Judge Dredd: Pirates Of The Black Atlantic, Part Four - The Sov Connection

NAME
Judge Dredd: Pirates Of The Black Atlantic, Part Four - The Sov Connection

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD & Starlord Prog 200

DATELINE
21 Feb 81

The bicentennial prog saw a price rise to 15 pence Earth money and also featured The Mean Arena, Meltdown Man, Return To Armageddon, Strontium Dog and Tharg The Mighty strips, the first section of Tharg's Futureworlds Poster and a Tharg cover by Robin Smith.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Monthly 6, The Best Of 2000AD 14, Judge Dredd Classics 72, The Complete Judge Dredd 19, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 26 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 04.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd shocks Skank and his mother, before uncovering a conspiracy.

FIRSTS & LASTS
An as-yet-unnamed Sov-Judge Bulgarin makes his first appearance.

INFORMATION
A Judge's uniform has insulation against electrocution.

Over four million people were killed in the recent nuclear attack on Mega-City One.

East-Meg One is divided into at least 207 Sektors. Sektor 207-B of the city is destroyed by a Sov ten-megaton nuclear device.

JUDGE DREDD
When Skank's Mother attacks, Dredd slices a high voltage cable and electrocutes them both. When Nikita Kramm is uncovered, Dredd advises a retaliation and that Mega-City One prepare for war.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CAPTAIN SKANK
Dredd electrocutes his mother and Skank attempts to help her, but is killed himself.

NIKITA KRAMM
Sov-Blok Agent. He masqueraded as Tuskarosa with plasti-skin and artificial mutations. He had a device to control Captain Skank. His body is delivered to the Sov-Blok with a note threatening to retaliate.

JENNO MATRYX
She is arrested for building the warheads used against Mega-City One.

ARRESTS
One. Jenno Matryx is arrested for her part in the attack on Mega-City One.

DEATHS
Two. The captain and his mother are electrocuted by Dredd. The death toll in Mega-City One is revealed to be over four million.

BEST LINES
Dredd's note: "Our missiles are prepared. We await your response. Dredd."

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd and a Judge both "Drokk!", Skank "Zzzz!" x4 and a "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz", a Judge says "Stomm!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
This story is a sequel to Battle Of The Black Atlantic.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Fail-Safe, a novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, initially serialised in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, also features a government destroying its own territory with a nuclear device as penance.

MISTAKES
The opening caption states that this part takes place in 2102 A.D.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: T.B. Grover
Artist: Ron Smith
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
In its final part, Pirates Of The Black Atlantic takes a surprising turn, but one that lifts this story from wacky nutjob attacks Mega-City One to one with massive international ramifications. Ron Smith's art is beautifully precise and the last page in particular feels epic.

Next Prog: Any Confessions?