Prog 87

The new stories from Starlord are bedding themselves in nicely, and it feels like now we have a group of stories that can look Judge Dredd in the eye. This week we get to know these stories a little better, and with the foundations laid, they are beginning to advance. In light of this, the Dredd creators have raised their game, and the Dredd story this week is the best in the comic. I was wondering how some of these changes would shake out, and now I can see the comic is better than ever. 

Prog 87

21st October 1978

Judge Dredd kicks us off in grand style, and with both Bolland and Gibbons handling the art duty I know we are in for a rare treat. 

What follows more than lives up to expectations, with Dredd being shipped off to Titan, having been found guilty of a crime he didn't commit. Things look grim for Dredd as we see the ship take off, and a heavy guard standing over a chained Dredd. However, Dredd is not a man for self-pity, and working himself up into a rage, he somehow manages to snap the chains that bind him before delivering a knockout blow to his hulking guard. 

The shuttle returns to the spaceport, with Dredd holding a gun to the pilot's head all the way. After a dramatic, two-page, crash landing, Dredd springs from the shuttle and commandeers a taxi, rapidly disappearing from the still-shocked security of the spaceport. 

At Justice Central, Deputy Chief Judge Cal is calling on every Judge in the organization to find Dredd and bring him in. The biggest man-hunt in Mega-city history follows, with no stone unturned, or bag unsearched, in the hunt for Dredd. 

That night at Cals's private office, one of the Judges is reporting that Dredd still hasn't been found, he is just too good for the rest of the judges. Talking to himself, Judge Cal pulls a key from a secret compartment of a bust of himself he has in his office, and unlocks a large box in his room. In a final twist to this week's issue, the box contains the body of Dredd, and Cal gloatingly tells us there is one judge good enough to capture Dredd -himself. 

I have read many good Dredd stories, and this week's issue is just as good as anything that has come before. The art was insanely good, and the action at the spaceport looked spectacular. Any one of these panels deserves to be a poster, and I went back three times to enjoy these pages before moving on to the rest of the story. Likewise, Cal's private quarters were visually stimulating, and we learnt a lot about the character from the visual cues in his office. A poster of himself, next to a poster that looked suspiciously like Adolf Hitler, spoke volumes, as did the bust of himself displayed prominently behind his desk along with a large mirror. The art went hand in hand with the story being told, and the pages flew by under my hand as I read enthralled. It wasn't all perfect, and I found that Dredd snapping his chains to be a weak point in the story. It did free him quickly to move on with the action, although I would have preferred a more cerebral solution. Snapping chains with brute strength felt like a cheat, but it was understandable to keep the story swiftly moving. Once again Dredd has fired this week's issue out of a cannon, and if the rest of the comic is as good as this I shall be very happy indeed.

Rating: 9/10

Best line:  "Get the name of that pilot!" 

I greatly enjoyed my first introduction to Ro-Busters last week, and I look forward to seeing how their rescue of ten humans trapped in a rail disaster will go, especially as they only have enough oxygen for nine of them. 

With Ro-jaws left to decide which of the humans will be denied oxygen, a trial begins. One by one the humans are called forward to plead their case. Each has a key witness, their robot, and as a robot cannot lie we learn far more about each character from their robot than we do from their own words. 

The humans prove to be a motley lot, and each has numerous faults. Mike Morgan, caring for his sick boy, is worried about what his robot Harold will reveal. Thinking quickly, he remembers that the second law of robotics states that robots must protect their master. With this thought in mind, he tells Harold that if he tells the truth, both he and the little master will be hurt. 

This ruse works well, and Harold spouts forth all manner of information about the pair, all of it positive. Ro-jaws is happy with what he has heard and tells Harold that he may step down. However, at that moment his little master sits up and tells the assembled crowd that it is all a lie. He commands Harold to tell the truth, and soon all is revealed. Mike Morgan is a bully and has an evil temper. He often beats the boy, and when Harold steps in Morgan turns his temper on him. This is why Harold wears clothes, to hide all the damage that has been inflicted on him by Morgan. 

Mike Morgan is infuriated by all of this and goes to strike the boy. Harold moves quickly to protect his charge, grabbing Morgan by the neck. With Morgan falling down dead, the two threads of the story are neatly concluded. Now there is enough oxygen for the remaining survivors, and the subplot of the bullied boy and robot is wrapped up. 

Harold and the boy walk off into a bright future, and Ro-jams comments that he's a sucker for a happy ending.

Me too, Ro-jaws, me too. The story was loaded with heavy themes, yet we managed to come out of the other end with an ending that had me smiling despite myself. I don't know what is to come with Ro-Busters, but this seems to be a good introduction. The smart robots, a dash of drama, and a classical happy ending make for a fine mix that I find myself attracted to. It is all done at the highest level, which makes it seem easier than it really is. Reading the story here, I feel I might try my hand at creating comics, although I know that I could never achieve a simple story such as this told half as well. I know plenty of other people have been similarly inspired, with this a great demonstration of the craft of comic creation. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I'll tell them, Harold...about his evil temper...how you stop him beating me up...so he takes it out on you instead...and he laughs as he sees you suffer!"

Last week we were introduced to the world of Flesh (book two), a world where 23rd Century man has travelled back in time to harvest the monsters of the sea. 

We ended with a time shuttle arriving over the ocean, with passengers unknown. That doesn't stay the case for long, and we quickly learn that the solo occupant of the craft is 'Claw' Carver, a man we know well from the first iteration of Flesh. 

With a fortune in gold he looted from his former base, Carver only has one concern- the safety of his treasure. Taking his boat ashore, he is soon looking for somewhere to stow his gold. We get an idea of the type of man Carver is when he encounters some smaller dinosaurs. Putting his claw to good use, he soon vanquishes these dinosaurs and stashes his fortune deep in a cave. Job done, he turns his attention to a trans-time vessel coming towards him across the sea. 

He is swiftly taken aboard the vessel, with the crew expressing concern that the Big Hungry is coming soon. Any questions about what the Big Hungry is are explained in the next panel as the crew tells Carver that it is a Nothosaur that has been attacking the fishing fleet. More importantly, we learn that it was his cave back where Carver had just been. 

Big Hungry makes his appearance in the following panel as he emerges from the water. Attacking the ship, he tears the gun turret to shreds before disappearing back into the sea. 

The boat arrives back at Atlantis Station, which we first saw last week, and Carver has a chance to tell his story and how he came to be here. He is also introduced to the station controller, J.M. Grose, who tells him on no uncertain terms that they are unable to lend Carver a time shuttle so he can get to the 23rd Century. Not only that, Carver is also told that he will have to serve a standard six-month tour of duty, and then he can pay his own fare back to the future.

As Carver is walked back through the station he is shown what happens to those who try to steal a shuttle. Looking on as a man receives twenty lashes from the electro-whip, Carver tells us that he has no intentions of trying to escape, he will be a model deckhand and wants to be Mr. Grose's friend. 

Meanwhile, back in the cave where Carver has left his gold Big Hungry has returned. Discovering that his offspring has been killed, Big Hungry becomes enraged, and with the smell of man, and specifically Carver, in his nostrils, a reckoning beckons. 

We are still building the story in this strip, but now all the major building blocks have been moved into place. We have been introduced to the world, Carver has arrived on the scene, and we now have his nemesis, Big Hungry, introduced and motivated for revenge. All looks good for the future, and next week the sparks should begin to fly. I have been impressed with Belardinelli's artwork thus far in the strip. His dinosaurs look fantastic on the page, and he has created the fabulous Mr Grouse whose face contains so much expression, all of it anger. We aren't there yet, but everything is primed, and next week's issue should give us a much better indication of where the story will go from here.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Come on, little fellas. Come to your Uncle Claw! Your cave ain't big enough for you and ma gold..." 

Strontium Dog had me excited last week, and this week it continues to enthral me. 

Johnny Alpha and his crew have been captured by a Wolrog battlecraft, and offer no resistance in the face of such overwhelming odds. The captain of the battlecraft informs them that while most of them will become slaves in the factories of Rog, some of them will be selected to serve in a Wolrog Penal Battalion. 

Needless to say, both Johnny and Wulf are selected to serve in the battalion. Gronk isn't so lucky, but Johnny intervenes and points out that he is a brilliant medic, and would be useful in the battalion. The Wolrog agree, and all three of them are assigned to the battalion. 

The final panels of the story show us the big picture and exactly how these battalions will be utilised. The Wolrogs are a warrior race and have been fighting the Sandorian nations for control of the galaxy. They are always in need of new troops and this is where the penal battalions come in. We finish the strip with a full-size picture of the Wolrog fleet approaching the man-made planet of Rog. With a fleet of 1000 battlecraft, and 8000 smaller vessels, the Wolrog fleet is the greatest war fleet ever assembled.  The planet Rog sits at the centre of this fleet, fifty miles across, with its slave factories belching a steady flow of the terrible hardware of death. 

I rated this story highly last week, and that continues this week as the scale of the story increases. Once again it is that artwork that draws the most applause from my corner, and I could look at the work of Carlos Ezquerra all day, every day. Every panel contains an unease that has me carefully treading through the story and waiting to see what comes next. The story has barely begun, and already it's the first thing I want to read when I open 2000 A.D. Hopefully this isn't just early hype, and the rest of the story lives up to this strong start. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "It's a human ship, again, Captain. Hrrrr...no-good, weak-kneed race!"

Prog 87 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Don't worry, I've got nothing to declare----except my innocence!"   

Best Panel: