Prog 2351 - Sam vs The Lawman

[Tjm86]

After all the action last week normal programming resumes with a jumping on prog. New stories all round.  What treasures do we have then?

Well, we start with a John McRea cover highlighting the potential grudge-match between Dredd and Slade.  Maybe it's just the sheer quantity of amazing covers we've had of late but this does seem a little below par.  [usual caveat about exceptionally high standards when it comes to tooth apply ...]

Judge Dredd: Poison Part 1 sees Dredd off on the trail of whatever killed Hershey.  Very much a 'laying out the stall' tale here from Williams and Holden.  Lots of talking heads and a quick run to the first clue.  Cue a potential conspiracy tale as the trail points straight back to the meg?  Will Williams blind-side us all with something completely different or is this another "deepest, darkest secrets in Justice Dept" tale?  Nowt much to hint at the direction of travel yet but certainly a decent enough opener with enough info to give new readers a bit of a hint as to what's going on.

Feral and Foe: Bad Godesberg lets the action do the introductions.  Abnett and Elson are back with the mismatched mystical bounty hunters.  Cue lots of blood, snazzy special effects and the sort of banter those familiar with a certain web-spinner will be used to.

Then the set-up for the big bad.  Some sort of automaton that needs to be transported to the big-shots to be understood. Hence an expanded cast that sees the ubiquitous heroes relegated to potential cannon-fodder.  With the final reveal of how 'fecked up' the situation is, we have everything neatly lain out except for exactly how 'fecked' our eponymous heroes are.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here because up until now F&F hasn't really done it for me.  Granted this is Elson on form with some amazing stuff.  True, Abnett delivers the banter in spades with some absolutely outstanding craven crawling "Ooh! Sir! Please, Sir! May I humbly crave your permission to command that transport? It would be a great honour!"  Truly, such brown-nosing has never been so effectively delivered.

This may well change my view of the strip.  If this is the standard of the run then I may well have to completely re-appraise my position.  As I say, it helps that Elson is the perfect fit for this one.  His colouring really hits the mood too.  With Campbell on lettering duty with his usual panache, what is not to like?

Helium: Scorched Earth.  Having actually missed the cover strip line-up this turned out to be a massive, and utterly welcome surprise.  There are times when not being too attentive has its benefits.  As a bonus for anyone (everyone?) who has lost the train of thought on this strip in the interval between this and its previous outing (progs 1934 to 1945 back in 2015!) there is a q-code for a free download of helium book one to catch up.

So what do E&D deliver up for us here?  As with Dredd, this one sets the scene but with an eye to what went long before.  Using the device of a lesson to deliver the information readers need about the circumstances that created the world of Helium works well but Edgington doesn't labour long before establishing, somewhat unsurprisingly, the back-story of the main protagonists.

D'israeli's stylistic world is spectacularly rendered with echoes of Czarist Russia.  The tale very much mirrors the fall of the Romanovs and leaves clear parallels with the myth of Anastasia.  All this before sling-shotting the reader back to the 'present' and the crisis that ended the last series.

This, as with everything else this week, serves perfectly to gently slide new readers into this world.  Adding the enticement of a digital download is a cracking marketing strategy, potentially opening up the world of Tooth to new readers.  For those of us that have long wondered if we would ever see this continue, it is an equally welcome re-introduction.

Judge Dredd vs Robo-Hunter.  It's hard to remember that way, way back in the day Sam Slade spent time in the Big Meg.  Of course his Brit-Cit adventures are far more familiar, lasting far longer.  That said, it always felt like a world slightly removed from Dredd's

Whenever there is a meeting of major characters the plot is fairly predictable.  When Johnny Alpha first entered the Meg the combined problems of being a Mutie and a bounty hunter guaranteed conflict which Dredd was more than happy to (repeatedly) deliver.  The big American publishers seem to have a weak-AI generator for their tales along theses lines.

With a strip delivered by Ennis and Flint the expectations are high for the ultra-violence.  It is hard to avoid being fearful for Mrs Gunderson as Walter becomes the latest target for Slade.  His role in a Brit-Cit robot revolt is the source of Slades' contract and as a bounty hunter of sorts, the telegraphed meeting with Dredd is pretty much guaranteed to be something memorable.  All this courtesy of Mr Flint's penmanship.

This one serves up a nice slice of nostalgia whilst at the same time erasing some of the worst memories of Robo-Hunter.  Add in the violence to which Walter is subjected and it is doubly nostalgically-satisfying for those readers who found themselves with a 'Wesleyan' distaste for Dredd's 'wobot'.

All round a cracking prog this week.  Surprisingly Dredd is the least-satisfying read but that is more because of the standard of the rest of the prog.  A nice balance of the new and old, easily accessibly whilst still leaving room for exploring the long and complex history of the prog.

[broodblik]

Cover by John McCrea:

[scrotnig]

I'll be a contrary voice there and say I like that cover. Nice and old skool!

[IndigoPrime]

Whoever decided on that free download of Helium Book One, that was very smart. Only read Dredd/Robo-Hunter so far, which I have to say subverted everything you thought might happen really nicely. I've no idea where it fits into continuity – I'm assuming this is meant to be 'now' for Dredd? Regardless, it was fun.

[Max Headroom]

Can anyone recall Slade's first appearance in Mega-City One? Was it in a Dredd story which I have forgotten?

[Colin YNWA]

Well that was fun.

Dredd carries out an investigation into Hershey's death, or at least the poisoning that coursed it. Great start and lovely art from PJ.

Feral and Foe starts with our 'heroes' in seeming fine fettle and we're brought quickly up to speed and then have the new adventure set up efficently. Oh and its well funny.

Helium does a smart job of catching us up in a way that's deliberately disorientating. After an 8 year gap probably the best that could be done and pretty engaging. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Judge Dredd vs Robo-hunter could have been an annoying and cute waste of time. A needless gimmick... I mean it is a needless gimmick but its done really, really smartly. Has glorious Henry Flint art and is actually really good fun. So have to say my cyncism on this one was misplaced and its a great job all round.

So yeah that's a great Prog to back up last weeks and folks jumping on have a lot to keep them around. Well done Tharg and all Droids involved.

[broodblik]

I decided to grab meg 390 and reread the first series of Helium.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Again, I'm looking forward to this.  After the hard Gronk, spud-guns and the mutant teddy bear, I never imagined I'd say this, but we're very lucky to have Garth Ennis back in the prog.

[O Lucky Stevie!]

Can anyone recall Slade's first appearance in Mega-City One? Was it in a Dredd story which I have forgotten?

That would be the very first episode of Robo-Hunter in prog 76.

[IndigoPrime]

But does it? I do t recall it ever explicitly naming the US location. We did get a start year (2140) and Slade later moving to Brit-Cit. And if this is MC1 at the start, although the timelines add up, what we see doesn't. Just the police alone in Day of the Droids don't scream Judge Dredd.</geekcontinuityhat>

[IndigoPrime]

BTW, did anyone else get their subscription gift? Mine arrived with the Prog (unlike last time). A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).

[Richard]

Yes I got mine with the prog.

[Tomwe]

Not cracked the subs gift yet but it also came with the prog. Am I being picky or is the design on these a little lacking? Not that it matters really.

[Trooper McFad]

A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).

I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻

[Colin YNWA]

A nice selection of Cam Kennedy Dredds, one Rogue Trooper tale, and a handful of covers (including some Sláines).

I'm waiting and hoping that they do an apex edition for Cam 🤞🏻

That would be crackin'