2000 A.D. # 1 - Tharg the Mighty

is an issue published by Fleetway that was released on 2 / 26 / 1977
last edit - 06/15/2008
Edit this Page

Plot Summary

Spoilers!!

INVASION

In the England of tomorrow, a tale unfolds of one ordinary man who fights the invaders who have destroyed his family and his country.

A news report airs that the much-feared attack by the Asian Volgan Republic has finally been made on Great Britain. Black Friday had come at 6:00 AM on January 1 of 1999 when countless Volgan tanks pushed the NATO armies back with ease.

The massive fleet of Volgan fighter jets filled the skies, easily taking out their enemies whom they outnumbered ten to one. But the Volgans were still not done, from their silos in Asia, thermo-nuclear missiles were fired, headed directly for Britain. The B.B.C. news reports to terrified civilians of the first invasion of Britain in one thousand years and tells of a supposed nuclear strike in the Midlands.

The fifty ton megaton nuke that hit the Midlands expelled such a heat wave that it felt like the sun had collided into Earth and within a single mushroom cloud was an entire city, an obliterated city. Then, at Hearthrow Airport, Volgan paratroopers begin raining down from the heavens, scattering the fearful civilians.

With guns blazing, the Volgans shot down anyone that got in their way and after taking over the airport they brought in their transport planes filled with supplies and armored weapons, the takeover had just begun.

In the streets of London, the war raged on, but though the British fought long and hard they knew all along that they were losing. By 10:00 AM, every strategic location in England was already under the control of the Volgans as were the unprotected north sea oil rigs, and so it became clear that all hope was lost.

King Charles III was to be sent into exile in Canada in a plane along with the rest of the royal family, it was their only choice. And when the Volgans take over the B.B.C. television center the newscaster tells the nation that the government has just surrendered to the Volgans and so concludes the last free broadcast.

By 2:00 PM, the eight hour war had finished and the Volgans officially possessed Britain, America was forced to allow the Volgans to do this out of fear of starting a global conflict and as such remained uninvolved. And so the flag changed, to that of the yellow skull, the symbol of the Volgans.

The Volgans transformed St. Paul's Cathedral into a military court and in it Marshal Vashkov declares Lady Shirley Brown to be an enemy of the New People's Republic of Britain and as such sentences her to death.

Vashkov declared that everyone must understand the Volgans are the friends of the British, they have come to free them from their oppressors. He then tells the soldiers to execute the Lady and on the steps of the Cathedral, several bullets find their mark and she is murdered successfully.

Yet it was not just royalty that suffered, ordinary civilians lost what they had as well. A truck driver named Bill Savage walks home, saying hi to a man named Whitey, telling him he needs to walk as the Volgans stole his lorry.

Whitey asks Savage if he has not heard the news and Bill asks him what news. Bill then sees that Whitey is shaking and tells him that he should come over to his house and have a cuppa. Yet as he rounds the corner, Whitey dictates to him what his eyes have just revealed, that a stray tank shell struck his home and now there is nothing left of it, his entire family died instantly.

Walking over to the rubble that was his home, Savage locates one thing that survived the blast and picks it up, "One thing left...me shotgun!" Whitey tells him to calm down when a Volgan patrol vehicle rounds the corner and declaring Savage a terrorist one shouts to the others to kill him. Whitey tells Savage not to be a fool and to drop the weapon.

Yet the stubborn Savage says there's no way he will back down to filthy Volgan scum. So with one shot he hits the patrol vehicle, and as it goes up in a blazing inferno all those inside die except for one man who is thrown clear. That man comes over to Savage who stands behind a wall and tells him to come out from his hiding because he's under arrest.

Bill tells him that he'll gladly come out, but that he's not hiding...he's reloading. Standing over the Volg's body Savage is approached by Whitey who tells him he's crazy as the government has already surrendered and ended the war. A determined Savage replies, "I'm opening it again - my way has just begun!"

FLESH

When man is forced by hunger to fight monster, chaos ensues and only one species can come out on top.

In the 23rd century, mankind survived on synthetic foods thanks to the disappearance of animals and with a craving for meat in his belly, man decided to use time travel to go back 65 million years ago so they could feast upon, the flesh of the dinosaurs.

Trans-Time Corporation: the company that sent rangers out to tend to herds of the giant yet almost harmless plant-eating dinosaurs of the past, the leader of these rangers was a man named Earl Reagan who was always on the readying, looking out for carnivorous beasts who might seek to feast on his herds.

Tyrannosaurs watch the herd as it goes by, saliva pouring from their gaping mouths... As the rangers keep their Styracasorus' herd in line, a young and hopeful named Joe Brontowski speaks to Maverick of how much he enjoys seeing the dinosaurs even though he regrets slaughtering him. The much more experienced Maverick tells him its just a way of life and that he's glad this is his last trip to the age of dinosaurs.

It was on that night that Earl decided that the group would stop for the night and make fires all around, he then threatened his men if any should doze off...however, this stopping proved itself to be a mistake in the end.

Later that night, the young Joe spoke to Maverick using his communicator saying that the tyrannosaur's seem to be keeping their distance out of fear of getting blasted, he then asks Maverick if everything is okay where he is. Maverick tells him there is not a tyrannosaur in sight, not noticing the sixteen meter long phobosuchus (a prehistoric crocodile) that slithered out of the waters and now was right behind him, hungering for its supper.

Maverick turns as the beast opens its mouth to a height even greater than he is tall and screaming out in terror he finds himself unable to fight back as he is devoured in a single snap of the reptile's jaw. All Joe could hear was a crackle over the communicator and then dead silence so he shouted out, "MAVERICK!"

This murder simply caused a chain reaction, as the tyrannosaur's sensitive nostrils smelled Maverick's blood and went into a frenzy. Joe tries to think of what may have happened to Maverick when he sees the oncoming tyrannosaur's with drool flowing freely from their gaping mouths.

Another man rushes into the fray as Joe pulls out his gun and he tells Joe to blast the beast. With one shot Joe manages to fire at the reptile's head, leaving nothing but a reflexively moving headless tyrannosaur though it finally stopped moving after a few seconds. The herders however begin to despair as the tyrannosaurs begin coming in numbers and picking off members of the herd with great speed.

The herbivorous beasts charged forward in a panic, trampling herders beneath their feet as they tried to escape the King of the Dinosaurs. The beasts were running right for a cliff and the herders were frightened all would be lost so Joe tried to hit them with his specially-designed vehicle so they would turn but they didn't budge.

Finally Earl proved why he was the leader when he leaped on to the lead dinosaur's head and whipped it with his electrical whip causing it to turn before it fell over the cliff's edge and in a chain of events, the other beasts followed suit as to do as their leader did.

The next day the beasts are delivered to the base where they are slaughtered and their meat sent to the 23rd century, Earl sits on his steed next to Joe who stands on the ground.

Joe counts their losses, twenty men, six beasts and Maverick as nobody knows what became of him. Joe then says this job just seems so crazy but Earl assures him it will only get worse, its a fight for survival and sooner or later one race will become extinct but he lets Joe know one more thing, "Nobody makes Earl Reagan extinct!"

DAN DARE

Creators

Add a creator credit to this issue
  •  
    Bill Nuttall
    letterer,

  •  
    Boix
    artist,


  •  
    Carlos Trigo
    artist,

  • Dave Gibbons
    artist,


  •  
    Enio
    artist,

  •  
    Jesus Blasco
    artist,


  •  
    Ken Armstrong
    writer,

  • Kevin O'Neill
    cover,


  • Pat Mills
    writer,


  •  
    Tom Tully
    writer,


  • Characters

    Add a character credit to this issue
  •  


  •  

  • Joe


  •  

  •  

  •  


  • Teams

    Add a team credit to this issue

    Locations

    Add a location credit to this issue
    We don't have any locations attached to this issue. Help us fill it in!

    Concepts

    Add a concept credit to this issue
    We don't have any concepts attached to this issue. Help us fill it in!

    Objects

    Add an object credit to this issue
    We don't have any objects attached to this issue. Help us fill it in!

    Story Arc

    Add a story arc credit to this issue
    We don't have any story arcs attached to this issue. Help us fill it in!

    First of Many?


    Reviewed by aztek the lost
    May 16, 2008

    Tharg the Mighty

    So how was the first issue of the comic book series with the most issue in existence you may ask? Well, first off its black and white and secondly its an anthology and futuristic.

    The first story, Invasion, makes it obvious this is a British comic as it tells the story of Britain being taken over by the Volgs. However, the mass slaughter is just the beginning, the real action begins when an ordinary man, Bill Savage wages his own war against the Volgs to fight for Britain (which had already surrendered).

    Then there was Flesh, an almost amusing tale of men from the future who travel back in time so they can eat dinosaurs to satisfy their hunger. They herd dinosaurs like cattle but when it becomes man versus beast it starts getting amusing as everyone looks like morons as they are getting eaten in one bite or having their head blown off.

    The story of Dan Dare, the space adventurer did not intrigue me however and was a slight disappointment.

    MACH 1, yet another obvious link to Britain is the tale of a superhuman British spy who has gained powers from some experimentation. We now see him on his first mission and it is an action-packed adventure that I really enjoyed.

    And I just laugh when I think of the last story, Harlem Heroes, as it is about a futuristic sports team who are the champions of Aeroball. However, after their victory a tragic accident kills all but four members and leaves one as naught but a brain in a jar. However, they decide they must press on to fight for what they dreamed to win, the Aeroball championship. I mean seriously, how can that story not make you laugh.

    Anyway in conclusion I say its a great comic despite its lack of color (though I believe you can get colored issues) and I only dream the series gets better as it progresses.






    You are in Edit Mode. Make sure to save your work at the end!!
    • Submissions can take 24 hours to be moderated.
    • Please leave a comment to explain why you're making this change.
    Save Changes Cancel