Prog 129

I'm still waiting for a strip to be as good as Judge Dredd. A.B.C. Warriors is close, but week after week it is Judge Dredd who dominates the comic, and my thoughts on it. The artwork, the character, and the stories bestowed upon him are the best by a wide margin, and I am surprised that the other stories aren't of the same quality. That's not to say they aren't enjoyable, they certainly are, but they lack that x-factor that Dredd carries page after page. This week is a good example of this. Dredd is outstanding, A.B.C Warriors is finding its feet in a new world, and Wolfie Smith and Disaster 1990 are treading water. Anyone of these other stories could turn the corner and become something more substantial, but right now I'm not holding out much hope, and this firmly remains Judge Dredd's comic. 

Prog 129

8th September 1979 

When we last saw Judge Dredd he was pursuing a Sov-Blok ship that had stolen plans that threaten Mega-City One. His tiny craft had just been rammed by the much larger vessel, and Dredd was thrown into the Black Atlantic. 

We pick up the action as Dredd manages to survive the collision and scales the side of the Sov-Blok ship, intending to regain the plans and capture the ship.

As he confronts some of the crew, Dredd is suddenly overwhelmed as the seawater he has ingested poisons him. He is carried to the sick bay and his life is saved by a sexy-looking female doctor. Dredd recovers, and although strapped to the table, attempts to charm the doctor. This fails, but Dredd is thinking far beyond romance, and as he speaks with the doctor he steals the scalpel attached to her belt.

Using this scalpel, Dredd escapes when an executioner is sent to deal with him. From there it is a simple matter of making his way to the bridge, and the strip ends with Dredd sailing the captured ship into Mega-City One. 

The dialogue throughout this strip sparkled, making this one of the best-written Dredd stories we have had for some time. The artwork couldn't quite match the quality of the writing, but that barely mattered as I soaked up every word on the page. 

Dredd had all the best lines, although, oddly enough, his final line of the story was one of his weakest and was the only bum note of the entire strip. The rest of the characters didn't get the cracking dialogue, yet they all had their moments, and other attributes imbued by the writer which made them just as much fun.

I read this story with a huge smile on my face and couldn't help but smile at the Soviet stereotypes portrayed in the story. Another day I may have dismissed them, yet they did give some levity to the story and reminded me that Dredd is a satire at its very best. 

Swarthy Soviet villains, sexy Russian doctors, and the grim face of Dredd spitting out cutting dialogue made this compulsive reading, and although it didn't possess epic qualities, it was every bit as good as some of the longer stories we have indulged in. 

Rating: 9/10

Best line: "The Sov-Blokkers have added resisting arrest to their long list. It's time I started getting rough with them!"

There is no Blackhawk story this week, and in its place, we have a strip covering a day in the life of Tharg. I don't feel there is any need to cover it here, needless to say, it's an interesting division, although ultimately inessential. 

On the other hand, A.B.C Warriors is always essential reading, and this week we begin with the eye-catching image of a Cybo-Whale being attacked by a rival corporation.

From here the story is quickly laid out - the A.B.C Warriors are being sent to Mars where this attack occurred, to rid the planet of the competing factions that bring evil. At this point we finally learn the identity of the A.B.C Warrior's mysterious human officer- he is Colonel Lash, representing Free Mars, and he has assembled the team with this specific purpose in mind.  

Travelling to Mars on a ship with new settlers, they soon find trouble as their ship crashes in a sandstorm in the Saharan Sea. The settlers struggle with the thin Martian air, and although the ABC Warriors push them to walk to safety, it is too much for some.

Things get worse when they run into some Humpies, the earliest settlers on Mars. These ugly-looking humans carry compressed air in humps on their backs and heads and can go for days on a few mouthfuls of air. 

The two groups face off, calling each other ugly before a spear is thrown and a fight breaks out. The ABC Warriors step in and break up the fight, telling the two parties that the robots think both of them are ugly. Hammer-Stein tells how they must make peace with each other, and at gunpoint forces one of the Humpies to give the new settlers some of his oxygen in a literal kiss of life.

This they do, and soon all are kissing each other. Although none of them like it, it breaks the ice, and the ABC Warriors achieve their first goal. 

Finally, we have the identity of the Human officer and the A.B.C. Warriors have been unleashed on their first mission. The mission had a slow start, and the drama was lightweight, but it is good to be finally moving forward after a couple of months of assembling the team. 

The arrival on Mars gave us a good introduction to the mission and the obstacles the team will have to overcome. We didn't see the individual members of the team using their unique skills, and the story was mostly Hammer-Stein doing diplomacy work. I am confident that in future issues we will see much more of each individual robot, but this story did enough to suggest that they are a real team, and this new environment will be a fertile landscape for storytelling. 

A map on the final page of the comic showing the environs of Mars was a nice touch and not only did it provide us with a handy outlay of the planet, but it also suggested some of the future storylines. I couldn't help but notice the spot marked as the A.B.C. Warrior's secret base, and some of the large areas of land named with some hint of the natural resources each provides. 

Not a spectacular issue, but still one that was important in the wider context of the story. Seeds planted today will come to fruition in later issues, and from what I can deduce, we may well be in for an interesting Martian summer.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "'Cos they think you're ugly...you think they're ugly...and I think you're all ugly!"

The Mind Of Wolfie Smith has the powers of E.S.P. and after seeing a man jump to his death, Wofie is using these powers as he approaches Moldark Manor, a mansion he has already seen in one of his visions. 

The mansion is alive with psychic vibrations, and as Wolfie approaches he senses that his own psychic aura is triggered by the mental energy. 

The door is opened by a servant, and Wofie tells him that he is there to see Mr Hobb about the job advertised. Wolfie is led deeper into the house, and entering a room he finds himself surrounded by servants of Mr Hobb and a voice tells him he is about to join them. 

Wolfie regains consciousness and finds himself talking to an astral projection of the servant he first met, who he now learns is Mathew Hobb himself. Hobb tells him that his mind control is stronger than Wolfie's and that's how he was able to hide his identity when he first opened the door. 

Wolfie rightly calls him a psychic Fagan, forcing drifters and tramps to rob and steal for him. Hobb tells him he is correct and that he will soon join them. He wants to have a contest of psychic wits against Wolfie. Should Wolfie win he can go free, but if not he will be Matthew Hobbs.

Wofie thinks he needs to get some practice in and using his power he wills a sword from a nearby suit of armour into his hands. With a weapon in hand, he stands confident and feels he is ready to do battle.

If only I had psychic powers to see how this story would progress. The future is fuzzy, and there isn't enough here for me to form an opinion on how I feel about it right now.

The look of the comic is nice. It suits the story being told, and the artwork feels like a good fit for what is happening in the plot. The scenes of Wofie Smith's first meeting with Matthew Hobb had an energy to them that reflected the energy mentioned in the dialogue. Wolfie spoke of having a psychic aura, and although this wasn't explicitly shown on the page, one could sense it through the art decisions being made. Later in the strip, we see plenty of line work and swirls suggesting psychic energy, and although it looks busy, it achieves its goal of conveying unseen energy. 

I may need a few more weeks with the strip before I fully appreciate what it is, but I have patience, and I have the time.     

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "I've always wondered if there were other people in the world like me! Well, maybe I'm about to find out..!"

Bill Savage has finally reached the countryside after several months of adventures in London in the wake of Disaster 1990. 

It's not all plain sailing as they head to Oxford, with Savage and Professor Bamber encountering some county folk armed with bows and arrows. They escape unharmed, but the next locals they encounter are cut from the same cloth and attack them with pitchforks. 

Again, Savage and Bamber escape, and soon they can see the spires of Oxford emerging from the mist. Savage manoeuvres the boat cautiously through the fog, although Bamber is much more confident. That is until Bamber realises that the fog isn't fog, but rather some type of gas, and both men are overcome by the gas. The strip ends with Savage and Bamber waking up in a strange room where from the window ssavage can still see the spires but has only thoughts for who it was that ambushed them, and what sort of trouble they will find here.

I am relieved that Bill Savage has finally made it out of London. It has been hinted at for quite some time now, and this was the breakthrough I had been waiting for. I was delighted when he first saw the spires of Oxford and it felt like the story had taken a great leap forward. 

The first half of the story was disappointing. The countryside people were portrayed as simple country bumkins in a timeless stereotype. I thought 2000 A.D. was better than that, and they could have been presented in a sympathetic way. Both their attitude and the way they spoke to him were backward and small-minded. Actually, scratch that - looking at the current political climate there are plenty of people out there who would think like this, so perhaps this is a case, once again, of 2000 A.D. correctly foreseeing the future as it is. 

The second half of the story made amends for the first half, and the final page when they're overcome by gas and awakened in a strange room was just the mystery and intrigue I needed. There was some action in the strip, but the wider storyline is far more interesting than those frivolities and will stand us in good stead as we move forward. 

This was a steady-as-she-goes issue, but it has firmly pointed us in a new direction while laying out a course for future storylines and developments. All of it bodes well for the future, and although this wasn't the best it has laid the groundwork for future issues to build upon.  

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Not very imaginative, these country boys - that's what the last lot said!" 

Prog 129 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Dredd to control...have been attacked by Sov-Blok ship forty miles out. Prepare holding pens for 1,200 prisoners!"

Best Panel:  

Prog 128

The Tornado stories appearing in 2000 A.D. are still bedding themselves in and we are in the getting-to-know-you-other phase. Some stories I had positive feelings about last week are yet to reveal their true selves and my goodwill from last week is stretched as I wait to see what will develop. Unique characters and absorbing storylines is all I ask, and although we arent their yet, I read on with interest as these new stories continue to grow.  

Prog 128

1st September 1979 

Judge Dredd and a team of Judges are on a crime blitz, carrying out intensive investigations on random citizens' homes without needing a warrant. 

Entering the home of Mr. Sweet, they strip his apartment bare looking for any crime committed. They find nothing and Dredd is suspicious. They have at least cautioned the occupant of every dwelling so far - everybody commits crime sometimes, often without even knowing it. 

Smelling a rat, Dredd orders the Sweet to be put under 24-hour surveillance, and as Sweet heads to his work at the Department of Science, small hovering cameras follow his every move. 

The weeks pass and Dredd is rewarded when they see Sweet passing secrets of the new laser defence system onto a spy from East-Meg 1. 

Dredd gives chase to this spy, who manages to escape to sea. Dredd commandeers a vessel and gives chase, only to see the spy hauled onto a Sov-Blok anti-pollution ship. 

Although he is outside the forty-mile limit, Dredd demands that the spy be handed over, only for the ship to ram him and his much smaller vessel. 

The world of Dredd was greatly expanded with this strip, and the scope of the story being told was thrilling and exciting. The parallels to our own world were obvious, but that is the point of Dredd, and the familiarity gave the story some spice. A Cold War spy thriller, it was enlivened by the dialogue of Dredd and the futuristic details sprinkled throughout. The cover page carried all the aces and the image of Dredd pulling his gun on a large ship and threatening them, demanded I turn the page and read on.

Although the Cold War angle of the story was a well-trodden path, it was the smaller details of the future that thrilled me. In particular, the image of a drone silently observing Mr. Sweet was a panel that struck me and lingered after I finished reading. Although this was written forty-five years ago, it was incredibly accurate. To modern eyes, the sight of a drone observing is nothing new. We see it on the news every day, especially in war zones, and I barely registered it as some great forward-thinking by the writer to plant this detail in here. It lifted the story out of the Cold War era, in which it was written, and planted it firmly in the future with all the associated technology in the story, making it feel believable now that we have seen the drone. 

Yet again Dredd is the flag bearer for 2000 A.D. and its thrilling stories of the future. It seems as though it is my favourite story week after week, and I am beginning to think it's not just my bias, but Judge Dredd is genuinely one of the greatest comics of all time.  

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "They claim these anti-pol ships are working for the good of humanity - as if the Sov-Blok ever di anything for the good of humanity! Well, they're not getting away with this little number!" 

Blackhawk has been snatched by an alien craft and forced to fight as a gladiator in the galactic sport known as The Games. 

First, he must have a test of combat against the Beast, a massive alien creature that stands much taller than Blackhawk. Despite this size difference, Blackhawk is able to stay competitive using his speed and skill and eventually beats the creature after finding its weak point. 

The director who brought Blackhawk onboard is impressed and hands him a sword so he can kill the creature. Blackhawk refuses, but after the director is snatched by the monster, Blackhawk's hand is forced and he kills it. 

The director is pleased and tells him he has passed another test. However, Blackhawk's lack of humility before his superiors is a problem, and he has a strange metal band placed around his head. The band can inflict a variety of pains under the director's command, and although Blackhawk eventually passes out from the pain, the director notes that he did resist all the way. 

A middling story this week. We are still at the first date stage, getting to know each other and trying to make a connection. I thought I had a handle on the story last week, and this week we could move on to better things. Things didn't quite go as I had planned, and I am still struggling to warm to the story. 

I liked the premise, and the character himself is interesting. However, the story hasn't given us much more than that, and this week's issue mostly concerned itself with ensuring that Blackhawk is well and truly enslaved. 

On the plus side, the images of Blackhawk fighting were top-notch and the art of Belardinelli shone throughout. As well as providing some backbone to the story this also gives me hope for the future. If Belardinelli can weave more of his magic through the story we could be in for some spectacular issues. 

Aside from the fight, we also saw the humanity of Blackhawk come through, and this greatly enhanced the character in my eyes. The fighting looked great, but it was these small panels just after that piqued my interest. It showed another side to Blackhawk and gave us some insight into the character. It was only a brief moment but it did add some complexity to Blackhawk.

Not a great issue by any means but one that dangled just enough carrots to ensure I'll be back next week, drooling like Pavlov's dog.    

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Much as I would like you dead, director...I cannot stand by while a dumb animal slaughters an intelligent being!"

Last week in the A.B.C. Warriors we saw Steelhorn get put in a fusion furnace, only to survive as a new liquid entity known as the mess. 

This week we see the mess get some measure of revenge as he kills the manager of the demob centre, before killing two firemen sent to clean up the mess. 

At this point, Hammer-Stein arrives, and after discovering that the mess is actually Steelhorn, he gathers him up and takes him back to the other warriors where it is decided to keep the mess in a vacuum flask so he can be maintained at the correct temperature. 

The mysterious human officer enters the story and tells Hammer-Stein that although he has recruited the seventh and last A.B.C. Warrior in an unexpected manner, Steelhorn will still be useful for penetrating enemy defences. 

The officer calls them to be briefed on their next mission, but Deadlock tells the others he has already read the tarot cards and knows who they'll be facing - the Devil. 

Although ostensibly about robots, this story dipped into the world of body horror in an outrageous twist. It was unexpected, yet oddly compelling, as we saw Steelhorn become the mess. It didn't work one hundred percent of the time, but it did give us some grotesque artwork that stands among the best in the comic. It also raised a lot of questions about the direction of the story from here, and rather pleasingly the strip ended with a clear indication of where we are going next. 

The team is now complete, albeit not quite as we expected, and the A.B.C. Warriors have a clear goal laid out before them. We have a backstory for each character and they all bring a unique personality and skill to the team. This has taken some time to sketch out, but it has been well worth the journey so far, and I am sure this will pay off in the future as we embrace new challenges with the team that we already know so well.

Although not the best issue of A.B.C. Warriors, this was an essential one, and with all the pieces in place, we are ready for whatever comes next.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I can hardly believe it...once it was Steelhorn, bravest of the brave...and now it's...a mess! But...why is it slithering up my gun barrel?"

Last week we met The Mind of Wolfie Smith and had a quick introduction to the teenager with amazing ESP abilities. 

This week the story takes another step forward as the fugitive that he saw on the run from the police climbs a building and under the command of another powerful psychic force jumps to his death. 

Wolfie gets close to the police surrounding the scene, and reading their minds he gets some sense of what he has just observed. 

Picking up a glove dropped by the fugitive, he gets a vision of a spooky manor, the very one on the address of the situation vacant card he saw in the window last week. 

Catching a bus to the address, Wolfie learns that the staff turnover at the manor is high and that the owner Matthew Hobb is regarded as a crazy man. 

This doesn't discourage him, although perhaps it should, as in the final panels we see him approaching the manor while within a darkened Matthew Hobb watches him and delivers a soliloquy about making Wolfie his servant with a willingness to die, all so that Matthew Hobb can achieve an empire of darkness. 

Creepy and spooky, we know exactly what we are going to get with this story, It set its stall out early, and after meeting Wolfie Smith last week, we now see the world he inhabits is dark and unknown. With shadowy figures lurking in creepy mansions, with plans for world domination, the story is leaning hard into all the tropes of classic horror movies. Although not my genre, I am finding myself enjoying this a lot more than I should.

It's still early days, and I would still like to get to know Wolfie Smith a little better. We know of his powers and his backstory, but we still don't know what sort of person he is. We have seen him strive to do good, but we need some more interactions with others to get a feel for who he is. Next week may provide that as he meets Matthew Hobb, and I hope that the story will blossom from there. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "All I as is...loyalty! The willingness to...die, if necessary...so that Matthew Hobb may achieve his empire of darkness!"

We are straight into the drama of Disaster 1990 as the opening panel shows Bill Savage and the other survivors watching a massive whirlpool swirl around Wembley Stadium where they are trapped. 

While Bill Savage thinking about how they can escape, others are plotting revenge. The other survivors put a noose around Sam Slick's neck, intending to lynch him, only to be stopped in their tracks by Bill and his trusty shotgun. 

From there, it is back to the matter of escape, and the professor who calculates that if they lose all the excess weight, the amphibious vehicle should be able to use the whirlpool to jump over the wall of Wembley.

The plan looks as though it will fail as the walls begin to collapse before Bill manages to get enough speed up. However, they successfully make the jump, much to the surprise of the professor.

It is then that they see that Sam Slick isn't with them, but rather a much lighter tailor dummy has taken his place in the craft, making it considerably lighter. Turning back they see Sam sitting amongst the crumbling walls, raising a glass to them. He has sacrificed his life so they could escape and the final panel sees Bill Savage telling Bamber that sometimes a bit of decency can come to the surface when you least expect it.    

I enjoyed many aspects of this story, yet it never quite gelled for me. Seeing Savage save Slick from being lynched was true to his character, and an early highlight. The thrill of getting the boat up to speed was excellent, and the sense of speed and danger was conveyed well. The final sacrifice of Slick was well done, and a poignant moment to finish. 

Despite all this, I never truly became involved in the story. Slick's sacrifice was worthy of more than it got here, and although it was the best moment of the story, it could have been built into something much more. This was compensated by the understated artwork showing him raising a glass, in an image that said far more than the dialogue. The thrill of Savage escaping looked great, but in the back of my mind, I always knew he would make the jump. This made for an empty thrill, and the sense of peril was missing. 

There was plenty of like here, and if all these parts could come together in a satisfying manner it would easily be one of the best strips in the comic. The beauty of comics is there is always next week's issue, so it's that I turn to in the hope that Bill Savage and Disaster 1990 will give me the story that we both deserve.  

Rating: 6/10

Best Line: "There'll be no lynchin' while Bill Savage's got his shotgun! Back off!"  

Prog 127 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Nothing survives the fusion furnace- hotter than a hundred suns! You ABC warriors won the war - but you've served your purpose...now die, Steelhorn!"

Best Panel:  

Prog 127

The Christmas rush has arrived. The last week at work has been insane, so much so that I completely forgot that this week sees the introduction of several new stories in 2000 A.D. With Tornado being merged into 2000 A.D. we now have three new stories to digest - Blackhawk, Woldie Smith, and Captain Klep. I won't be giving Captian Klep any time here, it is your standard light comedy fare on a single page, and based on the first instalment it doesn't feel a good fit for the comic. Blackhawk and Wofie Smith are far more intriguing, and although neither gets off to a fast start in this particular issue, I am curious to see how they will develop. A change is as good as a holiday, and with that in mind, I shall embrace the first issue with the joy of the first day of a vacation. The possibilities of many a good time lay ahead of us, all we have to do is get on board and see what happens.  

Prog 127

25th August 1979 

Judge Dredd remains the standard by which all other stories are judged, and this week doesn't disappoint with a heavy fog descending upon Mega-City One. 

Like the pea-souplers of old London, it blankets the city, bringing new dangers to the streets. We have a taste of what these dangers entail when a cloaked man emerges from the mist, killing a young woman with talk of putting her in a pie. 

Dredd is soon on the case, and using the infrared beam on his bike he finds the murderer. The following fight is shortlived, and Dredd has his man - a robot Sweeny Todd. The clue to where he has come from is found in his top hat- a label from the Chamber of Horrors. 

The Chamber of Horrors is in the middle of the fog district. Dredd arrives and finds robot clones of Burke and Hare, the bodysnatchers, at work. They lead him to their master, and Dredd overhears him complaining that they can't get anything right - he wants money, not more bodies. 

At this point, Dredd intercedes and finds himself fighting other figures from the past, including the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Another fight ensues and Dredd triumphs, defeating the robot and arresting the citizen behind the crimes. 

This was a very tight story, with plenty of glorious panels scattered throughout the tale. There wasn't too much to the plot, but that hardly mattered as the story gave us drama, action, and a suitable outcome, all across six pages. With little happening as far as exposition goes, there was a lot of space for the art of Bolland to breathe, and with large panels and clean lines, his work dominated the story. The first image set the scene, and I immediately thought of Victorian London, long before it was alluded to later in the story.  

With an interesting array of villains, all recognisable from history, the story didn't need to introduce us to each crook, and we already had a good sense of how each one operated. This sped up the story considerably, and the sight of the hunchback climbing the bell tower felt part of the story while giving us a nice shorthand of what was happening. 

I am rating this story highly as there was no fat on the story, it moved quickly, and it all looked superb on the page   

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "No! No! No! How many times do I have to tell you two? I sent you out to get money, not bodies!"

Blackhawk is a new story for me, and I like what I see so far.  

This is a Gladiator story writ large.  Blackhawk is a Nubian Centurian, fighting for the Roman Empire when he is beamed to a mysterious spaceship. 

There he is presented with a challenge, and after fighting off several drones, two aliens come forward to introduce themselves. They quickly lay out the story of how they gather warriors from across the universe, bringing them together to fight for the entertainment of the masses. 

Blackhawk refuses to become a part of this, he would rather die free than become a slave, and it looks as though he will fall on his own sword. However, as he is about to do so, the aliens bring forth what would have been his first opponent, and seeing what a challenge it presents, Blackhawk decides he will indeed fight against the monstrous challenger. 

This wasn't quite what I expected, and I do wonder if it was previously a story set in Roman times reengineered to give it a sci-fi angle. A better man would go and do some research. I'm not going to do that as I insist on reading these stories as I would have done in 1979 with no internet and no way of knowing what was going on outside of the very comic in my hand. 

I like the idea of alien gladiators and the different scenarios that may present. The ultimate would be to have an uprising and a variety of aliens fighting together. Whether it or not that happens remains to be seen, but there is that seed of an idea in my head. 

The artwork started strongly, and although it's only my first taste of the strip I already have a good sense of the characters and the feel of the story. I am excited to see that it is Belardinelli on art duties, and his unique style is immediately apparent. This bodes well for future issues and paired with an original storyline, there should be plenty of scope for him to let his imagination run wild. 

Early days, but we have a firm beginning, and with a solid concept and some thought-provoking characters, we may well be in for a thrilling ride.    

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "We seek men like you, Nubian...men to whom fighting is a way of life...men who are not afraid to die!"

It seems the war against the Vogans has been won, as on the first page of A.B.C. Warriors we see Steelhorn bringing vengeance upon Marshal Vogod. Steelhorn is the seventh and last A.B.C. Warrior and several days later Hammer-Stein attempts to have him join the team. 

Steelhorn refuses to join despite losing the fight against Hammer-Stein. He tells Hammer-Stein that he is sick of war and is now a pacifist. He backs this up by leaving the army and setting forth to become a fireman instead. 

In the demob camp he hands over his weapons and enters cubicle "A" where he is told he will find out about becoming a fireman. It is a trap and he is instead melted down in a fusion furnace. 

However, this is not the end of Steelhorn, or the story, as he survives as a hideous, bubbling, metallic mess. In the final panel of the story, we see this mess making its way upstairs and toward the manager's office. 

An unexpected pivot this week, and I was caught off guard as I saw the war against the Volgans was over. Just as it looked as though the A.B.C. Warriors had assembled a team worthy of the opponents, it all came to a sudden end. 

The new direction the story is taking is of some interest, although it does feel as if we are starting over. We saw none of the other warriors, bar Hammer-Stein, in this issue, and the focus was very much on Steelhorn. How this will play out in future issues is a mystery. There is some intrigue, but it is hardly on the same level as what has come before and it does feel like a different comic. 

