Best one-prog Dredds

[Staz Johnson]

There is only one correct answer, & that is 'Alone In A Crowd'.

I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style. When I saw this first Dredd art, it almost made me throw in the towel. The double page spread he did in 'Block Mania' where Orlock is adding the block mania serum to the water plant is awesome too.... but I digress.... 'alone in a crowd' is an outstanding story (in addition to the art), in 6 pages it tells a brilliant little action story while at the same time perfectly encompasses what life is like for the average MC1 citizen. Plus, that panel where the perp flies backwards out through the window is brilliant!

[radiator]

Really surprised at how many mentions alone in the crowd is getting. I guess it was the first 'mature' Dredd strip?

[Jim_Campbell]

I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style.

Heh. I clearly remember your first (?) published work from Harrier -- the Dillon influence was strong, but the talent was also immediately obvious. As was that of Nigel Dobbyn, with whom you shared that debut issue of Avalon (I think).

Cheers!

Jim

[Staz Johnson]

I had been a HUGE fan of Steve Dillon's work on Mean Arena, & had been naively trying to copy his art style.

Heh. I clearly remember your first (?) published work from Harrier -- the Dillon influence was strong, but the talent was also immediately obvious. As was that of Nigel Dobbyn, with whom you shared that debut issue of Avalon (I think).

Cheers!

Jim

Not sure if the Harrier stuff came firstor not, Jim, I seem to remember that there was something else which actually saw print before the Harrier thing, although it had been drawn AFTER it. It's all such a long time ago.

Interesting that you still saw the Dillon influence there, by that time I was making a conscious effort to channel Dave Gibbons.. apparently to little effect :-) But certainly, on all the stuff I did for fanzines prior to that, Steve Dillon's was very evident. Thinking about it, the Diana strip (the one that ended up in the Harrier mag)material was originally meant for publication in a fanzine, but after I'd drawn it it was picked up by Harrier & I got bunged a few quid.... which was nice.

[JayzusB.Christ]

While I haven't been too fond of Alan Grant Dredds of recent years (we KNOW he's a fascist, Alan!), the one all about feet has stuck in my mind just for the sheer bizarreness of it. 
He also did a great one-off about a democratic revolutionary years ago (pre-Necropolis, I think).
Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 
Sorry I can't remember the names of them.

[Montynero]

Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 
Sorry I can't remember the names of them.

Was it called"Nick Clegg - the Coalition Years"?

[Greg M.]

Finally, there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey.

'A Monkey's Tale', Prog 647. Definitely a strong Grant story (though I may be biased 'cos I have all the original Paul Marshall art for that one.)

[Frank]

there was a profoundly disturbing and tragic story about a paralysed man with a thought-controlled monkey. 

A Monkey's Tale (647), which was not a sequel to the similarly weepy A Child's Tale (631). The latter had some great Cliff Robinson art, with a nice contrast between his highly rendered style and the faux naive scribbled panels which were supposed to be the child's recounting of the incident. The monkey in a coma story is such an early example of the great Paul Marshall's work for Tharg that the schoolboy artist is clearly still aping Brian Bolland.

[Montynero]

A Monkey's Tale (647), which was not a sequel to the similarly weepy A Child's Tale (631). The latter had some great Cliff Robinson art, with a nice contrast between his highly rendered style and the faux naive scribbled panels which were supposed to be the child's recounting of the incident.

God, I remember that now. Two talented creators - but I didn't like it. Not the kind of sentimental guff I want from a Dredd story.

[Dark Jimbo]

While I haven't been too fond of Alan Grant Dredds of recent years (we KNOW he's a fascist, Alan!), the one all about feet has stuck in my mind just for the sheer bizarreness of it. 

Oh yeah! That appeared in the Meg in only my third or fourth ever issue. It was a bit weird - a concise little Dredd thriller revolving around classic Mega-City elements like an illegal psi working for a juve gang, an inoppurtune block shakedown and a fatty so big he was stuck in his apartment - but for no particular reason the characters were all saying this like 'I'd better hot foot it after her!' 'Don't be such a heel!' 'Time to stamp this out!' 'If I can just get a toe-hold...'

[Montynero]

Of the recent one shots I really enjoyed Downside by Eglington and Cook. Meg 338. Obviously the longer page count allows more scope, but it was a lovely example of a Dredd story about the weirdness of MC1 and its citizens. It's beautifully structured, with an arresting opening as the characters fall to their apparent doom.The combat as they plunge is skillfully intercut with the unwinding narrative of how the various players came to be in this perilous position, and it has a great ending embracing the surreal possibilities of future tech (in this case, boing). The art and scripting are top drawer, and its clever, kinetic and blackly humourous. My kind of story.

[TordelBack]

Inspired by this remarkably on-topic thread, I've been flicking through the Casefiles at random, rather than my usual periodic chronological stomp or in-and-out fact-search.  What a lot of really fantastic stuff there is there when you only look at the 1- (and, I confess, 2-) parters and ignore the rest.  It affords a new perspective on some great comics. Just read a lovely Dredd character moment in the single-episode untitled story I think of as 'Crippen and Turk': "Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

[Proudhuff]

"Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

Isn't that from RELATE or am I confusing Dredd with real life again?

[JayzusB.Christ]

"Never too old to enjoy a good fight".

'CRIPPEN FOR RIDGELEY!' 'TURK! TURK! TURK!'
Classic.

I liked A Child's Tale, me.  One of the rare instances that Alan Grant decided to bestow a bit of humanity onto Dredd's character.

It reminds me of another great one (though without the Dredd humanity): Again I can't remember the name, but it involved a woman obsessing over the possibility of Dredd arresting her for dropping 'a plastipak of stroberry jam'*, and going mental over it.

*Once again British English has crossed the Atlantic by the 22nd century.  But there's another thread about that.

[radiator]

Would that be 'The Dredd Syndrome'?