Strontium Dog: Journey Into Hell!, Part 7

NAME
Strontium Dog: Journey Into Hell!, Part 7

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD & Starlord Prog 110

DATELINE
28 Apr 79

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Megazine 3.65 or 3.66, Strontium Dog: The Early Cases and Strontium Dog: Search/Destroy Agency Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Johnny and co cross the River Inferno.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Don Dork.

INFORMATION
(This strip is set in 2181)

The sores inflicted by the rain in the City of Lost Souls disappear as soon as you leave it.

JOHNNY ALPHA
Burnt and charred, he climbs out of the River Inferno and heals. He pulls Wulf, Wagner, the Gronk, the Preacher and Don Dork out of the river of flames.

WULF STERNHAMMER
Johnny pulls his burnt body out of the River Inferno and it heals.

THE GRONK
Johnny pulls its burnt body out of the River Inferno and it heals.

OTHER CHARACTERS
FLY's-EYES WAGNER
Johnny pulls his burnt body out of the River Inferno and it heals.

THE PREACHER
Johnny pulls his burnt body out of the River Inferno and it heals. He decides to return to the City of Lost Souls to guide others out.

DON DORK
Space trucker. He was pulled into this dimension by a dimension warp in 2179 and spent two year in the River Inferno. Johnny pulls his burnt body out and it heals. He decides to remain with Johnny's group.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Don Dork: "Any man that can truck the big red and come out smilin' is wall-to-wall and treetop-tall with Don Dork! You got yourself a new diesel jockey, Good Buddy."

WORST LINES
Johnny: "The other person on the chain - who are you?"

CATCHPHRASES
The Gronk worries about his heartses twice, Wulf says der, Ja, vith, Vulf, vun, and he describes Don Dork's space trucker slang as "crazy as der cucumber!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Candy Par Planet is presumably a reference to Mars.

MISTAKES
Not necessarily a mistake, but the First City of Hell is referred to here as the City of Lost Souls exclusively.

RETROSPECT
Presumably Don Dork's addition and dialogue were the inspiration for Ace Trucking Co, at least in part.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: T.B. Grover
Artist: Ezquerra
Letters: Aldrich

REVIEW
This is great. Johnny cheats death, but earns it because it is not with suffering and he saves the others. The preacher having served his expositionary purpose heads back and is replaced by a character from Johnny's world that is as stranger than his surroundings. Ezquerra's burnt offerings are excellent.

Next Prog: Desert Of The Living Dead!