New monthly Dredd title announced for North America

[norse_sage]

I am actually rather disappointed by this.

I know many will disagree with me, but I was seriously hoping IDW would take the same approach to their Judge Dredd as they did with their Star Trek - that is, kick it off with movie prequel and movie adaptation, then continue with the new stories set in the movie continuity, written in conjunction with the movie production team, so the comics seamlessly lead into the second movie - featuring uniforms and character likenesses from the movie. In other words, the IDW continuity and movie continuity are one and the same.

I'd be much more interested in that than the non-canon quasi-prequel to the main series we are getting.

[Steve Green]

Maybe they didn't know when this was sorted out whether the film was going to be a success or not, and didn't want to be lumbered with another 'Lawman of the future' situation.

I guess they could have fudged it as a Dredd 2079, and then morphed it into the comics costume if the film didn't go down well, but maybe it's just easier to keep the costumes in their respective areas.

[CraveNoir]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-SxnU2Ryq8&t=7m15s

Swierczynski on IDW Panel at SDCC.

[TordelBack]

I'd be much more interested in that than the non-canon quasi-prequel to the main series we are getting.

Amen.  I don't understand why they aren't using the movie costume there - maybe they only have a licence for the comics version of Dredd.   (Mind you, what I've read of that Star Trek 're-doing the Original Series episodes with the movie characters' stuff is dire, art aside).   

All that said, I don't think any of those images are too bad (although it's worth saying that a couple'd be lucky to place in one of the Art Comps round this neck!), and other than stealing away Rennie, Ewing or Carroll I think a non-Wagner US Dredd comic was always going to have to go in its own US-style direction. 

I also think Swierczynski uses a lot of the right words there - he certainly seems to grasp the importance to the strip of attacking the underbelly of US culture. 

Ultimately I personally struggle to see the value of Dredd material that isn't part of Dredd's ongoing story, or at least the story of the City - at this point it's the man I'm interested in as much as anything else.

[IndigoPrime]

I suppose at least IDW can now offer distinct new stories, in the sense MC-1 is now a very different place in 2000 AD. So you'll have post-DoC in the comic and IDW's take on 'classic' Dredd in the US. I suspect it'll probably be inconsequential (I know IDW's said it's not going to be slavish to canon, but I also bet it won't be killing off established characters willy-nilly), but I guess there's a chance it could kick bottom. If at the very least it gets more Americans into Dredd and 2000 AD, that can only be a good thing.

[Link Prime]

If at the very least it gets more Americans into Dredd and 2000 AD, that can only be a good thing.

Right on.

[JOE SOAP]

If the film goes down well in the US, it'd be ironic if that's the catalyst for the Yanks to go direct to all the classic Case Files Dredd instead of the new transposed stuff.

[Molch-R]

Maybe they didn't know when this was sorted out whether the film was going to be a success or not, and didn't want to be lumbered with another 'Lawman of the future' situation.

Their deal is with us, not Lionsgate (who have all the rights over movie Dredd). The whole point of the deal is to bring comic book Dredd to the US, not to cash in on the film.

[JOE SOAP]

Their deal is with us, not Lionsgate (who have all the rights over movie Dredd).

Do Lionsgate only own the rights to movie Dredd in the U.S.?

[Molch-R]

Do Lionsgate only own the rights to movie Dredd in the U.S.?

They're the distributor for the US, but with IM Global and Reliance they own the right to movie Dredd worldwide.

Please bear in mind that the deal with IDW has nothing to do with the movie. Absolutely nothing. Not in tone, content, or timing. It's just a fortunate coincidence that they're happening at the same time.

[Colin YNWA]

I suppose at least IDW can now offer distinct new stories, in the sense MC-1 is now a very different place in 2000 AD.

Yeah which would also mean it ties in nicely to the trades that are currently being released in America, either by S&S or by IDW themselves as they're printing classic material. So makes a lot of sense from that perspective to me.

[SmallBlueThing]

Molch-r: does that mean then, that THEORETICALLY someone like marvel could do a deal with lionsgate and we could see yet more new dredd comics available?

SBT

[TordelBack]

Please bear in mind that the deal with IDW has nothing to do with the movie. Absolutely nothing. Not in tone, content, or timing.

Not even the latter, not even just on their side, not even a teensy weensy iddle bit? 

Thanks for all that clarification, Michael.  Makes more sense now, and the goal is always a good one.

[Mark Taylor]

Those images don't do it for me. There's so much room for interpretation with Dredd. We're spoilt for artists in 2000AD and the Meg, each bringing us their own interpretation. Yet time and time again when Dredd is handled by non-2000AD artists the essence of his visual look seems to be missing.

Possibly something to do with most 2000AD artists these days having been brought up on Dredd and having read hundreds and hundreds of Dredd stories, and quite likely having drawn Dredd dozens of times before even submitting anything to 2000AD... as opposed to non-2000AD artists probably just flicking through a few back issues, making some quick sketches, then thinking they can nail it.

[Molch-R]

Molch-r: does that mean then, that THEORETICALLY someone like marvel could do a deal with lionsgate and we could see yet more new dredd comics available?

No.