| Table of contents |
|
2 The Judge system 3 Dredd the movie 4 Major Judge Dredd storylines 5 Music and celebrity fans 6 External links: 7 Bibliography: |
Judge Dredd was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although the name was thought up by Pat Mills who was originally going to use it for a different character. In the first published story Dredd was drawn by Mike McMahon rather than Ezquerra, and Ezquerra was reputedly so upset that he didn't draw Dredd until five years later. His appearance was inspired by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, and the film poster for Death Race 2000.
The strip is set about 120 years into the future in Mega-City One, a gigantic conurbation occupying the east coast of the United States; Dredd, actually a clone of Chief Judge Fargo, is the most famous of the elite corps of judges who run the city with the power not only to enforce the law, but also to instantly pass judgements on criminals and execute them. All traditional governments had collapsed after a small nuclear war had rendered the American midwest into a wasteland (The 'Cursed Earth'), and they had been unable to maintain order and essential services in cities filled with refugees. Dredd has a large, computer-driven "Lawmaster" motorbike, a gun (called a 'Lawgiver') with a wide range of specialist bullets which can only be used by its owner, a daystick, bootknife, and a uniform with a helmet that obscures all of his face except his mouth and jaw. His entire face is never shown in the strip (however, see The Dead Man below).
The Judges are police, judge (and executioner if necessary), and their word is absolute. The only thing preventing them from being a totally oppressive police state is the psychological conditioning they receive - this has been subverted on several occasions, including by the insane Judge Cal who, once he had absolute power, then proceeded to behave much like his namesake Caligula, even appointing his pet goldfish as his Deputy Chief Judge. Dredd, having missed the conditioning due to being out of Mega City One at the time, was the leader of the rebel Judges who overthrew Cal; after Cal's death at the hands of Fergee, a dweller of the Mega City's undercity, he was offered the job of Chief Judge but refused it, as he believed he was needed far more out on the streets. On another occasion, the Judges were again subverted from their role of protectors of the citizens of Mega City One by the Sisters of Death, who, through the body of psi judge Kit Agee, used supernatural powers to create the Dark Judges dystopian state of Necropolis. Once more, Dredd, who had again avoided mental conditioning by being away from the city (this time due to having resigned from the Judges and taken The Long Walk (see Tale Of the Dead Man), and a small force of rebel Cadet Judges as well as Judge Anderson, were able to win the day.
Megacity One's population lives in gigantic tower blocks, each holding some fifty thousand or so people, and each named after some historical person. (There is usually some ironic joke in the name of the block in which a particular story takes place.) A number of stories feature rivalries between different blocks, on one occasion (recounted in the story Block Mania) breaking into shooting wars between them; the Judges' arbitrary and total powers reflect the difficulty of maintaining any order at all in the Megacity environment.
A film based around the comic strip was released in 1995, starring Sylvester Stallone as Dredd. Fans were highly critical, largely regarding it as a failure. In deference to the expensive star, Dredd's face was shown; and in spite of the large budget and accurate recreation of the sets and characters appearances, the scriptwriters largely omitted the ironic humour of the original strip. In addition, the film did not find wide mainstream appeal.
Other illustrators of the strip have included Brian Bolland, Ron Smith, Steve Dillon and Cam Kennedy.
Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers
There have been a number of Judge Dredd storylines that have either significantly developed the "Dredd mythos" or have been "epic" in scale (ie, been multi-part stories). Some of these include;
The heavy-metal band Anthrax produced a song on their sixth album (I'm the Man) entitled "I am the Law," which is about Judge Dredd. The UK ska/Two-Tone band Madness also recorded a tribute single to Dredd under the name of The Fink Brothers, entitled "Mutants in Mega City One". Released on the Zarjazz label, the record featured a cover drawn by 2000 AD Dredd artist Brian Bolland. Celebrity fans of Dredd also include Terry Pratchett, Jonathan Ross, Lemmy from Motorhead, and Simon Le Bon.
Judge Dread was a reggae/ska performer known for the somewhat 'risque' sexual content of his songs.
History and overview
The Judge system
Dredd the movie
Major Judge Dredd storylines
Music and celebrity fans
External links:
Bibliography:
