Prog 80

'Twas the night before Christmas, and Hamish was reading comics. His wife was well pleased, as you might imagine. Still, it keeps me out of her hair as she makes the final preparations for tomorrow's festivities. It feels like a long year, and to be honest, I'm just not in a Christmas mood. Reading 2000 AD from 1978 feels about right for the mood I'm in, so here we are. Merry Christmas. 

Prog 80

2nd September 1978

Nobody puts Sam Slade in a corner and Robo-Hunter is kick-started this week with Sam blasting his way free while delivering a monologue that recounts the story so far.

He and Kidd free the prisoners held at the same facility, but the prisoners have no concept of freedom and remain cowered in their cells.

Sam escapes on a food truck while Kidd blasts away at any robots in their way.  Quickly reprogramming the robot feeder on the truck, Sam adjusts its circuits to respond to his command. It pays dividends sooner than expected as they encounter Robo-cops outside the centre. Sam orders the feeder to smash the robo-cops, before bailing out and watching the carnage unfold. 

They continue on the run, and after having a shoot-out with another Robo-cop they decide to seek shelter in an apartment block where they can plan their next movie. 

Entering the apartment, they find that everything on this planet is robotic, and they encounter a robot chair, a robot kettle and various other robots. The robots argue among themselves about what they should do with these human interlopers and we finish with a low-key standoff. 

As much as I love this story, I'm tired of typing the word 'robot' over and over in this blog. Still, I did it with a smile on my face, much was my joy at the humour through the story. The last panels in particular were most amusing, and it lightened the story that was otherwise just a little stale. If not for the humour it would have been a generic shoot-em-up, and most of the story focused on Slade and Kidd blasting away at robots. This was elevated by the artwork and humour but otherwise, it fell a little flat compared to the previous issues. This is the first time that I have had a negative thought about the story. It is only fleeting, and it had other strengths that made it a worthy read. I hope that next week the plot will throw up some more inventive ideas. Until then, this felt like a placeholder and a necessary step in telling a wider story.

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I may look like a coward, but with a blaster in my hand I'm nobody's pigeon!"

Last issue it looked as though the Ant Wars may have been over, but we know better as we saw the Queen's eggs being carried to safety by the nurse ants. 

This issue has a surprising start, with a side story of two Scottish Football supporters trying to make their way home from the World Cup finals in Argentina. There is some chat about the football, and how they are getting home, but it is all irrelevant in the face of the inevitable death they meet once they encounter the ants, now in Argentina. 

Meanwhile, in Brazil, Captain Villa and Anteater are still recovering in the hospital. All news of the ant wars has been hushed up, and there is not a word of it in the papers or television. The only news on TV is about the mysterious disappearance of the two foreign tourists in Argentina, and the news report that Villa and Anteater manage to catch. Both men spot an ant antenna on the ground near where the tourists went missing and this spins us off into the next part of the story. 

Villa demands to be let out of the hospital but is refused - with the doctor instead requesting the nurses give Villa more sedatives. However Villa and Anteater are out soon enough, Anteater disguised as a nurse and Villa as a doctor. 

Flying to Argentina, they hire a car and speed out into the wilds of the Argentinian grasslands. There they encounter some gauchos, the cowboys who ride with the cattle. The gauchos are not happy to see them, and soon Villa and Anteater are tied up and accused of slaughtering cattle, a slaughter that looks very much like the work of the ants to Villa's eyes. 

I was wondering how this story was going to build momentum again after the false ending of last week, and so far it seems to be building well. Moving to another country is a good idea, and gives more scope for a variety of characters to appear in the story. The opening of the two Scottish football supporters was a nice touch and well executed, building a fear of the ants while giving us a time and place. It also slotted it into the real world, and I appreciated the chat about Scotland being knocked out of the World Cup. The story is off to a strong start, and my disappointment of last week's ending is forgotten as once again my fear of the ants takes hold and I need to come back next week to make sure that Villa and Anteater save the world. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Nice one, Anteater. You made a great nurse!"

Judge Dredd has arrived in Las Vegas, and after a fight with God-Judge, Lucky Mutiano, he is forced to take the losers' leap, stepping off a plank atop one of the tallest buildings.

He does make the leap, but not before he sees Spikes at a lower level with a fire escape chute. Falling through the air, he and Spikes have a brief exchange before Dredd grabs Spikes' legs and the both of them glide to safety on the ground below. 

They are taken in by Rudy, a member of the League Against Gambling. Rudy introduces them to the rest of the League Against Gambling where Dredd is hailed as the savior. 

Reading from an old text, the prophecy is laid out - a man in black will come for the east to smite the chief evil-doer and his temple. Dredd has no time for such prophecies but agrees to represent the league in the annual gang fight held by the mafia families to decide who will be God-judge. 

Although Dredd doesn't belong to a mafia family, the fight is open to any judge and he is soon on the street in a car ready to compete against two other judges. In a classic mafia twist, the cars are old-style 1930's cars, complete with running boards, and the judges are armed with Tommy guns. 

The fight goes well, and with Spikes behind the wheel, they have soon eliminated one judge in a flurry of Tommy gun fire. The other opponent proves to be more difficult to dispose of,  and it is only through some skilful driving by Spikes, and a cunning idea by Dredd, that they manage to push it off a ramp and into oblivion. 

Dredd has won the competition, however he is still staring down the barrel of several guns of disgruntled mafia families. Help is at hand though, and with Dredd displaying some strong leadership, the League has provided the muscle to back him up. 

Order is restored, and Dredd is offered the role of God-judge. This he turns down, instead appointing his original rescuer, Rudy to the job. Continuing on his mission across the cursed earth, Dredd leaves Vegas, but his name and this day will long be remembered by the residents. 

Another worthy instalment, and I too will long remember Judge Dredd's visit to Las Vegas. The mix of classic mafia tropes and the futuristic world Dredd inhabits created several memorable images and plot points. Drawing heavily from American culture, this story blended the two well, and although it does this consistently, this was one of the better examples. The Las Vegas plot covered barely two issues, but it did all it had to while giving us a moral comment on Las Vegas and its associated gambling culture. This comment wasn't preachy and did fit in with how Dredd sees the world. It also showed that judges weren't immune to the world they live in, and having a host of corrupt judges and their mafia families made me see Judges in a different light from hereon. The vaccine mcguffin is once again forgotten, but we don't need it as Dredd continues to give us strong material like this week after week, once again reminding us why this comic is firmly considered his. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "If they expect me to commit suicide, they can forget it, I'll die fighting!"

Future Shocks this week is a good one and a story that is simply told. 

Gregg Isaacs is a hardened criminal serving out a long and arduous sentence on the interplanetary prison of Titan.

Upon arrival, he immediately makes plans to escape. Smuggling a pick to his cell, he works ceaselessly throughout the long nights, until he eventually finishes an escape tunnel into the caverns underground. Underneath the planet he makes a dash for it, only to be grabbed by a giant cave-dwelling creature. This he fights off with his pick, and he is soon at the transportation depot. There he steals a ship and is soon free flying off into space. 

It is only then that the twist comes and we see that Isaacs hasn't escaped at all., Instead, he is still in his cell where the doctor has just made a routine medical call. Isaacs has been given a drug that allows him to live out his fantasies for a while. His mind is happy and at ease, and the staff can begin the task of reforming him, a task slated to take twenty years.

I did not see this twist coming, and there is no greater compliment you can pay Future Shocks than that. Everything felt normal, and I found no clues at all in the story until the final panel. The crisp clean art served the story well and lent to the simplicity of the story. It remained unobtrusive, yet did just enough to hold the eye when words didn't suffice. A fine example of Future Shocks, this was a timely strip in an otherwise busy comic. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Ha, this is so easy, I can't think why other guys wouldn't come with me." 

Dan Dare and his ship have been captured by a huge alien vessel using a tractor beam. In the hold, the vastness of this vessel is revealed, with Dare's ship just one of many resting within. 

The damage to the space fort is impossible to calculate, and with oxygen running out, Dare, Hitman, and another crew member venture out of their ship and into the surrounding darkness, 

Dare takes a desperate gamble, removing his oxygen mask, and finds the air is safe to breathe. This small victory is short-lived as out of the darkness attacks some savage wild men. With one crewmember killed, Dare and Hitman find sanctuary when a beam of light appears and a voice calls them to a nearby ship. 

Here they meet Jebby, who tells them that he has been a prisoner here for many many years. He has survived by foraging, keeping the savages at bay with old battery lamps. It seems the primitives can't abide the light, although, in the final panel of the story, he tells Dare that his battery lamp is about done for, and when the savage's next attack they will have no defence. 

This story is a slow burn, and I like the extra layers added to the story this week. Last week the menace felt overwhelming with the scale of the alien craft, this week it has gone the other way, and at times feels almost claustrophobic as the story huddles close to the light. Dan Dare has a different feel from previous issues, and so far I like it more than other iterations. Dare appears a more old-fashioned type of character, more sturdy and serious. The only thing that detracts from this thought is the moment when he rashly took off his oxygen mask. A lowly crew member would never attempt such a thing, let alone a space captain with responsibilities to the crew and craft. A strange decision by Dare and the writer, and I wonder if there could have perhaps been a better way to handle this and overcome the obstacle. That aside, I found this an enjoyable way to round out the comic, and although it wasn't the best in class, it was certainly in the top half.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Hurry up! This light'll only hold 'em off for a minute...but we should just be able to get back to my ship! 

Prog 80 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Howeee! That pipe of yours smells worse than the breath of a Mercurial stoat, Jeb!"   

Best Panel: