Many times I have read 2000 A.D. and thought to myself that the more things change the more they stay the same. Many parts of 2000 A.D. are just as relevant today as they were forty-five years ago (and conversely, many things are a neat time capsule from the era it was written). This week it was Project Overkill that caught my eye with its conspiracy folding out in front of us. Conspiracy is everywhere in 2024, and I can see different parts of the story that read just as well today as they did in 1979. Shadowy government organisations running experiments on the unsuspecting public are the meat and potatoes of Twitter and Facebook. Even so, Project Overkill remains essential reading, and it is an intriguing tale that is unfolding. Pre The X-Files, and long before the conspiracies surrounding 9/11 and Covid-19, credit must be given to the writers for mining this material long before it hit the mainstream.
Prog 121
14th July 1979
Last week's Judge Dredd story was told from the perspective of his robo-servant Walter. That story framing continues this week as Walter again has his scrapbook at the hyper-laundry and is telling another Dredd tale.
Although Judge Dredd appears to be the perfect lawman, he makes mistakes, and that is where Walter's tale takes us this week. We roll back one year and drop into the story as some crooks escape out a window. In the alleyway, a judge appears and orders them to halt. At first, they do so, but then they realise it's not a lawman at all. Rather, it is a small boy dressed in a Judge's uniform, with a water pistol in lieu of a gun.
Dredd appears and apprehends the crooks, as well as giving the small boy, Ralphy, a warning about impersonating Judges. Ralphy has had a tough childhood, his parents were killed in a monorail rail accident, and he is now in the care of his Aunt and Uncle, who don't really care at all.
Dredd pulls him out of this situation, and despite being too old, he manages to get Ralphy a place at the Justice Academy as a cadet. Ralphy does well at the academy, but one day he witnesses a hi-jacking and leaving the academy he calls Dredd for help. Dredd arrives and the crisis is averted, but Ralphy is thrown out of the academy as it's forbidden for any cadet to leave the academy, even for a hi-jacking.
The story seems to end on a down note, but in the final panels, Walter explains that Ralphy is now in an orphanage and Dredd visits him every week. He treats him like a real son, and Ralphy is happy to be the only boy in Mega-city One with the great Judge Dredd for a father.
Last week I commented that the story was the second to dig into the connections Dredd forms with those around them, and this week makes that a trilogy. Not only does he meet Ralphy and take him under his wing, but we also learn that he has kept in touch and is still a father figure to the boy. Although similar to the story of his niece, whom Dredd also looked after, this story ends with Dredd keeping in touch with Ralphy rather than turning his back on the boy to protect him. Like those other two stories, I found this streak of humanity running through the story gave it a freshness and a relatability we don't always find in the futuristic world of Dredd. Although it has shades of unease and darkness, Dredd's humanity makes him an empathetic character. I don't always relate to his law-at-all-costs attitude, but I do warm to his interactions with the children we have seen recently. We seem to have picked up a consistent theme of late, and I will be curious to see how long we remain with it in the coming issues. I think this will close the curtain on this phase now, and I would be surprised if the next story opens with Walter at the laundry mat, and Dredd once again protecting young children from the world around them as well as Dredd's own feelings.
Rating: 7/10
Best line: "Leaving the academy was a major breach of discipline, for which there is only one punishment. Cadet Ralph Bryce, you are expelled."
Disaster 1990 opens with scene-setting panels showing Bill Savage approaching the flooded houses of Parliament in his newly acquired army amphibious vehicle. Surprisingly someone is still there, and Bill meets Professor Bamber, a hydrologist who is excited at the prospect of studying this widespread flooding.
Bill has bigger things on his mind but agrees to help the professor obtain some underwater equipment. Bill gives him a ride to Picadilly Circus and drops the professor off at a flooded sporting goods store where he can get some scuba gear.
As he drives away Bill comes under attack by some people sheltering in a high building. He manages to escape, but as he drives away he realises how precious his boat is, and begins to fear for the safety of the professor who he's left alone at the sports store.
He goes back and as he enters the store he is shot by a spear gun. He passes out, and as he comes around he realises he has to leave the spear in his side to prevent further blood loss. The rest of the strip sees Billy gearing up with hunting goods and leaves us with the final image of him, fully armed and ready to hunt down who shot him.
Apart from the scenes of flooded London, I am beginning to tire of this story already. The backdrop of competing factions competing for resources is interesting (and something we have seen plenty of) but on these pages, it is reduced to Bill fighting off a foe, and then facing a new one the following week. The final panels do give me cause for hope, and the sight of Bill Savage kitted out and about to hunt down an unknown assailant promises to give us a well-rounded story arc. I'm not so keen on the single issues that have started this strip, and perhaps the wounded Bill Savage on the prowl can be spun out into something all the more substantial. The comic looks cool as hell, and if the story can match the art for intensity, the following weeks should see a rapid improvement.
Rating: 6.5/10
Best line: "Yeah, this is what I want - a long-barreled shotgun...the sort duck hunters use..."
We have previously met three A.B.C. Warriors, this week we met a fourth - Mongrol. Our introduction to Mongrol is both instructive and destructive. We see exactly what type of character he is as he's escorted into the strip by military police before he smashes their vehicle and tosses them aside.
We learn that Hammer-Stein has been charged with bringing Mongrol into his squad, but before that can happen Hammer-Stein takes us through Mongrol's backstory.
Mongrol is a robo-partrooper taking part in the airborne assault of Zarnhem. It's an intense fight that ends with Mongrol crashing to the ground when his reserve chute fails to open. While Mongrol's body is destroyed, his head lives on and he lies in agony on the battlefield for a week.
Help comes from an unexpected source, as he is found by some battle-combers who scour the battlefield for robot remains. One of his savours is a beautiful young lady, while the other is this woman's aunt and is a little less beautiful.
That night, the young woman introduces herself as Lara and she offers to help Mongrol escape. She works all night to repair him, but she cannot get the electric motor to start. While she is working on this problem, members of the Volg Secret Police burst in.
The secret police take Mongrol to their headquarters, and once there they give Mongrol a large electric shock in an attempt to extract information from him. This shock gives his body life, and he rises from the table and smashes his way through anyone who stands in his way.
Arriving back at Lara's cottage he finds she is dead, shot by the Volgans. Roaring with animal pain, Mongrol staggers out with Lara in his arms. After burying her, his only thought is to kill Volgs and avenge her death.
And so the strip ends with Mongrol, a robot so vengeful even its allies are scared of it, on Hammer-Stein's mind as he prepares to tame him.
The episode laid a lot of groundwork for what is to come, and although the plot didn't advance forward, Mongrol's backstory was worth the indulgence. Now we know of his past we can understand his intense rage, and Hammer-Stein's conflict with him next week will be all the more interesting given that Mongrol no longer feels like a bad guy. The softer moments of the story were highlighted by the artwork, and the first image we got of Lara was more than enough to express her empathy and give us an insight into why Mongrol feels like he does. The final image of Mongrol carrying Lara's body, and the caption referencing beauty and beast drew a line back something we have seen many times on the pages of 2000 A.D. A Beauty and the Beast story, and a Frankenstein monster story combined, we have seen similar themes in Judge Dredd, Mach Zero, and several other stories over the last couple of years. As always, this is handled delicately, and I particularly like this one because it hid what it was in the folds of the story, and it wasn't until this caption that I realised it was a beauty and the beast story. Now we know more about Mongrol, it should be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks, and I hope he becomes part of the team. His backstory is more than enough to make him one of the most interesting members, and I think there is plenty more to be told here.
Rating: 7/10
Best line: "Laaaaraaa!"
Project Overkill begins this week by looking back. A flashback to the Vietnam War shows our hero, Kenny Harris, saving the life of Dave Martie of the CIA.
Flashing forward ten years, Harris arrives at Martie's office, requesting help. There is a further recap as Harris explains all that has happened the last couple of weeks, and Martie agrees to help Harris find the source of this disinformation that is being spread.
In the CIA computer room, they find the information files, but they have no idea of the source. However, a chance mention of Project Overkill by Harris changes the outlook. At these words, Martie becomes concerned and tells Harris to meet him later at his house and he'll show him a secret file on the project.
Later at Martie's house, Harris arrives to find the house in darkness and an intruder in the lounge. This intruder is dressed like the men Harris saw in the desert and as he radios his base he identifies himself as 74.
Harris is beginning to join the dots but fails to notice there is a second goon right behind him. There is a scuffle, and the matter is resolved by Martie who appears at the door and fires two quick rounds from his pistol.
Harris is relieved to find Martie is still alive, although Martie tells him he has taken several shots from the thugs, and he doesn't have long left. Giving Harris the file, Martie tells him that he has stumbled onto something big. He is about to say more, but death is upon and Harris is left holding the file and contemplating the trail of death.
Meanwhile, in the desert, the members of Project Overkill are aware of what has happened. They decide the experiment must continue, and they will maintain surveillance of the subject.
The opening page wasn't my cup of tea, but the rest of this week's story exceeded expectations and was just as essential as anything else we have seen in the story. We are living in the age of conspiracy, yet I'm reading this with fresh eyes and I am totally caught up in the web of intrigue woven here. Every panel had me asking questions, be it the weapons they carried, the way the information was being spread, and just what exactly is Project Overkill. The story wasn't rushed and gave us another taster that has me licking my lips in anticipation of future issues. We did have a change of artist this week, but the high standard set by Ian Gibson in the previous weeks was kept. The lines are not quite as clean, but the action was rendered well on the page and it wasn't too much of a speed bump. I feel the story is just reaching its tipping point and next week promises to be a good one. It has a solid foundation I'm on board for whatever happens next,.
Rating: 7.5/10
Best line: "Now listen! The file is all that exists on Project Overkill. It makes the Watergate coverup look like a mugging. You must...urgh!"
Dare is shocked to see that the panel is all the same, all genetic clones of the greatest Magistrate who ever lived. The inquiry doesn't take long, Lady Myriad has already given evidence before Dare arrives, and the verdict is delivered immediately - Dare is guilty.
Dare's personal effects are to be sold to pay his debt, but it's pointed out that he doesn't have anything apart from the Cosmic Claw that is currently being tested by the scientists.
Hearing the claw is in the building, Dare attempts to contact it via a mental link. He achieves this, and the claw comes racing through the building back to him.
The guards can see what is about to happen, but they are powerless to stop it, and the claw arrives in the room and onto Dare's arm. Dare immediately stuns the guards with a blast from the claw. It seems he has the upper hand, but we find that as soon as the claw burst into the room the whole security system was alerted and now the building is surrounded. Dare is trapped, and not even the Cosmic Claw can save him.
A fast-moving Dan Dare story this week and there was plenty to like. We had a good balance of action and storyline, and I have become more interested in the outcome of this little jaunt. The Claw is still too powerful and an easy out for Dare, but it did provide the focus of this week, and several panels were dedicated to showing the claw flying through the building. Sandor is underutilized, and little more than someone for Dare to talk to, a situation I would like to see change in the coming weeks. It would make the story well-rounded and take some of the pressure off Dare on the storytelling front. The genetic magistrate was a nice idea and the concept was well executed on the page. It was sci-fi without getting too sci-fi and did just enough to remind us that we were in the future. Like Project Overkill, there are still questions to be answered, and although I didn't find the cliffhanger to be thrilling, I do want to come back and find out why Myriad accused Dare of treason, something that can only be resolved by placing my order in at the newsagent.
Rating: 6.5/10
Best line: "You're just a bunch of freaks! What the hell happened to this planet while I've been away?"
Overall: 7/10
Best Story: Project Overkill
Best Line: "I gotta leave the spear in me for a while...Don't want the wound to bleed! I'll have to put up with the pain till I've done what I've gotta do!"
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