Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2023 9:51:25 GMT -5
I've been reading a load of late '70s and early '80s Judge Dredd stories lately, as reprinted in a big bundle of the Quality Comics American reprints I recently picked up cheap on eBay.  These Dredd stories are pure nostalgia for me because I can remember reading most of them when they came out in 2000AD. My best friend and I were both avid comic readers, but because pocket money was scarce, we used to try not to buy the same comics as each other: that way we could read each other's comics and get maximum bang for our combined bucks. So, I would regularly buy Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly, along with assorted issues of Battle Picture Weekly or Commando, and he would buy the likes of MAD magazine and 2000AD. The thing about Dredd is that you're not supposed to like him. Although the writers and artists certainly give him action-hero trappings, he's actually a bully-boy fascist for a Police State and not a very nice person. People often misunderstand that about Dredd. I think it was dear old Will Eisner who said in an interview that he didn't like Judge Dredd because it was too fascist. Well, yeah....that's sort of the point, Will. At its heart, the Judge Dredd strip is a darkly satirical critique of late 20th century culture and society -- particularly British culture and society of the era, with lots of deliciously black humour in it. Re-reading these stories again, there are lots of moments that evoked a genuine chuckle from me. Of course, that said, Dredd is a great character and hugely fun to read about, with his grim expression and completely unyielding dedication to upholding the law. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,190
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2023 9:55:28 GMT -5
Jonah continues to cut a tragic figure with regard to his love life, and when they reveal his ultimate fate, it is brutal. Jonah cursing God during a thunderstorm is one of the high points of the story. It's true that Jonah has a tragic back story, but he's not portrayed as a tragically disfigured gunfighter, who is shunned by people, but deep down just wants to be loved. That aspect of his character was dispensed with early on and replaced with a more classic bounty hunting anti-hero. That's what I meant. |
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Post by tartanphantom on Mar 7, 2023 10:12:09 GMT -5
I've been reading a load of late '70s and early '80s Judge Dredd stories lately, as reprinted in a big bundle of the Quality Comics American reprints I recently picked up cheap on eBay. These Dredd stories are pure nostalgia for me because I can remember reading most of them whenn they came out in 2000AD. My best friend and I were both avid comic readers, but because pocket money was scarce, we used to try not to buy the same comics as each other: that way we could read each other's comics and get maximum bang for our combined bucks. So, I would regularly buy Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly, along with assorted issues of Battle Picture Weekly or Commando, and he would buy the likes of MAD magazine and 2000AD. The thing about Dredd is that you're not supposed to like him. Although the writers and artists certainly give him action-hero trappings, he's actually a bully-boy fascist for a Police State and not a very nice person. People often misunderstand that about Dredd. I think it was dear old Will Eisner who said in an interview that he didn't like Judge Dredd because it was too fascist. Well, yeah....that's sort of the point, Will. At its heart, the Judge Dredd strip is a darkly satirical critique of late 20th century culture and society -- particularly British culture and society of the era, with lots of deliciously black humour in it. Re-reading these stories again, there are lots of moments that evoked a genuine chuckle from me. Of course, that said, Dredd is a great character and hugely fun to read about, with his grim expression and completely unyielding dedication to upholding the law.
I always thought of Judge Dredd as a dystopian 21st century Mary Whitehouse with a rather remarkable gun. The cynical satire of the strip reflects the punk-era pushback against Tory hardliner rule through the 70's and early 80's.
Not that I favor either Labour nor Tory political ideology... I hold the hard right and the hard left in equal disdain in their thirst for power and control, as they both tend to have end goals that ultimately result in some form of extremism if given power for too long. |
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 7, 2023 11:04:33 GMT -5
The thing about Dredd is that you're not supposed to like him. Although the writers and artists certainly give him action-hero trappings, he's actually a bully-boy fascist for a Police State and not a very nice person. People often misunderstand that about Dredd. I think it was dear old Will Eisner who said in an interview that he didn't like Judge Dredd because it was too fascist. Well, yeah....that's sort of the point, Will. At its heart, the Judge Dredd strip is a darkly satirical critique of late 20th century culture and society -- particularly British culture and society of the era, with lots of deliciously black humour in it. Re-reading these stories again, there are lots of moments that evoked a genuine chuckle from me. Of course, that said, Dredd is a great character and hugely fun to read about, with his grim expression and completely unyielding dedication to upholding the law. I lapped Dredd up as an impressionable teen and it's still one of my favorite titles and to me, there's still nothing quite like it. It's also probably one of the few times where I genuinely find the world more intriguing than anything else.
