Judge Dredd

Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running (having been featured there since its second issue in 1977). Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence and even execute criminals on the spot. He was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for his early development.

Judge Dredd is amongst the UK's best known home-grown comic characters. So great is the character's name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism and the rule of law.^[2] Judge Dredd was named the seventh greatest comic character by the British magazine Empire.^[3] In 2011 IGN ranked him 35th in the "Top 100 comic books heroes".^[4]

Publication history

When Pat Mills was developing 2000 AD in 1976, he brought in his former writing partner, John Wagner, to develop characters. Wagner had written various Dirty Harry-style "tough cop" stories for other titles, and suggested a character who took that concept to its logical extreme, imagining an ultra-violent lawman patrolling a future New York City with the power to administer instant justice. Mills had developed a horror strip called Judge Dread but abandoned the idea as unsuitable for the new comic; but the name, with the spelling modified to "Dredd" at the suggestion of sub-editor Kelvin Gosnell, was adopted by Wagner for his ultimate lawman.^[5]

The task of visualising the character was given to Carlos Ezquerra, a Spanish artist who had worked for Mills before on Battle Picture Weekly. Wagner gave Ezquerra an advertisement for the film Death Race 2000, showing the character Frankenstein clad in black leather on a motorbike, as a suggestion for what the character should look like. Ezquerra elaborated on this greatly, adding body-armour, zips and chains, which Wagner initially thought to be over the top.^[6] Wagner's initial script was rewritten by Mills and drawn up by Ezquerra, but when the art came back a rethink was necessary. The hardware and cityscapes Ezquerra had drawn were far more futuristic than the near-future setting originally intended, but Mills decided to run with it and set the strip further in the future.^[7][8]

By this stage, however, Wagner had quit, disillusioned that a proposed buy-out of the new comic by another company (which would have given him and Mills a greater financial stake in the comic) had fallen through.^[9] Mills was reluctant to lose Judge Dredd and farmed the strip out to a variety of freelance writers, hoping to develop it further. Their scripts were given to a variety of artists as Mills tried to find a strip which would provide a good introduction to the character, all of which meant that Judge Dredd would not be ready for 2000 AD's first issue, launched in February 1977.^[10]

The story chosen to introduce the character was submitted by Peter Harris, and extensively re-written by Mills.^[11] It was drawn by newcomer Mike McMahon. The strip debuted in "prog" (issue) #2, but Ezquerra, angry that another artist had drawn the first published strip, quit and returned to work for Battle.^[12] Wagner, however, soon returned to the character, starting in prog 9. His "Robot Wars" storyline was drawn by a rotating team of artists (including Ezquerra), and marked the point where Dredd became the most popular character in the comic, a position he has rarely relinquished.^[13] The character has appeared in almost every issue since, the bulk of the stories written by Wagner (in collaboration with Alan Grant between 1980 and 1988).

Since 1990 Dredd has also headlined his own title, the Judge Dredd Megazine. With Wagner concentrating his energies there, the Dredd strip in 2000 AD was left to younger writers such as Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison and John Smith. Their efforts were not popular with fans, and sales fell.^[14] Wagner returned to writing the character full-time in 1994. Recently, many strips have been written by Gordon Rennie, and in interviews Rennie and Wagner have indicated that there is a plan for Wagner to retire once Rennie has established himself.

Judge Dredd has also been published in a long-running comic strip (1981–1998) in the Daily Star,^[15] and briefly in Metro from January 2004–2005.^[16] These were usually created by the same teams writing and drawing the main strip and the Daily Star strips have been collected into a number of volumes.

Character and appearance

Joseph Dredd is the most famous of the elite corps of Street Judges that run Mega-City One with the power not only to enforce the law, but also to instantly convict and sentence offenders – and occasionally execute them. Dredd is armed with a "Lawgiver" pistol (programmed to recognise his palm-print alone and capable of firing six types of ammunition), a daystick, a knife, and stun/gas grenades. His helmet obscures all of his face except for his mouth and jaw. He rides a large "Lawmaster" motorbike, which has machineguns, a powerful laser cannon, and full artificial intelligence capable of responding to orders from the Judge and of driving itself.

Dredd's entire face is never shown properly in the strip. This custom began as an unofficial guideline, but soon became a rule which artists were required to follow.^[17] As John Wagner explained:

"It sums up the facelessness of justice − justice has no soul. So it isn't necessary for readers to see Dredd's face, and I don't want you to."^[18]

However, on very rare occasions Dredd's face has been shown in flashbacks to when he was a child, in pictures lacking in detail.^[19] In an early story in prog 8, Dredd is forced to remove his helmet and the other characters react as if he is disfigured, but Dredd's face was covered by a faux censorship sticker.^[20]

An aborted idea was to have Dredd as a non-white character. In Carlos Ezquerra's original design he drew Dredd with large lips, "to put a mystery as to his racial background."^[21] However not all of the artists who worked on the strip were told. As a result Mike McMahon spent four months drawing Dredd as a black man, while Brian Bolland and Ron Smith drew him as a white man. As the strip was not in colour, this went unnoticed and the idea was dropped.^[22]

Time passes in the Judge Dredd strip in real time, so as a year passes in real life a year goes by in the comic. Thus the first Dredd story, published in 1977, was set in 2099, and stories published in 2012 are set in 2134. Consequently, as former editor Alan McKenzie explains, "every year that goes by Dredd gets a year older – unlike Spiderman [sic], who has been a university student for the past twenty-five years!"^[23] Dredd is currently more than seventy years old, with over fifty years of active service (2079–2134), and for some time characters in the comic have been mentioning that Dredd is not as young and fit as he used to be. It is not known whether there are any long term plans to address this issue (although Mega-City One has cloning and brain transplant technology, for instance). This remains a major theme of current episodes: in prog 1595 (2008) Dredd was diagnosed with benign cancer of the duodenum.

Fictional character biography

Senior Judge Joseph Dredd and his brother Rico Dredd were cloned from the DNA of Chief Judge Fargo, the first chief judge, in 2066.^[24] Their growth was artificially accelerated so that they emerged with an apparent physiological age of 5, with all the appropriate knowledge for their age electronically implanted in their brains by computer during gestation.^[25] The name Dredd was chosen by the genetic scientist who created them, Morton Judd, to "instil fear in the population."^[26]

In 2070, they saw action for the first time during the Atomic Wars, when as cadets they were temporarily assigned the rank of full judge and sent to restore order to the panic-stricken streets.^[27] Distinguishing themselves, they were chosen to take part in assaulting the White House when the Justice Department deposed President Booth.^[28] They were fast-tracked through the Academy of Law, Joe graduating second in his class in 2079 (Rico came first).^[29] Later that year Joe was forced to arrest Rico for murder and corruption.^[30]

Joe Dredd excelled as a judge, rapidly gaining promotion to the rank of senior judge. Offered the opportunity to become chief judge in 2101, he declined, preferring to serve on the streets enforcing the law.^[31] On several different occasions he saved his city from conquest or complete destruction by powerful enemies, and in 2114, he almost single-handedly saved the world from being destroyed during the Fourth World War.^[32]

Although Dredd puts his duty to uphold the law above everything, this devotion is not blind loyalty. On two occasions (in 2099 and 2112), Dredd resigned from the force on points of principle, but both times, he returned to the fold.^[33] In 2113, Dredd insisted that the Justice Department gamble its very existence on a referendum to prove its legitimacy as a form of government.^[34] In 2116, he risked 20 years' imprisonment with hard labour when he challenged the policy of a chief judge which he was unable to support.^[35] In 2129, he threatened to resign to persuade another chief judge to change the city's harsh anti-mutant laws.^[36]

After over fifty years of active service, Dredd's career may be drawing to a close. In 2130, he was diagnosed with cancer, though it was said to be operable.^[37] In 2132, Dredd was appointed to the Council of Five, Mega-City One's highest governing body.^[38]

Family and associates

• Rico Dredd: Soon after becoming a judge, Dredd's brother Rico became corrupt and began breaking the law, forcing Dredd to turn him in. Twenty years later Rico returned from jail, seeking revenge, and Dredd was forced to kill him in self-defence.^[29]
• Vienna: Dredd also has a niece, Vienna, who was fathered by Rico while in jail. They have a close relationship (for Dredd). Dredd has gone out of his way to save her on occasion, and they get on relatively well.^[39]
• Judge Rico: Dredd himself has been cloned. One such clone, who adopted Rico's name (but as a surname), is often mistaken for Dredd. Judge Rico eventually inherited Dredd's apartment at Rowdy Yates Block.^[40]
• Judge Anderson: For years Dredd had a close but uneasy friendship with Cassandra Anderson of Psi Division. This friendship came to an end when Anderson abandoned the law for a short time. Later Dredd denied his friendship with her and claimed that he had merely tolerated her. After battling an alien who claimed to be Satan, Anderson was badly injured. At this point Dredd confirmed to her that they had, indeed, been friends.^[41]
• Judge Hershey: Dredd has known former chief judge Hershey since 2102; like all chief judges since Goodman, he had easy access to her, but they also have a personal relationship based on mutual respect for each other. Dredd believes her to be "the best chief judge we've ever had."^[42]
• Walter the Wobot and Maria: Dredd used to share his flat with a domestic robot called Walter the Wobot, who performed all his domestic chores. Walter was intensely loyal to Dredd, but Dredd mostly treated him with open disdain. Dredd also had a landlady called Maria. In later years, Dredd parted company with both Walter and Maria.^[43]
• Galen DeMarco was a judge who developed an infatuation with Dredd. While Dredd respected her as a judge, he did not reciprocate her feelings, since romantic attachment is prohibited to judges. Her breach of regulations led to her downfall and resignation from the force. Dredd maintained contact with her and tried to help her adjust to civilian life, but when he continued to reject her advances she eventually severed contact.^[44]
• Fargo clan: Revealed in 2006 was the existence of a whole town occupied by the mutated descendants of Ephram Fargo, the twin brother of Chief Judge Eustace Fargo. These mutants, who share the common mutation of an overly large, exaggerated chin, are thus genetic relatives of Judge Dredd himself, and consider him a "cousin." This led to Dredd campaigning to have Mega-City One's mutant segregation laws repealed.^[45]

Villains

Numerous infamous criminals (or "perps" in the story's argot) have featured over the years, including:

The Judge system

Street Judges act as police, judge, jury and, if necessary, on-the-spot executioner. However, capital punishment in Mega-City One is rarely used, though deaths while resisting arrest are numerous. Numerous writers have used the Judge System to satirize contemporary politics.

Judges, once appointed, can be broadly characterised as "Street Judges" (who patrol the city), and administrative, or office-based, judges. Dredd was once offered the job of Chief Judge, but he refused it, believing that he was needed far more out on the streets.^[46] The incorruptibility of the Judges is supposedly maintained by the Special Judicial Squad, although even SJS judges have themselves broken the law on occasion, most notably SJS head Judge Cal who killed the chief judge and usurped his office for himself.^[47]

The Judge System has spread throughout the globe, with various super-cities besides Mega-City One possessing some sort of Judge System of law enforcement and government. As such this political model has become the most common form of government on Earth, with only a few small areas practicing traditional civilian rule. There is an international "Judicial Charter" which countries and city states join upon instituting a Judge system.^[48]

Dredd's world

The setting of Judge Dredd takes place in a dystopian future where the Earth has been badly damaged by a series of international conflicts, much of the planet has turned to radioactive wasteland, and so populations have tended to aggregate in enormous conurbations known as 'mega-cities'. The world of Judge Dredd is centred on the megalopolis of Mega-City One. Within Mega-City One, extensive automation (including the creation of a caste of intelligent robots) has rendered the majority of the population unemployed. As a consequence, the general population is prone to embracing any fashion or craze that comes along. Mega-City One is surrounded by the inhospitable "Cursed Earth" desert. Much of the remaining world's geography is somewhat vague, although other mega-cities have been referred to and visited in the strip.

Mega-City One's population of 400 million lives in gigantic tower blocks known as City Blocks, each holding some fifty thousand or so people. Each is named after some historical person or TV character, usually for comic effect. For example, Joe Dredd used to live in the Rowdy Yates Block – Rowdy Yates was a character in the American TV cowboy drama Rawhide, played by a young Clint Eastwood. Eastwood would later play "Dirty Harry" – one of the thematic influences by which Judge Dredd was inspired. A number of stories feature rivalries between different blocks, on many occasions breaking into gunfire wars between them (most notably in "Block Mania"). The Judges' extreme powers reflect the difficulty of maintaining any order at all in the Mega-City's stifling environment.

Despite its frequent disasters, Mega-City One stretches from around Boston to Charlotte; it stretched further before the Apocalypse War, which saw widespread death and devastation, the south of the city being entirely wiped out. At its height, the city contained a population of about 800 million; it was halved in the War. The story Origins revealed that Mega-City One was formed because of growing urban sprawl rather than deliberate design, and by 2051 it was recognised as the world's first mega-city.

There are four other major population centres in Dredd's Northern America. The first is Texas City, stretching across several of the southern United States and with a different culture to its northern cousin, based on Wild West frontier values. South of the city is Mex-City. North of Mega-City One is Canadia. Further north is Uranium City. Until 2114 Mega-City Two also existed on the West Coast, but was destroyed during the events of Judgement Day. The centre of the continent is a nuclear desert called the Cursed Earth, containing various settlements and minor cities. Nuclear deserts and destruction elsewhere in the world are also extensive. Much of the north Atlantic is severely polluted, and is now known as the "Black Atlantic." An underwater settlement known as Atlantis exists in the Atlantic, bridging a Mega-City One to Brit-Cit (England) tunnel.

Other cities are Cal-Hab (part of Scotland), Euro-City (eastern France and part of Germany), and Ciudad España (eastern Spain). Ireland has the megacity of Murphyville and has been turned into an enormous tourist theme park re-creating a stereotypical view of traditional Irish life. Russia's East-Meg One was destroyed by Dredd in a massive nuclear strike at the climax of the Apocalypse War in 2104. Further east is East-Meg Two. Mongolia, lacking a Mega-City or Judge system, has called itself the Mongolian Exclusion Zone and criminals have flocked there for a safe haven; East-Meg Two performed vicious clearances there in 2125. In Asia, separated from East-Meg Two by an extensive nuclear desert, are Sino-City One (destroyed during Judgement Day, and originally referred to as East-Meg Three) and Sino-City Two in eastern China, with Hong Tong built in the remains of Hong Kong and partitioned between Sino-Cit and Brit-Cit control. Hondo City lies on the remains of the islands of Japan. Indo City (later called Nu-Delhi) is in southern India. Between Hondo and Sino-City lie the Radlands of Ji, a nuclear desert full of chaos magic and many violent outlaw gangs and martial arts schools. Into the Blue Pacific cities survive in south-east Australia (Sydney-Melbourne Conurb) and New Zealand (New Pacific City). All of Indonesia's islands are now linked by a network of mutant coral called "The Web;" this network of islands is a lawless hotbed of crime.

The Middle East is without major cities, being either nuclear or natural deserts; the Mediterranean coast is heavily damaged by mutagens. In Africa much of the south is nuclear desert. Nuclear fallout and pollution appear to have missed Antarctica and the Arctic, causing one Mega-City (Antarctic City) to have been constructed there.

The high levels of pollution have created instances of mutation in humans and animals. The Mega-Cities largely operate on a system of genetic apartheid, making expulsion from the cities the worst punishment possible.

Earth's moon has been colonised, with a series of large domes forming Luna City; another colony, Puerto Luminae, exists but is a lawless, violent hellhole. In addition many deep space colonies have been established. Some are loyal to various mega cities, while many are independent states, and others still face violent insurgencies to gain independence. The multi-national Space Corps battles both insurgencies and external alien threats. The newly discovered planet Hestia (which is in a polar orbit of the Sun near to Earth's orbit) has a colony, there are some references to colonies on Mars such as Viking City, Saturn's moon Titan has a judicial penal colony, and Mega-City One is known to have deep space missile silos on Pluto.

Major Judge Dredd storylines

There have been a number of Judge Dredd storylines that have either significantly developed the Dredd character or the fictional world background, or which have been "epic" in scale (i.e., have been lengthy multi-part stories, usually at least 20 parts or more, and have had a story of a grand scale). These are listed below. (For a complete list of all stories see here.)

• The Robot Wars (2000 AD progs 10–17; prologue in prog 9) The Mega-City Judges face an uprising by the city's robot servant workforce, led by carpenter-droid Call-Me-Kenneth.
• The Return of Rico (prog 30) Joe Dredd's clone brother Rico Dredd returns from Titan seeking revenge for being apprehended 20 years earlier but instead is shot and killed by the Judge. (This story introduces Rico and the penal colony on Titan.)
• Luna-1 (multiple stories; progs 42–59) Dredd is made Judge Marshall of Luna-1, a colony on the moon governed by judges from all three Mega-Cities. (This story introduced Luna One and Judges from East-Meg One and Texas City.)
• The Cursed Earth (progs 61–85): Dredd, accompanied by punk biker Spikes Harvey Rotten (and later the alien Tweak), leads a small group of Judges on an epic journey across the Cursed Earth, transporting the vaccine for the deadly 2T-FRU-T virus that is devastating Mega-City Two. (This multi-part epic, often referred to as ‘the first Dredd epic’, was inspired by Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley.)
• The Day the Law Died (progs 89–108; prologues in 86–88) The tyrannical and insane Judge Cal, head of the Special Judicial Squad, arranges the assassination of Chief Judge Goodman and assumes the title himself. By brainwashing the Judges and employing alien mercenaries, Cal’s stranglehold on Mega-City One is almost total. Only Dredd and a few other Judges and Judge-Tutors escape to lead the resistance. (This story introduced the Kleggs and saw Chief Judge Griffin assume the Chief Judgeship after Cal is killed by Fergee.)
• Judge Death (progs 149–151) Judge Death, an alien superfiend from another dimension, arrives in Mega-City One. Believing all life is a crime, he embarks on a killing spree before being caught and imprisoned. (The first appearance of both Judge Death, perhaps the Mega-Cities' deadliest foe, and Psi-Judge Anderson.)
• The Judge Child (progs 156–181; epilogue in 182) When the best 'pre-cog' in Psi-Division, Psi-Judge Feyy, predicts a child bearing the mark of the Eagle of Justice will have the power to save the city from an unspecified future disaster, it is up to Dredd to lead the galaxy-spanning search for the child. (An attempt to break away from the restrictive confines of Mega-City One, this story introduced several long-running characters and concepts into the Dredd mythos: Judge Hershey, The Angel Gang (except for Fink Angel, who was introduced later), Murd the Oppressor, and the new head of the SJS, McGruder.)
• Judge Death Lives! (progs 224–228) Judge Death's three brothers, Judges Fear, Fire and Mortis arrive in Mega-City One to rescue him. Dredd and Anderson put a stop to the killing spree and follow the quartet as they flee back to their own native dimension (known colloquially as ‘Deadworld’). The four Dark Judges are seemingly destroyed. (Voted the third best story ever printed in the comic in a 2005 poll on the 2000ADonline website, this tale introduced the other three Dark Judges.)
• Block Mania (progs 236–244) Contamination of water supplies by Orlok the Assassin leads to all-out war between Mega-City One's many city blocks. (This story introduced Orlok and saw the death of Judge Giant.)
• Apocalypse War (progs 245–270, except 268) Weakened by the effects of Block Mania, Mega-City One is attacked and invaded by the forces of East-Meg One. Almost half the city (400 million people) are killed in nuclear strikes. Many more die from radiation sickness, starvation and cold. The Mega-City Judges are unable to strike back as the Sov city is protected by a dimensional force field. Instead, the Judges fight a guerilla war, eventually culminating in the destruction of East-Meg One when Dredd captures a Sov missile bunker. (This story saw the death of Chief Judge Griffin and McGruder taking on the role.)
• City of the Damned (progs 393–406) The Judges develop time travel technology. Dredd and Anderson travel into the future to discover more about the disaster predicted by Psi-Judge Feyy. However they learn that the Judge Child Owen Krysler has in fact caused the events, rather than preventing them from happening. Dredd has his eyes torn out but fights on, even battling an undead future version of himself. He and Anderson flee back to the present (along with the undead Dredd), where his eyes are replaced by bionics, before tracking down the Judge Child and killing him, thus preventing the future they experienced from ever happening. (The undead Dredd would return in a future story. This story was originally intended to be much longer but the creative team tired of it.)
• Oz (progs 545–570) When sky-surfer Chopper breaks out of jail and flees to the Sydney-Melbourne Conurb in Australia to take part in the (now legal) Supersurf 10, Dredd is sent to retrieve him. In addition, however, Dredd’s real mission is to confront the Judda, a religiously zealous army of clones, ruled over by former Council of Five member Morton Judd, who plans to dominate Mega-City One with his followers. Dredd destroys the Judda’s base (Ayers Rock) with a nuclear bomb, although some Judda are captured.
• The Dead Man (prog 650–662) An unknown man with no memory is found almost dead and badly scarred in the Cursed Earth by a group of settlers. After recovering from his injuries, the man heads back to Mega-City One with a young boy, Yassa Povey as his guide. Along the way, he recovers his memory and recalls that he is Dredd, having lost his memory when he encountered the Sisters of Death. (This was not billed as a 'Judge Dredd' story when it first appeared in 2000 AD and great pains were taken to hide its connection with the series. There was no reference to locations or people from the main series until towards the very end of the storyline. The ‘Judge Dredd’ stories continued alongside this one, to further the illusion.)
• A Letter to Judge Dredd (prog 661) Dredd receives a letter written by a child who has been killed as an indirect result of the Judges' suppression of a pro-democracy demonstration, causing him to seriously question the entire ethical basis of the Judge system, and setting in motion the chain of events recounted in the episodes that follow.
• Tale of the Dead Man (progs 662–668) Dredd resigns and takes the Long Walk following his assessment of ex-Judda Cadet Judge Kraken, and his crisis of faith in the Law that he had always sworn to uphold. This story acts as a prologue to Necropolis.
• Necropolis (progs 674–699; prologues in 669–673) Manipulating the confused mind of Judge Kraken, the Sisters of Death are able to use the body of Psi-Judge Agee in order to take control of Mega-City One and create a trans-dimensional bridge enabling the Dark Judges to once again manifest themselves. The four Dark Judges take control of the minds of the Judges and begin systematically killing the entire population. Kraken becomes a fifth Dark Judge. Chief Judge Silver is killed.
• The Devil You Know and Twilight's Last Gleaming (progs 750–753 and 754–756) The long running tensions between the totalitarian Judge system and the movement for the restoration of democracy in the Mega-City at last come to a head. Finally given a vote, the apathetic population mostly don’t bother and of those that do, the majority favour keeping the Judges in control. A pro-democracy protest march of almost two million people heads for Justice Central, but violence is averted when Dredd alone convinces the leaders that the referendum was fair.
• America (Megazine 1.01–1.07) Dredd's philosophy is explored when democracy activists resort to terrorism. This story introduces the tragic characters America Jara and Bennett Beeny, as well as terrorist group Total War.
• Judgement on Gotham (a 'crossover' story co-published by DC Comics and Fleetway.) Dredd and Batman reluctantly join forces to defeat Judge Death, who has used dimension-jump technology to breach the DC Universe and attack Gotham City. This issue was also notable for painted artwork by Simon Bisley.
• Judgement Day (progs 786–799 and Megazine 2.04–2.09) Sabbat the Necromagus re-animates the corpses of the dead and uses them to attack the world's Mega-Cities, leading to the deaths of billions. This story includes the teaming of Dredd with Johnny Alpha, a character from another long running 2000 AD comic strip, Strontium Dog. (Dredd and Alpha had however previously crossed paths in an earlier story.)
• Mechanismo trilogy (Megazine 2.12–17, 2.22–26 and 2.37–43) After Necropolis and Sabbat's zombies, Mega-City has lost far too many judges. To combat this, the Chief Judge test-runs ten robot judges, with disastrous results.
• Inferno (progs 842–853) Escaped rogue Judges from Titan take over the city, forcing the Judges into exile in the Cursed Earth.
• Wilderlands storyline (progs 891–894 and 904–918 and Megazine 2.57–2.67) Dredd is exposed as falsifying evidence to shut down the Mechanismo project and is arrested, while Chief Judge McGruder attempts to remain in power and see Mechanismo implemented despite her failing mental capacities. When a malfunctioning Mechanismo crashes a space cruiser on an alien world in an attempt to kill McGruder, Dredd is forced to take control of the survivors. The mega-epic ended many long-running subplots including the Mechanismo Program and McGruder's second stint as Chief Judge, as well as bringing in Judge Volt, bringing back the Council of Five and introducing Judge Castillo.
• The Pit (progs 970–999) Dredd takes the job of Sector Chief at Sector 301, an isolated area of the city that has become a dumping ground for corrupt and incompetent judges. Introduced the popular character Judge Galen DeMarco, the closest thing Dredd has had to a love interest, who would go on to star in her own strip.
• The Doomsday Scenario (progs 1141–1164 and 1167, and Megazine 3.52–3.59) The first series to run the same story from different viewpoints concurrently from start to finish, one in 2000 AD and the other in the Judge Dredd Megazine. One is told from the viewpoint of Galen DeMarco, now a civilian, as she is caught up in crimelord Nero Narcos' attempt to take over the city with his army of robots. The other is told from Dredd's viewpoint as he is taken prisoner by Orlok the Assassin and tried by the East Meg One government in exile for his war crimes during the Apocalypse War. Once Dredd escapes (with Anderson's assistance), he secured the help of Brit-Cit in breaking Narcos' control over his robot hordes. The story saw the Judges briefly lose power and Chief Judge Volt committed suicide as a result; Hershey replaced him.
• Helter Skelter (progs 1250–1261) An army of Dredd's greatest foes, from alternate dimensions where they won, band together under an alternate Judge Cal (see The Day the Law Died) and use dimension jump technology to invade Dredd's dimension, unable to stand the idea that there is a universe where he won. Their presence starts a total collapse of all universes, causing characters from other 2000 AD stories to appear in Mega-City One – Cal intends to exploit this chaos. Dredd defeats Cal with the help of dimension technician Darien Kenzie.
• Blood Cadets (progs 1186–1188) saw the introduction of a new clone of Dredd, who took the name Rico; Blood And Duty (progs 1300–1301) saw the return of Dredd's niece Vienna Pasternak. With Vienna's reintroduction and the new Rico's arrival, Dredd was given a family and several new plot points for future stories, including the Justice Department creating a large number of Dredd clones and Dredd's problems with trying to connect with his niece.
• Judge Dredd vs. Aliens (Prog 2003 special and 1322–1335) pitted Dredd against the monsters from the Alien movie series, with mutant terrorist Mister Bones breeding an army of xenomorphs in the Undercity and having them assault the Department of Justice.
• Terror and Total War (progs 1392–1399 and 1408–1419) A pair of stories that deals with the actions of a terrorist cell in Mega-City One. Fanatically dedicated to the democratic cause, Total War smuggles 12 nuclear devices into the vast megalopolis and threaten to detonate them all unless the Judges leave the City. A standard thriller plot made more significant through explorations of Judge Dredd's extended family, including Vienna and a Dredd clone, Nimrod.
• Blood Trails (progs 1440–1449) Following on from elements of Total War and Gulag (where Dredd led a Judge team to try and free POWs from the Sov block), a clone of Sov judge Kazan tries to attack Dredd by targeting Vienna, sending the face-changing assassin Pasha to gain her trust and abduct her. In the aftermath of the story, the Kazan clone was cut loose by East-Meg 2 and claimed political asylum from Mega-City One; Dredd's long-term ally Guthrie was severely injured, losing both legs and an arm and eventually being turned into a cyborg; and both Judges Giant and Rico were severely injured.
• Origins (progs 1505–1519 and 1529–1535; prologue in 1500–1504) consists largely of flashbacks and sets out the history of the Judges and of Chief Judge Fargo, as well as scenes from Dredd's childhood during the Third World War.
• Mutants in Mega-City One (progs 1542–1545) is the first in a series of short stories in which Dredd campaigns to change the apartheid laws prohibiting mutants from entering the city. This results in Chief Judge Hershey being voted out of office and replaced with Judge Francisco.
• Tour Of Duty (progs 1650–1693) sees Judge Dredd posted out into the Cursed Earth to oversee the foundations of four new Mutant townships. The corrupt judge Martin Sinfield, puppet master behind the new Justice Department regime, manipulates Francisco so he can install himself as Chief Judge, and promptly becomes the target of repeated assassination attempts. Dredd is recalled from exile to lead the investigation into the attacks, which are the work of serial mass-murderer PJ Maybe, who has assumed the identity of mayor Byron Ambrose.
• Day of Chaos (progs 1743-ongoing, as of August 2011)

List of stories

• A list of all Judge Dredd stories to appear in 2000 AD from 1977 to 2011 can be found here.
• A list of all Judge Dredd stories to appear in the Judge Dredd Megazine from 1990 to 2011 can be found here.

All of the stories from both comics are currently being reprinted in their original order of publication in two series of trade paperbacks. Stories from the regular issues of 2000 AD and the Megazine are collected in a series entitled Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files. This series began in 2005.[1] Stories from special holiday issues and annuals appear in Judge Dredd: The Restricted Files. This series began in 2010.

Alternative versions

Shortly before the release of the 1995 movie, three new comic book titles were released, followed by a one-off comic version of the film story.

Judge Dredd (DC Comics)^[49]

DC Comics published an alternative version of Judge Dredd between 1994 and 1995, lasting 18 issues. Continuity and history were different to both the original 2000 AD version and the 1995 film. A major difference was that Chief Judge Fargo, portrayed as incorruptible in the original version, was depicted as evil in the DC version. Most issues were written by Andrew Helfer, but the last issue was written by Gordon Rennie, who has since written Judge Dredd for 2000 AD. (Note: the DC crossover story "Judgement on Gotham" featured the original Dredd, not the version depicted in this title.)

Judge Dredd – Legends of the Law^[50]

Another DC Comics title, lasting 13 issues between 1994 and 1995. Although these were intended to feature the same version of Judge Dredd as in the other DC title, the first four issues were written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and were consistent with their original 2000 AD version.

Judge Dredd – Lawman of the Future^[51]

From the same publishers as 2000 AD, this was nevertheless a completely different version of Dredd aimed at younger readers. Editor David Bishop prohibited writers from showing Dredd killing anyone, a reluctance which would be completely unfamiliar to readers acquainted with the original version.^[52] As one reviewer put it years later: "this was Judge Dredd with two vital ingredients missing: his balls."^[53] It ran fortnightly for 23 issues from 1995 to 1996, plus one "Action Special."

Judge Dredd: The Official Movie Adaptation^[54]

Written by Andrew Helfer and illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra and Michael Danza. Published by DC Comics in 1995, but a different version of Dredd to that in the DC comics described above.

Heavy Metal Dredd

From the same publishers as 2000 AD, this was a series of ultra-violent one-off stories from "a separate and aggressive Dredd world."^[55] The first eight episodes were originally published in Rock Power magazine, and were all co-written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and illustrated by Simon Bisley. These were reprinted, together with ten new stories (some by other creators), in the Judge Dredd Megazine. The original eight stories were collected in a trade paperback by Hamlyn in 1993.^[56] The complete series (plus a bonus Judge Dredd story) was collected by Rebellion in 2009.^[57]

In other media

Films

Judge Dredd (1995)

An American film loosely based on the comic strip was released in 1995, starring Sylvester Stallone as Dredd^[58] (it was said that Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally requested for the role,^[59] but declined because in the original script, Dredd would keep the helmet on during major parts of the film). The film received negative reviews upon its release. It currently holds a 15% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus stating that "Director [Danny] Cannon fails to find the necessary balance to make it work".^[60] In deference to its expensive Hollywood star, Dredd's face was shown. In the comic, he very rarely removes his helmet, and even then his real face is never revealed. Also the writers largely omitted the ironic humour of the comic strip, and ignored important aspects of the 'Dredd mythology'. For example, in the film a 'love interest' is developed between Dredd and Judge Hershey, something that is strictly forbidden between Judges (or Judges and anyone else for that matter) in the comic strip. In America, the film won several "worst film of the year" awards.^[61][62] Also of interest is the cameo appearance of an ABC Warrior robot bearing a distinct resemblance to Hammerstein.

Dredd (2012)

Rebellion and 2000 AD have announced that a new movie is in the works, working with DNA Films.^[63]

Concept art has been released, it was created by Jock who has worked on numerous Judge Dredd stories.^[64]

The main Judge Dredd writer John Wagner has said:

I have read the script (by Alex Garland) and seen Jock’s visuals. While I can’t go into detail about the content I can say that it’s high-octane, edge of the seat stuff, and gives a far truer representation of Dredd than the first movie. I hated that plot. It was Dredd pressed through the Hollywood cliché mill, a dynastic power struggle that had little connection with the character we know from the comic.^[65]

It was revealed in May 2010 that the film will be in 3-D, funding had been secured from Reliance Big Entertainment and those behind the film will be looking for buyers at Cannes Film Festival.^[66] It will be filmed in Cape Town, with Pete Travis ("Vantage Point") directing and Michael S. Murphey (supervising producer on District 9) as co-producer.^[67] Karl Urban has been confirmed to portray Dredd and Olivia Thirlby will portray Judge Anderson.^[68][69] The film will be called Dredd and will feature a dark neo-noir style.^[70]

Video games

Video game tie-ins to the 1995 film were released for the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES version was developed by Probe Software and published by Acclaim.^[71]

Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death was produced by Rebellion Developments and released in early 2003 by Sierra Entertainment for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. The game sees the return of the Dark Judges when Mega-City One becomes overrun with vampires and the undead. The player takes control of Judge Dredd, with the optional addition of another Human player in Co-operative play. The whole game is played in the style of an FPS (first-person shooter) — with key differences from the standard FPS being the requirement to arrest lawbreakers and an SJS death squad which will hunt you down should you kill too many civilians. The player can also go up against three friends in the various multiplayer modes which include Deathmatch/Team Deathmatch, Elimination/Team Elimination, Informant, Judges Vs Perps, Runner and more.

There have also been several games released across formats such as the PlayStation, SNES/Super Famicom, Mega Drive/Genesis and several home computers, such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, while a high-profile arcade game, or "coin-op," was developed — but never released — by Midway Games, creators of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. Some of them (more specifically the SNES/Genesis versions) had the film as a basis, given that the box artworks for these depict Stallone as he appears in the film poster.

Bally also produced a Judge Dredd pinball machine.

A costume set for the PlayStation 3 video game LittleBigPlanet was released in May 2009 which contained outfits to dress the game's main character Sackboy as five 2000 AD characters one of which is Judge Dredd. Dredd's uniform is also used to create the Judge Anderson costume for the Sackpeople.

Novels

From 1993 to 1995, Virgin Books published nine Judge Dredd novels. They had hoped the series would be a success in the wake of the feature film, but the series was cancelled after insufficient sales. The books are:

• Deathmasques (Dave Stone, August 1993 ISBN 0-352-32873-8)
• The Savage Amusement (David Bishop, August 1993 ISBN 0-352-32874-6)
• Dreddlocked (Stephen Marley, October 1993 ISBN 0-352-32875-4)
• Cursed Earth Asylum (David Bishop, December 1993 ISBN 0-352-32893-2)
• The Medusa Seed (Dave Stone, January 1994 ISBN 0-352-32895-9)
• Dread Dominion (Stephen Marley, May 1994 ISBN 0-352-32929-7)
• The Hundredfold Problem (John Grant, August 1994 ISBN 0-352-32942-4)
• Silencer (David Bishop, November 1994 ISBN 0-352-32960-2)
• Wetworks (Dave Stone, February 1995 ISBN 0-352-32975-0)

(In 2003 The Hundredfold Problem was re-released by BeWrite Books, rewritten as a non-Dredd novel.^[72])

Also in 1995, St. Martins Press published two novelizations of the film:^[73]

• Judge Dredd (Neal Barrett, Jr., June 1995 ISBN 0-312-95628-2)
• Judge Dredd: The Junior Novelisation (Graham Marks, May 1995 ISBN 0-7522-0671-0)

From 2003 to 2007, Black Flame published official 2000 AD novels, including a new run of Judge Dredd novels. Their nine Judge Dredd books are:

• Dredd Vs Death (Gordon Rennie, October 2003 ISBN 1-84416-061-0)
• Bad Moon Rising (David Bishop, June 2004 ISBN 1-84416-107-2)
• Black Atlantic (Peter J. Evans & Simon Jowett, June 2004 ISBN 1-84416-108-0)
• Eclipse (James Swallow, August 2004 ISBN 1-84416-122-6)
• Kingdom of the Blind (David Bishop, November 2004 ISBN 1-84416-133-1)
• The Final Cut (Matt Smith, February 2005 ISBN 1-84416-135-8)
• Swine Fever (Andrew Cartmel, May 2005 ISBN 1-84416-174-9)
• Whiteout (James Swallow, September 2005 ISBN 1-84416-219-2)
• Psykogeddon (Dave Stone, January 2006 ISBN 1-84416-321-0)

Audio series

In recent years Big Finish Productions has produced eighteen audio plays featuring 2000 AD characters. These have mostly featured Judge Dredd although three have also featured Strontium Dog. In these Judge Dredd is played by Toby Longworth and Johnny Alpha, the Strontium Dog is played by Simon Pegg. In July 2009 four further Judge Dredd titles were released under the banner 'Crime Chronicles', once more featuring Toby Longworth.

The current list of 2000 AD audio plays featuring Dredd includes:

• 1. Judge Dredd – Wanted: Dredd or Alive by David Bishop
• 2. Judge Dredd – Death Trap! by David Bishop
• 4. Judge Dredd – The Killing Zone by Dave Stone
• 5. Judge Dredd – The Big Shot! by David Bishop
• 6. Judge Dredd – Trapped on Titan by Jonathan Clements
• 7. Judge Dredd – Get Karter! by David Bishop
• 8. Judge Dredd – I Love Judge Dredd by Jonathan Morris
• 9. Judge Dredd – Dreddline by James Swallow
• 11. Judge Dredd – 99 Code Red! by Jonathan Clements
• 12. Judge Dredd – War Planet by Dave Stone
• 13. Judge Dredd – Jihad by James Swallow
• 14. Judge Dredd – War Crimes by David Bishop
• 15. Judge Dredd – For King and Country by Cavan Scott
• 16. Judge Dredd – Pre-Emptive Revenge by Jonathan Clements (with Strontium Dog)
• 17. Judge Dredd – Grud is Dead by James Swallow
• 18. Judge Dredd – Solo by Jonathan Clements

Note: 3 and 10 are Strontium Dog stories that do not feature Dredd.

• 1.1 Judge Dredd: Crime Chronicles – Stranger Than Truth by David Bishop (October 2009)
• 1.2 Judge Dredd: Crime Chronicles – Blood Will Tell by James Swallow (November 2009)
• 1.3 Judge Dredd: Crime Chronicles – The Devil's Playground by Jonathan Clements (December 2009)
• 1.4 Judge Dredd: Crime Chronicles – Double Zero by James Swallow (January 2010)

In addition, both "The Day the Law Died" and "The Apocalypse War" stories were featured on Mark Goodier's afternoon show on BBC Radio One, and issued separately on dual cassette and double CD. Both titles have since been deleted. "The Apocalypse War" contains plot elements from "Block Mania" as this story set the scene for the East-Meg One invasion.

Roleplaying games

Boardgames and CCGs

Mongoose Publishing have released a miniatures skirmish game of gang warfare based in Mega City 1 called Gangs of Mega-City One, often referred to as GOMC1. The game features Judges being called in when a gang challenges another gang that is too tough to fight. A wide range of miniatures has been released including box sets for an Ape Gang and an Undercity Gang. A Robot Gang was also produced but was released as two blister packs instead of a box set. Only one rules expansion has been released, called Death on the Streets, which is now out of print. The expansion introduced many new rules including usage of the new gangs and the ability to bring Judge Dredd himself into a fight. Signs and Portents continues to contain articles for this game fairly regularly.

There was also a short-lived collectible card game called simply 'Dredd' based on the world of Judge Dredd. In the game players would control a squad of judges and arrest perps. The rules system was innovative and the game was well-received by fans and collectors alike, but various issues unrelated to the game's quality caused its early demise.

Games Workshop produced a boardgame based on the comic strip in 1982. In the game players, who represent judges, attempt to arrest perps that have committed crimes in different location in Mega City One. A key feature of the game is the different action cards that are collected during play; generally these cards are used when trying to arrest perps although some cards can also be played against other players to hinder their progress. The winner of the game is the judge who collected the most points arresting perps. Whilst it is a reasonably simple game it is quite amusing especially when players spend time sabotaging each others arrest attempts. Additionally, there were many amusing card combinations such as arresting Judge Death for selling old comics, as the Old Comic Selling crime card featured a 2000 AD cover with Judge Death on it. The game used characters, locations and artwork from the comic but is now out of print.

In 1987, Games Workshop published a second Dredd-inspired boardgame, "Block Mania." In this game for two players, players take on the role of rival neighboring blocks at war. This was a heavier game than the earlier Dredd boardgame, focused on tactical combat, in which players control these residents as they use whatever means they can to vandalize and destroy their opponent's block. Later the same year, Games Workshop released the Mega Mania expansion for the game, allowing the game to be played by up to 4 players.

The Adeptus Arbites created by Games Workshop seemed to be heavily inspired by Judge Dredd.

In popular culture

• The metal band Anthrax included a song about Judge Dredd on their third album (Among the Living) entitled "I Am the Law". They also released a 12" single and a 7" picture disc, both bearing the image of Dredd.^[74] One 12" version featured a fold-out poster of the band dressed as Judges drawn by drummer Charlie Benante. Also, the Cursed Earth tour had Judge Death as the main imagery of the shirts sold during the concerts.
• 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 in February 1985, the record featured a cover drawn by 2000 AD Dredd artist Brian Bolland.^[75]
• The UK band The Human League also wrote a song about Judge Dredd. "I am the Law" appeared on the album Dare.
• The Screaming Blue Messiahs recorded a song entitled "Mega-City One" on their final album Totally Religious.^[76]
• The Manic Street Preachers' song, "Judge Yr'Self" was influenced by the comic, and was intended to appear on the Judge Dredd film soundtrack. It reached the demo stage, but after lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared, the other members of the band said that a song for a soundtrack was the last thing on their mind.^[77] Edwards himself was heavily influenced by the Judge Dredd and 2000 AD comics (the slogan "Be pure. Be vigilant. Behave" from the 2000 AD strip Nemesis the Warlock was included in the song "P.C.P."). A fully produced mix of "Judge Yr'Self" (by long time Manics producer Dave Eringa) was later released on the 2003 double-album of B-sides and rarities, Lipstick Traces. Furthermore, Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire was the basis for the character Domino in the 2000 AD story Zenith Phase IV Part 2: Blind Justice (prog 795, 8 Aug. 1992).^[78] He has said that this annoyed fellow band member Richey, who was a great fan of Judge Dredd and even had one of his drawings published in the comic during his late childhood.^[77] Richey himself was later parodied as "Clarence" of the "Crazy Sked Moaners" in the Dredd story Muzak Killer: Live! Part 3 (prog 838, 5 Jun. 1993), in a scene which parodied the infamous 1991 incident of Richey carving 4 REAL into his forearm with a razor (Clarence lasers 4 RALE [sic] into his forehead).
• Simon Pegg is a fan of 2000 AD, and Judge Dredd memorabilia (supplied by the comic) appears in the background of several episodes of Spaced.
• There is a rapper from Houston, Texas who goes by the name of Judge Dredd. He was featured on two tracks on Chamillionaire's Greatest Hits Mixtape.^[79]
• A sleeve illustration on German metal band Helloween's album Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 depicts a pumpkin-headed character (a band trademark) wearing a distinctive Judge's uniform. It's placed next to the lyrics for the song "Future World", and was used as the sleeve illustration for the single release of that track.^[80]
• Multiple references to the movie are made on the sitcom Scrubs, notably by J.D. at the end of the episode "His Story II", while being wooed by Elliot.^[81]
• Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica references Judge Dredd in the song Peacemaker.
• The British band Pitchshifter, also fans of 2000 AD, released a Judge Dredd t-shirt for their final tour. It included the slogan "13 years punk," referring to how long the band had been together before they broke up.
• In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Imperium's police force, the Arbites, (Latin; translates as Judge or judgment) were visually based upon Judge Dredd stemming from the time Games Workshop held the rights to Judge Dredd games. The current range is more similar in design to RoboCop. The original designs for the Space Marine power armour and bikes also drew heavily on the Judges uniform and Lawmaster bikes. In return the original design for the Space Marine jet bike also featured in an episode of Judge Dredd as a Judge antigravity bike. A number of artists who have worked on Judge Dredd have also worked for Games Workshop.

Parodies

Judge Elmer Dwedd^[82]

Judge Dredd was satirized by Marvel Comics, by combining the lawman with Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd to create Judge Elmer Dwedd. This pastiche of Dredd appeared in a handful of issues of Howard the Duck prior to the release of the Judge Dredd movie, and the character was discontinued afterwards.

Justice Peace^[83]

A former officer of the Time Variance Authority, he rides a flying and (formerly) time traveling Hopsikle, wields a Peacemaker multipurpose gun, is based in "Brooklynopolis" and is genetically incapable of both lying and humor.^[84]

Judge Dudd^[85]

Appeared in Buster comic, which was published by Fleetway. As his name implies, Dudd was an inept law officer.

Judge Fredd

Appeared in the D&D spoof game called "Munchkin" and "Beats you to death for resisting arrest" if you fail to defeat him.

Psycho Gran vs. Judge Dredd

In an issue of Oink! comic, which was published by Fleetway, Psycho Gran was transported through a time warp into the far future and materialised in Mega City One just as she is training in a boxing gym and Judge Dredd was arresting a perp. She punches Dredd, knocking him out before apologising and disappearing back through the time warp. Dredd, explaining away his bandaged nose, later tells the Chief Judge that he was attacked by a gang of giant mutants, while behind his back he has the fingers of one hand crossed.

See also

• Judge Dredd Megazine
• 2000 AD crossovers. Judge Dredd's timeline has crossed over with many other 2000 AD stories.

Notes

References

External links

• Judge Dredd story index at 2000 AD website
• Judge Dredd at the Internet Movie Database
• Judge Dredd, The Guardian, 5 March 2002
• Big Finish Productions 2000AD page
• BBC Cult 2000AD comics page
• BBC Cult 2000AD audio page
• Judge Dredd boardgame page at BoardGameGeek
• Block Mania boardgame page at BoardGameGeek
• Dredd: The Card game details
• Mega City One fansite