Prog 75

I had expected the end of Inferno was almost upon us but I was thrown this week by the sudden ending of Mach Zero as well. Mach Zero has been bubbling along nicely the last couple of weeks, coming off the back of an extremely strong story, and I had expected much more to come. Sadly, it isn't to be. On a positive note, I always welcome a new story and new ideas, and I am intrigued by what will follow. We haven't had the hype we got preceding Ant Wars, and whatever comes next will be painted on a fresh canvas for me. Plenty to look forward to, but for now pull out your tissues and we'll farewell the two long-running stories of Inferno and Mach Zero.   

Prog 75

29th July 1978

It's not very often that Inferno is the first story in 2000 A.D,  but one can understand why after reading it. 

Playing a match against killer androids, the Hellcats are stalling for time as Louis attempts to intercept the radio beam that controls the androids. It's a tough situation with several Hellcats already dead, and soon that body count mounts as Slim Shafto and Zack Harper meet their demise.

With Giant still shackled at the cave entrance, Moody Bloo is left facing overwhelming odds. He takes out a couple of the robots before Louis finally intercepts the signal and is able to command the androids to destroy each other.

It seems as though the tide has turned, but suddenly two shots ring out and both Louis and Moody Bloo cut down. The faceless android appears with a gun in hand and tells Giant that the syndicate has won and this is the end of the Hellcats. 

We get three final panels to wrap up the story as we see that Giant has survived and is with Cindy who was injured several issues ago. Standing over the graves of the Hellcats, Giant explains that the police were able to free him, while Cindy has a moment to tell him that she is now repaired and out of the hospital.

The story finishes with one final poignant image as Giant and Cindy survey the graves, and Giant intones that he just wants to forget everything that happened, but that he'll never forget the Hellcats.

Ignore my poor description, this was a great issue apart from a few weak spots. The final panels were a fine way to wrap up all that had come before. The solemnity of the final scene was touching and pitched just right with words and images dancing a beautiful dance. I wasn't so fond of the way the individual deaths of the Hellcats were skimmed over, and I felt that it did cheapen the loss of some characters who we had been journeying with over the previous year.  We even had Tharg appear mid-story with some exposition that glossed over the death of Zack Harper. It is perhaps understandable that we can't have a climatic issue if it is stretched across a month, but I do wish some of the characters had a better send-off. One decision I wholeheartedly agreed with was the decision to have the syndicate win and finish on a downbeat. The easy route would have been for Louis to control the androids, the Hellcats win with a last-gasp effort and somehow overcome the syndicate. The finish we have here is much more true to life, and fitting for all that has come before. Not a perfect finish, but it did wrap everything up with just a blush of emotion on the page to draw a tear to the corner of the eye. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "...he's dead...no...not after all this...it can't end this way"

Encased in a powerful suit, Harry Winthrop is seeking revenge on the professor and Sir Charles Hilliers. Rampaging with the mighty Mach Zero by his side, the pair ignore the gatekeeper they come across and instead make their way back towards the house.

They are just in time as Sir Charles is fleeing in his vehicle. Mach Zero makes short work of the car, tearing it to pieces with his bare hands. Harry is intent on harming Sir Charles, but Mach Zero refuses on the grounds that it wasn't Sir Charles who did bad to them. 

This leads to a quarrel between the pair, a quarrel that quickly becomes physical. It is while the two are exchanging blows that helicopters appear, dropping canisters of nerve gas that not only knocks out the guests sheltering within the house but also Mach Zero. 

Free to do what he pleases, Harry suddenly finds the suit melting around him. It seems the gas has sped up the process of the suit burning up, and the story quickly closes as Harry is reduced back to his former self. One final panel shows a close-up of Mach Zero and a small caption explaining that he is once again chained in his cell and awaiting his fate. 

A curious ending to a story that I thought was going to give us much more. For all the promise of the last few weeks, the threads of the story quickly melted away in the face of some gas canisters and Mach Zero himself was afforded a mere panel to explain his fate. Deeply unsatisfying, especially given the build-up to this issue. Feeling there must be more, I have just flicked through the next issue, but sadly this seems to be it for Mach Zero. We have seen this several times recently, stories finishing abruptly when they still seemed to have much to offer. I can understand it to a point, but sometimes I wish we could have just one or two more issues to round out these stories in a satisfying fashion. Mach Zero didn't feature strongly at the beginning of this issue, and he was almost non-existent on the final page, except for one lonely panel. The midsection was better, and we did get some fine displays of strength from Mach Zero, although it was mostly just smashing a car. When I think of Mach Zero, this shan't be the story I cast my mind back to you. I have fond memories of the Mach Zero story immediately before this, and, for me, that was peak Mach Zero. After a strong run, this was a weak finish and a disservice to all that had come before. 

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "This is it, the moment when the world will take note of Harry Winthrop...the moment! 

A surprising start to this week's Judge Dredd. When we last saw Dredd he was tied to a rock and facing off against a ravenous dinosaur, yet this week we start back in the town of Repentance as the local townsfolk bet on two smaller Dinosaurs fighting. It's a cruel sport, much like dog fighting, but the locals love it and gamble excitedly. All the time though they are watched from Dredd's land raider by Tweak, whose rapidly growing grasp of English is about to pay dividends.

Cutting back to Dredd and Spikes, and things are about to rapidly improve. Pulling an old tooth out of the rock he is tied to, Dredd fashions an escape, quickly cutting both his and Spikes' bonds. 

They aren't out of the woods quite yet, the dinosaur Satanus grabs Dredd. After wearing a grenade on his ear for the previous few months, Spikes finally puts it to good use, hurling it towards the monster about to eat Dredd. 

Another dinosaur intervenes, catching the grenade in its mouth, but it's good enough for Dredd and Spikes to escape as the rest of the pack turns on this now decapitated dinosaur and consumes what's left of it. 

Rushing back to the town, Dredd confronts the town folk. He is outnumbered, but the sudden appearance of Tweak in the land raider saves the day. From here it is a rush to save Judge Jack, currently held at the jailhouse. 

Dredd and Spike aren't the only ones making for the jailhouse, a pack of dinosaurs led by Satanus have arrived in the town and are currently grabbing as many humans as they can for food. 

The story ends on a high note with Dredd proclaiming that he is about to punish the people of Repentance for their crimes and that they have five minutes to evacuate the town before he razes it to the ground.

An uneven start but we certainly finished on a high with Dredd at his assertive best. There was plenty here that I liked, and the final page guarantees that I'll be back. The start felt shoehorned in as if the writer had previously forgotten to show us how bad the people of Repentance were and that they needed punishment. Perhaps it was just a reminder, but it didn't feel like a natural fit at the front of the story. It did however give us the early highlight of seeing Tweak again and seeing how he is developing as a character. He is one of the most likeable characters in the story at this point, in no small measure because he doesn't speak and thus can't tarnish his reputation. We did see him briefly in the last issue too, and he is steadily being fleshed out more with each Prog. Perhaps the best part of the story for me was seeing Spikes finally putting his grenade earring to good use. I always knew that this day would come, and the moment wasn't wasted. I couldn't think of a better way for this to be used than two dinosaurs fighting over Dredd, and it was another high point in the story that delivered multiple memorable moments. There is still more to come with this story, and next week promises a lot on the back of Dredd's final speech. The cursed Earth is still delivering brilliant story after brilliant story and this is another fine example. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Dredd! it's Satanus....he's got Judge Jack! Nothing we can do!" 

A mutiny on his own ship has left Dan Dare in a perilous position - plunging helplessly down a deactivated anti-grav drop-shaft. 

It's a short-lived plunge, Dare is saved by an unlikely source. Gunnar Johanssen appears at an open doorway and hauls Dare to safety. Well, not quite safety, as Johanssen is determined to smash and destroy Dredd himself. 

Meanwhile, the space fort is still struggling through a meteor storm. Hitman too has survived the plunge with Dare and is currently hanging on for life at the edge of the drop. A brief shoot-out with some of the crew members ensues, and soon after Hitman crawls to safety. He is held a gunpoint by some of the mutineers, but after a scuffle, he is once again free. It is shortlived, Bear appears and pulls a pistol on him, at once aligning himself with the mutineers, and we finish this week's strip with the two former comrades facing off against each other with weapons drawn.

I haven't warmed to this story, yet I found I liked it. I don't feel involved with any of the characters, but the action was irresistible and I enjoyed all the different conflicts throughout the strip. I was pleased to see Hitman get plenty of time on the page and return to his roots with his gun hand playing a big part in the story. He was served well by the art, and the artist did a good job of depicting the going-ons without getting in the way of the story. Once again, full credit to Dave Gibbons for his work here, he truly is a master at what he does. Not a perfect story, yet with some many fine elements I find myself returning to the old cliche, this is a story greater than its sum of parts.

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Uhhh...this ain't doin' me any good..gotta try and pull myself up! Damn this gunhand!"

Finishing with Ant Wars guarantees that I won't be putting the comic down and going to sleep. Damn you 2000 A.D. and the nightmares you poison me with. 

It seems that Captain Villa and Anteater have escaped the ants by swimming down the river midstream. However, these aren't ordinary ants, and unknown to our heroes the ants are currently following them downstream on a flotilla of leaves and forest detritus. 

Villa and Anteater think they are safe when they come across a boat, but the captain of the boat is a vile gambler by the name of Big Bluffer. 

Drunk on whisky, he not only refuses to believe them but proceeds to tie the pair up for a game of Russian roulette. 

The game is short-lived with the appearance of the ants, and Big Bluffer quickly tosses Villa and Anteater overboard and prepares to escape. There is no escape, the ants are too fast and have already boarded the vessel. Facing overwhelming odds, Big Bluffer faces an unpleasant end, putting a pistol to his own head rather than facing a grisly end at the hands of the ants. 

Meanwhile, Villa and Anteater have managed to survive. Tipping an ant off a leaf, Anteater demonstrates that the ants can't swim. They then shelter under a leaf and quietly drift away from the ants and the drama on the boat. 

The strip ends with Anteater drinking some of Big Bluffer's whisky which he has snatched, while the pair float further downstream towards a city that is currently celebrating a carnival - the carnival of death. 

I think we can all see where it will go from here, and it's not going to be good. Another strong issue from Ant Wars, and again it touched on all the themes that it has in the previous issues. We again saw the Indian being treated by other characters as a lesser human, while the so-called civilized characters revealed themselves to be deeply flawed. Last week it was a wealthy plantation owner, and this week a grotesque gambler. Both got the ending they deserved, while Anteater outsmarted them, Villa, and the ants, remaining the smartest character in the strip. The most interesting part of the story for me was seeing Big Bluffer taking his own life in the face of the ant army. We have seen a suicide in the pages of 2000 A.D. before, and it always serves as a reminder that this wasn't a traditional kids comic. In 1978 it would have been quite shocking to see a suicide in a comic, and even forty years later I found it striking. It is one of the reasons 2000 A.D. is held in such regard, and even all these years later it is still essential reading. Some attitudes and values have changed, and we see that in this very issue, but it remains forward-thinking and offers a deeper read for those who seek it. Sometimes it does come varnished in 1970's values, yet it rises above the era in which it was born and still holds up today.

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "'Fraid you boys have called at a bad time -  this whisky tastes lousy, and I just lost a game of poker!" 

Prog 75 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Ant Wars

Best Line: "Attention, People of Repentance! This is Judge Dredd! I am going to punish you for your crimes! You have five minutes to evacuate the town, before I raze Repentance to the ground!"   

Best Panel: