Judge Dredd: Elvis, Part Four

NAME
Judge Dredd: Elvis, Part Four

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 56

DATELINE
18 Mar 78

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Annual 1991, The Complete Judge Dredd 5 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd is trapped inside Elvis the killer car.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First four part story, first time a multi-part story has been only been explicitly labelled as such part way through.

INFORMATION
(The year is 2100)
Luna City has a TV studio and a council.

Judges use a secret symbolic code which can communinicate a lot of detail very simply. Named Judges: Judge Pard.

Corrodo guns fire a corrosive acid.

Cooling systems in cars can reduced the internal temperature to below freezing.

JUDGE-MARSHAL DREDD
He is held prisoner inside Elvis and threatens to kill him. He is stuck there throughout the parade and subsequent TV appearance. He uses a Judges' secret code of symbols to request a group of autograph unter meet the car after the TV show. He uses Elvis' chemistry set to start a fire that forced the car's emergency fire procedure to eject Dredd.

OTHER CHARACTERS
WALTER THE WOBOT
He is still tied up.

ELVIS
He kidnaps Dredd and drives him to Justrice Central. He holds Luna City to ransom, requesting a parade with bands, majorettes, clowns, songs, toys and his own television programme. Dredd starts a fire which causes Elvis' emergency fire procedure to eject him. Surrounding Judges attacked him with corrodo guns.

JUDGE TEX
He accedes to Elvis' demands and organises him a parade and TV appearance.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
One. Elvis killed by Corrodo gunner Judges.

BEST LINES
Pard: "Now he's making the council lick his tyres clean!"

WORST LINES
Tex: "It's the car - Elvis!"

Yep.

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says Dwedd and Wascal.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Elvis gets a theme song that seems to be sung to the tune of the Oscar winning 'Theme From Shaft' (1971).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Ian Gibson
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
Elvis repeated several elements of Robot Wars and although it hasn't got the charm of the earlier story it comes to an end in a strip that manages to be more fun than the death of a mass murdering talking car with the personality of a five year old and a brief TV career has any right to be. Getting Dredd inside the car is a master stroke, but it does beg the question why he didn't start his fire a little earlier?

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