly. 

While seeking the owner of the factory, Arfon Kalmann, the team fly over a huge remote-controlled garbage robot consuming abandoned cars. What they don't see is a few panels later a figure pushing over the operator and taking control of the robot, using it to pick up the hapless man and crushing him in the robot's giant pinchers. 

Meanwhile, the team arrive at Kalmann's workshop, but they are horrified to see what has happened to him. I would be horrified too, but I don't yet know what has happened to him and I shall have to wait until the next issue to find out. 

A great scene-setting episode and the feeling of the beehive jungle was conveyed well in every panel. It looks futuristic, derelict, and scary as hell. The garbage-eating robot was the star of this world and had an appropriate number of large panels to build my fear of it. We are back on the trail of the syndicate, and although there wasn't much action in this week's issue, plenty of groundwork was laid for the coming weeks. The characters took a back seat in this episode, and it was all about the world they are in, and what they will be facing. I wouldn't normally like this, but in this case, I found it compelling and I can't wait to see them interact with this world in future issues. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Perhaps your 'ol buddy' fancies a change of diet!" 

Prog 58 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Inferno

Best Line: "I may have the strength of fifty men- but what's the use of that when I can't think for myself? -these computer circuits in my brain rule my life!"   

Best Panel: