Prog 97

 Last week I was wistfully dreaming of the 80's and thinking what treats await me in the future. I had grown jaded by some of these stories and was already thinking of greener pastures. It seems I was premature in my thoughts and this week's issue snapped me back to the here and now (well, at least 1979) with a cracking issue that saw several stories leaping off the page. Both Judge Dredd and Ro-Busters delighted me, and while Angel and Flesh treated water they both felt an improvement on last week. Suddenly I am reinvigorated and I know it's been a good issue when I immediately want to pick up the next comic to see what happens next.    

Prog 97

27th January 1979

The hounds of Klegg are about to be unleashed on Judge Dredd, with Judge Cal using these ferocious alien trackers to find him. 

Given the taste of Dredd's clothing, these monstrous hounds are soon on the trial of Dredd, who is currently hiding in a disused underground garage with his men. Dredd is quite clear about what is needed to win this war - kill Judge Cal. There is little time to consider this statement with the arrival of the hounds soon after Dredd makes the decision. The hounds rampage into the garage and we end with one of the creatures holding Dredd in his mouth while Dredd's men look on helplessly. 

The threat of the hounds of Klegg was built up nicely in this issue. The opening panel showing them to be all teeth and rage was bookended by the final image of  Dredd being caught by one of them, and in between we had plenty of time to consider how dangerous they were. Although most of the artwork was dedicated to the hounds of Klegg, there were still moments of snappy dialogue and I found the balance between the two to be just right. I was smiling as I turned each page, eager to see what happened next but enjoying the ride on the way. Not quite enough Dredd in it to make it a classic, but with the story still growing and Dredd in peril, while coming up with his final solution, there is still plenty of interest in the coming weeks. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Man, my pappy never tol' me there'd be days like this!"

Harry Angel is relaxing in bed, with a computer still embedded in his shoulder, while outside an assassin prepares to strike. 

From this sleepy start, the story explodes with a phosphorus grenade going off in Harry's room. Luckily the computer took over his movements just in time, propelling Harry out of bed and through a window. Falling twenty floors should be fatal, but the computer continues its good work and guides Harry to a safe landing. 

It's not over yet, as there is a baby trapped in the burning building. Ignoring his commanding officer's instruction, Harry rushes back in, and with his computer guiding him, makes the rescue.

The next day Harry is doing jump testing. Taken up in a Hercules transport plane, Harry jumps out at 30,000 feet with a parachute. It's then that he finds the assassin has struck again, for his parachute's ripcord has been severed and he is facing a very long fall followed by a sudden stop. 

It's hard to move past the fact that this is treading similar ground to MACH 1. If I hadn't read the earlier Progs it would have been just fine, and indeed quite enjoyable, but my mind keeps drifting back to the previous story and similar situations. There is not enough about Harry here to make me warm to him, and the story would perhaps become its own entity if Harry were a stronger character. Perhaps that will come in future issues. I hope so as now I feel I barely know him. I like this mysterious assassin aspect of the story, and that is enough for me to keep turning the pages at the moment. If we could just push Harry into something unique, I would be a lot happier. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Sleep well, Angel. The phosphorous grenade will make you sleep forever"

Tharg's Future Shocks is the shortest we have had for some time but does present an interesting idea. 

We see an alien sentenced to 20,000 years in exile after committing the first murder since his race discovered the secret to everlasting life. 

Writing a letter to his mother from this strange planet he has been exiled to, he tells her of his first 5000 years here, and how he learnt to hunt and build his own shelter. 

Over the page, he turns to face the reader and we see that he is a vampire, just as he writes to his mother that he is about to go down to the village for a bite to eat. 

Ignoring the final wordplay (amusing, but not laugh out loud), I found this concept to be interesting, and potentially something that could be developed further. Most young boys are fascinated by vampires, and I could easily imagine this story being stretched out into something substantial and satisfying for the reading audience. As it stands, the idea that vampires are aliens feels almost plausible and something I would be willing to believe in a sci-fi comic. It's great to see a new idea presented this week, and just when I was finding Future Shocks to be reheating old leftovers it surprised me with this treat. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I'll nip down to the village for a bite to eat!"

Flesh begins with a mutiny onboard the Atlantis Station, as Carver rounds up men to take control of the station. 

While Carver and his men begin their mutiny, a pack of angry Nothosaurs are heading this way, and we are soon treated to the sight of Carver's men shooting at some of the dinosaurs as they try and enter the station. At the same time, Peters is offering some resistance to Carver, and just like last week the pair are fighting each other across the pages.

Carver gains the upper hand, and we finish the strip with Peters being forced to walk the plank while a pack of hungry Nothosaurs wait below, including Big Hungry himself. 

This week was stretched thin, and the same scene played out several times. Carver would look to have beaten Peters, only for the action to carry on to the following page as the story was spun out a page or two too long. The action looked fine, and the dialogue was good, but there wasn't enough flesh on the bones for my liking, and I walked away from the story still hungry for more. A decisive action between Peters and Carver would have been more to my liking, or perhaps a stronger representation of the dinosaurs. Sadly there was neither, and I was left just watching the characters wander through the pages, no one getting ahead or in immediate peril. The ending was the highlight this week, and it should be a good jump start into next week and hopefully something more dramatic.

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Shut up, ya dork! I'm takin' over this station, not Peters!"

It's the final week of Ro-Jaws memoirs in Ro-Busters, and I'm intrigued to see how it will all pan out. 

The Robo-butler of the family that has brought Ro-Jaws is determined to get rid of him, and the first part of this plan is enacted when Annabel, the young lady of the house and the one who is enthralled by Ro-Jaws, is packed off to boarding school. 

From here it is all downhill for Ro-Jaws, and without an ally in the house anymore he is sold to as a builders laborer to the Dickensian Mr Murphy. 

Murphy treats Ro-Jaws poorly, with never a kind word and more work than Ro-Jaws can handle. Things reach their nadir at Christmas, and as Ro-Jaws waits in the snow for Mr Murphy he meets his old robot friend Ginger. Ginger is also overworked and at the end of his tether.  

After a brief chat the two robots part, but later that day Ro-Jaws sees the feet of Ginger pass by in robot knacker lorry.  Ro-Jaws cries out at the sight of it, and Mr Murhpy is soon onto him with a whip. Ro-jaws can't take it anymore, and he falls to the ground, refusing to get up. 

Just then Annabel appears. She has returned from boarding school and found out what her parents did to Ro-Jaws. She quickly pays off Mr Murphy, and taking Ro-Jaws home all is restored, and just in time for Christmas.  

From here we jump back to the present, where Ro-Jaws is telling his story to Marylin and Hammer-stein. Marilyn has a tear in her eye at such a sad story with a happy ending, although Hammer-stein tells her that he would straighten Ro-Jaws out if he was in his regiment. 

This is the end of Ro-Jaws memoirs, and with next week's story Terra-Meks rapidly approaching, this is a fine way to end this current arc. With the Christmas snow falling and the treatment that Ro-Jaws received throughout the strip, it does very much feel like a Charles Dickens story. Although I can see the bones of the story that this particular story is fleshed out on, I still found it to be a fantastic read. If you're going to use a template from the past you can't do better than Dickens, and especially at Christmas. The two memoir stories of Ro-Jaws and Hammer-stein have been thoroughly enjoyable and although I don't know what direction Ro-Busters will go next, I am already on board with anything they want to dish up. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "Not for robots...it's only work, work and more work. I look forward to deactivation. Goodbye, Ro jaws, old friend!"

Prog 97 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Ro-Busters

Best Line: "The bottom of the sea is the only place for scum like you - and that's where I aim to put you!"   

Best Panel: