Comics UK

On further reflection, 2000 ad had Judge Dredd. Starlord had Strontium Dog. No contest. Let it go. 2000 ad would always win out

I much prefer Strontium Dog and never liked the character of Dredd, so not so obvious. Just depends on your preference.

starscape wrote:I much prefer Strontium Dog and never liked the character of Dredd, so not so obvious. Just depends on your preference.

Same here. The appeal of Dredd, I think, lies in the weird world he inhabits. Johnny Alpha is a better character, as far as I'm concerned.

I loved the Dredd epic’s of the Judge Child and The Cursed Earth but never actually enjoyed Dredd’s character. I preferred characters such as Tweak* and Judge Hershley and the blind bandaged fella + his blind horse. Both had a run in with the Angel Gang (1980) and they wanted revenge. So for me under'dog' Johnny Alpha was always the better man as he had more layers of 'grey' than the 2D characters. Check out Portrait of a Mutant if you've not already.

Strangely though, when I first read 'The Dead Man' in 1989. Which was set in the Cursed Earth – a sort of 'Man with no name' – what a great original character. The intelligent dog and his young friend Yassa were really strong supporting vulnerable characters. This spin-off and from Dredd along with Helltrekkers** made me re-evaluate Dredd himself. I won’t say any more as it will spoil newer readers enjoyment.

Spoilers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Man

After that I re-read all the old Dredd classics, instead of favouring characters like Orlok & Kraken, I found myself on Dredd’s side. For example that issue with the 'tight boots' was genius, where we find Dredd questioning what is right and the law.

*Check out around prog c.82 in 1978 for Tweaks origin/history it is a classic.
**The little mutant crab-girl pulled at the heart strings.

tony ingram wrote:

starscape wrote:I much prefer Strontium Dog and never liked the character of Dredd, so not so obvious. Just depends on your preference.

Same here. The appeal of Dredd, I think, lies in the weird world he inhabits. Johnny Alpha is a better character, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes. The reader isn't expected to actually like Dredd. Even John Wagner and Alan Grant have described him as a "fascist b******". Although there are times when his opponents are so vile that you naturally side with Dredd.

Muffy wrote:I loved the Dredd epic’s of the Judge Child and The Cursed Earth but never actually enjoyed Dredd’s character. I preferred characters such as Tweak* and Judge Hershley and the blind bandaged fella + his blind horse.

Old Joe Blind! I haven't thought about him in years, a great character!

Both had a run in with the Angel Gang (1980) and they wanted revenge. So for me under'dog' Johnny Alpha was always the better man as he had more layers of 'grey' than the 2D characters. Check out Portrait of a Mutant if you've not already.

Definitely one of the best serials ever to run in 2000 AD. And it gave us another enduring character in the wonderful Middenface McNulty.

Muffy wrote:....For example that issue with the 'tight boots' was genius, where we find Dredd questioning what is right and the law.

That was a very good story where it had Dredd going back to his origins and also questioning his values. I think that this was the moment when 2000AD grew up and declared itself to be openly a comic for adults with adult themes. Before it had always skirted around a lot of issues and this episode in the middle of the Democracy Now chapters seemed to define a rubicon that 2000AD crossed to demonstrate its' adulthood.

Thank you colcool007 and Tony Ingram for the kind comments.

If there are any forum readers who have not read Dredd’s Necropolis it’s very good too with Judge Anderson and a young Judge Giant (son of Judge Giant senior).

I must say though I did enjoy the re-invented/return of the Strontium Dog stories from about c.10-years ago and the fairly recent resurrection of Johnny Alpha with stalwarts Middenface and the woman with 3 boobs.

If you really analyse Dredd (by the way, I am no therapist) you will find an intense man who is emotionally repressed and, in no way, could he ever release such pent up frustration on a grand scale. Should that happen, he would be immediately shot down or locked up in an iso-cube for ever. You must consider the environment within which he dispenses justice. But there are times, especially with his niece, that there are times that he actually expresses a real human feeling. He's not robo cop. Yep, so often he's a right bas****, but he would put his body on the line to protect an innocent citizen. He is the Law!

Muffy wrote:I must say though I did enjoy the re-invented/return of the Strontium Dog stories from about c.10-years ago and the fairly recent resurrection of Johnny Alpha with stalwarts Middenface and the woman with 3 boobs.

Agreed. I am glad that they reversed the decision of killing poor Johnny off - one of the best characters in 2000AD.

but since Johnny's resurrection, i'm not convinced of his role. It's a strange situation because since Alpha originally died, 2000 ad has matured immensely, so in trying to revive a character from a time when he was less mature for an intended audience...well, then it becomes somewhat difficult in evolving said character. Dredd has always had the luxury of evolving because he was never killed off. So, in summing up, Dredd moved with the time whereas Johnny got stuck for a time (due to being dead) and now is trapped in a timewarp; which way to go - with the Gronk, Wulfhammer, or alone? It's very rare you now see Dredd going back to Walter the Wobot. Johnny's road is a long one and not made easy by his lack of presence within the current pages of 2000 ad. It reminds me of sinister/dexter - once, they were almost permanent residents and now... their storyline is very hit and miss with their current sporadic appearances. Dredd is constant and, as a result, reigns.

a quick addition to this debate brings me to robo-hunter - a very popular character in the early eighties. Then he was dropped. On resurrection, when 2000 ad had matured, he just didn't fit. A few attempts were made to make him fit, including a couple of series that featured his niece - Samantha - alas, they just didn't work. Also, Rogue Trooper springs to mind in its failings to engage a mature audience. He, along with Sam Slade and Johnny, belong in another time. Dredd traversed that time.

geoff42 wrote:a quick addition to this debate brings me to robo-hunter - a very popular character in the early eighties. Then he was dropped. On resurrection, when 2000 ad had matured, he just didn't fit. A few attempts were made to make him fit, including a couple of series that featured his niece - Samantha - alas, they just didn't work. Also, Rogue Trooper springs to mind in its failings to engage a mature audience. He, along with Sam Slade and Johnny, belong in another time. Dredd traversed that time.

I am not sure I agree regarding Strontium Dog, maybe something could have been said when we had his flash back adventures but since his resurrection. And certainly Wulf hasn't been in the strip since then.

Strontium Dog has always been one of my favourite strips (in both 2000AD and Starlord). One of the things I like being its consistency.

In my view Dredds world is the most rounded, textured, layered and dimensional world ever created in British comics.

Although every outing in his name is naturally not exactly a gem, even the lesser scripts usually contain SOME point of imaginitive interest in this bizarre future World.

I also agree with others that the series peaked fairly early on, with the early epic serials CURSED EARTH/ JUDGE CALIGULA/ JUDGE CHILD ......later entries lacked this imaginitive scope until the series changed tack and went a blacker, bleaker route, covering terrorism and corruption etc.

and there are subtle nuances to consider as regards Dredd - namely his awkward affection towards his niece. As villains go, I had to sigh when Judge Death made a comeback. P J Maybe has always been a far more interesting, complex counterfoil to Dredd's law.