Strontium Dog: Funfair Of Fear

NAME
Strontium Dog: Funfair Of Fear

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Annual 1980

DATELINE
1 Sept 79

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Strontium Dog: Search/Destroy Agency Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Johnny and Wulf search for Colombo at the fun-fair.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Strontium Dog strip in a Starlord Annual.

INFORMATION
Neridian 5 is a planet with at least one island on it.

Inter-Galactic Fun-Fun Tours built a fun-fair on an island on Neridian 5, but when the space lanes were re-routed the holidaymakers stopped coming.

JOHNNY ALPHA
He and Wulf go in search of Colombo. After Wulf is shot, Johnny climbs the helter skelter to get an aerial view, but instead he himself is shot with a stun-ray. He slides down to the bottom unconscious. He awakes to discover that Colombo has tied him to a duck. Colombo shoots a hundred bullets at Johnny but only successfully hits his S.D. bag. Colombo is about to shoot at Johnny again when Wulf crushes him with a Big Dipper carriage.

WULF STERNHAMMER
He and Johnny go in search of Colombo. Whilst in the hall of mirrors, he is shot in the shoulder. Gomo tends to his wound and he follows the sound of Colombo's laughter. He discover Colombo about tho kill Johnny and throws his hammer at the starting lever for the Big Dipper causing the ride to start and the carriage to crush Colombo.

OTHER CHARACTERS
COLOMBO HARLEQUIN
Criminal hiding in the fun-fair on Neridian 5. He adopts a variety of disguises. He shoot Johnny with a stun-ray and ties him to a large duck. When Johnny awakes he shoots a hundred bullets at him but only successfully hits his S.D. bag.

GOMO
The keeper of the fairground. He tends to Wulf's wound.

DEATHS
One. Colombo is crushed by the Big Dipper carriage.

BEST LINES
Wulf: "No-one shoots at Voulf and runs vithout a fight!"

WORST LINES
Johnny: "In the end we caught him fair and square."

CATCHPHRASES
Wulf says 'goot', 'vere', 'vill', 'vithout', 'vot' and 'Vulf'.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Johnny and Wulf are travelling without the Gronk and so this presumably takes place at some point before Two-Faced Terror.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The abandoned fun-fair is a widely used trope and, beginning in 1969, the backbone of the various incarnations of Scooby Doo.

MISTAKES
Colombo shoots a hundred bullets at Johnny but only hits his S.D. bag? And presumably his bonds?

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Unknown
Artist: Brendon McCarthy
Letters: Unknown

REVIEW
This is a very slight tale that could have featured any characters and therefore doesn't really feel like Strontium Dog at all. Johnny's abilities are referenced, but entirely unnecessarily as they don't help him in the hall of mirrors nor are they any use in finding Colombo. The captions allude to Johnny's powers to pass for dead as if it was an amazing skill. I'm willing to concede there an element of acting ability involved, but how impressed are we supposed to be that he can play dead? Colombo is very a creepy design, but we find out almost nothing about him or his motivations and how scary can he be if he fails to hit Johnny with hundred bullets? And why has Johnny put his hand on Gomo's head like that in the last panel? It's bizarre.

The End

Strontium Dog: 'Kane's Kolossal Kasino'

NAME
Strontium Dog: 'Kane's Kolossal Kasino'
(I have called this strip 'Kane's Kolossal Kasino' here, to distinguish it from other Untitled Strontium Dog strips)

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord Summer Special

DATELINE
Probably 1 June 78

PAGE COUNT
10

REPRINTS
Strontium Dog Search/Destroy Agency Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Johnny and Wulf solve a series of murders.

FIRSTS & LASTS
The first ten page Strontium Dog strip, first Strontium Dog appearance in a publication other than Starlord itself and the first Strontium Dog artwork by Brendan McCarthy.

INFORMATION
(This strip takes place over ten days)

Orbiting the planet Megista is Kane's Kolossal Kasino. It has multi-complex stores, cafes, amusement arcades, a dream-scope drome, a synthi-safari park and several casinos. It is equipped with weapon detectors.

The Galactic Groat is a unit of currency accepted at Kane's Kolossal Kasino.

Sabre-Catz are a fearsome big game species and highly prized by hunters.

"Anti-Grav" globes are a device which remove the gravity of a given area. They can be countered by gravity belts.

It is possible for a mutant to have normal offspring.

JOHNNY ALPHA
After a spate of killings on Kane's Kolossal Kasino, his services are requested when a mutant is suspected.

WULF STERNHAMMER
He accompanies Johnny to Kane's Kolossal Kasino.

OTHER CHARACTERS
KANE
A mutant with one-eye in the front and another in the back of his head. He hid his mutant status and became part-owner of Kane's Kolossal Kasino and Harry Gross' partner. He has a daughter called Yora. Kane uses his mutant abilities to kill seven businessmen and then he and Gross acquire their companies. Gross threatened to kill Yora if her father didn't comply. Johnny confronts him with the ringleader of Gross' men, Gross shoots Kane causing him a fatal wound. Before he dies he kills Gross.

HARRY GROSS
Part-owner of Kane's Kolossal Kasino and Kane's partner. He attempts to prevent Johnny from finding out the truth.

TZIXGRRL
Part-owner of a casino chain. He was killed in the synthi-safari park on Kane's Kolossal Kasino. After his death, his partners sold out to Kane and Gross.

DEATHS
Ten. Mr Amato, Mr Tzixgrhhl and Mr Nussbaum's heads all explode during their visits to Kane's Kolossal Kasino, four other businessmen are all beheaded in same way between panels. Harry Gross shoots Kane and the ringleader dead, but Kane kills Harry with his mutant power.

BEST LINES
Police: "So...on the principle, set a Mutie to catch a Mutie...it's all yours!"

WORST LINES
Wulf: "Und not forget your eyes, Johnny!"

Is he likely too?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Bill Henry
Artist: B. McArthy
Letters: Tony Jacob

REVIEW
This is great. The story maybe be quite simple, but the artwork is brilliantly complex and it's nice to see Johnny and Wulf "solve a case" in one sitting. Wulf versus the Sabre-Cat, the anti-grav globe and the reveal of Kane's eyes are the highlights.

The End

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.