I think I gravitated more towards the one and done stories, but I did greatly enjoy "The Day The Law Died" and "Block War"
I'm also probably one of the few people who actually liked Walter
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,190
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2023 11:18:49 GMT -5
I'm also probably one of the few people who actually liked Walter I tolewate Walter. Barely.  |
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Post by arfetto on Mar 7, 2023 12:48:42 GMT -5
Not wanting to spoil anything for you, but that character trait or motivation doesn't last long. In those earliest appearances he was definitely a tragic figure: a disfigured gunfighter, with a heart of gold, who was shunned by society for the way he looked. That was followed by him becoming more of a ruthless, but fair-hearted, anti-hero, very much in the clasic Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" mould. I figured it was something like this as I read a few later-era Jonah Hex stories years ago and I did not recall him having such particular thought bubbles pertaining to his loneliness like he does in these. I enjoyed this aspect of his early stories because I was not expecting it, only knowing of the Hex character from later comics and expecting the same here, so it jolted me a bit haha. I suppose after so many betrayals and rejections, he simply stops thinking these things, or that's how I would explain it anyway. |
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Post by tartanphantom on Mar 7, 2023 13:02:58 GMT -5
I'm also probably one of the few people who actually liked Walter I tolewate Walter. Barely.
Always loved that. The concept of a robot with a speech impediment is quite amusing from the point of absurdist humor. Sort of Peake-ish or Carroll-ish if you think about it. Walter's constant blubbering obsequious devotion was a bit over-done, toady-ish and annoying at length, even to Dredd himself.
I did like the story about him meeting Rowena, though, where he was "wegaling" Wowena with stowies of his bwavewy.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2023 13:25:47 GMT -5
I've been reading a load of late '70s and early '80s Judge Dredd stories lately, as reprinted in a big bundle of the Quality Comics American reprints I recently picked up cheap on eBay. These Dredd stories are pure nostalgia for me because I can remember reading most of them when they came out in 2000AD. My best friend and I were both avid comic readers, but because pocket money was scarce, we used to try not to buy the same comics as each other: that way we could read each other's comics and get maximum bang for our combined bucks. So, I would regularly buy Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly, along with assorted issues of Battle Picture Weekly or Commando, and he would buy the likes of MAD magazine and 2000AD. The thing about Dredd is that you're not supposed to like him. Although the writers and artists certainly give him action-hero trappings, he's actually a bully-boy fascist for a Police State and not a very nice person. People often misunderstand that about Dredd. I think it was dear old Will Eisner who said in an interview that he didn't like Judge Dredd because it was too fascist. Well, yeah....that's sort of the point, Will. At its heart, the Judge Dredd strip is a darkly satirical critique of late 20th century culture and society -- particularly British culture and society of the era, with lots of deliciously black humour in it. Re-reading these stories again, there are lots of moments that evoked a genuine chuckle from me. Of course, that said, Dredd is a great character and hugely fun to read about, with his grim expression and completely unyielding dedication to upholding the law. On the pocket money thing, I am gonna presume it was an unintentional omission, you not mentioning Roy of the Rovers. Regarding Dredd, I agree. I remember reading some reprints of his Daily Star adventures. In one strip, he and his cronies interrogate a man who appears to be happy (the man is merely singing while walking). After extensive background checks and an interrogation/lie detector test, they decide the man has nothing to answer for. So harsh! In one modern strip, a woman, scared for her life, is taken into protective custody while Dredd and others crack the case. The woman, who feels the judges aren’t taking her seriously, hangs herself. No-one, least of all Dredd, cares about that, to them the case was cracked. I hated him for that. But as you show, that’s kind of the point. There have been times I’ve wondered if Dredd could show some personality. I remember a strip where he was at home - with his helmet on, of course - reading law books during his day off. The man has no hobbies. Some other judges appear to have some interest (or desire) outside their jobs, but not Dredd. I guess that’s intentional, though, as he must forever remain the personification of the law. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,190
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Post by Confessor on Mar 7, 2023 17:45:32 GMT -5
