Prog 107

Hangovers get worse when you get older, don't they? Last night was great, but this morning is a whole different story. Here are my thoughts on the comic I read while I lay on the couch feeling seedy.  

Prog 107

7th April 1979 

 Judge Dredd reaches a crescendo in this issue, with Dredd pulling out all stops to prevent Judge Cal from releasing nerve gas and killing the citizens of Mega-City One. 

The first panels are about stealth and secrecy as Dredd leads his men out of a secret tunnel and into the Halls Of Justice. Although they encounter some of Cal's Judges, Dredd has the element of surprise and they are quickly dealt with. 

Continuing through the halls, they find their way to the daily briefing room where the Judges are gathering. There they substitute their tape for Cal's, and wait to see the reaction of the Judges. 

The effect of Dredd's tape is immediate, and as it plays the Judges realize that Cal has been using them. Section after section rises up in revolt, and soon Dredd is leading a cohort of Judges on their bikes toward where the deadly nerve gas is about to be released. 

Cal is ready for his defining moment when the sound of sirens pierces the air, Cal thinks it is only fitting until it is pointed out to him that Dredd and the other Judges are rapidly approaching. Cal pays this no heed, and he continues with his scheme to release the gas by operating a lever on top of the Statue of Justice. 

Dredd and his men arrive on the scene a fraction too late, and the door that gains access to the statue is closing as they arrive. Judge-Tutor Kelso attempts to rush it, only to be crushed as the door closes, and the strip ends with Dredd at the scene but unable to reach Judge Cal. 

This wasn't quite as intense as the last few episodes, with the artwork being brighter than we have seen recently. Some of the claustrophobic feeling of the strip was lifted, and even though Dredd is making great strides in defeating Cal, it didn't feel as important as some of the other issues I have read. We did get several impactful panels, and seeing Dredd bursting out of the page on his lawmaster always makes my heart sing. We had that and more in this issue, and with a healthy dose of Dredd's grim face, the seriousness of the situation was conveyed. Cal is still alive, and there is still a fight to be fought, if it arrives with some more intensity we should be in for a grand finale.   

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "You murdering alien scum! How many citizens never got a chance to surrender to you?"

When we saw him last, Robo-Hunter Sam Slade was facing down a massive war wagon. This week we see the result of that confrontation, and Sam is now a prisoner of the second robot army. He's not alone, his colleagues Commander Kidd and the robot SPJ are at his side, along with his trusty robometer, Cutie.

Taken to General 2, Sam is sentenced to death just as soon as the liquidation vats are ready. 

Things look grim for Sam, and with no weapon, there is nothing left to do. However,  Cutie offers to sacrifice herself with her self-destruction mechanism, an idea that Sam immediately rejects. 

The appointed time arrives for liquidation, and Cutie ignores Sam's order. She runs towards the robots holding them prisoner and with one almighty explosion kills them all and herself. 

Pulling a weapon from the carnage, Sam mourns his robot friend, while promising to make her sacrifice worthwhile.

A lot of talking in this issue, and it took some time to push the pieces into place for the cliffhanger finish. I enjoyed what I saw on the page, and it was an improvement on last week, but it did step back from fully engaging me with some pages overloaded with panels. A lot of the strip seemed to concentrate on the robot generals, and while this was essential to the story, it did push the main character of Slade further away from us. This was restored on the final page as the story pulled back into focus and Slade was again front and centre. His character has been inconsistent of late, and while some issues are crammed full of witty dialogue, others are strangely lacking. This week was lacking, and a lot of Slade's dialogue was generic speak that could have come from any one of the characters. With a tighter focus, this story could be great. As it is, it's very good, but I can't help but wish for more from it.   

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Damn you, robots! Damn you!" 

Strontium Dog is cast in a sickly orange colour as I survey the opening spread of this week's story. Johnny Alpha, Wulf, and Gronk are in another dimension in the pursuit of a mutant named Fly's-Eyes Wagner. Standing at a gate that proclaims that all roads lead to hell, Johnny boldly ignores this warning and instead leads his friends through the gate and down the stairs into an abyss. 

Hours pass, and Wulf becomes spooked when he sees the stairs disappearing behind them. There is nothing they can do but continue downwards, and upon reaching the bottom they see Fly's-Eyes. Flys-Eyes runs, but a quick shot from Johnny wings him in the shoulder.  Advancing deeper into this strange world, Johnny and Wulf are able to follow the trail of blood left by Fly's-Eyes.

The world gets stranger, and Johnny and Wulf encounter hideous creatures whose skin is a mass of festering green sores. These creatures tell our heroes that they were once human too, and have been transformed while here in the City of Lost Souls - the first city of Hell. 

Before these creatures can say anything else, they flee at the sight of rain approaching. Johnny and Wulf wonder why they would fear rain, but they soon find out as liquid fire falls from the sky. As Johnny and Wulf run for cover they hear Gronk cry out, and looking back they see his fur has caught fire. 

The colouring of the first page caught my eye. Cast in orange, the story and the characters took on a different feel, and that felt appropriate for the different dimension they have entered. It doesn't feel like the hell we were promised, but it is close enough and things bode well for the future issues. I enjoyed the fact that there is more to discover about this world, and although we have already met some of the inhabitants, there's still a lot we don't know about them or their world. This was highlighted on the final page as the rain of fire began, and although I don't care too much for Gronk being caught on fire, I do care enough to see what happens next in this dimension. From a simple story of pursuing a fugitive, this strip has expanded in scope and ambition, and as the world of Strontium Dog grows, so too does my love for it.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Strange how they run from a little rain!"

Dan Dare is about to be sucked into a filtration plant in what looks like it could be the end of his adventure with the Mekon. In these final moments the Mekon can't help but gloat, and as Dare is about to be washed under the Mekon calls him by his real name, while telling him that he has been deceived by him. 

At the second mention of his own name, Dare's memories come flooding back. It's all too late, and as the Mekon flies away Dare plunges over the edge of the water filter.

At this point, fate takes a hand and Dare is snatched from certain death by a hideous-looking tentacle attached to an equally hideous-looking monster.

Dragged to land, he is released from its clutches into the welcoming arms of a group of Lystrian guerilla fighters. 

Further surprises await as he is introduced to Sondar, a historical character from Dan Dare comics of yore. Sondar is the rightful leader of the Treens, and Dare first met him three hundred years ago as he helped him overthrow the Mekon.

Sondar provides Dare with a brief backstory of how he came to be here with the Lystrian guerillas before the strip ends with one of the Lystrians telling Dare that now the chosen one is amongst them, as the prophecy foretold, and the destroyer has come to Lystria in the shape and form of Dare. 

I read this story twice, the second time when I realised how similar it is to the old Flash Gordon stories of my parent's generation. Strange worlds, being snatched by monsters, and allying with aliens to defeat villains, all of it my parent would have recognised from their day. This week's story wasn't as fulfilling as I would have liked and although the plot progressed nicely, with a healthy dose of action up front, it never grabbed me as I would have liked and I never fell in love with the comic. The crisp artwork helped propel the story, and although the arrival of Sondar on the page temporarily stalled the overall plot with its exposition, it was necessary for what comes next. Not a favourite, but enough here to pull me back next week.   

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "But that was another time...another era! Hundreds of years ago--"

Ro-Busters ends the comic on a high as we return to the fall and rise of Ro-jaws and Hammer-Stein. The team has escaped the P.D. troops, but X-27? is fatally wounded and about to impart some information about his secret mission that could impact every robot on the planet. 

The rest of the comic is dedicated to his tale of how the robots were brought to Saturn-6 to mine the gold that the human sensors had detected. While the humans sheltered in their plastic shelters, the robots were out in the sulphuric rain, covered in grime and dirt as they transformed the land in their search for gold. Some were destroyed by the acid rains, while others died in the mines, as the humans pushed them harder and harder to find gold. However, despite what the detectors said, the gold remained elusive, with only a few nuggets delivered to the humans, 

There is trouble when the supply ship drops for fresh suppliers for the humans. Due to a mix-up at the depot, instead of racing crates of food, they receive crates of plastic rubber ducks - five thousand in fact. 

The humans eventually run out of food, and as they stagger about the planet in delirium they remove their helmets and die when they are overcome by the methane atmosphere. 

It is then that we see that the robots did find gold. Removing the grime and dirty covering them, they reveal that they are all gold plated as protection from the atmosphere. They have found gold all right but used it to save their own lives. 

The first part of his story is over, and their strip ends with X-27? about to tell the second part of the story and his secret mission on Earth. 

I did not expect this at all, and I loved every minute of it. A fantastic tale, and although the Ro-Busters were barely featured it still held my interest and attention while adding an important layer to the overall story. The grim conditions on Saturn Six made for several gritty panels, and I felt right there with the robots as they struggled on. Their final reveal when they came out in their golden glory was splendid, and the only thing that could have made it better was if it was in colour. I am more curious than ever about the rest of X-27?'s story and after this brilliant issue, I expect the same again next week.    

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "...so the humans were right, after all - 'never trust a dirty robot'!" 

Prog 107 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Ro-Busters

Best Line: "I am the law now - and you'd better believe it!"

Best Panel: