Trans-Time's Guide To Mega-City One!

NAME
Trans-Time's Guide To Mega-City One!

FIRST PUBLISHED
Judge Dredd Annual 1981

DATELINE
1 Sept 80

PAGE COUNT
10

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files 04.

SYNOPSIS
A holiday brochure for Mega-City One.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First real insight into the present era in Flesh.

INFORMATION
(This Brochure is copyright Trans-Time Holidays, 2300)

Robots, aliens and animals with the ability to speak are less common in the 23rd Century than they are in the 22nd. Portable Time-Converters are a time travel device. Biz-Wiz Enterprises are a printing company. Trans-Time is a registered corporation. Trans-Time beams its customers' mail back to the time they left.

Among the tours offered by Trans-Time offer a 'Hell Trip' to an undisclosed point in the 20th Century, an opportunity to see Hitler's V1s over London, the A-Bomb explode above Hiroshima, the Lion's tea party in Ancient Rome, a point after the Atomic War, France during the Reign of Terror, the American Civil War, England during the Volgan Invasion of 1999, a 20th Century package tour to Spain's Costa Del Sol, Germany during Nazi rule, Russia during the KGB, China during Mao's Long March, Australia during its settlement by criminals, Sicily during a feud between the Capone family and their neighbours and Mega-City One in 2101.

The Surgeon General has issued a health warning that time travel can be hazardous to health. Trans-Time acknowledge the warning and state that they are not obliged to pay compensation.

Trans-Time's Mega-City One tour arrives at Kennedy Space-Port. Despite the city's accommodation crisis Trans-Time have secured rooms in Charlton Heston Block. Located in the southern sector of the city, 750 crimes are committed in the cityblock every day, but each tour group is supplied with a Securi-droid. The tour includes a free journey to the laundry that Walter visits every week and a trip to the Cursed Earth. Trans-Time publishes a handbook entitled The Streets Of Mega-City One.

Only 13% of Mega-City One's population are in employment. Robots are available in various size, from tiny shoe-polishing models to huge demolition droids. 2101's Robot Of The Year Show features Heavy Metal Kids Mk II. The city has an Alien Relations Board. There are 312 Holovision stations broadcasting in Mega-City One and the Morning News-Fax is a newspaper. The Weather Congress collates the weather preference votes of citizens. Usually the city is hot and sunny, but occasionally a rain storm is ordered to wash the streets. The Mega-City 5000 race was stopped in 2099.

The Judge system is headed by a triumvirate called The Grand Council Of Judges. The Justice Day Parade is an annual event. Tours of The Academy of Law are conducted regularly. Queues form long before the Statue of Judgement opens for business and last all day.
Although derelict the Empire State Building features a reconstruction of Judge Dredd's battle with the Whitey Gang.
As many as fifty thousand Judges could be working in the Grand Hall of Justice at any one time.

ARTHUR RAYMOND
Nicknamed Art 'Ain't-He-Awful' Raymond.

OTHER CHARACTERS
LINDA
Trans-Time's chief courier. She took a Hell Trip to the 20th Century and came back with a dart in her nose.

JUDGE DREDD
The most famous Judge in Mega-City One.

WALTER THE WOBOT
Trans-Time includes a free journey to the laundry that Walter visits every week.

ROCKY VOLLO
A great friend of Johnny Teardrop.

JOHNNY TEARDROP
A great friend of Rocky Vollo.

OTTO SUMP
His face is being used as the Before by The New You Face Parlour

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES


WORST LINES
The Ed. jokes are not very funny.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Obviously this draws heavily on Flesh. Arthur Raymond opens this brochure with another letter and the Surgeon General's health warning includes an image from Flesh, Book One part 18.

There is a mention of a "recent scandal involving a researcher at the city's Department of Science passing the system's secrets to the Sov-Cities" in Battle Of The Black Atlantic, a reference to the laundry that Walter visits every week as seen in A Tale From Walter's Scwapbook.

There are references to Charlton Heston Block from Cityblock 1, the smokatorium from Smoker's Crime, John Nobody, the Dream Palace and the Annual Justice Day Parade from Dream Palace, The New You Face Parlour from The New You, Aeroball the focus of Harlem Heroes, The Robot Of The Year Show that featured in Robots, The Mega-City 5000 seen in a strip of the same name, You Bet Your Life and the Mines Of Mutieland from You Bet Your Life, Devil's Island, the Empire State Building and Judge Dredd's battle with the Whitey Gang from Judge Whitey, the Palais de Boing and Pinboing Wizard, Sob Story, Johnny Teardrop and Otto Sump from Sob Story, Medicine Today and Call-Me-Kenneth 'Robot Wars', part 2 and Crime Time seen in part 8, Sensor-Round from Krong, the Power Tower and Barney first seen in Father Earth, the Mega-City Standard and the Daily News mentioned in The Invisible Man, part 2, the Mega-Times, Rocky Vollo and Mawxus (sic) Slym from Crime And Punishment, the Weather Congress named in The Solar Sniper, The Academy of Law, Futsies and the Harlem Heroes stadium from The Academy Of Law, cadet's right(s) from Mutie The Pig, part 2, The Statue Of Judgement first seen in The Statue Of Judgement, Mac first seen in The Wreath Murders, Judge Anderson's body in the Hall of Heroes as seen in Judge Death, part 3, Aftermath Square named as such in The Greatest Story Ever Told, Troggies from The Troggies, Don Uggie Apelino and the talking apes first seen in 'The Ape Gang' and his later attempt to raise a billion credits to kill Dredd in The Billion Credit Caper, The Dredd Act from The Guinea Pig That Changed The Law, Conred Conn from The Day The Law Died, part 13, Dino Valdi mentioned in Dredd And the Mob Blitzers, Kleggs first seen in The Day The Law Died, part 6 and an advert for The Forever Towers Home For The Semi-Dead from The Forever Crimes.

A tour to England during the Volgan Invasion of 1999 is obviously a reference to Invasion!

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Long March (October 1933-October 1935) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, which began the ascent to power of Mao Zedong (1893-1976).

MISTAKES
Cadet's Rights is incorrectly stated as Cadet's Right, while Nawxyus Slym is now Mawxus Slym.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Unknown

REVIEW
To effectively see one strip through the eyes of another, without the interaction of a traditional crossover is a real opportunity and it's certainly not one that is squandered here. This is excellent and surprisingly thorough.