Prog 7 - Flesh - Bonus!

An ad for next issues 'Flesh' game. Obviously this was filler. The cartoon gags look completely out of place for 2000ad and more suited for 'Buster' or 'Monster Fun'.

Prog 7 - Judge Dredd

A gang of muggers are working over a victim near the Statue of Judgement until Dredd arrives.
Dredd kills one, another surrenders and the last member makes a run for it. The gang member that surrenders asks Dredd to let him go because he was forced into going along with the gang. But Dredd isn't buying it "and they forced you to take your share of the loot, too? Don't make me sick!"

Dredd has the regular cops take the criminal way. Meanwhile, the escaped gang member, Ringo, has hijacked an 'air' taxi, basically a flying cab, and starts shooting up the city. Ringo hates the Judges and "all they stand for".

Dredd takes his lawrifle from his lawmaster. Ringo is raining down bullets on Dredd...but Dredd is calm.
He goes to the top of the Statue of Judgment, takes aim, and blasts Ringo out of the sky. Ringo falls...impaling himself on the Statue of Liberty.
And we end with typical Dredd humor.
Very straightforward Dredd story.

It features the first appearance of The Statue of Judgement and it's appropriate that it towers over the Statue of Liberty.

This must have been drawn before Ezquerras cityscape was done because it looks like the buildings were added in later into the background on the splash page. We have police officers show up to take away the lawbreaker. The police weren't phased out that this stage.

Also of note is the criminals comments that "He ain't a robot - he's human! I think!" The reason is that the further Dredd develops...he seems more machine than man.

Prog 7 - MACH 1

Mach 1 creates a diversion so he can sneak into Armstrongs hotel.
He tells Armstrong that he has come on behalf of Her Majesty's Government and he is to take him back to London. Armstrong stares in disbelief...Probe is just one man and he's not going to risk his life with 'schoolboy heroics'.

He calls in a guard to arrest Probe. Probe does what's neccessary to convince Armstrong.
Armstrong is convinced. Probe lowers him on rope out of the window. He steals an army truck and both men are on their way out of the city. Then, Probe spots a secret police car with an escort. He tells Armstrong to keep his head down. He doesn't want them to recognize him. But Probe spots something else...
He turns the truck around and goes back to help Pepe. Armstrong is enraged! How dare Probe endanger his life for a 'dirty peasant brat!'

Probe smashes the truck into the side of the Secret Police car. He leaves the truck and engages the escort.
Inside the car is the Bolavian Head of the Secret Police - Colonel Villarcho. He can't believe his eyes. Mach 1 is killing all his men! He orders his driver to lock all the car doors...but Pepe smiles and tells him that that won't stop 'Senor Johnny.' And he's right. Probe rips off the car door to free Pepe...but Colonel Villarcho is cunning.
Mach 1 surrenders. Villarcho takes him, Pepe and Armstrong to the secret police H.Q.
Probe decides to have his computer brain shut off his hyperpower. He wants to give them the impression that his power has left him. Villarcho thinks he's faking and has a doctor examine him. The doctor tells him that Probe is not faking, that he is in fact 'as weak as a baby!'

Villarcho takes advantage of the situation. He punches and kicks Probe around. After the beating, they dump Probe into a cell...tomorrow they are going torture him.

Alone in the cell...Probe orders his computer brain to switch his hyperpower back on.

The next day he is brought in front of Villarcho. Villarcho has his men tie Probe to two pillars. He tells Probe that what he is about to feel is 'beyond the normal meaning of pain.' The whipping begins...but with Probes hyperpower back to fool strength, the whipping feels just like a tickling across his back.

Probe makes his move and breaks free...
The toppling of the pillars causes the building to cave in...Probe rescues Villarcho. He uses Villarcho as a human shield while he sets Armstrong and Pepe free. Villarchos' troops won't shoot as long as Probe has him in his grasp.

Probe commandeers a chopper and they escape. But what to do about Villarcho?
Problem solved! That wraps up another chapter in John Probes life.

We get another fictional country here...Bolavia. Gosh, I wonder what country that could be? ;-) And something I didn't think Probe could do. He turned off his power. I didn't know that he could that. It will be interesting to see if it is explored further in the series. My memory is a bit fuzzy and I can't remember if they address this again.

Good writing by Mills again and solid art by Enio.

Prog 7 - Dan Dare

Dan kills the Shepherd guards and Monday sets free what was left of the landing crew.
Now defenseless, Dan attacks the Mother Biog with his Living Axe!
The Biogs and their city are totally dependent on the Mother Biog. As she is dying...everything begins to fall apart. Dan has to get his crew off-planet before the Mother Biog explodes. The Shepherds try and stop him and his landing party from reaching their ship.
They escape from the planet but something else awaits them in space...
The Living Axe is such a bizarre concept only Belardinelli's artwork can do it any justice. This episode was pretty fast paced and moves the story along beautifully.

Another nice cliffhanger. One thing that I loved 2000ad for, was it's cliffhangers. They always made me eager to rush down to the newsagents each week and find out what's going to happen to my favorite heroes.

Prog 7 - Harlem Heroes

The Siberian Wolves score! But in doing so, the player has electrocuted himself. Usually when a player hits the electrified score tank they are sent to the penalty pen but in this guys case...he's sent to the hospital.
Giant tells the rest of the team that the Wolves don't care how many players get injured, as long as they win. And everytime someone does get injured they just replace them with a player that's "fresh and rarin' to go!"

Giant wins the ball from the blast-off and throws it down to Zack who is attempting a ground attack. One of the Siberian Wolves tries to stop him at full speed...
Two more Wolves zero in on Zack but Zack hits his afterburn button and the two Wolves hit each other head-on. Zack kicks the ball to Slim and Slim scores!
The Heroes fly into their famous 'H' formation and bust out a rhyme...
"The Wolves are fast and full of guts,
but do their thinkin' with their butts!"
Meantime the three 'Borises' are carted off to get medical treatment.

The game restarts and Giant tries to grab the aeroball but he's going to fast!
Nothing much to say about this episode. Solid art by Gibbons and nice cliffhanger by Tully. Further evidence that the Heroes are being targeted for elimination.

Prog 7 - Flesh

Reagans' men, a good distance outside Carver City, want to rescue Reagan and Joe but the controller refuses. They have a herd to get back to the Fleshdozers.
Meanwhile Reagan is fighting for his life against Old One Eye. He grabs a big chunk of wood and wedges it between Old One Eyes jaws.
She breaks the wood in two. Reagan looks doomed but...
Unable to see, Old One Eye smashes out of the dome.
She then turns on the alamosaur. She's not killing for food now, She's killing because she has gone completely mad!

Back in Carver City a lucky Reagan faces off with Carver again. Just as they are about to renew hostilities, the doctor intervenes. He calls them both "dumbheads" and that they still need every man they can get to the Trans-Time base safely.

Reagan agrees. They leave Carver City and make their way to where Reagans' men should be encamped...but they're gone.
Another good Flesh episode.

Reagan got lucky in this one. He should be tryannosaur food.

The next few progs have the potential to be really interesting as Reagan, Carver and co trek their way back to the base. You just know that there will be plenty of backstabbing and bloodshed.

Gosnell did a good job on the script and Solas artwork is still top-notch.

Prog 7 - Invasion

The Volgan troops comandeer a train. They joke that the British have no more fight left in them.

An hour later a Volgan armored column is making it's way to Oxford. At the front of the column is Volgan Field Marshall Zinski. The column comes to a halt at a railroad crossing. They wait awhile until eventually the barrier is lifted for them to cross. The Field Marsahll isn't to happy with the lenght of time it took the signalman to raise the barrier. He'll be glad when when "his kind will be replaced by efficient Volgans."

But the signalman is none other then Bill Savage! He radios his men..."The Fly is in the web!" He lowers the barrier again...this time trapping Zinski's car.
They realise that it's a trap..but too late! There's a train coming down the tracks. The soldiers in the car run for cover. Zinski is too slow. He's fat and can't seem to move quick enough...and...
...that's the end of Field Marshall Zinski!

Savage radios his units and they come out from the surrounding wheatfields where they've been hiding and take the Volgans by surprise. The Volgans haven't the stomach for battle and turn and flee.

Just as Savage decides to pull out Volgan gunships arrive! Now it's Savages' turn to be taken by surprise.
The elite Spyder Troops armed with flamethrowers are destroying the Resistance. Savage knows that they'll all be burned alive unless he can take out the Spyder Troop chopper. Armed with a rocket launcher...he shoots and hits one chopper causing it to crash into the second chopper. They're saved!
Something is bothering Savage...how did the Volgans know the resistance would strike at the railroad crossing.

Later back at the base, on Londons Isle of Dogs, Savage gets his answer. Listening to the Volgan News broadcast, it's revealed that thanks to a last minute tip-off the Volgans were able to destroy most of the resistance despite losing Field Marshall Zinski.

Savage and his Mad Dogs were betrayed!

After an investigation, a new member of the resistance confesses that he sold them out for money. Savage is pissed! Half his men were wiped out because of the traitors greed.

The Resistance has to get tougher if they're going to drive out the invaders!
Good installment.

It shows Savages' first setback. Even though they killed a lot of Volgans, the price was too high. The fact that a traitor was discovered amongst Savages men adds an extra dimension to the strip. Not everything in 'Invasion' is going to be so straight forward and black and white.

I like Mills structure to the script. The train on the first page is the train that gets derailed later on.

The Volgan arrogance and disregard towards the conquered is really emphasised here with Zinskis comments on shooting the signalman and also by the Volgan troops in kicking the civiians off the train and making them ride in cattle cars. Mills is definitely making comparisons with the Volgans and Nazis.

Mills script really shines. As for the art...I don't really care for it. Sarompas does an okay job but it feels lifeless...I can't put my finger on why...it just does.

Prog 7 - Cover

The covers are getting better! Belardinelli did and excellent job on this one. I love the speech balloon too...a nice sense of shock and danger to it.