Ro-Busters: Prologue – The Day Of The Robot

As a result of Mek-Quake's appearance in Walter The Wobot, here's Ro-Busters:

NAME
Ro-Busters: Prologue – The Day Of The Robot

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord No. 1

DATELINE
13 May 78

The first ever Starlord came out on the same day as Prog 64 and also featured the first ever Strontium Dog, the first ever Timequake, the first ever Planet Of The Damned and came with free Starlord Trooper badges and a cover by Ramon Sola.

PAGE COUNT
2

REPRINTS
The Complete Ro-Busters.

SYNOPSIS
Ro-Jaws and his unnamed friend narrowly avoid destruction and are sold to Howard Quartz for his International Rescue Operation.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Ro-Jaws, Mek-Quake, Chatterbox, Howard Quartz, Ro-Busters and an as yet unnamed Hammer-Stein.

INFORMATION
(This strip takes place at some point in or after 2078)

Robots are used to do dirty and difficult jobs, for example collecting rubbish, tending the sick, fighting wars etc. BSA, Honda and Pioneer all manufacture robots. Examples of advanced robots include War 'Droids and Federal Recycling and Environmental 'Droids 2-L (or F.R.E.D. 2-L). 'Chatterbox' Sky Spies are not advanced robots, but computer based.

Humans can have artificial body parts incorporated into their bodies and as long as the individual undergoing organ replacement remains at least ten per cent organic they are still considered legally human.

Plasto-Glass is a building material.

RO-JAWS
A F.R.E.D. 2-L Robot. He has only done 5,000 miles. He has a flaw in his obedience circuits. He hit his master when he tried to force food waste into him and his master was hospitalised. He is due to be destroyed by Mek-Quake, but is sold at the last moment to Howard Quartz to work in his International Rescue Operation.

AS YET UNNAMED WAR 'DROID
A war 'droid. He is due to be destroyed by Mek-Quake, but is sold at the last moment to Howard Quartz to work in his International Rescue Operation.

OTHER CHARACTERS
'FLASH' HARRY LOWDER
He sells new and second hand robots.

MEK-QUAKE
He is by his own understanding a "pretty basic robot". He is due to destroy Ro-Jaws, Hammerstein and a 'Chatterbox', but is instead sold at the last moment to Howard Quartz to work in his International Rescue Operation.

HOWARD QUARTZ
A billionaire who was afraid to die and kept having his human organs replaced. He has been nicknamed Mr. Ten Per Cent. He runs an International Rescue Operation.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Ro-Jaws (to a clearly terrified 'Chatterbox'): "Go on...you won't feel a thing. Only us advanced robots feel pain."

WORST LINES
Japanese Mannikin 'Droid: "I velly, velly honoured if you be my masters."

CATCHPHRASES
Mek-Quake does a big job and Quartz answers a phone and says "I'm on green" (see INFLUENCES & REFERENCES).

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Howard Quartz "I'm on green" telephone routine is straight out of The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin (1976-1979). International Rescue is also the name of the organisation with similar goals (albeit more altruistically) from TV's Thunderbirds (1965-1966).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits on the strip itself, these are taken from 'The North Sea Tunnel'

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

Carlos Pino drew plenty of Ro-Busters for Starlord, Invasion, Flesh, Disaster 1990, Angel and Tharg's Future Shocks for 2000 A.D. as well as hundreds of Judge Dredd for the Daily Star.

REVIEW
This is a brilliant beginning. Ro-Jaws and Quartz automatically leap off the page and become instant favourites.

Walter The Wobot: 'Meet Mek-Quake', Part 2

NAME
Walter The Wobot: 'Meet Mek-Quake', Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 85

DATELINE
7 Oct 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Maria comes to Walter's rescue.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Walter The Wobot two parter.

INFORMATION
Named Judges: Judge Ditko.

WALTER THE WOBOT
Maria saves him from Mek-Quake. During the altercation, Walter is shaken and it fixes his scanner fault.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MARIA
She searches for Walter all over Mega-City 1, eventually finding him at the Robo-Pound.

MEK-QUAKE
He is about to dismantle Walter when Maria intervenes.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Maria: "Maria never-a give up! You let-a go of Judge Dredd's friend - Subito!"

WORST LINES
Walter: "Cwipes! My scanner is working pwoperly again!"

CATCHPHRASES
Mek-Quake says Big Jobs again, Maria says "subito!", which means "at once!", while Walter says awound, cwipes, cwuel, pwoperly, wecognise, welease and wotter, but has no trouble with Maria.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Maria nags Walter to make Dredd's tea, so presumably this strip takes place after Dredd's return from the Cursed Earth, but Walter is not surprised that the Judge has returned, so after their initial reunion.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
One of the Judges is called Ditko, which is presumably a reference to Steve Ditko, comics artist and co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G.P. Rice
Artist: B. McCarthy
Letters: Jill Raphaeline

In addition to this strip, Jill Raphaeline lettered one of the Tharg's Future Shocks in the same prog.

REVIEW
The first part was an interesting, if odd, beginning. The second part doesn't live up to expectations, nor does Mek-Quake's appearance add anything of note.

The End.

Walter The Wobot: 'Meet Mek-Quake', Part 1

NAME
Walter The Wobot: 'Meet Mek-Quake', Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 84

DATELINE
30 Sep 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Walter needs repairs, finds himself in the robo-pound and .

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Maria in Walter The Wobot. First appearance of Mek-Quake (and therefore Ro-Busters) in a Dreddverse strip.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a robo-pound for abandoned robots. Robots left unclaimed after 24 hours are destroyed.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He needs to get his scanner fixed, but the required part is unavailable and he is forced to wear glasses instead. He is mistaken for Elton Droid and mobbed by fans who are disappointed when they realise his true identity and leave him in the gutter.

OTHER CHARACTERS
MARIA
Walter mistakes her for a hatstand.

ELTON DROID
Spectacle wearing robot that has become a big star in Mega-City One.

MEK-QUAKE
He plans to destroy Walter.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Judge: "What are you doing in the gutter, Pal? Vagrant, eh?"
Walter: "Oh no, Officer! Walter is not a vagwant, he's Judge Dwedd's servo-wobot!"
Judge: "The Cursed Earth you are! I'm taking you down to the robo-pound!"
Walter: "But you can't! I'm a fwee wobot - fwee!"

WORST LINES
Elton Droid Fan: "Boy, what a creep, impersonating Mega-City's top-star!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says bwats, cwikey, destwuction, Dwedd's, fwee, gwief, Mawia, wobot, wuined, vagwant and, for no good reason, Mek-Qwake. Mek-Quake says "Big Jobs".

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
The Judge mentions the Cursed Earth, which of course is where Dredd currently is, Walter was declared a free robot in Judge Dredd: 'Robot Wars', Part 8, while Mek-Quake crosses over from Ro-Busters.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Elton John (or Sir Elton Hercules John CBE) was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight and one of the most successful musical artists of all time. His hits include 'Rocket Man', 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' with Kiki Dee, 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', the brilliantly named 'Just Like Belgium' and 'Candle In The Wind 1997', which sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best selling single in the history of both the UK and US Charts.

MISTAKES
Souvenir is mis-spelt Sovenir.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G. P. Price
Artist: B. McCarthy
Letters: P. Bensberg

G. P. Price is presumably a pseudonym for G. P. Rice.

P. Bensberg might be a clue to the identity of Bennsberg.

REVIEW
Walter needs glasses. It's a very Walter premise, but this bizarre strip lurches into an Elton John parody, then homelessness before execution. To compound this, the executioner has nipped over from Starlord to do Walter in. It's astonishing that Ro-Busters, and therefore A.B.C. Warriors, owe their place in Dreddverse not to the Volgan war, Hammerstein meeting Dredd or Golgotha's parentage, but instead to Mek-Quake's appearance here.

Next Prog: 'Mama Mia! What Am I Going To Tell Da Judge?'

Galactic Groats

NAME
Galactic Groats

FIRST PUBLISHED
Free with 2000 A.D. Prog 33

DATELINE
8 Oct 77

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
Unknown.

SYNOPSIS
200 Galactic Groats.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First use of the word boraxtenary.

INFORMATION
The Galactic Groat is accepted on planets Sirius VI and Pluto.

The Betelgeusians were victorious over the Zrag.

OTHER CHARACTERS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Groats (Galactic or otherwise) have been mentioned in Inferno Part 10, Walter The Wobot: Walter's Brother part 1 and Futuregraph: The Insult That Made Robot Out Of 'Walt' .

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
None.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Unknown
Artist: Unknown
Letters: Unknown

REVIEW
Spend them wisely.

Star Pin-Up: Tweak

NAME
Star Pin-Up: Tweak

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 83

DATELINE
23 Sep 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
Unknown.

SYNOPSIS
Tweak

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
None.

TWEAK
None.

OTHER CHARACTERS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Pin-Up borrows its aesthetic from Life, an American magazine first published from 1883 to 1936 as a general interest magazine. It became a news magazine with a strong emphasis on photojournalism between 1936 and 2000, before becoming a weekly newspaper supplement included in some American newspapers from 2004 to 2007.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Artist: Brian Bolland

REVIEW
I miss Tweak. This image is great and the pseudo Life magazine parody is wonderful.

Flesh: The Buffalo Hunt

NAME
Flesh: The Buffalo Hunt

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Annual 1978

DATELINE
1 Sept 77 (this date is from Barney)

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
Flesh: The Dino Files.

SYNOPSIS
The Trans Time Corporation sends Reagan and Claw after Buffalo.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Dinosaurless Flesh.

INFORMATION
The Trans Time Corporation transports buffalo meat from 1821. It's the first time they have taken meat from a civilised time period.

EARL REAGAN
He is sent back to 1821 to get a dozen buffalo. Reagan initially worries about altering the timeline, then starts a fight, a fire and allows several indigenous individuals to witness their transportation back to the 23rd century. He believes he was thought of as a Sky God by Young Buck who .

OTHER CHARACTERS
CLAW CARVER
He accompanies Reagan back to 1821 and attempts to bag himself an extra three buffalo.

YOUNG BUCK
Native American who witness the temporal disappearances of buffalo and Trans Time Rangers. He records the experience in an almanac.

DEATHS
Thirteen. Young Buck and Trans Time's Rangers kill and transport thirteen buffalo. After their departure the Indians kill all the buffalo hunters.

BEST LINES
Young Buck: "The white eyes take the food from our mouths! Kill them - Every last one!"

WORST LINES
Claw: "You guys shaken up a bit? You'll get used to the time transfer after a while. It's a bit like the old jet-lag people in the 20th century used to have."

CATCHPHRASES
Young Buck gives a variation on a theme with "Aheee!", while a contemporary buffalo hunter tries out "Aaaaeeee!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Presumably this is set before Flesh Book 1.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
Reagan is spelt Reagen on one occasion. The God picture looks nothing like Reagan. Why is Reagan so sure he hasn't changed history?

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Unknown
Artist: Unknown

REVIEW
The setting is an interesting departure, but the plot has too many holes, the artwork very variable and the lettering is unforgivable.

Futuregraph: The Insult That Made A Robot Out Of 'Walt'

NAME
Futuregraph: The Insult That Made A Robot Out Of 'Walt'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 82

DATELINE
16 Sep 78

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Walter buys himself a new physique.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a synthi-beach.

Merion Port is a location on Pluto.

Robots World is a magazine.

The Galactic Groat is a unit of currency.

For 150 Galactic Groats, Droid Atlas sells a build-a-better body lightweight alloy construction kit made up of Big Powerful Arms, Massive Gargantuan Chest, An Epicly Proportioned Proboscis, Tyreless Legs and Magnetic Personality to Robots, Droids and Synthi-Humes. For 10 Galactic Groats buys you a 32,000 page book of pictures and advice. Postage is included except on orders from beyond the final frontier, when 5 Galactic Groats will be required.

WALTER THE WOBOT
He takes a holiday on Mega-City Synthi-Beach and has an altercation with another droid which inspires him to purchase Droid Atlas' tie-on plasti-muscles. He returns to the beach to teach his bully a lesson and is deemed a bully himself.

OTHER CHARACTERS
DROID ATLAS
He markets tie-on plasti-muscles.

'CALL-ME-HARRY' SPONSIBLE
6ft and 125 lb, robot from Luna 1. Spokesman for Droid Atlas' tie-on plasti-muscles.

JUDGE DREDD
Walter has his picture displayed in his room.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Walter: "Dwat it!...Walter just can't win!"

WORST LINES
Walt's Lady Droid Companion: "Oh, don't let it bother you, Bucket Head!"

CATCHPHRASES
Walter says dwat, dwoid, dwokk, fwee, gweat, hewo, scarecwow, wotten,

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
This advert (below).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: G.P. Rice
Artist: Brendan McCarthy
Letters: Tony Jacob

G.P. Rice is Gary Rice. He also wrote for Tharg's Future Shocks, M.A.C.H.1 and several Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales.

REVIEW
This is wonderful. Presumably Walter is missing Dredd during his quest across the Cursed Earth, so much that he takes solace in a holiday. The parody of the ubiquitous advert is spot on and Walter's fate is brilliant.