One of the great dreams of a human being is the power of invisibility. Some would use it for looking behind the curtains of the White House, some would use it to cloak their vessels so they can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting enemy, and others would simply hang around the changing rooms at a Victoria’s Secret show. Not Orlok, though. Like the perp in this story he’d load up on sweet, sweet cash.
DATELINE:
October 2101 (Progs 134-135).
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
John Wagner pens a decent crime caper and Ron Smith breaks out his pose models.
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
A spate of thefts by a seemingly invisible man has the Judges foxed.
WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Judge Nye is the Chief of Science. I wonder if his first name is Bill?
Judge Down is one of the Judges on duty when E=MC2 is snatched.
Judge Beck assists Dredd is searching the riot foamed citizens.
Judges Brown, Johns, Layer and Lowe are on duty at the Grand Hall to listen in to Edwin Parsey’s confession.
Onslo is one of two Judges almost killed when Dredd fires his guns at where he thinks the invisible man is.
Judge George appears to be a floor Judge in the Grand Hall.
Judges Hippy, Jones and Baxter interrogate Parsey.
Judge Laver is on hand when Parsey is finally booked.
ANY LAW LORE?:
Riot Foam is seen to be used in the Prog for the first time.
There are 50,000 Judges in the Grand Hall of Justice.
Section 32 of the Anti-Crime code is used as justification for riot foaming the square to catch the perp.
IT’S CULTURAL, INNIT?:
Chubby Checker was a singer songwriter who popularised “The Twist” to a generation of teenagers.
Carlos Santana was an internationally renowned guitarist.
Edwin “the Confessor” Parsey is a nice play on Edward The Confessor, who had the misfortune to drop dead in 1066, setting into motion the shit that happened with the Normans.
CANON FODDER?:
Nye says that invisibility won’t be possible for another 50 years and yet a practical portable invisibility machine is available at least 9 years later (A Night At The Circus). No wonder he never shows up again, he’s a fucking idiot.
Judge Nye is called “Chief of Science” but presumably this will be Head of Tek Division.
MAC is called “Mack” again.
WHAT THE DROKK?:
Dredd carries 2 Lawgivers.
Judges occasionally lock up Edwin “The Confessor” Parsey to keep him happy, apparently at the city’s cost.
The Judges coat the cash with blue dye but don’t put a tracer inside the bag.
Apparently, Dredd plays darts in his office.
There’s no explanation as to why Doonan taunts Dredd with notes.
There is also no explanation for how Parsey was able to see Doonan when it takes a high speed camera to spot him.
WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
Average, and it does feature some Smithisms.
HOW MANY LINKS?:
Lots of exposition lets this down though the sci-fi heist concept is nice. More importantly we’re starting to see the us vs them mentality of the Judges in dealing with the citizens. Three links.
Everything Comes Back To 2000AD 