Ant Wars dominated my thoughts last week, but we shouldn't overlook the fact that Mach Zero has been outstanding of late, and this week is another excellent edition. Every time I think it has run out of steam it picks up again, and this week it manages to eclipse its previous highs. Outstanding, - pick up Prog 72 now and read along, you'll see what I mean
Prog 72
8th July 1978
The first panel of Mach Zero lets us know we are in for something special as Mach Zero pushes the columns of the theatre apart with his bare hands, bringing the house down around him.
The tramps and vagrants flee, as does Cousin George who has been holding Mach Zero prisoner and manipulating him. It looks as though Mach Zero has sacrificed himself, but he pushes his way out of the rubble and after thanking the vagrants sets off in pursuit of Cousin George.
Over the page, we see that Cousin George has escaped underground in an abandoned part of the London Underground network. Hearing Mach Zero coming, he pushes his way into a recess, hoping he will remain unseen as Mach Zero passes by. His plan goes awry however when the water rises and he finds he is trapped. After his life of adulation and worship, Cousin George drowns alone and isolated.
Mach Zero emerges from the underground unaware of Cousin George's demise. Now utterly alone he wanders off into the wet, cold, unfriendly night, with thoughts of searching for his boy Tommy.
This looked like it could be the final issue of Mach Zero, but these final panels give me hope that it still has some way to run. This was another outstanding issue, with the panels of George's death among the very best I have seen on the pages of 2000AD. The intensity caught on his face is magnificent and one could feel the true horror of his lonely death. Equally compelling is the first panel of the story as Mach Zero pulls the theatre down around him. It is only one panel, but it was the fire that ignited the story this week. It would have been my favourite panel if not for the equally brilliant panel capturing George's end. Aside from the art, the writing remained tight, and the writer has given himself room to manoeuvre with Zero emerging and wandering off towards potential new storylines. Plenty of positives here and a great start to this week's edition.
Rating: 9/10
Best line: "I'm trapped...but this can't happen to me! I'm the greatest stuntman in the world! I can escape from anywhere. I'm everyone's favourite, Cousin George!"
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Ant Wars continues this week with thousands of giant soldier ants approaching Captain Villa and his Indian companion Anteater.
A desperate race through the jungle begins, and after several hours they are forced to stop for a break. Captain Villa shares his rations with Anteater, but is horrified to see that he not only eats the rations but also the wrapper as well. Chastising him, he demonstrates how you should just throw the wrapper away, a key plot point that will become important soon.
They have a stroke of luck shortly after as they chance upon a road and a petrol tanker. Anteater shows his ignorance as they climb aboard for a ride he opens the hatch of the tanker, puts his hand in and tastes the petrol. Again Captain Villa steps forward and shows Anteater that this is special firewater, a demonstration of how it burns being an effective and quick lesson for the young Indian.
All this setup comes into play over the page. The tanker comes across a fallen tree blocking the road, and as they assess the situation the ants emerge from the forest and spring their trap. Anteater is quick with his machete and fighting off the ants hauls Captain Villa to the top of the tanker. He goes back for the driver, and although unable to save him, he pulls something from the dead man's pocket. Watching Anteater open the hatch of the tanker, Villa wonders if he has the brains to work out an escape plan.
Things move quickly from here on, and as the ants consume the driver's body Anteater jumps from their position and calls for Villa to follow him. Once safely away from the tanker, Anteater pulls the dead driver's lighter from his pocket, and igniting some dry leaves around a stone hurls the incendiary device back at the open hatch of the tanker. The rest of the story writes itself as the tanker explodes into flame, blasting the surrounding ants to pieces.
As Villa surveys the trap the ants had set he wonders how they could have picked up their trail so quickly,. It is explained in the following panel as he sees the wrapper of his ration packet lying nearby.
We finish the story with Villa disgusted as Anteater chops up one of the freshly roasted ants and enjoys some hot food.
A tidy story, and although I felt a lot of the setup was too obvious, the payoff was worth it. I find the most interesting part of the story to be the ants themselves, and I can't help but be repulsed by the sight of them in every panel. They are fascinating and disgusting in equal measure and the reason this story is so good. The thought of being trapped in the forest with them makes my skin crawl, and I can't wait to see how Villa and Anteater will negotiate their way of out the jungle in the coming weeks. This week was a little predictable, but I have high hopes for what comes next. There was enough horror here to make me fear the garden just outside my window, and I shan't risk going outside for the rest of the day.
Rating: 7/10
Best line: "You simple savage. Don't you realise that you're playing with fire?"
Judge Dredd has arrived in MacDonald City along with Spikes, although both are prisoners of Ronald McDonald himself.
With the government destroyed in the atomic war, the burger chains have become so powerful that they have taken over, and Dredd is forced to listen to Ronald McDonald, giving a speech to his people about how they are beating the Burger King chain as his dream of every child growing up to be a McDonalds eater.
