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: