By Luke Williams

Having recently (ish) come to its conclusion following the departure from the Prog of co- creator Pat Mills it seems an apposite time to conduct a post mortem of a strip that has a long and chequered history in 2000AD.  

The Disaster Squad of Distinction 

“Ro Busters” origins can be traced to 2000AD’s in house rival Starlord. Inspired by Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation series Thunderbirds told the story of a motley collection of unwanted and obsolete robots that would otherwise ended up in the scrapyard, expendable and perfect as a disaster and rescue squad – no one cared if they lived or died; least of all their boss, Howard Quartz: “Mr. 10%” so called as that was the proportion of his cybernetic body that remained human. The only thing that mattered to Quartz was the bottom line, and if that meant that a few cast-off robots were destroyed during that week’s train wreck, airliner crash tower, deep sea tunnel collapse, lunar or orbital accident, then so be it.  Just so long as it made a profit.

Our heroes were the robotic odd couple of Ro Jaws – a foul mouthed garbage grinder on a monocycle & Hammerstein, a pompous ex-army robot. They were perpetually bickering or trying to get one over on Quartz, but under the ever-present threat of the childlike and pathological robot bulldozer Mek Quake, possibly one of Mills and Kevin O’Neill’s most inspired creations. Mills and collaborators used the strip to explore class, slavery and racism all under teh veneer of a child’s science fiction comic.

Over its relatively short life the strip attracted such luminaries as Mills, and Chris Lowder on script, Ian Kennedy, Carlos Pino, Geoff Campion, Dave Gibbon on art during its Starlord residency before that title was “matched and dispatched” into 2000AD.  

Now in the Prog’ inspirations for disasters began to run dry and the strip took a different direction. Mills and his artistic collaborators began to explore the back story of Ro Jaws and Hammerstein., it also took a slightly darker tone and ramped up the social commentary with Mills writing solely for the whole run in 2000AD. Whereas the look of teh strip in Starlord occasionally looked a little dated, the art on the 2000AD was edgier, thansk to the contribution of Mike McMahon, Mike Dorey alongside regular contributors, Dave Gibbons & Kevin O’Neill.

Hammerstein’s war memoirs aka “Yesterday’s Hero” could be seen as the precursor to “A.B.C Warriors”, a trial transmogrification. Hammerstein was revealed to be the prototype MKIII war droid, fitted with his original head he is assigned to a human unit, commanded by a robot hating sergeant. Ro Jaws’ was more down to earth, a defective recycling robot who eventually found a happy home, only to end up in Ro Busters. 

A big change was coming, but prior to the climatic story came the much celebrated “Terra Meks” Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons, where a squad of enormous demolition robots owned by Quartz embark on a little urban clearance at the town of Northpool. They come a cropper when the equally gigantic ships pilot robot Charlie rebels and strikes back, protecting the community from destruction, but not without a price.  

“Ro Busters” was concluded with “The Fall & Rise of Ro Jaws and Hammerstein”, Quartz is intent on pulling the plug on the squad and cashing in on the insurance. R & H escape their fate with many of their friends. Pursued by “PD Troopers” across the country, they uncover a robot escape line to a planet safe from humans. In Prog 115, having saved their friends, the pair walk off into the sunset together.

Hammerstein and Ro Jaws were immensely popular with the readers and were for a time the “face” of editorial for the Prog’, introducing readers competitions, text articles in specials etc by various creative teams. 

“Ro Busters” had a relatively short run. Perhaps its format was considered limiting, but in the short period it has already established the themes of class, prejudice injustice and affirmed the genius design talent that was Kevin O’Neill. All of these elements would carry through to its successor series.  

“Yesterday’s hero” had clearly been a hit and gave scope for further exploration of Hammerstein’s back-story, editorial had obviously considered that a robot war story has got to be a winner.  

First Trip to Mars 

“ABC Warriors” a prequel to “Ro Busters” was the result, debuting in Prog 119.  Robots have now replaced all human soldiers in a World War, western powers fighting the Volgans, a thinly disguised USSR and 2000ADs resident baddies. ABC Warriors are controlled by human officers hundreds of miles safely behind the lines watching a holographic representation of the cybernetic carnage on the battlefield. Due to the link officers “feel” when each robot under the command is damaged or destroyed, but this is limited to a minor shock or twinge due to a “pain barrier” installed in each robot. Perpetuating the theme of class and prejudice, the robots are considered expendable, and the officers treat battles as a game and wager on the outcome. 

Old head in place, Hammerstein is back with a new supporting cast: a very different Joe Pineapples to the supercool sniper found in modern Progs, and Happy Shrapnel, a foul mouthed, irascible robot cowboy. Hammerstein resents the risks he and his comrades take while the human officers bask in the glory of battle, and when the opportunity to ease the suffering of one of the robots in his charge, Hammerstein breaks a pain barrier, killing his commanding officer. This brings him to the attention of Colonel Lash, recruiting Hammerstein, Happy and Joe and charges them with gathering four other war droids to form a crack unit, “A Meknificent 7” to tame the newly colonised planet Mars. 

This opening series can be split into recruitment of the Warriors as a team, then the mission itself, a format subsequent series woudl return to. Hammerstein and co. recruit Mongrol the ex-robot paratrooper saved and reassembled by the beautiful Lara, the “Khaos” worshipping mystic knight Deadlock, Volgan war criminal Blackblood and the ultimate ABC Warrior,  Steelhorn seemingly indestructible, but betrayed by his creators and turned into the liquid robot “Mess”.   

These early “Meknificent Seven” missions reflect its Hollywood western namesake but with a 22^nd century slant:  protecting honest landowners and oppressed minorities from crooked corporations, herding rogue dinosaurs, eradicating sentient disease and roaming uncontrollable skyscraper tall terraforming robots, but told with economy and energy over a series of thrilling two parters.

It’s beautifully drawn, a startling range of styles by a who’s who of golden age contributors to the Prog’. Mike McMahon, Kevin’ O’Neill, Brendan McCarthy, Dave Gibbons, Carlos Ezquerra. Despite its popularity, there were creative and editorial disputes, a recurring theme throughout the strips history and whenthis first run it ended, it would be many years before the Warriors would return.

Wilderness Years 

The characters next appeared in “Nemesis the Warlock” Book 3 (Progs’ 335-349) by creators Mills & O’Neill.  Set thousands of years after Ro busters and ABC Warriors a radically redesigned, but still gleefully sadistic Mek Quake is found supporting Torquemada’s Terminators’ siege of the planet of the Basilisks, an alien race under the protection of the Warlock. Mek Quake clearly still holds a grudge having carried a picture of Ro Jaws and Hammerstein around with him for centuries .

(Almost) the entire line up then reappeared in “Nemesis The Warlock :  Book 4 :The Gothic Empire”. Initially drawn Kevin O’Neill, who gets to draw Ro Jaws, Bryan Talbot takes over as Hammerstein makes a reappearance. Following recruited into Termight’s robot armies Hammerstein fails in an assassination attempt on the Empress of the Gothic Empire, captured and subsequently “defecting” to the aliens, Nemesis charges him regrouping the “Meknificent 7” to fight Termight. 

There had been losses – the Mess had merged with George the gigantic terrafoming on Mars, Happy Shrapnel had (seemingly) died. As replacements, and mirroring the first series, Hammerstein brought two comrades with him from Torquemada’s robot armies; Mad Ronn a former bomb disposal robot and Hitaki a robot samurai. The survivors were largely unchanged, save Joe who had begun to look more like a human GI (and not the blue kind). Cementing the link between “ABC Warriors” and “Nemesis”, it’s revealed that Nemesis is the very same “Khaos” that Deadlock once worshipped and the two had had become one. 

So, the Warriors are in new stories, but are the supporting cast in someone else’s story, albeit a beautifully drawn one. Other than Ro Jaws and occasionally Hammerstein,, they are almost reduced to panel decorationwith the odd line as the story demanded.  Bryan Talbot updates their look, giving them an ancient battle weariness.

This state of affairs continues for 3 books of “Nemesis” until 1987’s Book 6 : “Torquemurder”. While Nemesis and Purity pursue son Thoth through the time wastes of Termight to prevent his mission of killing Torquemaa’s previous incarnations, the Warriors are ordered to break into the black hole control room deep in the wastes to prevent the other half of Thoth’s grand plan, of universal destruction by making the black and white holes of Termight to collide. Hitaki and Mad Ronn have been destroyed and Mek Quake & Ro Jaws are recruited as permanent members. 

Black Hole Mission 

It’s here that the Warriors graduate back to their own series, teasingly trailed with a Simon Harrison Joe Pineapples pin up in Prog 535 (Simon Harrison’s other concepts for the series can be found here. 

The “Black Hole Mission” coincides with the continued maturing of 2000AD. Mills’s exploits this new freedom and expands on “Ro-Busters” / “A.B.C Warriors” themes of class, prejudice, racism and deals with them more overtly.

These characters are some of the oldest and most legendary in the Galaxy’s Greatest. Following their reintroduction in “Nemesis The Warlock” and spinning off back into their own series boded well for the series, but the law of  diminshing returns hit hard. The Tony Skinner era, fun though “Khronicles” was, saw a dumbing down of the sophsitication that had been built during “The Black Hole”. The soft reboot with the “Third Element” storyline was a misfire with editorial and creators disagreements on direction, a clearer direction came with “The Shadow Warriors”, but following the intial promise of the “Volgan War” it replicated that other Mills creation ”Slaine” in an overreliance on spectacular art and thin and or recycled plots : the Warriors fighting amongst themselves, splitting up, reforming and confronting teams of robots that were designed to neutralise them. With few exceptions, the series’ have been a showcase for spectacular art, a veritable who’s who of art droids, Kennedy, Campion, McMahon, Ewins, McCarthy, Gibbons, Ezquerra, O’Neill, Walker, Bisley, SMS, Cook, Langley, Dillon, Talbot. The double page spreads are stunning, “The Retreat From Volgow”, the introduction of Mongrol & Deadlock, Ian Kennedy’s beautiful “Ro Busters” scene setters

It’s also significant for the debut of two new artists; poles apart in style mirroring the artistic variety of the first series. Sci fi artist SMS (now known as Smuzz) brought a studied, SF novel cover look to the strip, whereas some chancer called Simon Bisley brought a dynamism, fluidity and heavy rock theatrics and considerable artistic licence in his interpretation of the characters.

With the characters bereft of character development for the “Nemesis” years, Mills and his collaborators made up for lost time. Whole episodes were devoted to the warriors hang ups: fleshing out the tragedy of Hammerstein’s development, icy cool Joe Pineapples’ fetishes, what Blackblood really thought of his team mates, what drove Deadlock – dispatched by Nemesis to assist with the mission, and Mongrol’s despair. Along the way, they recruit “Terri” a human raised by the robot security forces deployed to protect the control room and used as a replacement for Ro Jaws who returns to the comic relief role.  

It’s not just the ancient automated security the Warriors contend with, they are also in race to beat the Monad an incredibly powerful psychic being – the distillation of human evil and the product of Torquemada’s meddling at the end of time. 

It’s here that the first major rifts appear in the group, the conflict between “Khaos” and order that had begun in Nemesis violently erupts in the climactic episodes. An uneasy truce pauses the conflict between the warring factions within the Warriors, they save the universe and escape. Though not Terri. Terri is this sequence’s casualty.  

 

Fratboys

The Black Hole Masson was probably as dark, sophisticated and nuanced as a strip about 7 ancient war robots can be. The next two books, “Khronicles of Khaos” and “Hellbringer” are a significant tonal shift, a move away from the darker and occasionally poe faced (though not without humour) “Black Hole Mission”. With it, comes the astonishing fully painted art of Kevin Walker : vibrant and spectacularly colourful. Bisley is a big influence in design terms, the Warriors retain Bisley’s faux musculature, the straight edge and angles of the first run or even of SMS’ (chronically underrated as a strip artist) are nowhere to be seen.  

For the first time on the strip, Mills is joined by a co writer : Tony Skinner – his collaborator for a significant part of the 90s on Marvel work, Toxic, Crisis and Finn. “KoK” (unfortunate) sees the Warriors travelling to the planet Hekate, epicentre of Khaos to allow defacto leader Deadlock, to atone for betraying his master in saving the universe by converting the Warriors into soldiers of Khaos. 

“Tonal shift” is possibly an understatement. This is far less subtle, humour abounds, the Warriors themselves become caricatures. Mills and Skinner eschew the sophistication of the character development of last series and play up the laughs and the slapstick. This run has probably aged the most in its 1990’s reference points. Other than that, Mills and Skinner produce a not too subtle panegyric on Khaos theory, paganism, ecology which is all still relevant (arguably even more so). To become agents of Khaos, the warriors and new recruit female robot Morrigun need to sacrifice 7 authority figures in a deeply “ironic” fashion. There is a big party at the end of the strip. Bloodletting complete, even the famously straight-laced Hammerstein loosens up by the end, and they disband. 

Set ten years after “KoK”, “Hellbringer,” Blackblood has returned to arms dealing and working through a long-time desire for revenge on Hammerstein, by torturing him in his spare time. Deadlock appears to Hammerstein to warn him of the Terran Empires new weapon: the titular “Hellbringer” a ship with a Black Hole as a weapon capable of sending rebel planets to parallel universes.

Then, in what had become the recurring trope half the story is devoted to a recruitment drive, before the mission proper. “Hellbringer” is rudderless, the art is beautiful, but the plot is short on ideas. Editorial seemed to agree, and the series direction shifts for the next series. 

Back to Mars  : The Third Element

Appearing in 1999’s Prog’ 2000 and trailing the new direction and a series that wouldn’t appear for another year, Kevin Walker’s brain mangling detailed linework was his swansong on “Roadkill” the single episode bridging the gap between “Hellbringer” and what became the second Mars saga.  Along the way Skinner had left and the Warriors had abandoned their quest to bring Khaos to the galaxy.  

In former “Tharg” David Bishop’s Thrillpower Overload : Thirty Years of 2000AD Mills says he had been commissioned by then 2000AD editor Andy Diggle to return the strip to more “conventional” territory its glory days of the first run – short stories of one or two episodes fitting into longer arc. The production of the “Third Element” arc was “fraught” reflected in the quality of the end product. Script anomalies and inconsistencies, clumsy plot devices and occasionally poor art; despite a stellar rotating art team of Henry Flint, Liam (McCormack) Sharpe, Boo Cook and Mike McMahon  

The Warriors had returned to continue their first mission of protecting both the human settlers on Mars and the Martians, the Trimorphs. The settlers had found that they had begun fighting the planet itself. The planetary consciousness, Medusa, had a death wish and had begun tapping into the human psyche to recreate forces to fight the humans from their past and their fiction. It saw the demise of Morrigun to make way for the return of Steelhorn, reincarnated as a protector of Medusa – the spirit of Mars. 

Shadow Warriors  

The return to the old setting of Mars did nothing to arrest the slide in quality in the stories (art was never really an issue).

“The Shadow Warriors” had an old school feel, harking back to the original Mars mission, helped by the artists: Carlos Ezquerra drew book 1, with the quintessential 2000AD artist Henry Flint drawing the remaining 2.  

The Warriors are caught in the middle of a civil war between the settler factions of Mars and the Confederacy of Martian Industries. The Confederacy form a detachment of 7 robot soldiers each having specific skills and abilities to neutralise to neutralise their counterpart in the Warriors.  Told over a period of 3 years, “The Shadow Warriors” was an improvement. Less forced, more focused and with a better plot, but a theme that was going to be revisited in the future. 

Looking back to go forward 

In the final phase of the strip, Clint Langley comes on board as artist staying  until the strip hits  the buffers in 2022. It’s here that the recycling of past storylines is ramped up and  Mills and Langley draw inspiration from the past to create new stories.  

“The Volgan Wars” inserts ABC Warrior “Z” into the history of the series. Following Mek Quake’s committing to an asylum, which also holds Volkhan, the leader of the Volgan robot army.

Defections and betrayals split the Warriors,  Volkhan recruits the rogue members and repeating a plot idea from “Shadow Warriors” creates a force to equal them. 

“Return To Earth” continues the flashback  / retcon of “The Volgan War” and Hammerstein’s one way mission to end war following the end of the first Mars Mission and dovetailing  into the origin of “Ro Busters” after meeting Howard Quartz and reintroducing the previously thought dead Happy Shrapnel now going by the name of Tubal Cain. 

The sequel “Return to Mars” ties up plot threads and discrepancies of the seeming soft reboot of the “Third Element” storyline, and continuing the theme “Return to Ro Busters” expands on historic storylines from the origins of the strip, reintroducing the now ancient Howard Quartz and bring the characters full circle.  

The reintroduction of Steelhorn, Happy Shrapnel / Tubal Caine as members and Howard Quartz as an antagonist signalled an over reliance on the strip coiling around its own continuity retconning history.  The promise of the “Volgan War“ sequence is dashed and even the defection of Mek Quake and Blackblood failed to maintain the life in the strip, as it went into just another extended robot fight. “Return to Mars” and “Return To Ro-Busters” were lengthy set ups for the final  published storyline “Fall Out”, but the strip ended prematurely and the storyline was never(and judging from comments from Mills and Rebellion, not likely to be) resolved; perhaps given time, this would have been a set up for progression and development of the strip, but initial indications were that it was heading into another robot slugfest. Perhaps it was for the best, the strip had become a showcase for spectacular art, but short on story ideas. 

Spin Offs & Solo Strips 

Annuals and specials saw a few one offs of both “Ro Busters” and “ABC Warriors”. Alan Moore wrote three celebrated “Ro Busters” strips. “Bax The Burner” in the 1982 2000AD annual about a rogue pyrokinetic stalking Miss Marilyn.  “Storm Eagles Are Go!”, by Moore and Joe Eckers, where a rival disaster firm begins to steal Ro Busters’ thunder, and “Old Red Eyes Is Back” where a knock on the head sends Hammerstein on a rampage and he has to be brought down by Joe Pineapples, from the 1983 annual drawn by Bryan Talbot. 

Perhaps the most celebrated of the Alan Moore’s work on the characters was ABC Warriors : Red Planet Blues” drawn by Steve Dillion and beautifully coloured by John Higgins. Set during the first mission to Mars, it’s a melancholy masterpiece. 

The Nemesis & Deadlock team up of “The Engimass Variations” by Mills, Skinner and Carl Critchlow is let down by poor colour reproduction and a cheesy plot. The beautifully drawn Blackblood origin of “”Dishonourable Dishcharge”, (1992 Winter Special) is worth a read and fits in nicely between “Khronicles” and “Hellbringer”. The Joe Pineapples “Greatest Hits” solo strip by Mills and Tom Carney, in the 1996 sci fi special, is remarkable if only for it took that long for a Joe solo strip. The  “A.B.C Warrior” strip written by Mills and drawn by Jason Brashill that tied into the 1995 Judge Dredd film, placing Hammerstein well and truly into  Dredd history following his appearance in the Stallone vehicle, but has not been referred to since. Acting as an epilogue to the saga of “Nemesis the Warlock”, the Deadlock solo strip “Return to Termight” drawn by Henry Flint is a call back to the unhinged majesty of “Nemesis The Warlock Book 1” . There is also the little matter of the origin of Quartz, War Droid Mark IIIs and the rest of the ABC Warriors being addressed in the excellent, but in limbo “Savage”, the sequel to “Invasion!”, by Mills, Charlie Adlard and Patrick Goddard. There is also a Blackblood story in the 2017 Free Comic Book Day issue of 2000AD, drawn by the excellent Kei Zama.

“A.B.C Warriors” novels were published by Black Flame, “The Medusa War” – Pat Mills and Alan Mitchell (collaborator with Mills on Crisis’ “Third World War” and Toxic’s “Coffin”), and “Rage Against The Machines” credited to Mike Wild. 

Finally, in terms of spin offs and solo stories, there is the the escapee from development hell that was “Joe Pineapples : Tin Man”.  A strip that was the idea of Simon Bisley, but who only contributed a few pages before being replaced by Clint Langley. An intriguing concept of Ro Jaws and Joe being trapped on an asteroid for thousands of years, created an an interlude to fit into a breathing space in “Fallout”, but acts as capstone to the strip as a whole. 

These characters are some of the oldest and most legendary in the Galaxy’s Greatest. Following their reintroduction in “Nemesis The Warlock” and spinning off back into their own series boded well for the series, but the law of diminshing returns hit hard. The Tony Skinner era, fun though “Khronicles” was, saw a dumbing down of the sophsitication that had been built during “The Black Hole”. The soft reboot with the “Third Element” storyline was a misfire with editorial and creators disagreements on direction, a clearer direction came with “The Shadow Warriors”, but following the intial promise of the “Volgan War” it replicated that other Mills creation ”Slaine” in an overreliance on spectacular art and thin and or recycled plots : the Warriors fighting amongst themselves, splitting up, reforming and confronting teams of robots that were designed to neutralise them. With few exceptions, the series’ have been a showcase for spectacular art, a veritable who’s who of art droids, Kennedy, Campion, McMahon, Ewins, McCarthy, Gibbons, Ezquerra, O’Neill, Walker, Bisley, SMS, Cook, Langley, Dillon, Talbot. The double page spreads are stunning, “The Retreat From Volgow”, the introduction of Mongrol & Deadlock, Ian Kennedy’s beautiful “Ro Busters” scene setters.

For all that, although it’s been a bumpy ride, phases of “Ro Busters / A.B.C Warriors” rank amongst the most thrilling, affecting and spectacular strips to appear in British Comics.