Alan Grant appreciation thread

[Huey2]

" Do you mean Letter From a Democrat? "

Oh no - just realised after 35 years that the story I'm thinking of is actually called Revolution.

Letter from a Democrat is a fantastic piece of work by all concerned. Revolution, IMO really doubles-down on the direction it takes. Whereas Letter made some concession to a boy's adventure comic in that Dredd's opponents had guns, Revolution doesn't. Here the full might of the justice department is brought to bear on some folks who just want to protest. Dredd is fully prepared to ruin the lives not just of those involved but also their children, just to get his way. For these three episodes, we're not reading the adventures of a future cop but instead something far more chilling and closer to home.

It's also impressive that, rather than flogging this new direction for all it's worth for the foreseeable future, Wagner and Grant leave this avenue open and follow it up with something completely different which will also drive the strip for the next 30 years: the introduction of P.J. Maybe.

[GoGilesGo]

And yet despite this, they set themselves such very, very high standards. It would have been so much easier to run through the same stories again an again but they never did.

Even when stories were vey similar, TB Grover could put impressively individual spins on each.

I've recently re-read Bob & Carol & Ted & Ringo and I, Beast.

Both stories published within a year of each other, both concerning feral beasts let loose from traveling roadshows, both with bittersweet endings that allow Dredd to show a soft side yet the feel, pacing and structure of the pair could not be more different.