Messages

b & g

When they were producing the TV bible Carlos retconned the domes either side to contain cameras as well, and there was a holoscreen dropping down in front of his eyes.

The nose camera has been there from the start, to record evidence.





Design wise, I think it just followed an insect-like theme - including the stripey top that he often wears.

The Starlord helmet varied a bit from the one that popped up after the merger with 2000AD, it had another dome in the centre, and a poster from an early concept had some little antennae either side of his eyes.

Ah, now it begins to make more sense. The exotic design wasn't intuitively apprehended. It does seem a lot bulkier than you'd expect for future tech, and I still wonder why the cam lens looks like a slot (or more precisely, like a keyhole) rather than a dot or tiny circle.

But video recording seems like it might make make a lot of sense in terms of documenting legal arrests or making positive I.D.s, because freelance extralegal warrant officers have to maintain certain verification and procedural standards to remain licensed S/D Agents.

It's funny that you see "insect", because I see "turtle".

Thanks for posting the actual graphic, Steve! Very helpful.

I'm sure I read somewhere long ago that the front cone shape was supposed to resemble a dog's nose. I could be mistaken, but I'm sure I gained that info from somewhere which may not be entirely authentic.

Maybe Johnny's mutation disabled his olfactory sense so he needs a prosthetic cyber-sniffer?

G

Pt II. The pointy bit holds video recordings to verify contracts.

That sounds vaguely familiar. I guess I could have asked why it has that keyhole-shaped slot there too.

It's a very oddly-shaped helmet, which is what got me thinking to whether there was some special purpose to it. For years I never even thought about it; I guess I just assumed helmets were the style for 2000 AD heroes (Dredd and Rogue both have them). But while Dredd and Rogue's make sense for protection and as part of a general issue uniform, S/D Agents have no standard uniforms.

But they DO need stinkin' badges! (... that would be the 'spaceghetti western' part ....)

[What's the deal with... Johnny Alpha's helmet?]

I was looking for a general thread where you might ask some question that might seem odd. Maybe "stupid questions" or something. Didn't really see anything like that, so I figured I'd start one. Just the kind of things you notice in stories that don't ever seem to be explained, or commented on in any way.

This may be one of them, or not. Maybe it's been explained or mentioned in some story I've just never read.

What's the deal with...
     Johnny Alpha's helmet?

a.  Judge Dredd has one, and Johnny wanted to keep up with the Judges.

b.  It keeps his head from getting bashed in, and/or is bullet and rad-proof.

c.  His brain's electrical activity generates alpha waves (emitted through his eyes). The helmet shields against and contains the excess radiation from dispersing, with might otherwise be detectable to anyone with the the right kind of scanner, so he can't be picked out of crowd or a hiding place.

d.  How the hell should I know? Go ask Carlos Ezquerra.

e.  It's practical for head-butting.

f.   Both  b. and e.

g.  No reason, it just looks cool.

h.  None of the above.

Essay portion:
  What's that odd-shaped nosecone thing on the front of his helmet over the center of his forehead?

  And what about those two oval-shaped raised pieces on either side?


Serious answers and jokes acceptable. Feel free to post your own questions that drive you nuts.

[Judge Dredd: Origins]

Judge Dredd: Origins TP - I know I'm several years behind the curve on this one. It was absolutely great. It's such a joy to see Carlos Ezquerra's artwork rendered in full-process color. The assembling of various details of the history of the Judge system and the Atom War which led to the Mega City One setting of present-day Dredd was probably long overdue. If anyone's curious to know more about background characters like Judge Fargo or President Robert L. Booth, this is the one to read that sorts everything out, and while the story does indeed get round to Dredd's actual origins, it's less Dredd's story ultimately than it is Fargo's and Booth's. No spoilers here for anyone who hasn't read it, but it turned out for me to be fortuitous that I had just re-read (for the first time in 30-odd years) The Cursed Earth (Uncensored), as Origins does indeed reference some specific details from that extended story arc. Wagner mostly weaves all the bits & pieces together deftly, and leaves us with a real 'stinger' of an ending.

Most of the story-within-a-story is being narrated by Dredd to a group of other judges, and if I had any caveats at all with the story, it's only that it isn't entirely clear how some of the details of events (in which he did not participate, or were before his time) are known to Dredd. Some of the sources are clear or could probably be presumed, while other details were secrets known only to the actual participants, so it's not entirely clear how the information being related came into Dredd's possession. So apart from that, and not thinking about the number of nuclear warheads it would take to devastate 80% of the North American continent, and the attendant ash cloud and nuclear winter which would inevitably follow... you just have to let it go as part of the basic premise for which there's no accounting. None of which should significantly detract from anyone's enjoyment of the story, I would think, so overall this gets 10/10 on the megascale.

Well it's pretty obvious when you think about it, isn't it? I mean, beyond sales dropping like a stone, even apart from those sort of real life considerations.

Just some highly speculative musings.

Just trying to point out that there's only ONE Judge Dredd, or ever will be. Judges Fargo, Rico, Kraken... all have identical DNA, but they're all individuals with different life experiences, memories, and beliefs -- and all of them are capable of making different free-will choices. "Judge Dredd" isn't some mask or costume that can be handed down to a successor like a legacy. Judge Giant is Judge GIANT, not Judge Dredd. They already have similar roles in the sense that they have the same job description - they're both Judges. Dredd is Dredd, Giant is Giant, Anderson is Anderson. If Anderson can have her own series, so can another Judge, if deemed popular enough with the readership. None of those characters will ever BE "Judge Dredd", though.

Besides, if they had to change the title of the Megazine to Judge Giant Megazine, it might lead all sorts of confusion and misunderstandings. "I don't get it -- it's just a regular-size edition of the magazine, with no extra pages?!"   

Yeah, too true. Jimmy Broxton's artwork is quite good. Too bad he's wasted his time on this rambling, shambling, mess of a story, which (apart from a few introductory pages in issue #0) has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Vampirella as a character. A big big miss.

I know I'm in a minority of one here but I would also go with a dark blue instead of black. I can still never see it as a black uniform.

That's what I meant about "comic book" Dredd. You try to reproduce the colors you actually SEE in the comic, rather than your mental interpretation of what they're supposed to represent. Black in a comic book just looks like a featureless blob of ink, therefore it's dark blue, or a combination of blue and black ink. If you were going with that you'd probably want a straight bright yellow and straight bright red to reflect primary comic book inks (going back 40 years). Modern comic books have a better range of colors, but the more limited ones available with the old 4-color printing press technology have a nice nostalgic feel.

Oh yeah, since we're on the paint thing, take your time to consider all of your options. What's the look you want? "Comic book" Dredd? Primary color yellow and red? Or something more snazzy? You have various options of metal or pearlescent finshes in both colors, and a range anywhere from red to more slightly wine-colored, or yellow-orange to true gold, so pretend you're choosing colors for the inside of your your house that you'll have to live with for a while. You'll be happier in the end if you don't rush the choices. You probably want a nice clear hard lacquer finsh too, to protect your final choices.

Matte black. Well, of course it's your helmet your choice. I would have thought high-gloss, or at least it's what those replica ones seem to look like.

Also, no one's mentioned it, but you might want to consider some kind of smoke black plastic sheeting, since it occurs to me a pre-made sort of motorcycle or welding helmet shield isn't just going to be a simple cut-to-fit and pop-in-place job. Most likely you're going to need to custom shape it to fit the precise contours of the edges (as well as fitting flush to the back of the crosspiece in front). I'd go with the thinnest stuff I could find that won't crack or break easily, since any additional thickness you add to the inside edges of the helmet is likely to affect the comfort or snugness if actually worn.

Although if you could presumably check the fit by hand bending carefully (maybe not though, if it needs to be cut before you can do that) of the welder's or motorcycle helmet shield before you purchase it, that still might work too, depending on what kind you find.

And if custom shaping to fit all those interior edges is indeed what you need to do, the you'll need a heat gun.

BIG is good. 

Thanks, jrdd! Consider yourself bestowed with ... oh, I should say at least ... FIVE virtual "likes". 

That's been explored. Kraken didn't fill the bill somehow, even though genetically, he's identical. They're individuals though, just like Rogue and Friday, even they shared the exact same DNA.

Well, I think the cloning aspect devalues the character a bit. Can't someone else take over Dredd's role, like judge Giant? He seems to be a very capable fellow, and maybe a little more human than Dredd.

Well it's pretty obvious when you think about it, isn't it? I mean, beyond sales dropping like a stone, even apart from those sort of real life considerations.

Looks like I somehow diverted this thread into the parallel universe of "The Strontium Dog Timeline" 

Cool. That actually puts The Kreeler Conspiracy dead last on my list of SD stories to read, but clears the pathway to forge ahead to later-published stories.

It lets me start with Blood Moon & Traitor To His Kind, then backtrack to the SD Agency Files. Speaking as someone who isn't totes familiar with Johnny Alpha, but not totes UNfamiliar, either. Obviously I need to read The Final Solution before reading The Life & Death of Johnny Alpha, but then it seems to make more sense to read The Final Solution only after I've read the "life" part in the SD Agency Files.

I may even remember some of the shorter story arcs in The SD Agency files from the 1980s, but I haven't read them all.