Inferno, Part 26

NAME
Inferno, Part 26

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 61

DATELINE
22 Apr 78

This prog also featured Colony Earth, Dan Dare, Judge Dredd, M.A.C.H.1 and Walter The Wobot strips and a Judge Dredd cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
4

REPRINTS
The Complete Harlem Heroes.

SYNOPSIS
The Harlem Hellcats top their division, while the Syndicate steals Artie Gruber's body.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First mention of Hairy in Inferno.

INFORMATION
Influenza is a rare disease now, but there is still no cure.

Undertakers use hover-hearses.

The Harlem Hellcats play the Virginia Vics. Score unknown, by the Harlem Hellcats won by at least one cave-in. Thee Harlem Hellcats are now top of the fourth division.

GIANT
He scores a cave-in against the Virginia Vics from an assist by Teejay.

OTHER CHARACTERS
TEEJAY CASH
He makes a flame-leap over burning bikes to reach the Virginia Vics' score-semi and passes to Giant.

HAIRY
The late Harlem Hero. He was killed playing aeroball, but his family had his body frozen and placed in the Institute of Cryogenics' Hall Of Future Life. The Harlem Hellcats reached the top of the Inferno fourth division on the anniversary of his death.

MR. TORSO
He poses as the late Robert Bartholemew to get into the Hall Of Future Life. Once inside he kills three staff and steals Artie Gruber's body.

ARTIE GRUBER
He wasn't quite dead when a medi-scientist had him frozen, so a cure could be found for his insanity. He was in Tank Eighty-Nine at the Hall Of Future Life. His frozen body was stolen by Mr. Torso and taken to an underground laboratory in New York where he was to be revived.

MR. CHUBB
He supervises the revivification of Artie Gruber.

DEATHS
Three. Mr. Torso shoots three staff at the Hall Of Future Life.

BEST LINES
Unidentified Harlem Hellcat: "Hey that's one of them cryogenics centres, ain't it, Giant?"
Giant: "Yeah! But it's just an upholstered morgue, as far as I'm concerned!"

WORST LINES
Fan: "Top of the fourth division...and they got there fair and square!"
Fan 2: "Maybe they ain't the low-down schmuks we been lead to believe.."

How have the Harlem Hellcats managed to clear their name?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Hairy's death was seen in Harlem Heroes, Part 27.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Sleeper (1973) maybe.

MISTAKES
It's odd that Giant singles out "the anniversary of Hairy's death!", because Conrad King died on the same day, in the same game and in the same panel.

The act of freezing human tissue for later revivification is not cryogenics, but cryonics. Cryogenics is simply the study of low temperatures, how to achieve them and how materials behave at them.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
The Virginia Vics' distinctive pointy helmets are similar to the Boston Bullets ' distinctive pointy helmets.

CREDITS
Script: Tom Tully
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Peter Knight

REVIEW
This is fantastic, even though it's essentially a build up to the same cliffhanger as last time, the conspiracy element is driving the story and doing it well.