Without Dredd, 2000AD is nothing...

[IndigoPrime]

I think the main thing about Dredd is the versatility of the setting, and no other 2000 AD strip comes remotely close. Dredd can move effortlessly from relatively throwaway 'humorous' outings to grim, gritty political stories such as America and action-movie-style 'epics'. And although Dredd isn't the most consistent of the strips in 2000 AD, it's the only one that works as a permanent centrepiece. In my time of reading the Prog (back into the 300s, but I've read most of the strips prior to that time, too), I think only Strontium Dog comes close to that positionâ??2000 AD's editor at the time made a big mistake allowing Alpha to be killed off. I can't think of any other story or character that would be able to carry the Prog on a permanent, weekly basis.

As for writing styles, I've come to the conclusion that it's a good thing to see the likes of Robbie Morrison scripting Dredd in the Meg. Sure, his Dredd is a long way from being right (or even good), but other writers need to start cutting their teeth on Dredd and getting him "right" for when Wagner finally decides enough is enough. I guess the main problem is consistency of characterâ??Smith's Dredd (like Smith's Rogue Trooper) appears to inhabit a more violent world than anyone else's, while Morrison's acts like the Dredd of the 1970s most of the time.

[Trout]

How about Progs 1350-1356, featuring the fairly awful Dredd story "The Satanist" which was more than compensated for by the revitalised Slaine, an amusing Strontium Dog, decent Beck & Kawl and the sublime Leviathan.


Ah... This is an answer I do agree with - a strong prog with a poor Dredd. I am hereby convinced it can be done! Thanks, also, to Logan for his examples, but this one is fresh in my memory.

The thread title was deliberately provocative, and I'm pleased it's drawn so much interest.

I still think a prog with a poor Dredd is a sad thing to experience.
But it seems we all agree the judge is very, very important to 2000AD.

- Trout

[klegg101]

i think that statement is untrue. fair enough, dredd is 2000ad s best story but there are so many other good ones. if dredd was never in it in the first place then 2000ad will still be one of my favorite mags

[Tweak72]

"Without its anthology format, 2000AD is nothing."

 I totally agree with this. to be honest at the time I wasnâ??t impressed with rebellion when they took over but that was probably because I was so put off the prog with all the crap that happened before (The time when Miller/Morrison etc had most control was a really dark time and I only rarely picked up a prog for years after) but looking back at the last few years I can see that there has been a steady improvement in quality and also just plane experimental-er-ness that was such a hall mark of the golden years 9and not with standing the years before my favourite time was from Prog 555 when it all went up a gear every year until just before Big Dave appeared. now I didnâ??t always like it but I have been buying it every week (some times I have to do it monthly) for the last 18 months or so and even if Dredd disappeared then I would still buy it for as long as it was a breading ground for tomorrows talent from the British Isles

[paulvonscott]

Judge Dredd is essential because there simply isn't a bigger star in the comic, no other comic characters have the same fame or pull.  In addition, the format of Dredd allows you to tell almost any type of story you want.  Dredd can be the hero or the bad guy, he can be the driving force of the story or merely a guest star.

2000AD can be enjoyable even without Dredd, but I personally don't think there's much in the comic that really requires any commitment from the reader.  If you're an ABC Warriors fan or a Strontium Dog fan, one story a year isn't going to keep you on board.

When Dredd is weak, the comic is weak.  This may not matter for the odd issue, or even a run of them, but when 2000AD was at it's low point in the nineties and John Wagner was away, there was no sense of being able to rely upon a strip to be any good.  While the writers on Dredd produced shit, even a weakened Dredd was enough to keep a core number of readers on board.  I'm certain if they'd dumped Dredd from the comic, it would have folded.

Until another comics superstar like Dredd comes along in such a versatile vehicle and backed by a consistant major talent, 2000AD needs Dredd.  It would survive until it started to hit one of its week patches and then go under.

I'm also convinced that like Ravens at the tower of London, if Pat Mills and John Wagner were to quit the comic it would also fold.  That's not to say there aren't good writers, but they have always given it a reliable core.

[SIP]

I was a long time 2000ad reader, and following John Wagners departure from Dredd in the 90's my interest rapidly declined and I moved away from 2000ad onto a variety of other comics (had a big Marvel phase, followed by a Japanese phase).

Not getting my weekly 2000ad is something I never would have thought possible only a couple of years before. So it must have been bad. I haven't had the courage to go back and atempt a re-read of Progs 600 to 700.....yet.

Judge Dredd is the anchor for the comic, but I think thats only really the case when John Wagner is writing it.

2000AD is now the only comic I read (I just lost touch with the American market, and interest) - and though I really enjoy the variety and have a reasonably strong loyalty to many of the strips (Strontium Dog, Caballisics and any Edginton/D'Israeli stuff in particular) - I'm not sure how long it would be before I drifted again without the ongoing presence of Dredd and Wagner in particular.

[SIP]

"I haven't had the courage to go back and atempt a re-read of Progs 600 to 700.....yet"

Actually, I think it was progs 700 to 800 that ended the relationship.

[AlexF]

It would be interesting to see if another character could be a similarly strong anchor as Dredd. The problem is that too many are irrevocably tied to one writer, and often to one artist as well, so they couldn't be featured every single Prog - unless the writer artist team were a bit mental.
Apart from Dredd, Rogue Trooper is the only person to have enjoyed a lot of different writers trying him out. They've all been ok (except Fleisher), but not in the same league as Wagner on Dredd.
Pat Mills has at times managed to ensure that Slaine was in the Prog every week, so he was an anchor of sorts...
Don't think it would go down too well if Dredd only had a couple of outings a year whilst someone else had a turn at being in every Prog, though.

[flesario]

It's such a shame that Wagner can't simply go on forever.  Like many others I stopped reading during the bad times.  I was only a teenager but Dredd wasn't Dredd anymore- the point in Inferno, or wherever it was where he deliberatly flooded the cubes to prevent perps (driving tickets and all) being released was one of the many low points for me. It was like bad fan-fiction.

There is hope though. Rennie generaly does a good job and either him or whoever is entrusted will have to be backed and allowed the chance to prove themselves without being swamped with criticism.  You never know, they might make a great success of it.