Prog 61

Sorry, I missed updating the blog last week. I ended up at the emergency medical centre and was unable to use a computer for several days. I was unable to work for half the week, so it wasn't all bad - who doesn't appreciate a couple of extra days at home with a healthy pile of comics while the coldest day of winter is upon us. This week's blog might be uneven, I'm a little foggy from the drugs. I'd like to say I will come back and fix it up in the next few weeks, but realistically that's never going to happen, so what I have written below is what we're stuck with.  

Prog 61

22nd April 1978

A new adventure for Dan Dare this week as he continues through the vast lost worlds regions. It's a fast start as the computer picks up giant life forms and the crew are horrified by what they face as they look out of the ship's windows. However, they find their ship merely passing through these giant forms. The crew dismiss them as mirages but when the ship is suddenly struck by one and Dan Dare must reconsider. 

The following pages see him firing upon these creatures with his laser cannon. This does the job well enough, and the creatures disappear with a satisfying pop. They still face the problem of the damaged ship, and Dare guides them to the nearest planet. 

The planet has oxygen and lush vegetation, although Dare's scanner finds no trace of life. This doesn't make much sense, especially as Dare and his men see a giant version of The Mekon approaching and threatening them. Dare hits it with his astro axe, and finds himself falling, only to be cushioned by a giant sponge. 

The story takes another turn as Dare's crew report that everything seems to be made of rubber foam, before some humanoid figures appear despite the scanner picking up no life forms.  Dare isn't one to wait around and pulls his laser pistol ready for action as the strip closes out. 

Too early to pass judgement on this story yet, but I did notice we have a change of both writer and artist. How this will affect the oncoming story, I don't know. It already feels different again compared to the previous Dare strips, only time will tell how it unfolds. The appearance of The Mekon excited me, and I hope this isn't just a teaser and he will appear in later issues of the story. We are off to a firm beginning, and hopefully this new creative team won't take too long to get Dan Dare humming. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line:  "Incredible or not - the computer says they're there! And they don't look friendly!"

The first page of Inferno belongs to the Hellcats, but the rest of the strip is dedicated to the manoeuvrings of the syndicate. 

The Hellcats are beating a rival team, and with the crowd beginning to support them, things are looking up. The real action though is at the cryogenics centre where we see a little of their operation before the story kicks into second gear. 

Emerging from one of the caskets comes a member of the syndicate, guns a blazing. With the staff dispensed with, he begins searching for tank eighty-nine. 

With tank eighty-nine found we see the real goal of this raid, tank eighty-nine contains the frozen body of Artie Gruber, sworn enemy of the Hellcats.

Loading the body onto a hover hearse, it is transported away to the syndicate's headquarters, where Artie Gruber is thawed out to do battle with the Hellcats once again. 

Just a shot of action was enough to advance the story greatly in this episode. I did wonder about the recycling of villains, I'm normally not a fan, but Artie Gruber looked great and was a worthy opponent so I'm happy enough to see his return. The world-building of the cryogenic centre was also noteworthy, and put in mind of some of the best Judge Dredd stories. A lot of nice little details in those panels and it made for a well-rounded story. There is still plenty to come, part of me wishes we could go back to the cryogenic centre, but I dare say things will move rapidly forward from here.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I see your husband was, er... laid low by influenza, Madam, a very rare disease indeed, in this day and age." 

Colony Earth wraps up this week as our heroes battle the aliens on their own ship. With the alien leader their hostage, they have the advantage despite the overwhelming numbers. 

While Hunter keeps his pistol firmly in the alien leader's back, Professor Vandenberg leads them to the ship's main power source, the solar reactors. He quickly sets them to maximum output, and with overload not being far away they make a dash for the flying saucer. 

With Astronaut Steel at the helm, they escape just in time to see the main ship explode into a fireball. Shortly after they return safely to Earth where the professor bemoans the fact that they've lost a chance to communicate with an alien lifeform, while Hunter reminds him that what these creatures had in mind was anything but friendly. Meanwhile, Astronaut Steel is just happy to have some alien space technology to study.

As much as I enjoyed the artwork, I found the ending of this story to be underwhelming. I didn't feel the sense of drama and threat, and when I went back and read it a second time I disregarded the dialogue and just looked at the pictures - a far more satisfying proposition. Overall, the story started strong, but in the last few weeks I have become less and less engaged in what was going on, and for me, it really was only the art that saved it. A typical alien invasion story, with the invasion thwarted by a ragtag team, this felt a lot like the 1950s flying saucer films I watched as a kid. Good fun to start with, but not quite enough to leave me satisfied. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Enjoy your trips, boys - if you make it to Earth in one piece you might get a job sitting in someone's front garden!" 

A plague, vaccines, and quarantine, this week's Judge Dredd is far more relatable to me in 2023 than it would have been in 1977. 

Dredd is introduced to an old friend, Red, who has returned from Mega-City Two with a hell of a story. Mega-City Two has been infected by a plague, with thousands affected, and Red has been tasked with delivering vaccines to them.

He arrives only to find the plague men aren't interested in vaccines, only in cannibalism and forbidden fruit. With gun drawn, Red fights his way out and escapes to Mega-City One where he sits in quarantine and tells his story to Dredd. 

Assistant Grand Judge Fodder asks Dredd if he would be able to deliver the vaccines, but before any decision is made, Red becomes infected and attempts to break out. There is a scuffle, and things escalate to the point where Dredd has to kill him to protect himself and the millions in Mega-City One that could be infected. 

With this behind him, Dredd agrees to the mission and a trip across the cursed earth. 

Sounds grim, but there is still the Dredd humour here. I was especially fond of the name of the plague - 2T (fru) T. Much funnier than the current plague names we are using. It was hard to read this story without a modern context and thoughts of lockdowns and anti-vaccers in my head, and that perhaps ruined it for me somewhat. I would have liked to come to this with no context and a fresh set of eyes, but that's a tough ask for a comic that's more than forty years old. Next week promises much and if it can build on this strong foundation we should be in for a great story. With a very solid concept and a strong beginning, this is a story with potential as we move forward. 

Rating 7.5/10

Best line: "We do not want the vaccine...we want...the forbidden fruit!"  

What a start to the MACH 1 story this week as we see the burial of John Probe's body. How it came to this, we don't know, and the rest of the story is told as a flashback as an inquiry begins to determine if Probe died a traitor or a hero. 

An army base in Aldershot has been sealed off by security after finding all the men there paralysed in a state of shock. Probe is dispatched with a gadget to deliver an electro-shock treatment to the men, reviving them and giving them a chance to explain what happened. 

The first man he tries it on babbles about flying saucers, but Probe is unable to get more information as he is interrupted by a tank firing upon him. His MACH power takes over and Probe defeats the tank, but upon opening it up to find who was at the controls finds that it is empty. 

The strip ends here, with Probe wondering aloud who could have been controlling the tank, while he is unknowingly watched. 

A great concept with the opening funeral and consequent investigation retracing what happened to Probe. We have Pat Mills writing for this one, and already I can see the quality shining through. Not much has happened yet, but several key elements are in place, all of which bode well for the future. I have many questions that need answering, and the story has captured my imagination from the first page. I can't wait to see what will happen next week, and this is bound to be the first story I turn to when I pick up next week's issue. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "If you ask me...MACH One deserved to die!" 

Prog 61 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: MACH 1

Best Line: "Unfortunately, because Red came in contact with the plague men, we've had to keep him here...in case he's one of the ten per cent the vaccine doesn't work on!"   

Best Panel:

Prog 60

 This week's issue is hit-and-miss. There are a couple of outstanding stories, but others aren't quite up to the standard I have come to expect. No matter, next week we can do it all again and the cyclic nature of these stories can continue. Now I know how my father feels, I'm not angry, just disappointed. 

