The depictions of Mega-City One

[Sandman1]

Do you like the depictions of the city from the two films?

I do not really like any of those depictions. The one from 95 is too... cartoonish and lack those bleak social conditions. And the latest one wandered off too far from the source material and didn't have that interesting futuristic look. But the story Six from Dredd Megazine 221-222 have some nice illustrations of the city.   

[IndigoPrime]

The first is amusing in that you can see the same bits of redressed scenery in several scenes, because the redressing wasn't enough. Bits of that movie work, but it's very shiny shiny 1990s. The point about MC-1, bar in the early days, was that it looked like a jewel from the air, but a disaster when you were up close.

The newer one was a lot more 'five minutes into the future', but I liked it a lot. Mind you, I like grimy sci-fi, and Dredd was very much that.

[Sandman1]

The point about MC-1, bar in the early days, was that it looked like a jewel from the air, but a disaster when you were up close.

The newer one was a lot more 'five minutes into the future', but I liked it a lot. Mind you, I like grimy sci-fi, and Dredd was very much that.

Do you have any favourite depiction of the city? 

[IndigoPrime]

From the comic? Anything by McMahon or Flint, really.

[Sandman1]

From the comic? Anything by McMahon or Flint, really.

I'm maybe a bit too inquisitive, but why do you think those depictions stands out from the rest?

[IndigoPrime]

Loads of character, and depicting the madness of the future.

[Sandman1]

Loads of character, and depicting the madness of the future.

Your examples sounds like two interesting ones, so I'm going to look them up.

[Fragminion]

I liked both to be honest.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I loved the second one. Not plastic and shiny like the comic version (incredible as the comic version is) but bleak and grey and concrete, with the requisite amount of filthy shanty towns contrasting nicely among the oppressive tower blocks.
I had just come back from six months in Asia when Dredd came out, and I could see the worst parts of both Bangkok and Beijing in MC1. (Hong Kong was more the comic version, while Kuala Lumpur reminded me of DKR Gotham.)

[Michael Knight]

I feel both movie depictions have their respective merits. Do feel with todays special effects the 95 movie would appear even better. Wasn't too gone on Mega City One as depicted in 'Dredd' on first viewing but its definitely grown on me with repeat viewings.

[Jim_Campbell]

Do you have any favourite depiction of the city?

Cam Kennedy. By a mile.

[Richard]

In the comic, I loved Ron Smith's version. He made the city look massive, with streets half a mile above the ground; he made the interiors of the blocks look massive too. He made the city look bigger and more advanced than any real place that now exists.

Both films have different virtues on this score. I was blown away by the city the first time I saw the 1995 film. But I also like the decaying nightmare of despair depicted in the 2012 one.

[Sandman1]

Cam Kennedy. By a mile.

Why is it so great?

[Jim_Campbell]

Why is it so great?

Because it lives and breathes in a way few artists can capture. It's full of incidental detail and crammed with… stuff that looks strange and mysterious but somehow also looks worn, lived in, but functional. You have no idea what half these things are supposed to do, but you have no doubt that they all do something.

(Thinking about it, I get a similar vibe from D'israeli's MC-1.)

[Sandman1]

Because it lives and breathes in a way few artists can capture. It's full of incidental detail and crammed with… stuff that looks strange and mysterious but somehow also looks worn, lived in, but functional. You have no idea what half these things are supposed to do, but you have no doubt that they all do something.

Can you recommend comics with his illustrations?