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Judge Death appearances

Started by repoman, 01 February, 2020, 07:24:55 PM

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repoman

Here's a question. 

At the end of Wilderness Days, Judge Death ends up in hell. 

During Dark Justice, he goes to visit PJ Maybe.  He mentions that the Sisters freed him from hell.  I've never seen a story where this happens though.  Was there one?

Dark Jimbo

No, it occurred 'between panels', as it were.
@jamesfeistdraws

repoman

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 03 February, 2020, 02:07:46 PM
No, it occurred 'between panels', as it were.

Thanks for confirming.  Was worried there'd be another issue to track down!

I'm up to Dark Justice now which is where it really gets good again.  It's amazing how neglected the Dark Judges have been in the timeline until now.

Funt Solo

Quote from: repoman on 03 February, 2020, 02:04:43 PM
Here's a question. 

At the end of Wilderness Days, Judge Death ends up in hell. 

During Dark Justice, he goes to visit PJ Maybe.  He mentions that the Sisters freed him from hell.  I've never seen a story where this happens though.  Was there one?

Thanks for asking that clarifying question: I was a bit lost when Death cropped up in Dark Justice, as I couldn't recall his previous fate. (2000 AD: the comic that requires years of study.)
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

repoman

Because I don't read non-Death 2000 AD, I was constantly confused.  The collected graphic novels don't always do a great job of explaining things.

Last time I looked the whole Fall of Deadworld stuff was a bit all over the place.  I'm looking forward to making proper sense of it.

Tjm86

Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 03 February, 2020, 02:07:46 PM
No, it occurred 'between panels', as it were.

Remember though that the rest of the DJ's were set loose during Day of Chaos before being captured by Maybe.

repoman

Quote from: Tjm86 on 03 February, 2020, 05:12:49 PM
Quote from: Dark Jimbo on 03 February, 2020, 02:07:46 PM
No, it occurred 'between panels', as it were.

Remember though that the rest of the DJ's were set loose during Day of Chaos before being captured by Maybe.

Yep.  That's right.  JD then goes looking for them at PJ's mansion (well, not strictly his) and he releases them.

Gary James

The things I find myself researching...

What started out as a simple little hunt to take my mind off things turned into a properly exciting puzzle. There is so much material that I have barely scratched the surface here - and that's without the benefit of the Database being operational (at least I now know how broken it is). So, to start with there was a Piranha computer game announced back in 1987 with various bits of news, reports, and previews. Announced for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum 48k, there was a significant run-up to the game's predicted release slot (though things were different in the 80s, and having a big release wasn't the thing it became).

Quick round-up:

Computer & Video Games (EMAP) #71 (Sep 1987) Melbourne House's prior Dredd game gets mentioned, though I don't think Death was in that one. It *has* been over twenty years since I played the game, so don't trust that my memory isn't blocking out parts of that release.
Computer & Video Games (EMAP) #74 (Dec 1987) The thing you most likely want - screenshots. Okay, so there are only two, but it *does* look interesting (if a little too reminiscent of other releases). Checkerboard flooring was apparently a big thing back in the eighties...
Computer & Video Games (EMAP) #76 (Feb 1988) Original poster? I have no idea where this image was originally published, if indeed it is taken from somewhere else, but having a poster of Anderson and Death likely meant that the game was close to release at this point.
Crash (Newsfield Publications) #46 (Nov 1987)
Crash (Newsfield Publications) #47 (Dec 1987) Sixteen pages, with a reprint of the Anderson/Death encounter. The poster from CVG is presented here as a single page and *might* have been what was going to be used on the cover of the game release. There are other bits of Death news in the issue as well, so it is probably right around the time the game was going to appear.
Sinclair User (EMAP Business & Computer Publications) #66 (Sep 1987)
Sinclair User (EMAP Business & Computer Publications) #68 (Nov 1987) Another screenshot, different than CVG had, and... kinda interesting.
Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing Ltd.) #65 (Aug 1987) Under Raps text feature (albeit a brief bit of business)

Retro Gamer magazine is a good bet for more information on the Death game, though I only have two issues here and neither of those were any help. It is far too large a commitment to index at the moment, and I can't see that situation changing any in the near future. I get palpitations just looking at what I'd have to include... The status of that game is difficult to discern (at best), and a complete and utter horrorshow if there have been multiple rights-transfers of the underlying code in the intervening years, however it is online at present.

Judge Death game credits:
Coding by J. Dosa, P. Gostola, and E. Szabo.
Graphics by I. Henk and SIR (?).

The identity of SIR is giving me trouble. Fact is, most of that era's games are still in a bit of a cloud of confusion as far as I am concerned, though someone at Rebellion might have some useful information given the company's history. I've not even really begun to untangle any computer game history other than picking up dates and names where I can, and there are folks out there doing research with a lot more resources than are generally available to me, so someone else can sort out that for you.

You are only missing a handful of appearances as far as I can tell:

Creep: Creep's Day Out
w: Si Spencer, a: Kevin Cullen, l: Gordon Robson.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #50 (01 Apr 1994)

Anderson, Psi: Postcards from the Edge (single page appearance)
w: Alan Grant, a: Tony Luke, l: Annie Parkhouse.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #57 (08 Jul 1994)

Dead Mean (text story) by Alison Potter, illustrated by Trevor Hairsine.
Judge Dredd Yearbook 1995

The Complete Judge Dredd #21 (1993) [new cover?]
Actually, the list of reprints - and where new covers were used - is probably a whole search on its own, and one which might be worth a little time looking into in the future. I'll keep it in mind.

As far as the history of the character goes, and his popularity with the readers, there are a few things you might want to include:

Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #01 (02 May 1992 - 15 May 1992) Favourite Megazine Character, in the results of the reader poll, is (unsurprisingly) Dredd, though Death comes in at #2. There's a pic of the Young Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend GN cover alongside the results.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #02 (16 May 1992 - 29 May 1992) Reader poll continued - Young Death tops the list of Most Wanted Graphic Novel.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #06 (11 Jul 1992 - 24 Jul 1992) Mega-Files: Judge Anderson features the classic Brett Ewins "I have returned" image in the background.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #10 (05 Sep 1992 - 18 Sep 1992) Six New Graphic Novels advert - signing at Virgin Megastore, Oxford St. on the 18th September, 3pm - 6pm.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #12 (03 Oct 1992 - 16 Oct 1992) A further four signing dates are presented - 26 Sep (WH Smiths), 03 Oct (Waterstones), 10 Oct (Waterstones) and 17 Oct (Waterstones).
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #13 (17 Oct 1992 - 30 Oct 1992) Let's Get Graphic text feature by David Bishop. Covering, among other titles, the Young Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend GN.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #44 (23 Dec 1993 - 07 Jan 1994) Judge Death cover appearance.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #56 (24 Jun 1994) The Secret Howler text feature mentions Death in passing.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #62 (16 Sep 1994) Inquisition text feature has a Trevor Hairsine illustration from the Yearbook story.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #72 (03 Feb 1995) Inquisition special: Charles Lippincott's plans for a sequel to the Judge Dredd movie included Judge Death... Revealing that two scripts featuring the character were written. Uh... Sorry, No idea if they are online somewhere.
Judge Dredd the Megazine Vol.2 #75 (17 Mar 1995) The 1994 Readers' Survey has Death and the Dark Judges at #4 on the list of Most Under-Used Characters, and in All-Time Favourite Covers he is fourth again with Young Death Ends.

As for other things... This is where things get tricky. There were a lot of posters in the eighties and nineties which completely passed me by - I know they exist, more or less, and I think that the information which is available from both published sources and the internet has a grasp on what was made available, though there are things that are bothering me. Take the fine art prints which were sold in the early nineties, for example - it seems really odd that such a distinctive and instantly recognizable character such as Death wasn't included in the first run (three posters), but I don't have that complete chunk of Tooth issues here to see if he was included in a follow-up series of posters.

The 2000 AD Mugs, t-shirts, baseball caps, alongside other goodies, handed out to readers who had their letters published is also an area which might yield results. You might want to tap Dave Bishop for information on what was handed out as he likely has more detailed records than anyone else - and he has as much of an urge to document EVERYTHING as I do. The promo posters (intended for use by comic shop owners) would likely have featured Death around  about 1992 - 1994 in line with the GN releases.

There was a set of 2000 AD Playing Cards given away with SFX (back in 2008?), though my copy is still in its plastic wrapping. Really can't bring myself to crack it open just for this, but I would honestly be amazed is Death wasn't featured on the ace of spades - you are going to have to check with others on that detail.
Judge Dredd: Superfiend six-part web animation tying in with the Dredd feature film.
Judge Dredd: Death Trap! by David Bishop (Big Finish) audio adventure

Round about the launch of each of the Dredd/Batman crossovers there seems to be an uptick in coverage, with (predictably) Death featuring in a variety of creator interviews. Fantazia had a piece somewhere around issue #10-13, though I haven't got those here. Wizard did at least one horror special - with a Neil Gaiman interview in there - so add that to the list of items of possible interest.

SFX, incidentally, has had a lot of things over the years which will help you out. When I find those I'll pass on the info, but you shouldn't expect miracles. Sci-Fi Now and Death Ray are also MIA, but I found a note I'd made on PC Zone having a two-page feature on the Dredd vs. Death game (I seem to remember that having a red background, but image searches for those pages online haven't turned up anything), and I definitely remember a thin (one quarter page) review in PC Gamer - likely a re-release quick-capsule review alongside a multitude of other games at that point.

The Dredd gamebooks (largely) flew under my radar, though I have been keeping an eye on them as regards to adding them to one of the online reference works. The presence of Judge Death seems relatively sure to call, but I don't know for sure where in those he might have made an appearance.

There are normally bits of information about book signings in publications other than Tooth, though given that this is 1992 we're looking at I doubt there will be much to find. Comics International might have something, though my collection isn't presently available to check. There's no Comic World or Comics International here ATM - I have no idea where they went - so you are going to need to check those. Likewise, Comic Shop News, the fold-out newspaper, is a safe bet for more articles, though (again) I am at a loss as to where those went. Tripwire is yet another title which likely has *something* of interest.

I have absolutely no idea if the horror magazines Fear, Samhain, or Shivers ever covered the character, but given the close connection which Newsfield had to the comics world it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Newsfield titles are worth picking up for the cover art alone. There are, actually, loads of connections throughout the eighties and nineties mags (artists whose work appeared regularly in 2000 AD seem to have provided a great many covers gigs on the side), but Newsfield's ties were a little bit closer than most to the comic industry.

Man, I really, really need to consolidate things - there are so many titles missing that it made being specific about where to find things difficult.

Curiously, this was the first time going through Vol.2 that I spotted a Shit the Dog cameo in the Meg. Eveyone must have been asleep at the wheel, or perhaps indulging Bisley, as it is unlikely to have been a character which Fleetway would have deemed suitable. All those hours were worth it for that alone... As long as I'm uncovering information I'm happy. :D

TordelBack

Quote from: Gary James on 07 February, 2020, 01:57:19 PM.
Judge Dredd: Superfiend six-part web animation tying in with the Dredd feature film.

Grud, I'd almost managed to forget this existed. Almost. That's one stone that should be left unturned!

Gary James

Quote from: TordelBack on 07 February, 2020, 02:44:30 PM
Grud, I'd almost managed to forget this existed. Almost.
I only found out about its existence the other day - one of the small benefits of being offline for any time is that there are lots and lots of shiny new things to find. While the temptation is there to add this to my list of things which must be done immediately I'm sorely trying to maintain focus.

Oh, and while I remember - does anyone have a complete run of Big K? I went looking for it, figuring that IPC were likely to be pimping their association with 2000 AD (and featuring the game adaptations heavily), but that title is also missing. It should, at the very least, cover the Judge Dredd game, and possibly Nemesis the Warlock, as those were released at about the right time.

repoman

Taking notes. 

Thanks again, guys.

JOE SOAP

Quote from: Gary James on 07 February, 2020, 03:37:35 PM
Oh, and while I remember - does anyone have a complete run of Big K? I went looking for it, figuring that IPC were likely to be pimping their association with 2000 AD (and featuring the game adaptations heavily), but that title is also missing. It should, at the very least, cover the Judge Dredd game, and possibly Nemesis the Warlock, as those were released at about the right time.

https://archive.org/details/08-big-k-magazine/mode/2up

Gary James

Quote from: JOE SOAP on 07 February, 2020, 06:05:33 PM
https://archive.org/details/08-big-k-magazine/mode/2up
As much as it annoys me to read magazines on a screen I'll make do at the moment.

And another thing for the research pile - there was an exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in London - Future Shock! 40 Years of 2000AD - which had a catalogue or brochure (or something, if anyone has a copy to verify its exact nature). There doesn't seem to be a list of which artwork was included, but Death was certainly present and correct (scroll down for the relevant photograph).

Buttonman

Here's the rascal escaping the city after Necropolis - captions added by me!


repoman

I've been away but am back to sorting things out.

I already had a couple of stories I'd missed so I'm just fitting those back into the Bibliography page now.

One is Mega-City Zero.  Part 8 of that had a bit of Judge Death action in it.  Well, sort of.  Again it's a guy dressed as Judge Death.  Just trying to make sense of that one.

I'm also currently reading, re-reading and re-reading again the Fall of Deadworld stuff.  It's great but not always the easiest to follow.