Hey all, new American Dredd fan here.
Well, kind of a returning fan. Saw the Stallone movie when I was a kid and loved it (I was 10, don't judge me) and tried to find some Dredd comics after that. I'd been reading comics, mostly DC, for years at the point. I got a couple, but had no idea what was going on so I stopped.
I remember a few years ago, DC released some Dredd stuff in the US along with the Humanoids stuff, but I got the Incal on a whim and got really into Humanoids, so I missed te 2000 AD stuff that time around.
Flash forward to today, and I found a copy of the first Dredd Case Files for half price in conjunction with the new movie. I got it and loved it. It reminds me a lot of some post-apocalyptic Superman story. Dredd is so dedicated to the law that he reads law books in his spare time at home. It has a bizarrely Silver Age feel to it. So I think I'm hooked and hope to get more in the future.
Now I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask my new reader questions here ot just introduce myself, so I won't yet. Just wanted to introduce myself.
Quote from: Hux on 05 December, 2012, 03:33:28 AM
Now I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask my new reader questions here ot just introduce myself, so I won't yet. Just wanted to introduce myself.
Hiya,
Hux. You're exactly what we hoped the film would achieve, so feel free to let loose with the new reader questions whenever and wherever you like.
Welcome on board. Enjoy catching up with Dredd and when ya done there don't forget there's a whole world of wonderful 2000ad stories awaiting beyond Mega City One too.
Have fun.
g'day from OZ, you should really see if you can get the prog, its in top form at the moment.
Cu Radbacker
Make sure you check out the new Dredd movie - it comes out on DVD in Januray and it's fantastic - much better than the Stallone one!
Welcome, welcome!
Read more 2000ad! :)
welcome stranger Join us join us!! there's a few of your countrymen here they will no doubt quiz you on your location, local comic shop and such, I just glad your here, :D
Hello and welcome!
We really need a Dredd FAQ section, don't we?
Now then
Yankee, and welcome to the forum, :wave:
Quote from: Hux on 05 December, 2012, 03:33:28 AM
Flash forward to today, and I found a copy of the first Dredd Case Files...
It has a bizarrely Silver Age feel to it.
Glad your liking what youve seen so far, and hope its grabbed you enough to hang around.
Ive sometimes wondered how those early Dredd stories would come across to new readers. They are gloriously old school, arent they.
Quote from: we are all roger godpleton on 05 December, 2012, 07:11:36 AM
Hiya, Hux. You're exactly what we hoped the film would achieve, so feel free to let loose with the new reader questions whenever and wherever you like.
Thanks! Believe it or not, I actually havent seen the movie yet. Is it good? And how accurate is it?
Quote from: Judge Jack on 05 December, 2012, 04:38:56 PM
Now then Yankee, and welcome to the forum, :wave:
Quote from: Hux on 05 December, 2012, 03:33:28 AM
Flash forward to today, and I found a copy of the first Dredd Case Files...
It has a bizarrely Silver Age feel to it.
Glad your liking what youve seen so far, and hope its grabbed you enough to hang around.
Ive sometimes wondered how those early Dredd stories would come across to new readers. They are gloriously old school, arent they.
They are, and it's something I wasn't expecting at all. In the U.S., Dredd has this reputation of being incredibly violent and edgy. I remember reading an interview with, I think it was Warren Ellis, where he said something like "2000 AD took a steaming, violent dump on comics and changed everything forever". So I was expecting something truly bizarre and violent, more like the Incal, but British. But instead, it's very civil. There's even one story where Dredd trains a recruit and defends taking them in alive. In fact, there are several that have Dredd in this paternal, fatherly role, that's ... almost wholesome. They kind of remind of a 70's version of old 50's crime comics. They have people committing terrible crimes, but the good guys always win and the message is always "crime does not pay".
Also, I didn't realize Dredd took place in the future of the U.S. I always figured it was supposed to be in the future of England, that Mega-City was supposed to be London, and that they changed it for the movie. So it's kind of strange to see all these Britishisms coming out of these ostensibly American characters, like referring to old "petrol burners". It's kind of funny sometimes.
Quote from: Hux on 05 December, 2012, 10:19:39 PM
In the U.S., Dredd has this reputation of being incredibly violent and edgy. I remember reading an interview with, I think it was Warren Ellis, where he said something like "2000 AD took a steaming, violent dump on comics and changed everything forever". So I was expecting something truly bizarre and violent, more like the Incal, but British. But instead, it's very civil. There's even one story where Dredd trains a recruit and defends taking them in alive. In fact, there are several that have Dredd in this paternal, fatherly role, that's ... almost wholesome. They kind of remind of a 70's version of old 50's crime comics. They have people committing terrible crimes, but the good guys always win and the message is always "crime does not pay".
I wouldn't describe
Dredd as
incredibly violent; I think it's really the cynical humour and social commentary that distinguishes Dredd from mainstream US titles. You're right that there's not much of that in the first two years of published material, but if you persevere with
The Case Files you'll discover that changes quite quickly once Dredd's US-born creator, John Wagner, takes control of the strip.
At the start of
Case Files 3 Dredd's saving cats and adopting kids, by
Case Files 5 he's personally responsible for the death of millions, harassing the unemployed and fighting undead supernatural entities. The strip never loses its sense of humour though, and the quality of the art
goes through the roof.
Yep, its certainly different at times re-visiting those early Dredd's.
"Swing me again, Uncle Joe!" ;)
(http://i.imgur.com/TK77W.jpg)
Now compare that page to a page from a modern Dredd story, or even the new the film!
They may seem a bit primative by todays standards, but i can guarentee you that they blew my ten year old self's socks off back in the day!
When people unfamilar with Dredd ask for recommendations on what to read, its always the newer stuff that (rightly) gets offered up. So its pleasing to see that the vintage stuff making the grade. A lot of gold in them stories.
Quote from: sauchie on 05 December, 2012, 11:12:37 PM
At the start of Case Files 3 Dredd's saving cats
^ Strange, but true!
And yes, the film is brilliant. Check it out the first chance you get.
Quote from: sauchie on 05 December, 2012, 11:12:37 PM
I wouldn't describe Dredd as incredibly violent; I think it's really the cynical humour and social commentary that distinguishes Dredd from mainstream US titles. You're right that there's not much of that in the first two years of published material, but if you persevere with The Case Files you'll discover that changes quite quickly once Dredd's US-born creator, John Wagner, takes control of the strip.
At the start of Case Files 3 Dredd's saving cats and adopting kids, by Case Files 5 he's personally responsible for the death of millions, harassing the unemployed and fighting undead supernatural entities. The strip never loses its sense of humour though, and the quality of the art goes through the roof.
Yeah, like I said it was more an impression than anything I had actually seen. I actually really enjoy these early stories, to the point that I'm almost dreading (natch) the change that's coming in the case files.
I've actually found the older I get the more I like the older, simpler stories of what we Americans call the Golden and Silver ages (roughly the 30's and 40's and then the 50's and 60's). One of my favorite recent comic purchases was a reprint of the Carl Barks Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. Absolutely brilliant storytelling there.
Still I'm going to stick with it and see what happens.
And Judge Jack, that's the kind of page I love. It adds depth and nuance to a character I had initially believed to be an unfeeling robot of the law.
Welcome to the forums Huk, I'm also from America. Good to hear you got the complete case files, hope Dredd is to your liking.
Welcome aboard Hux and enjoy the warm touch of Thargs Mighty organ, as it reaches the parts other comics can't reach!
Judge Jack I only came across that page yesterday! I've been subscribed for the last 2 years and catching up on a few colected editions here and there. I love the shift in the early case files. There is and overtone to the book no matter how "Gee-shucks" and thigh slappy it might seem. I'm about to meet Judge Death for the first time so I might be locked in a room with the lights on over Christmas.
Great to see the forum is a place to make new readers feel welcome.
Hello to all