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!