2000AD facebook announcement (https://www.facebook.com/2000AD/photos/a.153563506365/10155807397156366/).
He was the main Dredd artist when I joined the Squaxx. The Stupid Gun, The Weather Man and the Graveyard Shift, punctuated with stories by other artists, such as the Starborn Thing, Cry of the Werewolf and Requiem for a Heavyweight. So yes, my introduction to Judge Dredd was through the pens of Ron Smith, Carlos Ezquerra and Steve Dillon.
The tribute image by Pye-Parr is just beautiful.
So gutted by this.
Sad news. :'( Always loved his Dredd
Gamers Web (https://gamersweb.co.uk/2019/01/10/ron-smith-british-legend-passes-away/)
Everything Comes Back to 2000AD (https://2000ad.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/ron-smith-1924-2019/)
(http://www.2000ad.org/covers/2000ad/hires/389.jpg)
A tribute to Ron: https://2000ad.com/post/4802 (https://2000ad.com/post/4802)
Gutted. I always loved Ron's style of art. He'll be missed greatly. :'(
RIP - one of the true greats.
Nobody could depict massive-scale disasters like Ron, and I always loved his "two-gun" Dredd. RIP
Some more attributes for Ron:
http://www.comicon.com/2019/01/10/2000ad-artist-ron-smith-passes-1924-2019/ (http://www.comicon.com/2019/01/10/2000ad-artist-ron-smith-passes-1924-2019/)
https://www.newsarama.com/43411-ron-smith-dies.html (https://www.newsarama.com/43411-ron-smith-dies.html)
http://www.multiversitycomics.com/news/ron-smith-rip/ (http://www.multiversitycomics.com/news/ron-smith-rip/)
Okay, I'm going to say it: Ron Smith was the best Dredd artist.
Given our recent loss of Carlos Ezquerra that's a hard thing to say and I'd respect the opinion of anyone who disagrees.
What's particularly sad is that he retired before Dredd became more focused on semi-serious procedurals. His realism would have worked well for this kind of tale, while at the same time his humour and background detail would have kept the sense of craziness the strip has perhaps lost.
I'm glad he knew how much he was admired and respected by us.
Regards,
Robin
Quote from: Robin Low on 10 January, 2019, 06:50:54 PM
Okay, I'm going to say it: Ron Smith was the best Dredd artist.
We've been lucky to have so many great ones that there's no desire or need on my part to argue with that.
In this merry court of great and individual talents, Ron is the Jester to Carlos's King.
Over the years we have been truly privileged to have some of the finest artists of the last forty years work on Dredd. No two ever produced exactly the same rendition whilst staying true to Ezquerra's original vision. It would be interesting to see a repeat of the "Changing Faces of Dredd" feature from the first Dredd annual. With the veritable feast of artists since it would make for an interesting work.
Ron was undoubtedly one of the greats - an amazing talent - and may he rest in peace. Though his clean-lined style was, on the surface, very different from Carlos's rougher, rawer art, in many ways they were two sides of the same coin. They were both absolute masters of the grotesque; of glorious, characterful ugliness, wildness, and madness. Dredd was a natural home for both geniuses.
Quote from: Dandontdare on 10 January, 2019, 05:27:09 PM
Nobody could depict massive-scale disasters like Ron, and I always loved his "two-gun" Dredd. RIP
No one could destroy Mega City One like Ron Smith! Between his long run in the progs and doing the Daily Star comic strip Smith had a massive impact on the design of Dredd (though few followed his two gun design), that is still felt in the comic today. For me though the key thing Smith did was establish the character and look of the mega-citizens themselves. In the 80s he seemed to be Grant/Wagner's choice for stories about the crazy people that lived in the city, be it Otto Sump, Marlon Shakespere (at least at first), Citizen Snork, or even the Hunter's Club, as well as stories about the day to day life in the city, like the Midnight Shift or the League of Fatties. He made an indelible mark on these comics we all love, and will be sorely missed.
My starting line-up of Dredd stories (have mentioned elsewhere that I had a bundle of progs handed to me by the next-door neighbour). Some weeks were missing, and it took until I found Fantasy World to get the other episodes.
The Prankster, The Starborn Thing, King of the Road, The Stupid Gun, Condo, Cry of the Werewolf.
Then when I started actually buying the progs (not everyone for some reason, so I had to fill in a few gaps): The Weather Man, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Graveyard Shift.
It didn't take long for me to start getting the Eagle reprints - The Blood of Satanus was one of the earliest coloured-in Dredds I remember!
No one and I do mean no one, including the greats like Carlos, filled Mega City One with such incredible life. He was an amazing talent on all levels, but his work on the citizens of Mega City One was unsurpassed. Both hideous and glorious in equal measure. So inhuman yet imbued with such humanity. So crazy and yet so real.
He draw one of my all time favourite Dredds in 'Portrait of a Politican'. I don't think any other artist would have been able to add such humanity into an orangutan running for major of Dredd's Metropolis. Just astonishing.
We might have lost another legend, but his legacy will live on long in to the future. My thoughts are with his family. Rest in peace Ron Smith and thank you.
Ron worked on some of my very, very favourite Dredd classics. Some of my earliest, and fondest memories of Dredd, were the Daily Star Dredds (like many, I point people in the direction of these if they want to know more about the character and his world), the Palais De Boing(R), the Invisible Man, Dave the Orangutan, Otto Sump, Citizen Snork, the Black Plague, Marlon Shakespeare, Captain Skank and so many more. His depictions of Mega-City One citizens were easily the best, as they were rightfully absolutely crazy, and his Dredd profile is the one I copied most as a kid.
Thanks Ron, thanks for some wonderful and truly treasured memories. A sad day indeed.
(https://i.postimg.cc/FzZm07k8/BF936371-8403-41-E5-8048-E67-CAE75259-D.jpg)
Such sad news. I was surprised to see on Barney that Ron's last 2000ad appearance was in Prog 899 - nearly 25 years ago. What a long shadow he has cast that his strips are still remembered and regarded so highly.
I see Ron's daughter added her comments to the 2000ad Facebook tribute and seemed genuinely amazed at the esteem her Dad was held in.
The Pye image is fantastic and I hope it is included in a Prog tribute - a life and career well worth celebrating.
Prog 889! Wow. He was a true great. Nobody did spotty MC1 juves like him, and very few gave such character to the city. A massive, massive part of my childhood, was Ron, and I'm not sure the Dredd film could have looked so great without his influence.
Ron Smith is one of the artists who help form Dredd into the character and world we know today.
Another tribute to Ron: http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2019/01/ron-smith-passes-away.html (http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2019/01/ron-smith-passes-away.html)
I genuinely think he was 2000 AD's best ever artist. An extraordinary and unique talent.
(https://i0.wp.com/downthetubes.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/img_0222.jpg?resize=784%2C1024&ssl=1)
Sad news. I started reading in the late 200s so Ron Smith's Dredd was always an integral and defining part of the strip for me. Shanty Town was probably my first introduction to Ron's incomparable crowds of muties and freaks. A great artist. RIP.
His work was so distinctive, no-one else like him and he must have been a real work horse considering how much he has turned out in his career.
I remember his King Cobra, in Victor, I think. He always had a great sense of space and motion in his panels, just the right man to balance McMahon and Bolland, he had a touch of each of their styles.
Sad news. Ron drew Dredd in my first Prog (377) so my first impressions of the character were formed by him. The Stupid Gun, Pirates of the Black Atlantic, The Graveyard Shift...the list goes on. And his work on the Daily Star strips was sublime. RIP Ron.
Oh man, another big big name in 2000AD. His Dredd one-offs remain the funniest and most lunatic. I echo the love for his mega-citizens, and indeed his Mega City 1, constantly throbbing and heaving with people and buildings and vehicles and everything. This picture of the juve unwrapping that umtpy candy positively vibrates with emotional impact.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kxq0F_QX_JE/VZTNPcrV0fI/AAAAAAAACag/Cijsyd4fNOk/s640/umpty%2Bfiends.JPG)
My condolences to his family and friends.
That cover for prog 389 was re-used for a Best of 2000AD Monthly, and that comic was my first exposure to Judge Dredd. I always loved his work, with his distinctive and unmistakable style -- he was one of those artists where you knew who it was without having to read the credits. He illustrated some of my all-time favourite stories, such as City Block and Death of a Judge, and a whole host of others. So much detail in every panel. I missed his work when he retired.
My introduction to Dredd was through the first few case files which included lots of Ron's artwork. He was an immediate favorite, definitely in my top 3 Dredd artists. Dredd, Otto Sump, the Fatties etc. Ron's work comes first to mind.
Rest in peace Ron, thanks for the art!
Definitely one of the greats who made 2000AD what it was. Sadly missed.
Listened to the Ron Smith tribute Thrillcast yesterday - and what a fantastic episode it is.
What struck me was the talk of that photo of Ron Smith at a signing. Him all straight laced, shirt and tie looking very dapper. The other droids present looking all scruffy and post punk cool. The contrast is a joy to behold.
Anyway it got me thinking that why Ron Smith's Dredd works so well. His Dredd is the straight edged Kirby inspired dynamic superhero. All clean cut and polished. His citizens and villains are the Wagner and Grants of this photo, all post punk, and lopsided and from a different time and dragged through the real world backwards. Its these two juxatposed that heightens the power and craziness of both. Just superb.
I'm so glad Ron Smith wore a tie and had a neat mustache.
Spot on Colin - couldn't agree more.
I know the photo you mean, I'd like to see it again, any idea where can I can find it?
(I've had a bit of a nose on Google but can't find it..)
(https://i.imgur.com/W3lUGnr.jpg)
That's lovely, that. (Though I could have sworn Mike McMahon was Mark Millar for a second - sorry, Mike.)
There's a fine tradition of dapper moustaches among the top Dredd art droids.
Thanks Eamonn - that's great!
Hi all,
It's from the Forbidden Planet archives. I spent a whole year going through boxes of materials, then scanning in and restoring 12,000 images!
Basically all FP's signings and events. Lots of lovely 2000AD gems in there. I'm sure there's another angle of the above photo, with Ron in the foreground. Anyway... all images are available free from forbiddenplanet.com
Enjoy!
Thanks, I'm going to head over there now!
|I love that pic! I remember when the 3 posters advertised behind them were the only 2000ad merchandise that existed - I dragged the family across London to visit that FP, which AFAIK was the first and only comic shop in the country - my dad didn't really believe there was a whole shop just for comics till we got there!
When I was a kid I had a dream about being in FP where I got to buy all the back progs I needed. Then I woke up...
I did get to visit the shop in maybe 1981-ish, and had enough pocket money to get a single back prog (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=prog&page=profiles&choice=181). It was like being in Aladdin's Cave.
---
Ridiculous amount of great Ron Smith (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=thrills&Comic=2000AD&Field=Artist&choice=rsmith) / Dredd thrills that are so central to the whole history.
Quote from: Anthony Garnon on 27 January, 2019, 10:28:13 PM
Hi all,
It's from the Forbidden Planet archives. I spent a whole year going through boxes of materials, then scanning in and restoring 12,000 images!
Basically all FP's signings and events. Lots of lovely 2000AD gems in there. I'm sure there's another angle of the above photo, with Ron in the foreground. Anyway... all images are available free from forbiddenplanet.com
Enjoy!
Thanks, Anthony. That's fine work. Where you responsible for the recent FP anniversary photo floppy?
(https://dyn.media.forbiddenplanet.com/6I7KT-wd5ZqL4qgbQG8F54t2NwY=/fit-in/992x0/https://media.forbiddenplanet.com/uploads/2000a_1980_1151.jpg)
Find the FP archive here (https://forbiddenplanet.com/plu/posts/?tag=archive)
RE: the anniversary floppy - I'd left the marketing department by then, but chipped in some contributions.
All of the archive was literally lying in boxes gathering dust when I started in June 2016. I knew the anniversary was coming up and knew how great some of these images were. Only a fraction had ever seen the light of day. Those that had were usually yellowed, and low res.
Archiving had been attempted before but with such a sizeable collection of assets, it was deemed too time consuming. I only got away with it as I scanned things in on my lunch breaks for a whole year, cleaning up what I could with my (fairly limited) photoshop skills. The results made it worthwhile!
We have photos of Alan Moore signing Watchmen, Desmond Llewelyn's final public appearance (days before his death) and - of course - images from around 100 2000AD signings.
All scanned at 300dpi or better!
I'll be forever grateful to Ron Smith, like Carlos he played a role in a happy childhood by firing my imagination.
He brought Mega City One and it's ordinary citizenry to life, making the city, as so many have said before, a real character on it's own. He put flesh on that character, perhaps more than any other artist, by producing such an amazing quantity of work filled with such an incredible amount of detail and phenomenal design work. I also loved the crystal clear quality of Ron Smith's work
I think the Black Plague showed in microcosm, what he did for Mega City One over many years. In just a few pages he brought the small town of Atom Gultch and its inhabitants to life, with such wondrous detail and individual expression of its mutant people. it blew my away at the time.
Pirates of the Black Atlantic did later. Such detail, such incredible design work (yes I'll say it again, Ron's work is filled with it) it was a joy to read.
So many more to mention, Sob Story, the Graveyard Shift, Blood of Satanus, Chopper, the list could go on. Special mention to the Daily Dredd's though which made me buy the Daily Star with my pocket money for many a year.
Thanks for everything Ron Smith RIP.
Quote from: The Sherman Kid on 11 February, 2019, 11:46:51 AM
So many more to mention, Sob Story, the Graveyard Shift, Blood of Satanus, Chopper, the list could go on. Special mention to the Daily Dredd's though which made me buy the Daily Star with my pocket money for many a year.
Thanks for everything Ron Smith RIP.
I think it was the Daily Star Dredds that cemented my move from 'read every comic' to 'read 2000AD and the entire back catalogue almost exclusively'. I always used to read them every weekend on my paper round and was all like 'Damn, these are awesome! Where can I read more? Oh, 2000AD? I remember that comic!'
That was totally to do with the ludicrously zany artwork of Ron Smith. I've been a huge fan of the Daily Dredds ever since and I'm never far away from a reprint.
Quote from: The Sherman Kid on 11 February, 2019, 11:46:51 AM
He brought Mega City One and it's ordinary citizenry to life, making the city, as so many have said before, a real character on it's own. He put flesh on that character, perhaps more than any other artist, by producing such an amazing quantity of work filled with such an incredible amount of detail and phenomenal design work. I also loved the crystal clear quality of Ron Smith's work
I think the Black Plague showed in microcosm, what he did for Mega City One over many years. In just a few pages he brought the small town of Atom Gultch and its inhabitants to life, with such wondrous detail and individual expression of its mutant people. it blew my away at the time.
Between the Black Plague, Bob & Carol & Ted & Ringo, Dredd Angel, the Judge Child and a few other key stories, for me the Cursed Earth was really cemented by Ron's style.
Within the prog itself, Blood of Satanus is one of my all-time faves of Ron Smith's art. Outside of that, his Daily Star Dreddd's were just a hoot, especially the one where Dread correctly sums up a Citizen's demise with the words: "He was tickled to death."
I laugh like a drain every time I read it.
An utterly superb artist. RIP.
Love the one where Dredd arrests the man who cryogenically revives Cliff Richard on the grounds of bad taste. When the guy protests that bad taste isn't illegal, Dredd growls 'It's my strip, creep. I'll decide what's legal.' :lol: