How old is Dredd currently

[TordelBack]

Meant to say: forgotten what it's called, but it'd be the 1984 Dredd annual, I reckon. Illustrations by Robin Smith?

[Funt Solo]

The JD Annual '84 (published in '83) has a text story: Fog Devils of the Cursed Earth.

[Tjm86]

Thinking arithmetically, The 2005 prog Dredd strip "Class of 79" references Dredd's graduation year.  IIRC, the first Dredd strip takes place in 2099 (20 years later) and Dredd progresses in real time so we should now be at 2142 ...

That gives us 63 years plus Judge training.  Dredd Wikipedia has this at 15 years.  This gels with what I recall from an earlier Dredd strip but I can't remember which one.  That would give us 78 as his age.  Assuming MC1 tek allows for greater longevity this is likely to be closer to mid 40's but we've also seen stories suggesting he has received treatments to supplement what is likely to be a more robust genetic profile.

[TordelBack]

The JD Annual '84 (published in '83) has a text story: Fog Devils of the Cursed Earth.

I think this one was 'Citizen Under Suspicion' or something like that - told from the perspective of Herman Glick(?), aka the Kneepad Kid, who reappearsaid as the antagonist in  the Falucci Tapes.  I say text piece, cos it's not in the Restricted Files, but I remember really liking it...

Barney beckons.

[sheridan]

Thinking arithmetically, The 2005 prog Dredd strip "Class of 79" references Dredd's graduation year.  IIRC, the first Dredd strip takes place in 2099 (20 years later) and Dredd progresses in real time so we should now be at 2142 ...

That gives us 63 years plus Judge training.  Dredd Wikipedia has this at 15 years.  This gels with what I recall from an earlier Dredd strip but I can't remember which one.  That would give us 78 as his age.  Assuming MC1 tek allows for greater longevity this is likely to be closer to mid 40's but we've also seen stories suggesting he has received treatments to supplement what is likely to be a more robust genetic profile.

Usually Academy of Law intake is at five years old and training lasts for fifteen years.  However, Dredd and Rico were part of an accelerated clone batch (to cover up a continuity error which had crept in) where they went they were effectively five years old when they were born, and immediately inducted into the Academy.

[sheridan]

The JD Annual '84 (published in '83) has a text story: Fog Devils of the Cursed Earth.

I think this one was 'Citizen Under Suspicion' or something like that - told from the perspective of Herman Glick(?), aka the Kneepad Kid, who reappearsaid as the antagonist in  the Falucci Tapes.  I say text piece, cos it's not in the Restricted Files, but I remember really liking it...

Barney beckons.

Barney does beckon, often - but also isn't brilliant at text and non-comic pieces.  I can check when I get home tonight as my annuals are reaching distance to my computer chair

[TordelBack]

Wise man, mine are lost to the Attic of No Return, banished when one of my feckless offspring needed space in my former Fortress of Solitude for sleeping, or whatever selfish thing they do.

[Tjm86]

Usually Academy of Law intake is at five years old and training lasts for fifteen years.  However, Dredd and Rico were part of an accelerated clone batch ...

... and in Origins (circa Prog 1505) we have them being welcomed to the Academy in 2066, then joining older cadets at the start of the Great Atom War in 2070.  That gives 13 years for the training plus a physical (though not necessarily chronological) age of 18 on graduation in 2079.  [continuity cautions being applicable].  So 63 plus 18 ... 81? plus or minus 5 years ...

[Richard]

 Tjm86 has it right, and there's plenty of evidence for this. Mutie the Pig and Origins give Dredd's birth as being in 2066, and Origins and at least one other story say Dredd was artificially speed-grown to age five by the time he was hatched. The current year is 2142, so he's chronologically 76 but biologically 81, except that various rejuvenation treatments would make him seem physically younger, but we don't know by how much.

Numerous stories, starting with The Return of Rico, say Dredd graduated in 2079, which means he only spent 13 years in the Academy instead of 15, but there have been several mentions of cadets being fast-tracked through the Academy, including Giant jnr and Beeny. In First of the Many it says Dredd was 18 when he graduated.

I can't remember where the paper lung reference is but I thought that was Rico.

[Funt Solo]

Explanation: when Dredd came up against Murd the Oppressor during The Judge Child Quest, Murd replaced him with a doppelganger (and faked his own demise). The doppelganger is magical and therefore resists normal aging. Quite what Murd's long-term plan is...

[TordelBack]

BigDave kindly provided me with the info frpm the 1984 Dredd annual.

So the lung situation is this:

Dredd: one lung replaced with a tissue-cultured lung (The Hitman).
Rico II: both lungs replaced with superior carbon-fibre bionics (Sector House).
Herman 'The Kneepad Kid' Sherman: paper lungs, cheap replacements due to irradiation (Portrait of a Citizen Under Suspicion)

[TordelBack]

Lung update: just re-read Sector House. It's just the one CF lung for Rico. Dredd sounds almost envious of its increased efficency.

[pauljholden]

Eyes with square pupils, paper lungs, wounded knee.

Why rebellion haven't licensed a game of operation with Judge Dredd at its core, is beyond me.

[Gary James]

Why rebellion haven't licensed a game of operation with Judge Dredd at its core, is beyond me.

If anyone revamps Operation they desperately need to fix the awful buzzer sound. That always got on my nerves, and the Wilhelm scream would be far more appropriate anyways. Add in little electric motors to make Dredd shake uncontrollably at the same time the scream is emitted and it would be perfect...

[Jacqusie]

How old is the old goat now? 80 years old?

Did we get to the bottom of this and answer the question of the thread? Is he actually 80 then?

For me it's about credibility and how much medical advances would actually be able to stave off old age, which includes his brain & brain stem, the important bits, which in old age would begin to atrophy and shut down vital systems in his body.

Dredd's cognition and ability to recall information and make decisions, solve problems will be impaired long before a new tricep or bicep gives out by the sounds of it...