Prog 96

It's been almost two years since I first started reading 2000 A.D. and I still feel I haven't a handle on the comic. The ground is moving continuously beneath my feet with stories coming and going, and nothing quite sticking. The obvious exception is Judge Dredd, and coupled with its longevity, it is one story that I cling to. The rest of the comic, no sooner than I begin to bond to a story than it is whisked away. Of the current crop of stories, Ro-Busters promises a lot, although I don't think we have much more air in the balloon, while Angel is an out-and-out disappointment so far. Flesh 2 is beginning to cover old ground, despite my love of the premise, and it is only Dredd that is truly flying the banner for the comic. I'm told the 1980s is when 2000 A.D. really hits its stride, and with that in mind, I tell myself I just need to be patient for one more year. 

Prog 96

13th January 1979

Things are escalating on the pages of Judge Dredd. Snubbed by the people of Mega-City One, the insane tyrant Judge Cal - Mega-City's new chief Judge - had vowed to make them suffer. 

Backed by his alien mercenaries the Kleggs, Judge Cal cracks down on the local populace until only one option is left for the citizens - abandon Mega-City and escape into the Mutant Lands. 

With the city emptying, Cal enlists the Kleggs to bring the people back into the city - after all, where is the fun in ruling over an empty city?

The people are rounded up, and to ensure such a thing never happens again, Cal orders a concrete wall to be built around the city. 

We finally see Judge Dredd midstory, and with a handful of men, he offers some resistance to the wall being built. However, more than his guerilla tactics are needed in the face of the scale of the wall being built and despite his efforts the wall is completed. 

Even with the wall completed, some try to escape. Inspired by Dredd's resistance, an underground movement continues to grow, disparagingly referred to as Dreddists by Cal. The only way to stop this ever-increasing tide is to kill Dredd, and speaking with the Klegg leader, Gampus, Judge Cal is introduced to a solution to his problem - the hounds of Klegg. 

The evil shadow of Judge Cal is cast long across this story, and he has grown into a powerful figure that pushes Dredd into the shadows of his own story. Poor old Dredd barely gets a couple panels in his own strip. This issue was purely focused on Judge Cal, and although it may feel like a weakness to have your main character relegated to the sidelines, in this case, it works well. Judge Cal has been built to the point of a final boss, and to defeat him from this point Dredd will have to be at his very best. If Dredd does win this battle, he will come out of the story looking tougher than ever with the strength of his character enhanced by the strength of the opposition. Elsewhere, we had glimpses of our own world and the past as Cal built his wall. My first thought was of the Berlin Wall, and like other stories in 2000 A.D., this seed of something familiar only heightened my empathy with the characters. A solid issue and the only reason I didn't rate it higher was the fact we didn't move forward as much as I'd hoped. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "And rule over an empty city? You fool! Where's the fun in that?"

Last week we met Harry Angel and witnessed him suffering a terrible accident that left his aircraft's computer embedded in his shoulder. When we last left him he was a passenger in a jump jet flying toward Air Force One in an attempt to save the President from a potential aircraft crash. 

We are jump-started this week as Harry leaps from the jet, freefalls to the President's 747, and then fights his way past the security. It's quite a sequence and he follows up this intense action by bursting into the cockpit and seizing control of the aircraft. From there we get another good demonstration of his skills, and he soon lands the aircraft safely, much to the relief of a now grateful US President.

No good deed goes unpunished as they say, and Harry's reward for all this is an order to help the US with a problem they are having with a secret space fighter. Two prototypes of this fighter have been made, and both have been blown up on the first flights. Harry is tasked with finding out what has been going wrong and putting it right.

Before he begins this mission, Harry takes his time to relax in the luxurious quarters he has been billeted in. Harry thinks he's got it pretty good, but unbeknownst to Harry, the silhouette of an assassin is just outside, and we end on a cliffhanger as this assassin prepares to strike. 

Last week I thought that this was a rehash of several stories we have seen before, and this week did nothing to dispell that thought. The Six Million Dollar Man is an obvious comparison, as is MACH 1 who appeared in earlier Progs. I like the idea of a man with machine-enhanced abilities generally, although in this case, I have a couple of issues that I am having trouble moving past. The first is how Harry Angel has received his mechanical abilities. Having the electronics fused to his body in an aircraft accident was a facet of the story I didn't like last week, and seven days on I still can't let go of the nagging thoughts I have about it. The second problem I have with it, and a problem I have with other stories in this genre, is that he is too powerful. How he jumped from one aircraft to another in the first panels of this story looked great, but I never felt the risk involved. It always felt like it was achievable, and I never once felt he was in danger. I am relying on the human aspect to bring me into the story, and that has failed to happen so far. However, I remain optimistic, especially with the appearance of the assassin in the final panel. Not only does he look like a villain of an old expressionist movie, but he also hints that a larger plot is at play that brings some political intrigue and manoeuvring behind the scenes. I'm all for that, and if that is the direction the story moves in over the coming weeks, then I shall be much happier than I am now.    

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "All this, and a chance to fly the most exciting plane I've ever seen. Things are going fine, Harry-boy!"

This week's Future Shocks is titled "The end of the universe?" and although it promises much, it proves to be a story we have seen many times before. 

The starship Discovery has been travelling across the universe for 50 years while its two crewmembers lie with Crydgentic chambers. Its mission is to find the edge of the universe, and as the two crew are awakened by the ship they assume the sip must be getting closer to its destination. 

However, that's not the case, and as far as they can see the universe stretches on. They assume the computer has awakened them when it realised that there is no end to the universe. One of the crew is frustrated by this and tells the other one that he just wishes that he could see the whole universe. 

Over the page, we meet some aliens who are looking through a microscope. The subject of their attention is a drop of water, and within it our universe and the spaceship Discovery. We are a mere drop in the true scale of the universe, and there is more out there than we could ever comprehend. 

A disappointing edition of Future Shocks this week. The story is one that we have seen countless times already on these pages in various guises. The idea that mankind is just a speck of dust in the universe, and there are much larger beings out there toying with our world is nothing new, and an idea that has been explored in better ways before now. It is a good concept to consider, but by Prog 96 it is an idea that needs an extra kick to turn it into an interesting story.    

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "The only answer can be that our computer has worked out our mission can never succeed! There is no end to the universe, and our voyage has been for nothing!"

Flesh begins with the dramatic moment Big Hungry comes ashore as Carver and Peters fight each other at the sea edge. The sight of Big Hungry is enough to snap the pair out of their conflict for a minute and wonder how they are going to get out of this one. 

They don't have to wait long to find out, with a blast from Old Ben and his blaster on the sub scaring off Big Hungry. With the dinosaur threat gone, hostilities continue between the two men, with Peters coming out on top with a knockout blow.

While Big Hungry seeks his pack for support, Peters carries Carver to the Atlantis Station, where he explains to Grouse the station commander what Carver's larger plan is concerning the hidden gold.

Grouse tells Peters that he will lock Carver in the brig, and although he runs Peters through all the defences they have on board, Peters isn't convinced that it will stop the creatures outside, nor Carver within. 

Peters hunch is correct, and soon Carver has managed to break out of his makeshift jail, luring his guard too close with the sight of gold. He uses the rest of his gold to win over more of the crew, but unbeknownst to all, a far larger threat is looming outside with the approach of a pack of Nothosaurs led by Big Hungry. 

This strip is really cooking now, and on coming on the heels of last week, we are now in the midst of the good stuff. No big splash page, but the art still makes a splash with the details it catches with the dinosaurs in all their glory. All the threads of the story are coming together and with the internal conflicts between the men and the external threat of the dinosaurs, this feels like it is all peaking. Sharp writing, some great-looking art, and a thrilling finish guarantee that I am a fan of this week's issue. My only fear is that it may all be over soon. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "You thinking lockin' Carver in the brig will stop him? The man's crazy - kill-crazy! You gotta get him off the station completely - before he brings disaster on all of us!"

We have some interesting twists and turns in this week's Ro-Busters, and I'm loving all of it. 

Ro-Jaws has joined some robot resistance fighters (you'll have to go back to truly understand) and helps them escape after a bank hold-up by leading them into the sewer. The leader of the resistance is an android named George Washington, and he demonstrates his leadership qualities early on when he tells the other robots he will hold off the police while they make their escape. 

It is a fine plan, but George Washington is immediately shot, and Ro-Jaws hurries the team into the sewers, carrying George Washington with them. They emerge from the sewer at the graveyard where Ro-Jaws has previous worked, and there is a pause while they take stock. 

Ro-Jaws is introduced to the rest of the robots, who are all named after famous human freedom fighters. Ro-Jaws is inspired by these robots and would like to join them, but sadly he is told he is not wanted - he is too funny-looking and no one would take him seriously. Things become more miserable when George Washington dies, and they bury him in the graveyard with an appropriate headstone. 

Ro-Jaws continues to work at the graveyard, and two years after this event he has a stroke of luck. One day a young lady named Annabel is visiting a nearby grave and she meets Ro-Jaw. She immediately takes a liking to him and the way he talks, and after some negotiation she buys him from his current owner. 

Ro-Jaws finds his life changing considerably and he moves into a posh house where Annabel lives. The only dark cloud on this is the robot butler who finds Ro-Jaws quite distasteful and can't abide his friendship with Annabel. Annabel and Ro-Jaws' friendship continues to grow, but behind the scenes, the robot butler is planning his demise and is in the ear of Annabel's mother with a solution that should get rid of him. 

It felt like a lot was crammed in here. The opening pages showing the resistance group had a different feel from the second half of the comic as Ro-Jaws was adopted. It was two completely different stories buttressed up against each other and I didn't feel a natural flow between the two. However, I did enjoy both halves of the story, and this new direction is intriguing. I especially enjoyed the appearance of the robot butler, and he is a conniving one, making for some excellent drama between him and Ro-Jaws. The relationship between Ro-Jaws and Annabel is equally interesting, and again the character of Ro-Jaws is at his best as we see all that we have come to know and love of him. I'm not sure how much mileage we will get out of this story of Ro-Jaws and Annabel, but it has been fun so far and I can only hope there's plenty more to come. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Er - I don't think the sort of jokes Ro-Jaws tells are very suitable, darling!" 

Prog 96 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Ro-Busters

Best Line: "At least I think Napoleon fought for freedom...I'm not very good at history!"   

Best Panel: