Judge Dredd: 'Bank Raid'

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Bank Raid'
(When included in Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01 it was called The First Dredd)

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Annual 1981

DATELINE
1 Sept 80

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd Chronicles Book 4 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd foils a bank raid.

FIRSTS & LASTS
Technically, this is full of firsts.

INFORMATION
New Manhattan has a Street Level 95.

Jay-walking is a crime and the sentence is four hundred days in a special prison, Jug 1. Bribing a Judge is an offence.

Mega-City Law Control informs Judges of crimes-in-progress. Judges ride Lawmaster 5000 Bi-Mobiles. Number three on a Judge's gun fires rubber titanium ricochet shells, nicknamed 'dodgems', while number six fires heat-seeking shells.

JUDGE DREDD
He is called to a bank robbery in progress. Dredd terminates three surrendering robbers and an overenthusiastic onlooker turned jay-walker.

OTHER CHARACTERS
None.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
Ten. The bank robbers kill six people during their robbery, Dredd terminates the three of them and then a fourth jay-walker/briber.

BEST LINES
Future Jay-walker: "Yeah! You give it to 'em Judge!"
Dredd: "I would remind you, citizen - I take no pleasure in terminating law breakers."

WORST LINES
Bank rober: "Look out - It's Judge Dredd! Smoke him!"

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Dirty Harry (1971), Death Race 2000 (1975) and 'Judge Dread' by Prince Buster (1967).

MISTAKES
Dredd "termintates" the bank robbers.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

Script: Pat Mills and John Wagner
Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

REVIEW
The artwork is great and one citizen's brief trip from innocent bystander to jay-walker to attempted briber to corpse is well realised. The judge, jury and executioner aspect of the character is quite shocking and it's easy to understand why it was initially played down.

Judge Dredd: Pinboing Wizard

NAME
Judge Dredd: Pinboing Wizard

FIRST PUBLISHED
Judge Dredd Annual 1981

DATELINE
1 Sept 80

PAGE COUNT
6

REPRINTS
The Best Of 2000AD Special Edition 1993, Judge Dredd Colour Series: The Streets Of Mega-City and Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd inadvertently finds himself playing Pinboing.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First Judge Dredd strip in a Judge Dredd Annual.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One has a Pinboing Stadium. Since Boing© was invented in 2101, a new sport appeared in Mega-City One: Pinboing. It is essentially a huge Pinball machine, but with a human ball. If a player achieves a million points they are dubbed 'Pinboing Wizard'.

JUDGE DREDD
He is chasing an armed gang. When he destroys their vehicle, they take cover in the Pinboing Stadium. Dredd pursues them onto the Pinboing table itself. As he knocks the lawbreakers into the table's bumpers and autoflip, he chalks up a score of 1,007,000 and becomes a Pinboing Wizard. He is knocked off his bike by a lawbreaker surrounded in Boing©, but he shoots its fuel tank causing an explosion which the Pinboing table registers as a tilt and ends the game. Dredd rounds up the remaining lawbreakers still trapped in their Boing©.

OTHER CHARACTERS
HARVEY 'HOTSHOT' KRANTZ
Pinboing player. His score is 605,000.

BOUNCING BOB BINGLEY
Pinboing player. His score is 729,000.

ARRESTS
Two. The two Pinboingers were easy to catch.

DEATHS
Three. Dredd kills Mac and Pete with the workings of the Pinboing table, while Roscoe is crush by his friend covered in Boing©.

BEST LINES
Dredd: "All I can say is there must be easier ways of keeping the peace...Thank Drokk they don't have replays!"

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd says "Stop in the name of law!" once and "Drokk!" twice.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Boing© previously appeared Palais de Boing and Judge Death, Part 3 .

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
'Pinball Wizard' was a 1969 single for The Who that reached No. 4 in the UK charts and featured in their rock opera album Tommy.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: John Howard
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
Boing© seems to be the gift that keeps on giving as we see another inventive use of it here that takes something commonplace, augments it with a surprising piece of 22nd Century technology and then drops Dredd in the middle of it. It's fun.

The End.

Star Pin-Up: Mega-City One By Night

NAME
Star Pin-Up: Mega-City One By Night

FIRST PUBLISHED
Judge Dredd Annual 1981

DATELINE
1 Sept 80

Judge Dredd gets his own annual and this features alongside four Judge Dredd strips, a Judge Dredd text story, the Tran-strips for Walter The Wobot, Max Normal and a one-off called Shok!, all behind a Judge Dredd cover by Brian Bolland.

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Mega-City One By Night

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION

JUDGE DREDD
None.

OTHER CHARACTERS
None.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
"Mega-City One By Night" I suppose, see INFLUENCES & REFERENCES below.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
This obviously turns the joke behind '[Insert Town Name] By Night' postcards, which show the local nightlife as a solid black rectangle on its head.

MISTAKES
It's not the fault of this image, but the contents list which accompanies it are pretty useless. They list simply Judge Dredd as appearing pages 3, 41, 48 and 89, which indeed it does, but this is where a story title would have come in very handy.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Artist: Ron Smith

REVIEW
It's a lovely image to open the Annual with and at a time when we are getting used to seeing Mega-City One depicted one cityblock at a time, it good to see something with a sense of scale to it.

Judge Dredd: The Case Of The Urban Gorillas

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Case Of The Urban Gorillas

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD Annual 1981

DATELINE
1 Sept 80

This Annual also featured Ro-Busters, Guinea Pig, The Phantom Patrol, Smokeman and three of Tharg's Future Shocks, text stories featuring Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales, A.B.C. Warriors, Blackhawk, Strontium Dog and a one-off with the fantastic title: Bang! Bang! Said The Green Cheese Man!

PAGE COUNT
8

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
A group of apes take over a cityblock.

FIRSTS & LASTS
This is the first ever full-colour Judge Dredd story to appear in a 2000 AD Annual. First appearance of a Citi-Def group.

INFORMATION
Mega-City One's Mickey Dolenz Block's Citizens' Defence Group (or Citi-Def) meet once a month for military training. They have access to an arsenal. Apelino's Bar is an establishment in the Ape's ghetto.

Genetically accelerated apes refer to humans as Skinfaces. Heavy Light Guns fire radiation-treated photon beams.

Judges use Zippers for airborne pursuit. Named Judges: Judge Bocking.

JUDGE DREDD
He can fly a Zipper. He doesn't approve of the conditions in which the apes are forced to live. Dredd attends the scene at Mickey Dolenz Block and jumps from a neighbouring building through a window on the fortieth floor on his Lawmaster. He arrests Zak and sentences him to death.

OTHER CHARACTERS
BIG ZAK
Genetically accelerated ape who leads the takeover of Mickey Dolenz Block. They demand that the Mayor provides them with new homes. The apes take hostages and begin throwing them off the roof. Dredd jumps over from a neighbouring building, arrests him and sentences him to death.

ARRESTS
Presumably several. Zak is arrested and sentenced to death.

DEATHS
At least fifty-. The apes kill at least fifty-four citizens at Mickey Dolenz Block.

BEST LINES
Zak: "Hear this, Mega-City One! Us apes had had enough! The revolution has begun!...Stop pickin' yerselves, you guys - you want the humans to think we ain't civilised?"

Genetically accelerated ape: "How now...brown monkey?"

WORST LINES
Genetically accelerated ape: "I'll put 'em with the others we took hostage!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd mentions "Grud!", a dying ape screams "Aieee!", while another asks "What the drok is he tryin' ta do?"

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
Apelino's Bar is a references to Don Uggie Apelino from 'The Ape Gang' and The Billion Credit Caper.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Micky Dolenz, Jr. is the drummer and lead vocalist from the 1960s rock band The Monkees. The ape uprising recalls Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)

MISTAKES
Mickey Dolenz spells it Micky and Heavy Light Gun is an unfortunate oxymoron.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: AA Grant
Artist: Brett Ewins
Letters: Tom Frame

REVIEW
There isn't a lot of substance here, but it's a fun runaround with comical terrorists and deals with the apes far better than the previous Mafioso stories.

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

Star Pin-Up: Judge Dredd III

NAME
Star Pin-Up: Judge Dredd III

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 AD and Tornado Prog 172

DATELINE
9 Aug 80

PAGE COUNT
1

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Mega-City One awaits the return of Judge Dredd.

FIRSTS & LASTS
None.

INFORMATION
None.

JUDGE DREDD

OTHER CHARACTERS
None.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
None.

BEST LINES
None.

WORST LINES
None.

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
The cars look oddly twentieth century.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Artist: Mike McMahon

REVIEW
"Mega City Waits..." is a great slogan, but it's not strictly true is it? Most of Mega-City One has no idea what Dredd is up to or why. The image itself is nice, but again Dredd isn't really watching over the city at the moment so it seems an odd time to print it.

Strontium Dog: 'Papa Por-Ka', Part 3

NAME
Strontium Dog: 'Papa Por-Ka', Part 3

FIRST PUBLISHED
Starlord No. 5

DATELINE
10 June 78

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Strontium Dog Book 1, 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1986 and Strontium Dog: Search/Destroy Agency Files 01

SYNOPSIS
Johnny and Wulf defeat the pirates.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a Strontium Dog story has reached three parts (and therefore the first three part story).

INFORMATION
Gronks believe that a bit of them lives after death if someone dear to them wears their skin.

A beam polariser draws the fire of projected energy weapons. Electronux are knuckledusters that carry 20,000 volts. Nuclear devices can be small enough to fit in your pocket.

JOHNNY ALPHA
He uses a beam polariser to draw the fire of the pirates. After Wulf has destroyed it, Johnny uses his blaster and calculates the distance and shoots harmlessly through the hostage and into Papa Por-Ka's shoulder. After the release of the captain, he plants a mini-nuke in Papa's pocket.

WULF STERNHAMMER
When Papa Por-Ka takes the ship's captain hostage, Wulf destroys the beam polariser so that Johnny can use his blaster.

OTHER CHARACTERS
THE GRONK
Wulf and Johnny discover the Gronk dying in his box. He asks Wulf to skin him and wear the skin as a jerkin. Wulf dos as he ask and the Gronk's body is ejected into space in its box.

PAPA POR-KA
He takes the ship's captain hostage. Johnny shoots him in the shoulder, plants a mini-nuke in his pocket and releases him to his shuttle. When Papa threatens to return to take revenge on the Strontium Dogs, Johnny activates the small nuke and destroys Papa's ship

DEATHS
Two. Johnny kills Papa Por-Ka with a small nuke. The Gronk dies of too much excitement.

BEST LINES
Papa Por-Ka (with a knife to the Captain's throat): "You finish wid de rough stuff, or de captain be gettin' some air-conditionin', savvy?"

WORST LINES
Papa Por-Ka: "What am...dis?"

CATCHPHRASES
The Gronk says "Heartsies" instead of "Heartses".

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
Unknown.

MISTAKES
None.

RETROSPECT
None.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
Script: T.B. Grover
Artist: Ezquerra
Letters: Jack Potter

REVIEW
A nice neat ending which allows Johnny another very dark moment as he pre-empts Por-Ka's treachery. The Gronk's death is surprising and his request brilliantly bizarre.

Next Week: 'Go For Your Blasters!'