Wildcat #8

28 Jan 1989 - 10 Feb 1989; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by Ron Smith (signed).

Contents:

 2 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Robo - Traitor!] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 7 Great Ark pin-up; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [Caterpillar] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Ron Smith (signed).

11 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [Cave of Death] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Jose Ortiz (uncredited).

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Time-Warp Data Link feature page (uncredited). / Robojoke UNTITLED ["Ever had the feeling you're being watched"] (pocket cartoon) w:/a James Neil. / Alien readers' art; Dworb by Mark Plastow, Robotic Forest Creature by Brian Peter Lisle, Grin by David Minish, Alien by Thomas Clancy.

20 Loner UNTITLED [Seringar Shape-Changer] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: David Pugh (uncredited).

25 In Space, Some Things Are More Important Than Others subscription coupon.

26 Gliz w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Joan Boix (signed).

31 What Has 10 Legs, 10 Eyes and a Big Appetite? next issue information; illustrated by David Pugh (uncredited).

32 The Weetabix Workout advertisement; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Its cover is pure space opera, which - given the contents throughout the series thus far - is entirely appropriate.

Turbo refuses to assist the Arglon forces defeat the Burroids - told by the Council of Elders that their nation needs more land to survive, and that he has until the seventh moon (one day) to contemplate his fate, Turbo is taken to the sacrificial temple, where the Arglon gods will either change his mind or receive him in sacrifice. Robo awakens to discover his master missing, and is quickly captured by Burroid forces as a traitor. As the remnants of the Burroid forces face losing the city, evacuation procedures are put in place to protect the remainder of the inhabitants.

Robo's batteries register zero when a confession Burroids attempt to force a confession from him, and, technically dead, it is thought best to throw him onto a rubbish pile outside. Once free of his captors, Robo recharges with his reserve battery and journeys out. Overhearing reports of Turbo defecting to the Arglon side, Robo ventures to Arglon territory to learn the truth.

Although not explicitly referencing Lebensraum, the Arglon logic for its war, and the appearance of the Council of Elders, makes clear that this is, in essence, a reprise of World War II. Neither adequately developed nor consistent in tone, the strip fails to convince as military spectacle precisely because of the obvious elements which are dusted off and presented here with an SF twist. We aren't privy to the tactics, so must infer strategy behind maneouvers. Random damage? Nope, that's all part of some greater plan. Showing the intelligence behind what has appeared to be one desperate, last-ditch plan after another would have given the strip more authority.

Joe Alien arms his men with lasers to fend off against the encircling trees, and they begins a desperate run through the forest to freedom. Seeing a giant caterpillar under attack from the trees, Joe watches it get thrown around, though holding its own against the superior forces of the plants. Hitching a ride on its back, the team manage to make their way to the location of their shuttle, though find it has disappeared.

There is so little accomplished with the caterpillar that it is difficult to come up with a reason for its inclusion - aside from encouraging Eric Carle jokes, that is. Yet another oversized creature, in the manner of a cut-price Mighty Samson strip, points at the lack of care in establishing the rules of the planet. From Turbo to Loner, immense creatures have been a recurring element irrespective of where the presence doesn't make sense. Is this planet, perhaps, excluded from the square-cube law somehow?

It is also a shame that within three panels the small unit manages to run three miles, completely ignoring the terror which could have been ramped up had the journey back to the shuttle been presented - something which might have challenged The Evil Dead for achievements in making people afraid of foliage.

Unit leader Kitten Magee, robotic companion Crud and all female back-up team have met a seemingly friendly alien called Hobos. In reality, however, the massively fat being is an evil killer who means to cause the deaths of all the humans. After several failed attempts on their lives, Hobos has an idea how to guarantee their destruction...

Leading the women to a cave, they discover the remains of dozens of bones, the remains of victims of the beast which used to live there, aiding Doc in her survey of the planet's wildlife. She is captured by the alien still inhabiting the cave while the others are busy fetching firewood, and Cassandra is soon in its clutches - Kitten rushes back to assist her teammates, Crud leading their rescue mission. They finally discover it, after battling through a colony of bats, and are awed at its immensity.

Let down, somewhat, by a hint of the monster in the second panel, the strip nevertheless manages to maintain its style. Utilising horror movie techniques, Doc is snatched right behind an unaware Cassandra, although the following sequence makes it clear that the captured women were not immediately murdered. As for the monster, which has a see-through chest and stomach, I have to state that this is likely the single dumbest visual in the title's short history - it is almost an invitation for a clever opponent to deliver a fatal blow.

Loner sucks in fresh air, glad to be free of his subterranean nightmare, and discovers that communications with Wildcat are unavailable. Seeing a large sphere on the ground, he decides to get in some impromptu football practice. It turns out to be a gelatinous life-form, and he is soon encased within its mass while permitting him breath. It identifies itself as a Seringar Shape-Changer - shrinking Loner is reprisal for the unwarranted attack, it leaves him a fraction of his original size. As the blob departs, Loner is immediately attacked by two-headed ants.

Although he's hardly the most fleshed-out individual in the title, the kick comes as a surprising act which seems out of character. As a means of transitioning to the next story act it is a clumsy and awkward moment, more appropriate for a less mature character. The blob is a shameless appropriation of, naturally, the recently-released remake of The Blob, while shrinking Loner down is likely in reaction to pre-publicity for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Originality is in short supply here, though, as a means of spurring on the story, these inspirations are grafted into the existing world with panache, if not subtlety.

Gliz is a humanoid alien in possession of two tentacle-like protrusions on its chest. One would imagine this enables him to be more efficient than mere humans, though his clumsiness merely prompts insults and jokes from his co-workers. He tells Grenzel, his sole friend aboard Wildcat, that he is so clumsy because the others make him nervous. That night Grenzel's mother chastises him for consorting with an alien, telling him to stay away from Gliz. After more abuse at the hands of his human colleagues Gliz attempts to talk to Grenzel, but is rebuffed.

One of the pilots, Chadwick, has damaged his hands, and is unable to fly a mini-ship down to the far side of the planet's first moon, and it seems as if the mission will be cancelled until Gliz states that he is a qualified pilot. Things go well at first, with a perfect landing, but the expedition soon encounters hideous aliens who demand to know the identity of the group's pilot - vaporising the rest of the crew. They order Gliz to fly them to Wildcat, where they intend to kill the occupants. Faced with a desperate problem, Gliz has to find a way to protect Wildcat.

After everything else which has appeared, I shouldn't be so surprised to find myself typing the words "space pirates" here, but it still comes as a shock to see something so utterly unimaginative turn up. The notion of a completely disregarded character laying down their life for the benefit of the greater good, even though they do so without recognition, is one which has a fine history, but here the use is troublesome - is the technology aboard Wildcat so poor as not to have some indication of what is happening aboard their shuttles? Even if a real-time "black box" transmission is not in place, there is a more fundamental problem - this is the same moon upon which four crewmembers have already been lost.

Questions are being piled atop one another, as if the writers were playing Jenga with the plots, and - as much as I like the basic premise - it feels as if any attempt at a cohesive overriding plot has already been abandoned.

#07

Wildcat

#09