Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 8

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 8

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 17

DATELINE
18 June 77

This prog also featured a Flesh cover by Brian Bolland and Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes, M.A.C.H.1 strips, and was the first edited by Kelvin Gosnell.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Early Cases 2, The Best Of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 2 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
The war is over, but Call-Me-Kenneth is still on the loose. Dredd tracks him down.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has reached eight parts (and therefore the first eight part story). First reference to Texas City. First six page Dredd strip to appear in 2000 AD itself.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a huge Meg-Oil depot, a Robo-Pound for lost robots. The city's fire department use flying vehicles with nets. Civilians report crimes to Justice Central, while Crime Time is a crime-related TV show shown in the city.

There is a Texas City. Meg-Oil and Texas City Oil are oil companies.

Pleasure circuits are a great honour for robots.

JUDGE DREDD
He follows Call-Me-Kenneth into the Meg-Oil depot and on board a flying oil tanker which the robot has stolen. He is knocked off by a jet of oil, but shoots an oil-covered Call-Me-Kenneth as he falls. The oil ignites are the robot is destroyed and Dredd is safely caught in a Fire Department net. Presumably he has crashed another Lawmaster in the pursuit. It is two days after Call-Me-Kenneth's destruction before Dredd manages to get home.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CALL-ME-KENNETH
Crazed, he heads to the Meg-Oil Depot and steals an oil tanker where Dredd destroys him.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He is granted his freedom for services above and beyond the call of duty (and in bringing the robot war to an end). He is the first robot ever to be free. The Grand Judge refers to him as Robot Walter. The slogan written across his casing now reads 'I'm Walter, Try Me'. Tired of his brief freedom he moves in with Dredd, uninvited, to look after the Judge.

MARIA
She doesn't like Walter and calls him a bug.

HOWARD, STEWART & J70 STROKE 13
They are each awarded pleasure circuits for their part in ending the robot war.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
18 humans, 1 robot. Call-Me-Kenneth kills thirteen oil workers, while four more fall to their deaths when he steals the oil tanker. Dredd kills an oil-covered Call-Me-Kenneth with a shot from his gun and the robot explodes.

BEST LINES
Call-Me-Kenneth: "Fire...hot...burning me...bad pain...not allowed...Call-Me-Kenneth forbids it...Call-Me-Kenneth rules...!"

WORST LINES
Call-Me-Kenneth: "But Call-Me-Kenneth must carry on...Do more bad things!"

CATCHPHRASES
Call-Me-Kenneth calls humans "fleshy ones" twice. Walter says Dwedd, fweedom, gwateful and wepay. Also "Keep 'em peeled." (see INFLUENCES)

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
As Dredd falls from the oil tanker, we see the Statues of Liberty and Judgement from Judge Dredd: 'The Statue Of Judgement'. Also Texas City Oil may well make and market Grade One Texan oil, Call-Me-Kenneth's tipple of choice in Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 4.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The presenter of Crime Time strongly resembles Shaw Taylor, the contemporary Police 5 and Junior Police 5 presenter, and indeed uses his catchphrase (see CATCHPHRASES). The series were five minute episodes that appealed to the public for help to solve crimes and ran from 1962 to 1992.

MISTAKES
J70 Stroke 13 is written here as J70Stroke13.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Ian Gibson
Letters: Peter Knight

REVIEW
It's a nice touch that Call-Me-Kenneth's final crime is simply another example of his first crime, but writ large. Ian Gibson's art does here more to cement the world-building of Mega-City One in six pages than the previous fifteen strips have managed. Dredd's first major storyline has made comprisons between Dredd and the robots, whilst also introducing some very emotional robots and so it seems as Dredd's scope as a character narrows, the possibilities of Mega-City One open up.

Another Judge Dredd Adventure Next Week!
Another Judge Dredd Adventure Next Post!

Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 7

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 7

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 16

DATELINE
11 June 77

After another M.A.C.H.1 cover by Brian Bolland, this prog also featured Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes and M.A.C.H.1 strips and was the last prog edited by Pat Mills.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Early Cases 2, The Best Of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 2 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.


SYNOPSIS
Call-Me-Kenneth attacks the Grand Hall of Justice, but Dredd uses the weather against him.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to seven parts. First use of the word Drokk and the term Chief Judge.

INFORMATION
Mega-City Atmosphere Control, is a floating Strato-Station above the city. Electric storms have been illegal in Mega-City One since 2012.

JUDGE DREDD
He can pilot a sky-bus and rewire both computers and robots. Dredd programs the atmospheric control computer to create an electric storm and the ensuing lightning strikes the heavy metal kids and they turn on each other.

