Judge Dredd vs. The Big Two!

[Spikes]

Ha! A glorious cover. And highlights one of the best things about Stronty; Carlos' depiction of Mutants.
Unique is the word that springs to mind.

[Colin YNWA]

That's fantastic and a little weird. When I look at these its normally quite how vivid the colours are compared to the final Prog bog paper finished product that strikes me. In this case its how clean and bright the white is that stands out.

[Frank]

That's fantastic and a little weird. When I look at these its normally quite how vivid the colours are compared to the final Prog bog paper finished product that strikes me. In this case its how clean and bright the white is that stands out.

I don't own the original issue, but the colours look exactly like those on the cover of the tattered second hand copy of the 2000ad Monthly in which I first read that story. Usually, as Colin points out, the colours on these bits of production art are much more intense than the printed product - maybe the glossy paper on which the covers of the monthlies were printed offered greater fidelity.

Thanks for such a timely posting, Steve - those muties are still revolting in the current prog.

[robocook]

You're welcome!

Here's one from this week 32 years ago - yikes!

http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/assassination-run.html

[Spikes]

Always really loved Ian's work on Dredd from this period. His best time on the strip?
(Been lucky enough to have snagged a original art page of his, from the Stookie Glanders story - a personal fave).

But 32 years ago, you say? Gulp..

[Frank]

It's interesting to see how much Gibson was using not just McMahon's redesign/development of the judge uniform and the city as his entry point back into a strip which had changed almost beyond recognition in the time since he had last drawn an episode, but manages to imbibe McMahon's scratchy inking style and distressed aesthetic too. The characters' faces, the hover vehicle, and the composition are recognisably Gibson's own; but the helmet flash, the chunky figures, even the big boots evoke Mick McMahon.

I remember being conflicted about the way Henry Flint was obviously using McMahon's back catalogue (i) to give his own sophomore work an easy visual fluency, since it seemed like more of the trading on nostalgia for past glories which was evident in the prog at the time. Looking at Flint's work in the last decade, it's clear to see that he was using McMahon's art in exactly the same way Gibson did - as a means of understanding the character and the strip, and as a stepping stone to his own original, influential and instantly recognisable take on the material.

Thanks for posting, Steve.


(i) particularly the old annual colour strips

[robocook]

Carlos Ezquerra - Strontium Dog...

http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/hang-ya-high.html

[robocook]

A nice piece of Kev O'Neill artwork today...

http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/young-nemesis.html

[Frank]

A nice piece of Kev O'Neill artwork today ... http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/young-nemesis.html

Ooh, that is just revolting! The tortured anatomy, the pubic hair and warts, even the bits of what are supposed to be humans look distorted and degenerate - classic O'Neill. I love how he creates an entire landscape and understandable environment from what's essentially a Rorschach blot running horizontally across the page. 

Am I right in thinking that this was coloured by O'Neill himself, Steve? The violent contrast of the palette seems radically different to that of Tom Frame, and O'Neill choosing to colour the recently republished Eagle editions of Nemesis suggests he saw that as an important part of the process.

[robocook]

I believe it was coloured by Kev. Judging by the colour mark-ups too. It looks like his handwriting, though I could be wrong. I cropped that off for better impact of the image itself. I have an idea this was originally in one of the progs when Kev was art director, hence the mark-ups. Stickers relating to 'Best-of 2000AD' are on the back of the artwork and could have been added later because the handwriting is clearly different.

[Spikes]

A nice piece of Kev O'Neill artwork today...

http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/young-nemesis.html

No other comic, anywhere, could touch the prog - or come even remotely close, during this period, could they?
I do sometimes ponder just what exactly went into the makeup of this generation of artists.
The stars were most definitely aligned for several birth dates, i think.

[robocook]

Classic Cam Kennedy!

http://secret-oranges.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-seven-samurai.html

[Colin YNWA]

Ah man I love that story. After 'The Big Sleep' this is the Cam Kennedy story I'd most like a page from... well a man can dream!

[Frank]

I believe it was coloured by Kev. Judging by the colour mark-ups too. It looks like his handwriting, though I could be wrong. I cropped that off for better impact of the image itself. I have an idea this was originally in one of the progs when Kev was art director, hence the mark-ups. Stickers relating to 'Best-of 2000AD' are on the back of the artwork and could have been added later because the handwriting is clearly different.

Cheers, Steve - I completely missed your polite and very thorough response to my drooling fan inquiry last week.

Cam brings such a weight and solidity to the more fanciful stuff he illustrates that even when his images tend toward abstraction, the strength of his composition holds everything together beautifully. Much of what makes that page work so well is the uniformity of the repeated pattern created by the brushstrokes which only indicate the armour, and the stark lines and kinetic sweep of Shojan's kimono, which trail off into the negative space which actually makes up more than half of what appears to be a bustling and detailed page. 

I don't think any other artist in the history of 2000ad has such an innate understanding of how the simple placement of lines on a flat page creates dynamic, three dimensional, moving images in the mind of the reader. I've just spent about ten minutes letting the artful construction of that image bounce my eye around the page and marveling at how the quality which makes one figure or texture work is entirely dependent on its relation to another part of the picture for its effect.  That's not just great comic art, that's great art - thanks very much for posting, Steve.

[robocook]

Nicely put!

It would be great to have this comment next to the post on the blog. Have you thought about that?

Also, I just noticed you've got exactly 1977 posts - a good year!

Steve