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: