2000AD Prog 1

Thinking and comparing the new Flesh with the old, thought i'd go back to the very first Prog and have a read.
Still terrific stuff even now, with each tale hooking you in straight away. Their ability to have fantastic concepts that speed along with cracking dialogue, no preambles, and explanations kept to a minimum is something the modern version is lacking a tad.
Don't think i really liked Invasion that much, thinking Savage a poor relation to Dredger at that time, but did love the moody artwork, which had resonance in that the panels were filled with locations and folk we all knew (except Angela Rippon never looked this foxy).
Flesh i've already commented on and was responsible for my pocket money going on Airfix cowboys and their T-Rex kit to recreate scenes. Which was basically shoving decapitated figures into its gob.
Next up was Dan Dare. Now, knew of the original version but never read it as (A) think i was bit too young (B) think it was too expensive. So this was my first exposure to the fella. And i loved it. Not the character, who was just a blank really that reacted to situations. But it was those situations and, far far above them, Belardinelli's stunning artwork that made it for me.
I had already come across his art on Rat Pack etc over in Battle but here he was let loose and, boy, did he deliver. His Biogs are just jaw-droppingly awesome, topping his Artie Gruber and Slaine's warp spasm that came later.
M.A.C.H 1 was enjoyable really only because i wanted to be the Six Million Dollar Man so much at the time and Harlem Heroes at this point was just "nice art but - whatever" as i just saw it as yet another sports story bunged in that a lot of the titles seemed to do back then.
Other thing of note is Tharg's welcoming page, which is shoved in near the back and looks very cheap and nasty, what with its crappy typewritten message. Funny what he's become when back at the start the page looked as desposable and unneccesary as Flint's version over in Bullet.
"AIEEEE!" WATCH:
A cut-off "Aieee!" from a cut-off cowboy in the Crocs mouth in Flesh.