Prog 60

15th April 1978

Dan Dare is descending deep to destroy the Sluurg-mother with a sonic-bomb, hoping to save the waterworld of the Zeebos being destroyed. He is facing one more crucial problem though, the special booster fluid in his veins is wearing off and he is succumbing to the enormous deep sea pressures. 

The Slurrg-mother looks on as Dare approaches, and then reaches out, thinking that he is food. Dare avoids her grasp and she instead swallows the sonic-bomb. It is far from over for Dare as she grabs him a second time and he resorts to stabbing her in the eye, freeing himself from her clutches just as the sonic weapon detonates. 

The world around him begins to collapse and it seems that he has no escape, only for him to awake on a hospital bed where Hitman informs him he has been unconscious for a week. 

Hitman informs Dare, and the reader, of all that has unfolded since the sonic bomb exploded, and how how they found Dare once they got the Eagle's reactors working again. They are now back on the fort orbiting the planet and waiting for Dare to pull through before they warp out of there. 

Dare has other ideas though, and his final task is to mop up the rest of the Slurrgs. We are informed in a single panel that this takes two months to achieve using laser canons and torpedos, and once this genocide is complete they finally leave the planet and we all anticipate a new adventure next week. 

A weak ending to what has been a fairly decent story. Disappointed to see the annihilation of a whole species on the final page, but I guess in space it's kill or be killed. My only other negative thought was that I didn't much care for the look of the Slurrg-mother. Those lazy-looking eyes didn't truly convey the menace of the creature. 

Asides from those two things, the rest of the story entertained me and was at times touching on thrilling. Not as good as the issues leading up to this one, but still I walk away from this story with a smile on my lips and thoughts of becoming a space adventurer myself. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Weak as a...newborn kitten! The...surface is twenty miles up...and I'm just....not gonna make it!" 

John Probe has returned to the laboratory where his life as MACH 1 began, only to find his boss Denis Sharpe waiting for him with a hulking menace known as MACH 2. 

Sharpe has instructed MACH 2 to destroy John Probe and the next few pages of the comic outline their battle against each other. It's an unequal fight and it soon becomes apparent that MACH 2 is both stronger and tougher than Probe.

Probe does have a piece of luck when MACH 2 throws him into high-voltage cables. The cables spark and flame and MACH 2 looks a little frightened. Probe capitalises on this and pokes a flaming cable into MACH 2's face. This brings the next big reveal in the story, for as MACH 12's skin melts away we see that he is a machine. 

Sharpe reveals more, telling Probe that as MACH 1 he was too unreliable, the human emotions of his being overriding the logic of his computerised brain. With MACH 2 there will be no such consideration.

MACH 2 grabs Probe from behind and begins to choke him out, and thoughts of who he really is floods Probe's mind. It is then that MACH 2 releases him on Sharpe's command and we finish the story with Sharpe telling Probe that he is the only one who knows Probe's full story, and as much as they hate each other, they need each other.

The fight in the middle of the strip was typical for the genre, but it was the final page where we broke new ground and the story dragged itself into a wider context. This feels like a fresh start, and although Probe has been pursuing his history for a few issues, now it feels like he's never been further or closer to the truth. Far more interesting than battling villains of the week, MACH 1 has found its feet and finally matured into a story I want to read every week. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Yet as you see, a little thing like having his plasti-skin melt won't stop MACH 2. He goes on till his mission is complete!"

With Astronaut Major Steel being hauled about the alien craft orbiting Earth, it seems that Commander James Hunter's counterattack in Colony Earth has failed. 

Professor Vandenberg has other ideas, and clambors about the alien ship himself, seeking to negotiate Steel's release. This leaves Hunter and war robot "Charlie" alone to carry out the fight, and they find themselves gaining entry through a part around the back. 

Blasting their way through a couple of doors and several guards, Hunter soon finds himself in the room he seeks, where the aliens are talking with Vandenberg and Steel. From here on all hell breaks loose, with Hunter and Steel putting up a storming hand-to-hand battle. Several panels later the fight has been all but won, and we finish the story with Hunter facing down the alien leader and about to, hopefully, bring things to a conclusion. 

Not my favourite story right now. A lot happened this week, but none of it felt very important. It was all too easy, and nothing felt earned. All three members of Hunter's party gained access to the alien craft smoothly, there was no drama with the professor and Steel being captured, and Hunter himself gained entry extremely easily. He quickly found his colleagues and the final fight was over in just a few short panels, it all became one-sided quickly. The art looked great, but as soon as I followed the story I became disillusioned. I want to like this story more than I do, but right now it's just not appealing. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Hunter - you old swamp rat - you made it!" 

At first glance, it looks as though this week's Judge Dredd story is about a firebug, but after reading it we find that it's actually about something much closer to home - Walter Wobot.

We start with a dramatic splash page of a burning tower block and the mad scramble of citizens trying to parachute to safety. Over the page, Dredd is on the scene and directing safety operations, while his faith robot Walter delivers sandwiches to him to keep his strength up. 

The fire is brought under control and Chief Judge and Dredd are discussing the firebug behind this fire and ten others. In a city of 800 million, he is going to be hard to find.

It is Walter who gives Dredd a vital clue the following morning. As he delivers breakfast to Dredd he also tells him that it is the anniversary of Walter gaining his freedom. As a token of his appreciation he has burnt his freedom papers and had some ownership papers drawn up - Dredd is now the owner of Walter. 

Dredd is annoyed at this interruption but it does spark a thought in his head, and he calls for all the ownership deeds of the properties that have suffered fire damage. His hunch proves fruitful, they are all owned by one man named McCracken and he is soon brought in for questioning. 

It doesn't take long to get to the bottom of it, removing the top layer of his skin they find traces of fire-starting chemicals. McCracken stares angrily out from beneath a swarth of bandages as he is taken away, but the story still has some way to go. 

Dredd returns home to find a suicide note from Walter. He has decided he can't live without Dredd and will throw himself off a tall building forthwith. Dredd puts out an emergency call, and soon sights Walter on Dredd's bike, about to jump off a tall building. 

The bike plunges over the edge, with Walter chained to it. Dredd is aboard a hover bus, and with a net he catches Walter mid-fall, before rushing him quickly off to the roboclinic. 

Walter is repaired, but Dredd remains cold with him to the end, telling him that as his owner he expects Walter to do exactly like he says or he'll be auctioned off. He speaks harshly, but Walter is overjoyed to be back in the fold and claims to be the happiest robot in the world. 

A story of two halves, and neither was particularly satisfying. I enjoyed the firebug story, especially the panels when McCracken is brought in for investigation and the horrifying machine he faced, but it wrapped up all too quickly. I would have liked to see it fill the whole strip, and the Walter storyline split off for another day. I have the same feelings for the Walter storyline. The end was good, but with more build-up, it could have been much more, Despite this, I enjoyed this week's strip, and the mention of sandwiches twice in the first pages made me smile. The first page in colour wasn't the highlight as far as the art goes, that was within as the Judges interrogated the prisoner, but it did set the tone as far as humour goes with the comment from one of the citizens gliding to safety calling out "Be careful you fool! Where were you during glide chute training" This humour remained strongly embedded throughout the whole strip and raised it above the midlevel plot. Some strong elements here, I would like to see them gel together in a stronger storyline. 

Rating: 6/10

Best Line: "I'm Judge Dredd's wobot, please give these sandwiches to him. He must keep his stwength up!" 

Future Shocks is very much a short sharp shock, with the story barely stretching to a page and a half. 

We open with two archaeologists opening up an ancient tomb and having a lively debate about what lies in the coffin they find there. One surmises that it is the body of visiting aliens from other worlds while the other thinks it could be the leader of a lost tribe. 

Over the page, we have the final panel of the strip with a vampire rising above both the men, an explanation neither man considered. 

