Judge Dredd

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History

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. Wagner saw Dredd as a near future vigilante in the mode of the 'One-Eyed Jack' character he had written for 'Action' but when Ezquerra returned his pages the strip was shifted to a more futuristic scenario. A freelance Peter Harris wrote the first published Dredd story in which a criminal attempts to use the rapid face change available in the 21st Century to fox Dredd. The story introduced the motifs that would mark out Dredd in which novel future crimes are resolved by hi-tech police procedure with Dredd delivering a severe punishment, in this case the villain is banished to a penal colony located on a traffic island. 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. Other illustrators of the strip have included Brian Bolland, Ron Smith, Steve Dillon and Cam Kennedy.

Related Topics:
John Wagner - Carlos Ezquerra - Pat Mills - Mike McMahon - Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry - Death Race 2000 - Brian Bolland - Ron Smith - Steve Dillon - Cam Kennedy

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In the early 1990's, Wagner largely abandoned his most famous creation, leaving the bulk of the weekly writing duties on the Dredd strip to young Irish writer Garth Ennis. The move did not prove popular with fans, and even tryouts by talents such as Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, John Smith and Sonny Steelgrove were failures. Wagner returned to writing the character full-time in 1997. 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.

Related Topics:
Garth Ennis - Mark Millar - Grant Morrison - John Smith - Gordon Rennie

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