Prog 135

My initial impression is that this was an enjoyable issue, although a couple of the stories did disappoint. Part of the problem is the history of 2000 A.D. and the strength of some of these earlier stories. Dredd and A.B.C. Warriors have delivered real highs over the last year, and suddenly, when I find myself facing a perfectly fine story, I can't help but think of it as a disappointment compared to what has come before. The problem is all mine, and I need to read each story as if I have no memory of what has come before. Oddly enough, I can walk into a room and forget why I'm there, yet I can't forget a single aspect of 2000 A.D. over the last three years.  

Prog 135

20th October 1979 

Edwin Parey is well-known to the judges and Judge Dredd. He has a desire to confess to crimes he hasn't committed, so much so that he has earned the nickname Edwin the Confessor. 

Edwin confesses to being the invisible man, an unknown criminal who has robbed millions of credits in the last few weeks. The judges don't believe Edwin is the invisible man, but they suspect he knows who he is and deploy a barrage of spy cameras that follow his every move over the next few days. 

They are rewarded when they see Edwin following a strange man in black. The man in black walks past the bank, and at that moment, the sirens go off, announcing a robbery. 

It seems the judges have been following the wrong man. However, Judge Dredd runs the camera back and notices something odd. In one frame, the main black is walking past the bank. In the next frame, he has vanished, and in the third frame, he reappears with his briefcase in the other hand. 

Dredd quickly pieces it together. He identifies the subject as Benji Noonan, a cleaner at Inter-time, a company that invented a time warp machine that slows time down. Obviously, Noonan has acquired one of these machines for himself, slowing time down so that a second lasts hours, giving him enough time to commit these crimes. He wasn't invisible, just moving incredibly fast compared to those around him. 

Twenty minutes later, Dredd smashes into Noonan's apartment. Noonan activates his machine, but it's too late, and Dredd has already shot him. While time around him slows, Noonan bleeds to death on the floor over several hours. By the time Dredd switches off the machine, it is well and truly too late. 

In the final panels, Dredd convicts Edwin the Confessor for giving false evidence. Edwin is happy that he's finally guilty of something and is delighted with his one-month sentence. 

This story was good and based on a sound idea, although it wasn't as strong as last week's. After last week, I expected something more substantial, and while I had a lot of fun, I didn't get the weighty Dredd outcome I wanted. Dredd got his man, but it wasn't drama-filled and felt light after the premise of last week.  

The best part of the story is when Dredd shoots Noonan. It was also the most poignant part of the story. The panels showing this action felt like the correct bookend for last week, although they were surrounded by humour that ran contrary to what was happening to Noonan. Noonan dying slowly on the floor, a victim of his own time device, was a jump from the fun earlier in the story, yet it was the most important panel of the entire story.   

This never blossomed into the mystery promised last week, although it provided us with a hotchpotch of typical Dredd moments. It was a story loaded with commentary on art, some futuristic time travel, and thrilling images of Dredd on his Lawmaster, before the sad moment of Noonan passing away. The story never climbed above this moment, and by the final page, we hadn't learned anything more about Dredd and his world than we already knew. It was fairly sedate for a Dredd story and, as such, didn't leave too much of an impression once I put the comic down. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "I'm bleeding to death - and not even Judge Dredd can get to me in time!"

Blackhawk has lost his nerve, and in an effort to restore his courage, he has volunteered to fight the Goool, a monster that melts all before it with its mere gaze.

Ursa polishes Blackhawks shield, telling him he can defeat the Goool with its own reflection, just like the ancient hero Perseus did against Medusa. He also clamps a hood firmly over Blackhawk's head so his gaze cannot meet that of Goool.

Using only his ears to guide him, Blackhawk strikes first at the creature. However, the cheers of the crowd make this tactic useless, and he instead relies on Ursa yelling instructions at him. 

Unfortunately, Ursa gets confused, and his instructions are muddled. However, Blackhawk still manages to make one telling blow and the monster is enraged. 

Goool turns his attention to the crowd, melting the onlookers. Blackhawk seizes the moment, and overcoming his fear, he pulls off his hood and attacks the monster from behind. 

Goool is defeated, and Blackhawk earns his coins, yet he swears to himself that he must escape this alien hell before he becomes infected with a love of senseless butchery. 

Although it didn't touch on greatness, this story was solid enough. It was greatly enhanced by the artwork of Belardinelli, and just like last week, his work on the monsters that Blackhawk was facing is superb. Goool looked just as weird as you may expect, and the strength of his weapon was made real by the efforts Belardinelli put into those caught by his gaze.

I enjoyed the classical references in the story, as this helped tie it back to Blackhawk's roots. It also played well for a story about a gladiator out of place and time.  Blackhawk is clearly fighting aliens, yet it neatly draws on mythical creatures we are familiar with, giving the story an authenticity that rang true. 

The highlight of the story is when Blackhawk takes on Goool while masked. This provided several striking images that helped focus the action on Blackhawk when the eye would otherwise be drawn to the fantastic-looking Goool. This gave the story good balance and helped keep us continually turning the page to see what came next. We still haven't peaked with this strip, but it is giving us plenty to look at, and the plot is doing just enough to suggest it could get a whole lot better at any moment.      

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "You are the real monster, alien! To encourage such violence - to take pleasure in it..." 

The A.B.C. Warriors have a lot on their hands with the hunting Tyrannosaurs of Mars on the rampage and heading towards Viking City. A car accident has inadvertently taken out the power in Viking City, and the city is defenceless with its citizens in fear of the approaching dinosaurs.    

The A.B.C. Warriors have three female dinosaurs to lure the Tyrannosaurs away from the city. The plan works, and after a fierce fight, the Warriors defeat the Tyrannosaurus. However, one didn't fall for the trap, and the Warriors realised that the fiercest of them all, Golgotha, was on his way towards Viking City and already beyond their reach. 

This is one of the weakest A.B.C. Warriors we have had. The dinosaurs still don't feel right for the strip, and although we did get a great fight between the dinosaurs and the Warriors, it lacked the depth we have come to associate with the A.B.C. Warriors. Last week, there was a human element that played well with what we have seen before; that was absent this week, and we were left with robots fighting dinosaurs. I like seeing robots fighting dinosaurs as much as the next guy, but that's not what I've signed up to see the A.B.C. Warriors do, and as such, it felt disappointing. 

On the positive side of things, the character Deadlock has really come into his own in the last three or four weeks. He now overshadows Hammer-Stein in the strip and is the most interesting character on the page. This week was a particularly good week for him, and he was a highlight for me with every panel he was in, becoming a moment to linger upon. 

That may change next week, as we know that Blackblood will be coming to the fore in the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing how this will affect the strip and what other changes may occur within the team as each uses their own special attributes. The strength of the Warriors is their uniqueness, something that shouldn't be forgotten as we bury ourselves deeper in the story.  

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Ave, tyrannosaurum! Mortifera te salutat!"

Future Shocks is back with a time-travelling story. 

Jim Collins is a time traveller, travelling back in time to study the earth's past. His wife has prepared dinner, but Jim doesn't have time for that; his work is too important. 

Neither does he have time for his son, who wants nothing more than to spend time with his father. The boy's mother reassures him, telling him she wishes Jim could spend more time seeing them both. 

The boy follows Jim to his time travel machine, but Jim gets angry with him, breaking his toy frog and telling him he can't be bothered. 

Jim sets the controls of his machine to 1665 and prepares to travel to the past. The boy sees a solution to his problem, switching the levers so they can spend more time together. Jim yells it from the machine, but this only frightens the boy, who accidentally breaks the machine as he runs off. 

Jim is now trapped in the time lanes until someone can rescue him, and can only watch his family on the tiny screen for every waking minute of the rest of his life.

Yay - a story drawn by John Cooper. Boo - another time travelling story. While I was happy to see a Future Shocks story, I didn't rejoice at the sight of another time travel story. We have seen many of these over the last couple of years, and while some are innovative and fun, this one was downbeat without offering anything new or an emotional heart. 

John Cooper's art was a delight, but the material he was working with didn't deserve his efforts. The story was front-loaded, and all the best moments belonged to the young boy. The panels with the Dad obsessed with his work didn't grab me and left me intensely disliking the character, so much so that when misfortune befell him, I was happy to see him trapped, with not a single note of empathy to redeem the character when he got his just desserts.

I hope we can see another Future Shock again soon, one that gives us something fresh and exciting while being set in the future. A future shock, if you will.   

Rating: 5/10

Best line: "Bah! I can't be bothered with you and your stupid frog!" 

Disaster 1990 continues with Bill Savage and Professor Bamber sent on their way after trying to form an alliance with a survival group in the Pennines. 

Bamber wants to head back to Oxford, but Savage is intent on getting revenge for the way he was treated. 

Although the Pennine survivors have surrounded themselves with barbed wire, Savage knows some trails and soon finds a way in. He catches them unawares, and creating a stampede, he sends them all scurrying before him. Most of them end up in the water, and from the clifftop, he tells them they must them they must reconsider their isolationist ways. 

Savage and Bamber make their way back to Oxford, and as they approach, they notice a red glow in the sky. They arrive to find the city on fire. There has been a massacre, and dead bodies are scattered everywhere. Oxford has been totally wiped out. 

A steely-eyed Savage fighting a class war in the midst of a flood and a devastating final panel made this easily my favourite story this week. 

The scene is set from the bottom of the first page as we see Savage grimly driving back toward the fortress the Pennine survivors have built. From this moment forward, we knew he meant business, and the strip unfolded quickly from here. 

He did seem to gain access to the area rather easily, 'unknown paths' a deus ex machina that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. The payoff made it all worthwhile as Savage herded the survivors over the cliff. It was a neat reversal from last week and done in a fun way that downplayed the grim situation. I laughed and cheered, despite the seriousness of Savage and Bamber. 

The final panel brought the story back to earth and was a punch in the face for the reader. Thinking that returning to Oxford may see Savage and Bamber steady the relationship with those survivors, it was a surprise to see the havoc wrecked upon Oxford. The artwork of the final panel was perfect for what it wanted to convey. With death in every corner of the panel, it remained uncluttered, presenting the devastation in a way that lets you know that something extreme has happened here. A lot was conveyed in a single image, and it was the perfect ending to not just this story but to this week's comic. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "You needed waking up. You need to realise that you can't isolate yourself from the floods, and maybe a good dunking will do just that..." 

Prog 135 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: Disaster 1990 

Best Line: "I'll tell you why - Savage is back!"

Best Panel:  

Prog 134

It's been a funny old week, and I am in desperate need of some peace and quiet. The thought of sequestering myself away with some old comics for the next hour is appealing and just the thing I need to get away from the real world. You know things must be bad when the world of Dredd, A.B.C. Warriors, and Disaster 1990 look more appealing than the world we live in, but such are the current times.

Prog 134

13th October 1979 

I love a good mystery, and a good mystery is exactly what Judge Dredd has on his hands this week

A mysterious cut-and-paste message arrives at Dredd's office. Signed "The Invisible Man," it tells Dredd that the author intends to steal a piece of art from the gallery, and gives a precise time and day this will happen.

Despite Dredd's best efforts and an abundance of foam, the Invisible Man makes good on his promise and the art piece is duly stolen.

Another letter arrives, this time to arrange a money drop. The Invisible Man is demanding ten million credits, or the city will be sorry. 

Dredd goes along with the money drop but sets a trap. However, the Invisible Man is too fast for Dredd, and although the bag only contains a radio beamer, the Invisible Man manages to snatch it without being seen, while eluding Dredd and his army of judges.

The strip ends with another note arriving, telling Dredd that the Invisible Man will make him the laughingstock of the city. 

If there's one thing I love more than a good mystery, it is a good pasted-together note. We have three in this story, and their mere existence says more than the actual words on them. They lend the story an old-fashioned air of mystery and, despite the story being set in the future, the sight of these hand-pasted notes was a familiar throwback to the past and a well-known genre.  

The actual mystery itself remained unsolved by the end of the strip. Dredd remains a long way from solving the case, despite the amount of resources (and foam) he has thrown at it so far. I'm not sure how I feel about Dredd facing an unseen villain. Although I like the mystery of it, it does depower the crook when we don't know who or what he is. It would be nice to perhaps have a panel showing things from his end, or perhaps I am just trying to bend it back to something I have already seen and I'd be better off enjoying this tale presented in a different way 

Like the hand-pasted notes, seeing our world appear on the pages of Dredd gave the strip a humour-laced edge. The art gallery and the artefacts in it were an early highlight. The first piece of art we saw, Bellini's E=Mc2, was superb and was made even better by Dredds droll comment on art in general. There was plenty of action after this comment, but it remained the most impactful panel in the strip, and the one I will remember most.   

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Looks like an old twisted coat-hanger to me..." 

When we last saw Blackhawk, he was clubbed to the ground by the evil troll Zog. This week, we leap forward in time, as Blackhawk awakens in a strange vat filled with a vile fluid.

Smashing his way out, Blackhawk finds the director near at hand. Blackhawk learns this is the healing vat, filled with healing fluids to restore any warrior. 

Blackhawk returns to his quarters and meeting Ursa he joins him in more training. Ursa introduces him to Snikka trees, trees that spit out seeds like deadly weapons. Together Ursa and Blackhawk fend off these seeds, but one missile catches Blackhawk off guard and he reacts with fear - ducking under the seed and letting it strike Ursa. 

Ursa bites it off his arm and tells Blackahwk that he recognised the look on his face. It was the look of fear, and one common to those who have been in the healing vat. Ursa warns him that the vat saps your courage, and is a bad place. 

Blackhawk knows he is correct, and over the page, they encounter a visitor bringing forth a creature to challenge the director's gladiators. Blackhawk watches as the mask is removed from the creature, and the drone brought out to fight it dissolves before their very eyes. 

The director tells the challenger that no gladiator could face that, and he refuses the challenge. However, Blackhawk strides forward, telling them he will accept the challenge. He knows he must find his courage and if he dies at least it will be bravely.

Belardinelli's art is a great match for the aliens he depicts, and it's hard to imagine an artist better suited to drawing the weird and wonderful creatures that Blackhawk faces. This week it was the Snikka Trees, and they were imbued with an unease that spilled over into outright fear as Ursa demonstrated what they were capable of. They seemed to leap off the page under Belardinelli's direction and gave a good sense of their speed and motion. 

We didn't see much of the next monster Blackhawk must face. His face was hidden beneath a mask, but we did see his awe-inspiring power and it was enough to instil fear into not only Blackhawk but also the reader at home. I have no idea how Blackhawk could fight such a being, and although the story was an out-and-out cliffhanger, it was certainly enough to draw me back next week. 

Blackhawk has settled into a steady rhythm in the last couple of weeks, and I find myself enjoying it much more. It doesn't feel as rushed, we are getting to know Blackhawk better, and the the monsters he is fighting are more considered. Each week's challenge is greater than the week before and there is the sense that we are steadily moving onwards and upwards. How much further we can go remains to be seen, but for now, I am enjoying what I read, and am happy to continue on this journey.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "But Ursa catch seed first! Good game, eh, Blackhawk? Good practice for real chop-chop!" 

We have a Flesh crossover with the A.B.C. Warriors this week with a dinosaur storyline appearing on Mars.

Mike Molasses is taking part in a manhunt on Damnation Island. Riding his Tyrannosaur, he and others of the bored jet-set are hunting a young man. The hunt is successful, but as the dinosaurs devour their prey they lose control with the smell of blood. Mike Molasses is thrown from his mount and can only watch as the dinosaurs go on a rampage, eating the other rich kids before making their way to the mainland. 

At this point, the A.B.C. Warriors are brought into the story. Mike Molasses is punished for his cruelty with the harshest penalty available- death at the hands of Deadlock. 

His father pleads his case, but the robots are ruthlessly efficient and coldly tell him that his son got what he deserved. 

Shortly after the Warriors set out to capture the other dinosaurs, using some female dinosaurs to lure them. Meanwhile, Mike Molasses' father is planning revenge, eyeing Blackblood as a warrior who could potentially betray the others.

The first time I saw dinosaurs on the pages of 2000 A.D. I loved it. The first iteration of Flesh was an enjoyable laugh and although the second one wasn't as quite as much fun, it did have an excellent villain. I'm not yet sure how I feel about dinosaurs appearing A.B.C. Warriors. Until this point, A.B.C Warriors has been excellent in its world-building. We have seen different landscapes on Mars and met a variety of Martian characters, Suddenly seeing dinosaurs in the same setting was somewhat jarring and a little unnecessary. Far be it for me to question the writers, but surely there was some other type of large Martian creature that could have been used here, and then gone on a rampage. We don't necessarily have to see dinosaurs again, especially connecting directly back to Flesh, and it did feel out of place on first reading. 

That said, I did enjoy the general direction of the story. Seeing the Warriors dispense frontier justice and executing Molasses helps strengthen the view that these are emotionless robots and offsets some of the humanity of late. I have been a big fan of that humanity so far, however, a slight course correction in this regard will only help the moments of humanity shine brighter in the face of a tough mechanical world. 

The final panel of the story was the most important. Hearing that Molasses' father intends to turn Blackblood into a traitor excites me, and I am more enthusiastic about this than the main dinosaur storyline. How or when this happens I don't know, but I assume it could be as soon as the next issue. I shall try not to skim over the dinosaur plot to get there, but the two will go hand and hand, one acting as a hand brake on the other and slowing what could otherwise be a thrilling story,  

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Why did those robots have to kill my baby..? Michael was such a good boy...such a good boy!"

Wolfie Smith is surrounded by stuntmen who think he was somehow involved in the accident that has left their colleague Simon Trent in hospital. Before Wolfie can explain himself, he is caught by psychic forces emanating from the nearby rocks, and through his body, a message is delivered to the gathered men to leave this place. 

With this message, Wolfie's face contorts and becomes clay-like. The men try to attack him, but he easily throws them aside. Tara Lawson's voice brings him back to the moment and the spell is broken.   

However, Wolfie is told to leave by the group of extras that witnessed what had happened, and Wolfie is left to explain to Tara how the stones possessed him. He tells Tara that it is some sort of warning, and something diabolical could happen. 

Even as he speaks, events are unfolding as a storm brews on the film set. J.R. the director thinks it will add to the atmosphere. Seeing a costumed character coming toward him, J.R. is impressed with the costume, little realising that it's not one of the actors, but rather something far more dangerous. 

I am surprised that more questions aren't being asked of Wolfie Smith. He seems to have got off lightly for the trouble he has caused so far, helped in no small part by the strange forces at play. Tara is the closest to him, yet she readily accepts what she has seen and what Wolfie has told her. 

This helps accelerate the story, and we are moving quickly forward without any obstacles. Wolfie has experienced the forces present and fought off the men who doubt him, and now it seems he has some thought of empathy for the forces. This isn't stated explicitly in the script, but there is a nuance to the later panels that Wolfie doesn't feel the forces are against him per se, more against anyone present. 

This should play out in full next week, and we already have a sneak peek of what I store. The costumed figure in the final panels is pitched just right and embodies everything I would expect from such a strip. The character has an air of the unknown about him, as well as a quiet menace. The art of Vano is perfect, and the final picture is worth a thousand words. Wolfie takes a break next week, but I shall be most interested to see what Vano can do with the material when he returns. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "I am...the messenger! The warning..!"

Disaster 1990 is moving north as Bill Savage, Professor Bamber, and their old army dukw, make contact with a new group of survivors. 

These survivors are armed, and their land is fortified with barbed wire fences. Savage and Bamber are led through these fences and after a confrontation with some of these survivors, they are introduced to the Archer, the biggest landowner in the area and the leader of all the hill farmers who have rallied together. 

Bamber tells Archer that they propose a policy of mutual assistance between the hill farmers and the Oxford community, but Archer rejects him outright, telling him that it's every man for himself and they will stick with other isolationist ways. 

Savage speaks his mind, which leads to a scuffle and Savage and Bamber are escorted back to their vehicle and told to leave. However, there is one final drama as Archer's two sons vandalise Savage's vehicle right in front of them. Shooting it with shotguns, they then attack the vehicle with axes, before forcing Savage and Bamber to jump off the cliff into the water. Swimming back to his vehicle, Savage clambers aboard telling Bamber that they ain't leaving till he's had his say. 

A change of scenery has done Disaster 1990 a world of good. This week's story feels fresh and exciting, and Savage has finally encountered a dangerous and believable opponent. Archer is portrayed as a powerful leader, while his two sons add danger and menace to the proceedings.

It's hard not to read this without considering the wider political landscape. Archer is pursuing isolationist policies, and although he is in a position of power, it does seem short-sighted in this flooded world. In 2025 it's easy enough to project this forward into our times as we see similar politics play out over a variety of matters. I'm sure it's not written with that intention, and like any great art, the baggage that that observer brings with them is just as important as what the artist has shown us. 

The artwork did a fine job of demonstrating the power of these new survivors Savage has encountered. Not only are the men armed and dangerous, but the perspective chosen for each panel reinforces this feeling. While they smash Savage's vehicle, we find ourselves looking up at them, making them loom large while the reader feels small. It's all very clever, and part of the joy of this comic. 

I have long waited for an issue as good as this one from Disaster 1990, and have been rewarded with a story that shows off serval aspects of Savage's character and the world he lives in. He has a worthy adversary, and as the strip ends Savage is in a losing position. He will overcome, and I only hope the story doesn't rush to that conclusion and we get several more weeks of Savage versus Archer. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "Hallo, big man. We been admiring your vehicle an' we reckon it needs a little cleaning up!"   

Prog 134 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Disaster 1990 

Best Line: "Who understands art? At least it keeps the citizens happy..."

Best Panel:  

Prog 133

This issue is a step down from what has come before, although every story points to a brighter future.  It's hard to be too disappointed when we are only a week away from many of these stories blossoming. In particular, the lesser strips all had stories that built nicely toward a payoff in the coming weeks. The Mind Of Wolfie Smith, Disaster 1990, and Blackhawk did enough to keep me turning the page, and by the end of each story, I was excited by the next week. I have a whole week to roll these stories around in my head, wondering where each could possibly lead. The week will pass fast, and before you know it I'll be back here again to take in Prog 134.   

Prog 133

6th October 1979 

The great Muldoon has received permission from Judge Pepper to perform a stunt in which he dives through a steel plate using an invented particle converter. Judge Dredd wants to stop this daredevil stunt, and as a crowd gathers, he dispatches Sweeny to find Pepper and cancel the permit. 

While Sweeny is gone, a gang of robbers tries to steal the arena's gate takings. Dredd and the other judges soon apprehend them at the arena, and by Sweeny's return, order is restored.

Sweeny has the cancelled permit in hand, but he's too late and the Great Muldoon is already climbing to the platform to make his dive. Dredd shouts for him to stop, but it's hopeless and Muldoon leaps. The inevitable happens, and his particle converter fails to work and Muldoon comes to a very public and messy end. 

The strip ends with Dredd commenting on the entertainment value of the act, and the poor ending, but as he says, that's showbiz. 

A lightweight story by Judge Dredd standards. However, it did have a sharpness about it, only dulled by its brevity. The cleverness of the dialogue carried the story, yet by the final page the story no longer held my interest and I was reading for novelty value alone. 

Muldoon felt silly, and the premise of his show was flimsy at best, leaving me to wonder why people would bother paying to see it at all. Seeing Dredd involved did add some weight to proceedings, and although the crooks were dealt with swiftly, it was all a sideshow to the main event of Muldoon's stunt. When Dredd said he had forgotten Muldoon, and hurried back to see the stunt, I felt the same way.  Disappointingly, the stunt didn't deliver, and the stealing of the takings overshadowed Muldoon. 

For all that, the panel of Muldoon crashing into the steel plate was fantastic, and a highlight of the comic for me. We had three pages dedicated to the stunt, and all three contained some fantastic artwork. Paired with the dialogue, this made up for the weak storyline. A better plot would have had me gushing over this week's strip, and even with the tepid plot I still found a lot to like on the pages. 

With the dialogue remaining as sharp as ever, and the social commentary still present throughout, Dredd is still one of the best in the comic. This week may not be the best of Dredd, but taking a step back, there is plenty to enjoy and most of the elements that make Dredd what it is are on the page. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Guess that's showbiz" 

Another week, another monster for Blackhawk to fight against in the arena. This week's monster is large and grotesque, but after a spirited battle, Blackhawk defeats it. 

Leaving the arena, Blackhawk still faces opposition from the other gladiators. Even when he is resting, the director sends drones to kill Blackhawk, ostensibly to keep him sharp and test his reflexes. 

The director thinks Blackhawk must learn how to lose, and with that in mind, he locks him in a room with a dwarf. This is Zog, a very special dwarf who has replaced certain neural connections in his brain. He now attacks anything that moves and will not stop until he defeats it. And so it proves in the final panel as Zog furiously attacks Blackhawk, smashing his shoulder before clubbing him to the ground. 

The first three panels of the story that showed Blackhawk's opponent did the monster an injustice and sketched it out to be a rather cartoony villain. This was rectified as the strip progressed but for me, the damage was already done and I couldn't take it seriously. 

Blackhawk himself still looks as cool as ever, yet he is once again let down by the situations he finds himself in and the general direction of the plot. That may have changed in the final panels of the strip, but we will have to wait a week to find out. His fight with Zog is completely one-sided, and we start next week not with Blackhawk facing a new fight, but in the midst of one. It's a small difference, but it should give next week's issue more pages to deal with the fight's outcome, and the possible twists and turns the story could take should Blackhawk lose. 

This story was disappointing, but for the first time in weeks, I am quietly optimistic about what comes next. The scope of the story felt like it widened a little with the appearance of the director, Blackhawk potentially losing, and a dwarf who punches above his weight. We have new elements coming into the mix, and although Blackhawk is still moving from one fight to another, we now have several ways in which the story could branch out. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "By my ancestors- a midget!"

The double page that opens A.B.C. Warriors is powerful and quickly lays out what has come before. A plague is sweeping through the city. Triggered by fear, only the robots are immune. The A.B.C. Warriors are travelling to Death Valley - the source of the plague, to try and stop it. 

In the desert, they find a dead couple in a car and a child playing nearby. Not wishing to upset the child, they talk of other things to keep him entertained, while telling him that his parents are merely sleeping.

A sandstorm arrives and Hammer-Stein tells the little boy to stay close. Nearby Mongrol has a vision of Lara, the woman who sacrificed herself so that he could live. Mongrol reaches for her to protect her, disregarding Hammer-Stein's warnings. Hammer-Stein's warnings are well-founded as Mongrol shows signs of the plague. He has become afraid, not for himself, but for Lara, and with this, the plague has taken hold of him.

Hammer-Stein falls victim to the plague, and Deadlock points out that he has become afraid for the boy during the storm. With this Deadlock realises that the boy is a mirage created by the plague to help its spread. There is only one thing that can be done, and Deadlock tells Hammer-Stein that he must conquer his fears and kill the boy. 

The boy pleads innocence and begins to run away. Hammer-Stein pauses, and it looks as if he won't go through with it, but at that moment the plague speaks directly to him through the boy. With this, Hammer-Stein's resolve stiffens, and he brings his sword down upon the boy. 

The strip ends with the plague beaten. An alien's intelligence that feeds on fear is overcome by the conquering of fear, and Mars is safe - at least until next week.

An excellent story from start to finish, with a beautiful twist to round it out. Many things within the story excited me, but one can't go past the first page without passing a comment. It wonderfully summed up the story so far and gave one a sense of how deadly the plague had been for the city. It draws upon imagery of the Blackdeath, while also giving us a taste of the future with robots collecting the dead. Normally I'm drawn to the words first, but in this case, the artwork is undeniable and worth every minute I spent with it. 

The heart of the story lay out in the desert and the desert scenes were equally evocative. I could feel my own fear rising as I read the story. Having the plague take a human form to help spread was an intriguing idea well investigated in the strip. So too were the robots being able to feel fear, not for themselves, but for humans. This had me pondering for quite some time after I finished reading the story. Given the rapid rise of AI recently, I couldn't help but wonder how long before what we read on the page becomes real. 

The story touched on the horror genre in those panels in the desert, and with the boy being a physical embodiment of something evil. It is a common trope in horror and brought to mind not only many horror movies I have seen but also the writing of Stephen King. All this was distilled into five comic pages, making the writing of Pat Mills all the more impressive. 

A.B.C. Warriors has picked up the mantle of Judge Dredd and since its appearance in the comic, it has become one of the mainstays, consistently rivalling Judge Dredd for my affection. This week it easily trumps Judge Dredd. This story spoke to me on several levels, and each time I read it I found myself considering another part of modern society. Written forty years before our times, yet completely of our times, this story has aged like fine wine. I can't wait to take another sip from the glass next week. 

Rating: 8/10

Best line: "I knew I would triumph! You can't kill me...because you're soft - soft as the red sand in which I live...and fester!"

Wolfie Smith has joined the cast of a new horror film. But now, incredibly, the horror has really started to happen. 

Simon Trent, Wolfie's rival for the attention of Tara, comes across a fearsome face while climbing a cliff, and falls. Wolfie senses what is about to happen, and although he yells a warning and runs toward where Simon is about to fall, it's too late and Simon crashes to the ground. 

While Simon is taken to the hospital, the other stuntmen are suspicious of Wolfie and how he knew Simon was about to fall. They close around Wolfie, but Wolfie is saved by the appearance of J.R. - the director. 

J.R. is all business, and desperate to get the film back on track, especially since his last two films were box-office flops. The filming resumes while Wolfie and Tara take a stroll near an unusual rock formation. Wolfie notices that the rocks bear some resemblance to the face he saw in his vision, but he has little time to consider this as he is again surrounded by the angry stuntmen demanding to know more about his role in Simon's fall, and threatening physical violence to get the answers. 

Wolfie Smith is getting better by the week. This week wasn't exactly action-packed, but it continued to add layers and there is a definite sense of moving forward.

Wolfie's rival Simon has left the strip for now, and it's his friends that Wolfie now faces. Although we don't have a single focal point for Wolfie's conflict, the threat is extremely real. There is no doubt in the final panel that violence is imminent, although it remains to be seen if it will be from the surrounding stuntmen or from the unusual pile of rocks. The seed was sown just before the stuntmen arrived, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this pile of rocks playing a part in next week's issue. 

Wolfie has become more likeable of late. This is due in large part to his pairing with Tara. Although she wasn't a driving force in this strip, she appeared on most pages, usually beside Wolifie and guiding him through the story. It gave Wolfie a touch more humanity and anchored the story nicely in the face of some paranormal events. 

The story is still at a simmer with the boiling point due to arrive next week. The story has been well crafted to this point, and the payoff should all be worth it when Wolfie's psychic enemies and very real enemies combine against him.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "There he is! There's the little creep who seems to know a lot more than he lets on!" 

Disaster 1990 continues with Bill Savage still in Oxford and still rubbing up against the authority figures there. The three dons in charge are unhappy with Savage's primitive ways, and his attitude to helping out. 

Bamber is dispatched to go and have a word with him, but their conversation has barely started before a punt load of students appears. They have been sent to teach Savage a lesson and attack him with their punt poles. Savage repels their attack, holing their punt with a shotgun blast. 

The dons are incensed and confront Savage. However, Savage has news for them, he has found wool freshly shorn from sheep in the water. Somewhere, someone has got organised on dry land, and consulting the map they decide it must be up north near the Pennine mountains. 

Bamber has the idea to send Savage north to contact them, and although one of the dons is vehemently against the idea, the other two think it a good idea. 

Savage wants Bamber to accompany him, but the dons put their foot down, telling Savage that Bamber is too important to go with him. Savage isn't happy with this but makes his preparations and is soon on his way. 

Stopping for freshwater he is attacked by a giant water snake. He is saved by the appearance of Bamber with his shotgun - Bamber has secretly stowed away to join him. They are happy to be back in partnership, but even as they speak they have been already spotted by the northern survivors who are right now deciding whether should they kill them right away or once they arrive. 

Although I didn't rate this highly, there was plenty here to bring me back next week. The thought of Northern survivors, and Savage's imminent clash with them, offers lots of potential for human drama and out-and-out action. 

We had action this week, but it was empty and didn't add much to the story. It did emphasise the dons' opposition to Savage but was unnecessary coming after the fiery argument they had already had about tSavage staying in Oxford. 

The friendship between Bamber and Savage took a large step forward this week, and this was the first time it was made explicit on the age that they are becoming firm friends. I like the partnership so far, and to see it deepen into a friendship is surprisingly satisfying. Bamber disregarding the instruction of the Oxford scholars was a development of his character and gave the story a new dimension. 

Everything else in the story points toward next week, and one can only hope that it doesn't bend under the weight of expectations. I have had my hopes dashed in the past, and I'm yet to learn the lesson to temper my expectations. I like the character of Bill Savage and his surrounding cast. On the horizon, we can see a story worthy of what has come before. Given that the characters are becoming well-rounded, I can only hope the story does the same. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Send Savage - as our representative? Unthinkable!"

Prog 133 final ratings:

Overall: 6.5/10

Best Story: A.B.C. Warriors 

Best Line: "There must be a blood sacrifice! Kill the plague child! Kill the spawn of Red Death!"

Best Panel: