Prog 132

Saturday morning - I have my favourite playlist on, a warm cup of tea in hand, and Prog 132 ready to go. Life is not perfect, but it's pretty close to it. On the pages of 2000 A.D., it's a different story, and all our favourite characters find themselves in a variety of scrapes this week. All face various degrees of jeopardy but Blackhawk is facing the deadliest foe of them all.  You'll have to read below to see who or what it is, but rest assured, 2000 A.D. has delivered another solid issue and a fine way to begin the weekend.  

Prog 132

29th September 1979 

Judge Dredd, is on the trail of a killer targeting people who earn money from the TV show 'Sob Story". So far there have been forty-one such victims, all of them appearing on the show, and all of them living in mobile homes. 

Dredd sets a trap, planting his own sob story on the TV show - Otto Slump, the ugliest man you've ever seen. With the hook baited, the money rolls in and Otto  Sump becomes exceedingly rich - the ideal target for the murderer.

The action begins to catch up with the story as a mobile ambulance pulls up next to Sump's mobile home. From the ambulance appears Doctor Benson, who promises to transform Sump with a face change. 

Sump invites the Doctor across, and the situation changes as Benson pulls a gun. Dredd is waiting for just such an event and bursts out of hiding, grabbing the Doctor. There is a fight, and the showdown ends with Dredd shooting the ambulance off the road and calling for medical aid for the criminals. 

There is one final coda as Dredd tells us that once the relatives of the murder victims realise there's a connection to 'Sob Story', the TV show will face multiple lawsuits. This comes to pass and in the final panels, we see a very special "Sob Story' with the host, Johnny Teardrop, begging for money for himself as he now faces financial ruin. 

This was part two of a story that started last week, and although parts of it were very good, it never quite lived up to last week's promise. 

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it failed to deliver. The art was consistent throughout the story, and several panels were outstanding. It was a similar truth with the storyline. It told its story efficiently and gave us several enjoyable twists and turns. It was creative and drew from several genres while giving us a unique tale. However, none of this gelled for me, and I found the overall strip was less than its sum of parts. 

Perhaps this is due to my own expectations. The idea was clever and appealed to me. I immediately loaded it with my own weighty assumptions that this idea would grow into something profound and all-encompassing. Needless to say, it didn't. Instead, it gave us a well-crafted and creative story that was both thoughtful and enjoyable, without pushing into the deeper waters. It was good enough for this reader and a good fit for the comic, and I finished the story chastising myself for putting too much weight on what was a solid Dredd story that astutely pulled together several genres into a futuristic setting.      

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Isn't he terrific, folks! The name is Otto Sump! If you can't remember, just put "The Ugly Guy" - they'll know who you mean!"

Blackhawk and Ursa have been forced to fight a monster as punishment for their previous insolence. They have no idea what they are about to face, but they find out soon enough as a gigantic, scaled, monster emerges from the water.

This is the mighty Kraakhan, and Blackhawk tells Ursa that they must show no fear in the face of such an opponent. Ursa follows Blackhawk's advice and the next three pages are dedicated to their titanic struggle. 

The battle ends in the water, with Blackhawk and Ursa working together to kill the beast. As Ursa stands triumphant on the Kraakhan's head, he tells Blackhawk that he wasn't afraid of the beast, but of the water. With the monster sinking beneath the waves, Ursa begins to talk of his own demise, even when Blackhawk points out that even though he can't swim, he can at least float. 

The strip ends with Blackhawk swimming to shore, dragging Ursa behind him. Ursa is singing a triumphant song and there is a moment of humour as Blackhawk complains that his swimming must surely be better than his singing. 

It's Groundhog Day here at my Prog Slog Blog. The last four weeks Blackhawk has fought a monster, defeated it, and next week found himself facing another. That was the case this week as he fought the Kraakhan. 

The monster was bigger than we had seen previously, and the fighting was more intense. Blackhawk even had someone fighting at his side, adding an element of interest. Despite this being the best fight we have seen so far (something I have written previously) I am bored by it all. 

It doesn't feel like the story is moving forward. Beating the Kraakhan doesn't change Blackhawk's position, nor does it change his relationship with his new-found friend. Next week he will still be an enslaved gladiator fighting on behalf of the same people, and we will be in the exact position we were in after the first two episodes of the story. I have given the story a strong rating based on the dynamism of the fight scene, and the vibrant artwork of Sola, but once again I feel like a frustrated father reading his son's school report. Could do better.     

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Axe make biggest ever chop-chop!"

The A.B.C. Warriors arrive in Viking City just as the motorcycle cult of Pyramania starts causing trouble. In an audacious move, Deadlock rides by these motorbike punks, and runs his bike up the steep incline of a nearby building. 

The gang leader feels threatened by this and attempts the same stunt himself. However, as he nears the top of the tower he is suddenly gripped by fear and dies a horrible death.

Hammer-Stein arrives with the A.B.C. Warriors and the Pyramanians leave town. The retreating riders become fearful, and they too suffer the same fate as their leader. They suddenly become skeletons in their seats and die as fear grips them.

Hammer-Stein asks if Deadlock has something to do with it. Deadlock says no, and they visit the Viking City Hospital where they learn a new plague virus is the cause. Red Death, as it is now known, is activated by fear, and further tests show that the bikers have carried it in by the dust on their boots, dust particular to only one area of Mars. 

The doctor is unconcerned by this virus, telling Hammer-Stein that modern computers can generate an antidote for anything. However, this faith in computers is misguided, and the doctor becomes scared when the computer tells him there is no antidote. Of course, this fear seals his fate, and the doctor dies where he stands, fearful of the virus he has just been handling. 

The strip ends with Hammer-Stein deciding that they must travel to Death Valley to destroy the Red Death at its source. 

Although I have rated this strip the same as Judge Dredd and Blackhawk, it feels better than those two. It has a firm direction, and an intriguing concept, and is the type of story that has potential for the next few weeks. 

The last couple of stories in A.B.C. Warriors have been wrapped up in two weeks, and my hope is for something more substantial. This could be such a story, and the journey to Death Valley could conceivably become an epic. That remains to be seen, and I am steadfast in my refusal to read ahead. For me the future is unknown and all I can do is cast my wishes to the wind. 

The thought of a virus sweeping across a planet doesn't seem as far-fetched in the post-Covid world as it did in 1979, and once again I applaud the writers for proving that truth is just as strange as fiction. It gave this story an extra edge and the thought that fear could trigger the virus is almost believable - at least a lot more believable than a lot of conspiracy theories floating about out there. 

Before I began to read 2000 A.D. I had heard that A.B.C. Warriors was highly regarded. Over the last three months, I have learnt why. Each story has a human element, in this case, fear, which makes it all the more relatable, and although it is ostensibly a story about robots, the humans that appear make the story what it is. We have yet to find out what awaits the Warriors at Death Valley, but I'm sure there will be some form of humanity there, ready to give the story a heart and soul that always lays at the centre of A.B.C. Warriors.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "In each case the Red Death was activated by severe heat palpitations and a massive outburst of adrenalin in its victims...in other words...fear!"

Wolfie Smith is driving toward Druid's Meet, the location for the film "Night Of The Carnivore" Beside him is Tara Lawson, the young woman who has brought him along to be an extra in the film. 

As they approach, Wolfie has a strong vision of the evil forces that lurk at Druids Meet, so strong that he screams in fear. 

After reassuring Tara that it's nothing, they arrive at the movie set. Here they meet one of the stuntmen, Simon Trent. Simon dislikes Wolfie instantly, and Wolfie knows it due to his powers.

After meeting the other actors, Wolfie and Tara watch as Simon climbs a cliff for one of the scenes. What they can't see, however, is that as Simon reaches a ledge he finds a pair of fiery eyes staring back at him from the rock.

This is the best episode of Wolfie Smith we have seen so far. His psychic powers weren't overplayed, the fear was nicely built, and we had a literal cliffhanger finish. Throw in a pretty girl and a love triangle and I am well-satisfied with what I have just read. 

It certainly helped that most of the story took place outside, and it felt like Wolfie's world was widening, both visually and storywise. Having several supporting characters also helped in this respect, as did the threads of stories that were spun out from this week. We have the aforementioned love triangle, the movie being made, and the psychic danger appearing, all with Wolfie trying to find his place in the world. It made for a well-rounded story this week, and although not a single aspect of any of these stood out, they all wove a rich blanket which should provide comfort in the coming weeks. 

A simple story, in which not much seemed to happen, this story still had far more interest than Blackhawk earlier in the issue and was a demonstration that you don't need constant action to make a compelling story. I am well and truly caught up in the dramas of Wolfie Smith, and after a slow start, I feel that this story is now beginning to find its feet. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "There's something weird about this place! We ought to turn around, and-"

Bill Savage and Professor Bamber are face to face with Doctor Pike, a crazed ornithologist leading a flock of vicious Waterfowl against them in the wake of Disaster 1990.

Using a special bird call, Doctor Pike commands his birds to attack Savage and Bamber, and the pair are forced to dive beneath the water to seek refuge. 

They can't hold their breath indefinitely and resurface only to find themselves again attacked by the birds.

Swimming underwater, they surface in a swan's nest where they can rest under cover and out of danger. As always, Savage has a plan, and he and Bamber begin to remove all the gunpowder from his shotgun shells. 

As Doctor Pike approaches, Savage ignites this gunpowder, knocking Pike off his feet and throwing his birdcall into the water. Without his birdcall, he has no power over the waterfowl who attack and peck him to death. 

Savage watches on, and after offering a sardonic comment, moves back to his boat with the Bamber. Motoring back to Oxford he ruminates that maybe Oxord isn't the place for a simple man such as him, and perhaps it's time for him to move on. 

We waited weeks for Savage to leave London and strike out for Oxofrd, and after three weeks he is already moving on. I can only hope his final thought is red-herring and he will spend more time in the city of dreaming spires.  

There is more to be told about Savage's interaction with the Oxford clique, and we have only scratched the surface so far. The first two weeks in Oxford gave us some conflict which is still unresolved, despite the adventures Savage has had since. 

His battle with Pike was enjoyable enough, although I didn't like Pike as a villain. He was too wild and overreaching in his goals, and with a bird army, he was bordering on silly. Savage outsmarted him in the end, but it was the birds that held the real threat throughout the story and they were a much better villain than Pike. 

This week's story stood on an uneasy middle ground, neither embracing the Oxford clique nor the birds as the main threat. Instead, Dr Pike was made a scapegoat for all the troubles Bill was facing. With the birds dispensed with, Bill will have to face down the Oxford scholars or trundle off to find bigger or better villains. I am hoping for the former, but would happily settle for the latter, as long as it's better than Dr Pike. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Just made it - we ducked first!" 

Prog 132 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: The Mind Of Wolfie Smith 

Best Line: "Doctor you've got to stay calm! Remember - the disease lives on fear!"

Best Panel: