Judge Dredd

AUTHOR: Ennis, Garth; Grant, Alan; Mills, Pat; Wagner, John

ARTIST: Brian Bolland (illustrator); Steve Dillon (illustrator); Carlos Ezquerra (illustrator); Dave Gibbons (illustrator); Cam Kennedy (illustrator); Mike McMahon (illustrator)

PUBLISHER: Fleetway; IPC; Rebellion

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 1977-

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2005-

Publication History

The development and publication of Judge Dredd and 2000 AD, the comics anthology in which the strip appears, was a difficult and tumultuous process. During the 1970’s, two major publishers controlled the British comics industry: DC Thomson and IPC. In 1974, Thomson began publishing Warlord, a weekly comic that reflected the changing trends in youthful entertainment; the stories were darker and much more mature than earlier British comics. In response to the success of Warlord, IPC enlisted young writers Pat Mills and John Wagner to develop a corresponding series that would challenge Thomson’s control of the industry. Their first creation for IPC was Battle Picture Weekly in 1975, a raw and gritty title that also brought Spanish artist Carlos Ezquerra into the IPC domain.

IPC, Mills, and Wagner went on to produce Valiant and Action titles while generating ideas for a weekly science-fiction comic. The majority of responsibility in launching what would eventually become 2000 AD fell to Mills. After reviewing Mills’s ideas and suggestions regarding various strips, Wagner proposed a law-enforcement adventure story. Influenced by his previous creation of the Valiant character One-Eyed Jack, a street-tough law enforcer inspired by the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry films, Wagner transformed his proposed police officer into a violent enforcer working in a futuristic, postapocalyptic New York City. Although Mills envisioned incorporating an occult theme into the character and commissioned a figure design known as “Judge Dread,” Wagner was opposed, and Mills’s concepts were abandoned. Wagner took the name Judge Dread for his ultraviolent cop, changing the spelling to “Judge Dredd,” and Ezquerra was commissioned to design the character.

Although Ezquerra based the early designs of Dredd on the film Death Race 2000 (1975), Wagner was not convinced about the visuals. Stalling Judge Dredd’s development even further was the revelation to Mills and Wagner that the rights and permissions to the character would be held by the publisher, not the creators. Guaranteed a rate of only ten pounds per page, Wagner quit Judge Dredd before the series launched. However, after a financial offer from IPC, Mills remained onboard for 2000 AD, much to the resentment of Wagner.

The first issue, or “prog,” of 2000 AD launched in 1977, but prog 1 did not contain a Judge Dredd strip. Mills continued to develop the strip in Wagner’s absence, facing conflicts with censorship that led him to hire various writers to compose the scripts according to a formula and to bring on artist Mike McMahon to illustrate the new scripts. Angered at not receiving any notification about the assignment changes, Ezquerra followed Wagner and quit 2000 AD.

Determined to see Judge Dredd in print, Mills defended his staffing changes, and Judge Dredd finally debuted in prog 2 (March, 1977) with a story written by Mills and Peter Harris and illustrated by McMahon. Financial pressures prompted Wagner to return to the publication with prog 9 and the “Robots” storyline, and he remained with the series for much of its run.

During Wagner’s lengthy tenure on Judge Dredd, many artists contributed to the look, design, and feel of Dredd and his Mega-City One environment. McMahon illustrated the first published strip, while Brian Bolland defined early imagery through cover assignments and his work on the lengthy “Cursed Earth” storyline. Additionally, artists Ian Gibson, Ron Smith, Brendan McCarthy, Gary Leach, Brett Ewins, and Ron Turner oversaw the early development of the strip’s universe through 1980. Even Ezquerra eventually returned to Judge Dredd, working with Wagner and writer Alan Grant, who cowrote the strip for much of the 1980’s. Under Wagner’s direction and guidance, additional artists such as Cam Kennedy, Steve Dillon, Barry Kitson, John Higgins, and Colin MacNeil gave Dredd a uniqueness that contributed to the evolution of his character and associated allies and villains.

In 1990, with the launch of Judge Dredd Megazine, a sister publication to 2000 AD, Wagner began work on that title and left the scripting of 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd strip to such writers as Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, John Smith, and Gordon Rennie. He returned to Dredd and 2000 AD periodically throughout the following decades.

In 2000, 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine were acquired by Rebellion, which continued to publish the titles on a weekly and monthly basis, respectively. While there are many graphic novel collections of various Judge Dredd strips from both the 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine titles, Rebellion has attempted to collect and distribute nearly every Dredd story in chronological order. Censored strips, however, have not been reproduced due to legal restrictions.

Plot

Set in a postapocalyptic New York City known as Mega-City One, Judge Dredd is the story of an ultraviolent law-enforcement unit made up of judges who are given the authority to detain, arrest, and execute. Embodying both heroic and villainous qualities, Dredd is often depicted with his Lawgiver sidearm, “daystick,” and various other weapons as he rides his Lawmaster motorbike through the city. Futuristic and dystopian in design and feel, Judge Dredd falls into the science-fiction and action-adventure genres.

Major plotlines at the beginning of Wagner’s tenure (progs 9-17) revolve around the “Robot Wars,” in which robot leader Call-Me-Kenneth revolts against its programming and begins terrorizing Mega-City One. Although Dredd deactivates the robot, his warnings about a cyber revolution are ignored, forcing him to resign. When the robots revolt and Mega-City One descends into bloodshed, Dredd returns to save the citizens and terminate the robot uprising. Wagner expands the Dredd universe with an exploration of Dredd’s heritage and the justice system in “The Academy of the Law” in progs 27-28 and leads up to the one-shot story by Mills that introduces Dredd’s clone brother, Rico, in prog 30. The judges’ world is exposed as Dredd goes undercover to identify a rogue judge in “Mutie the Pig” and later is assigned to duty on the moon as Judge Marshal in “Luna Period.”

The most ambitious effort of Wagner’s early Judge Dredd career is the twenty-five-issue “The Cursed Earth” saga (1978). Upon learning that Mega-City Two, the western counterpart in North America to Mega-City One, has been overwhelmed by a plague, Dredd and several associates traverse the “Cursed Earth” between the two cities and combat armies of mutants and monsters determined to destroy them.

Story arcs spanning multiple issues are a hallmark of Wagner’s time on Judge Dredd. Following “The Cursed Earth,” Wagner’s “Judge Cal” saga focuses on the assassination of a chief judge and the uprising that follows when a psychotic Judge Cal assumes control of Mega-City One. Embarking on a killing spree, Cal frames Dredd for murder because he will not acquiesce to Cal’s tyranny. Leading the resistance, Dredd eventually regains control of Mega-City One. Although shorter in publication length, Wagner’s next major arcs, published in 1980, introduce Dredd’s greatest nemesis, Judge Death, and a powerful ally, Psi-Judge Anderson.

Wagner’s “The Judge Child” gives even greater dimension to the Dredd universe, introducing the Angel Gang, Judge Hershey, and a prophecy predicting the destruction of Mega-City One. Judge Death is further explored and joined by Judges Fear, Mortis, and Fire in “Judge Death Lives.” Wagner’s “Block Mania” and “The Apocalypse War” story arcs in progs 236-270 detail the outbreak of civil war in Mega-City One after its water supplies are threatened by a Sov-Block plot to weaken the city. The conflict intensifies, leading to a nuclear war between Mega-City One and the Sov city East-Meg One. This Cold War-era politicization of Judge Dredd continues to develop between progs 460 and 533.

Dredd’s heritage, though largely unexamined in early story lines, is explored in the story arc “Oz” (1987), in which Dredd discovers an entire island of evil clones. This story arc reverberates from its inception in prog 545 through prog 584 and beyond as remnants of the evil clones reemerge to threaten Mega-City One. One such Dredd clone, Kraken, becomes Dredd’s nemesis in the “Necropolis” story line.

In the early 1990’s, Wagner’s work on Judge Dredd found a new home in 2000 AD’s sister title, Judge Dredd Megazine, while Dredd’s adventures in 2000 AD carried on under the direction of writers such as Garth Ennis. Dredd continues to fight new and recurring foes in both publications, protecting Mega-City One from those who would do it harm.

Volumes

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume One (2005). Collects progs 2-60. Includes the pre-Wagner Dredd stories, the “Walter the Wobot, Fwiend of Dredd” stories, Wagner’s epic story arc “Robot Wars,” and other stories including “The Academy of the Law,” “Mutie the Pig,” “The Troggies,” “The Mega-City 5000,” and “Luna Period.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Two (2006). Collects progs 61-115. Includes the “Cursed Earth” arc and the “Judge Cal” saga.

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Three (2006). Collects progs 116-154. Includes the debut of Judge Death and Psi-Judge Anderson and the return of Satanus from the “Cursed Earth” story line.

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Four (2006). Collects progs 156-207. Includes the “Judge Child” story line, “The Fink,” and “UnAmerican Graphitti.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Five (2006). Collects progs 208-270. Includes “Judge Death Lives,” “Block Mania,” and “The Apocalypse War.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Six (2006). Collects progs 271-321. Includes “League of Fatties,” “Fungus,” “The Game Show Show,” “Destiny’s Angels,” “The Executioner,” “The Night of the Rad Beast,” “The Last Invader,” “Shanty Town,” “Trapper Hag,” “Starborn Thing,” “The Stupid Gun,” and “Condo.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Seven (2007). Collects progs 322-375. Includes “Cry of the Werewolf,” “The Weather Man,” “Requiem for a Heavyweight,” “The Graveyard Shift,” “Rumble in the Jungle,” “Bob and Carol and Ted and Ringo,” “Citizen Snork,” “The Haunting of Sector House 9,” “Portrait of a Politician,” “Superbowl,” and “The Wreckers.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Eight (2007). Collects progs 376-423. Includes “Dredd Angel,” “Gator,” “The Wally Squad,” “City of the Damned,” “The Hunters Club,” “Juve’s Eyes,” and “Sunday Night Fever.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Nine (2007). Collects progs 424-473. Includes “Midnight Surfer,” “Nosferatu,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” “The Magnificent Obsession,” “The Warlord,” “The Falucci Tape,” “Gribligs,” “The Big Sleep,” and “Riders on the Storm.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Ten (2008). Collects progs 474-522. Includes “The Law According to Dredd,” “The Art of Kenny Who?,” “Perp Aid,” “Atlantis,” “Phantom of the Shoppera,” “Tomb of the Judges,” “The Witness,” “The Taxidermist,” and “The Beating Heart.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Eleven (2008). Collects progs 523-570. Includes “Pit Rat,” “The Raggedy Man,” “Fairly Hyperman,” “Revolution,” “Alabammy Blimps,” “The Return of Death Fist,” “Killcraze,” and “Oz.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Twelve (2008). Collects progs 571-618. Includes “Hitman,” “Skeet and the Wrecking Crew,” “Full Mental Jacket,” “Bloodline,” “Twister,” “PJ Maybe, Age 13,” “Curse of the Spider-Woman,” “Alzheimer’s Block,” “Our Man in Hondo,” and “Crazy Barry, Little Mo.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Thirteen (2009). Collects progs 619-661. Includes “Breakdown on Ninth Street,” “Banana City,” “The Confeshuns of PJ Maybe,” “Cardboard City,” “Confessions of a Rottweiler,” and “Young Giant.” Represents the first volume to collect Judge Dredd stories written by Grant.

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Fourteen (2009). Collects progs 662-699. Includes “Tale of the Dead Man,” “By Lethal Injection,” “Dear Annie,” and “Necropolis.” Also includes stories written by Grant.

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Fifteen (2010). Collects progs 700-735. Includes “Theatre of Death,” “Nightmares,” “Wot I Did During Necropolis,” “Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home,” and “Black Widow.” Includes Dredd stories by Grant and Ennis in addition to Wagner.

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Sixteen (2010). Collects progs 736-775. Includes stories by Ennis as well as Wagner’s “The Devil You Know.”

•Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files, Volume Seventeen (2011). Collects progs 776-803. Includes stories by Ennis as well as Wagner’s “Texas City Sting.”

Characters

•Judge Joseph Dredd, the protagonist, is a Mega-City One law enforcer. Armed with his Lawgiver pistol and an array of accessory weapons and often seen riding his Lawmaster motorcycle, he is an unforgiving force of power. He wears massive shoulder pads, a badge, and a helmet that covers the majority of his face, exposing only his trademark rough chin. Tough and unflinching, yet often quite human, he is both a symbol of totalitarian oppression and a savior and defender of Mega-City One.

•Judge Cassandra Anderson is a Mega-City One Psi-Judge. Endowed with psychic abilities, she defeats the Dark Judges (Death, Fear, Mortis, and Fire). Her popularity among fans as the first female judge created by Wagner and Bolland led to the creation of a spin-off strip in 2000 AD.

•Rico Dredd, an antagonist, is one of the original Dredd clones. Introduced by Mills in 1977, he is the only Judge to best Dredd in the academy, always scoring first place while Dredd takes second. He embarks on a life of crime and remains beyond Dredd’s reach until Dredd eventually kills him in a duel.

•Judge Death, an antagonist, is one member of the Dark Judges. Believing all life is a crime and death is the punishment, he is the first serious threat that Dredd cannot simply destroy or pummel.

Artistic Style

The design of Dredd himself is one of the distinguishing features of the series, although his physical appearance has changed over the years. First created and designed by Ezquerra and visually based on characters in the film Death Race 2000, the original Dredd is much more streamlined in his body type than later renditions. Compared to the modern Dredd, the early version appears weak. In addition, Ezquerra depicts Dredd as racially ambiguous in early drawings. Later artists, however, were not informed of Dredd’s ambiguous heritage and abandon Ezquerra’s facial design in favor of more Caucasian features. The character’s trademark protruding chin and sharper body become major components of Dredd’s design in strips illustrated by Bolland.

The numerous artists and the weekly, serialized nature of 2000 AD make identifying a single artistic style difficult, as Ezquerra, McMahon, and Bolland each shaped early perceptions of the character. Additionally, the black-and-white nature of the strips gives the series a consistent appearance and atmosphere while still leaving room for individualized artistic expression. In terms of raw emotion and power, Bolland’s art is perhaps the most iconic work to appear in early Judge Dredd comics, creating a signature, identifiable look for the character and the inhabitants of Mega-City One.

Dillon and Dave Gibbons feature particularly emotive qualities in their line work, designing expressive faces and characters. Like Bolland, Kennedy provides a level of detail in his shading and crosshatching that gives the illustrations greater depth. Under the direction of Dillon and Kennedy during the 1980’s, the art becomes far more uniform in design and look than during Bolland’s tenure. In the absence of hues, tones, and color values, all emotion and connection between the reader and the early art of Judge Dredd is based entirely upon pencils and ink.

Themes

The scripts penned by Wagner, Mills, and Grant early in the series and by later writers such as Ennis, Morrison, Millar, Rennie, and Smith express various themes that remain true to the spirit of Judge Dredd while allowing the series to evolve beyond mere futuristic police melodrama. One of the most critical themes recurring in the series is the absurdity of Mega-City One. In fact, it can be argued that Mega-City One is the leading protagonist of the series and Dredd is the stoic, grounded figure who must handle the various threats it unleashes upon its own citizens.

Published throughout the reign of conservative British prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990), Judge Dredd has been viewed as a commentary on the abuse of power by the state. However, this is a rather simplistic view, as it overlooks the nuances of the Orwellian world Wagner and Mills crafted in the late 1970’s. As a series, Judge Dredd is ripe for multiple political interpretations. The influence of the Cold War on Great Britain and the United States is particularly apparent in the series, with its dystopian vision of the future a common theme in science fiction of that era. Judge Dredd’s futuristic setting allows writers and artists to experiment, helping the series to progress and evolve but remain consistent in its critique of the ultraviolent, oppressive nature of a totalitarian police state.

Impact

Longevity and consistency are the hallmarks of Judge Dredd. Published for more than thirty years, the series has experienced incredible popularity throughout its run, with Dredd named Britain’s favorite comics character on numerous occasions. Judge Dredd benefits from its weekly publication schedule, which cultivates a dedicated fan base and allows for lengthy story arcs that oftentimes comprise strips from twenty to thirty progs.

Although the series is known in the United States and despite its setting in a thinly veiled New York City, Dredd’s greatest fan base is in Britain. This may be due to the series’ distinctly British sense of humor, or possibly to the overall look of the comic. American readers accustomed to colorful superhero comics might find the stark black-and-white look of Judge Dredd off-putting. In addition, as a mixture of genres including science fiction, mystery, horror, and adventure, Judge Dredd does not easily fit into one category, thus potentially limiting its appeal or marketability.

Despite this, Judge Dredd has significantly influenced the comics industry in both Britain and America. Paralleling works by creators such as Frank Miller who ushered in the dark Modern Age of American comics, the series marked a significant shift in the content and nature of British comics, introducing more mature themes and subject matter into the industry. Judge Dredd has served as a proving ground of sorts, introducing numerous new writers and artists to readers throughout the world. Many of these British comics professionals have transitioned into the American market and gone on to further influence the industry.

Films

Judge Dredd. Directed by Danny Cannon. Hollywood Pictures, 1995. This film adaptation stars Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd, Armand Assante as Rico, Jürgen Prochnow as Judge Griffin, Max von Sydow as Chief Justice Fargo, and Diane Lane as Judge Hershey. Although loosely based on multiple strips, particularly the Mills-scribed story line that introduces Rico, the film differs greatly from the series, primarily focusing on action scenes rather than the satire and dark humor of the comic.

Further Reading

Diggle, Andy, and Jock. Lenny Zero and the Perps of Mega-City One (2011).

Wagner, John, Alan Grant, and Brian Bolland. Judge Death: Death Lives (2010).

Wagner, John, and Frazer Irving. Judge Death: The Life and Death of... (2011).

Bibliography

Bishop, David, and Jonathan Oliver. Thrill-Power Overload: “2000 AD”—The First Thirty Years. Oxford: Rebellion, 2009.

Jarman, Colin M., and Peter Action. Judge Dredd: The Mega-History. Hertfordshire: Lennard, 1995.

McMahon, Mike. “An Interview with Mike McMahon.” Interview by Andrew Littlefield. The Comics Journal 122 (June, 1988): 81-85.

O’Neill, Kevin. “An Interview with Kevin O’Neill.” Interview by Frank Plowright. The Comics Journal 122 (June, 1988): 87-105.

Stringer, Lew. “A History of British Comics.” The Comics Journal 122 (June, 1988): 57-67.

Wagner, John, and Alan Grant. “An Interview with John Wagner and Alan Grant.” Interview by Frank Plowright. The Comics Journal 122 (June, 1988): 68-80.