"Robot Wars Part 5”
Mega City One Year: 2099
Published 28th May 1977, 2000ad Prog: 14 (The Complete Judge Dredd 1 and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.)
Parts: 8
Written by John WagnerArtist: Ian GibsonLetters: John Aldrich
Synopsis
With Dredd as his prisoner, Call-Me-Kenneth taunts Dredd by making harsh examples of his servants for errors made, and then sends Dredd to confinement for the night, with the intention of taking Dredd’s brain and placing it into a robot body. Whilst attempting to escape his cuffs, who themselves are a living robot, the alarm is sounded and Dredd takes a heavy beating overnight. Hours pass, and then Walter the Wobot emerges with a beverage for Dredd, which is in fact corrosive acid, and Walter pours over Dredd’s cuff, setting him free. His loyalties confirmed, Walter then proceeds to advise Dredd that there are other robots that are fed up with Call-Me-Kenneth, which could be just the opportunity Dredd and Walter need….
Review
This marks the first 2000ad work from Ian ‘Ballad of Halo Jones’ Gibson. On this journey there will be over 750 Dredd strips from Ian, as well as multiple other strips for the comic. Here Ian is finding his feet, and hits the ground running with his depiction of Call-Me-Kenneth as particularly sinister, a signification of what he has become as a result of this war and the power he currently wields. In later works Gibson would make great use of space, adopting bigger panels and almost everyone with a picture perfect protagonist pose to celebrate. Here he has to fit the short form of a 5-page, fast-paced entry strip, and yet manages to give us some minute details that didn’t look easy to pull off, particularly the robot base and Dredd’s many poses under pressure.
It’s a progress by numbers episode, with some amusing twentieth century references, and at least it reaffirms Walter’s loyalty to humans, but that’s about it.
Line of the strip - Robo-Cuff: "I ain't a bad Robo-Cuff at heart, pal. If there's anything I can do to cheer you up....sing to you, play a word game, maybe?"
Be back next time citizens for “Robot Wars - Part 6!”
