Harlem Heroes, Part 3

NAME
Harlem Heroes, Part 3 (according to Wikipedia, this is the second part of a strip also known as The Baltimore Bulls)

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 3

DATELINE
12 Mar 77

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
2000AD Annual 1983, Robo-Hunter 2, Sam Slade Robo-Hunter (Volume 2, Issue 13), 2000AD Extreme Edition 13, The Best Of 2000AD and The Complete Harlem Heroes.

SYNOPSIS
The Harlem Heroes play their first game since the crash.

FIRSTS & LASTS
The first strip to end mid-game and with a perilous cliffhanger.

INFORMATION
A game of Aeroball begins with a blast off. Rule 28: The score-holes of the 'tank' are surrounded by by electrified prods. If a player hits the prods, they must go to the penalty pen for a period of three minutes. After a penalty, the game continues after a 'free' for the opposite team. A kick in the back of the neck is a foul. A reverse shoulder pass involves a player throwing the ball from the shoulder behind them.

The Harlem Heroes vs Baltimore Bulls game is shown on a huge screen in Harlem that the Harlem Heroes has had erected for their fans.

The Baltimore Bulls are a team made up of police officers.

GIANT
He has to remind Zack to stay in formation. He tries for an air-strike, but the ball rebounds off the rim of the score-tank.

CONRAD KING
Harlem Heroes' 'tank minder'. He blocks an airstrike, but hits the prods on the tank and spends three minutes in the penalty pen.

ZACK HARPER
He has obviously had run-ins with the police before. He scores an airstrike, but the umpire disallows it because he kicked an opponent in the back of the neck. He overshoots and crashes into a TV camera boom at 80mph and falls.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Zack: "Move over cops--Ya causin' an obstruction!"

WORST LINES
Fan(s): "Barrel 'em Baltimore!"

What?

CATCHPHRASES
Giant: "Forget it, Bulls from Baltimore, with you we're going to wipe the floor!"

More rhyming.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
Unknown.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: Tom Tully
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Letters: Dave Gibbons

REVIEW
This part focusses on the new players from last week's strip almost exclusively. Slim and Hairy don't have anything to do and the opening roll call even omits Chico and Sammy which doesn't bode well for them. The exposition is generally well-handled and the cliffhanger is great.

Zack's Future's Looking Pretty Bleak, Watch His Fate Unfold - Next Week!
Zack's Future's Looking Pretty Bleak, Watch His Fate Unfold - Tomorrow