Trivia
A little history on Mr. Dredd...
Judge Joe Dredd and his outlandish neo-fascist world came to life on march 5, 1977 on the pages of the legendary 2000 A.D. magazine (A.D. as in "After Disaster"). The creators, John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, drew upon the dawn of the Tatcher era (the world famous ultra-conservative [some would say ultra-fascist] prime minister of Britain from the late 70's to the early 80's) and the growing Punk movement among Britain's youth and extrapolated both elements to the ridiculous yet ominous levels seen in their comic, in which a bloated, irrational futuristic state suppresses all human rights and freedoms in it's quest for total order and security (sounds familiar?).
The most recognizable face of this system are it's "judges", enforcers with instant on-field judiciary powers which get to decide if you go to jail 5 months for jaywalking or get instant execution via a bullet in the head.
Eventually growing out of 2000 A.D.'s cult fandom, Dredd took on it's own series and by mid 80's became the most famous European comic book along such classics as Barbarella thanks to it's unique art and it's darkly humorous take on such issues as legal liberties or human rights, spawning subsequent spin-off series which included toned-down DC Comics versions and crossovers. The character's popularity eventually led him to guest star in various heavy metal albums, radio serials and by 1995 it's own movie starring Sylvester Stallone, which pretty much did everything wrong except for the inclusion of Diane Lane as Judge Hershey (drooool....). The movie spawned it's own videogame/comic adaptations (both equally trashable) and by now the character has pretty much attained "legend" status never being truly dead and surfacing momentarily in a small comic series or an offshoot product such as this game outside of it's main universe every now and then.
One of the most interesting notes about Dredd however (and one that few licensed cash-ins managed to take on) is the fact that while he's the hero of the comics he's not the typical wildcard/rebel-in-the-system you might expect had for instance the comics been created in the U.S. Nope, instead Dredd is an active supporter of the fascist, totalitarian state he works for! Which only add to it's appeal and edge of course... Justice has a price, and that price is Freedom!! Keep on laying the law Dredd... :))
Contributed by
Zovni (9138) on Mar 12, 2004.