I've been reading a load of late '70s and early '80s Judge Dredd stories lately, as reprinted in a big bundle of the Quality Comics American reprints I recently picked up cheap on eBay. These Dredd stories are pure nostalgia for me because I can remember reading most of them when they came out in 2000AD. My best friend and I were both avid comic readers, but because pocket money was scarce, we used to try not to buy the same comics as each other: that way we could read each other's comics and get maximum bang for our combined bucks. So, I would regularly buy Marvel UK's Star Wars Weekly, along with assorted issues of Battle Picture Weekly or Commando, and he would buy the likes of MAD magazine and 2000AD. The thing about Dredd is that you're not supposed to like him. Although the writers and artists certainly give him action-hero trappings, he's actually a bully-boy fascist for a Police State and not a very nice person. People often misunderstand that about Dredd. I think it was dear old Will Eisner who said in an interview that he didn't like Judge Dredd because it was too fascist. Well, yeah....that's sort of the point, Will. At its heart, the Judge Dredd strip is a darkly satirical critique of late 20th century culture and society -- particularly British culture and society of the era, with lots of deliciously black humour in it. Re-reading these stories again, there are lots of moments that evoked a genuine chuckle from me. Of course, that said, Dredd is a great character and hugely fun to read about, with his grim expression and completely unyielding dedication to upholding the law. On the pocket money thing, I am gonna presume it was an unintentional omission, you not mentioning Roy of the Rovers. Nope. There's only one thing I hate more than football...and that's football comics. Anyway, real men don't like football. Real men like poetry and music. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Mar 7, 2023 18:23:15 GMT -5
I really need to read more Judge Dredd.. I'm hoping to get more of the 'case file' trades as I finish what I have in the to read pile. I agree the world is most intriguing. The Dan Abnett stuff is really good, where casts the Judges as the bad guys against some freedom loving space colonists(Insurrection) then just writes a Space Western with that in the background (Lawless)
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 7, 2023 18:25:18 GMT -5
On the pocket money thing, I am gonna presume it was an unintentional omission, you not mentioning Roy of the Rovers. Nope. There's only one thing I hate more than football...and that's football comics. Anyway, real men don't like football. Real men like poetry and music. I've never really understood the appeal of sports in general, the only ones that I gravitated towards were kind of violent like Hockey, American Arena Handegg/Fooseball, and Roller derby I really need to read more Judge Dredd.. I'm hoping to get more of the 'case file' trades as I finish what I have in the to read pile. I agree the world is most intriguing. I'll tell you what I told a former co-worker, it starts off kind of just as "Dirty Harry" in the far-flung future and kind of just gets better as it goes along |
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Post by badwolf on Mar 8, 2023 14:31:44 GMT -5
I'm reading the second Doctor Strange omnibus which collects the end of Strange Tales into Doc's own series. Finished the Bill Everett portion and into Marie Severin, whom I like much better. It is interesting to see the comic style change within one volume. Anxious to get to Gene Colan's part.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 13, 2023 15:47:19 GMT -5
Read Dooms4 a Liefeld book. Yet another Fantastic Four inspired comic.  Interestingly , it was optioned by Steven Spielbergs Amblin studios for a movie. I guess it’s just another unmade project. In a nutshell, 4 superpowered humans are attacked by something called Dooms Corporation and they have to abandon their headquarters. Yep, very thin. |
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Post by commond on Mar 14, 2023 19:06:37 GMT -5
I finished up Julie Doucet's Dirty Plotte. Wonderful stuff. Honest, surreal, funny. I wish she'd stayed in comics longer, but what a brilliant legacy to leave behind. Of all the great early 90s alternative comics, Dirty Plotte was the most fun to read.
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 15, 2023 21:25:14 GMT -5
Howard The Duck #26-#31
And with that, after many years of having it my possession, I've finished my HTD Omni. It was kind of bittersweet in a way. #27 is the last issue that was included in the original HTD Essentials and it was nice to see what happened afterwards. Basically, I didn't miss much. #28 and #29 weren't really connected to where the story left off but were still fun reads (even if the artwork in 29 was absolutely horrid). #30 and #31 have Mantlo tidying up the series in a very Gerber like fashion, it didn't even read like Steve had been forced off the book for tardiness.
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