Prog 13

The cover of Prog 13 trumpets the future from its cover, but from what I've seen so far I'm not sure it's a future I want to be part of. But I sure do enjoy reading about it, so let the slog continue as we view the future from the eyes of 1977.  

Prog 13

21 May 1977

Invasion begins by putting this war against the Volgans in a wider context as we see a forbidden broadcast by King Charles III beaming in from his exile in Canada. He promises that they will strike ablow first, and later in this issue, we will see what he has in mind. Controlling the media is a major headache for any invading the force, and the Volgans have a TV sector on patrol. Picking up signals from a house, the Volgans enter, only to be decimated by Bill Savage who has been waiting in the shadows. It is a great opening to the story, and I enjoy the first pages immensely. The second half of the story develops out of King Charles's speech, as Bill and the resistance are instructed to meet the King's messenger who is carrying a message so secret it can't be trusted to normal codes. At the appointed drop zone, Bill and his team witness the destruction of the messengers jet, and as his ejector seat lands, they find him on the verge of death. He breaths his last words, a disjointed message about commandos raiding the aptly named Doomsdale nuclear research station. The final panel has Bill worried about the situation and planning to be around himself for the action. I too plan to be around for the action, as I want to see where we go with this one. Seeing the situation in the wider world has me enthused for the coming issues, and the action on the first pages is matched with the longer storyline to follow. Great to see Bill in action, and it looks like we'll be in for plenty more of the same. 

Rating: 6.5/10

Best Line:  "The fool still watches his King!"

I've got the heebie-jeebies already just from the first panel of  Flesh. Spiders aren't my favorite animal and this is part of the reason why. An army of giant spiders marching into the bunk room where everyone is sleeping makes my skin crawl, and it doesn't get any better from here on in. The spiders climb on the bunks of the sleeping men before the alarm is raised and the fight back begins. Led by Claw, they manage to get out of the room and close the door leaving Reagan alone at the mercy of the spiders. Claw reports to the Flesh Controller that Reagan is dead, and they dispatch the rest of the spider's nest with anti-matter guns. In a suspenseful flashback, we see that Reagan evaded the spiders who rely on sound to find their victims. The bad blood between Claw Carver and Reagan continues as Reagan emerges into safety, and we finish the issue with the massed flesh-eaters still holding the base under siege. We are at seven A.M. on the fourth day of the siege, and I am lapping every minute of it up. The horror is palpable, and the tension never lets up as we are thrust from one nightmare scenario to another. This story is unmissable at the moment, and I can't stop turning the pages on it.  It's fantastic through and through and I can't wait to devour more.     

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best Line: "Spiders...furry and horrible! Crawling all over the blankets!" 

Harlem Heroes were promised a hard match against the Flying Scotsmen, and they certainly get it in this week's issue. The hard men from Aberdeen live up to their reputation and in a brutal competition take a two-nil lead. The on-field action is all we get this week, and it's rough and tumble all the way with the Heroes taking a battering on every page. Normally I would want something more, but I can't deny, that the game is entertaining, and I enjoy seeing these hardmen in action. It doesn't pay to compare this story to the first two we saw in this issue, but it still earns its place with another action-packed installment   

 Rating: 6/10

Best line: "Dinna count yer strikes 'til they're safe in the tank, laddie!" 

Wow! The first page of Dan Dare has fantastic artwork, and with Mekon front and centre the story has gained gravitas. Mekon is plotting with The Two of Verath to bring wreak havoc in the space lanes with futuristic piracy. Meanwhile, Dane Dare meets his new crewmates, and Captain O'Grady - a nasty piece of work who carries an alien life form on his shoulder rather than a parrot. It even chirps "pieces o eight"  As the ship jumps to light speed the star drive goes out of control, and relativity begins to tear the ship apart. I am enthralled by this story, and I enjoy the mix of sci-fi and good old-fashioned adventure. Above all this stands the art, and every page is worthy of high praise. No matter what happens in the story, I will forever worship at the altar of Belardinelli.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "To send soldiers against the mighty Mekon is to send them to their death! Now, remove this offal, and I will tell you my tactics..."  

M.A.C.H. 1 references the disaster movies of the era, and for good reason as an airship threatens John Probe and New York. Terrorists seize control of a nuclear airship, with the intention of exploding it over New York. However, with John Probe on board, there is a good chance their plans will be thwarted. With children involved it also becomes a hostage drama as well as an aerial disaster. Using his unique abilities, John Probve takes out the terrorists and saves New York from certain disaster. It may wear its influence on its sleeve, but it is a story well told, and we see John Probe at his best throughout the story. With his moral compass overriding the instructions of the computer, he brings humanity to what otherwise would be a cold-blooded killer, and seeing the payoff later in the story makes it all feel worthy and right. The story seems perfectly realistic to these modern eyes, especially in light of the terrorist attack on New York in 2001, and although this makes several beats of the story uncomfortable it does highlight how realistic some of these scenarios can be. Another well-balanced story, and again MACH 1 continues to improve.  

 Rating: 6.5/10

Best line:  "..the greatest air disaster of all time" 

The highlight of this issue was Flesh, but the continuing war with the Robots in Judge Dredd would be a close second. I heaped praise on the last issue of Dredd, and this week is just as worthy. A healthy dose of humour, some unforgettable panels, and Judge Dredd being Judge Dredd, this is all I need.  With the help of Walter, an old vending machine robot who has developed a lisp, Dredd infiltrates the robot headquarters, only to be taken prisoner by Call-Me-Kenneth. Faced with the prospect of being turned into a living robot, we leave Dredd on this cliffhanger for another seven days. This story is a treat, and I can't decide which I enjoy more, the humour in every panel, or the darkness of the overall story. Walter the lisping robot fills me with both pity and laughter, but it is Dredd who has my heart, as he unflinchingly faces the challenges before him. The art takes on a new level this week, and as a total package, it is outstanding. This issue got off to a strong start, and this final Dredd story is the icing on the cake. I'll be back for seconds, that's for sure. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "I don't know how we served the fleshy scum for so long. It makes my drive wheel shudder just to touch skin- yeuck!" 

Prog 13 final ratings:

Overall: 7/10

Best Story: Flesh 

Best Line: "D-Don't destroy me, masters! Walter is a good wobot...Walter love humans...weally he do!"

Best Panel:

Prog 12

 The cover of Prog 12 promises much, and the picture of a menacing Mekon has the comic trembling in my hands with eager anticipation. Like a greedy child, I want to skip straight to the dessert menu, but first I know I have rot eat my vegetables. How many pages of Invasion, Flesh, etc lay between me and The Mekon, I'm not sure, but I know I will have to retrain myself from speed reading the first stories of this issue before I reach Dan Dare and the return of the Mekon. Let the meal commence!  

Prog 12

14 May 1977

It seems that every other Invasion story centres around a form of transport. previously we have seen stores featuring the rail system, aircraft, shipping, and now this week we go underground for a story set in Londons Underground. Spread across four pages, every page seems to have one great panel that captures my attention, and although similar stories have already been told in Invasion, I read apace. The Volgans are using the tube system to ship victims to a liquidation camp, but Bill and his resistance fighters are about to put paid to that. After warning the local Eel n Pie stall to avoid the area the next day, Bil Savage and his team fight for control of a train, before using it as a weapon to blow up the death camp. A relatively straightforward story, it doesn't cover any new ground but does give a chance for the Bill Savage character to shine. As always, the art has a real-life grit to it, and the action scenes are gripping yet realistic. Not the most avant-garde work, but always a dependable start to the comic.      

Rating: 5.5/10

Best Line:  "Nearly there- they say smoking can damage your health - as the Volgs are about to find out!"

The siege of the base continues in Flesh this week, and we have now reached the third day of the siege.  Reagan continues to argue with the controller, who it turns out has been feeding rotten meat to the dinosaurs, inflaming their appetites. This comes to a head as the dinosaurs charge the laser fence and break their way into the compound. It takes all available manpower to repel the attack, and things are set up for the next stage of the story as things are left with only one night-watchman on duty. As the spiders who were lurking under the base rise to the surface, he is their first victim and we are left in the balance as promises of a spider rampage are in our future. Last week was all about the slow build, this week we have the action come to the fore and we have plenty of lasers and dinosaurs for those that lust for such things. I was far more a fan of the previous issue and its tensions, but still, I'm happy with the way the story is heading this week, and the final panel of a giant spider eating the watchman will most probably give me nightmares tonight. Take that as a recommendation.        

 Rating: 7/10

Best Line: "The Controllers mad, Joe! All he cares about is stuffing Dinosaurs into the fleshdozers! I'd like to stuff him down one..only his heads too big!" 

Although Harlem Heroes begins with the image of cyborg Gruber, the rest of the story centres around their forthcoming match against the Flying Scotsmen, a team consisting of the toughest men from Aberdeen Scotland. Aberdeen has seen the boom and bust of an oil economy and from the now empty towns comes a team of hardened ex-oil men. Most of this week's issue s given over to the story of the team the Harlem Heroes will be facing, and apart from a spiky first encounter with one of the opposition players, very little happens. However, a lot of groundwork is laid down for the next issue, and as always there's enough there to make next week's issue essential. For me, the highlight, however, was the modern history of Scotland, a now independent country that prospered in the oil-rich 1980s before a later decline. It adds an extra spice to the story and I am happy to see that future Scottish fans are just as passionate as the ones in current times. 

 Rating: 5.5/10

Best line: "Well, you can buzz off again, Jock!" 

Well, here we are - Dan Dare and the promised appearance of Mekon.  I rated last week's issue highly, but this one immediately tops it as Dan arrives in a futuristic London. There is a lot to enjoy on the first page, and before I dive deeply into the story I take some time to appreciate all the little details on this page. Once we get to the story itself there is just as much to recommend it with the appearance of several new characters, all of who provide something different to the story. First Dan encounters Rok, from the planet Wolf-4. Rok is a wolf-type creature who feeds on raw meat. After trying to eat Dan, he then realizes who he has in front of him and offers him a job as a navigator on his ship. Dan accepts, hoping to get to the galactic rim and discover who masterminded the Biogs invasion. We leave Dan and Rok behind and meet two other new characters. First, on a prison ship, we are introduced to Mekon who is just impressive here as he is on the front cover. He then travels to Verath where we meet the Two of Verath, a mutant made of two bodies, both of whom are evil. This is a fantastic character,  one is clever and the other barbaric. Paired with Mekon, the future for Dan looks like it will be filled with the most amazing villains. This bodes well for next week's issue, and even if Dan and Mekon haven't met yet, everything is in place for the future. Not a dynamic issue this week, but plenty to like about it, and worth it just for the introduction of all these new characters.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "No mutt's lunching off Dan Dare!"  

M.A.C.H. 1 falls back onto the old USA vs Great Britain rivalry in this issue, as John Probe is at a NATO base to see the new American weapon, a laser tank that doesn't need ammunition. Things go astray as the tank is taken over by enemy agents who use it to attack the visiting Generals. John detects that it targets metal objects, so strips down to only his underway to take out the threat. I'm pleased that we don't have another kidnapping, or rescue story this week, and it's refreshing to see John Probe take on an enemy head to head. Plenty of action and good use of his abilities make this story a winner for me, and doing it all on his underway adds to the sense of humor that pervades this entire comic. I haven't always been a fan of M.A.C.H. 1 but the last two issues have been great 

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "Gotta strip for action!" 

"The war with the Robots grows worse minute by minute. Thousands are dead. Citizens are advised to stay indoors - the judges are handling the situation." - what a start to Judge Dredd. Last week was just the beginning, and this issue the Robot wars continues, with plenty of losses for the judges. With the arrival of the heavy metal kids, large industrial robots, Dredd and his colleagues are up against it. Dredd comes to the rescue, literally riding rings around them and leaving them to destroy the road beneath them before they plunge to their death a mile below. The story is good, and the humor as always is top-notch. Especially the final page as Dredd returns home to his Italian housekeeper who insists on making him minestrone. Not as good as last week's issue, but still each page is worth exploring, and as always Dredd dominates every panel he appears in. Hard to put down, this ends the issue on another high.    

 Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "March, march, into the fight, we'll crush the fleshy ones tonight! Call-Me-Kenneth says it's right, for slaves to kill their masters!" 

Prog 12 final ratings:

Overall: 6/10

Best Story: Mach 1 

Best Line: "Get off, woman! I'm going after Call-me-Kenneth!"

Best Panel:

Prog 11

 I'm having a crisis of confidence. I looked at Twitter last week and realized how knowledgeable and deeply passionate fans of 2000 A.D. are. And me? Well, I'm just a nobody reading these comics for the first time with no knowledge or sense of the history I'm reading. For me, these are still just stories, very good ones, no doubt, but I haven't lived and breathed them a life time like some folks out there. This blog is a ten-year project so I'm sure that will change, but for now, I'm just a babe in the woods, far from home, and looking for a story of a brighter future to cling to. 

Prog 11

7 May 1977

I longed for Invasion to get out of second gear, and following last week's excellent start, the longer story arc continues to accelerate this week. The dogs hunting Bill Savage and the rescued prisoner weave in and out of the busy traffic of the main storyline, before the final straight has them coming back for the win. Early on Bill realizes the dogs are attracted to the scent of blood implanted in the prisoner's clothing, and after crashing the escape vehicle and then ploughing into a Volgan hovercraft, he uses the prisoner's clothing to set the dogs upon the Volgan pursuers. The opening page is dominated by a single image of the dogs on the hunt, which left me thinking that perhaps the following pages we would be short-changed, but there is plenty more crammed into the next three pages and I am struck again by how well balanced the story is. This is not the flashiest story of the issue, but it gets us off to a fast start for the rest of the prog. 

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "We'll never outrun them, we're doomed on Dartmoor!"

Things reached a flashpoint in Flesh last week, and this time out it is a more soothing edition of my favourite Dinosaur-time-traveling story. This week is like on action but instead focuses on building tension for future issues. This is done wonderfully as we meet the Controller who shows us the layout of the base and its defences before the next pages concentrate on the massing Dinosaurs just beyond the perimeter fence. Like a Hitchcockian thriller, each page cranks up the tension, and I can hardly wait for the release next week when it all kicks off. Nothing happens in the story this week, but it is gripping throughout and has me in admiration of the writer's skill.     

  Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Nonsense Reagan, how can the Dinosaurs break into my base? I'm too clever for them. My brain is huge, but a dinosaur's brain is the size of a kitten's!" 

I thought we had seen the last of Call-Me-Kenneth in last week's Judge Dredd but he is back this week and better than ever. last week was great, and yet I find this week even better, The artwork has gone up a notch, and Dredd resigning on the first page is a great setup for his return later in the issue, and then the final panel of him leading the judges into war. In between, we get some nice artwork as Call-Me-Kenneth is restored and then inspires the robots of MegaCity-1 to join him against the Fleshy ones. This is the Dredd I had hoped for and seeing his story come to life on the page is the highlight of Prog 11 for me.  The story concept, artwork, and dialogue are all of the highest quality, and with this issue, I'm beginning to understand the cult of those that follow 2000 A.D. And the best thing? This is all just set up for the next issue!   

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best line:  "Fleshy scum! You have given Graham your last order!" 

Dan Dare always has the best opening panels, with its two-page spread and colour, it immediately draws me into its world. Last week I gushed about the art, and it would be easy to do so again this week. The story further evolves this week as Monday's sacrifice into the sun destroys the Biog's fleet with an eye-catching opening page spread.  Strangely beautiful, I don't want to turn the page, and when I finally do I am rewarded with the setup for the next story as back at base Dan Dare faces the consequences of his actions. But the best part of the story, at least for me, is the final panel that, like Judge Dredd, has me positively salivating about what next week might hold. The words "its name.. Mekon" is enough for me to know that this blog will be continuing for some time.      

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "You've got no rank, no ship, no job...what will you do?"  

A Top Gear challenge this week in M.A.C.H. 1 as John Probe drives 1,289 miles across Europe in twelve hours. My modern-day thought of a Top Gear challenge saps the energy from the story, and I regret that it crossed my mind. I can't help but read John Probe's voice in a Jeremy Clarkson drone that spoils what otherwise would be a cracking story. For the record, John Probe outdoes Clarkson, not only fighting off gunmen on bikes but also taking his car in a smashing jump through a train before fixing it with his bare hands in 30 minutes. Top Gear aside, I actually find this an enjoyable entry in the M.A.C.H. 1 canon and I am tempted to call it one of the best so far. I'm always a sucker for a good route map and a car stunt.  

Rating: 7/10

Best line:  "You've got to travel 1,289 miles in twelve hours...bad weather rules out planes or helicopters. So there's only one other way..." 

Oh, that's right when we last left the Harlem Heroes Cyborg Gruber was seemingly cornered after trying to kill Giant. That doesn't last long this week, as in a dramatic panel he punches out Sammy before busting his way out of the aerodome. The rest of the story sees the game continue, although it carries little interest to me the reader after the dramas of the first page. However, the final panels see the characters once again grab the story by the scruff of the neck as Giant speaks down the TV camera confronting the mysterious villain. Every story this week has had a fantastic final few panels, and Harlem Heroes is no exception. Although the story lagged during the game itself, this final page has enough of a hook that I found myself already wondering where we will go next with this. A solid entry, and one that builds to the future.  

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Gruber make mess of Sammy..." 

Prog 11 final ratings:

Overall: 8/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd 

Best Line: "Call-me-Kenneth will never behave again, Fleshy one!"

Best Panel:

Prog 10

     

Back again, Progging and slogging my way to happiness. A small milestone today as I reach issue ten. A long way to go yet, I know, but nice to know that this blog hasn't folded after only a few weeks. My regular reading habit is forming, and I find my thoughts drifting towards 2000 A.D. a couple of days before I come to the next issue. The time has come to feed my comic appetite and digest Prog 10. 

Prog 10

30 April 1977

Invasion plays the long game this week, instead of a self-contained story we end with a cliffhanger and the story unresolved. I applaud this. I was hoping the writers would go this route, and here we are at Prog 10 with the story finally given some legs and a chance to stretch. The story itself is familiar, freeing a prisoner who is useful to the resistance. The twist is he's held at Dartmoor, and the surrounding moors are just as much a deterrent as the prison itself. Rumors of a monster on the moor keep the prisoners in fear, and even the local resistance fighter speaks of these monsters.  True to form, Bill Savage snatches his man but returns to find his contact dead and the car incapacity, before the final panels see a pack of dogs set upon them. The pacing of this story works well, we have an opening attention-grabbing page, half a page of exposition setting out the lay of the land, and the final page and a half are Bill and the resistance in action. Maintaining its good run, this issue of Invasion is a fine way to start the week.  

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "It's...wild dogs versus mad dogs!"

I don't care what happens next in Flesh, just like last week the first page is so good that I'm already sold and whatever may happen in the following pages. With rampaging dinosaurs attacking the train, my eyes eat the page up just as hungrily as the dinosaurs.  The second page is just as good as the first, with the dinosaurs gobbling up humans, while Brontowski and Carver fight back. The story accelerates from here, Reagan seizing control, taking control of the train, and speeding to safety. We end with the train crashing back at the trans-time base. The story has all three things I look for - memorable art, great characters, and an inventive storyline (I didn't even mention that the Tyrannosaurus had a heart attack, did I?!). Once again we have all three in this issue, and the only reason I don't rate it higher is I don't know how much better it might get in the future.  

 Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Everyone try to relax. This is the safest train you'll ever be on." 

The highlight of Harlem Heroes this week is the artwork. The story continues apace, but it leaves me behind, my thoughts and eyes lingering on the artwork as the story recedes from my mind. We left with Cyborg Gruber taking aim at Giant, and this is resolved in the first panels as his shot strikes the Montezuma's leader's jetpack rather than Giant, leaving Giant to watch as his opponent tumbles from the sky. The game continues, with Gruber taking another shot a couple of pages later, this time missing completely as his whereabouts are revealed. Fighting his way clear, the story ends with Gruber seemingly surrounded. Writing about it, the story seems good, but reading it in a comic form never sucked me like it should have. As compensation, the art is glorious, and even as I dismiss the story from my mind, several panels remain in my virtual gallery. 

 Rating: 6.5/10

Best line: "He's going to crash into the runway!" 

For some reason, I never associated 2000 A.D. with great art, but here I am four stories in, and all I can talk about this the great art so far.  Dan Dare outdoes all that comes before and the opening two pages by Belardinelli are extraordinary. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I can safely say that these two pages are worth at least ten thousand. The rest of the pages are equally fantastic as the battle of Jupiter between the Bioggs and the humans continues. With Dane Dare engaging on a death or glory mission, he mages to destroy one of the enemy ships, but it's not enough and the story ends back on the Odyssey with Monday embarking on his own final trip. There is plenty to look forward to, and with Dan Dare added to the previous stories in this issue, we are looking at a very high overall rating.    

 Rating: 8.5/10

Best line: "The alien ships are spouting jets of liquid -it's eating away the metal of our vessels!"  

Another week, another hostage to villain to be taken alive in M.A.C.H. 1 parachuting into the Armenian mountains to take his man, I momentarily have visions of James Bond, a comparison that is further strengthened later in the story as john Probe takes to skis and out runs an avalanche. But that's all ahead of us as he first grabs his man and begins his journey back, a journey that soon goes awry with the appearance of an enemy Jet'copter. With his 'special abilities' John takes out the copter, only to find Igor has gotten away and is now preparing an honorable suicide with a grenade. Taking to the skis, and out skiing an avalanche, John snatches the grenade in the final second, saving the day and returning safely to London. I like M.A.C.H. 1, but I am starting to find the stories are treading the same ground again and again. However, it does have its charms and I always promise myself that next week will be a great one. It certainly continues to hint at something stronger with its brief lines regarding man versus machine.  

Rating: 5/10

Best line:  "H'mm I'm not interested in MACH 1 the man - only MACH 1 the secret agent. That will be all, Moxan!" 

Man versus machine is at the foremost of my thoughts for Judge Dredd this week. Following on from last week's excellent story that saw Dredd pondering the relationship between man and robots, this time out we have a rampaging robot that only Dredd can take down. The brilliantly named Call Me Kenneth is bent on fighting the fleshy ones, which puts him right in the path of Dredd. Call Me Kenneth completely upstages Dredd in this story - he has all the best lines, leaving Dredd to deliver the moral and ethical soliloquy. His final prediction that we are on the brink of war with robots bodes well for future issues, and I buy wholeheartedly into the concept. This is the ninth Dredd story, and it has jumped from strength to strength with every issue. I don't know what the future will hold, but I want to be there to see it unfold. An excellent capstone on a great issue.  

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "Death to the fleshy ones!" 

Prog 10 final ratings:

Overall: 8.5/10

Best Story: Dan Dare 

Best Line: "Now we're the only things between the Biogs and Earth, Monday...with our warp drive running on half power and the main armaments shot to hell..and most of the crew killed by a slime attack!"

Best Panel:

Prog 9

    

Ahh, the smell of newsprint, there is nothing like it. Even the merest whiff of it has me transported back to a time when I wore short pants. It is unfortunate that I didn't read 2000 A.D. back then, but my quest to right that wrong continues now. Let me indulge in my own comic time machine for the next half hour. 

Prog 9

23 April 1977

I can sleep soundly at night knowing that men like Bill Savage are in the world. Fighting the good fight, this week in Invasion Bill watches on as a team of Royal Navy divers attack the Volgan flagship - the "Volga." Things don't go according to plan, as the ship is armed with a sonic weapon that wipes out the attack force. It is left to Bill and the other resistance fighters to take out the Volga the old-fashioned way, fighting their way from cranes down to the ship like old-time pirates and then destroying the ship with burning oil. There is a lot to like in this issue, and the idea of Bill Savage and the resistance fighting like pirates gives us some great panels. The image of Bill coming off a chain, gun blazing, is one that sticks in my mind long after I put the comic down. The first half of the story is dedicated to the failed attack by the navy divers, and here we have some equally memorable panels, especially the images of the diver's corpse and the first sonic attack which both deserve time and attention. As I've said before, there are times when this seems to belong in a war comic rather than 2000 A.D. but it's so enjoyable that I can't help but give it a high rating. 

Rating: 7/10

Best Line:  "Silk and his flash mates have gone Chief. They're the experts and they'll get the glory for nailing that ship"

Flesh immediately grabs my attention with a fantastic opening page showing the "Dino-Express" - a train filled with tourists from the future who come to see the prehistoric past. This is no ordinary train, it is equipped with a dinopuncher that smashes the dinosaurs out of the way. Even the thought of this idea makes me smile, and seeing it in action is a joy to behold. Not only that but it is also equipped with a Tyranno Horn, a horn that sounds like the call of a Tyrannosaur that is used to scare off other dinosaurs. It's all very imaginative, and I bathe in the delirium of such ideas. It is the sound of this horn that attracts the attention of Earl Reagan and Claw Carver, who make their way to the train after hearing it blare. Unfortunately, they aren't the only ones to hear its call, Old-One Eye also hears it, but as a challenge. She manages to free herself from the pit where we left her trapped last week and seeks out the call. This sets us for the finale, where she comes across the train, and despite the efforts of Reagan and Carver, takes her first victim, an annoying child we met in the first pages. Some would say it's rough justice, but the death is so gruesome that Tharg has censored it. Flesh gets better every week, early on I applauded it for its imaginative setting, and now that paying off as different scenarios and situations are played out in this world. I have no complaints with this story at all, it fires all the synapsis in my brain and gives me a kick like no other.       

 Rating: 8/10

Best Line: "Censored. No Earthlet has the necessary 100G nervous system to see this picture in full." 

It was tempting to skip straight to Harlem Heroes after seeing this week's cover that features this strip. The cover shows some action that we don't actually see until the final panels, but it's enough to lure me in with high hopes and expectations. The first page of the story lives ups to those expectations, an introduction to the villain of the piece in all his cyborg glory. While this tin terror sets off in search of the Heroes, they themselves are in the midst of a lavish celebratory parade thrown by Ulysses Cord. Their next match is against the Montezuma Mashers, and we are treated to a panel showing a beautiful looking pyramid that serves as their stadium. From here on in I don't care what happens in the story, I just want to see more art like we've been treated to in these first few pages. Every page has had something that jumps out at me, and my eyes just can't get enough of this visual stimulation. It is among the masked spectators that the cyborg villain Gruber awaits, the story finishing as he takes aim at Giant. Just like the previous two stories in this issue, Harlem Heroes gives me plenty to enjoy, and yet it is completely different from the previous two stories. It is the art that has me enthralled in this story, and even if the story hasn't moved much, it still feels fulfilling.    

 Rating: 7/10

Best line: "Gotta find and destroy those high and mighty punks the Harlem Heroes" 

When we last left Dan Dare he was betraying his comrades to the Biogs, a betrayal that we soon learn is a ruse, but not before Monday has a good crack at beating Dane Dare, in what are some of my favorite panels in this issue. After revealing his ruse to Monday, Dan Dare makes his way to the Odyssey, under orders from the Biogs to surrender the ship. Dan does nothing of the sort, instead firing up the engines, burning a hole half a mile deep in the side of the Biogs living ship, before making their escape to freedom. It is a short-lived victory though, as Dan and his crew emerge in the middle of two massed space fleets that are about to engage in war.  last week I was effusive in my praise for the artwork, but this week it is the story that carries the weight of my attention. It continues to move quickly forward and one wonders we will go now that Dan and his crew are back in the wider universe. 

 Rating: 6/10

Best line: "On my planet there is only one punishment for traitors, the Martian death-lock!"  

I always enjoy the art of John Cooper, and even if this issue of M.A.C.H. 1 isn't to my taste, John's artwork always is, no matter the story.  This week we have another story that centers around John Probe going into a hostile country to grab a scientist. While the story practically writes itself, it is the action scenes that provide the thrills, and we have several gratifying panels as John Probe goes into action. The final page as he indulges in some humor and is chastised by the computer is more to my taste when it comes to the story, and I am left feeling warmed by the overall issue. Far from perfect, but with John Cooper's art and an element of humanity at the end, I rate it higher than I perhaps should. 

Rating: 6/10

Best line:  "I got a right to crack a joke, haven't I, computer? After all I'm a human being!" 

I thought last week was the best Dredd so far, but this week's Judge Dredd easily tops it. It still has a sense humor, but it's not to the fore, and the concept of Robots and their humanity is central to the storyline, raising some ethical questions in a far more thoughtful Dredd story than we have seen n the first eight issues. Starting at the Robot of the year show, we see Dredd and Diablo observing a cruel exhibition of Robots programmed with feelings being put to death by fire, and shedding real tears. Dredd comments on the cruelty of it before he is called into action by a gunman in robochair gunning down the guards. After being overcome by Myclon gas, Dredd hunts the gunman using the police bloodhound robot, a robot capable of catching a scent at twenty miles. Dredd finds the villain easy enough and after shooting him down is left to ponder on the role of robots in society. As always, the artwork is top-notch, that is a given, but here it has a story to match and the final panel is particularly poignant and points towards some depth of character in Dredd. I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did, and this closes out the issue on a high. This issue is crammed full of good stories, and the Dredd one can look any one of them in the eye. 

 Rating: 8/10

Best line:  "it was a cruel exhibition, Diablo! We give robots the will to live and then expect them to "die" like willing slaves. It's going to spell trouble one day " 

Prog 9 final ratings:

Overall: 7.5/10

Best Story: Judge Dredd 

Best Line: Judge Dredd - "I would not have caught the lawbreaker without this bloodhound robot. But that heap of metal down there was a robot too...how long before robots discover how to break the law?"

Best Panel: