Prog 130

I had the thought today that we are rapidly approaching 1980 on the pages of 2000 A.D. Although the 1970s permeate every panel of what I have read so far, I have always thought of 2000 A.D. as a 1980s comic. This is because I was but a small child in the 1970s whereas by 1980/1981 I was fully formed and reading everything I could get my hands on. We are still a couple of months from that milestone, but it does give me something to look forward to. It's exactly what I need as I'm a little despondent today. Tomorrow it is back to work after my Christmas holidays, holidays that mostly consisted of forlornly looking out the window at the falling rain. The dystopian future sketched out in 2000 A.D. matches my current mood, so I shall wallow in the comic this evening, my melancholy made whole by a comic from forty-five years ago.  

Prog 130

15th September 1979 

It's been a while since we've had a mob story on the pages of Judge Dredd, but the drought is broken this week with a story that neatly captures most of the tropes of that genre. 

Dredd is bringing in an important witness, Joe 'Lips' Lazarus, to testify against the mob. 'Lips' Lazurus lives up to his name, with a series of impersonations of other gangsters with comedic humour that grates with Judge Dredd. He has also risen from the dead, surviving an assassination attempt by the mob. Only his head remains from the assault, and he now awaits a robotic body. 

The robotic body is being transported across the city when it is set upon by the mob, working under the orders of Elmo Hammer. The mob then use the van to gain access to the hospital where Dredd and Lips are awaiting the surgery. 

The mobsters make good progress, although they face stiff resistance from Dredd. It looks to be falling in their favour but Dredd comes up with a desperate scheme. 'Lips' gets on the hospital communications, and with an impersonation of Elmo Hammer, he tells the thugs to surrender. The crooks aren't convinced it's Hammer, but there is enough doubt in their minds that their self-destruct devices explode, killing every one of them. 

The death and mayhem are cushioned in the final panel as 'Lips' Lazarus gives us one final quip, and although it is not a very good one, it is a suitable ending for the story.

I love a good mobster story, and although I didn't love everything I saw here, it was still an enjoyable romp that appealed to me. 

The faces of the mobsters were an early highlight, and in particular, the face of Elmo Hammer was a wonderful caricature of what we have come to expect from such gangsters. His large square head, scar, and snarl were evocative and put me in just the right frame of mind for the story being told. It was a stereotype and in this case, a neat shorthand that got the reader into the story without the need for a lot of exposition. One sight of Elmo Hammer and we knew exactly what type of character he was and could easily guess his past. We have seen this many times on the pages of Dredd, with stereotypes and common tropes often employed. These never make the story derivative, and often enhance the storytelling rather than making for a lazy crutch.  

The dialogue also played well to the mobster story. Some people may consider the over-the-top accents too much, but one can't deny that they fit the story being told, and nicely offset the usual grim, yet witty, dialogue of Dredd. Dredd's black humour was made all the better by the lightness provided by 'Lips' Lazarus, despite my thoughts on Lazarus's final quip, and the balance kept the story moving even when there was no action on the page. Much like the artwork, they're is a shorthand at play here in the gangster language, the familiar doing a lot of background storytelling while we concentrate on the action at hand.

There was cleverness at play throughout the story and even the name of 'Lips' Lazarus told us a lot about the character, although some of this was enhanced in later panels. Dredd is full of such easter eggs, and part of the fun is pulling apart every word and every panel to see the treats scattered throughout. One can be comforted by the fact that if the art doesn't deliver a nugget, then the text certainly will. 

Dredd this week gave us strong storytelling propping up a lesser tale. I gave it a strong rating based not on the story being told, but rather on the manner in which it was told. I love the mobsters, but a story with a little more meat on the bones would have delivered given a knockout blow, rather than the solid body shot that we have here.    

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "You doity alien rats! You ate my brudder, see! Now you're going to pay, see!"  

We didn't have a Blackhawk strip last week, but he is back today and the story of the former Roman Centurion and now intergalactic gladiator continues.

As the mighty spacecraft touches down on a dusty planet, Blackhawk awakens from his blackout. He finds himself in the company of a nasty array of alien gladiators, none of whom are friendly toward him. The exception is Ursa, a large bear, but that has repercussions as the squad leader Battak arrives and reprimands Ursa.

As punishment for Ursa's friendliness, all the gladiators are forced to take on the assault course. The course finds Blackhawk fighting an array of fearsome plants before he sees Ursa fall into a pit where a particularly gruesome creature awaits.

Blackhawk can't leave his newfound friend to die, and jumps into the pit with him, Between the two of them they fight off this beast. Crawling out of the pit, they find Battak awaiting them, furious that Blackhawk has interfered. The rule of the course is if you fall you die, and now Battak promises them both death, by the claws of Battak himself. 

It's hard to go past the art of Belardinelli without passing a comment. Once again he has excelled in delivering an array of alien lifeforms, each looking deadlier than the last. The first alien gladiators we saw looked as scary as you might imagine, but all were surpassed by the hard bony look of Battak.  Already one can see that he is not to be trifled with, and he was bestowed with a look worthy of his demeanour. The aliens we saw on the assault course were equally scary, and when Ursa and Blackhawk fell into the pit there was real peril. All of this is to the credit of Balardinelli, and the strip is greatly enhanced by all he puts into it. 

The story itself remains on a steady course, although we still have no idea of what the final destination will be. For now, Blackhawk is caught up with internal dramas and fights and we have yet to see how this will play out in the wider world. I am enjoying what I am seeing but I do look forward to seeing the story develop further. 

A case of steady as she goes this week, and for all the delights of Belardinelli's art we have yet to see the story fully bloom. The fight against Battak is repeating some of the stories we saw earlier against other aliens, and my fear is that this is how the story will progress, with Blackhawk fighting a series of aliens before he even gets to the arena. The story could be so much more than that, and the next few weeks will be crucial to my further readings of Blackhawk.     

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "We will have no friends here. Friendly things do not kill well!"

The A.B.C. Warriors have arrived on Mars with a mission to bring peace to the competing factions and corporations. 

This week it is the Soya Bean Cowboys that have the attention of the Warriors as the Cowboys look to expand their operations into the territory of the Cyboons. 

The Cyboons are intelligent apes originally imported to help Earth colonise Mars. When the work was done they were given a reservation where they could live in peace, a reservation that the soya bean cowboys are now looking to expand into.

After an initial confrontation with the cowboys, the Warriors are introduced to Bedlam, the taciturn leader of the Cyboons. The Warriors give modern weapons to Bedlam's son, who tells them that they need the weapons to fight back, although his father is old-fashioned and doesn't approve of modern guns. 

This is reinforced when Bedlam finally speaks, telling the A.B.C. Warriors that the Cyboons will fight their own battles with tooth and claw. 

The robots think the Cyboons, won't have a chance, although Hammer-Stein wonders aloud that perhaps they shouldn't interfere with Bedlam and his tribe's right to fight their way. Meanwhile, a possie of cattlemen are rapidly approaching the reservation with extermination on their minds and on their lips. 

Another worthy entry into the canon of A.B.C. Warriors, with the map shown last week coming to fruition as we see them engage with the Soya Cowboys. Like Judge Dredd, this is drawing on familiar stories and tropes, something we have seen before in A.B.C. Warriors, and one could easily substitute Cyboons for Indians or any other minority of your choosing. It was dealt with efficiently and never became condescending despite my fears. Having Bedlam's son being the main contact for the Warriors was a good device, and it did have a touch of realism as he negotiated the generational gap as well as the cultural gap. 

The story did a fine job of weaving the familiar and the futuristic and although the cowboy story felt familiar, there were modern touches throughout the story. The first page showed the mechanical cows and the synthetic way soya beans are turned into steaks and was appealing to my modern eye. If this is to be the price of veganism, then I will stick to my still bloody steak thanks. It also was just the way to start the story, pushing us far into the future, before revealing itself to be a classic cowboy tale, complete with the A.B.C. Warriors representing the Magnificent Seven. This has a lot of potential, and I expect we shall see more Magnificent Seven references on the page over the coming weeks. Given the delicate way the Cowboy/Cyboon storyline has been handed so far, I expect these references will fit neatly into the story rather than derail it, and we could see something special develop as the A.B.C. Warriors are brought further into a story of which they have only had a periphery role so far. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Dad believes 'progress' is a human disease...'progress' is just finding bigger and better ways of killing each other!" 

It's mind versus mind as The Mind Of Wolfie Smith faces the evil of Matthew Hobb. 

The fight sees Wolfie battling to control the sword in his hand as Hobb uses his psychokinetic powers. Eventually, the sword cuts down a chandelier that falls on Hobb, as well as setting fire to the house.

In the chaos, Hobb's slaves escape from the room they are locked in. Hobb rises from beneath the chandelier where he was crushed, and swelling with psychic energy he tells Wolfie that the flames are life and blood to one such as him. 

At that moment he is knocked off his feet by the escaping slaves, and Wolifie takes the opportunity to escape with them. Looking back at the house ablaze, Wolfie surmises that if Hobb was human then he must be dead. However, he still questions Hobb's final words and wonders who he is.

The story started and ended with a flourish, and with plenty of action in the middle, it was a breathless read from start to finish. We got a sense of the power that Matthew Hobb possesses, and in the final panel, we saw that he may well have survived the fire, despite what Wolfie might think. 

The powers that Hobb had, although shown to be mighty, weren't overplayed, and I was quietly pleased to see a falling chandelier was just as effective against a psychic warrior such as Hobb as it was against a normal human being. Of course, he did rise again, but not before the story had taken a large step and shown that there is plenty more to come. 

The Mind Of Wolfie Smith has been slow to reveal its potential and this week's issue was a turning point. The story has given us a powerful villain, shown us that Wofie has the weapons to fight back, and propelled us into something new for next week. The introduction phase of the story is now over, and having been given a strong foundation, it can only go from strength to strength from this point. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "But you have merely delayed the coming of my...hour of...ultimate... triumph!" 

Disaster 1990 continues this week with Bill Savage and Professor Bamber being ambushed by gas as they approach Oxford. 

Waking up in a strange room, Savage is quickly on his feet as three men approach the door. Bamber prevents Savage from doing something rash, recognising the three men as his old professors, and defusing the situation. 

Savage and Bamber haven't been abused, but rather they had sailed into the protective nerve gas that is released as anyone approaches Oxford. The professors show the pair around Oxford, pointing out how the brightest minds are preparing to survive - planting paddy fields and gathering like-minded people with the right skills to contribute to the community.

Bamber is immediately accepted into this community, but Savage's comments telling them that they will need his brawn as well as their brains don't sit well, and he faces a jury to decide if he can stay or if he must leave. 

With only his heavy vehicle licence and shotgun skills, it is decided that Savage doesn't fit with the ideals of the Oxford survivalists. However, the trail is interrupted by an attack of vicious waterfowl. They fly through the windows of the building, attacking all in sight. Snatching up his shotgun, Savage sees his opportunity, offering a chance for him to prove the worth of both him and his shotgun. 

This wasn't the Oxford storyline I expected, but it was the Oxford storyline that I needed. We started with a mystery and had some drama mid-story before we finished with action. It all built up nicely on what had come before and was a satisfying read. 

I liked the idea of the Oxford survivors being elitist, and it had an easy "Lord Of The  Flies" feel to it that worked well in this context. The contrast between Savage and the University generated some excellent drama, and Savage's name made just as much a statement as anything else in the strip. 

The trial of Savage delivered some sparkling dialogue, with Savage getting the best lines of course, and maintained the momentum of the story. Sometimes these stories sag in the middle, but that wasn't the case in this story, and it flowed nicely from start to finish.

I would have rated it higher, but it still hasn't peaked, and I feel even as good as it is,  it still could have given us more. After waiting weeks for something to happen, we are finally moving in the right direction. This is a good start, but I am confident the next few weeks will be even better. Please don't disappoint me 2000 A.D. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Pass! Now look, friends - I ain't got the sort of mind you got! All I know is how to maintain an' handle a heavy-goods lorry engine an' also a shotgun." 

Prog 130 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: A.B.C.Warriors 

Best Line: "I am Battak, Human! And if you don't understand why they fear me - I will soon teach you!"

Best Panel: