Prog 102

I was thinking earlier that it is the artwork of  2000 A.D. that elevates it above most comics of its era. Bolland, Gibbons, and Ezquerra are all legends of the comic field, and reading them here one can see them building their legacies in real-time. Looking at other comics in 1979, there is nothing that comes close to what we are reading on the pages of 2000 A.D. at the time, and in the wider scheme of things we can see just how groundbreaking 2000 A.D. was. I am not a fan of everything I read in this week's comic, but the artwork is undeniable, and some of the best you're every likely to see.  

Prog 102

3rd March 1979 

Judge Dredd and his five remaining men are following in the wake of the monstrous Fergee, a dweller in the city beneath the city, as he leads them to shelter. 

The shelter he offers is rough, but with little choice, Dredd and his men make the most of it. A brainstorming session has Judge Giant coming up with a theory that the Judges on the surface have been slowly hypnotised by Judge Cal in their daily briefings. 

It sounds plausible, and it is decided that they will return to the surface, taking Fergee with them. Dredd intends to break into the Justice H.Q. and use Cal's own tapes against him. 

As they arrive on the streets above they are alone, with all the citizens under curfew. However, they soon come to the attention of a patrol wagon. Dredd makes a run for it, dragging Fergee, who is keen to stay and fight, along with him. 

Reading this strip, Bolland is the first word that comes to mind. His influence on the strip is undeniable, and as much as I am enjoying this story, it is the art that I can't stop thinking about. This week we had several striking images and an array of others that just stick in the mind. I may not remember what was said, but I do remember every panel and the look and feel of the story. Fergee is a strong character, and he is well served by the look that Bolland has bestowed upon him. No doubt he would have been a memorable character anyway, but in the hands of Bolland, he becomes the most interesting character on every page appears on, managing to outshine even Dredd in his own strip. The story is showing no sign of slowing down and in a week that didn't feature Judge Cal we still managed to move forward with an issue that built the character of Fergee and his underworld kingdom to new heights.  

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "What if Cal fixed it so that the computers automatically fed in a hypnotic suggestion - "You will obey Judge Cal" - that kinda junk..."

Robo-Hunter Sam Slade is still trapped in a mobile robotic sewer cleaner, while in the sewer his two robot companions, SJS and Boots, can only watch on helplessly.

Inside the Sewergator, the Bilge Operator robot (B.O.) has challenged Sam Slade to a game of Robopoly, and a chance to escape. However, should he lose, Slade will remain a permanent guest of B.O.  

The game doesn't go well for Slade, as B.O.'s robotic game piece cheats. Slade's game piece is on its last legs (literally) when B.O. is distracted by Smokey Joe outside. 

Taking his chance, Slade quickly speaks to the robotic police on the game board, and a quick bribe later things take a turn as B.O.'s marker is taken in by the police and severely beaten to the point where he can no longer continue.

Slade has won the game, and although B.O. is very unhappy about this, he nevertheless releases Slade, but not before he gives him and his friends a ride through the sewer.

Slade exits the Sewergateor, and after releasing the two robo-policemen from the Robopoly game into the world, he begins ascending the stairs to his final goal, the HQ of Big Brain. 

A fun story that sacrificed the forward movement of the plot for a series of humorous events that were much funnier on the page than I expected. I thought the Robopoly had the potential to be funny, although I had no idea just how funny it would be. I was grinning throughout and I thoroughly enjoyed what I read. Having grown up playing Monopoly with two siblings, the cheating and shenanigans going on through the game were highly relatable, and I could see a lot of my own family on the page. Right now I am not a big fan of Robo-Hunter, although this week's issue has gone a little way towards restoring its value in my eyes. It was funny and found its groove with the extended game scene. A few more as good as this and I would consistently rate it higher, it only remains to be seen if the next few issues will be as fun as this one. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Sorry, chum. Your marker was, er...resisting arrest." 

This week' Dan Dare is a rich tapestry of lies woven by the deceitful Mekon. With Dan Dare having no memory of what has come before, the Mekon gives him a new past, a past in which he is an intergalactic marshall tasked with obtaining the crystal of life and saving a race of people from the plague. It is a complete fabrication, and the truth about the Mekon slowly dying is carefully concerned in the wrinkles of the story he gives Dare. 

Dare believes in the charade, and after several pages of carefully fabricated lies, we finish with Dare about to arrive on the surface of Lystria to begin his mission. 

A slower issue this week, as we stayed closely focused on the bed of lies being laid by the Mekon. We may not have leapt forward in the storyline, but the story was deepened as we saw Dare drawn into this web of lies. Now we are well and truly up to our neck in this plot by the Mekon, and all that will follow this will be based on the backstory laid down here. It is not the most of exciting of issues, but the artwork of Gibbons was of its usual high quality, and the story feels like an essential part of a wider story. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Come, my friend! Perhaps a glance at the remains of your ship will stir your memory...and provide the answers!" 

There is no Ro-Busters this week, but instead, we are treated to an extended Future Shocks.

It tells the tale of a failed sci-fi writer named Alec Trench, who after having his stories repeatedly rejected by 2000 A.D. decides to take his own life by jumping off a bridge. 

As luck would have it, he is beamed about an alien UFO as he is falling and is soon the star of his own wild sci-fi adventure. 

He comes to an agreement with the aliens on board the ship - they can perform their experiments on him for one month, after which they must release him. This they agree to, and soon he is subjected to a barrage of wild experiments that leave him bent, but unbroken,

The month passes, and when he asks for his freedom he finds that the alien one month is worth ten years - he still has a long way to go. 

Following this, he manages to trick the aliens and using their own machines against them, manages to kill them and escape. He intends to sell his story to Tharg and sets the co-ordinates directly for Tharg's office. It is a short-lived escape, for as he beams back to earth he finds that he has set his coordinates wrong, and he is left plunging past Tharg's office and into the ground below. 

He is killed on impact, although Tharg did manage to snatch Alec's story from his hand as he dropped by the window. Alec Trench may be dead, but in a final ironic twist, Tharg decides to publish his story, with the comment that some writers will try anything to have a story accepted.  

I liked many aspects of this story, yet came away feeling unsatisfied by what I had read. The storyline was clever, and I appreciated that the credit card credited the story to Alec Trench. The artwork of Carlos Ezquerra was instantly recognisable and was another plus to the overall story. On the negative side, it did seem to be too long, and I can't help but wonder if this would have been better as a bare two pages. It had great dialogue, and some of this would have been lost in a shortened form, but even so, the story would have flowed smoother in a shortened form. Oddly enough, this is one story that was less than its sum of parts, and as much as I enjoyed the art and writing, I never felt it quite came together to deliver the story it should have been.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "H-holy Hamish! I-I must have set the co-ordinates wrong!"

Prog 102 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Too right, chum. He even cheats when he's playing himself!"    

Best Panel: