Walter The Wobot: The Frankenheim Monster, Part 2 - Sinister Surgeon

NAME
Walter The Wobot: The Frankenheim Monster, Part 2 - Sinister Surgeon

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 60

DATELINE
17 Apr 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Definitive Ed. Metal Fatigue, Judge Death Classic Judge Dredd, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 1 and The Best Of 2000AD Monthly 49.

SYNOPSIS
Walter is delivered to Frankenheim.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
In theory, mind switch experiments are possible.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He is magnetic. Ygor delivers him to Doc Frankenheim.

OTHER CHARACTERS
DOC FRANKENHEIM
He is a scientist, who plans to conduct a mind switch experiment.

YGOR
He delivers Walter to Doc Frankenheim.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Frankenheim (to Ygor): "You moron, Ygor. All you are to me is a work horse!"

WORST LINES
Frankenheim: "I suppose tinhead might be useful later on, but now......on with the darkest scientific experiment of them all...mind switch!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says cweeps, cwikey, gweat and gwavewobbing, while Ygor says exshperiments, mashter, promished, shervent, shurprise,

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
None.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Joe Collins
Artist: Brian Bolland
Letters: Pete Knight

REVIEW
Walter's clinking escape attempt is great, but other than that there isn't much here.

Next Prog: The Switch

Walter The Wobot: The Frankenheim Monster, Part 1

NAME
Walter The Wobot: The Frankenheim Monster, Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 59

DATELINE
8 Apr 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Definitive Ed. Metal Fatigue, Judge Death Classic Judge Dredd, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 1 and The Best Of 2000AD Monthly 49.

SYNOPSIS
Walter gets abducted by a bodysnatcher.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First

INFORMATION
Lunar City has a morgue.

The 3 Widdle Pigs is a children's book.

Robots are reputed to be unbeatable at chess.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He plays chess with Dredd and lets him win. He encounters Igor struggling with a heavy load outside the Lunar Morgue and helps him carry it. When it is revealed to be a corpse, Igor abducts Walter.

OTHER CHARACTERS
JUDGE DREDD
He plays chess with Walter and wins every time. Porridge is his favourite breakfast meal.

YGOR
He steals a body form the Lunar Morgue and kidnaps Walter when he attempts to help.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Dredd: "Checkmate. I win again, Walter. I thought robots were unbeatable at chess."

WORST LINES
Walter: "Weading you a bedtime stowy, Judge Dwedd!"
Dredd: "How kind. Now why don't you do something useful - like disappear."

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says bweakfast, bwighten, cwaft, cwipes, Dwedd, pawallel, powwidge, pwecision, pwoblem, stowy, thwee, twouble, weading and welease, but manages a Dredd along the way.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
This strip is set during Walter's time on Lunar 1 and so before the accompanying Judge Dredd: Return To Mega-City.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Igor or Ygor is a traditional characterisation of a hunch-backed henchman to a villain. The image of this character comes from the combination of the hunchbacked lab assistant in Frankenstein (1931), a character called Fritz and a mad blacksmith with a twisted spine called Ygor from the sequels Son Of Frankenstein (1939) and The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942). The characterisation was parodied in Young Frankenstein (1974) with Marty Feldman's hunchbacked assistant who pronounced his name "Eye-gor".

MISTAKES
Widdle?

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Joe Collins
Artist: Brian Bolland
Letters: Tony Jacob

REVIEW
Walter's adventures take an interesting twist here. Dredd is depicted in quite an enigmatic way and the panel of Walter shown from above is very nice indeed.

Next Prog: Sinister Surgeon

Judge Dredd: Bring Me The Head Of Judge Dredd

NAME
Judge Dredd: Bring Me The Head Of Judge Dredd

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 88

DATELINE
28 Oct 78

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Epics: Judge Caligula 1, Judge Dredd Epics: The Complete Judge Caligula, The Complete Judge Dredd 8, Judge Dredd 9, Judge Dredd Epics: The Day The Law Died and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 02. The story also formed part of the Judge Dredd radio adaptation of The Day The Law Died.

SYNOPSIS
As the Judges search for Dredd, he searches for a robot replacement to prove his innocence.

FIRSTS & LASTS
The first revelation that the other Dredd is a robot.

INFORMATION
Justice Central keeps incredibly detailed files on Judges.

Moderna Robots have a facility in Mega-City One, they build robots and have a largely robot workforce.

JUDGE DREDD
He is still missing and the resulting manhunt is the biggest in Mega-City history. He seeks out Max Normal for help and on his suggestion Dredd investigates Moderna Robots. He fights and destroys the Dredd robot, but uses its head to prove his innocence.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CHIEF JUDGE GOODMAN
Dredd's arrest has hit him hard.

DEPUTY CHIEF JUDGE CAL
He has designs on the job of Chief Judge.

MAX NORMAL
He informs Dredd of Chick Parker at Moderna Robots and suggests he may have built a robot Dredd.

CHICK PARKER
An engineer at Moderna Robots with gambling debts which he managed to pay off last week. He designed the Dredd robot. Parker was murdered in his office at work.

THE DREDD ROBOT
It is with information on Dredd from his file at Justice Central. It fights Dredd at Moderna Robots, but the Judge destroys it with an industrial scrap magnet and furnace. Only the head it retrieved.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Two. Chick Parker has been shot dead. Dredd destroys the Dredd robot with an industrial scrap magnet and furnace.

BEST LINES
An honest criminal: "Mega-City won't be safe for an honest criminal till they find Judge Dredd!"

WORST LINES
Dredd: "Gotta go for him!"

Yep.

CATCHPHRASES
"My Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia was a 1974 film directed by Sam Peckinpah.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: McCarthy/Ewins
Letters: T. Frame

REVIEW
It's great to see Dredd back on form and both the art and the script are fantastic here.

Next Prog: The Day The Law Died!

Ro-Busters: The Preying Mantis...Inside Story

NAME
Ro-Busters: The Preying Mantis...Inside Story

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Summer Special

DATELINE
Probably 1 June 78

PAGE COUNT
2

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
A look inside the Preying Mantis.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Ro-Busters without Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein.

INFORMATION
The Preying Mantis is divided into four sections: the Nose Section, the Command Module, the Engine Sub-Module and the Rear Section.

The Nose Section contains an air intake for the engine, the pilot 'Droid', special anti-plague shells containing Liquasium 50 gas and a Global Dynamics' Mark 4 Turbo-fan engine, which provides 60,000lb thrust, with afterburner. This section also serves as a fighter strike craft.

The Command Module houses Howard Quartz's luxury cabin, Miss Marilyn's office, a control room, fuel tank, operating theatre, corridor, post op ward and a Hume decontamination chamber.

The main engine bank is kept within the Engine Sub-Module, each fan is rated at 60,000lb thrust and is equipped with its own individual nuclear generator. The commander and navigator droid are also assigned to this section.

The Rear Section boasts another pilot droid, robot quarters (which are also used as a briefing room) that holds fifty robots. The overseer robot has private quarters. The Rear section also features the main nuclear powered Scramjet engine, a robot repair room and decontamination chamber. This section serves as a Sea/Space Module.

The Plague Pod is one of several possible pods that the Preying Mantis can carry. It contains a riot/assault ambulance with armaments, two hover ambulances and engine equipment with provides power to the thrusters.

OTHER CHARACTERS
METAL ANGEL
Ro-Busters have never lost a patient under the knife in her operating theatre.

MEK-QUAKE
He can be carried in the Plague Pod.

HOWARD QUARTZ
Howard Quartz's luxury cabin contains a rare Picasso valued at 100,000 credits.

HANDY ANDY
Ro-Busters' fully automatic robot repairer.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
None.

MISTAKES
24 and 25 are labelled the wrong the way round. "Ever since Starlord's first issue readers everywhere have been clamouring for a detailed look inside the Preying Mantis", except the Preying Mantis wasn't in Starlord's first issue.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Unknown
Artist: Unknown
Letters: Unknown

REVIEW
I love a cutaway diagram, but this is a bit dull.

Ro-Busters: 'Baltimore Belle'

NAME
Ro-Busters: 'Baltimore Belle'
(I have called this post 'Baltimore Belle', to differentiate it from two equally Untitled strips in the Starlord Annual and the 2000 AD Annual of 1981)

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Summer Special

DATELINE
Probably 1 June 78

PAGE COUNT
10

REPRINTS
The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
Ro-Busters come to the rescue of a crashed train and discover an unexploded bomb.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Ro-Busters in a publication other than Starlord itself.

INFORMATION
(This strip is set in June 2078)

The rocket-powered Rapid Transport System (RTS) travels at ten times the speed of sound through a magnetically controlled vacuum tunnel. The RTS can cross the USA in under 70 minutes. The main terminal station is in San Francisco. Earthquake Control teams prevent seismic activity and explode a robotic nuclear device every five years to relieve the pressure on the San Andreas fault.

There is a Robot Olympics.

RO-JAWS
He can be equipped with a fire extinguisher arm. He has to tow Hammer-Stein out of the tunnel.

HAMMER-STEIN
He seals EBC 15 into the tunnel where it explodes. He is buried in wreckage and Ro-Jaws has to tow him out.

OTHER CHARACTERS
ECB 15
Small Robotic half megaton Nuclear Device used by Earthquake Control. Programmed to detonate at Grid Reference 09143 Alpha, but suffers damage and believes its target to be Grid Reference 94130 Beta. It tunnels into the RTS and the path of the Baltimore Belle. The loss of vacuum causes the Baltimore Belle to crash. He has a twenty minute countdown. He detonates, but Hammer-Stein manages to seal in the explosion.

MISS MARILYN
She presses the button that scrambles Ro-Busters.

MEK-QUAKE
He has a towing hook and used it to pull a submarine once. Mek-Quake tunnels through the wreckage at the Baltimore Belle crash site, tows out the children and is hailed as a hero.

METAL ANGEL
She can be accompanied by up to 25 little robots called sniffers who are designed to track down buried survivors.

DEATHS
One. ECB 15 explodes.

BEST LINES
ECB 15: "Hello, is this Grid Reference 94130 Beta?"
Hammer-Stein: "Yes, I suppose it is, why?"
ECB 15: "Because I've got to detonate here and I thought I was in the wrong place. But now I can blow up quite content!"

Hammer-Stein (whilst being towed face down): "This is most undignified, Ro-Jaws. What is there are reporters at the station?"

WORST LINES
Child: "Golly, Mr. Mek-Quake, you are strong!"

CATCHPHRASES
Mek-Quake mentions Big Jobs three times.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Ro-Jaws compares Hammer-Stein to John Wayne (1907–1979), an actor born Marion Robert Morrison and star of a great many westerns.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: V. Gross
Artist: G. Campion
Letters: P. Knight

REVIEW
A nice little story which again shows the interaction between Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein well and the pace is surprisingly good at ten pages.

The End.

Judge Dredd: Outlaw

NAME
Judge Dredd: Outlaw

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 87

DATELINE
21 Oct 78

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Epics: Judge Caligula 1, Judge Dredd Epics: The Complete Judge Caligula, The Complete Judge Dredd 8, Judge Dredd Epics: The Day The Law Died, Judge Dredd 9 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 02. The story also formed part of the Judge Dredd radio adaptation of The Day The Law Died.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd escapes and Cal orders the Judges after him.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First strip credited to two artists.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One's Kennedy Spaceport has a restaurant.

Named Judges: Judge Ochs

JUDGE DREDD
Dredd breaks free of his chains aboard the penal shuttle and orders the pilot to land at gunpoint. The resulting crash leaves the shuttle's bow inside Kennedy Spaceport's restaurant. He acquires a taxi the same way and flees the scene.

OTHER CHARACTERS
DEPUTY CHIEF JUDGE CAL
He orders all Judges to find Dredd and relieves them of all other duties. His office contains several images, busts and figurines of himself and one of Adolf Hitler. He appears to have written a book called Cal's Book. He also has a facsimile of Dredd locked in a drawer.

CHIEF JUDGE GOODMAN
He agrees to Cal's orders.

JUDGE GIANT
He fears for the Chief Judge's mental stability.

WALTER THE WOBOT AND MARIA
They comply with the Judges searching Dredd's home.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Pilot (after witnessing shuttle crash): "Get the name of that pilot!"

WORST LINES
Security Guard (in the path of a crashing space shuttle): "Dive!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd gives us another "Drokk it!", while Walter says Dwedd and wats.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
We pick up where we left off at the end of Crime And Punishment . Dredd mention Rico's imprisonment on Titan, seen in The Return Of Rico.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Dredd's line "Don't worry I got nothing to declare -- -- except my innocence" recalls "I have nothing to declare except my genius", a quote famously attributed to Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) at Customs in New York in 1882, but there is no contemporary evidence for the remark and it first appeared in print in Arthur Ransome's book Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study (1912), thirty years later.

MISTAKES
Dredd appears to take his guard's lawgiver, which would be useless and potentially explosive.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Wagner
Artist: Bolland/Gibbons
Letters: Dave Gibbons

REVIEW
The artwork is fantastic throughout and the set pieces are brilliant. These are exciting developments and both Goodman's fragility and the onset of Cal's madness are well conveyed.

Next Prog: The Showdown!

Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 3

NAME
Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 3

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Issue 3

DATELINE
3 June 78

This issue also featured Strontium Dog, Timequake, Mind Wars and Planet Of The Damned strips, Strontium Dog cover by Carlos Ezquerra and the first part of the Hell Planet game.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1985 and The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein save the day.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Ro-Busters story that has lasted to three parts and the first three parter.

INFORMATION
(The year is 2078)

Robots are employed as doormen. Malfunctioning robots are melted down and turned into new robots.

The Senator was affected by the red mist and jumped from top floor of his mansion, wearing only an American flag and singing 'Swannee River'. The children that were unaffected by the red mist had an antidote in their blood that could be used to immunise others.

RO-JAWS
Marvin allows him Ro-Jaws to drive him.

HAMMER-STEIN
He pushes Marvin out of the swamp. He is equipped with laser guns.

OTHER CHARACTERS
QUARTZ
He decides that Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein are malfunctioning and should be destroyed.

MARVIN
He allows Ro-Jaws to drive him out of the swamp.

DEATHS
One. Mek-Quake crushes a malfunctioning doorman robot. Quartz doesn't state whether the senator survived his ordeal.

BEST LINES
Grieving Child: "Y-you're not going to get into trouble - after all you did for us?"
Ro-Jaws: "Nah! Mek-Quake's a friend of ours! He's going to give us, er...something special!"

WORST LINES
Mek-Quake: "Mek-Quake be seeing you, okay...one day, pals...one day...oh, by crikey, yes!"

CATCHPHRASES
Quartz is "on red", while Mek-Quakes promises "Big jobs" again.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
'Swannee River', also known as 'Old Folks at Home', 'Swanee Ribber' or 'Suwannee River' is an 1851 minstrel song written by Stephen Foster (1826–1864). It is the official state song of Florida.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Pino
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
A satisfying conclusion with some nice detail about the senator's, sadly unseen, exploits and Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein lying to make the grieving boy feel better.

Next Week: 'You May Be Only Partly Human - But You'll Fry Too!'

Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 2

NAME
Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Issue 3

DATELINE
27 May 78

This appeared with Strontium Dog, Timequake, Mind Wars and Planet Of The Damned strips, a free Starblast game and a cover by Kevin O'Neill

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1985 and The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein try to save a busload of kids.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Ro-Busters story that has lasted to two parts. First work on Ro-Busters by Dave Gibbons.

INFORMATION
(The year is 2078)

Robo-buses are robot buses.

Children seem to be unaffected by the red mist.

RO-JAWS
He was rejected by the quality controller at the factory where he was built six times. He can see in infra-red and spray caustic foam. He is paired with Hammer-Stein. Their mission is to save a senator from his mansion.

HAMMER-STEIN
He fought in World War Three. He is paired with Ro-Jaws. Their mission is to save a senator from his mansion.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MARVIN
Robo-Bus. He is a grade three robot. He has been programmed not to be driven by children or robots.

DEATHS
Two. A red mist maddened state penitentiary road gang, an alligator eats a kid's dad.

BEST LINES
Ro-Jaws: "Hey, kid...I know it's rough, your old man snuffing it...still -- getting bitten in half by an alligator is a quick death! And at least your old man can't tell you off no more..."

WORST LINES
Mad men: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
The Robo-Bus' interface bears the phrase 'Call Me Marvin' in the same vein as Walter The Wobot's 'I'm Walter, Try Me'.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein negotiations with Marvin could be an example of the liar paradox. Examples of uses of the liar paradox to shut down artificial intelligences include the Star Trek episode I, Mudd (1967) to confuse and ultimately disable an android and the Doctor Who story The Green Death (1973), in which the Doctor asks a computer "If I were to tell you that the next thing I say would be true, but the last thing I said was a lie, would you believe me?" and leaves it bewildered.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Letters: Dave Gibbons

REVIEW
As with Part 1, this is quite dull until Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein come to the rescue. The interaction between the two of them and the grieving infant is wonderful.

Next Week: 'Mek-Quake Do You Know What On You Know Who!'

Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 1

NAME
Ro-Busters: 'The Preying Mantis', Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Issue 2

DATELINE
20 May 78

This issue of Starlord also featured Strontium Dog, Timequake, Mind Wars and Planet Of The Damned strips, a Space Calculator free gift and a Timequake cover by Brian Bolland.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1985 and The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
The US Army contracts Ro-Busters to counteract the effects of a gas that sends biological organisms mad.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First flashback to Hammer-Stein war experiences.

INFORMATION
Ro-Busters base is on Devil's Island, twenty eight miles off the coast of South America. They have a robo-pound. The Preying Mantis is a multi-role rescue vehicle. The front section is a heavily armed fighter, the mid section is a field operations centre and the rear is a space/sea rescue craft. A pod underneath carries purpose-built equipment and robots for various disasters.

Robots come in three grades: Grade 1 robots are more intelligent than humans. Grade 2 robots are of similar intelligence to humans. Grade 3 robots are far less intelligent than humans.

A Lazooka is a weapon of war.

During the 20th century the USA experimented with a gas, a red mist, that sent people insane. It was deemed too dangerous and dumped into the sea. The gas is now escaping and driving the people and animals of Florida mad. Ro-Busters are engaged to solve the problem as they will be unaffected by the gas.

RO-JAWS
He is considered a Grade 2 robot as far as intelligence is concerned. His courtesy-obedience circuits are incomplete.

HAMMER-STEIN
He is considered a Grade 2 robot as far as intelligence is concerned. He lost count of how many humans he killed in the war, but admits it could be thousands. He lost his first head in the war, it was shot off by a human soldier with a lazooka.

OTHER CHARACTERS
HOWARD QUARTZ
He is attempting to do business with the Pentagon.

GENERAL DENVER
A three star general in the US Army. He represents the Pentagon in its dealings with Quartz.

MEK-QUAKE
He didn't fight in the war.

DEATHS
One. Hammer-Stein strangles a human soldier in flashback.

BEST LINES
Quartz: "I can offer you special cut price rates...ten per cent off for germ warfare disasters...Five per cent for atomic explosions..."

American Woman: "He is odd...but rather cute!"
Ro-Jaws: "Thank you, Mister! Would you like to buy me!"

WORST LINES
Florida Policeman: "The 'gators - drivers - all going mad! What's happening?"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Ro-Jaws asks Hammer-Stein about his war experiences in a manner very like that of a 1915 British World War I propaganda poster, "Daddy, What Did YOU Do In The Great War?", by Savile Lumley.

The Preying Mantis is very similar to Thunderbird 2 and the disaster recalls the Thunderbirds episode Attack Of The Alligators!.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Pino
Letters: Peter Knight

REVIEW
The opening Preying Mantis sequence is incredibly dull, but the flashback and the interaction between Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein are great.

Next Week: 'I'm Going After The Giant 'Gator!'

Flesh: Book Two, Part 14

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 14

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 99

DATELINE
10 Feb 79

This strip was featured with Angel, Judge Dredd and Ro-Busters strips, a Futuregraph and a Ro-Busters cover by Dave Gibbons.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Scavengers 25, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Atlantis Station departs from the Triassic.

FIRSTS & LASTS
Last appearance of Carver, Peters, Grose, Big Hungry and Atlantis Base. Last work on Flesh by Miller, Pino and Knight.

INFORMATION
Nothosaurs are not normally flesh-eaters, but man's activity seems to have altered this.

Atlantis Station's time travel facility uses a time control crystal. The facility was used to return the base to the 23rd Century, but it was lost in time. Deposited over the sea of another age, it sank and causes rumours of the sunken city of Atlantis.

CLAW CARVER
Big Hungry kills him.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He saves Carver's life. Peters dives to reach the base's time controls and successfully returns Atlantis Station to the 23rd Century. He is killed by a Giant Scorpion.

BIG HUNGRY
He kills Carver. He is pulled off the deck of Atlantis Station as it is transported back to the 23rd Century and into the time lanes. He was deposited into Loch Ness.

J.M. GROSE
He abandoned his post and is left behind as the base is transported back to the 23rd Century.

DEATHS
At least five. Two Trans-Time employees die in the pincers of a Giant Scorpion, Peters shoots a Nothosaur dead. Big Hungry kills Carver. A Giant Scorpion kills Peters. Presumably anybody left alive on Atlantis Station drowns when it finally sinks.

BEST LINES
Peters: "Get down, Carver - Unless you want you head shaved...The hard way!"

WORST LINES
Scorpion Victim: "No - Not the pincers! Noooooo!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The earliest report of a monster associated with Loch Ness appears in a 7th century account of the life of St. Columba, but the fashion for modern sightings seem to stem from 1933.

Atlantis is first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written circa 360 BC, described as a naval power that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa in the 10th millennium BC, but sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune" after a failed attempt to invade Athens.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G. Miller
Artist: Carlos Pino
Letters: Pete Knight

REVIEW
Book 2 comes to an impressive conclusion. Peters' epic dive, Grose's marooning and the revelation about Nessie are all brilliant, but Carver's death seems rushed.

The End

Flesh: Book Two, Part 13

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 13

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 98

DATELINE
3 Feb 79

This prog also featured Angel, Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks and Ro-Busters strips, a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland, a Futuregraph and the last part of the Flesh File.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 25, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Peter walks the plank, the Cybosaurs attack each other and Gunner Ben sinks Atlantis Base.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First work on Flesh by Carlos Pino and Steve Potter.

INFORMATION
Faults to the Cybosaur control system can spread like a chain reaction.

CLAW CARVER
He believes Peters dead and assign Gunner Ben to a Hunter-Killer Submarine to shoot Nothosaurs.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He was forced to walk the plank. A Pterosaur attack provided a distraction and he climbed underneath the plank.

BIG HUNGRY
He attacks a Cybosaur and damages the controls. It turns on the other Cybosaurs and somehow this causes a chain reaction leaving all of them free of Trans-Time control.

GUNNER BEN
He is assigned to a Hunter-Killer Submarine to shoot Nothosaurs. Instead he fires multiple torpedoes at Atlantis Base itself causing it to sink.

DEATHS
Probably hundreds. A Cybosaur kills the Trans-Time employee in the Cybosaur testing room. Potentially hundreds more drown as Atlantis Station sinks.

BEST LINES
Gunner Ben: "Yahoooo! I'm gonna get me some target practice!"

WORST LINES
Carver: "What the devil..? The whole rig's moving! I gotta get out of here - save myself if I can!"

CATCHPHRASES
One of the Trans-Time employees exclaims "Drokk!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G. Miller
Artist: C. Pino
Letters: Steve Potter

Steve Potter has also provided letters for A.B.C. Warriors, Judge Anderson, Ant Wars, D.R. & Quinch, Judge Dredd, Finn, Firekind, Holocaust, Tharg's Future Shocks, Halo Jones, Indigo Prime, Marshal Law, The Mean Arena, Mean Machine, Mean Team, Mind Wars, Missionary Man, Nemesis The Warlock, Max Normal, Ro-Busters, Rogue Trooper, Sinister Dexter, Slaine, Strontium Dog, Tales Of Telguuth, Time Twisters, Time Flies, Timequake, Torquemada and Walter The Wobot.

REVIEW
Carlos Pino's art is great, but the change takes a little getting used to. It's good to see Gunner Ben come to the rescue!

Next Prog: Mayhem!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 12

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 12

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 97

DATELINE
27 Jan 79

This strip featured alongside Angel, Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks and Ro-Busters, a Flesh File, one-off futuregraph by Bill Le Fevre and a cover by Jose Luis Ferrer.

PAGE COUNT
4

REPRINTS
Scavengers 24, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Carver's mutiny is successful and Peters is made to walk the plank as Big Hungry waits to devour him.

FIRSTS & LASTS
Last appearance of Grose's parrot. Last Flesh by Massimo Belardinelli.

INFORMATION
The Atlantis Station's Docking Bays are equipped with huge transparent hatches and guns.

CLAW CARVER
His mutiny is successful and he takes over Atlantis Station.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He is tied up and made to walk the plank.

BIG HUNGRY
He and his pack are poised to attack Atlantis Station.

DEATHS
One. One of Carver's mutineers pushes a non-mutineer into the machinery at Atlantis Station.

BEST LINES
Peters: "Grose! Damn you man - where are you?"
Grose: "Oh - er...down here, Peters! I - er dropped my compass!"
Parrot: "Damn you Grose! Damn you Grose!"

WORST LINES
Peters: "The bottom of the sea is the place for scum like you - And that's where I aim to put you!"

CATCHPHRASES
We get an "Aiiiii!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Smee was Captain Hook's boatswain in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G. Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Peter Knight

REVIEW
Peters walking the plank is a great cliffhanger as Carver's mutiny succeeds and Grose's grip on reality fails.

Next Prog: The Beginning Of The End!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 11

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 11

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 96

DATELINE
20 Jan 79

This prog also featured Angel, Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks and Ro-Busters strips, an Angel cover by Ian Kennedy, one-off Futuregraph and a Flesh File cut-out-and-keep free gift.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 24, Extreme Edition 7, Flesh: The Dino Files

SYNOPSIS
Peters takes Carver back to Atlantis Station, where is locked up, but escapes and starts a mutiny.

FIRSTS & LASTS
The first appearance of Big Hungry's pack.

INFORMATION
Atlantis Station can be transported through time at the push of a button. The Seaman's Rest is the name given to the cell at the very bottom of the station.

CLAW CARVER
Peters knocks him out and returns him to Atlantis Station, where he is locked in The Seaman's Rest. He tricks and threatens Frobisher to let him out. Once free he starts a mutiny.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He knocks Carver out and returns him to Atlantis Station.

GUNNER BEN
He shoots to distract Big Hungry from Peters and Carver.

BIG HUNGRY
He is scared off by Gunner Ben's shots. Big Hungry returns to the pack he left years ago, challenges the current leader, replaces him and leads the pack to attack Atlantis Station.

DEATHS
One. Big Hungry kills the current leader of his old pack.

BEST LINES
Grose: "It was Carver who stole the gold, eh? Just like I always suspected. It's a good job I know how to spot a crook when I see one! Yes, sir! I -"

WORST LINES
Peters: "Big Hungry! He's returning to his island!"
Carver: "He's seen us! We're cold meat, Peters!"

CATCHPHRASES
Grose chalks up another "I didn't get where I am today...".

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
The opening caption implies the Triassic was only two million years ago, which is a hundred and ninety-eight million short.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: T Frame

REVIEW
This part succeeds in making Big Hungry more powerful, Carver more dangerous and Grose more pathetic. Quite an achievement for a strip already firing on all cylinders, and yet this still runs the risk of repeating the story of Book 1.

Next Prog: The Battle!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 10

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 10

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 95

DATELINE
13 Jan 79

This Prog also featured Angel, Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks and Ro-Busters strips, a Judge Dredd Futuregraph and a Ro-Busters cover by Mike Dorey.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 23, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
The gold is discovered, but Big Hungry has found Carver and Peters as well.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Frobisher and Drake.

INFORMATION
Giant Scorpions are attracted to blood.

CLAW CARVER
He is in command of a Hunter Killer Submarine called The Saucy Sailor. He orders the trawler above cast off its net to catch Big Hungry. He promises a hundred pieces of gold to whoever finds the hoard.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He witnesses Carver killing Isaac and attacks him.

GUNNER BEN
He shoots the Giant Scorpions with a torpedo and the resulting explosion damages the submarine.

BIG HUNGRY
Carver orders the trawler cast off its net. When released the net sinks to the bottom and traps Big Hungry with some giant scorpions. The Nothosaur attacks a Mixosaurus to distract the scorpions and escapes. Aching and bleeding, he returns to his island to discover Carver and Peters fighting.

ISAAC
He discovers the gold and Carver kills him rather than share it with him.

DEATHS
At least three. Big Hungry kills a Mixosaurus, Carver kills a Cynognathus and Isaac.

BEST LINES
Carver: "That'll finish Hungry off! The net'll hold the brute till his lungs burst - If those scorpions don't burst them for him!"

WORST LINES
Carver: "You've bugged me for long enough, Peters! Now I'm gonna teach you a lesson - A lesson in dying!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Cynognathus was a metre long predator that lived on land in the Early and Middle Triassic and was closely related to mammals. Fossils have been discovered in South Africa, South America, China and Antarctica. Also a metre in length, Mixosaurus, was a relatively small ichthyosaur.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Chris Martin

Chris Martin is probably not the lead singer of Coldplay. So there's one thing in his favour.

REVIEW
Another great instalment, Carver's trapping of Big Hungry and 'rewarding' Isaac are brilliant. As our three main characters all end up on the same beach this seems like the beginning of the end.

Next Prog: Snap!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 9

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 9

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 94

DATELINE
6 Jan 78

This first prog of 1979 also featured Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog strips and a Judge Dredd cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Scavengers 23, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Peters is knackered, Gunner Ben is off his rocker, the Pterosaurs' attacks are bolder, Grose's discipline is misguided, Carver seizes the opportunity and finds himself in the middle of a fight between Big Hungry and the Giant Scorpions.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Grose's parrot.

INFORMATION
A normal Trans-Time employees work shift is eight hours with no breaks. Double shifts are permitted. Among Trans-Time's products is the Sea Food Special. The 250-ton crane used to bring catches of fish aboard the Atlantis Station has been dubbed 'Big Geordie'.

British Ley-Mek are a twenty-third century company with a reputation for losing working hours.

Synthi-Rum is Synthetic Rum.

CLAW CARVER
He volunteers to take a trawler and a hunter killer submarine to increase production.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
Tired from working a double shift he mixes too much slop into the fish mixture for the Sea Food Special. Carver transfers Peters to his crew.

GUNNER BEN
He is still suffering after his encounter with giant scorpions. Carver transfers Ben to his crew and considers him the best gunner on board.

BIG HUNGRY
He fights the giant scorpions underwater.

DEATHS
Two. Willy gets eaten by a Pterosaur atop Big Geordie, while Willy's friend falls from the crane.

BEST LINES
Grose: "...Cancel all synthi-rum, bacon and eggs!"
Hawkins: "But we haven't had any bacon for months!"
Grose: "Well, then reduce the pieces of meat in the Nothosaur stew from ten to eight!"

WORST LINES
Carver: "Get me a vidscreen sighting of outside!"
Carver's Helmsman: "Reckon you'll wish you hadn't asked for it, Carver!...'cause we're in the middle of a monster scrap between Big Hungry and the Giant Scorpions.......And it's gonna be a fight to the death!"

CATCHPHRASES
J.M. gives us another C.J. with "I didn't get where I am today by not liking spirit."

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
British Ley-Mek were mentioned on the Walter The Wobot Bluepwint. Groats seem to have replaced Stars as the unit of currency in the 23rd Century.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Grose's parrot repeats his orders like Captain Flint, Long John Silver's bird in Treasure Island (1881).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Massimo Belardinelli
Letters: Pete Knight

REVIEW
The opening advert, Willy's friend's outstretched dead hand and Grose's confusing the issue are all fantastic. The cliffhanger is exciting, but the narration is awful.

Next Prog: Screamers Die First!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 8

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 8

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 93

DATELINE
30 Dec 78

After a longer than usual gap the last prog of 1978 arrived containing this strip as well as Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog and a Flesh cover by Massimo Belardinelli.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 22, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
The crew of Thor's Hammer drown or end up as scorpion food, except Peters and Gunner Ben.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Gunner Ben.

INFORMATION
Thor's Hammer sinks and the loss means a 12.5% reduction in Schedule B for shipping fish to the 23rd century.

CLAW CARVER
He has returned to Atlantis Station and told Grose his version of events.

OTHER CHARACTERS
PETERS
He kills his jailers and free himself from the brig. He almost evacuates with the rest of the crew aboard Thor's Hammer, but returns when he sees Gunner Ben is left behind. He is almost scorpion food, but the giant arachnid is distracted by the sinking of Thor's Hammer. He and Ben build a raft and escape.

GUNNER BEN
He is abandoned by his crewmates as Thor's Hammer departs Svenson's Island, but Peters goes back for him. He and Peters build a raft and escape.

DEATHS
Several. Peters throttles his jailer with his thighs, and probably kills another with the laser lash. Thor's Hammer holes out and sinks leaving its crew to drown or be eaten by giant scorpions.

BEST LINES
Grose: "Hard work, Carver - It'll do 'em good. It made me what I am today!"
Carver: "I wondered what had done it, Mr Grose, sir!"

WORST LINES
Peters (whilst whipping a crewmate with a laser lash): "This isn't what I meant by whipping up support - but it'll do!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Grose says "I didn't get where I am today..." in the manner of CJ from The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin (1976-1979). Gunner Ben's name recalls Ben Gunn from Treasure Island (1881) by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Frame

REVIEW
This largely Clawless part was a surprise, but Peters comes to fore and the strip gets a new direction. The aerial view of the Thor's Hammer is great, but it's a shame it gets holed between panels.

Next Prog: Doomsday!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 7

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 7

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 92

DATELINE
25 Nov 78

This prog bore a cover by Colin Wyatt featuring Tharg The Mighty and his apparently talking armpits. This strip sat alongside Judge Dredd, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 22, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Carver uses the arrival of time travelling tourists as an opportunity to retrieve his gold, only to discover that it's gone.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of the Time travelling tourists and the Giant Scorpions.

INFORMATION
There are Giant Scorpions in an underwater cave on Svenson's Island.

CLAW CARVER
He takes charge of the latest group of tourists and uses the opportunity to return to Big Hungry's cave. He discovers that his hoard of gold has gone.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BIG HUNGRY
He eats Hank.

DEATHS
One. Big Hungry eats Hank.

BEST LINES
Trans-Time Employee #1: "Placodus been hauled up with the catch, but the Cybosaur will get rid of him!"
Trans-Time Employee #2: "Aye, genetic engineering may have turned the Cybo into a good line of defence - ...but me, I always reckons you can't beat a good old boat-hook with a sharp point!"

WORST LINES
Tourist: "Th-that ride was r-rather rough, I hope we've done the right thing coming on this trip!"
Chief: "Of course you have, sucker - er - friend! Welcome to your sunshine holiday!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Placodus was a genus of marine reptile which swam in the shallow seas of the middle Triassic period, circa 240 million years ago.

MISTAKES
The opening caption implies the Triassic was only twenty-five million years ago, which is out by a factor of ten.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Frame

REVIEW
The art is great and the tourists are brilliantly brash, but it does feel like it is in danger of repeating Book 1. The arrival of Giant Arachnids in the cliffhanger does nothing to alter that.

Next Prog: No, No - Not The Pincers!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 6

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 6

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 91

DATELINE
18 Nov 78

This Prog also featured Judge Dredd, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog, Star Pin-Up of the Gronk by Carlos Ezquerra and a Ro-Busters cover by Dave Gibbons.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Scavengers 21, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Carver finds a new way of getting home, but is unaware that Big Hungry has moved the gold.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of the Time holiday station.

INFORMATION
Beaches are scarce in the 23rd century. Bull Svenson and some of his men have set up a tourist time travel facility and hotel in a hidden creek on a deserted island.

CLAW CARVER
He discovers a concealed beach with hotel facilities.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BIG HUNGRY
He attacks a Tanyestropheus for entering the cave on his island. He has forgotten his young and instead guards Carver's gold. He moves the gold to a safer place.

PETERS
He and Carver fight. He is injured and requires medical attention, which Carver orders he receive in the brig.

DEATHS
One. A Pterosaur is killed by a Tanystropheus.

BEST LINES
Carver: "We're taking in enough water to sink Davy Jones, yet you want to move on! I reckon something's on that island which you want kept secret, but no-one keeps Claw Carver in the dark...We head for it right now!"

WORST LINES
Peters: "Carver stinks of evil! He murdered Svenson and the others and he's got to pay!"

He stinks of evil? How does evil smell?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Davy Jones' Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea and a euphemism for drowning. The earliest known reference is in the Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts (1726) by Daniel Defoe.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
A game of two halves. Big Hungry moving the gold is a great plot point, but Claw's discovery of the holiday camp for time travellers invites unnecessary comparison with Book 1, the Dino-Express and Orville Wainwright.

Next Prog: Day Trip To Hell!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 5

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 4

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 90

DATELINE
11 Nov 78

This strip appeared alongside Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog and a Futuregraph by Bill Le Fevre featuring a hunter killer submarine, but apparently not the hunter killer submarine depicted in Flesh.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Scavengers 21, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Svenson takes on Big Hungry and loses command of his ship to Claw Carver.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Peters.

INFORMATION
Trans-Time Hunter Killer submarines are equipped with sensors, emergency airlocks and an emergency command deck and is armed with explosive shells.

CLAW CARVER
He traps Svenson, Peters and another man on the flooding bridge of Thor's Hammer. Carver tells the rest of the crew that Svenson is dead and put him in command.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BULL SVENSON
He attempts to attack Big Hungry, follows the Nothosaur into an underwater cave and the submarine is trapped. The bridge is holed and floods. Svenson is trapped.

BIG HUNGRY
He hides from Thor's Hammer in an underwater cave.

PETERS
Helmsman aboard Thor's Hammer. He refuses to follow Big Hungry into the underwater cave and he is accused for mutiny. Trapped on the flooding bridge he uses a harpoon to smash a Perspex window and then climbs along the hull to an emergency airlock.

DEATHS
Two. Svenson and another crewmember drown on the flooding bridge.

BEST LINES
Carver: "Don't worry, men - You're safe! Your poor skipper ordered me to take command with his dying breath. Just show me where the emergency command deck is and I'll get you out of this jam!"

WORST LINES
Peters: "Carver! I knew I could smell evil on you, well you're not going to murder me, pal!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
Claw Carver is a great antagonist, but with the introduction of Peters, the strip gets the hero it needs. From the opening battle to Carver's mutiny and Peters survival, this part is brilliant through and a real turning point for Book 2 of Flesh.

Next Prog: Island Of Dreams!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 4

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 4

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 89

DATELINE
4 Nov 78

This strip featured alongside Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog, as well as a Judge Dredd Futuregraph and a Judge Dredd cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Scavengers 21, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
As Big Hungry goes on the attack, Claw offers to share his gold with Svenson.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
Time travel to the Twentieth Century is outlawed. Martian Joy Juice is a beverage that impairs mental abilities and possibly causes hallucinations.

Thor's Hammer and Horatio are among the submarine deployed to the Triassic Era by Trans-Time Fisheries Division.

CLAW CARVER
His claw came from a Deinonychus. His gold stash is worth a billion credits and he offers to share it with Svenson.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BIG HUNGRY
He attacks submarines from below.

BULL SVENSON
Captain of Thor's Hammer. Claw offers to share his gold with Svenson, but forces him to choose between saving survivors and killing Big Hungry.

DEATHS
At least four. Big Hungry destroys three Trans-Time mini-subs, and at least one contains two employees.

BEST LINES
Claw: "Before we get the gold we gotta kill that Nothosaur, 'cause the goods are stowed on his island!...and we gotta do it now! What's it to be - gold or glory?"

WORST LINES
Svenson: "Gonna whip, you, Carver!"

Why would you warn him? Why punctuate it like that?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The phrase Guess What's Coming To Dinner? is written on a torpedo and recalls Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, a 1967 American comedy-drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
This is great. The simplicity of Big Hungry's hunger for revenge is nicely juxtaposed with Claw's more complex appeal to Svenson's greed.

Next Prog: The Hunt!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 3

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 3

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 88

DATELINE
28 Oct 78

This strip appeared alongside Judge Dredd, Tharg's Future Shocks, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog, and a Ro-Busters cover by Kevin O'Neill.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Scavengers 20, Extreme Edition 7 and Flesh : The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Claw Carver gets settled in. Big Hungry goes in search of revenge.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Svenson.

INFORMATION
(The year is 200 million B.C.)

The Atlantis Station is the largest man-made structure ever built on Earth. Its facilities include a sick bay, a dock for Hunter Killer Submarines and a canteen. Among the dishes available in the crew mess is shark and seafood, Northosaur stew and dinosaur delight with cold custard. The station's controller can award extra pay for bravery.

'CLAW' CARVER
He works on the processing line and in order to impress Grose kills a shark that had attacked another employee. He is awarded with an extra month's pay, but he rejects it in favour of a transfer to a Svenson's Hunter Killer submarine as a gunner.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CAPTAIN BULL SVENSON
He captain's a Hunter Killer submarine. He and Claw Carver fight over a particular seat in the canteen.

BIG HUNGRY
He goes in search of Carver for revenge.

DEATHS
One. Claw kills a shark.

BEST LINES
Carver: "Huh! I could get more nourishment biting my lip!"
Trans-Time Employee: "Say, that's not a bad idea!"

WORST LINES
Carver: "I'm gonna give you a new name, too...Mush face!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
Graffiti is misspelt Grafitti in speech. (Dessert is misspelt Desert on a canteen, but that is more likely to be deliberate).

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: T. Frame

REVIEW
This little slice of life with Claw Carver offers a change of tone, a bit of insight into the day to day running of the Atlantis Station and some great Carver action. Big Hungry still feels like a straightforward substitute for Old One Eye, but Carver makes up for it.

Next Prog: Big Hungry Bites Back!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 2

NAME
Flesh: Book Two, Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 87

DATELINE
21 Oct 78

This Prog also featured Judge Dredd, Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog strips and a Flesh cover by Massimo Belardinelli.

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
Scavengers 20, Extreme Edition 7, The Best Of 2000AD and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Claw Carver arrives and makes n enemy of Big Hungry.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Claw Carver without Earl Reagan.

INFORMATION
Trans-Time employees serve a six month tour of duty as standard.

'CLAW' CARVER
After months lost in time, he zeroes in on the Trans-Time base in the Triassic period and crash lands his time shuttle onto the beach. Carver kills a brood of young Nothosaurs and hides his gold in their cave. He makes contact with Trans-Time employees and is forced to sign on for a six month tour of duty.

CHIEF HAWKINS
He doesn't trust Carver.

J.M. GROSE
He employs Carver to serve a six month tour of duty.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BIG HUNGRY
A very large Nothosaur. He often attacks Trans-Time's fishing fleet. Big Hungry returns to his cave to find his young dead.

DEATHS
At least seven. Claw kills at least seven Nothosaurs.

BEST LINES
Hawkins: "All Trans-Time bases have been built strong after what happened to the Cretaceous one. Did you hear about that, Mr...er..."
Carver: "Hear about it? I was there, man! Fighting off Tyrannosaurs, giant spiders, the whole shooting match - had to win time for the other survivors to get clear!"

WORST LINES
Hawkins: "This man thought he could steal a shuttle, too! And he's been sentenced to 20 lashes from the electro lash!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
'Claw' Carver was last seen in Flesh: Book 1, Part 17.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Nothosaurs were Triassic marine reptiles that lived from about 240 to 210 million years ago.

MISTAKES
Carver's gold bullion was in Trans-Time branded bars in Flesh: Book 1, Part 17.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: T. Frame

REVIEW
The opening double page splash is stunning and the return of Claw Carver is very welcome. Book 2 gets better and better, but Big Hungry is no replacement for Old One Eye.

Next Prog: Food For Thought!

Flesh: Book Two, Part 1

NAME
Flesh, Book Two, Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 86

DATELINE
14 Oct 78

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
Scavengers 20, Extreme Edition 7, The Best Of 2000AD and Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
Trans-Time searches for fish Flesh in the Triassic Period. The Triassic Period begins to fights back and an unexpected time shuttle arrives.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First work on Flesh by Geoffrey Miller and Massimo Belardinelli.

INFORMATION
In the Triassic Period, the Earth had one massive continent called Pangea surrounded by a massive ocean called Tethys.

Trans-Time have used construction rigs to build the Atlantis Station for fish-farming during the Triassic. It is equipped with a powerful magno-grapple. They use two man submarines and a larger mother sub to catch fish in trawl nets. Cybosaurs are a genetically engineered breed of Ichthyosaur that Trans-Time use as a defence against predators. Trans-Time had an operation based in the Devonian Period. Trans-Time produce fish fingers.

J. M. GROSE
Boss of the Atlantis Station.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CHIEF HAWKINS
Trans-Time employee.

OLAF
Trans-Time employee. He worked at Trans-Time's operation in the Devonian Period and fought an over 28 metre long shark. He is eaten by a Tanystropheus.

DEATHS
Thousands. A thousand tons of fish is processed and Olaf is eaten by a Tanystropheus.

BEST LINES
Unnamed but heroic Trans-Time employee: "Wish you'd worry 'bout grading the produce, big Olaf - If any grisly ol' predator slips through the Chief'll bite our heads off!"

WORST LINES
Hawkins: "Messy, real messy! I'll have to tell the boss and he won't like it. J.M. likes things to be neat!"

Neat is the opposite of messy.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Grose gives us a flashback to the downfall of the Cretaceous Era base seen in what is now known as Flesh Book One, which means that from the perspective of the 23rd century characters this takes place after that story.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Triassic Period lasted from 250 to 200 million years ago.

Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that first appeared approximately 245 million years ago and at least one species survived until about 90 million years ago, into the early Cretaceous. Askeptosaurs are from a family of reptiles with the wonderful name Thalattosaurians. Fossils have been found from Italy and Switzerland. Tanystropheus as a species has had a bizarre path toward classification. When fossils were first discovered it was thought to be a pterosaur with a very long tail, later it was believed to be an aquatic reptile with a very long neck (as it is represented here) and now there is a consensus that it was a land dwelling dinosaur which used its very long neck to eat fish from the comfort of the shore. Several complete skeletons of juvenile individuals have been found in Italy and dated to 232 million years ago during the middle Triassic period.

The Devonian Period dates from 419 to 359 million years ago. It is named after the English county of Devon, where rocks from this period were first studied. Fish reached substantial diversity during this time and the Devonian has been dubbed the Age of Fish.

About 372 million years ago, a major extinction occurred primarily affecting marine species, such as reef-builders, brachiopods, trilobites, ammonites and jawless fish. The reasons for the Late Devonian extinctions are still unknown and a time travelling corporation from the 23rd century and with little respect for nature cannot be ruled out.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Geoffrey Miller
Artist: Belardinelli
Letters: T. Frame

Geoffrey Miller also wrote for The Angry Planet and a one-off called Moon Ghost in Tornado.

REVIEW
This feels like more of the same, which is no bad thing, but it does feel as though it is lacking a central character.

Next Prog: Meet... ?

Judge Dredd: Crime And Punishment

NAME
Judge Dredd: Crime And Punishment

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Starlord Prog 86

DATELINE
14 Oct 78

This strip appeared in the Prog in which 2000 A.D., became 2000 A.D. and Starlord as such the line up changed to include Ro-Busters and Strontium Dog, as well as the return of Flesh and a cover by Dave Gibbons featuring all of the above. It was also the first Prog in which Tharg was joined by Steve MacManus.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Complete Judge Dredd 8, Judge Dredd Epics: The Day The Law Died, Judge Dredd Epics: Judge Caligula 1, Judge Dredd Epics: The Complete Judge Caligula, Judge Dredd 9 and Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 02. The story also formed part of the Judge Dredd radio adaptation of The Day The Law Died.

SYNOPSIS
After a hero's welcome, Dredd is accused, arrested, tried and sentenced for murder.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Deputy Chief Judge Cal, first use of Chief Judge Goodman's name.

INFORMATION
(This strip takes place on Monday the 12th October 2101)

The Mega-Times is the Mega-City One's daily video-journal, it retails for 45 credits.

Judges can submit expenses claims. The Special Judicial Squad investigate crimes committed by Judges. A suspect Judge is tried by a council of five who hear witness testimony and then pass their verdict. The verdict is made clear by the placing of coloured balls into a bowl: black for guilty, white for innocent. The verdict must be a unanimous vote for a Judge to receive penalty of twenty years penal servitude on Titan. Named Judges: Chief Judge Clarence Goodman, Deputy Chief Judge Cal, Judge Quincy, Judge Bili... (partial name only).

Cekrus 4 is an inhabited planet. The native species are the Cekretia.

JUDGE DREDD
He returns to Mega-City One to a hero's welcome and parade. He is arrested, tried for murder, found guilty and sentenced to twenty year penal servitude on Titan.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CHIEF JUDGE CLARENCE GOODMAN
After a crisis of conscience he votes that Dredd is guilty during his murder trial.

DEPUTY CHIEF JUDGE CAL
Head of the SJS. He takes issue with Dredd's expenses claims. During his trial he votes that Dredd is guilty of murder.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He arranges a welcome home celebration for Dredd with Maria. He gives evidence at Dredd's trial and is later attacked by citizens for his support of the Judge.

MARIA
She arranges a welcome home celebration for Dredd with Walter.

ROCKY VOLLO
Actor. He starred in The Mutie Inside Him, Blue Suede Spacer and a remake of the 1950's film The Blob, during which he met Miss Nawxyus Slym, a Cekretia. On the 12th October 2101, they were married.

JUDGE QUINCY
Member of the Special Judicial Squad. He arrests Dredd for murder.

'BOX' PATON
Deceased photographer for the Mega-Times. He took a photograph of Dredd killing the editor and the next victim.

ARRESTS
One. Dredd is arrested for the murders of Box Paton and his editor at the Mega-Times.

DEATHS
Two. 'Dredd' kills two employees of the Mega-Times.

BEST LINES
Goodman (of Judge Cal): "Then thank Drokk you're not Chief Judge. Let's get on with it..."

WORST LINES
'Box' Paton: "Dredd's gone crazy! Gotta get a picture -"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says awanged, bwave, celebwation, Dwedd, gweetings, Mawia, stowies and wong, while Maria breaks out a "Mama Mia!". Dredd chalks up a Drokking and Goodman a "Thank Drokk"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Dredd has returned from The Cursed Earth to a hero's welcome and he is reunited with Walter and Maria, which means this must take place before Walter The Wobot: Meets Mek-Quake.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Crime And Punishment shares its name with a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), first published in 1866.

Cal's name is inspired by Caligula, the nickname of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (12–41 AD) which means 'little soldier's boot'. He was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD and contemporary sources describe his cruelty, extravagance, sexual perversity and claims of divinity as well as presenting him as an insane tyrant. He is accused of adultery, incest, killing for amusement, wasting money, causing starvation and on one occasion, during the interval at some games, he ordered his guards to throw a section of the crowd into the arena to be eaten by animals because there were no criminals to be prosecuted and he was bored. He holds the dubious honour of being the first Roman emperor to be assassinated.

The Blob is a 1958 American SF horror film starring Steven McQueen in his debut role, interestingly given the Rocky Vollo story in the Mega-Times the film was released as a double feature with I Married A Monster From Outer Space. The Blob was later remade in 1988.

MISTAKES
Assuming the calendar doesn't change the 12th October 2101 won't be a Monday, but a Wednesday. The population of Mega-City One is given as 100 million, but it was 800 million in 'Dream Palace'. The space shuttle is "bound for Jupiter - and the horrors of Titan", but Titan orbits Saturn. This could be explained away as a space shuttle with multiple destinations, but that doesn't seem to be the intention.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Brian Bolland
Letters: Tomas Frame

REVIEW
This is a brilliant bold step and a shock to the system. Bolland's art is as beautiful as ever, the dialogue is great and Judge Cal is an instant success. Fantastic.

Next Prog: The Nightmare!

Ro-Busters: 'The North Sea Tunnel'

NAME
Ro-Busters: 'The North Sea Tunnel'

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord No. 1

DATELINE
13 May 78

PAGE COUNT
9

REPRINTS
The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
Ro-Busters must rescue passengers from the North Sea Tunnel.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First proper Ro-Busters strip, first use of Hammer-stein's name.

INFORMATION
(The earliest this strip could take place is in 2078)

The North Sea Tunnel connects Britain and Scandinavia with one exit at Stavanger in Norway. The North Sea Tunnel Authority are based in Newcastle and led by a Chairman. It has tritanium walls which are breached in Area 4/J in a collision with a huge submarine oil tanker. Ro-Buster are called in to mount a rescue. They seal the tunnel, remove the submarine and save a number of human passengers.

Ro-Busters use a huge multi-role rescue craft called the Preying Mantis which can carry a sea/space vehicle and pods loaded with special equipment.

RO-JAWS
His suspension has seen better days. His right arm is equipped with a shovel and his teeth are razor sharp. On his back is the number XM753 and an exhaust for his water jet thrusters. Ro-Jaws saves a young girl called Sarah and at one point carries her in his chest cavity. He helps save Chatterbox.

HAMMER-STEIN
He is a War Droid Mk 3. His left arm is equipped with a fire extinguisher, while his left is a hammer arm. He is armed with lasers and grenades. He helps save a passenger and Chatterbox.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CHATTERBOX
He can operate underwater, but is briefly thought lost in action. He is rescued by Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein

HOWARD QUARTZ
Phone Number 5 is Red.

MEK-QUAKE
He has a heavy duty arm. His brain can be removed and he can still function.

METAL ANGEL
A medical robot. He can administer injections, perform surgical procedures and project a hologram of a human face.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Sarah (to Hammer-Stein about Ro-Jaws): "I don't like you. I only like the one with the teeth."

WORST LINES
Passenger: "I don't believe it...a tin freak disaster squad!"

CATCHPHRASES
Mek-Quake says Big Jobs twice.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
The North Sea Tunnel is evidently on the same scale as the Trans-Atlantic Tunnel seen in Harlem Heroes, Part 6 and the Judge Dredd strip 'Robots', as well as being alluded to in 'Dream Palace'.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein's names obviously recall Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) the musical theatre duo responsible for Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King And I and The Sound Of Music.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Carlos Pino
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
This is a lot of fun and the page count allows the story to develop at a leisurely pace. Pino's art is beautiful and the robot designs are great.

Next Week: 'And Then My Head Came Off...'