Action Force #2

14 Mar 1987. Cover price NA.
24 pages. Full colour contents.
Marvel Comics

Edited by Richard Starkings.

Cover by Geoff Senior (uncredited).

Presented free with Action Force #01

Contents:

 2 Contents / Mission Control editorial; a: Geoff Senior (uncredited). Indicia

 3 Cut and Run, part two, w: Simon Furman; p: Kev Hopgood, i: Dave Harwood, lettering by Richard Starkings, colouring by Steve White.

 8 You Must Not Miss Next Issue in-house advertisement; a: Geoff Senior (uncredited).

 9 Best Defence, part two, w: Larry Hama, a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Phil Felix, colouring by Bob Sharen.

r: G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero (Marvel) #50 (Aug 1986).

20 My Brother's Keeper w:/a: Ken Steacy.

r: Amazing High Adventure (Marvel) #05 (Dec 1986).

Mr. R. Trent.
Ministry of Defence.
Whitehall.                           6/3/87

Sir,
   In response to your request for a written account of the events of the 5th of this month, I submit the following:

An epistolary, with appropriate visual accompaniment, is a very brave move for Furman to employ in what is only the second issue of the series, though there are several breaks where the action is presented in a traditional manner.

At approximately 1100 hours, our station cameras recorded the entry into access port one of the Action Force operatives code named Snae Eyes and Scarlett.

Their palm print configurations checked out with our computer records and admitted them to our London headquarters...

Entry port one, as it happens, is accessed via the London Underground track at Westminster, which is why the story carries the following:

WARNING: Scarlett and Snae Eyes are highly trained Action Force personnel - on NO account should you play on London Underground tracks.

All other Action Force antics are, apparently, fine to mimic.

The Eel captured by Footloose manages to overpower an Action Force agent, and makes his way to the SIMCOM room, where operatives can train against simulated enemy forces. Scarlett and Snake Eyes make use of the facility in order to maintain their combat skills, where the Eel hits Snake Eyes with a speargun, then shoots Scarlett before escaping through the inlet to the Thames.

While it is difficult to imagine, given the superior facilities often depicted, that a lowly Eel could manage to escape, the story is told in a manner which downplays the more worrying aspects of this. A few simple changes in dialogue, to indicate that the escape had been set up by a mole, for instance, would have made this extraordinary feat more acceptable.

Best Defence continues, with Beach-Head, Lady Jaye, and Flint sneaking onto the hijacked plane as it is refueled. Lady Jaye disguises herself as a stewardess, and learns from Hawk (via a relayed message) that the flight is a suicide run, with the hijackers intending to crash into a top secret Soviet chemical warfare depot in Beringovskiy - the resultant gas cloud could kill millions.

I wonder if Flint's comment, upon cutting open a suitable access point, that it is "a size 42 regular hole" is a sneaky Hitchhiker's reference. The final panel joke about Lady Jaye getting stuck in the toilet is a bit too silly for what has preceded the panel, and the rescue attempt itself seems rather too easy, though I'll give the story some leeway as there's advanced tech in play.

There's some voyeuristic tendencies in the depiction of Lady Jaye - the only character to be depicted changing clothes - and the sensibilities are very much in line with action-adventure cinema of the era. The story itself contains echoes of numerous hijackings, which plagued airlines in the seventies and eighties, but is remarkably restrained in showing the human cost of such actions.

Edwards Airforce Base: Spring, 1955

Investigations into the possibility of carrying parasite fighter planes within the awesome Atom bombers led to the fighter-conveyor or FICON programme. Numerous combinations were tested and one showed great promise: the fighter was the F-85 Goblin, the bomber, the fabulous B-49 Flying Wing!

A historical military tale (the first part of a longer story) rounds out the issue. It is written in a style which doesn't really grasp me, though the fact that it was intended to be read as a complete story explains why there isn't more of a hook to maintain interest.

#01

Action Force

#03

On This Day: 14 Nov

The Best of Britain’s Political Cartoons 2013 edited by Tim Benson. (Scribe UK; 2013) ISBN-13: 978-1922247049.

Births:

Alberto Giolitti (1923); Carlos Pacheco (1962)

Deaths:

Malcolm Muggeridge (1990)

Notable Events:

Alan Moore appeared on the music television show The Tube in 1986.
Signing event at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington for Dinosaurs: A Celebration in 1992. Dan Abnett, John Bolton, Doug Braithwaite, Phil Gascoine, John Higgins, Kev Hopgood, Andy Lanning, Dermot Power, Liam Sharp and Nick Vince were present to sign copies of the book.
Stan Lee continued his signing tour at Forbidden Planet, 59 Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1991.
Simon Coleby, Gary Frank and Paul Neary signed copies of Marvel UK comics in a Forbidden Planet promotion at The Conservatory, St. Giles High Street, in 1992. Primarily an event to celebrate the launch of Death's Head II, the signing also served to highlight the success of Overkill.
The first episode of Bernard's Watch broadcast in 1997. Though not based on a comic, it shares many similarities to the Stan Still's Stopwatch strip originally published in Buster.
Beanotown Racing PC game released in 2003.
Thought Bubble Comic Convention began, in Leeds at Saviles & Royal Armouries Hall, in 2011.
An Evening with Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels took place at Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, in 2012.
Leeds Comic Con, part of Thought Bubble, the Leeds Comic Art Festival, began in 2015.

Judge Dredd Mega-Special #1

1988. Cover price 75p.
48 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Richard Burton.

Cover by Brian Bolland.

Contents:

 2 Contents; illustrated by Glenn Fabry.

 3 Judge Dredd The Blob w: Alan Grant; a: John Higgins, lettering by Tom Frame.

11 Judge Dredd The Blockers w: John Wagner; a: Jose Casanovas, lettering by Jack Potter.

16 Odyssey 7 (quarter page) advertisement. / Dredd Siting in Leicester (eighth of page) advertisement for Another World. / Please Mention Judge Dredd Holiday Special When Replying to Advertisements (eighth of page). / Having Trouble Getting Your Comics? Try a Virgin Comic Shop (half page) advertisement; illustrated by Kev Hopgood.

17 Dredd by Day text introduction (uncredited).

18 Judge Dredd Weirdies! [130-154] w: John Wagner & Alan Grant; a: Ian Gibson.

r: The Daily Star (Northern & Shell Media) #???? (07 Jul 1986) - #???? (07 Aug 1986).

23 Dredd's World illustrated feature; a: Brendan McCarthy.

24 Dredd's World poster; a: Brendan McCarthy.

26 Say Gidday to the Good Life mock advertisement for Oz Judges; a: UNKNOWN.

27 Judge Dredd Weirdies! [155-194] w: John Wagner & Alan Grant; a: Ian Gibson.

r: The Daily Star (Northern & Shell Media) #???? (08 Aug 1986) - #???? (03 Oct 1986).

35 New in the Cubes creator fact files (uncredited).

36 Chopper's Odyssey illustrated feature by Mike Butcher; illustrated by .

r: panels from Oz in 2000 A.D. (Fleetway Publications) #545 (24 Oct 1987) - #570 (16 Apr 1988).

39 Judge Dredd The Fall Guy w: Alan Grant; a: Will Simpson, lettering by Tom Frame.

47 Catch Judge Dredd... in-house advertisement for 2000 A.D., Best of 2000 A.D., 2000 A.D. Sci-Fi Special, Judge Dredd Annual and 2000 A.D. Annual; illustrated by Steve Dillon.

48 Judge Dredd and 2000 A.D. Merchandise advertisement for Forbidden Planet.

The first Mega-Special is much like Dredd's appearances in 2000 A.D., but with greater room to maneuver. Under an impressive cover by Brian Bolland (who hasn't drawn a bad Dredd yet), there is a superb Fabry illustration. The contents pages allow artists to show off a little, and this is no exception - Dredd's Lawmaster really looks like a real piece of technology, though colouring is perhaps a touch too bright for Mega-City One.

The Blob begins on Pier 17 at Mega-City One's docks, where a jelly-like tentacle grabs the leg of Eric, a crane operator who is in the process of unloading cargo. The crate breaks open while dangling above his co-workers, showering them with its' contents - knives imported from New Sheffield. Dredd is dispatched to investigate, and discovers Eric's body, along with several others, in the lumber stacks. The blob-creature has made its escape, however, making its way to safety.

Forensics examine the crime scene while Dredd trails it, and they come to the conclusion that it is mutated slime-mould, most likely a Black Atlantic mutation which grabbed a lift from a passing ship in order to get into Mega-City One. The forensics team warn Dredd that it is extremely carnivorous, dosing its victims with acid, before absorbing the resulting sludge through its pores. Dredd confronts the blob, despite obvious dangers, but discovers his bullets have no effect. Worse, it begins eating through his uniform.

Firing an incendiary at the blob, Dredd orders fire teams and a med-squad to Steve McQueen Block, before seeking medical attention for his wounds. From the briefest touch, it managed to eat through Dredd's leg nearly to the bone. You can tell that everyone is having a lot of fun with the story, and some of the dialogue is solid gold:

...and now, on the Early Late Horror Show, we have a real rave from the Grave. Sylvester Stallone is the Blob of Notre Dame in Alan Moore's Oscar-winning remake!

Alan Grant's script is, if you hadn't guessed, a joy to read, despite (or because of) being a retread of The Blob. John Higgins' artwork really shines in black and white, looking suitably grimy and tarnished. One has to wonder if this was among the material sent to Stallone in preparation for his role of Dredd.

Where The Blob excels at setting and tone through largely understated moments, The Blockers is less restrained. It is the kind of story which, if it appeared anywhere else, would be black comedy, but is - unfortunately for citizens of Mega-City One - more of a day-in-the-life strand. The focus of events is Adolf Hitler Block - 400 floors, containing 18,000 housing units, schools, shopping centres, and a hospital. 64,301 citizens crammed in like sardines, slowly going mad...

Frank Dolby, of apartment 39F, prepares for a Citi-Def combat exercise, while his wife knits a book. As Citi-Def organiser for the floor, Frank makes his way to 39G, where Carlton Einstein (a television addict) has barely left his chair for twelve years. Edith Einstein, his wife, and a compulsive shopper, is doing the family accounts as Willis, Edith and Frank's son, makes a prank call to Ed De Bono Citi-Def to warn them of Hitler Block's aggressive maneuvers against them.

Three floors above, in 42X, Rudyard Quincy decides to kill himself before he goes insane, hoping to take out the rest of the block in the process with a home-made nuclear weapon. The De Bono block cuts down Frank's unit with firearms, thanks to Willis' intervention, as the wayward youth watches on in amusement, hanging out his window. Rudyard's nuke fails, and he throws it away in disgust - landing on Willis' head as it falls.

Overjoyed at a nuke - almost literally - falling into her lap, Edith sees a way to make some money in order to feed her family. Frank returns from the unsuccessful raid, and asks if Edith knows where he can lay his hands on a nuke... Despite not getting a lot of background to the story of the block, we don't need extraneous detail. These are people instantly familiar from Mega-City One, the unfotunates who have been abandoned to their fate in a towering, impersonal, chaotic city.

While it is always nice to get newspaper strips reprinted on better paper, Weirdies! isn't a classic slice of Dredd history. A return for Citizen J. Snork, he of the rather large schnoz, in a celebration of the odd, the strange, and the downright weird. There's a nice conclusion, yet this story is lacking a certain urgency. Ian Gibson's great artwork is reproduced sharply and without feeling too crammed in. It shouldn't need to be pointed out (again) that Gibson's style is refreshingly light and breezy.

New in the Cubes covers Liam Sharp, Barry Kitson, John Higgins, and Will Simpson, though the half-page format of biographical information pieces doesn't allow for a great deal of personality to shine through - these small glimpses into the creators' lives are a long-running 2000 A.D. tradition, and is something which always appealed to me. Such features are much better use of pages than recaps of stories, such as... Well, Chopper's Odyssey.

The Pie-in-the-Sky mid-air restaurant makes a welcome return, where Don Pesci is celebrating his hundredth birthday in the Mississippi Mud Suite. Don Pesci's celebration is abruptly interrupted when a Judge emerges from his birthday cake, only to be immediately shot to death by Pesci. His men assure him that it was a singing telegram, and the body is removed by the easiest means available - being thrown out the building. Which is where things start to escalate...

An early evening Batglider, soaring in the thermal updrafts, is the first to be hit by the corpse. The Norrin Radd Block skysurf club, practising their close-formation pyramid move, are next to have a very close encounter, which leads to a very large mess for the real Judges to clean up. Discovering a business card for Party Poppers, Dredd talks to the owner of the company. and - finding that the dead man was paid to appear at Pie-in-the-Sky - arranges transport to the restaurant.

Pesci and his associates have long since departed, and (despite a sincere attempt at stalling from robot staff) Dredd finds that, as a birthday present the Don, his men have arranged a heist for his participation. With time running out, Dredd rushes to meet the location of the robbery. Stunning artwork, a great, twisty story (with all kinds of little nods and homages), and a ticking clock plot - this is prime Dredd material, served up expertly.

An extremely strong start for the series.

Action Force #1

07 Mar 1987; Cover price 32p.
24 pages. Full colour.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Richard Starkings.

Painted cover by Geoff Senior (uncredited).

Free copy of Action Force #02 (14 Mar 1987).

Contents:

.2 Contents / Mission Control introduction by Richard Starkings. / Indicia

.3 Action Force Gun Boat! w: Simon Furman; p: Kev Hopgood, i: Mark Farmer, lettering by Richard Starkings, colouring by Steve White.

14 Operation Prisoner Release advertisement for Action Force Assault Copter Dragonfly.

16 Intelligence Profile Code Name: Flint fact file; p: Herb Trimpe; i: Joe DelBeato.

r: illustration from The G.I. Joe Order of Battle (Marvel) #01 (Nov 1986).

17 Action Force Best Defence w: Larry Hama; a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Phil Felix, colouring by Bob Sharen.

24 ThunderCats Crunchy Potato Snacks! advertisement for Spooner Foods.

Subtitled "International Heroes" for this issue only, and graced with a a suitably frenetic Geoff Senior cover - full of explosions and blazing guns. It is the kind of image I would expect to be re-used as a free poster, but Marvel go one better for their free gift. Action Force is the only title I am aware of which gave away its second issue free with the first. An interesting ploy, though surely it would have made more sense (and probably cost around the same) to merely double the page count. It does, however, feel like brilliant value for money on the part of the reader.

Action Force are made aware that a pleasure boat moored at the West India dock section of the Thames is the location where a consignment of arms is to be handed off by Destro's organisation to COBRA. With the arms already stowed aboard the vessel, Action Force has to prevent the vessel reaching open sea with its cargo intact. As most of the guests aboard the ship will be genuine party guests, the only way to infiltrate undercover - made easier by an invitation which has been intercepted.

Flint and Lady Jaye pose as partygoers in order to get aboard, while Barbecue and Shipwreck are to board river-side, and Footloose intended to act as look-out, performing communications duties for the team. Unfortunately, Footloose jinxes the mission by saying "What could possibly go wrong?" A COBRA Eel manages to sneak up on him with a garrote, thus proving he should remain quiet unless he has something important to say. He manages to defeat the sea commando, as a fire aboard the ship gets civilians out of the way so Flint can make his move.

Straight into a room full of COBRA agents. Storm Shadow informs Cobra Commander that charges in the hold cannot be defused, and everyone has four minutes to get clear of the ship. Regrouping after the explosion, the team debriefs each other on their activities - Barbecue states that he only set the charges before being knocked unconscious, leaving the question of who primed the explosives hanging. It's a fine opening for the characters, despite feeling a bit small. The notion that these are the very best at anti-terrorism activities seems to be an inferred ability, and the limited number of available agents seems odd in retrospect.

As an origin for the organisation, this is perfectly a serviceable story, and the art is (to be expected) is great. The rest of the issue is taken up with a re-branded US reprint, and the presentation is fantastic compared with the American newsprint.