As much as I liked the final panel, it wasn't enough for me to fall in love with the story. I'm usually a sucker for ancient crypts, and this one certainly ticked all the boxes for me, but there wasn't enough of a hook to have me quickly turning the page. The final panel looked sensational with the vampire drawing heavily from Nosferatu, but the story was all but over and this twist didn't make up for the brevity of the strip. Pretty to look at, but I would have liked just a little more flesh on the bones of the story.

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "I wonder what secrets lie behind those ancient stones?"

With a giant garbage robot bearing down on them, the only chance for the Hellcats is the surprising arrival of Regal Eegle on his bike. This week's episode of Inferno drops us straight into this scenario, with Regal Eegal leaping off his bike at the critical moment and letting it slam into the robot's claw. The team think it's a cowardly act, but he has cunningly overheated the energy fusion cell on the bike, turning it into a bomb. And what a bomb, the robot is completely destroyed as it crushes the bike in its claw.  

With the controller of the robot also dead, there are no further clues for the Hellcats to follow in their search for the Syndicate. A team meeting is held, and everyone is made aware of the situation the team find themselves in. There is talk of breaking up the team, but everyone agrees to stick it out despite the odds stacked against them. 

In the next game, the team play exceedingly well, and it seems all is back on track as the crowd begins to appreciate them. However, watching on TV is the shadowy figure of Mr Chubbs, still plotting their demise. He seeks someone ruthless and with a grudge against the team to do his bidding. He has found just such a person, who we see in the final panel, all he has to do is raise him from the dead. 

I don't want to spoil it, but the figure Mr Chubb has lined up is most familiar to us, and I look forward to his return next week. But until then I must consider this story. A nice big explosion up front, some internal politics, and then the final appearance of their nemesis and his latest scheme makes for a well-rounded issue. There was even time for a game to appear briefly, and for once the team were winning. All positive things this week, and with next week bringing new twists this story is going from strength to strength. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "That's for losers, man! To hell with the Syndicate!"  

Prog 60 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: MACH 1

Best Line: "Stop screaming - we haven't even touched you - yet!"   

Best Panel:

Prog 59

Sometimes I feel as though Im tiring of some of these stories, and then we get an issue that brings it all right back to me. Inferno is an obvious example. Every time I begin to lose faith in it, it smacks me right between the eyes with an outstanding issue. Judge Dredd is a different case, it is consistently strong, although I was becoming bored with Luna-1 so this week's return to Earth is timely. Elsewhere, Future Shocks is a standout this week, and overall Prog 59 is a strong issue with a couple of stories standing out above all others.    

Prog 59

8th April 1978

The alien creatures attacking Dan Dare's men are described as stomachs with teeth, a highly accurate description judging by the opening panel this time around. 

They do have one vulnerability though, and Dare and his men find that once the creatures have eaten and their stomachs swell they are easy enough to kill with spears, obligingly popping like balloons. 

The Zeebs have their own way of dealing with the problem and releasing a sonic shock from their tentacles is equally effective against the Snappers. 

The Snappers are merely the first of Dare's problems, and over the page, we find that the Eagle is in danger of falling over a cliff edge. Some quick action, and a reappearance of the sea-slug vehicles that Dare used so effectively last week, see's Dare and his men drag the Eagle to safety with tow ropes. 

Deciding on their plan of attack against the Slurrg-mother, Dare decides that the best weapon would be to reconfigure a blockbuster bomb into a sonic weapon. This decided the next problem is how to deliver such a weapon down twenty miles under the water. 

The answer lies with the Zeebs who inject themselves with a special fluid to harden themselves at deep levels. It is tested and works on humans, and two days later Dare and crewmember Ley inject themselves in preparation for the mission. They are interrupted by an earthquake which seems innocuous enough, but as they dive deep with the weapon Ley's suit breaks up. The earthquake interrupted their injection and Ley didn't get the full dose required at such depths. Dare plunges on down, but is fearful that the same fate may befall him at any moment. 

The Snappers on the first page looked great, and I was disappointed to find that they could be destroyed in such an easy manner. They could have been a thorn in the side of Dare throughout the strip, but after the first page, my mind never went back to them. The rest of the story was all plot, with the only other dramatic moment being on the final page. It would have been nice to have something else in between, but as it was, the two dramatic moments bookended the story nicely and made for a well-rounded issue. With next week potentially being explosive, there is much to look forward to, and even if this episode didn't live up to expectations I have high hopes going forward. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "And now your crewmen have released them...the snappers will devour anything in their path!"

The first page of MACH 1 is a recap of what John Probe is capable of, and the fact that his energy will burn him out. It also touches on his conflict with his boss all in seven captions and just as many images. 

Flying back to London, Probe comes to the realization that he can't remember anything before he got the hyper-power injections. He has little time to dwell on this thought, two suspicious characters are waiting for him as he lands. Ducking into the bathroom, Probe smashes his way through the wall and leaves the airport undetected. 

Later in the London underground, he sees more of Sharpe's men, and this time escapes them using his hyper-power to be pulled along by the train, a stunt so dangerous we are warned not to try it for ourselves. 

Probe heads for Somerset house to have a look at the records of birth and deaths, but he finds no sign of anyone with his name. The next stop is Sharpe's laboratory, but once there he finds it closed permanently and all the machinery damaged beyond repair. 

Confronted by Sharpe, he is told that he has been replaced by MACH 2, a gigantic figure who we see in the final panel of the story. 

Next week's conflict is highly anticipated, and I am interested to see how Probe will fare against an opponent with the same powers, but bigger. We have already seen him fight against the Russian Mach - Tanya, and a previous iteration of the Mach program just a few months ago. This is a different proposition altogether, and with Sharpe on hand, we could be looking at a potential final showdown between the two. I certainly hope so, and I am already fantasizing about what might happen next week. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Tanya was no longer of use to me. She was always no more than a pawn in a game - just as you are, Probe!" 

With Astronaut Steel, Hunter has managed to get an alien saucer into the air and is ready to take on the alien station in orbit in this week's Colony Earth. But with the Ship 'Lion' under attack, Steel decides there is one last thing they need to do before their suicide mission - take on the aliens attacking the 'Lion'.

This rash decision leads to one alien craft being shot down before Steel and Hunter take a hit on their own saucer. With their craft damaged, they have lost the opportunity to make orbit but Steel is adamant they can still achieve their mission. 

It is the professor who comes to the rescue, pointing out that they still have the buggy down in the hold, along with the robot and its weapon. 

Donning spacesuits, the three men set off, with Hunter and the professor on the buggy and Steel towed behind. Things seem to be going well as they approach the orbiting alien ship, but Steel becomes snagged on a girder and the tow line is broken. We end with Steel floating towards the main viewing port where an Alien stands looking out. 

I have been running hot and cold on this story, but this was a solid episode. Steel's gungho spirit almost foiled them as they took off, and his final accident once again put them at risk. There is a lot to like in the artwork, and there were moments when I didn't read and just digested the artwork on the page. I hope to see more of Jim Watson in this comic, perhaps not his writing, but definitely his artwork. All eyes now turn to next week and the next dramatic instalment. Anything could happen, and I expect the unexpected. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "If you could spare us the time from your jokes, Hunter, please steer course 180..."

Judge Dredd is back on Earth, but it's not Judge Dredd as we know him. Crime is rife on the mean streets of Mega-city 1, and as Dredd informs us, there are 4000 crimes committed on this one-way street alone. 

However, Dredd seems unconcerned by this crime and merely walks by the criminals with a quiet smile on his face. He does stop to tell them that armed robbery is illegal, but that is the limit of his interference. 

Over the next few panels, we see this behaviour repeated several times, each time Dredd stays uninvolved. We come to the crux of the matter over the page as a rookie Judge pulls up beside Dredd, and hands him his reinstatement pages. This kicks Dredd into action and commandeering the rookie's bike he is off with the yell "Look out, you lawbreaking scum!"

The next page is a reversal of all that has come before as Judge Dredd takes it to the street kicking ass and taking names. It's dynamic, it's dramatic, and it's exactly what I want to see. It is, simply, Dredd at his best. 

