Walter The Wobot: 'Radio Walter'

NAME
Walter The Wobot: 'Radio Walter'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 57

DATELINE
25 Mar 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Walter appears on a pirate radio station.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First letters on Walter The Wobot by Steve Potter, first explicit appearance by Judge Dredd in Walter's strip.

INFORMATION
The penalty for broadcasting without a licence on Luna-1 can be one million credits.

Radio Funk is a Luna-1 pirate radio station featuring DJ O.B. Noxious.

Luna-1's leading citizens have access to hot lines which get preferential treatment.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He appears on Radio Funk as a mystery guest and callers have to guess his identity.

OTHER CHARACTERS
JUDGE MARSHAL DREDD
He sentences O.B. Noxious to pay a fine of one million credits for broadcasting without a licence.

O.B. NOXIOUS
He is a Radio Funk DJ. He is fined one million credits for broadcasting without a licence and declares himself bankrupt.

ARRESTS
None, although O.B. Noxious is fined.

DEATHS
None, although O.B. Noxious may well commit suicide.

BEST LINES
Walter: "Wight on! Here's my favowite twack..."

WORST LINES
O.B. Noxious: "Kiddies, you are gonna 'dread' hearing the answer - hint! hint!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says and/or has written: bankwupt, Dwedd, electwonic, favouwite, gwacious, gwateful, gweetings, twack, Uwire, Vewa, wadio, weggae and wight.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Walter has clearly learned nothing from the Judge Dredd strip 'You Bet Your Life' and it's very odd that this strip has nothing to do with the transistor radio unveiled at the end of Walter's Brother.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Handel's Walter Music obviously references the Water Music (1717) composed by George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). Vera Lynn (born 1917) famous for songs like 'We'll Meet Again' her performances during World War II earned her the nickname "The Forces' Sweetheart". Uriah Heep are a British rock band formed in 1969 that were very successful in the 1970's, while Grateful Dead were an American rock band active between 1965 and 1995.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Joe Collins
Artist: Brian Bolland
Letters: Steve Potter

Steve Potter lettered ABC Warriors, Judge Anderson, Ant Wars, Darkie's Mob, D.R. & Quinch, Judge Dredd, Finn, Firekind, Holocaust, Indigo Prime, The Ballad Of Halo Jones, Marshal Law, Max Normal, Mean Machine, The Mean Arena, Mean Team, Mind Wars, Missionary Man, Nemesis The Warlock, Ro-Busters, Rogue Trooper, Sinister Dexter, Slaine, Strontium Dog, Tales Of Telguuth, Tharg's Future Shocks, Time Flies, Timequake, Time Twisters, Torquemada and a two part one-off called The Amazing Maze Dumoir among others. He also provided colours for an Ace Trucking Co. strip called Stowaway Lugjacker.

REVIEW
This is a very odd little strip. How has Walter found his way on to the radio? Coming so soon after Gus was turned into a radio and yet having apparently no connection to 'Walter's Brother', while Dredd has previously caught Walter committing petty crimes and let him off, but here he is caught red handed and his crime is broadcast to the citizens of Luna-1, yet there appear to be no consequences for him. It's one thing for these strips to be a silly runaround for Walter, but it's almost unforgivable for them to undermine the original strip.

Next Pwog: "Qwiz" Show!