Prog 111

 "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"

Not a quote by Judge Dredd, but rather Mary Whitehouse. Mary Whitehouse came to the fore in the 1970s as the moral defender of all that is good and to say she was a divisive character would be an understatement. I thought being mentioned in a Pink Floyd song (Pigs- Three Different Ones ) was the high point of her cultural cache, but seeing her parodied in this week's Judge Dredd has me reconsidering. Mary White had clashed with the IPC and several of the 2000 AD creators previously in her stern opposition to Action Comic in October of 1976. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and Mary Whitehouse appears in this week's Dredd, recognizable by her moralistic attitude and thinly veiled name change. She is parodied in every panel, and the final twist to the story means that we should see plenty more of the same in the coming weeks. The rest of this week's comic is a mixed bag, and although I liked all of the stories, none of them delivered the complete package. Close, but no cigar, and I look towards next week to right some of these wrongs.  

Prog 111

5th May 1979 

Judge Dredd's foes this week are the Exo-men, a gang currently robbing the First Mega-City Savings and Loan Bank. 

These robbers aren't the only problem Dredd is facing, earlier that same day he had a visit from the Citizens Committee for Compassion to Criminals. The CCCC, as it is known, is led by Mrs Marjory Blackshack and Councillor Frank Petty, and the pair of them have been appointed to observe Judge Dredd and report their findings.

Straight-talking Dredd tells them to leave the law to him, and that there is no place for busybodies in the Justice Department. 

Shortly after, a call comes that the Exo-men are robbing another bank, and Dredd makes haste to the crime scene, unfortunately with Ms Blackshack and Councillor Petty in tow. 

Dredd makes short work of three criminals, although his two observers are most disapproving of his methods. With one thug still on the run, Dredd follows his trail of destruction through the city, eventually catching up to him on the old Skyrail system. 

Here Dredd outsmarts his man, and the criminal is killed by a train - the 11.45 for Megwest to be precise. 

Returning to the crime scene, Dredd finds his other prisoner has escaped and kidnapped Mrs Blackshack and Councillor Petty.

I was quietly pleased with myself for recognizing that Marjory Blackshack was a parody of Mary Whitehouse (although it was fairly obvious) although I couldn't quite put my finger on who Frank Petty was supposed to represent. In my defence, I was only 4 years old when this comic came out, so most of the context is old history to me rather than something I lived through.  Given that Mary Whitehouse was a driving force against the Action comic, one can see why she would be a prime target here, and my only surprise is that she wasn't more heavily skewered. Although we are forty-five years beyond this comic now, it is still highly relevant, and in light of the recent culture wars I found the words on the page just as alive and pertinent today as they were in 1979. The more things change the more they stay the same, and it seems we are still fighting the same enemies. The rest of the story reads well, and although the Exo-men aren't the scariest of villains, they are still throwing up a challenge for Dredd. I am left wondering, especially in light of the other parodies in the comic, whether these Exo-men are a nod to the X-Men of Marvel fame. Maybe, maybe not, but I am surprised how much I am enjoying seeing Dredd battle a lighter villain after some of the heavyweights he has been up against of late. These are bad men, murderous even,  but they aren't pure evil as we experienced through Judge Cal. It serves as a nice breather, giving us a fast-moving and humorous story that is still firmly set in the grim world of Dredd. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Tell me, young man, was your mother, um...cruel to you?"

After annihilating all the robots on planet Verdus, Robo Hunter Sam Slade is now working on repairing the original robot, Smokin' Joe. 

The repair goes well, and soon the trio of Slade, Kidd, and Smokin' Joe are pondering their next move. With no robots left on the planet, there is no longer a robotic fire brigade and the city is ablaze. Slade remembers that other humans are held deep in the city, but it is already too late and all they can do is watch it burn. 

Two days walk across the city and they are back at their ship. It's there that they find that not only has Slade's weapon destroyed all the circuits of the robots, but it has also destroyed all the circuits of the ship. 

We are spared seeing it, but after a week Slade has repaired the circuits and the ship is ready to fly. Kidd makes a beautiful take-off, and they are on their way back to Earth. Their only worry is what kind of reception they might get after destroying the planet Verdus, and wondering if any other obstacles might impede them. 

Robo Hunter has been very uneven throughout its run, and this is another episode that gives us hope for something substantial, only to see it slip away by the final panel. Sam Slade is a great character, and this issue plays to his strengths as a wise-cracking hero. Captain Kidd is equally amusing, but there is no story here for them to hang their hat firmly onto. The resurrection of Smokin' Joe was handled smoothly, although without as much heart as I would have liked. It could have been a touching moment, but it was lost in the general lethargy of the rest of the story.  A lot of this is forgivable in light of the humour that is present in almost every panel. The dialogue was a standout, with both Slade and Kidd giving me plenty to smile about. The situation they find themselves in gives space for this humour to exist, although a lot of the story was skimmed over to get us to the final panel. We have come a long way, yet we saw little of it on the page, and although I enjoyed it I still felt it could have done better. Now I feel the frustrations of all those teachers who wrote on my report card "Could do better"  

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Good point, Smokin' Joe. A little late, but good point"

The first page of Strontium Dog catches the eye immediately as we see Johnny Alpha and friends still making their way through the hellscape they have been warped into. 

Also crossing the desert is an array of skeletons, humans still alive but reduced to mere bones. The lord of this living desert appears on a horse, cloaked and wielding a scythe. He identifies himself as Ky, Third Lord of the Living Dead. 

Ky points out that his mark is already upon one of the party, and looking at Gronk, all can see that he is already changing into a skeleton. 

Wulf has some doubt that they will make the Black Citadel, and Johnny points out that doubt is what Lord Ky wants, and that when people lose hope, they become skeletons. 

They soldier on, and soon all are changing to skeletons, except Johnny. Lord Ky appears again, and Johnny fires his blaster at him. It has no effect, and Johnny ends up running after Ky in an effort to snatch back Gronk. 

After a long chase, he manages to earn Gronk his freedom. However, Ky has lured him far out into the desert and he now has no chance to escape. Looking at his hands Johnny can see he too is beginning to change, and the story ends on a downbeat. 

The first page of Strontium Dog held all the aces, and although the following pages were interesting enough, they never captured the same magic as the first page. The use of colour made that first page more arresting and added a sense of drama that didn't exist on the following pages, no matter how the story progressed. And progressed it did, with Johnny and his friends venturing deeper into the desert. The story had good momentum moving forward, although rather strangely I didn't feel any real sense of peril with the appearance of Lord Ky, or the fate befalling Johnny's comrades. Knowing that no one can ever die here (although they experience pain) means that I don't fear for any of the characters and that no matter what happens to them, they'll all be here for another round next week. It sounds like I'm negative about the story this week - I'm not. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot, and my only real complaint is that it slipped by all too quickly.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "It is a living death! A curse of endless despair and endless pain! And it is painful, believe me"

Dan Dare and the other rebels have scaled a tower to gain possession of a weapon that will be decisive in their battle for the crystal of life. 

Facing a Thraxian solder, it seems they have failed in their quest, however, Princess Myriad acts quickly and disarms the Thraxian with her whip.

It is a short-lived victory, as they are quickly surrounded by other Thraxians. These Thraxians only have a matter of seconds to enjoy their victory, before another wave of guerillas wipes them out and Dare safely negotiates the tower. 

At the top of the tower is the dome that contains the power of Eternicius, and urged on by the Lystrians, Dare approaches the glowing dome. Within lies the comic claw. a mysterious claw that glows brightly as Dare approaches. 

The Lystrians expect Dare to master and control this weapon and Dare marvels at its power as he approaches. 

Meanwhile, the Mekon makes his way through the ruined city. Coming across a band of Lysterian fighters attacking a Thraxian troop carrier, the Mekon fires a shattering blast that scares off the Lysterians. Floating towards the Thraxian troops, he calls for trust and loyalty, until the Crystal Of Life is theirs.  

Dan Dare gets the lowest rating of all the stores I read this week, and you might be surprised to learn why. In what is primarily a sci-fi comic, I found Dan Dare to be leaning too heavily into the sci-fi, and offering up a variety of alien terms and McGuffins.  Where the other stories in the comic had realism or at least some characters with realistic human traits, Dan Dare was all too fanciful, and parts of it were dangerously close to word soup. The story itself is moving along nicely, although I don't feel truly involved. We have a series of scenes that are little more than a skirmish, followed by another scene of Dare pursuing his next goal. None of it adds to the larger story, and it keeps us scrambling around the feet of a colossus without ever pulling back and placing it all in context. A shame, as the artwork is pleasing to the eye, and this story looks great on the page. Still, I am holding onto the thought that one good issue may turn all this around, and with strong characters and a creative team with a proven track record there is no reason why the next few weeks couldn't deliver something special. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Stand back and let him see! Let Dan Dare behold Eternicus - the cosmic claw!"

The robots of Ro Busters are enjoying their time at a club called Greasy Gracies, little knowing that they have been betrayed to the police.   

We see a variety of robots at the club, all drinking and having a good time while a hardass bar lady keeps the drinks flowing.

Gottlieb, the Ro-Busters link to the escape line, appears and telling the Ro-Busters to stay cool goes and gets them all a drink. He discreetly tells them that once they have finished their drinks, they'll leave quietly and begin their escape. 

A raid by P.D. Troopers puts paid to this plan, and all the robots in the room come under scrutiny as the police check their papers. One robot makes a run for it, and we see that these policemen mean business as the robot is blown to pieces.

Hammer-Stein,Ro-Jaws and the rest of the Ro-Busters have no papers and are quickly escorted backstage before the police scrutinise them. They don't earn much of a reprieve, the police are soon next to them, inquiring after their papers. Thinking quick, Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein snatch up some hats and tell the police they have to be on stage immediately, dancing their way out directly onto the stage. 

While these two stall for time on the stage, the P.D. Troopers turn their attention to Gottleib. They recognise him as the traffic droid that has been illegally operating and give him a severe beating in front of the crowd. Gottlieb is badly damaged, but when the police demand he says "Humans are our masters," he instead offers a defiant "Robots for ever" 

This moment spurs Hammer-Stein into action, and he thunders off the stage, telling the police to pick on someone their own size - a war droid. 

Another Pat Mills masterclass. This story contains many tropes that we have seen before, yet it mixed them all up and presented them in a cocktail that added an extra zest and flavour to the familiar. The opening scene in the bar gave us time to marinate in the world, and with a sassy barmaid and a large cast of characters it was at once instantly recognizable, yet alien in the way it twisted the familiar into the unfamiliar. Each panel was crammed with detail, and I was rewarded when rereading with little moments of delight such as the graffiti on the way proclaiming "Asimov rules." The tone of the story changed with the arrival of the police, and although there was a tinge of humour, we still sunk deeply into the emotional drama of the situation. I never thought I could have a feeling for a robot, but seeing Gottlieb being dealt to at the hands of the police was a moment that pulled at my heartstrings, and when he offered up his defiant words there was a tear in my eye. Must be dusty in here. A lot of this scene was recognizable from the history of slavery (indeed, much of this escape line story is drawn from that period of history) and that made it all the more heartwrenching to see it on a comic page. Pathos and tragedy on newsprint, it is stories like this that make me love comics as much as I do.    

Rating: 9/10

Best line: "You think you're all clever - sitting around drinking oil...listening to music...but it's a big act! You're machines! You're nothing!"

Prog 111 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Ro-Busters

Best Line: "Up...up yer hooter, buddy! Robots for ever!"

Best Panel: