Prog 6 - Judge Dredd

Seriously!

Who calls themselves Frankenstein 2? What is he, a sequel? Then again this is Mega City One, so it's probably not all that unusual to have citizens with whacked out names.

Anyways, Dredd follows in hot pursuit. The control cameras have been keeping tabs on Frankesteins goons. The control center tells Dredd that the stolen ambulance went into a subway but never appeared on the other side. Dredd blows out one of the subway walls knowing that there has to be a secret entrance to Frankensteins hideout and that's why the ambulance disappeared.

Frankensteins cronies are waiting for him.

But they are no match for Dredds awesome firepower.
Dredd dismounts his lawmaster and enters the hideout. The hideout is like a huge cold human storage room. Bodies are lined up in rows no doubt awaiting Frankensteinto touch. Dredd interrupts Frankenstein 2 as he is finishing with a millionaire client.
Frankenstein tries to bribe Dredd by offering him any spare parts he wants when his own fail him. Dredd refuses 'You can't bribe a Judge!'. Frankenstein was just playing for time, he throws a light switch in an attempt to blind and confuse Dredd.
But Dredd's anti-dazzle visor protects him and he takes down Frankenstein. Typical final last words from Dredd. Nice dark humor.

This strip was McMahons first ever drawn Dredd. Not first published, but first drawn. You can tell that he was probably told to ape Ezquerras' style. Eventually McMahon would branch out into his own style and it would make him a legend to 2000ad and Dredd fans everywhere.

This is also the first time we learn that Dredds helmet visor is anti-glare.

The crime of 'bodysnatching' or 'Organ Legging' would be revisited again and again in Dredds world.

Another interesting note here is that the strip was probably censored. Because it was McMahons first Dredd...it predates all the other stories published so far. Dredd would have just blown Frankenstein away instead of arresting him. You can see from his pose in the above page that Dredd, in all likelihood, shot and killed him in the original pages.

Prog 6 - MACH 1

We open with MACH 1 coming to the aid of a friend. But he's too late! His friend is dead and now Probe is determined to beat Kreuzer and his 'Werewolves' to the Nazi gold.

Probe arrives at Lake Constance and dives right in. He can't waste time because Karl had told him that Kreuzer and his men where planning on lifting the gold that night. He approaches the wreck of the sunken ship.

He rips the ships hold apart to get the gold but something isn't right...
The 'Werewolf' divers have been using the nazi corpses as cover.
Probe has a fight on his hands. He smashes one of the divers heads with his hand instantly killing him. More divers arrive armed with spear guns. One spears probe in the arm. MACH 1 has to end this quick or else he'll be in serious trouble. If it's the gold they want...they can have it...
Probe swims to the surface and sees Kreuzers boat skimming the lake. He decides to pay Kreuzer a visit...Hyperpower style!

Probe swims so fast towards the boat that the crew onboard think that it's a torpedo that's been aimed at the boat. He attaches himself to one of the hydrofoils and breaks it off. The majority of the crew jump overboard in a panic.
Probe pulls himself onboard the ship even though his computer brain advises against it. He takes out the last member of the crew before he can get off a shot...
And then comes face to face with Kreuzer. MACH 1 rips the spear from out of his arm. Kreuzer can't believe his eyes..the strenght of MACH 1 has him rattled.

Probe wants all the details on the Werewolf Organisation...
Kreuzer hands him a dossier with all the details as the ship heads full steam ahead towards some rocks.
...and that's all she wrote.

Decent episode the only problem I have is that Probe tells Kreuzer to say 'Hello' to his dead Werewolf thugs and also to his friend Karl when he joins them in the afterlife. Why would Probe do that unless he thinks Karl is in hell with Kruezer and co? Strange one that.

Mike Dorey did the artwork on this. Dorey was never one of my favorites but the job he did on this is really exceptional. His drawing Karls beaten face is quite gruesome. You can really tell that the Werewolf thugs went to town on him.

Pat Mills writing is top notch even if the script at the end seems out of place.

Prog 6 - Dan Dare

The Thing has total control of the Odyssey and Dan, Monday and whats left of the landing party have been taken to the Biogs base. They are released from their captors stomach and now they face a welcoming committee of aliens that are identical to the 'Thing' that has taken control of the ship.
The creatures tell Dare and company their backstory. That they are a race of aliens called 'The Shepherds' and they live to serve their masters The Biogs. The Biogs lived on a planet called Zircon and The Shepherds on their moon. The Biogs grow their houses and machines from living tissue and they use live fuel to do this. When The Biogs conquered their race they made some of them slaves and the rest the Mother Biog turned into fuel. But sadly The Shepherds home planet can't produce enough fuel for them so they set up a new home on Jupiter and plan to use it as a base to take over the Earth and use humans as their fuel source.

Dare doesn't fancy being turned into fuel and insults The Biogs by calling them 'slimy bugs'. The Shepherds are deeply offended by this and they attack Dan. They're going to kill him. Dan fights back.
A Shepherd then attacks Dan with a Living Axe...
A Biog turns red and the Shepherd holds off his attack on Dare. The Biog is angry that the Shepherd is wasting fuel and the human must be taken to the Mother Biog and be 'converted'.

Monday sees his chance and runs the alien through with one of its own spears. Dan grabs the Living Axe and they decide to fight their way to freedom.
This wasn't too bad. Not any of the usual craziness of the past few episodes. Although a Living Axe is pretty wacky. Now we know why the 'Thing' was aboard the ship. It's trying to steer to ship to the Mother Biog so the human crew can be 'converted' to fuel.

The problem though is, in the first episode, the ship was broken apart and the humans seemed to be sucked down to the planet. Why didn't the Biogs do this with the Odyssey instead of beaming a Shepherd on board? Makes no sense to me.

Also, we have the usual cliched 'I'm going to tell you our whole backstory before we kill you' speech. Which is fine because 2000ad was a publication catering totally to young kids back then. Probably wouldn't fly to spill the whole can of beans in a couple of pages today though. Storytelling has gotten a little bit more complicated since then.

A fun episode and a definite improvement on what went before.

Prog 6 - Harlem Heroes - Bonus!

I love cutaways!

It seems to be a a standard thing in British comic books. I really don't know where it started. I remember that the 50's Eagle had them and Look and Learn.

This one is by the awesomely talented Kevin O'Neill. I always have a laugh at the cheesy rhyming they added to the Heroes strip and this cutaway is no different. Although 'Curse' and 'Reverse' are tough to make into a smooth rhyme.

Prog 6 - Harlem Heroes

The Heroes make their way through the transatlantic tunnel. After beating the Bulls, their next opponents are the Soviet Unions 'Siberian Wolves'.

The idea of a tunnel connecting continents is not a new idea but with Gibbons art we get to see what something like that would look like. Probably the closest thing to the Transatlantic Tunnel in the strip is the Channel Tunnel that opened in 1994 connecting Britain to France and the rest of Europe. For more info click the link...Channel Tunnel

The Heroes road liner driver Artie puts Giants mind at ease just in case there's a disaster in the tunnel. Artie tells him that the liner converts into an air tight super sub for such an emergency.

Giant, satisfied, takes the team to the onboard gym and goes over tactics.
Giant tells them that they don't know much about their opponents because the Russians have only been part of the World Aeroball Association for the last five years.

Later after the team talk, Giant and Slim go pay Louis Mayer a visit in the liners medic room. Giant asks Louis again if he's sure that it's sabotage that caused the last road liner to crash. Louis says that he's never been more sure of anything and that they'd better watch their backs or they'll end up like him...a floating brain in a jar!

The liner speeds across Europe to Moscow. The Harlem Heroes are the first foreign team ever to enter the Soviet Union. The Heroes transfer from their road liner to a smaller satellite vehicle. The liner is so big that it could damage and knock down a lot of the Soviet monuments.

They arrive to a rousing Russian welcome at the Soviet 'Palace of Aeroball'.
They are greeted at the steps of the stadium by the Soviet Minister of Sport. Giant asks the Minister why none of the Soviet players took part in the parade. The Minister responds that the players are not encouraged to seek public applause but rather their desire should be to serve Mother Russia in the arena of Aeroball combat!

The game is about to begin. The Heroes walk out into the arena are are surprised to see the size of the russian 'pits'. The Russians must have a whole army of substitutes. The Wolves make their entrance...
and there are a lot of them. There must be fielding at least thirty men.
The amount of players confuses the American commentator...
The game begins and the Russians are really hell bent on winning, so much so, that one player is going so fast to hit Giant from the blast-off that Giant manages to roll him. The player can't stop and smashes into a rebound pad.
The injured player is removed from the field. Giant is concerned. The Russians are going all out and they don't care how many players they sacrifice as long as they beat the Heroes.
Interesting episode because of the time period. In this future, the Soviet Union didn't fall but carried on and the Cold War is alive and well. I suppose when the script was written in the 70's there was no way anyone could predict the fall of the USSR.

As a result, it's great that 2000ad now has an alternate timeline that stretches into Dredds world. In Dredds world the Soviet Union is still alive and kicking and the tie that binds both strips is 'Giant'.

One thing that's not made clear in the strip, maybe it will be made clear later, is that we don't know how many subsitutes are allowed on one team. My impression from reading this episode is that there is no limit. Which is unusual because all sports have a limit to the amount of subs a team can use.

I find the commentator to be hilarious. He can't figure out who's who so he calls the Russian players Boris 1, Boris 2 etc. Funny when I read it now, but he has to be the worst commentator ever! He'd never get a job on ESPN!

The scene with Louis telling Giant he's sure that the liner crash was sabotage is pure padding. It's totally unnecessary as it doesn't advance the story at all...then again, if your reading the strip from week to week...it does act as a recap.

And we end with the, now standard, Harlem Heroes next prog rhyme...
"2000ad - it's thrilling and new
Big- picture power - programmed for you.'

Prog 6 - Flesh

Carver faces off with a 'terrible claws' that has broken into the general store.
The poor critter doesn't stand a chance against Claw Carver!
After Reagan and Carver finish off the 'terrible claws' they grab the fuel cans and head back to the surgery room. The doc appears with Joe. Joe is on the mend...which is great news especially for the doc...Joe is the first patient he hasn't killed yet. Reagan tells the doc to leave with Joe. He and Carver are going to burn the town down to the ground to get rid of the dinosaurs.

Meanwhile, Old One Eye and the rest of the dinosaurs are rampaging through the town.

One unlucky guy thinks he's safe away from Old One Eye. He's on top of a building and she can't get at him. A pteranodon swoops down to grab the cowboy, misses him, but knocks him off balance. The poor fool falls straight into the jaws of Old One Eye!
As she is devouring the human she is attacked by...her own son! She dispatches him, after all 'In her long life...Old One Eye had given birth to many...the death of one meant nothing to her!'

Carver and Reagan are successful. The town is beginning to burn. The dinosaurs are being driven back. All except for one...Old One Eye has picked up Reagans scent and in her hatred of this human she is braving the flames to get to him. Carver has made this observation and decides to give the Old hag what she wants. His truce with Reagan is over.

Now, they can both burn!
Another good episode of Flesh. This one was written by Kelvin Gosnell, which is a nice surprise because his writing on Dan Dare is well below par. Ramon Sola's artwork is still top notch.

Prog 6 - Invasion

After seeing the live executions on TV, Silk asks Savage what should they do. Everytime they hit the Volgans, they take hostages and execute them in retaliation. Savage's answer is 'Simple - Hit 'em harder!'

Bill leaves his 'Mad Dog' crew and goes window shopping!

Later a Volgan patrol hear a looter breaking into store. A Volgan soldier quips that only Volgans can have the luxuries found in these stores. They arrive at the store front and see only shop window dummies...
After mowing down the patrol, Savage continues looting the store, grabbing clothes off the racks.

The next morning in the West End of London, the Volgans gather up civilians, they will make them pay for the 'outrage' of the previous night!
The Volgans don't even bother searching the civilians, in their arrogance they think that they're not dangerous.

The hostages are brought to Wembley (Victory) Stadium where they are to face a firing squad. The execution is being broadcast Live all over London on big viewing screens.

As the firing squad take aim...the old man, that they'd picked on earlier, falls over. They laugh at him and say he will die where he falls. But this isn't any 'old man'...it's Savage!
And the other 'hostages' are his men in disguise!

Now, that they have the element of surprise they take out the Volgans in the stadium!

What follows is kind of bizarre...they sing football (soccer) songs as they wipe out the Volgan firing squad.
Savage and his men clean out the stadium of other Volgan troops. The 'Volgan' television presenter decides to take out some of the resistance. But Savage is quick. He may be out of bullets but he's still got his knife! On live broadcast from the stadium Savage addresses the public in yet more soccer cliches. he talks about his killing of the Volgans inside Wembley as a qualifying match and that the BIG match is coming soon and then he leads them in a sing song!
Savage and his Mad Dogs leave before more troops arrive.

Gerry Finley Day wrote this one, so it kind of makes sense that it would be a bit bizarre. Finley Day was notorious for his all-over-the-place scripts. His scripts always had heavy rewrites.

Whats' truly strange is the resistance chanting football slogans/songs as they kill Volgans and then Savages address to the nation ending in a rendition of 'You'll never walk alone!'.

Really strange.

The artwork is by Ian Kennedy. It's pretty standard fare but probably too clean for a strip like Savage.

Prog 6 - Cover

Nice cover by Mike Dorey. Can't really go wrong with Undead Nazis and Nazi gold!