Prog 122

I've rated this issue highly, although I found a lot of disappointment among the pages. Despite its faults, the issue was still enjoyable and I lot of what I read remained with me after I put the comic down. I think that says more about me than the comic, and it's true what they say about art- what you see depends on what you bring yourself to the piece. When we look at art it reflects our own selves back at us. This must make me a kick-ass lawman of the future, or maybe just someone who reads comics more than they should.      

Prog 122

21st July 1979 

It's been a while, but the Cursed Earth is back on the pages of Judge Dredd. The story is quickly laid out with the introduction of the main characters on the first page. At a trading post outside of Mega-City One, we meet the Doomsday Dogs - part of a much larger band of Mutielanders intent on destroying Mega-City One. They are led by Father Earth, a strange mutant with plants growing on his body. Father Earth is leading a crusade against Mega-City One, perceiving it as the root of all evil and wants to destroy it stone by stone. 

Inside Mega-City One, the Judges receive reports of 10,000 Mutielanders approaching. Normally the walls surrounding the city would be enough to repel them, but the sheer number of them has Dredd voicing concerns. 

While the city prepares for the local election, Dredd's mind lingers on the approaching Muties. While arresting the local street crime that goes on during an election, Dredd thinks that the only way the Muties could get in would be if they had people working on the inside.

At that moment we are whisked to the central Power Tower where Mega-City One's power and energy are produced. While the robots there are watching the election on TV, they are approached by some hooded men. These men pull back their hoods to reveal that they are followers of Father Earth.

The strip concludes with these followers planting explosives at the scene, while Dredd hears the alarm and expresses concern that if the Power Tower goes there will be a raging volcano in Mega-City One. 

Another excellent story from Judge Dredd, and it looks like there is plenty more to come as the story has left itself room to stretch across multiple issues. It brought yet another new concept into the world of Judge Dredd, and it's always a delight to see more of the world revealed, this time with the cult of the Father Earth followers. Two years in, and we are still learning about the world of Judge Dredd. The characters and plot were introduced quickly, and after an introduction that told us all we needed to know we were down the essentials of the story, The clean artwork matched the crisp storyline, and the story flowed naturally across the pages. It is timely to see an election taking place in Mega-City One given that the US election takes place this week, and once again it is scary to see how accurately Judge Dredd translates into modern times. Great artwork captures all the drama of the story, and the images of the Doomsday Dogs were the most arresting of the comic. This isn't quite top-shelf Dredd, but all the elements are in place, and I look forward to seeing if the next issue can top this one. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Who told you jokers to watch the election, huh? When robots get the vote, then you can watch the election! Until then, get up them pipes!"

Bill Savage has been shot with a spear gun and had his ambitious vehicle stolen, and this week Disaster 1990 begins with Savage climbing an observation tower in the hope of finding his vehicle and the man who shot him.

Scanning flooded London, Savage can see nothing, but after an hour he finally spots his vehicle parked outside the Bank of England.

Seeking revenge, Savage quickly makes his way there and discovers the scientist he previously met, Bamber, opening the vault with a gas torch. Savage is about to have his moment of revenge when he finds that two hoods with weapons drawn are behind him. Bamber has been captured by them and they are using him and his scuba equipment to cut a way into the flooded vaults. 

The odds are against them, but Savage and Bamber hear noises within the vault, and they sense a way to escape. Flinging open the vault reveals that it has become a giant nest of water rats, all of whom rush out and descend upon the hapless thugs. Meanwhile, Savage and Bamber shelter underwater using scuba gear. 

The rats are soon gone, leaving the dead thugs and Savage and Bamber look deeper into the vault. There is one more moment of action as the king rat jumps at them, but Savage is quick with his shotgun and the rat is blown to pieces. The story ends with Savage and Bamber in the amphibious vehicle, once again in the depths of flooded London and Savage pondering upon what else they might face.

This was a step up from the previous week's story, and although it is still an episodic self-contained story it kept me wanting to read into next week. The story was tightly focused, and with no additional elements thrown it we remained with the familiar and what had already been introduced. The flooded city was key to the story, rather than merely a backdrop, with the flooded vaults and scuba gear essential to the story being told. We had Bamber back on the pages, and although he isn't a particularly likeable character, he did work well with Savage to keep the story moving forward. Although there were only a couple of panels of intense action, these images were well done and the art was once again a highlight of the story. Disaster 1990 is a great concept, and after several lukewarm episodes, it is finally beginning to deliver all it promised. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "It's OK, Bamber - the King just lost his crown!" 

Hammer-Stein has been ordered to recruit Mongrol, a robot obsessed with seeking revenge for the woman who recreated him, and A.B.C. Warriors begins with the two squaring off at a supply dump that Mongrol has been stealing from.

The expected battle never comes, as Volg commandos descend from the skies. The rest of the story concerns itself with the A.B.C. Warriors fighting off these Volgs alongside Mongrol. The battle climaxes with Hammer-Stein saving Mongrol's life, and with Mongrol now in his debt, Mongrol agrees to the team until the debt is repaid. 

Mongrol is now part of the team, but the mysterious officer behind this recruitment has one more task for Hammer-Stein - to recruit Deadlock, Grand Wizard of the order of knights Martial, a task that should promise to be one hundred times more difficult. 

The ghost of Lara, the woman who saved Mongrols life in the last issue, loomed large over everything we saw here. In his first confrontation with Mongrol, Hammer-Stein mentioned Lara, which triggered a rage within Mongrol that carried us through the rest of the strip. We saw images of Lara several times and each time only served to emphasise the pain Mongrol felt within. Although not as heart-wrenching as last week, this was still an emotion-fueled episode and one that retained the consistency of previous weeks. We know very little of what Hammer-Stein will face next week, and the name of the next member is intriguing and makes next week all the more interesting. The story of Mongrol across the last two issues has been superb, and one can only hope that next week delivers something just as good. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I've opened old wounds...Mongrol can be hurt after all!" 

This week we find what Project Overkill is all about as Kenny Harris reads the secret file handed to him by the now-dead Colonel Martie. 

Project Overkill consists of every scrap of data known to man processed and stored on the Overkill computer, a vast supercomputer secretly built deep underground in the desert. 

The computer and project were completed several months ago, but just as it was activated the roof of the bunker collapsed, killing everyone associated with the program and losing the Project Overkill computer forever. 

Harris guesses that his plane came down somewhere near the site of the bunker and that the project is still functioning, although it has now gone bad. Renting a car, he wonders how he could outfox a computer that is predicting his every move. 

He decides to do the unexpected, and instead of taking his information to the president, he drives his car into the desert toward where his plane came down. He notices that he is being followed by a truck, and again he goes with the unpredictable, turning directly toward the strict and firing at it with his gun.

He eventually forces the truck into crashing, and pulling the driver from the wreckage he hopes for more information. However, the driver is dead from a broken neck, although Harris does find that the driver's skull contains wires. With this, he realises that the Overkill controls its operatives with a direct channel to their nervous system. This raises further questions as Harris remembers that he was unconscious for two days - easily long enough for them to operate and place a control gizmo in his own skull. 

Things are really ramping up in this story and although I am losing interest in the overall premise, and am still addicted to the intrigues. We learnt a lot very quickly this week, and the story lost some of its mystery as we found out the history of Overkill. I would have been quite happy to remain in the dark in regard to the big picture for now, and having the enemy that Harris is up against laid out for me does raise the question of how much longer this story will be with us. I thought the air of mystery about Overkill could have remained for a while longer yet, and it does feel like we are into the final third. There was some good action in this week's strip which accelerated the plot, and with the reveal of the file, things are moving at a fair clip. This wasn't as good as the previous episodes of the series, and with the action moving back to the desert it feels like we are coming full circle. I'm still enjoying the story, but I really need a strong episode next week to bring me back into the fold. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Kenny Harris ain't running no more! Let's see if overkill predicted this!"

Dan Dare has been accused of treason, and as this week's strip begins he finds himself attempting to make an escape from a building surrounded by security forces. 

With the help of Sandor, Dare lures some window clearers in and snatches their anti-gravity packs. With their grav-packs, he and Sandor fly out the window to freedom. However, guards in the building across the street open fire at them, and Dare quickly comes up with a plan - fly back to the space complex where they least expect them. 

This they do, and at the spaceport, they steal a brand new spaceship. It is both a space cruiser and a fighter, but as they take off Dare finds that he hasn't built up the required power. As the craft rises it is a sitting duck for every laser cannon on the nearby gunships. 

Once again it all felt too easy for Dan Dare, and this detracted from some of my enjoyment of the strip. While I liked the artwork and the action, I was underwhelmed by the overall direction of the story, Like so many other issues of the last few months, Dare blasted his way out of one situation and into another. It was enjoyable enough, without being nourishing, and I found myself hungry for something more substantial. On a positive note, the story did feel like it was moving quickly, and there was little time to dwell on the situation as Dare went out of the frying pan and into the fire. I like Dan Dare, and once again the artwork was strong, I just wish he had something more complex ahead of him and the story could be as exciting as the action. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "So far, so good! But these grav-packs weren't built for commuting! They're starting to overheat already!"  

Prog 122 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: A.B.C. Warriors

Best Line: "We've had eight years of Mayor Grubb's misrule. We need a woman's touch at the controls!"

Best Panel: