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2000 AD => General => Topic started by: norton canes on 07 August, 2019, 05:05:29 PM

Title: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: norton canes on 07 August, 2019, 05:05:29 PM
Just wondering if people think 2000 AD could benefit from another strip like 'Dredd'? By which I mean an ever-present strip where a roster of script and art droids take turns to create short to medium length stories centered on the same character and their 'universe', self-contained but often part of their own 'continuity bubble' of developing plot arcs. 

With the rest of the prog featuring creator-owned strips generally served in long chapters and where art droids will spend a long stint, Dredd is something of an anomaly. What's the likelihood that a writer would want to create a character, start it off in a new strip then hand it over for others to develop? How would payments work practically? Would it effectively mean a return to the not fondly looked-upon days of the publishing company taking more profits?

Would the prog even benefit from such a strip? How difficult would it be to create an appealing character with defining characteristics that was nevertheless flexible enough to be cultivated by other writers? Would the prospect of such a major launch being a flop put Rebellion off trying?

Got any ideas about what this new 2000 AD hero(ine) could be like?

Just a few questions that popped into my mind :)
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 05:34:38 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 07 August, 2019, 05:05:29 PM
What's the likelihood that a writer would want to create a character, start it off in a new strip then hand it over for others to develop? How would payments work practically? Would it effectively mean a return to the not fondly looked-upon days of the publishing company taking more profits?

Well, I think your first question raises the first major hurdle — you need a decent writer to come up with a concept that has 'legs' and for them to forgo regular income from writing it exclusively, they'd expect to be handsomely compensated for the sacrifice.

Also, a lot of what happened with Dredd wouldn't fly now... for at least the first year, arguably the first couple of years, there was a huge amount of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks — a lot of stuff was introduced as canon and then simply never mentioned again or retconned out of sight (MC-1 having a regular police force and about twelve judges, for a start). You just couldn't do that now, meaning that the aforementioned writer(s) doing the development would have to come up with a pretty watertight series bible... which is even more work they'd need compensating for.

That said, I think there might be legs to a kind of 'open world' series — an interesting setting like, say, Telguuth that offers enough scope for writers to do their own thing under an overarching concept. Again, though, someone would have to come up with the damn thing.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 05:57:21 PM

Skip Tracer enjoyed a semi-permanent residency! Slaine, Sinister-Dexter and Nikolai Dante enjoyed similar not-quite unbroken runs in the nineties, although, as with Nolan Blake's adventures, only the artists passed through the revolving door.

I assume that if Tharg was to undertake your experiment, he'd appoint a single writer, and I imagine if you asked readers to pick a writer they wanted to read every week Dan Abnett would win by a huge margin. Not sure if you could tie him to an annual contract, though.

The two most notable examples of Tharg(s) attempting to engineer sure-fire successes are Rogue Trooper and Outlaw (https://sauchieboy.imgur.com/all), one of which wasn't a success and the other was never a success as a sandpit for multiple writers.

So, you either ask Abnett to create an original strip and hope it isn't Sancho Panzer, task him with turning one of his existing strips into a weekly fixture, or hand him an existing thrill from the IP catalogue to fashion in his own image. Unless Tharg feels 10th time lucky on Rogue Trooper, the most obvious candidate is the newly-available Strontium Dog.


Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: PsychoGoatee on 07 August, 2019, 06:03:27 PM
I didn't realize that all other 2000AD strips are creator owned these days. That's cool. How long has that been the case? Are things like Sinister Dexter or Nikolai Dante from the 90s creator owned? And are older ones like ABC Warriors or Slaine creator owned? Is everything since say 2000 creator owned?

Good question, I think something like that could work. If a few writers and artists are interested in the idea and rotate duties on it, that could make for a good fixture. On who owns it, I guess everyone involved in creating it could share some royalties, on top of whatever they usually get for the strips they make. The "writer's room" approach can have positives.

As for what, my first thought is something a bit like the appeal of the X-Men in structure. A group of characters, maybe focusing on seven or eight, rotating cast. Bit of your TV style serialized character building and stuff, and some kind of premise to keep people coming back. Instead of mutant superheroes, it could be a lot of things... maybe something like Buffy/Angel in structure? Maybe it could be about some scamps on a spaceship, a'la Cowboy Bebop etc.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 06:11:23 PM
Quote from: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 05:57:21 PM
Unless Tharg feels 10th time lucky on Rogue Trooper

With the Duncan Jones movie seemingly making good progress, I think the chances of us not seeing the return of a blue-skinned GI to the pages of the prog in the fairly near future are slim to none.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 06:14:19 PM
Quote from: PsychoGoatee on 07 August, 2019, 06:03:27 PM
I didn't realize that all other 2000AD strips are creator owned these days.

They're not. There's a convention that creators are allowed to continue working on strips they've created until such time as they say they don't want to, or otherwise indicate to Tharg that they have no intention of doing any more. [Insert pithy John Smith comment from Frank here.]
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 06:20:47 PM
Quote from: PsychoGoatee on 07 August, 2019, 06:03:27 PM
I didn't realize that all other 2000AD strips are creator owned these days. That's cool. How long has that been the case? Are things like Sinister Dexter or Nikolai Dante from the 90s creator owned? And are older ones like ABC Warriors or Slaine creator owned?

Not really. Tharg generally wants all rights to everything. 2000ad's run a handful of strips that were creator-owned and most of those were only retrospectively declared the property of their creators or something Wagner and/or Grant knocked up for another comic.

A few, like Tank Girl*, Realm Of The Damned, Demon Nic and American Reaper ran in the Megazine, rather than 2000ad, in a slot specifically reserved for creator-owned work (I assume, to fill space in the comic at a reduced rate).

This list (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=index) doesn't include Terra-Meks, a Robusters spin-off that Pat Mills managed to get printed on his own terms:

(https://i.imgur.com/YzcItHx.png?2)


* I think Tank Girl ran before the advent of the creator-slot, but saying that would have fucked up my syntax and, look see, I've acknowledged that misstatement of fact.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 06:41:19 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 06:11:23 PM
Quote from: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 05:57:21 PM
Unless Tharg feels 10th time lucky on Rogue Trooper

With the Duncan Jones movie seemingly making good progress, I think the chances of us not seeing the return of a blue-skinned GI to the pages of the prog in the fairly near future are slim to none.

Yeah, but given the history of that particular strip, I wouldn't expect whoever's editing the comic at whatever time any film might appear to gamble the editorial budget on commissioning a year's worth of material to run continuously*.

I agree someone's bound to try, though.


*The Bishop/MacManus Thargship did that with Dredd at the time of the 1995 film (quite reasonably, in my opinion), with two strips running every week, front and back of the comic. The result was reader fatigue (this reader, anyway) and a perception in the company (Egmont) that the failure of the film had somehow made Dredd a drag on the popularity of the comic as a whole. A mistaken perception, I think. Seems more like corporate blame-spreading as the circulation of the comic returned to previous levels then continued to fall (as it had been for the previous half-decade).
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: The Legendary Shark on 07 August, 2019, 07:15:36 PM
As someone who doesn't believe in IP, I'm available... Shit, but available.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: TordelBack on 07 August, 2019, 08:14:01 PM
Apart from the challenge of hitting on a one-in-a-million concept, the key issue with any open-ended weekly strip is stasis, the bane of every superhero book. Without an over-arching plot, secrets and revelations, visible character arcs, can there be enough for a modern audience?
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: The Legendary Shark on 07 August, 2019, 08:31:30 PM

The Orville seems to be doing okay going back to the Trek monster/problem of the week episodic format - whilst Discovery's series-long infinite plot arc really turned me off.

Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 08:33:12 PM
Quote from: TordelBack on 07 August, 2019, 08:14:01 PM
Apart from the challenge of hitting on a one-in-a-million concept, the key issue with any open-ended weekly strip is stasis, the bane of every superhero book.

And even if it - whether it's a new strip or an existing strip - is generally popular, there aren't many strips everybody would be glad to see in the comic every single week*.

Scarlet Traces, Brink, Strontium Dog, even; not universally popular. Nothing is, but nothing else is in the comic every single time you open it up. Readers threatened to quit when Skip Tracer kept returning (even if they probably didn't).


* Even readers who like other things better than Dredd or have fallen out of love with it over time still accept its presence because it's always just sort of been there. Even if they don't love it, they don't mind it.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 08:50:49 PM
Quote from: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 08:33:12 PM
And even if it - whether it's a new strip or an existing strip - is generally popular, there aren't many strips everybody would be glad to see in the comic every single week*.

Maybe not every single week, but for a long time, I've argued in favour of longer 'residencies' for perhaps two more strips alongside Dredd, in the same way that some combination of Rogue, Slaine, Robo Hunter or Strontium Dog would regularly sit in the prog for months at a time, before rotating out to be replaced by one of the others.

I don't think this has really been tried in the prog since Sin/Dex and Nikolai Dante, but I'd suggest the semi-permanent presence of Lawless in the Meg benefitted the series which would otherwise have been robbed of its momentum.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: TordelBack on 07 August, 2019, 09:06:50 PM
No argument here about the value of long residencies, a very different beast to a second 'Dredd'-type.

For a while I thought Damnation Station was going to fulfill the 'residency' role. How I loved that first run. :|
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Greg M. on 07 August, 2019, 09:12:18 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 08:50:49 PM
I don't think this has really been tried in the prog since Sin/Dex and Nikolai Dante

I've said it before, but these two benefited enormously from their semi-permanent status. I didn't like Sinister / Dexter at all, till fairly far into its tenure, but it was there every week, I read it, and it eventually grew on me. I'd even argue that it needs to be a regular fixture to work properly as a series - its current sporadic schedule doesn't serve it well.

That said - even if I'm in favour of residencies for certain stories, does 'Judge Dredd' itself still need to be one of them? Does it still need to appear in every issue? I know that for most, the answer is 'yes, of course, you fool' and it seems a commercial no-brainer to maintain its regular status, but would sales drop if Dredd only turned up occasionally? Personally, I'd no longer mind if, as per latter-days Strontium Dog, it only showed up when John Wagner had a new story he wanted to tell.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Colin YNWA on 07 August, 2019, 09:17:17 PM
There's a very strong case to be made (by which I of course mean a case I have made!) the advent of Dante and Sinister Dexter having regular slots, if not ever present, went a long way to stablising 2000ad after the nadir of the late 80s early to mid 90s. Having two, if not three bankers meant Tharg had the time and space to get the rest of his house in order and very quickly did.

The flipside is it a dangerous game to play as a big part of 2000ad's strenght is its variety and ability to surprise and mix things up. Get things too nailed down and as stated things will become stagnant.

So I'd head towards the view Jim is looking towards. Dredd is your solid foundation. Get a couple if regular, but still rotating strips in - easy to say hard to do as discussed already. There are a few we could nominate that exist... and well Sinister Dexter still has legs in this old chaps eye... but I suspect that wouldn't be popular. Then keep the rest moving along. In an ideal world maybe one of these would actually be a 30-40 episode single tale, though suspect that's not realistic anymore in the way of Meltdown Man or Return to Armegeddon.

I think that would be helped by other strips having a more defined path to a conclusion. So while we have a bedrock we do have  a load of other comics with long ongoing storylines with no end in sight, just queuing up for the next vacant slot. Books that last 5 or 6 series, even 10 or 12 as long as we have a sense of progression towards conclusion.

All of this of course take no consideration of how characters need to work these days. The challenge in creating these ideal stories and the way this might affect the after markets for materials in trades etc (though there are a number of long running strips that no longer have a trade 'programme' so that doesn't seem to be too important?).
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 09:22:56 PM
Quote from: Greg M. on 07 August, 2019, 09:12:18 PM
... does 'Judge Dredd' itself still need to be one of them? Does it still need to appear in every issue? I know that for most, the answer is 'yes, of course, you fool' and it seems a commercial no-brainer to maintain its regular status, but would sales drop if Dredd only turned up occasionally? Personally, I'd no longer mind if, as per latter-days Strontium Dog, it only showed up when John Wagner had a new story he wanted to tell.

I think it would make the strip stronger, but if I was the incoming Tharg I'd probably keep that plan under my hat.


Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: sheridan on 07 August, 2019, 09:25:00 PM
I could see a year or Rogue doing pretty well - not just Rogue continuously though, but Venus Bluegenes, Tor Cyan, maybe even Fr1day (as long as it's closer to the Gibbons/Simpson version), The 86ers, Hunted, Jaegir and an entirely new series - something to keep Nu Earth and/or blue skin in the comic for a longer term.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: sheridan on 07 August, 2019, 09:33:35 PM
I wasn't a big fan of The Vigilant for two reasons - the first that it was trying to introduce too much in a compressed amount of space - a bit like the second or third Avengers film without having met any of the characters beforehand (not seen the latest, but the last one I saw I'd forgotten who half the characters in the first half hour were - even though I'd seen all the MCU films, in order, up to that point).  The other reason is I'm not a huge fan of superheroes in the first place.

Which brings me to my point - Rebellion now has a huge amount of IP - just about everything published in a century of British comics except for The Eagle, Phoenix and those that came out of Dundee *.  So, for those who know pre-2000AD comics better than me - is there anything in there that could be turned into a modern, shared-world ongoing series, either in 2000AD or outside of it?  Preferably something not centred around the second world war!

* In verifying it was actually Dundee, I found out that R D Low was co-creator of Oor Wullie and The Broons, and then went on to launch The Beano and The Dandy!
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 09:44:58 PM

Faceache's a bit like Mystique from the X-Men.


Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: PsychoGoatee on 07 August, 2019, 09:49:08 PM
Quote from: Frank on 07 August, 2019, 06:20:47 PM
Quote from: PsychoGoatee on 07 August, 2019, 06:03:27 PM
I didn't realize that all other 2000AD strips are creator owned these days. That's cool. How long has that been the case? Are things like Sinister Dexter or Nikolai Dante from the 90s creator owned? And are older ones like ABC Warriors or Slaine creator owned?

Not really. Tharg generally wants all rights to everything. 2000ad's run a handful of strips that were creator-owned and most of those were only retrospectively declared the property of their creators or something Wagner and/or Grant knocked up for another comic.

A few, like Tank Girl*, Realm Of The Damned, Demon Nic and American Reaper ran in the Megazine, rather than 2000ad, in a slot specifically reserved for creator-owned work (I assume, to fill space in the comic at a reduced rate).

This list (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=index) doesn't include Terra-Meks, a Robusters spin-off that Pat Mills managed to get printed on his own terms:

(https://i.imgur.com/YzcItHx.png?2)


* I think Tank Girl ran before the advent of the creator-slot, but saying that would have fucked up my syntax and, look see, I've acknowledged that misstatement of fact.

Thanks, good to know. I just watched the Future Shock doc, they mentioned the creator owned issue from back in the day, I didn't know the status these days.


Quote from: Greg M. on 07 August, 2019, 09:12:18 PM
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 07 August, 2019, 08:50:49 PM
I don't think this has really been tried in the prog since Sin/Dex and Nikolai Dante

I've said it before, but these two benefited enormously from their semi-permanent status. I didn't like Sinister / Dexter at all, till fairly far into its tenure, but it was there every week, I read it, and it eventually grew on me. I'd even argue that it needs to be a regular fixture to work properly as a series - its current sporadic schedule doesn't serve it well.

That said - even if I'm in favour of residencies for certain stories, does 'Judge Dredd' itself still need to be one of them? Does it still need to appear in every issue? I know that for most, the answer is 'yes, of course, you fool' and it seems a commercial no-brainer to maintain its regular status, but would sales drop if Dredd only turned up occasionally? Personally, I'd no longer mind if, as per latter-days Strontium Dog, it only showed up when John Wagner had a new story he wanted to tell.

While I'm fine with them skipping a few if they are having trouble getting a quality story ready, having a good Dredd every week should be doable. Some writers handle several monthly comics, and we have a few great writers doing Dredd. Organizing that and keeping the quality going I think is something special, it's creatively cool to have that as an ongoing thing. I agree on the respect and kudos for John Wagner though.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 07 August, 2019, 10:42:06 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 07 August, 2019, 09:33:35 PMSo, for those who know pre-2000AD comics better than me - is there anything in there that could be turned into a modern, shared-world ongoing series, either in 2000AD or outside of it?  Preferably something not centred around the second world war!
I'd say there's a boatload of stuff that could be mined from those old comics, but last I heard from Tharg on the podcast, he wasn't keen on crossing the streams.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 07:27:49 AM
I'm keen on the idea of having strips with long runs or at least minimising the length of time between series. When you get long gaps it is hard to keep up with what is going on. It should not be necessary to dig out the back Progs to follow what is going on - it's meant to be fun after all. I have seen comments previously saying that is due to the availability of creators but surely there is an element of creators losing interest- I can think of at least one writer who has multiple uncompleted series- why not just finished each one before moving on to the next?
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Funt Solo on 08 August, 2019, 08:17:28 AM
Dante, towards the end, did a summary episode to bring us up to speed: I'd love to see that or a "previously on..." page for any thrill that's seen a year or longer absence.

It really is poor storytelling to assume we just remember everything. I speak for the middle-aged Squaxx.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 09:39:37 AM
In a sense, this is why I wonder about things like The Vigilant. It's almost comical to see my two issues stating August 2018 and August 2019 as the dates. My old brain has enough of a hard time remembering Meg stories month to month, let alone when there's a year-long gap.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: CalHab on 08 August, 2019, 09:42:22 AM
The Vigilant would have made more sense as a limited series to test the waters.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: wedgeski on 08 August, 2019, 10:09:49 AM
Let me say for the record that 2000AD without weekly Dredd would make for a less exciting Saturday morning, for this Squaxx at least. I can't say how much of that is due to its consistently high quality in the last couple of years. If it started to decline, I might change my mind, and be more on board with the "let's wait until we have decent writers and artists lined up" school of thought.

I'd be open to a new weekly regular, but none of the current stable seems to fit the bill. In the meantime, I am *hugely* enjoying long-running series like Brink.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 12:25:45 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 09:39:37 AM
In a sense, this is why I wonder about things like The Vigilant. It's almost comical to see my two issues stating August 2018 and August 2019 as the dates. My old brain has enough of a hard time remembering Meg stories month to month, let alone when there's a year-long gap.

Totally. My plan is to re-read the first one then read the new one. But I shouldn't have to  :|
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 12:37:46 PM
Likewise. My copy arrived yesterday, and I dug out its predecessor. I'm half tempted to grab the special that the universe originated in too.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Jim_Campbell on 08 August, 2019, 12:53:35 PM
Quote from: sheridan on 07 August, 2019, 09:25:00 PM
I could see a year or Rogue doing pretty well - not just Rogue continuously though, but Venus Bluegenes, Tor Cyan, maybe even Fr1day (as long as it's closer to the Gibbons/Simpson version), The 86ers, Hunted, Jaegir and an entirely new series - something to keep Nu Earth and/or blue skin in the comic for a longer term.

I really quite like this idea, with the caveat that I don't think it's a good idea to go re-muddying those continuity waters with Tor Cyan/Friday variant versions.

Nu Earth is well-defined enough to support multiple writers in the same 'universe' but not so locked down that everyone ends up basically writing the same story. A rolling 'Tales of Nu Earth' spot with Rogue occasionally guest-starring in stories focussed on other characters and a few stories each year where the blue guy takes centre stage would raise the profile of the IP but avoid the core problem, which is that Rogue himself isn't terrribly interesting.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 01:03:59 PM
Mm. It's an interesting idea. When Jaegir stops, roll in something else from Nu-Earth. Could work nicely, if the movie happens.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Frank on 08 August, 2019, 07:11:55 PM
Quote from: norton canes on 07 August, 2019, 05:05:29 PM
Just wondering if people think 2000 AD could benefit from another strip like 'Dredd'? By which I mean an ever-present strip where a roster of script and art droids take turns to create short to medium length stories centered on the same character and their 'universe', self-contained but often part of their own 'continuity bubble' of developing plot arcs. 

With the rest of the prog featuring creator-owned strips generally served in long chapters and where art droids will spend a long stint, Dredd is something of an anomaly. What's the likelihood that a writer would want to create a character, start it off in a new strip then hand it over for others to develop? How would payments work practically? Would it effectively mean a return to the not fondly looked-upon days of the publishing company taking more profits?

Would the prog even benefit from such a strip? How difficult would it be to create an appealing character with defining characteristics that was nevertheless flexible enough to be cultivated by other writers? Would the prospect of such a major launch being a flop put Rebellion off trying?

Got any ideas about what this new 2000 AD hero(ine) could be like?

Just a few questions that popped into my mind :)

The good burghers of the Board covered some of this same ground all the way back in 2013, when the Labour leader was accused of being a dangerous lefty, there was no end in sight to austerity, and we were all wondering when we'd get to see that Dredd thing we'd heard might be happening.

How times have changed.

L I N K (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=39208.0)


Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 09:47:47 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 12:37:46 PM
Likewise. My copy arrived yesterday, and I dug out its predecessor. I'm half tempted to grab the special that the universe originated in too.

What special is that?
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: The Adventurer on 09 August, 2019, 12:25:41 AM
IMO I don't think we need another Judge Dredd. But we could really use another Nikolai Dante. Something regular recurring, bombastic, high adventure, and a little scandalous.  I can't think of anything since that really hit its mark, even temporarily.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: broodblik on 09 August, 2019, 03:58:32 AM
I agree with The Adventurer, a story that not necessarily runs every week but is semi-regular but not in the mold of Dredd. Interesting characters build on a world that is on par with the characters. An awesome villain we will all hate to love.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: TordelBack on 09 August, 2019, 07:55:27 AM
Quote from: broodblik on 09 August, 2019, 03:58:32 AM
... a story that not necessarily runs every week but is semi-regular but not in the mold of Dredd. Interesting characters build on a world that is on par with the characters. An awesome villain we will all hate to love.

When you put it like that, it ought to be a doddle to come up with half a dozen of those... Tharg's a slacker, that's all there is to it.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: sheridan on 09 August, 2019, 08:34:11 AM
Quote from: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 09:47:47 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 08 August, 2019, 12:37:46 PM
Likewise. My copy arrived yesterday, and I dug out its predecessor. I'm half tempted to grab the special that the universe originated in too.

What special is that?


It's not been released yet - out next week (https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/RCS1953).
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 09 August, 2019, 10:35:42 AM
Quote from: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 09:47:47 PMWhat special is that?
Death Man: The Gathering in the 2017 Scream special was a Vigilant prototype/pilot. (Looking again at that special, I'd happily have The Sentinels in 2000 AD.)
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: AlexF on 15 August, 2019, 12:47:52 PM
Short answer: no, 2000AD doesn't need a new Dredd, it seems to be getting along just fine as it is!

Longer answer: it sure would be fun if a collective of writers/artists got together to dream up a new character/setting and took turns crafting stories over a whole year. See, for example, team Trifecta. I'm sure dividing up the spoils would be a bit of a challenge but not an impossible one.

I, for one, think that 2000AD is missing a bit of the classic Brit comics formula of having a character who pointedly doesn't move forward or change with each episode, and in fact each episode is more or less the same as the last. It worked for Dredd for 30 years before we started getting used to, and hence demanding, more stories that progress an overall plot, likewise Sinister Dexter for the first decade.

Hard to do, especially when it's unfashionable. But this is, more or less, what the likes of Wagner and Mills did when they set up Battle, Action, 2000AD and so on, isn't it? Created a story set up, then farmed out scripts and art duties to trusted creators?
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Richard on 15 August, 2019, 10:54:50 PM
I wouldn't want to read a series where the writers were forbidden by the editor from ever developing the strip or its characters.

2000AD was conceived and set up to be the antithesis of the old way of doing things in comics. It has lasted for 42 years, while its predecessors have not, because it did things differently and didn't cling to the past.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: sheridan on 21 August, 2019, 07:50:45 PM
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 09 August, 2019, 10:35:42 AM
Quote from: Magnetica on 08 August, 2019, 09:47:47 PMWhat special is that?
Death Man: The Gathering in the 2017 Scream special was a Vigilant prototype/pilot. (Looking again at that special, I'd happily have The Sentinels in 2000 AD.)


Another vote for the Sentinels here.  Maybe have Max installed in one of them :-)
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: IndigoPrime on 21 August, 2019, 08:09:30 PM
I get that Matt Smith doesn't want to cross the streams, but it does strike me that there are so many great strips that just won't get a new home – at least one where the publishing frequency is more than once a year. I find that a great pity.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: Professor Bear on 21 August, 2019, 09:10:17 PM
Quote from: CalHab on 08 August, 2019, 09:42:22 AM
The Vigilant would have made more sense as a limited series to test the waters.

They did try that (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion_(comics)), but even with DC comics behind it, it didn't really fly.
Title: Re: Does 2000 AD need another 'Judge Dredd'?
Post by: milstar on 16 August, 2021, 04:03:26 PM
I, for one, would have nothing against Elseworlds Dredd (yes, DC Elseworlds). Dredd sheriff on the Wild West.