It is not uncommon for folks in modern society to feel uncomfortable with the relative lives of leisure they lead and come to fear that villains will arise to strip them of their comforts. Fear of crime is a constant in the modern world, even when relatively speaking such threats are minimal. Sensational reporting often seeks to instigate fear in the population for the furtherance of some political agenda. That is happening right now in the United States as despite many indicators that life is reasonably prosperous and safe, voices scream that crime is on the rampage. Often that crime is given an ethnic source to further inflame the listeners or readers. So, it's not uncommon that a cry goes out for people and institutions to combat this criminal element. In the United States that has led to grotesque numbers of people in prisons, far greater numbers than any other industrialized nation and most of the others as well. It has given us police forces who resembles soldiers more than peacekeeping officers. The message is carried forth on radio, television and in films such the vintage Death Wish series among many others. And it peeks its head up in comics as well.
I first became aware of Judge Dredd when the direct sales market blossomed in the early 80's and reprints of Dredd stories were packaged as monthly comics Eagle Comics. The cold unrelenting cop of the future fit in well with the general tone of fear which was promoted by the Reagan administration among others. New York City was desolate and riddled with crime, a symbol it seemed of what was rotting away across the nation and perhaps the world. An officer with the mission to intervene, arrest, judge and execute was an extreme notion, but not one which stood far off the vigilante sentiment which can often overcome a people. I next encountered Judge Dredd in the movies, with Sly Stallone in the lead role. More on that tomorrow.
I didn't really get to savor the unhinged adventures of Judge Dredd until several years ago when reprints of the original 2000 AD stories were brought to the market in Judge Dread - The Original Case Files. These were the stories in chronological order and allowed the reader to experience the development of this most successful character as it happened, almost.
The premise is that Dredd and the other Judges are a necessary evil, a means to an end. That end is law and order and not necessarily justice. Dredd wears black because he's in essence a bad guy harnessed by the government desperate for control to do its bidding.
Dredd is not featured on that many covers in the first year of his run in 2000 AD. He shared the book with a great many other features, but slowly and relentlessly like his hunt for lawbreakers in the stories, Dredd began to seized control. His adventures, whether episodic one-offs or lengthy sagas such as the story of Mega City's war against a robot revolution, each installment features lots of action. He is assisted from time to time by the loyal robot Walter who even gets a few pages in this collection for his own light-hearted misadventures.
Another lengthy tale takes Judge Dredd to the Moon to enforce law in Luna City 1. In an environment even more harsh than Earth's, a place where even air is a commodity the criminals are even more desperate. Eventually Dredd returns to Mega City to continue the war on crime which rages even down to this modern day. Tomorrow, I begin a look at Judge Dredd's cinematic experiences.
Rip Off
No comments:
Post a Comment