Ron Smith

[Peter Wolf]

  I think Ron smith is actually my number one Dredd artist.He was also there in the golden age of 2000ad.I just love very detailed artwork.Thats why i like Belardinelli and Ron smith.to be brutally honest i cant stand the art of Jesus Redondo myself.


  but taste in art is personal.

[TordelBack]

Corr, that's some CV alright.  Always loved Ron' work.

[flip-r mk2]

Much to my shame I was one of those who did not like Ron's artwork first time round, prefering Mike or Carlos. Then as I got older and wiser and started to  buy the collected editions over the years, I began to appreciate the level of detail in Ron's artwork far more and realise how good an artist he really is. That is one of my disappointments with the Case Files as Ron's art seems to suffer really badly in them.
Filip
 

[Funt Solo]

I wouldn't go as far as saying I disliked his artwork, but, I'll be honest - of the stable drawing Dredd at the time, his was my least favourite.  

That's not as back-handed as it sounds on the surface - it was just that people like Dillon, McMahon and Bolland (to name a few) were so damned accomplished that to get a Ron Smith, for me, was a disappointment - but only in comparison.

Quietly, without any fanfare, he's responsible for some of the all time classic Dredd tales - and I can't imagine another artist doing a better job on tales such as Who Killed Pug Ugly or the Graveyard Shift.

[Large48]

and what Rob said!!!!!

also Gibson of course............ ;-)

[Bart Oliver]

++ That's not as back-handed as it sounds on the surface - it was just that people like Dillon, McMahon and Bolland (to name a few) were so damned accomplished that to get a Ron Smith, for me, was a disappointment - but only in comparison. ++


Perhaps more than just casting their definitive take on Dredd, a truer measure of an artist's run on the strip is down to the supporting characters and antagonists they visualise.

Dillon had Trapper Hag and the White Werewolf, McMahon the Angel Gang and Bolland the Dark Judges.

For me Ron Smith made Rex Peters, Otto Sump, Marlon Shakespeare and Citizen Snork.

And in my book that makes him an absolute hero.



..That and King Cobra ;)

[Matt Timson]

What about Red Star Robinson?

[Noisybast]

Heh, I'd forgotten all about King Cobra :)http://internationalhero.co.uk/k/kcobra.jpg">

[Noisybast]

...and Red Star Robinson's entirely new to me.http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/r/redcast.jpg">

[Richmond Clements]

Man, King Cobra was as cool as fuck!

[Noisybast]

Nick Jolly rings some very vague bells:http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/n/nikjoll2.jpg">

[Large48]

Always liked the war scenes on that planet with 7 races that where always fighting each other (memory like a sieve)...

Dredd and some judge bird.... ;-)

Sure someone can put some nice scans up!!!

[TordelBack]

That's Chief Judge bird to you, Large 48!

[Funt Solo]

Absolutely, Bart - each time I look at his list of Dredds, something else pops out as a seminal moment of Dredd history: The Hotdog Run and Shanty Town are the examples for this post.

And he's responsible for a lot of the mad craze series, such as:

The Otto Sump collection
Sob Story
Otto Sump's Ugly Clinic
Who Killed Pug Ugly?
Gunge
Get Smart

The Monthly Crime-Spree Mini-Series
Blobs
Jimps
Prezzel Logic

[Funt Solo]

Large48 - you're talking about the 3-prog Battleground segment of The Judge Child quest, progs 167-169.

One of those progs features the astounding "war wheels" centrespread.  

[Pray to the great one - YT-2 and his scanner of madness - pray to him!]