Prog 136

I apologize for the blog posts being erratic over the last month. Life moves pretty quickly, and recently, I find myself dealing with all sorts of adult events that I usually do my best to avoid. More than death and taxes, it is the constant grind of life that wears you down. I never thought the grim world of Judge Dredd would be my escape, but here we are once again as I lose myself in his world rather than face events in our own world.  

Prog 136

27th October 1979 

Boing is the centre of this week's Judge Dredd story. Boing is a craze sweeping Mega-City One, where citizens can spray themselves with a can of Boing and find themselves safely encased in a practically indestructible bubble.

It's all good fun for the citizens as they turn themselves into human pinballs, but some take it too far, and Dredd is soon dealing with some boys who are using Boing illegally. 

These boys are using Boing outside and leaping off tall buildings for a thrill, the bubble offering complete protection. 

When a judge is killed saving the lives of two citizens who are about to be hit by a boing, Dredd leaps into action. 

One of the boys hits power cables and dies instantly; the second, Dredd fires an incendiary shot at, melting him to the ground. 

The third boy is bouncing toward the wall around the city, and Dredd commands the gates to be opened. This leaves the boy bouncing out of the city and into the Mutieland. He is recovered two days later, and for killing fifteen people while boinging, he is sent to a correction block. His rich father intervenes, telling Dredd he can pay for the damages with some extra thrown in for the Judge's fund. This earns the ire of Dredd, who sends him to the correction block as well.

The story's final panel shows us that a new law has been passed, and every can of Boing now carries a warning that the penalty for improper use is twenty years.

Lightweight by Dredd standards, yet it had all the hallmarks of a classic Dredd story, with superb artwork and a heavy sense of black humour. It was, in many ways, the quintessential Dredd storyline with offbeat crime and an uneasy future, and of course, Dredd's heavy hand of the law.

I didn't warm to Boing at all, although that is part of the world Dredd inhibits. There are often things I find uncomfortable for no apparent reason, and it makes the future seem all the more scary in what it might throw up. This makes Dredd appealing, as he is the one thing in the future that seems absolute. He is always sure of himself in the face of ridiculous situations. 

The only thing missing from the story was some sharp dialogue. Normally, Dredd has several memorable lines, but by the end of this story, we had not one. That left the artwork to carry the load, which it did, but it was the only missing piece in an otherwise excellent Dredd story. 

I have rated this highly, despite not being a great fan of this particular plot. I can see that it contains all the elements of Dredd, which I hold so dear, and although I couldn't get behind this story, it was a definitely case of "it's not you, it's me" 

Rating: 7.5/10

Best line: "Always knew I'd die...on duty...but not like this...not...an illegal boing!"

Not only is Blackhawk fighting a plant that fires death spores, but he is also fighting his own fear as the story begins this week. 

Young Laddo, the weapons boy, appears and complicates matters, but Ursa is at Blackhawk's side, and the two of them defeat the plant and save the boy. 

Laddo merely wanted  Blackhawk's autograph, and once Blackhawk obliges, Blackhawk's thoughts turn to the stupidity of the situation he finds himself in, killing to entertain. He tells Ursa that he is tired of it and longs for his freedom.  

On the next planet, Blackhawk fights a creature called a Maloid. The fight doesn't last long as Blackhawk hacks the creature to pieces. However, there is a twist to the tale as it revealed that the Maloid is self-regenerating. It's dismembered limbs swarm around Blackhawk, and Blackhawk struggles to defeat the creature. 

Help is at hand as Laddo drops into the arena and comes to his aid. The Maloid turns its attention to Laddo, allowing Blackhawk to regain his feet. However, before Blackhawk can strike, the Director activates the Tork-band, and Blackhawk is rendered helpless. He can do nothing as Laddo is killed by the Maloid, and the strip ends with Blackhawk being led from the arena, vowing to Ursa that from this day forth he will throw off his chains and that his destiny is of his own making. 

Another solid story from Blackhawk, although, again, it is a case of Blackhawk fighting the monster of the week. The positive aspect of this was the final panel where Blackhawk talks of freedom and no longer being a slave. This gives me great hope for the story's future, although, for now, it remains to be seen. At least we didn't end with him being introduced to the next monster he is scheduled to fight.

The introduction of Laddo into this story, and his eventual demise, added some emotion to a story that can sometimes be quite cold and callous. Blackhawk often speaks of being used as purely a killing machine and of the humanity being squeezed out of him, although we are rare to see it on the page. This week, we do see that humanity, and the panel where he cries out as Laddo is killed brought home the idea that this is the story of a human in an alien world. It felt like a big step forward, and coupled with the final panel, it again points to a bright future for this strip. 

A lot rides on next week's issue. If we continue on this path, and Blackhawk takes his destiny into his own hands, we could be entering a new era for Blackhawk. If not, we could be facing the prospect of him fighting a new monster every week, and the story rapidly reduced to a facsimile of all that has come before.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "By Sebek's demons! Sourcery!" 

The ferocious Tyrannosaur, Golgotha, is attacking Viking city just as the city is hit by a powercut. 

The people of the city offer up a young woman as a sacrifice, but it is not enough, and Golgotha continues his rampage. At this point, the A.B.C. Warriors intervene, and Hammer-Stein lines up a shot with an H.E. Armour pricing weapon. 

However, this fails as the weapon fails to fire, and Golgotha turns to attack Hammer-Stein. Without a weapon, Hammer-Stein is forced to fight with clubs and daggers.

It's an epic battle across the city, and the pair are equally matched. Eventually, Hammer-Stein stabs Golgotha in the mouth and up into his brain, but still, the dinosaur will not die. However, as Golgatha lunges at Hammer-Stein, he crashes through the skywalk and becomes impaled in the Matterhorn building. 

Even this isn't enough to kill him, and he tears off the top of the building. This final desperate act proves his undoing, and he falls from the top of the building to his death far below. 

The drama doesn't end there, and Hammer-Stein punches Blackblood, accusing him of sabotaging his gun. The fight is short, ending with Blacblood at the feet of Hammer-Stein as Hammer-Stein tells him that he would kill him if he had enough evidence to be sure. 

A mixed bag for the A.B.C. Warriors, and although I am happy to see Golgotha dead, I'm not entirely convinced he got the death he deserved. That may seem like a strange thing for me to say, given my history with Dinosaurs, but I felt that after a slow couple of weeks, we were finally getting a battle worthy of such a beast. The opening portion of the story laid out some great panels and equally worthy lines that made the battle feel like it meant something. The sight of Hammer-Stein with his weapon at the ready was matched by his line that could have been taken from any 1980s action movie. It spoke well to a younger me, and although  I normally shy away from such things, I found myself excited by the prospect of the fight between the two. 

The fight didn't live up to the hype, and although it initially left me disappointed, we were rewarded with the conflict between Hammer-Stein and Blackblood. This remains unresolved and should be an essential part of the story as we move forward. I liked the fact that Hammer-Stein doesn't have enough evidence to act, and there is still some intrigue to the conflict between them. There is still a lot more to come on this front, with plenty of questions still unanswered, and it is this aspect of the story that will keep me interested over the coming weeks. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "Not quite over, Deadlock! We got another serpent right here! How much did they pay you, Blackblood - to fix my guns?" 

Wolfie Smith is on set at the filming of "Night of the Carnivore" when the costume for one of the slaves of the carnivore is revealed. To Wolfie, it looks almost identical to the Guardians of the Stones, who tried to use him as a warning. 

Wolfie is worried and even more so as lightning flashes across the sky and the old nutter from the village appears to warn the film makers that they will die if they unleash the secret of the stones. 

This man is thrown off the set, but Wolfie speaks with him. He uses his powers to learn the man's name is Moley Fisher, and that is a whizz at pot-holing. Moley confirms that this is correct and tells Wolfie that he can't forget what happened during his last expedition beneath the stones.  Speaking of the Guardians, he urges Wolfie to come with him to learn more so he can convince the film people to leave.

Meanwhile, back at the film set, the next scene is about to be shot in the ruins of an old abbey. The scene calls for Tara and Mark to climb onto the roof to dance under the stars, where they will be confronted by Joe, the Slave of the Carnivore. Joe is alone at the top of the abbey, little realising that behind him, danger lurks, and he is about to become a reluctant star. 

Some key pieces of the storyline were pushed into place this week, and although bereft of drama, the story still had a lot of hooks to hold my interest. The introduction of Moley was key to providing further information to Wolfie Smith and also gave us some of the best art in the strip. The images of Moley's face were evocative, adding a sense of real fear to proceedings while providing a large dose of humanity into the story. Wolfie rarely seems fazed by what is happening around him, but in this case, we can see from Moley's expression that the guardians are something to be feared. Wolfie may speak of fear, but we never see it on his face, and I enjoyed this added element with Moley.   

It felt like the story saved the best for last. It may have begun with the scary image of one of the actors dressed up, but the fear wasn't realized until the final panels when everything was put into place for what comes next. In many ways, the final image of a single hand reaching from behind a stone was far scarier than the image of the actor dressed up that we saw earlier, and a timely reminder that less is more. 

The story still hasn't peaked, but this week saw it gain some weight with the input of Moley. We now have a far better sense of what is coming, and as we see in the last panel, it looks as though things are about to happen, for better or for worse. I have high expectations for what comes next, and, after a slow start, Wolfie Smith is now essential reading.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "I keep telling them I'm not mad! It...it's just that I can't forget what...happened to me - down there...under the stones...during that last expedition! They...they won't believe me, you know..!"

Disaster 1990 is living up to its title as Bill Savage and Professor Bamber arrive in Oxford to find the whole community has been totally destroyed. They find Doctor Sims, one of the city's leaders, barely alive, and when they pull him onto the boat, he explains what has happened. 

Hundreds of men, calling themselves the Greater London Legion, surrounded the city two days ago. The Oxford survivors prepared their chemical gas screen and warned them not to come any closer. The London men then waved a flag of truce, and the Oxford leaders sent a delegation to talk about common survival in the floods. 

However, this delegation never returned, and later, the Legion made a commando attack directly on the chemistry labs where the gas defence is produced. 

With the gas defence nullified, Oxford is sacked by the London Legion, and the survivors are taken to London to work as slaves. 

This story is interrupted by two of the Legion who have been left behind as a rearguard, and shooting from a bell tower, they hit Savage. However, Savage isn't dead, and emerging from the water, he shoots the two men with his shotgun.

Doctor Sims passes away, and Savage and Bamber quickly make for London. There, they find that a massive wall has been erected around Buckingham Palace and the London Legion are using slave labour to turn it into a fortress. 

Surveying the scene, they see Doctor Smith and Doctor Sinclair being held as special category prisoners. They also see Rat Razor and Nutter Martin, two men they have tangled with before, and the Legions leaders. 

You wait months for the story to leave London, and when it does, you find yourself back there a few weeks later. I longed for Bill Savage to leave London and find adventures elsewhere in the UK, so I am disappointed to see that he and Bamber are about to return there. We had two adventures in Oxord, one further north, and now a return to fight characters we have already seen him cross swords with. 

The story itself was fine enough, and after the devastating final panel of last week, I was ready for more of the same as Savage and Bamber entered Oxford. The initial panels delivered, and the story grew out of this impactful beginning. The appearance of the thugs returned the story to its roots, and seeing Savage shoot the men out of the bell tower was something we could have seen in any number of Disasater 1990 stories to this point.  It didn't make it any less enjoyable, but it did park some of the creative ideas we saw on the first page. 

Although not overly excited by our return to London, I am intrigued by the world that Rat Razor and Nutter Martin are building. The very name Greater London Legion is evocative, and if done right, the story that follows could be memorable. We have well-known landmarks, some strong characters, and a story that is drawn from history. The sight of concentration camps and slave labour had added a weightiness to the characters of Razor and Martin, marking them as far more dangerous than their cartoon appearance might suggest, all of which should add to the heft of the story in coming weeks. 

Rating: 7/10

Best line: "It began two days ago - at dawn. We woke to find the city surrounded."  

Prog 136 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd 

Best Line: "Sorry to gate-crash the wedding...but I got a little present for the groom!"

Best Panel: