Robo-Hunter: The Droid Files Volume 02
Robo-Hunter: The Droid Files Volume 02 - John Wagner, Alan Grant, Ian Gibson (Rebellion)
As the 2010 world cup football season gets underway, it seems opportune that the opening strip in this second collected volume of Robo-Hunter tales is called ‘Football Crazy’. A deranged ode to the nation’s love of all things football, the strip is among the very best Robo-Hunter tales ever written and ranks as an all-time 2000AD classic. The 2046 world cup is played not by human footballers, but by robots who are all thinly-veiled pastiches of genuine stars like Kevin Keegan and Pele. A shadowy figure who obviously hasn’t had to watch the efforts of the real-life 2010 team is determined to stop the England side from winning, and his underhand efforts are causing the droid players to do such bizarre things as start a card game in the middle of the match or sit on the football in front of an open goal. Come to think of it, maybe he has seen the 2010 side’s efforts after all… Slade is called in to investigate, but is forced to work alongside his old enemy, Kidd, who really manages to screw things up when he smashes a Japanese supporter’s camera in search of a suspected hidden sonic-disruptor. With cries of “Aieee! Blakee Pentax!”, the entire Japan fanbase sets about attacking the hapless Robo-Hunter. Wagner and Grant escape accusations of racism by stereotyping the British and Italians in equal amounts, and deliver a truly funny strip that has stayed with me ever since I first read it back in 1982. Next up is ‘Play It Again Sam’, another classic that features the genius invention of national song year – a 365-day festival in which the nation must break into spontaneous song or face fines and possible imprisonment. Amid all the tomfoolery the Human League is carrying out terrorist attacks in their bid to rid the country of its dependence on robots, and after his faithful sidekick Hoagy is targeted, Slade is asked by Thatcher substitute Iron Aggie to infiltrate the organisation and discover its head. Unfortunately, this strip marked the last of the classic Robo-Hunter tales, and the next two, ‘The Slaying Of Slade’ and ‘Sam’s Last Case’, marked the moment where the strip officially began to jump the shark. In the former, Slade is killed by his old enemies, the Teeny-Meks, and finds himself being judged in the afterlife. He is sent back to Earth when his heavenly hosts reveal that he has a clone who is still very much alive and kicking, so one quick possession later, the two Slades are sharing the same body as they go after the criminal master of the Teeny-Meks. The latter strip sees Slade older, richer and fatter after a life of luxury paid for by the proceeds of his last case. Distraught at how their beloved master has gone to seed, deranged robo-cigar Stogie and terminally stupid Hoagy come up with a plan to restore Slade’s killer instincts. Following on immediately after this is ‘Farewell My Billions’, the story of what happens when a by-now thinner, deadlier Slade gets his chance to hunt down his idiot robot assistants before they spend every last cent of his vast fortune. After that, Peter Hogan took over the scripting duties, and while entertaining, his tales were never up to the level of the strip’s creators. Worse, superstar artist Ian Gibson departed to be replaced by the likes of Chris Weston and Rhian Hughes, and the series never really recovered. But that’s a moot point as far as this collection is concerned – ‘Robo-Hunter: The Droid Files Volume 02’ still features enough bonafide classics to make this book an essential addition for your collection. Liam Ronan