It is quite a speech, and after Dredd and Spikes are taken to a burger bar where they find the employees are just as disposable as the food. After the meal, Dredd and Spikes take advantage of some sleeping guards and make an escape. Seizing an old McDonald's truck, and wearing some McDonald's uniforms, they head out into the wasteland, but they aren't clear just yet.
In the wasteland, they find that they are caught in a stampede. It's not just any stampede, it's a stampede made by the Burger King bozos, driving the cattle right towards Dredd. Taken prisoner again, this time by the Burger King chain, Spikes and Dredd face a kangaroo court. Wearing McDonald's uniforms and captured in a McDonald's truck, their protestations of innocence carry no weight and they are quickly condemned to death.
Things look grim as they are strung up, and Spikes sums it up best with his comment "What a stupid way to go." However help is near at hand, and the sudden appearance of the land-raider saves the day as it arrives with all guns blazing. With Dredd saved and Burger King boys released, the story ends with Dredd and his men resuming their journey to get the vaccine to Mega-city Two.
I had almost forgotten the vaccine and this is a timely reminder of why Dredd is crossing the cursed Earth. I enjoyed the premise of this story and the associated set-up, although the final conclusion was a letdown. With Dredd and Spikes facing death only for the land-raider to suddenly arrive and save the day felt like the easy option. I would have liked a little more substance behind its arrival, and given how well the rest of the story was written this was surprising. The overall story concept was fantastic and worked well in the Dredd strip. It was a good fit for this cursed Earth story and added another layer to the world that had been previously created. The idea of two burger companies battling it out over the remains of civilization had an air of believability about it and gave the story some solid ground to build on. This is the satire that Dredd does so well, and as such it is entirely representative of all I like about Dredd. The weak bending doesn't detract from the fact that this is a very good Dredd story told briskly across two issues.
Rating: 7.5/10
Best line: "A likely story! You've bin tried an' found guilty of hamburger crimes! By th' powers vested in me by the Burger King, ah sentence yu to death. String 'em up!"
With John 'Giant' Clay kidnapped by the mysterious syndicate, we begin this week's Inferno story with the Hellcats team about to enter the deserted Firebowl in search of him.
Entering, they find a statue of Giant mounted cover an open grave, complete with a tombstone announcing his death. The meaning of this is revealed with the appearance of a weird faceless figure who tells them whether or not Giant fills the grave is up to them.
It is then that we see Giant spreadeagled across a cave entrance. They are unable to free him however as he calls to the team to stay back - he has been wired with explosives that will detonate if anyone so much as touches him.
We finish with the Hellcats about to defend the cave, and the life of Giant, as they face a team named the Wolves of Death.
The final image of one of the Wolves Of Death is spectacular, and things bode for the next issue. However, this issue was dedicated to setting that up, and we moved slowly through the pages that showed the lay of the land. The location was given its due time on the page and looked perfect in every panel - just as I would have imagined it. The faceless figure carried a lot of the weight of the storytelling, and the second part of the story was heavy on exposition. I wouldn't normally mind too much, but in this case, I would have liked to see something happening visually, rather than all the art being focused on the backdrop as people speak. If this balance is addressed next week, we should be in for a great issue. All the ingredients are in place, they just need to come together in the right mix.
Rating: 6/10
Best line: "...but whether he fills that grave or not, is your decision! As you can see, gentlemen...the stage is set..!"
The introduction captions to Dan Dare are brilliant, and as well as filling us in on the backstory also emphasise the horror of Sleetha killer worms that are swarming over the ship.
It seems Dare and his men will face a gruesome death as even with their phasers blasting some of the worms they remain heavily outnumbered. That changes with a flick of a switch as Dare activates the ship's electro-sterilization circuits, sending 5,000,000 volts surging through the ship. It's highly effective and the Sleetha are fried to a crisp.
Dare explains that their rubber-soled combat boots insulated them from the full force of the shock, but he is cut short as the Vrakk appear outside the ship. It could be out of the frying pan and into the fire, but the Vrakk have come in peace. They quickly fill in the blanks of the story we have been following for the last two months - the Sleetha had been using false radio messages for years to lure ships to the plant where they then hypnotised them, luring them until a false sense of security.
With this cleaned up, Dare and his crew leave the planet, and continue their mission to lost worlds.
The Sleetha were the best part of the story, and coupled with the ants in Ant Wars I shall be wary of anything in the garden for the next few weeks. The opening panels were fabulous with words and images coming together in a powerful comic alchemy. The rest of the story never reached these same heights, but by then a chill had been placed in my heart and I read the rest of the story fearfully. This hasn't been my favourite Dan Dare, but it has been one of the most impactful, and I don't think I will forget the Sleetha for a long time to come. With Dave Gibbons on art, Dan Dare will always be a favourite, and in this case, we have had an excellent story to go with the superb art. Dan Dare still hasn't reached its full potential and as good as this is, I still think the best is to come. We will find out next week.
Rating: 8/10
Best Line: "Brace yourselves, men! I'm going to set in motion a mammoth de-lousing operation!"
Overall: 7.5/10
Best Story: Mach Zero
Best Line: "What a...stupid...way to go...!"
Best Panel:
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