Two of many things that make Dredd a great strip!

The above strip is a classic example of two things that make the Dredd strip amazing.

1. It's portrayal of unemployment in the Mega-city of the future

2. Dredds dark sense of humor.

1.

In Mega-City One unemployment is sooo high because nearly all jobs are done by robots or computers.

So humans are more or less obsolete.

What Wagner is doing here in this strip is hitting on human dignity...the majority of people want to work, no matter how crummy the job. It's a drive that we have that makes us human, we want to feel useful and get rewarded for it.

This particular strip probably hit a chord with a lot of people because unemployment was so commonplace un the UK and Ireland in the 80's.

2.

Dredd solves the problem by arresting everyone for breaking the law but also rewards them by sentencing them to hard labor.

So...he's done his duty as a judge to arrest the lawbreakers but by sentincing them to hard labor...he solves their unrest at being unemployed.

He kills two birds with the same stone.

That's Judge Dredd folks, tough but fair!

It Begins!

I was inspired by Marty Devoid of the CGS Forums to start posting my thoughts on the greatest most fantastic comic book ever published.

I know, I know...seems like a brave boast...But with this blog, I shall point out why 2000ad was and is the greatest comic book of the last 30 or so years.

First up...we shall look at Judge Dredds newspaper strip that ran in the British tabloid 'The Daily Star'

The strips are mainly one and dones. When the newspaper strip first appeared it was once a week and then eventually daily.

The strips we'll focus on are written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and drawn by the very, very underrated Ron Smith.