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Hello all (Dredd newbie)

Started by sk1, 20 November, 2009, 08:05:00 PM

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coastguardjackuk

Greetings Simon and congratulations, the world of 2000ad is a complete self-contained world which will provide you with more than enough thrills to keep you occupied for the rest of your life. You could easily not read any other comic for the rest of your days and still not have enough time to get on top of it all. For what it's worth, here's my humble guide to how to get up to speed. First you need to subscribe to the prog.At least then you're on board and getting the current stuff as it appears. Don't fret if stories don't make sense sometimes, all will become clear. Next, buy "thrill power overload", the ultimate guide to all things 2000ad and a wonderful history of the galaxies greatest comic, as well as a fantastic reference guide when you want to dip your toes in to new charachters and find out a bit of background to them and the stories place in the prog.(paperback version cheaper but the sexy hardback is pure joy).Next if your not already, join your local library. Virtually every collected edition of every 2000ad story from any library in your county is available at your fingertips. For free. There are 4 main charachters that have to be read. IN order. Dredd,Strontium Dog,Nicolai Dante,and Slaine. Work through the case files and you will soon be addicted. Good luck !
Building up a nice crust since 1969...

sk1

Thanks for the guide mate, but let me ask you this becuase I'm not sure how this works: if I start reading the latest stuff, will it not spoil the story-lines of the older stuff?

Another question: I've just had a look at the prog on the website, which features Necrophim, Sláine, Tharg's Future Shocks, Sinister Dexter, along with Dredd. Are each of these - plus the others that you mentioned - independent comic characters (i.e. unrelated to each other)?

Thanks again and good tip on the library; mine isn't great but I'll see what they've got.

Gavin_Leahy_Block

#32
While a good understanding of Dredd's world definitely heightens your enjoyment of the current Dredd stories, it is not vital and will not ruin them. Dredd is in the middle of a bit of an epic story at the moment so help may be needed getting you up to date, but I'm sure we will help you out there.

The majority of stories appearing in 2000ad are completely unrelated to each other and require no knowledge of other characters for you to enjoy them, but there are some exceptions. Some stories happen in the same world as Dredd himself, but do not necessarily feature him and the majority of Pat Mills stories have some connection to each other.

sk1

Quote from: Gavin_Leahy on 24 November, 2009, 04:56:50 PM
While a good understanding of Dredd's world definitely heightens your enjoyment of the current Dredd stories, it is not vital and will not ruin them.

So not knowing the history won't ruin the current stories, but will reading the current stories first ruin the plot-lines of the graphic novels/case file stories?

Regarding Dredd and the other 2000 AD comics, can you give me an idea of how much is alien sci-fi as opposed to just futuristic sci-fi? What attracted me to Dredd was the concept of the law enforcement judgement system, the dark setting, the mature theme, and the coolness of the main character, and the fact that it's (as far as I know) mostly based on humans (i.e. judges and criminals). Even in movies, alien type stuff never appealed to me much. I liked The Pit because it's based on humans, so I'm wondering how much of the 2000 AD strips are of that nature.

Gavin_Leahy_Block

Quote from: sk1 on 24 November, 2009, 06:04:11 PM
So not knowing the history won't ruin the current stories, but will reading the current stories first ruin the plot-lines of the graphic novels/case file stories?

Not at all.

Jared Katooie

QuoteRegarding Dredd and the other 2000 AD comics, can you give me an idea of how much is alien sci-fi as opposed to just futuristic sci-fi? What attracted me to Dredd was the concept of the law enforcement judgement system, the dark setting, the mature theme, and the coolness of the main character, and the fact that it's (as far as I know) mostly based on humans (i.e. judges and criminals). Even in movies, alien type stuff never appealed to me much. I liked The Pit because it's based on humans, so I'm wondering how much of the 2000 AD strips are of that nature.

Many stories in 2000AD feature aliens. In fact, Case Files 4 is just bursting with aliens, so brace yourself!  ;)

However, there is always a good balance in terms of the characters and themes that appear in each story. There have been stories that have crazy sci-fi settings, and lots of aliens (Shakara, Nemesis the Warlock), and stories that, for the most part at least, deal with more realistic characters and settings (Savage, Cradlegrave).

Personally, I like a little of both. One of the reasons why Judge Dredd has always featured in 2000AD is the versatility of the chaacter. He can appear in both serious and humorous stories, featuring satire or tragedy, action or drama.




sk1

Gavin, thanks for clearing that up. My locals don't have the 2000 AD comics, so I may take a one month subscription to check them out. Is this Dredd epic storyline in the prog or the megazine?

Jared, knowing me I'll probably like the non-alien stories more, but I'm still looking forward to finding out as this stuff is all new to me. I should get the Case Files V4 this week so I'll post up my impression of it compared to The Pit, and then probably bombard you with more questions  ;D

Gavin_Leahy_Block

There will be a Christmas special out in about three weeks, it'll be a jump on prog, so you won't be starting midway through any of the story, it's also bumper size. This is a great place for you to start.
The epic storyline is mainly in the prog, but the megazines stories are connected to it.   

TordelBack

Regarding Aliens in Dredd, Casefiles 4 is about the high-water mark for that sort of thing.  Dredd ventures off-world every now and again, but it seldom seems to work as well as it did back in those days, and certainly doesn't last as long.  On the other hand, a procession of aliens do visit MC-1, frequently of the shape-changing/parasitic variety.  The 'police procedural' Dredd is more common from Casefiles 8 on. 


I'd be intrigued to see what you think about CF 4 - it's one of my favourites, and for me the start of the 'real' Judge Dredd character. 

Emperor

Quote from: sk1 on 24 November, 2009, 04:31:29 PM
Thanks for the guide mate, but let me ask you this becuase I'm not sure how this works: if I start reading the latest stuff, will it not spoil the story-lines of the older stuff?

Not really - it is more the journey than the destination. You will appreciate the ideas and characters more.

So from that quick list given "IN order. Dredd,Strontium Dog,Nicolai Dante,and Slaine."

Strontium Dog is actually in flashback mode so there is no big problem there but you want to get one of the big fat collections asap as they have some cracking stories in.

Nikolai Dante is really one long story but you can pic up the basics pretty easily and it won't be an issue knowing the current storyline but when you'vve cuaght up you'll get a deeper understanding of the twists and turns in the road to get to this point and the motivations of the character.

Slaine is an interesting one as it did go through a period of large over-arching storylines that might have been difficult to pick up but it is currently a more back-to-basics Slaine (Ultimate Slaine) and you can dive right in.

It is well worth digging out the older collections for all of these are they are some of the finest examples of comics storytelling that you'll find anywhere. And not too many aliens in them either ;) Get a taste of them, see what tickles your fancy and I'm sure there will be a lot of people happy to recommend further reading.
if I went 'round saying I was an Emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!

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sk1

Hey guys,

Thanks for the tips on the recommending reading; seems like there's enough material to last a couple of lifetimes  ;D

My copy of the Case Files 04 just arrived, and goddamn is it big. I had a quick flick through it and all I could see was freakz; I had to slow it down a bit just to make sure Dredd was in it!

What I'll do is finish up with The Pit, then start on the Case Files and let you guys know my impressions. I'll also keep my eye out for the bumber prog and pick that up on it's own rather than getting the subscription as I wouldn't have time to read it all.

Btw, I've been re-reading The Pit, and I noticed that Dredd has something resembling an American flag on his belt buckle; what's that about?

James Stacey

Quote from: sk1 on 26 November, 2009, 12:24:22 PM
Btw, I've been re-reading The Pit, and I noticed that Dredd has something resembling an American flag on his belt buckle; what's that about?
Mega City 1 is in America

radiator

#42
QuoteDredd has something resembling an American flag on his belt buckle; what's that about?

Well, to all intents and purposes, Dredd is American and Mega City One is located in a post-apocalyptic America, though it is no longer called 'America'.

The Geography is a bit vague, but it is kind of implied that there are no nations as we know them in Dredd's world, and the planet is divided into densely populated city-states like Mega City One, and radioactive wasteland like the Cursed Earth.

The flag emblem is probably a hangover due to Dredd's uniform being designed before his world had been properly defined - the very early tales are set in a future New York.

sk1

Quote from: radiator on 26 November, 2009, 01:11:37 PM
QuoteDredd has something resembling an American flag on his belt buckle; what's that about?

Well, to all intents and purposes, Dredd is American and Mega City One is located in a post-apocalyptic America, though it is no longer called 'America'.

The Geography is a bit vague, but it is kind of implied that there are no nations as we know them in Dredd's world, and the planet is divided into densely populated city-states like Mega City One, and radioactive wasteland like the Cursed Earth.

The flag emblem is probably a hangover due to Dredd's uniform being designed before his world had been properly defined - the very early tales are set in a future New York.

So does 'America' exist in the minds of the characters? Do they ever refer to it, or did the writers just transition from the 'future New York' setting to a vague one without worrying about the continuity?

radiator

#44
QuoteSo does 'America' exist in the minds of the characters? Do they ever refer to it, or did the writers just transition from the 'future New York' setting to a vague one without worrying about the continuity?

I think a lot should become clear when you read the America graphic novel, which explores the concept of democracy and liberty in Dredd's world. As for the future New York thing, it's because the character of Dredd and his world didn't arrive fully-formed, and it took a couple of years for the writers to define these things - another early inconsistency is that it is implied in the very first published episode of Judge Dredd that there are only a few dozen judges - whereas later it is clear that they number in the tens of thousands and fulfill the role of the governmeant and military as well as the police.

It kind of evolved organically and you have to take the early stuff with a pinch of salt. A lot of fans would consider the material covered in Case Files 3 or 4 as where Judge Dredd really became the character we know today.