Dave Gibbons

86-87

Oct 1978

2080AD. The new super monorail that crosses Europe from Istanbul to Paris in record time is buried by an avalanche. The few survivors are buried alive, and their air is running out, so Ro-Busters agents Hammer-Stein and Ro-Jaws are dispatched to rescue them. As the pair dig their way down, there's another landslide, and the two are buried under thousands of tons of rocks.

The robots dig their way down to the train, but Ro-Jaws notices there are ten human survivors, and he and Hammer-Stein have only brought nine oxygen cylinders. Since there's been another rock fall, further help won't be able to arrive for several hours, and with the air running out, that means one human will die.

Hammer-Stein asks for a volunteer, but all the humans make their respective excuses. Mike Morgan uses his son Tim as his; the boy is in a bad way, so he can't volunteer. The boy keeps asking for someone called Harold, and Morgan tells Ro-Jaws Harold is the family robot, who helped raise Tim when his mother died; he's locked in the luggage compartment with the other robots. Hammer-Stein elects to fetch him, to try and calm the boy down a little.

They find Harold (a smart looking robot in a suit and bow-tie), who immediately asks about Tim. When they bring him back out, Ro-Jaws wonders why he wears human clothes. Once back with the survivors, they inform the Ro-Busters squad that they couldn't decide who should die, and that they need someone to decide for them, someone who can make decisions without feeling or emotion, based on pure logic. In other words, a robot.

Uneasy about a war robot judging them, the humans ask Ro-Jaws to handle the proceedings. Mike Morgan is the only one to voice any objections, but is shouted down by the others. Ro-Jaws, donning a woman's wig and gown, takes his position as judge. Lord Peter Wyndie is the first to plead his case, but Ro-Jaws calls on his robot James to tell the truth about his master - after all the first rule of robotics is that robots must tell the truth. So, one by one, the humans secrets are revealed, but it seems that each hume is just as bad as the last.

Harold informs Mike Morgan that he must tell the truth about his treatment of his son, but Morgan remembers that the second law of robotics is that robots must always protect their masters. He threatens to hurt the boy if Harold tells the truth about him. After Harold informs the 'court' about the kindness of his master, Tim wakes up and orders Harold to take off his shirt. Still refusing to say anything that would incriminate Mike Morgan, Harold removes his shirt, and reveals why he wears human clothes: his body is battered and broken. Tim continues to tell everyone about his fathers temper and how Harold steps in to stop Mike beating his son.

Morgan, his anger getting the better of him, goes to attack his son, but Harold intervenes and accidentally kills Morgan. After realising what he has done, Harold insists he must deactivate himself, but Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein talk him down, and tell him he's all Tim has now. He has a responsibility to look after the boy.

With one human gone, there's now enough oxygen cylinders to go around, and soon after, the survivors are dug out. Hammer-Stein and Ro-Jaws watch Harold and Tim leave the scene.

As Ro-Jaws points out, though, there's no rest for a Ro-Buster.

COMMENTS:

The first ever Ro-Busters story to appear in 2000AD is a surprisingly nasty little tale, and one of the best of the series. Like other Ro-Busters tales, it has a much more light-hearted (for want of a better phrase) feel to it, compared to the more hard-bitten style of ABC Warriors.

Gibbons' artwork (and lettering) is as dependable as ever, but he makes Ro-Jaws look almost as big as Hammer-Stein. Minor nitpicks aside, this is cracking little tale, well worth digging out of the Thrill archives.

Mike Dorey

93-97

Dec 1978 - Jan 1979

Ro-Jaws recounts his time before joining Ro-Busters to Hammer-Stein and Miss Marilyn...

Sewer robot FRED2L (Federal Recycling and Environmental Droid 2L) became known as Ro-Jaws because of his tendency to eat anything. After a few days on the job, he befriended a tramp called Old Scratchey, and helped him out on many an occasion. One stormy night, however, Ro-Jaws found his friend sleeping out in the wet. Wondering what to do with him, Ro-Jaws took him to the house of the Minister for the Environment, Sir Neville, who Ro-Jaws had mistaken for a mate. Upon returning from the opera, Sir Neville and his wife came to find Ro-Jaws and Old Scratchey in bed and soon had them carted off: Scratchey to a home and Ro-Jaws to prison.

During his spell in prison Ro-Jaws' resentment of humans grew daily. He came to be friends with Mad Jock, a butcher robot, who he later helped to escape, and Ginger, a clapped out taxi robot. On their release, Ro-Jaws and Ginger came to see the full extent of humans hatred for robots. They signed up with the robot work exchange and were split up when Ginger was taken on by a scrap merchant, and Ro-Jaws landed work with an undertaker.

One day while collecting wreaths, Ro-Jaws stumbled across a bank robbery, led by George Washington, a human-like android who saved Ro-Jaws and Ginger from a lynching. He assisted the robbers escape, but was denied entry into the robot resistance.

Two years passed and Ro-Jaws was still working as a grave digger. A chance meeting with a young girl called Annabel led to him being bought by a rich family, and then to become the girls companion. The robot butler, Mr.p, strongly disapproved of Ro-Jaws and concocted a plan to get rid of him. Firstly, Annabel was packed off to boarding school, then Ro-Jaws (having no other use) was sold on to a builder. That Christmas, Ro-Jaws ran into Ginger again, only to see him again on the back of a truck heading to the robo-knackers yard. Ro-Jaws was so shocked he fell and refused to get up. He was saved from a beating by Annabel, and taken back to her house for Christmas and a happy ending (sort of).

COMMENTS:

One of the poorest outings for Ro-Busters, which is a shame seeing as it centres on the series' most likeable character.

An interesting contrast to Hammer-Stein's War Memoirs, this one, it has a much more British feel to the proceedings and comes loaded with ripe commentary on the British class system. The big problem is, the life and times of a sewer robot can only hold your interest for so long.

It does raise one question, however. In a world where robots are sub-class citizens, why does Mr.p have such a sinister hold over the family?

Dave Gibbons

98-101

Feb 1979

Off the coast of Britain, a merchant hover ship - crossing the Atlantic from Mega-City One to the great port of Northpool - runs into a savage storm, but suddenly a giant robot emerges through the mist, with a glowing red beacon. It's 'Charlie' a huge ship's pilot and triumph of robot engineering, come to tow the ship safely in harbour. Faithful, reliable old Charlie had served the port for fifteen years, and the people of Northpool loved him dearly.

Charlie picks up a second ship and tows them both to the harbour, where he is watched by Howard Quartz, the semi-human boss of Ro-Busters, and Ron Murdoch, leader of the Northpool council. Soon, Murdoch informs his companion, the ships will be 'dropping the pilot' for the last time. The days of the big ships are over, the 'Mammoth' jets saw to that. The port of Northpool is dying, and unfortunately Charlie will die too. And that's where Ro-Busters comes in.

Most of Northpool will be demolished and a vast aero-space port will be built on its ruins. Quartz has the perfect demolition team to handle the job; huge mechanical beasts, who like nothing more than smashing things - The Terra Meks. As Quartz is soon informed, several of Northpool's residents are being rather difficult about the destruction of their homes, and they fail to understand that this is the only way Northpool can survive. The Terra-Meks will destroy all the sky-slum blocks built during the twentieth century, and the council will re-house everybody in nice new homes, underground.

Murdoch takes Quartz to the site of the first of these underground flats, Cosy Down Burrows, where they find the first resident, Granny Fraser, ready to move in. Ignoring the press and protesters, Murdoch takes the distressed Granny Fraser down to her new flat, informing her she musn't stand in the way of progress. She's been housed in low-drop flat 999, right at the bottom. Entering the flat, Granny Fraser points out that there are no windows, and that she won't be able to see the trees. But Murdoch tells her she has something much better than normal windows - Tele-Windows; with the push of a button, she can have any view she wants. If she still wants trees, she can go to the tree museum, where they're looked after properly. As Granny Fraser goes to put on the kettle, the flat is rocked by vibrations from the bullet train passing underneath, but she needn't worry. She'll get used to it soon enough.

Back on the surface, some of the protesters point out their problem to Father Flannigan. The priest elects to go and see Northpool's last hope, Charlie, and hurries down to the docks. Charlie, sitting in his chair, offers to take the local school children's boat around the lighthouse like he did last year, but Father Flannigan informs him of the councils plans to destroy Northpool with the Terra-Meks. Not really understanding, Flannigan tells him what the Terra-Meks really are, but Charlie finds the concept of robots who like destruction hard to grasp. Not all robots are kind and gentle like Charlie, some are programmed to enjoy death and destruction, and they'll destroy everything in their path. Charlie, however, is strong, too, and can stop them. The people of Northpool love Charlie, and so Flannigan asks him to help them in their hour of need. Charlie, however, doesn't want to hurt anyone, but he loves the city. He elects to think about it, then decide what he will do.

Disheartened by the response, Flannigan stands ready at the barricades the next day, while the protesters wonder where Charlie is. Flannigan wonders if he's made a mistake, attempting to get a simple robot to break his programming. Maybe he's asked too much.

Suddenly, a cry of 'Big Jobs' is heard, and the people of Northpool realise the Terra-Meks are coming.

The huge engines of destruction roll into view, giant, brutal machines programmed to destroy a city. Making up the ranks are Tyranno-Mek, Fantas-Tek, Mek-Quake, Excavator, Dumper and King Konka. The people of Northpool tremble, even when Flannigan reminds them that robots cannot harm human beings. Flannigan, realising Charlie is not coming, steps forward to meet the Terra-Meks as they grind to a halt. He tells the robots that the people of Northpool will stop them, but Mek-Quake points out the fatal flaw in that strategy: the Terra-Meks are very huge and very strong, while the humans are very small and very weak. Flannigan reminds the Terra-Meks that robots can't harm humans, so they retreat to process this information.

The machines, employed by Ro-Busters (Demolition) ltd, gather around and discuss their predicament, but they soon resolve the fact that their orders said they were to destroy the city, but said nothing about humans. Therefore, if any human beings get in the way, they can destroy them - they're just following orders, after all. The Terra-Meks charge and the people of Northpool begin to run, and not even Flannigan can keep them together. The robots destroy the houses using a bizarre, but efficient, method; Tyranno-Mek and King Konka rip and punch the tops off the buildings, while Fantas-Tek gorges houses in his gaping maw, grinding them into rubble and leaving them in heaps behind him, to be spread by the mek-dozers. Road-Roller flattens everything into hard-core, then Tar-Mek belched hot, oozing, black tar over what were once peoples homes.

Flannigan tries to rally the people again, but they're too afraid of the robots. He offers to hide some of the people in the presbytery, under the cellars is an underground cave where they'll be safe. However, not everyone escaped the giants. One car inadvertantly drives into the path of Fantas-Tek, and the robot throws the car, and it's passengers, into his mouth where their screams are lost in the roar of the atomic grinders.

Meanwhile, in the caves under the presbytery, Flannigan asks Stevenson, the chief engineer who built Charlie, if there's any way he can be re-programmed to fight the Terra-Meks. But Stevenson tells him that Charlie would need major adjustments to his brain to turn him into a fighting robot. Stevenson could do it, but he's just a tired and frightened old man.

At the deserted docks, Charlie listens to the city dying, but cannot do anything. He desperately wants to help, but he must obey his programming. Then, he sees the debris of the shattered homes floating down the river, and something seems to snap inside the giant. Slowly and carefully, Charlie makes his way upriver, through the newer part of Northpool, cautious not to damage the monorail and slide-walks. He reaches the condemed zone and orders the Terra-Meks to stop, but they tell him that if he interferes, he will die too.

Charlie attacks Tyranno-Mek, and the two giants cut and gouge at each other, looking for weak spots in the others armour, until finally Charlie emerges victorious. The battered Tyranno-Mek is left in the path of Road Roller and Excavator, who realise he must be destroyed as he's holding up the schedule. Tyranno-Mek agrees and helps to destroy himself, as Road-Roller begins to cut up the remains. Excavator digs a hole for the debris to be placed in. Once Tyranno-Mek is buried, Dumper dumps rubble over the grave, and gives a solemn farewell to his old friend.

Above the city in a private jet, Howard Quartz and Ron Murdoch watch the scene with horror. Quartz is distressed by the loss of an expensive mk, while Murdoch is more distressed by the fact that the meks have killed innocent people. Quartz refuses to take the blame, and Murdoch refuses to accept the responsibility, as he'll be ruined.

At that moment, Charlie is engaged in battle with Fantas-Tek. The ship's pilot manages to rip the mes head off, causing it to explode. Seeing this, Mek-Quake decides to hide himself by burrowing into the surrounding rubble. Quartz and Mudoch fly over the scene, still arguing, when Quartz hits onto the idea of laying the blame on Charlie. Unaware of this sinister plot, the simple robot battles King Konka, the most brutal of the Terra-Meks. Charlie grabs a motorway support as a club, and simply batters the other mek, while the people of Northpool come out of hiding to offer support. Heartened by this, Charlie defeats King Konka by knocking his head clean off with the club.

Up above, Murdoch points out the flaw in Quartz's plan: Charlie will simply deny he started the disaster, and robots can't lie. But Quartz lays out the rest of his plan: namely Charlie can't deny anything if he's dead. If Charlie's dead, they can simply say that he destroyed the city because they had taken away his job. Quartz plans to call up the Navy and tell them Charlie's destroying Northpool. They'll have a ship send out an S.O.S., and as Charlie always helps ships in distress, he'll go. Once out there, the Navy can destroy him, and since he loves ships so much, he won't dream of fighting back. All it will take is a phonecall from Murdoch.

One phone call later, and the plan is set in motion. Charlie, however, is getting tired, but must carry on to save the city he loves.

Before long, the battle for the city is over, and Excavator and Tar-Mek turn and flee, leaving Charlie to stand triumphant in the rubble. However, the ship's pilot sees something out to see. Unknown to him, it's the Naval destroyer 'Nemesis' come to take care of the 'rebellious robot.' They fire a 'star-shell,' a distress signal and catch Charlie's attention. The robot wades out to help, while the people of Northpool wonder how they can ever help their friend. They too notice the ship, and Father Flannigan investigates further with his binoculars, only to realise it's a destroyer, luring Charlie into a trap. He yells for Charlie to come back, but the robot can't hear the desperate cries.

Aboard the 'Nemesis,' the captain and his number two share their feelings about destroying the ship's pilot. Neither of them like the idea, but he has to be killed to save the city. They allow Charlie to wade a little further toward the ship before opening fire. Confused by it all, the simple robot simply stands and takes another salvo. He could have smashed the destroyer in half, but realising that ships were no longer his friends, he just wants to die. He sinks to the sea bed while the people of Northpool look on, horrified by what's just happened.

Over the next few days, Ro-Busters shares drop to one credit, as the conspiracy comes out in the press, leaving Quartz virtually ruined. Only three Terra-Meks survived the battle, one of whom was Mek-Quake, who only emerged from hiding once it was all over. Excavator and Tar-Mek escaped into the country and were caught two days later by a squadron of fighter jets, but not before Tar-Mek had tarred over a thousand acres of good farming land and Excavator had torn the tops off fifteen hills.

A few weeks later in Northpool, Father Flannigan is leaving the home of one of his parishoners, as a terrible storm kicks up. He comments to Mrs O'Brian how Charlie would normally be on duty on nights like that, ready to help ships in distress, but, alas, no more.

But, beneath the sea, something begins to move, and slowly staggers toward shore... Mrs O'Brian and Flannigan see it's Charlie trying to come back to the city, but the waves are too strong and they're driving him back. Flannigan rouses the people from their homes and together they run to the docks to give Charlie the encouragement he needs to make it. Soon the whole city is joined together in song, the words of which seem to give Charlie a new strength.

Finally, Charlie has come home.

The future would not be easy for the city, but the people of Northpool and Charlie would face it together.

COMMENTS:

The oddest Ro-Busters tale of the run also proves to be arguably the best. After dropping Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein from the proceedings, Mills widens the scope considerably, and gives himself the chance to tell one of his most politically charged stories.

Beautifully coupled with Gibbons' more realistic art style, Mills manages to produce a story that really showcases why he was one of 2000AD's premier script droids. With its feet very firmly planted in the real world, the piece pulls no punches with it's portrayal of faceless and corrupt bureaucracy destroying the lives of the common people, all in the name of 'progress,' while at the same time throwing in giant robots beating the hell out of each other.

It's the characters where this really comes into its own, though. From Flannigan's attempts to unite the people of Northpool, to Charlie's desire to just do the right thing, it just crackles off each and every page. And I defy even the most cold hearted of comic readers not to be moved by that final scene.

A true classic in every sense of the word.

A classic case of a story that hasn't aged well. The first time I read it I was weeping inside, but it's been reprinted so many times since (and I must have read every one) that Terra-Meks has become a cultural artefact, a time capsule for the Britain of the 1970s.

Images of people working on the docks seem so quaint - because British docks were decimated under Thatcher in the 1980s - and Gibbons' art and robot designs - although accomplished - look twee. Charlie's presentation as a mentally disabled fat kid in robot form is also starkly apparent and probably wouldn't get past today's editors. There's no innocence in comics these days, and Terra-Meks epitomises innocence and trust, evoked most heart-rendingly with Charlie wandering over to the destroyer as a 1970s' child would to a stranger's car before the warning adverts came out. It's interesting too that the captain of the destroyer is in mental anguish when he gives the order to shoot Charlie down - a glaring contrast to the mindless warmongers we see in today's comics.

The admirable community feel to the story - with the whole town coming together to rally Charlie with You'll Never Walk Alone - is emotive but embarrassing insofar as the amount of disbelief we are forced to suspend. Kudos to Mills for the way everyone who dies in the strip screams "Nogeeeeeee!" and for the depiction of heartless bureaucracy shamelessly removing the old into 'snuggle-down burrow' council estates underground (again reiterating a very 1970s feel as nowadays local councils have less control over housing), but the abiding feeling one retains from Terra-Meks is the sense of how far our sensitives have come in twenty years.