It's hard to make any sort of judgment on what we have here. It's not like the A.B.C. warriors of old, yet it hasn't quite grown into the skin of what it could become. Everything is up in the air at the moment, and we don't know what we have on our hands here until next week, guaranteeing that I'll be back for more. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "I wanted to help humans...but now - now I curse you all!"

Another new story for me next as I clap my eyes on Wolfie Smith for the first time. 

Wolfie has a powerful brain that lets him move objects by thinking about them, pass examinations with ease, and predict the future. 

He is an outcast from a young age, all his childhood problems come to a head when he is sixteen years old and his parents insist he see a head doctor. It's all too much for him, and in a blast of frustrated mental energy he destroys half his street. 

Running away, he takes a job on a building site. He doesn't last long, and although he saves the life of a worker from a collapsing scaffold, he loses his job as the other workers find him too creepy. 

In Redford, a little town in East Anglia, he finds a situation vacant ad that looks promising. However, he is interrupted and a car crashes next to him. From the vehicle emerges a wild-eyed figure who is on the run from the police. Smith daren't get involved, but his ESP picks up another powerful brain which is giving the man instruction. While Smith watches on, the man begins to climb up the side of a building, with the voice telling the man that once he reaches the top he must jump off and destroy himself.

Another new story for me, and it doesn't move my needle one way or another. It was interesting enough to meet Wolfie Smith and see his powers at work, but I never felt invested in the character. One may have expected a character like this to provoke some sympathy from the reader, but he was neither here nor there as far as I was concerned, and I read the story with indifference. 

Once again it is early days, and I'm not writing the story off just because I didn't warm to it immediately. I need to spend some time with the story, and I would like to see Smith use more of his powers and get a feel for what he is going to do with his abilities. I like the thought that he is an outcast, and the story is leaning into a conflict with an equally powerful being who for now remains unknown. With questions hanging over the being, and what Smith might do next, there is plenty to keep the reader on the hook, and by the end of the issue, I should have a much firmer handle on who Wolfie Smith is and how I feel about him. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "With a brain like mine I reckon I could do almost anything! Maybe even a millionaire..!"

On the pages of Disaster 1990, Bill Savage still hasn't left London, despite threatening to do so for several issues now. 

This week it's a black marketeer who keeps him in town. Savage comes across this man when his vehicle breaks down while trapped in currents near a tube station, While Bill sits helpless, Slick Sam, a spiv if ever I saw one, appears with a boat advertising all sorts of wares a survivor might require. 

Slick Sam tells Savage that if he comes to the town hall that night, he can buy whatever he needs. Savage takes up this offer and arriving at the town hall he finds other survivors all paying what they can for the items Slick Sam has. 

Bill is unhappy with the situation, but hands over his gun in return for the parts he needs. After Sam departs, Savage gathers the other survivors and they decide they need to find Slick Sam's warehouse and put an end to this. 

Savage has one clue, a piece of turf found on the bottom of one of the items, and they realise that Sam's storehouse must be at Wembley Stadium. 

Savage goes there with the others in tow, and they find Sam's barge tied up at the edge of the terraces. Bill confronts him, and reclaiming his gun he and the others grab as much of the provisions as they can. 

While they do this, the Professor surveys the stadium. Running toward Savage, he warns that the Stadium is unstable, but it is already too late and in the final panel we see one of the walls collapsing and a whirlpool forming, trapping the survivors and threatening to drown them all. 

A solid issue, and despite some dramatic images on the final page, one that lacked much in the way of spectacular. It was all pretty standard fare, and from the first moment we saw Sam Slick we had a pretty good idea of what was about to unfold. 

Bill Savage did what he usually does, righting the wrongs with his trusty shotgun in hand, and although there was drama on the final page to carry us through to the next week, it didn't reach the thrill factor of some of the other stories. We have been strung along now for several weeks by the thought of Bill Savage leaving London and heading towards Oxford. In fact, he was quite explicit about it on the page three weeks ago, yet here we are still battling around famous London landmarks. It does feel like some good ideas came after the seed had already been planted, and the creative team has had to double back to cross off some of these ideas. I can't blame them for that, the last few weeks have been good, although hardly taxing, reading. There is a world of possibilities out there, yet Savage is still caught in the current of London-centric stories. Next week we should see him escape Wembley, but I am beginning to wonder, can he escape London?  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Hold it lads - you've got what you need and it's enough punishment for him." 

Prog 127 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd

Best Line: "Nothing survives the fusion furnace- hotter than a hundred suns! You ABC warriors won the war - but you've served your purpose...now die, Steelhorn!"

Best Panel: 

Prog 126

Great news for all readers - next week Tornado will be joining the pages of 2000 A.D. I know very little of Tornado, but a sneaky look at next week's issue reveals some curious characters and wild adventures. To welcome in the new, we must first bid farewell to some old friends. This week sees Project Overkill come to an end, while Dan Dare is put on ice until a later date. Both these stories are at critical points as one wonders how they can both be wrapped up in a manner that is satisfying and fulfilling.  In past issues, stories often have a rushed conclusion to make way for the next, and it remains to be seen if that will be the case in this particular issue. 

Prog 126

18th August 1979 

The opening lines of Judge Dredd tell us that he is about to embark on one of the strangest cases in his career, a hefty statement given the number of strange tales we have already encountered in the Dredd universe over the first one hundred and twenty-five Progs. 

A talking cat approaches Dredd, asking him to save his friend Monty, a guinea pig, from certain death at Mega-labs. Although Dredd appreciates the awful situation the lab animals find themselves in, he tells the cat that he can do nothing as it is all within the law. The appearance of Doctor Galt seals the deal as he angrily puts the cat in a cage and tells Dredd that it's his lab and he decides when the lab animals die.

As he leaves, Dredd is left thinking that something doesn't quite sit right with Dr. Galt's attitude. Some quick googling research shows that Dr. Galt is a specialist on ancient diseases and also a novelist - with his novel being about a maniac blackmailing the city by recreating the common cold. 

All the pieces fall into place, and Dredd races back to the lab. Here he confronts Galt, who is about to kill Monty the guinea pig. In Galt's hand is a vial of the common cold he has recreated. With the cold being gone for a hundred years, no one has immunity and Galt is planning on blackmailing the city for all he can. 

Holding the vial and threatening to unleash the biological weapon, Galt has the upper hand as Dredd approaches. However, the cat still has a part to play and jumps at Galt's face. Galt drops the vial, while Dredd jumps clears and closes the door behind him. In the contaminated room, Galt dies from the common cold while Dredd watches through the window. 

The final washout sees a new law passed - "The Dredd Act" which bans animal experimentation, and Monty the guinea pig given to Walter the Wobot for safekeeping. 

I was delighted to see this story was drawn by John Cooper, and he delivered to his usual high standard. His depiction of the cat was particularly noteworthy and the panels of the cat talking to the Dredd were amongst my personal favourites. The story itself felt very much of its time, and reading it reminded me that we don't hear so much about animal rights anymore as other causes push to the front. In light of the previous stories it felt lighter, and Dr Galt was no match for some of the other extravagant criminals that Dredd has encountered. It didn't matter too much, as the story remained tight, and got us to a satisfying conclusion quickly while moving us through a range of emotions. It's not a great Dredd story, but certainly a good one, although the Cat stole every panel he was in, and Dredd played second fiddle in his own strip.

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Big tough Judge Dredd! The toughest lawman in Mega-city One! What a phony! You ain't even got enough power to save a guinea pig!"

Last week it looked like we were leaving London in Disaster 1990, but this week's strip sees Bill Savage and Bamber have one final adventure before leaving the capital. 

Savage and Bamber find themselves in a flooded zoo, where the alligators have devoured the other animals. Trapped on the roof of the reptile house, they hit upon the idea of using the zoo's power generator to electrify the water and electrocute the alligators. 

Things don't go smoothly, and instead of the generator room, Savage inadvertently finds himself above a tropical aquarium full of piranha. He avoids a mishap, but the piranha escape and quickly solves the problem of the alligators- attacking them in numbers and devouring the large reptiles. 

Savage and Bamber now have a piranha problem, and press on with their plan of electrifying the water. This time Savage is successful in reaching the generator, and the plan succeeds. 

With the waters now cleared of alligators and piranha, Savage and Bamber press on toward Oxford. 

This was a nice change of pace for Disaster 1990, and with no other human interaction, the focus remained tightly on Bill Savage and Professor Bamber. I was surprised at first, last week I thought the other survivors would be travelling with them, but the story was streamlined this week, and for my money, it worked much better. We had more quality time with Bill Savage, and some of his cutting dialogue began to emerge from the story.  The action was cleaner, and in comparison to previous weeks, it was far more inventive and fun. This originality helped elevate the story, and although I was apprehensive about the thought of Savage leaving London, I can now see the possibilities it may present. We did see a similar thread in Invasion! when we first met Bill Savage. In that story, he initially fought the Volgans in London, before heading into the countryside, and once it got out of London the story lifted. I expect the same shall happen this time around, and I'm quietly confident for the next few issues. Like Dredd earlier, this was a solid story, but we can do better, and I expect the next few issues to be more to my taste. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Okay, Bamber- this stretch of water's safe now...and we've had our day out at the zoo!"

Following General Blackblood into the jungle, the A.B.C. Warriors have been ambushed by Volgan soldiers and their Tripod fighting vehicles. 

Programmed to enjoy combat, the A.B.C. Warriors are in their element, and by taking control of one of the "Daddy-Long-Legs" vehicles they win the battle. All they need to do now is shoot General Blackblood through the heart so he can be reprogrammed to join them. 

General Blackblood has seized a child as a hostage, but even so, Joe Pineapples manages to get a shot off, taking down General Blackblood without killing the child.

Reporting back to their human officer they are told there is one more warrior to recruit, and this seventh one will be the hardest of them all. 

There was a lot going on here, with plenty of dialogue and drama hung off the simple story premise. The presence of the teacher, Miss Sweet, added a different angle to the story and allowed us to see the warriors through fresh eyes. She didn't take any real part in the story, but she was on hand on every page to offer her view of events and to remind us that these are fighting robots programmed only to kill. Even the normally sympathetic character of Hammer-Stein looked different in this context and the dialogue between him and Miss Sweet was the best in the comic and gave the story a heart. I was a little disappointed that the Volgan soldiers and jungle fighting didn't feature as much as promised last week, and the first half of the story felt rushed as the A.B.C. Warriors quickly fought their way out of the ambush. However, this was balanced by the aforementioned role that Miss Sweet took, and over all the story felt far more balanced. It could have easily become a typical war comic plot, but instead, it was something more and the story felt fresh as we head into the next chapter. The squad still hasn't been assembled, and I'm wondering what next week holds, all good things as I keep turning the pages in search of the answers to the questions this story keeps raising. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "You disgust me, Sergeant..! For a moment I thought you were different...now I see you're like all the others...a walking death machine!"

Kenny Harris finally finds himself face to face with Number One of Project Overkill. Number One is the supercomputer at the heart of it all, although he has the same human fault that many Bond villains have and outlines his plan to take over the world to Harris. 

Number One has taken control of the computers of all the major Nuclear plants across the United States, and they will be detonated within an hour, wiping out all mankind. 

Number One goes even further, telling Harris that the only way that Number One can be destroyed lies within, but to enter that room is certain death as it carries a radiation shield. 

This doesn't deter Harris, and after a fight with several guards, in which he is shot many times, Harris manages to enter the room and destroy everything in sight. Ten minutes later he leaves and finds where the passengers and crew of his hijacked airliner are held, and together they fight off the guards surrounding his plane. 

A hair-raising take-off sees them fly clear just as the mountain and all of Project Overkill are destroyed in a massive explosion.  Half an hour later the co-pilot tries to rouse Harris from his sleep, but there is no response. Calling the doctor over, they find that Harris is dead, although, for the first time, they can see he is smiling. With that, the plane lands, and the story ends.

Even as it finished, Project Overkill still left me with plenty of questions. Harris suffered terrible wounds from the guards pistols, yet he was still able to enter the main computer room and then later find the passengers, and take off in the plane. In fact, later in the story, we see him easily and swiftly walk across the page. He also entered the highly radiated room, yet he didn't pass on this radiation to other passengers or those around him. Putting this aside, the story ended as we always knew it would, although it did begin to resemble a Bond film rather than an X-Files episode that it earlier appeared to be. Having the computer tell Harris the master plan was a little silly and did undo some of the menace of the earlier issues. It was necessary for the reader to understand the wider plot, although I wonder if it could have been done in a more nuanced way. This was not the best issue of Project Overkill, and although it had some good action and plot points, it did feel like a rushed finish. I have said that several times before about other stories, and I understand it is all part of the medium, but just a single extra issue in this case could have given us a far more satisfying ending and a finale worthy of such an intriguing story. This piqued my curiosity from the start and it's with regret that the story didn't finish as strongly as it started.   

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "This man is dead. It's strange, but in all we've been through, this is the first time I've seen him smile."

On the satellite world of Topsoil, Dan Dare and Sondar found the Krulgan who framed them as traitors, only to see him killed by a strange woman named Morag. 

Dan is angry that she has killed their chance of proving their innocence, and begins to question her. She seems to know a lot about Dare and tells him that she has been following him, hoping that he would lead her to the Krulgan. 

There is little time for them to finish this conversation as the police arrive on the scene. Dare stuns Morag with a blast from his cosmic claw, and scooping her up, he and Sandor run from the police. Making their way to the spaceport, they make good on their escape and are soon safe in space. There Morag awakes, and she tells Dare her story of how she came to be entangled with the Krulgan. The Krulgan had been mining in the mountains near her village, and venturing down from the mountains the Krulgan had made trouble in the village. Morag's husband asked for them to behave themselves, and for his troubles he was murdered in cold blood and thus began Morag's long quest for vengeance.   

The strip ends at this point, with the three outcasts flying deeper into space and Dare promising to find the Mekon who holds the key to his freedom.

Dan Dare takes a break next week, and I can't say I'll be too sorry about it. The plot is good, there are interesting characters and some fantastic artwork, but the story never quite comes together as it should. This week was a good example of that. The introduction of the new character of Morag was handled well, and already she catches the eye with her striking look and feisty style, yet the story failed her as she merely delivered dialogue while Dare ran from action to action. The final third of the story was weak, and one could see the story being rapidly taken to a point where it could safely be put on hold until it could return. The cosmic claw is still too powerful, and while it's in his hands Dare can easily blast his way out of any situation. I never feel he is in as much trouble as he makes out, and he always has this "get out of jail free card" near at hand. Hopefully, when Dare returns we will get plenty more of Morag, and with the promise of the Mekon in the future, the drama of the strip should rise considerably. Dan Dare is a legacy character and deserves better than what we see here, and although I'm feeling down about where we are right now, I still remain optimistic for the future and am quietly looking forward to meeting the new stories next week.    

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Flee, if you must...but my work is done! I am resigned to what'er fate awaits me!" 

Prog 126 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: A.B.C. Warriors

Best Line: "Yeah...I'm a living weapon...when I pull my trigger- I kill! War robots don't do nothin' else!"

Best Panel: