Judge Dredd: The Invisible Man, Part 1

Astonishingly, I've been doing this an entire year now and so celebrate Dredd Alert's first birthday with...

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Invisible Man, Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Tornado Prog 134

DATELINE
13 Oct 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips behind a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland that proudly proclaimed him the Top British Character in the Top British Comic.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
2000AD Monthly 4, The Best Of 2000AD 8, The Complete Judge Dredd 12, Judge Dredd Definitive Ed. Future Crime, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 5, Time Twisters 13 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
The Invisible Man taunts Dredd.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
There is a war memorial in Mega-City One's Aftermath Square.

Fdk Bellini was an early 21st Century sculptor of note. His work includes Staplers At Attention from his office equipment period and E=MC², a priceless example of kept in the Mega-City Art Gallery. It is stolen.

Section 32 of the Anti-Crime Code gives Judges the right to strip-search individuals in public. There are 50,000 Judges in the Grand Hall of Justice. Named Judges: Judge Beck, Judge Onslo, Judge Nye (Chief of Science).

JUDGE DREDD
He gets a note from 'The Invisible Man' warning that he will steal Bellini's E=MC² at one o'clock precisely. He does exactly that. With the Invisible Man having proven the validity of his claims, Dredd receives another note asking for 10 million creds or the city will be sorry, while a third letter gives details of how to deliver the money. He deploys riot foam to attempt to catch the perp to no avail. He receives a fourth letter threatening him.

OTHER CHARACTERS
JUDGE NYE
The Justice Department's a Chief of Science.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
Judge (of Bellini's E=MC²): "Looks like a twisted old coat-hanger to me..."

WORST LINES
Dredd (whilst attempting to shoot the Invisible Man): "Get down, you men!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "My Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
The war memorial in Aftermath Square is a statue of Fergee http://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/judge-dredd-day-law-died-aftermath.html.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Invisible Man is a science fiction novella by Herbert George 'H.G.' Wells (1866-1946) published in 1897

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Ron Smith
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
This is all set up, but it works well and the ransom style notes provide an intriguing insight into The Invisible Man, while the art gallery sequence and the indignant strip-search are definite highlights.

Next Prog: Skrunch!

Invasion!: 'Hadrian's Wall'

NAME
Invasion!: 'Hadrian's Wall'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 24

DATELINE
6 Aug 77

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Invasion!

SYNOPSIS
Savage heads for the border.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
The border between England and Scotland is closed and heavily guarded.

Volgan forces are armed with Manseeker missiles.

BILL SAVAGE
He's at the Scottish border. He declines to join the attack against the Volgan border guards base. He later attacks it with one of their own missiles.

OTHER CHARACTERS
SILK
He knows how to fire a Volgan Manseeker missile and uses one against a Volgan.

DEATHS
Dozens. Two Scotsmen are killed by a Manseeker missile attempting to break into Scotland. At least seven local Resistance men are gunned down attempting to attack a Volgan missile unit. Savage and Silk's later retaliatory attacks kills at least twelve Volgans.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
Volgan #1: "Missile battery fire - No! look to the sky!"
Volgan #2: "Aaah! Boulders falling on us!"

CATCHPHRASES
A dying Scotsman yells out an "Aieeeeeeee!", while a dying Volgan only manages "Aieeeeee!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Cumberland Wrestling is native to Cumbria. Hadrian's Wall is 73.0 miles long and was indeed, as Silk says, built by the Romans between 122 and 128 AD.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Artist: Carlos Pino
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
This starts and ends well, but loses its way in between.

Next Episode + + + High-Risk Factor At Optimum

Judge Dredd: 'The Great Muldoon'

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'The Great Muldoon'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 133

DATELINE
6 Oct 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk, Captain Klep and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips and a cover by Carlos Ezquerra.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Complete Judge Dredd 12, Judge Dredd's Crime Files 5 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd attempts to prevent a suicidal showman.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of the 'Birdie' lie detector. First Judge Dredd art by Barry Mitchell.

INFORMATION
The Little Bowl is an open-air arena for public entertainments on the north side of Mega-City One. It has ten entrance gates and ticket prices range up to 1000 credits. The Great Muldoon is one of the acts.

Judges are equipped with 'Birdie' lie detectors. Once the Deputy Chief Judge has provided a signed permit for something, they are only one who can rescind it. Named Judges: Judge Sweeney.

JUDGE DREDD
He attempts to prevent The Great Muldoon's performance from taking place. He fails.

OTHER CHARACTERS
THE GREAT MULDOON
He plans to dive through solid steel plate whilst juggling rings, drinking a glass of water and reciting Hamlet before falling into a tiny water barrel using a particle converter which will allow his body's molecules to pass through it. He is killed during the performance.

DEPUTY CHIEF JUDGE PEPPER
He has given The Great Muldoon a signed permit for a his dive.

ARRESTS
One. Dredd arrests a robber threatening to explode a proton bomb at the Little Bowl.

DEATHS
Two. Judges shoot a robber attempting to steal the Little Bowl's box office takings and the Great Muldoon fails to pass through a solid steel plate.

BEST LINES
The Great Muldoon: "Whether tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune - or to sleep - perchance to dream!"

Splat!

WORST LINES
Arena Public Address: "Robbery! Robbery! Two men stealing the takings at Gate 2!"
Dredd: "We can't have that!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Great Muldoon resembles WC Fields (1880-1946), star of silent era movies such as Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934), The Bank Dick (1940), Never Give A Sucker An Even Break (1941). He mentions Harry Houdini (1874–1926) a Hungarian illusionist and stunt performer known for his escapology acts. Finally he quotes Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

MISTAKES
The Great Muldoon misses out quite a lot of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Barry Mitchell
Letters: Tom Frame

Barry Mitchell also provided art for M.A.C.H. 1 and The Lawless Touch.

REVIEW
The idea behind this is brilliant although it feel like a call back to an earlier era of the strip. The Birdie sequence and the Great Muldoon's ultimate fate are wonderful, but in places the art is a bit simplistic.

Next Prog: The Invisible Man

Invasion!: 'Tyne Tunnel'

NAME
Invasion!: 'Tyne Tunnel'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 23

DATELINE
30 July 77

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Extreme Edition 8 and Invasion!

SYNOPSIS
Savage helps a Volgan prisoner escape, before becoming a Volgan's prisoner and escaping.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
Volgir pistols are discreet firearms that can be silenced. The Volgans have homing devices.

BILL SAVAGE
He and a group of ex-miners trap a prison convoy in the Tyne Tunnel and free Geordie Price. He and Price flee from a Volgan patrol in a coal lorry. Savage realises he is not with Price, but a Volgan agent instead. The Volgan disarms him and orders Savage to dig his own grave. Savage attacks him with the spade and runs. He takes cover in a coal dump bucket, kills the Volgans following him and jumps into the water below as soon as he out of range.

OTHER CHARACTERS
GEORDIE PRICE
A miner. He lost two fingers in a mining accident. He was replaced by a Volgan agent with too many fingers.

'GEORDIE PRICE'
A Volgan agent impersonating Geordie Price. Savage and the miners free the Volgan agent from a prison convoy. Savage discovers he has too many fingers and the agent orders him to dig his own grave. Savage kills him with the spade.

DEATHS
Seven. The miners kill three Volgan guards. One of the miners is shot by the Volgan agent. Savage kills the agent with a spade and then shoots two more Volgans.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
Savage: "'Ere - Geordie lost two fingers in a mining accident years ago! The only bloke who knew him died back in the tunnel..."

Play it cool, Bill.

CATCHPHRASES
"Aieee!" and "Aieeeee!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
The year of the massive Volgan invasion of Britain is given as 1994.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Artist: Mike Dorey
Letters: John Aldrich

REVIEW
Once again this has all the usual elements of an Invasion! strip: Savage assisting another star of the Resistance, escaping the Volgans in a lorry and some pun-friendly graphic violence. Crucially however, one of those elements is not all it appears to be and the Volgan agent purporting to be Geordie Price is the saving grace of this strip.

Alert Status Red + + + Crisis Point Exceeded + + + Alert Status

Judge Dredd: 'Sob Story', Part 2

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Sob Story', Part 2

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Tornado Prog 132

DATELINE
29 Sep 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips and a ABC Warriors cover by Mike McMahon.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Best Of 2000AD 5, Judge Dredd Classics 68, The Complete Judge Dredd 12, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 3, Judge Dredd 17, Judge Dredd Paperbacks vs Otto Sump and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd uses Otto Sump to set a trap for the perps robbing Sob Story contestants.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of Otto Sump.

INFORMATION
(This strip takes place over the course of the week that follows Part 1)

In Mega-City One, there are mail collection points for Mo-Pads. The sewage department employs rat-scarers.

Forty-One successful Sob Story contestants have been murdered.

Prisons are staffed by droids.

JUDGE DREDD
He uses Otto Sump to set a trap for the perps robbing and murdering the Sob Story contestants. He hides in Sump's mo-pad and reveals himself when the perps attack. He kills all three.

OTHER CHARACTERS
OTTO SUMP
Dredd identifies him as the worst hard-luck case on record and enters him as a contestant for Sob Story. On the show, Sump claims to have been abandoned by his mother on the steps of a face-change clinic, to have had eight face changes and to have worked as a rat-scarer for the sewage department. He lives in a mo-pad which after his appearance of Sob Story, he labels 'As Seen On TV'. He is targeted by someone purporting to be a face-change specialist.

JOHHNY TEARJERKER
He is liable for the pending lawsuits of the 41 Sob Story contestants' families pleads to the viewers for financial assistance.

CHIEF JUDGE GRIFFIN
Otto Sump's story nearly moves him to tears.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Three. Dredd kills the three perps preying on Sob Story contestants and we discover that they have killed forty-one.

BEST LINES
'Dr. Benson': "I've done over forty of these little operations, Otto . When I'm finished with you you'll be just like Rudolph Valentino..."
Otto Sump: "Just like Rudolph Valentino! You mean - tall, dark and handsome?"
'Dr. Benson': "No - I mean dead!"

Otto Sump: "Heck, Judge, wish you'd waited till they'd changed my face before you conked 'em!"

WORST LINES
Dredd: "You call tell your sob stories to the prison droids!"
Perp: "That's what you think!"
Dredd: "That's what I know, Creep!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), was an Italian actor who starred in silent films including The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (1921), The Sheik (1921), Blood And Sand (1922), The Eagle (1925) & The Son Of The Sheik (1926).

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Ron Smith
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
Fantastic. Reality TV and the rocky road of fleeting fame are dealt with masterfully and Otto Sump is a magnificent character design. Although, it does beg the question: how long does Dredd hide in Sump's closet for?

Judge Dredd: 'Sob Story', Part 1

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Sob Story', Part 1

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. and Tornado Prog 131

DATELINE
22 Sept 79

This prog also featured ABC Warriors, Disaster 1990, Blackhawk and The Mind Of Wolfie Smith strips and a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland.

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Best Of 2000AD 5, Judge Dredd Classics 69, The Complete Judge Dredd 12, Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 3, Judge Dredd 17, Judge Dredd Paperbacks vs Otto Sump and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 03.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd investigates a murder on a mo-pad.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of mo-pads.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a housing shortage and eighteen million people live in mo-pads constantly driving along the city's thirteen and a quarter billion miles of roadway.

Mo-pads can be set to drive on automatic. Some mo-pads are luxurious with huge vid systems, waste disposals, pools and onboard computers.

Sob Story is vid show on Channel 99 where unfortunate contestants appeal for money with hard luck stories. The programme has at least 200,000 viewers. Each contestant's address is given at the end of the programme.

JUDGE DREDD
He sees an out of control mo-pad and rides alongside on his Lawmaster. He climbs aboard and stops the vehicle, before exploring. He discovers a corpse in the pool and a note linking him to Sob Story. Dredd investigates Sob Story

OTHER CHARACTERS
MR RANDALL HODGIS
A wounded ex-soldier. He was a contestant on Sob Story. His royale mo-pad has been on automatic for 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. Dredd discovers his body when the mo-pad begins driving erratically and he climbs aboard. He finds Hodgis' skeleton floating in the pool with a bullet hole in the skull.

JOHNNY TEARJEARKER
Presenter of Sob Story.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None. Although the body of Randall Hodgis is discovered apparently 2 years, 11 months and 18 days after his murder.

BEST LINES
Johnny Tearjerker: "Time's up! Didn't she sob well?"

WORST LINES
Dredd (to mo-pad): "Stop, baby, stop!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "Dok!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
The Sob Sisters sing a slightly altered version of 'Hey Big Spender', a song written by Cy Coleman (1929-2004) and Dorothy Fields (1905-1974) for the musical Sweet Charity (1966), it was made a hit by Shirley Bassey (born 1937). "Didn't she sob well?" echoes "Didn't they do well?" one of the many, many catchphrases of Bruce Forsyth (1928).

MISTAKES
Shrangri La is an odd spelling on the side of a mo-pad.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Ron Smith
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
Between the rampant housing shortage and the salacious reality TV, this strip shows that the cracks in Mega-City One run deep. Ron Smith's art is great and Dredd's investigation unfolds brilliantly.

Find Out Next Prog!

Invasion!: 'Cheddar Gorge'

NAME
Invasion!: 'Cheddar Gorge'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 22

DATELINE
23 July 77

PAGE COUNT
3

REPRINTS
Invasion!

SYNOPSIS
Savage helps improve supplies in Somerset.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Nick Allen Invasion! script. Last Nick Allen Invasion! script.

INFORMATION
Mobile protein synthesisers can turn grass into protein.

BILL SAVAGE
He meets Roger Bacon. When a Volgan patrol kills Bacon's cattle, Savage destroys one of their vehicles with a grenade. He interrogates a surviving Volgan, who divulges that an important train from Birmingham is due to pass by. Savage convinces Bacon to attack it. They successfully steal a mobile protein synthesiser.

OTHER CHARACTERS
ROGER BACON
Resistance organiser for Somerset. He has a herd of cattle that he hides in the Cheddar caves. A Volgan patrol kills the herd. Savage convinces him to attack the train.

DEATHS
The Volgan patrol shoot a whole herd of cattle and Savage kills a Volgan armoured vehicle crew and later the solder he interrogates dies as well.

BEST LINES
Savage: "From what chummy said before he died, we gotta ambush a train from Birmingham!"

This line moves the plot on, tells us what we need to now and subtly relates what happened after the interrogation without the need to provide graphic detail.

WORST LINES
Bacon: "That line carries machinery built by slave - labour, not blasted beef - cattle!"

Why is this guy in charge?

CATCHPHRASES
A dying Volgan patrol scream "Aaieee!"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: Nick Allen
Artist: Carlos Pino
Letters: Jack Potter

In addition to this Invasion! strip, Nick Allen also wrote for M.A.C.H.1.

REVIEW
And now the Volgans are taking food out of British mouths. A nice little strip and the reduction in the page count doesn't make much of a difference. Also a nice pun on Gorge.

Alert Status Red + + + Don't Miss Next Prog