This barely counts since it was a reprint book, but I'm including it: from 1989, Sam Slade, Robohunter #31, "Farewell, My Billions" Written by Alan Grant and John Wagner (as T. B. Grover), pencils by Ian Gibson. Reprinted from 2000 AD #441-#443 from 1985, and that first prog also includes one of the stories from Judge Dredd vs. the Fatties!
On Twitter, 2000 AD asked if you could break your favorite storyline down to six words, and I described Robohunter as "Blade Runner, but hard-boiled slapstick." Case in point: Sam is an ex-Robohunter by this point, old as hell and super-retired, but why not? He'd amassed a fortune of 27 billion credits! But he's forced to get back in the game when his old sidekicks, Hoagy and Stogie, start gambling his fortune away. Or did he? Waking up in the hospital surrounded by Hoagies and Stogies, his doctor Hoagy tells him that was all a dream, but he's cracked, gone loco, lost the reality knob, and so forth. Why, he's seeing those stupid robots everywhere!
Something doesn't feel right, though: checking the nurse's station, Sam notices he's the only patient getting medication--and it's a brainwashing drug! Robots wouldn't need medication, though: pulling the arm off one of them, he realizes they really are duplicates of Hoagy! Hoagy and Stogie then decide it's time to get serious about killing Sam, although 100 Hoagies really aren't that threatening.
In the end, Sam tracks his rebellious robots to his old private eye-style office, where they've laid an ambush...surprise party? After Sam had 'rejuvenated' a bit (he still looked old) Stogie set up the whole plot as a ploy to get Sam off his ass and back into business, which necessitated blowing all his cash! Furious, Sam has to admit he's back in the robo-hunting game, since he didn't have much choice otherwise; but can barely restrain himself from murdering Hoagy and Stogie. Reasoning he needed capital, and they were worth more alive, he hocks them both! An optimistic Hoagy thinks Sam will get them out of it, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I thought it might be here, but this predates the 1991 revival of the character with Mark Millar, and that may have been rolled back to a more traditional version anyway. Also this issue: a 15-page Tharg the Mighty story, with art by Eric Bradbury.
Sorta- Peter Hogan brought it a bit closer to the original after Mark Millar's run and then Alan Grant and Ian Gibson came back 5-10 years later for the adventures of Sam's granddaughter. Hoagie and Stogie were there but general opinion is that it was alright but not great.
ReplyDeleteThis looks pretty good actually. You could easily make a movie based off using older actors like Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford, which would REALLY please Blade Runner fans.
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