Walter gives us the explanation to wrap up the story, asking Dredd why he didn't act sooner. Dredd explains that he wasn't officially a judge again until he was sworn in and that it is illegal for an ordinary citizen to take the law into his own hands. 

I didn't need the explanation, but I appreciated that they tied up the loose ends anyway. There was no supervillain behind this story, but seeing Judge Dredd kick and bash justice out to all those who broke the law was thrilling and awe-inspiring. Angry Dredd is my favourite kind of Dredd, and we certainly saw a lot of pent-up anger released on the final two pages. Meanwhile, it was also interesting to see the benevolent Dredd strolling the streets early on, and the contrast made the angry Dredd even more fearsome. It's great to see Dredd back on Earth, and I hope the writers have something meaty for him to sink his teeth into next week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Judge Dredd's back in town!"

We open this week's Future Shocks with the survivors of World War 3 sheltering in underground shelters. 

Tinned food is the mainstay of their diet, and it is up to a brave few to risk the surface in search of more food. With food scarce, it's man against man for the remaining tins that can be found. 

We see one forager shoot another as they both have their eyes on the same tin. It seems an easy victory, but the shot man is merely playing possum as he fakes death. His revenge comes in the next panel as his opponent reaches for the can, a well-thrown knife ending it for the other.

Regaining his feet, he finds he has killed a beautiful young girl, but such is life under these kill-or-be-killed conditions. It is then that the story reaches the climax, for not only has he killed a beautiful young woman, but the tin that he has fought life or death for contains something worthless to him - Shell Oil. 

A lovely twist and another excellent addition to the Future Shock's canon. It caught me twice, first with the young woman being killed, and then with the can being oil and not food. Clever stuff, and a plausible and enjoyable read. An ideal story for this format, it is one that I read twice as I enjoyed it so much, the greatest praise you can give any story. 

Rating: 9/10

Best line: "Even the hardened forager is startled by the fact that he just killed a beautiful young girl. But she was just one more opponent fighting against him"

 Things aren't looking great for the Hellcats in Inferno. They have discovered Kalmann, their only link with the gambling syndicate trying to wipe them out, but he's of no use to them with his brains frizzled with circuit solder-rods. 

It's a gruesome discovery, and the team deduce from his body temperature that he died only a few minutes ago. 

Things accelerate from here on in as outside the building the giant garbage robot we saw last week arrives. With Kalmann's killer controlling the robot there is no doubt in its intentions.

Emerging from the building, Giant is snatched up in its grasp, but an energy pulse sent from Louis's brain jams the signal and the robot drops Giant. It's the last part Louis will play in this battle as he collapses from his exertions. 

The robot is once again fully functional and coming at the trio when Moody Bloo takes a hand. Picking up a chunk of masonry, he clubs hit with all his might, not at the robot but at the killer controlling the robot. 

The killer dies instantly, but we still have a battle on our hands as Robot continues to come at them. The story ends on a high note as Regal Eegle suddenly appears and rides directly at the robot. 

Plenty happening here and I like all of it. We had some fabulous art on the first page as we looked at the deceased Kalmann, and this made his gruesome death feel real on the page. Over the page and for the rest of the comic we had the battle against the robot. Each member of the three Hellcats fighting against it played a part, and I was reminded of the superhero teams of the 1960s that would fight monsters in a similar manner, Finally, we had Regal Eegle bravely riding towards the robot. I'm left with the cliffhanger on the page, but also the thought of his redemption for the cowardly behaviour we saw a couple of weeks ago, or is this a new twist and he's about to do something unexpected. Either way, I'll be here for it next week. The race to find the syndicate is heating up, and away from the actual games I'm finding I'm enjoying Inferno immensely. 

Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Moody, are you crazy? You'll never stop that thing with a chunk of masonry!"

Prog 59 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Future Shocks

Best Line: "Look out, you lawbreaking scum!"   

Best Panel: