Ro-Busters is a British comic story that formed part of the original line-up of the magazine Starlord. Similar in premise to that of the Thunderbirds television series, it was created by writer Pat Mills and was drawn by Carlos Pino and Ian Kennedy initially, before Starlord's merger with 2000 AD. After the merger, Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill and Mike McMahon were regular artists on the series, along with occasional contributions from Mike Dorey.
Along with Strontium Dog, Ro-Busters survived Starlord's merger with 2000 AD, its sister comic at IPC Magazines Ltd. The series introduced the decommissioned war robot Hammerstein and the sewer robot Ro-Jaws, and gave rise to the popular ABC Warriors series.
Mandate
Robots are going to take over Man's dirtiest jobs . . . clearing his garbage, tending his sick, even fighting his wars! By the year 2078 people will change their robots as today they change their cars. So step now through the slick plasto-glass doors of "Flash" Harry Lowder's robo-mart in the year 2078 . . .[1]
Publication history
The story was one of those aimed at being the core of the new title Starlord, a sister-comic to 2000 AD. The concept was based on a suggestion from managing editor John Sanders and, according to writer Pat Mills "I did this really as a favour and as a way of pissing off the managing editor who pitched an idea to me about ex-servicemen with super powers who deal with disasters. It was a dreadful idea and I bypassed it by doing Ro-Busters, which he hated – so I knew my story would be a hit"[2] Although he had stayed with 2000 AD, and would go on to be the art editor there, Kevin O'Neill provided the initial designs for Ro-Buster[3] but would only draw the series later after its move to 2000 AD.
The stories were drawn by a number of artists and Dave Gibbons has fond memories of his work on Ro-Busters:
I used to love doing Ro-Busters. I think the "Terra-Meks" story was arguably one of my finest hours. It was a great script Pat wrote for that, really emotional and kind of 2000 AD at its best. Grandiose, outrageous concepts, yet with a real humanity and emotional depth to it as well.[4]
Hammerstein, Ro-Jaws and Mek-Quake would go on to be members of the ABC Warriors, first introduced in Hammerstein's flashbacks to his time in the Volgan War.
After the launch of ABC Warriors Pat Mills did not write another Ro-Busters story for thirty-five years, but there were a number of one-offs published in the 2000 AD Annual during the early eighties, most notable three stories by Alan Moore which were the last Ro-Busters tales.
Overview
Ro-Busters depicts a world where artificially intelligent robots are so ubiquitous they are treated with contempt by humans and there is a class hierarchy among the robots themselves. Ro-Busters is a commercial rescue organisation run by Howard Quartz, known as "Mr. 10 Per Cent" because 90% of him is robotic (a 'person' must have at least 10% organic matter to qualify as human). Quartz uses robots to carry out his perilous rescue missions because no-one cares if they live or die. Any insubordination in the ranks is dealt with by his enforcer, the psychotic and stupid "kill-dozer" Mek-Quake. Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein, the two main characters, are hugely courageous but after each successful mission they are usually greeted with indifference by the authorities.
When the owner of Ro-Busters decides to destroy the robots in an 'accident' as a tax evasion measure, Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein lead an escape plot. Once free they learn that a robot underground exists and that a safe haven for free robots has been established on the Saturn's moon Titan. The Ro-Busters by this stage are being pursued by a ruthless police unit charged with suppressing robot liberation. A transport is arranged to take the robots to Titan but at the last moment the police close in so Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein with a few volunteers lead a seeming suicide mission to fight off the authorities and buy time for their comrades to escape. The mission is a success and Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein are seen dancing into the sunset.
The series has a high degree of satiric comment on contemporary life as Pat Mills had shown on other series. The corrupt and malicious police squad sent to capture the robots is a parody of the Special Patrol Group. Some claim the wilful destruction of a productive and loyal workforce reflects the effects of Thatcherism – though the storyline was already well underway before the first Thatcher government had been elected. Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein's names are a word play on the musical writing pairing of Rodgers and Hammerstein and the story also features a number of song and dance routines.
Ro-Busters would turn up in Savage Book Five, set in an alternate 2009; a human Howard Quartz and his Ro-Busters company designed the first ABC Warriors to liberate Volgan-occupied territories. Quartz was revealed to be the brother of the US vice-president Dick Quartz and a leading arms manufacturer; when the U.S. was neutral towards the Volgans, Quartz had secretly sold weapons to them via murky legal means.
Starlord Starzine 1 (prologue) Unable to find buyers for his merchandise, robot dealer "Flash" Harry Lowder orders his second-hand robots to report to Mek-Quake for destruction. Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein are among those droids saved due to a timely intervention by billionaire entrepreneur, Howard "Mr. Ten Per Cent" Quartz.
The North Sea Tunnel
Starlord Starzine 1 (1 episode) A submarine crashes through the North Sea Tunnel connecting Britain and Scandinavia.
Red Mist
Starlord Starzines 2 – 4 (3 episodes) An experimental gas leaks through the Florida swamps. Humans and animals alike succumb to its effects, causing them to go insane with violent consequences.
Midpoint
Starlord Starzines 5 – 6 (2 episodes) As part of a secret US program, Lep-574 is the latest rocket launched from the Yucca desert, Nevada. Containing nuclear waste bound for outer-space, the rocket malfunctions, crashing into Midpoint, London's foremost conference tower.
2000 ADProgs 88 – 92 (5 episodes) Hammerstein recounts his war stories as the first successful war robot fighting against the Volgans alongside humans.
2000 ADProgs 98 – 101 (4 episodes) Plans to flatten and redevelop an old port go wrong when the demolition team – the gargantuan but particularly low intelligence Terra-Meks – go on the rampage. The harbour pilot, an equally large but good-natured robot stops them. The only member of the Ro-busters to appear is Mek-Quake.
The Rise and Fall of Ro-Jaws and Hammer-Stein
2000 ADProgs 103 – 115 (13 episodes) The robots escape a planned insurance write-off when their transport craft is blown up by their own boss. They find out about the robot underground that takes robots to safety on a moon in the outer solar system. To help the others get away, a few robots (led by Hammerstein, and including Ro-jaws) stay behind.
↑ "Hammer-Stein's War Memoirs" (part 4) 2000 AD Prog 91, page 1.3, "The Terra-Meks" (part 1) 2000 AD Prog 98, page 1.1 and "The Rise and Fall of Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein" (part 1) 2000 AD Prog 103, Page 6.2.
Related Research Articles
Patrick Eamon Mills is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather of British comics".
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic magazine. As a comics anthology it serialises stories in each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. Since 2000 it has been published by Rebellion Developments.
Kevin O'Neill was an English comic book illustrator who was the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Tharg the Mighty or The Mighty One is the fictional editor of the British science fiction comic 2000 AD. The character was introduced on the cover of the first issue in 1977 and is one of only two characters to appear in almost every issue of the comic, the other being Judge Dredd. Tharg occasionally appears in stories and strips involving him have been written by such notable writers as Alan Grant, Alan Moore and John Wagner, albeit usually credited to "TMO" – "The Mighty One".
David Chester Gibbons is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything". He was an artist for 2000 AD, for which he contributed a large body of work from its first issue in 1977.
Rogue Trooper is a science fiction strip in the British comic 2000 AD, created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons in 1981. It portrays the adventures of a "Genetic Infantryman" named Rogue and three uploaded minds mounted on his equipment who search for the Traitor General who betrayed their regiment to the enemy.
ABC Warriors is a feature in the UK comic-book series 2000 AD written by Pat Mills. It first appeared in program (issue) 119 in 1979 and continues to run as of 2018. Art for the opening episodes was by Kevin O'Neill, Mike McMahon, Brett Ewins, and Brendan McCarthy, who among them designed the original seven members of the team. Since then, they have been illustrated primarily, though not exclusively, by Bryan Talbot, Simon Bisley, SMS, Kevin Walker, Henry Flint and Clint Langley. The A.B.C. Warriors are a team of war robots designed to withstand 'Atomic', 'Bacterial' and 'Chemical' warfare. They were built to take part in the long-running Volgan War, which Mills had described in several previous 2000 AD strips, including Invasion! and Ro-Busters. Each robot has a distinctive personality – often one programmed by its human creators – but each is more or less able to act with free will.
Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra was a Spanish comics artist who worked mainly in British comics. He is best known as the co-creator of Judge Dredd.
Michael McMahon is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd, Sláine and ABC Warriors, and the mini-series The Last American.
Starlord was a British weekly boys' science fiction comic published by IPC Magazines from 13 May to 7 October 1978, when it merged with 2000 AD after 22 issues. The comic was created by Kelvin Gosnell, and was originally intended as a fortnightly sister title for 2000 AD with higher production values and an older audience, but late changes in production saw it converted into a weekly.
Tornado was a British weekly boys' adventure comic published by IPC Magazines from 24 March to 18 August 1979. The comic was partly created as a way to use up stories already commissioned for the other titles, and was marred by a difficult production. Tornado sold poorly and was merged with 2000 AD after 22 issues.
Hammerstein is a fictional robot created by Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill, who first appeared in 1978 as a member of Ro-Busters in the British comic Starlord but is best known as the leader of the ABC Warriors in 2000AD.
Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic 2000 AD in 1977, and was its second editor (1977–1978). He also edited Starlord (1978) and Tornado (1979).
Invasion! was a series created by Pat Mills and mostly written by Gerry Finley-Day that appeared in the first 51 editions of the weekly comic 2000 AD.
Harlem Heroes is a British comic strip that formed part of the original line-up of stories in 2000 AD. Inspired by the popularity during the 1970s of kung fu films and the Harlem Globetrotters, Harlem Heroes was devised by Pat Mills, employing elements from his Hellball comic strip, and scripted by Tom Tully. Initially, the series was to have been drawn by Carlos Trigo but the Spanish artist was replaced by Dave Gibbons prior to the first issue's publication. From issue 25 Massimo Belardinelli drew the concluding episodes of the first series and would be retained as its regular artist for the strip's reinvention as Inferno.
Bill Savage is a fictional character in the British comic anthology 2000 AD, which first appeared in the story Invasion! in issues 1–51. He is a resistance fighter in the Free European Army (FEAR) against the Volgans, who invaded and conquered Britain in 1999 during the Eight Hour War. His family include his brother Jack, a pub owner in Birmingham who was apparently killed when the Midlands was nuked; his sister Cassie and her disabled husband Noddie, who assist in the resistance; and his other brother Tom, a journalist who publicly co-operated with the Volgans.
2000 AD crossovers are crossover stories appearing in British comic 2000 AD, its sister title the Judge Dredd Megazine, and other related output, such as novels, audio plays, films and role-playing games.
Pat Mills has written comics since the early seventies.
Clint Langley is a British comic book artist best known for his work on series with Pat Mills at 2000 AD and as the cover artist for Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy.
Ian Kennedy was a British artist who worked initially for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, then later for Amalgamated Press.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