WALTER THE WOBOT
Dredd wires him into the atmospheric control computer to override its inability to create electric storms.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CALL-ME-KENNETH
He declares himself as the king of the robots. He receives a hit from a heavy metal kid and for a while is presumed dead, but his body is missing.

THE CHIEF JUDGE
At one point Call-Me-Kenneth has him, but he has been freed by the time the Heavy Metal Kids turn on their leader.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
The Chief Judge states that thousands have been killed.

BEST LINES
Overly Dramatic Judge: "Look! Look how the very sky grows black! It is an omen - We are finished!"

WORST LINES
Walter: "Walter's feeble bwain does not yet gwasp your plan, Master."

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says bwain, Dwedd, gwasp, twying, weady and wobots. Dredd says "Drokk it!" for the first time and Call-Me-Kenneth chalks up another "Fleshy ones".

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The use of a weather control facility brings to mind a pair of Patrick Troughton era Doctor Who stories, namely The Moonbase (1967) and The Seeds Of Death (1969).

MISTAKES
The 'Continued Overleaf' is odd. Instructions on how to turn a page?

RETROSPECT
The 2012 law against causing storms may seem far fetched but actually causing hostile weather has been illegal in a sense since 1978: Weather modification, particularly hostile weather warfare, was addressed by a UN Resolution "on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques" and entered into force on the 5th of October, 1978.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Ron Turner
Letters: Tony Jacob

REVIEW
The use of lightning to attack the robots is great, but all the more impressive is overcoming the illegality of bad weather and the bewildered "Wh-what is it?" reaction of someone who has presumably never seen lightning. The rolling rota of artists on 'Robot Wars' invite greater comparison between them. Ron Turner's artwork is in no way bad, but it lacks the visual flair of the work of McMahon or Gibson. That said, the panel of the four Heavy Metal Kids smashing, crashing, bashing and mashing with childlike grins on their faces is terrifying.

Note For Readers On Mercury - Your Delivery Shuttle Delayed By Solar Storm.

Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 6

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 6

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 15

DATELINE
4 June 77

This prog also featured a M.A.C.H.1 cover by Brian Bolland and Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes and M.A.C.H.1 strips.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Early Cases 2, The Best Of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.


SYNOPSIS
Dredd and a small group of robots turn the tide of the war. The robot war becomes a robot civil war.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to six parts.

INFORMATION
There are at least 372 overseer robots. Some of the robot rank and file have begun to dissent. When the original law of robotics is reinstated into newly constructed robots, the two factions clash almost immediately.

Synthi-Caff is a coffee substitute.

JUDGE DREDD
He swaps the robot computer programming circuit so that the original law of robotics is installed into every new robot made on the assembly line. These robots attack Call-Me-Kenneth's forces.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He has located three other dissenting robots: Stewart, Howard and J70 Stroke 13. The phrase 'No Charge Try Me' is written across Walter's casing.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CALL-ME-KENNETH
He takes a squad of Heavy Metal Kids (at least three) to the steps of the Grand Hall of Justice. He wants all the judges dead and to kill the Grand Judge himself.

THE GRAND JUDGE
He is presumably trapped inside the Grand Hall of Justice by Call-Me-Kenneth's Heavy Metal Kids.

HOWARD
A robot who is disenfranchised with Call-Me-Kenneth's rule. Howard found the robot computer programming circuit containing the original law of robotics on the shop floor.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Hundreds of robots are destroyed. Stewart and J70 Stroke 13 throw an overseer robot into the melting vat. Dredd shoots two more. Call-Me-Kenneth's Heavy Metal Kids crush at least six judges in just one panel.

BEST LINES
J70 Stroke 12: "Corrode Call-Me-Kenneth! Robots were better off when humans were the masters-"

J70 Stroke 12 says corrode almost as if it is a robot swear word. I hope this catches on.

WORST LINES
Dredd (whilst shooting a robot in the face): "Heads you lose, Tin-Ribs!"

CATCHPHRASES
Both "Fleshy ones" and "Hail Call-Me-Kenneth!" are heard three times each.

Walter says angwy, bwave, cwiminals, Dwedd x2, fwesh, gwab, gweat, stwong and wobots, but has no trouble with control, destroy, factory or stroke. Even Dredd says wobots at one point.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
The panel of "Hail Call-Me-Kenneth!" being replaced on the assembly line by "I am the slave of humans!" is very like a sequence in Futurama's Obsoletely Fabulous (2003).

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: John Aldrich

REVIEW
The artwork has varied enormously across 'Robot Wars' and it's nice to have McMahon back. His Call-Me-Kenneth on the first page is very imposing, his page layouts are dynamic and the pile of robot bodies that forms a backdrop to the Grand Judge's plight on the last page is very nice indeed. It's good to see the return of the multi-limbed style robot as well.

More Next Week
More Tomorrow

Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 5

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 5

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 14

DATELINE
28 May 77

The prog also contained Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes and M.A.C.H.1 strips as well as a Flesh cover by Barry Mitchell.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
The Complete Judge Dredd 1, Judge Dredd the Early Cases 1, The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.


SYNOPSIS
Call-Me-Kenneth threatens to turn Dredd into a living robot.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to five parts. First work by Ian Gibson.

INFORMATION
Block-Buster Seven (a robot with a one ton bomb for a head), Robo-cuffs (robotic handcuffs that can sing or play word games) and at least two robot overseers (armed with whips dipped in corrosive acid that leave a painful weal on a robot's casing) are among Call-Me-Kenneth's army of robots.

Call-Me-Kenneth has introduced laws to govern his followers. The new law of robotics is to love, honour and obey Call-Me-Kenneth, but there are other laws as well. The penalty for harming robots is death and a robot's failure to lubricate its joints is a crime and the penalty is for the robot to rip out its own circuits and commit suicide.

JUDGE DREDD
Call-Me-Kenneth plans to remove Dredd's brain from his body, insert it into a Dredd-shaped android and connect ip his nerve endings to cause him pain every time he disobeys an order. Call-Me-Kenneth wants him to be in pain forever.

WALTER THE WOBOT
The servo robot is put to work mopping the factory floor of Call-Me-Kenneth's H.Q. and fell foul of one of the overseers's whips. He stole some of the highly corrosive acid from an overseer and used it to break Dredd out of his robo-cuffs.

OTHER CHARACTERS
CALL-ME-KENNETH
Dredd compares him to Adolf Hitler, he admits to being a big fan.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Call-Me-Kenneth insists that a robot commits suicide.

BEST LINES
Robo-Cuff: "I ain't a bad Robo-Cuff at heart, pal. If there's anything I can do to cheer you up.....sing to you..play a word game, maybe?"

WORST LINES
Dredd: "There was a human just like you back in the Twentieth century. His name was Adolf Hitler!"
Call-Me-Kenneth: "Yes! I'm a big fan of Hitler."

CATCHPHRASES
The robot describe humans/one/face as "Fleshy" once each.

Walter says bwing, contwol, cowosive, factowy, gwab, gwub, pwisoner, pwepared, pwoceed and wobots (in alphabetical order)

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
Dredd refers to Mega-City One as just Mega-City.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Ian Gibson
Letters: John Aldrich

This strip was Ian Gibson's first art for the galaxy's greatest comic and between his work for 2000 AD, the Judge Dredd Megazine and Daily Star he drew another 766 Judge Dredd strips. He also helped create The Ballad Of Halo Jones and I Was A Teenage Tax Consultant, drew for Ace Trucking, Judge Anderson, Banzai Battalion, Tharg's Future Shocks, Mind Wars, One-offs, Project Overkill, Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales, Robo-Hunter, Strontium Dog, The Taxidermist, Tharg The Mighty, Walter The Wobot and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith, as well as 58 2000AD covers and two for the Megazine. His website is here.

REVIEW
This part doesn't advance the story very far, but it does show us where Walter's loyalties lie. Ian Gibson's darker style works very nicely for the interior of Call-Me-Kenneth's lair and the last panel of Dredd's reflection in Walter's screen is great.

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Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 4

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 4

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 13 (the first to be described as such on the cover)

DATELINE
21 May 77

The strip was accompanied by Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes, M.A.C.H.1 and a cover featuring Tharg and a smattering of 2000 AD characters flying out of his brain.

PAGE COUNT5
5 (4 and 4/5)

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Early Cases 1, The Best Of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd and Walter infiltrate the Robot H.Q. and are captured.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to four parts. First appearance of Walter's speech impediment.

INFORMATION
Cybo Comp make robots. Their slogan is "For robots of distinction". Call-Me-Kenneth has set up his H.Q. in their factory in Sector Nine. The robot held territory expands into sectors three and ten.

Among the robots in Call-Me-Kenneth's uprising are a Robot Road Maintenance Gang, Robo-Dogs ordinarily used to kill rats, pincer units and two egg-shaped sentry robots with metal tentacle-like arms.

The Police use hover buses. The chef's special in the Judge's canteen is Soup A La Mega.

Plasti-skin is a synthetic skin covering.

Grade One Texan and Multi-grade are types of oil.

JUDGE DREDD
He infiltrates robot-held territory with Walter as his guide. Dredd is bitten in the left leg by a robo-dog and it is this wound that leads to his capture. Call-Me-Kenneth threatens to turn him into a living robot.

WALTER THE WOBOT
Unnaffected by Call-Me-Kenneth's call to arms, the vending machine robot hid in the kitchens of the Grand Hall of Justice and fear has given him a speech impediment. He acts as Dredd's guide in the robot held part of the city. Call-Me-Kenneth sentences him to work on the robot assembly line for a week, if he doesn't reverse his position on serving humanity, then he will be turned into spare parts

OTHER CHARACTERS
CALL-ME-KENNETH
The robot assembly line at his H.Q. is still turning out robots. His oil of choice is Grade One Texan with a dash of Multi-grade. Dredd compares him to a Roman emperor. The robots have begun using "Hail Call-Me-Kenneth!" as a greeting.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Dredd destroys at least one robo-dog, maybe all four.

BEST LINES
Walter: "Good boy, Good boy! Walter likes Wobo-doggies!"
Dredd: "Shuddup Walter! That "Good Boy" has just taken a chunk out of my leg!"

WORST LINES
Egg-Shaped Sentry Robot: "Boy! Are you two in trouble!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter's speech impediment forces him to say (in alphabetical order) betway, cwimes, Dwedd, weally, wemember, wobo, wobot and wobots.

The robots say "Fleshy ones/scum" twice and have introduced "Hail Call-Me-Kenneth!" as a greeting and we also hear that twice.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Cybo Comp made the K Series Robot and were present at the 'Robot Of The Year Show' in Judge Dredd: 'Robots'.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
Walter is described as having a lisp. He doesn't, he has a rhotacistic speech impediment, which means he struggles with the letter R and also cruelly begins with the letter R itself.

He also manages to say "destroy" without struggling.

RETROSPECT
Walter is the same height as Dredd here. This will not last.

NOTES
Presumably sectors correspond to police precincts and as the hover bus is marked as 9th and according to Part 3 their destination is Sector Nine.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Ron Turner
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
Dredd and Walter work really well together here. Some of the varieties of robot on show here are very beautifully drawn, but the egg-shaped sentry robot is odd, although not odd enough to be interesting.

More Next Prog!
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Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 3

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 3

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Programme 12

DATELINE
14 May 77

PAGE COUNT
5

This prog has another Dan Dare cover, this time by Mike Western, a Dan Dare Futuregraph as well as Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes and M.A.C.H.1 strips.

REPRINTS
The Best Of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01


SYNOPSIS
The robot war continues and it goes badly for humanity.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to three parts. First appearance of Judge Jack.

INFORMATION
(The events of this part apparently take place seven days after Part 2)

Thousands have died in the Robot War, including 104 Judges. Many Judges have been wounded. The Judges have erected robot proof steel barriers in an attempt to contain the robots. Named Judges: Judge Jack.

Among the robots fighting are marked with slogans which show their intended function:
Dig We Must for Mega City (a gardening robot), Repair Team, Garbage Crew and No Parking.

Industrial robots, the Heavy Metal Kids are regarded as indestructible. They have three arms: one with a hand, one with a pincer and one with a wrecking ball. They can breach the robot proof steel barriers and roadways. There are at least four in Call-Me-Kenneth's army.

There is a robotic factory in Sector 9, Call-Me-Kenneth uses it as his command post.

Mega City 1 Tri-D is a TV channel.

One of the battles takes place on a roadway at least a mile up.

JUDGE DREDD
Dredd leads the war against the robots. He hasn't slept for seven days and eventually collapses from exhaustion. He goes after Call-Me-Kenneth alone.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MARIA
Considers her minestrone to be able to cure exhaustion. She worries about Dredd.

CALL-ME-KENNETH
He has sent a crack robot squad against the Judges and set up his command post in a robotic factory in Sector 9.

JUDGE JACK
Judge Jack is among Dredd's troops and looks after him when he collapses.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
We see three humans being killed by robots (one set upon by Garbage crew robot, one stepped on by a Heavy Metal Kid, another crushed in its hand). Also, four of the Heavy Metal Kids fall a mile to what Judge Jack calls their death.

BEST LINES
Heavy Metal Kid: "Hello Fleshy Ones."

I don't know why, but this phrase seems all the more impressive coming from a Heavy Metal Kid. Also the 'Make War - Not Breakfast!' placard is great.

WORST LINES
Police officer: "It's squeezing the life out of me!"

CATCHPHRASES
The robots say, shout, chant and scrawl variations on "Fleshy Ones" seven times including another appearance for Fleshy Scum and now Fleshy Trash as well.

The heavy metal kids sales pitch returns from Judge Dredd: 'Robots' with a slight variation.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
I can can't imagine Dredd collapsing with exhaustion now. It seems quite brave to show such vulnerability.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Jack Potter

Jack Potter would go on to letter for six more Judge Dredd strips as well as A.B.C. Warriors, Invasion, Dan Dare, The Dead Man, Flesh, Tharg's Future Shocks, M.A.C.H.1, Mean Team, D.R. & Quinch, Shako, Tribal Memories, The Visible Man for 2000 AD, Holocaust, Mind Wars, Ro-Busters, and Timequake for Starlord and Strontium Dog for both.

REVIEW
In Part 2, Dredd only appeared on the first and last pages, with everything in between being Call-Me-Kenneth's story. This part reverses that trend with the robot leader only seen in one panel and Dredd in practically all the others, which reinforces the Judge's exhaustion when it hits. The massed army of robots and the battle sequence look great, but the rhyming robots are very, very odd.

Do Not Let Your House Robot Read This Story - It Might Give Him Bad Ideas!

Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 2

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Programme 11

DATELINE
07 May 77

This prog also featured a Dan Dare cover by Brian Bolland, more of the Flesh card game and Invasion, Dan Dare, Flesh, Harlem Heroes and M.A.C.H.1 strips.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd the Early Cases 1, The Best of 2000AD, The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.


SYNOPSIS
Dredd calls for the robots to be dismantled and resigns when his request is refused. Call-Me-Kenneth is reconstructed and begins his war against humanity.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has lasted to two parts. The Grand Judge and Call-Me-Kenneth both reappear which marks the first reappearance of a character other than Dredd.

INFORMATION
The citizens of Mega-City One would never agree to working more than a ten hour a week.
XTV is one of Mega-City One's TV channels, it broadcasts a programme called Medicine Today, which broadcasts robot repairs (presumably it also features medical operations as well). The programme is interrupted by Call-Me-Kenneth's call to arms. The Robot uprising affects Sectors Two, Four, Seven and Nine of the city at least.

Robots have obedience banks and apparently feel pain when breaking the laws of robotics.

JUDGE DREDD
He calls for special powers to destroy all the hi-grade robots in the city and resigns when the Grand Judge refuses to grant them to him. Dredd returns when the crisis he predicted occurs and the Grand Judge is forced to pass the very same laws anyway.

OTHER CHARACTERS
THE GRAND JUDGE
The Grand Judge sits in the Council Hall of Justice. He has the power to pass emergency laws to declare war on the robots, but does not use it pre-emptively at Dredd's request for apparently political reasons.

CALL-ME-KENNETH
Robot K12 Call-Me-Kenneth killed fourteen people. Doctor Arnold Wisenheimer rebuilds him and provides him with a new body casing, a new head unit with an improved third eye and his left forearm is now replaced with a carpenter's drill. He is accidentally reactivated live on TV, by the charge from a soldering lance dropped into his circuitry. He uses the broadcast as a platform to call for a robot uprising and kills Wisenheimer live on TV.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
At least five. Wisenheimer is killed by Call-Me-Kenneth with his brand new drill (see below). Graham throws both his masters out of a window two miles up. The Android Office Workers stab their boss to death with their umbrellas. Another human is thrown from a balcony.

BEST LINES
Wisenheimer: "Please...not ze carpenter's drill!"

You had that coming, mate.

WORST LINES
Wisenheimer: "You stupid voman! You haf sent ze activating charge through ze robot!"

CATCHPHRASES
Call-Me-Kenneth uses variations on his phrase "Fleshy Ones" five times, while impressionable Graham copies it once and emballishes it to "Fleshy Scum".

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
There are references to Call-Me-Kenneth's activities in 'Robot Wars', Part 1, and it transpires that fourteen people died as a result of his robbery.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Android Office Workers look just like Clark Kent, alter-ego of Superman (1938).

MISTAKES
It's unfortunate that Graham seems to blow a fuse from his groin (below).

RETROSPECT
It's interesting that they play the Dredd resigns card as soon as this and also that they choose to resolve it so quickly.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: John Wagner
Artist: Ron Turner
Letters: Bill Nuttall

REVIEW
It's great to see Dredd sticking to his principles, but it would be nice to have seen Citizen Dredd walking around Mega-City One as it falls apart and the moment of realisation that his city needs him. The new design for Call-Me-Kenneth is impressive, but the logic in him acquiring it is a bit odd. The artwork varies, but the panels featuring an army of Clark Kents marching toward the reader and Wisenheimer about to get drilled are astonishingly good.

Next - Night Of The Judges!