Classic Moments Of Thrill-Power™:The Death Of Chief-Judge MacGruder.

The alarmingly unhinged behaviour of former Chief-Judge Hilda Margaret MacGruder has seen her pushed from the halls of power in Mega-City One and is living out her days in an euthanasia centre,awaiting death.

Judge Dredd decides this once great leader deserves better,and in an increasingly frequent display of humanity,takes the confused but still sprightly MacGruder on one last,dangerous mission to the Cursed Earth to clear a nest of cannibals.

As Dredd suspected,MacGruder doesn’t make it but offers his former Chief-Judge a dignified end,and in a moment of clarity she thanks him before dying.

MacGruder,of course was a cypher for former British Prime Minister,Margaret Hilda Thatcher,both being the first female to hold her position and also developing senility in older age,the similarities are stark-even their names are the same,almost!

So,with the Iron Lady passing away this week,although not a huge fan,having lived through those depressing times,it feels appropriate to post this  tribute to a former world-leader,whose glory days were long behind them.

Top:Explosive cover art(Prog1009,17Sep’96)from Mark Harrison.

Below:Interior art from Judge Dredd story,Death Of A Legend(Prog1009,17Sep’96)from Peter Doherty.Script:John Wagner.

In-Judicial Liaisons!

Galen DeMarco comes undone when it is revealed that she is having an illicit affair with fellow Judge,Warren,in Judge Dredd scandal and corruption mega-epic,”The Pit”(Progs970-99,15Dec’95-5Jul’96).

Classic cover art by Mark Harrison(Prog987,12Apr’96)

The Changing Face(s)of the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic™!(Pt.2)

Having remained pretty much the same for seven years,a new logo conceived by former design droid,Steve Cook,was introduced..

1. Prog555(2Jan’88)Judge Dredd-John Higgins
2. Prog589(27Aug’89)Judge Dredd(1st glossy cover)-Simon Bisley
3. Prog843(3Jul’93)Tabloid newspaper mock-up,featuring “Manchester’s hardest man”,Big Dave!-Steve Parkhouse
4. Prog950(28Jul’95)Radical redesign for Judge Dredd movie(1995)Dermot Power
5. Prog1033(11Mar’97)Judge Dredd-Jason Brashill Another 90’s design overhaul 
6. Prog1199(28Jun’00)Sláine takes his axe,Brainbiter to the old logo!-Mark Harrison
7. Prog1200(5Jul’00).Judge Dredd-Trevor Hairsine.Yet another short-lived redesign,surely something had to be done…
8. Prog1234(21Mar’01)With John Higgins reprising his classic Judge Dredd cover(see above)common sense prevails as Steve Cook’s timeless logo is reinstated!
9. Prog1500(9Aug’06)Monolithic character montage!-Boo Cook
10. Prog1567(2Jan’08)Strontium Dog-Cliff Robinson Banner title is added to the classic logo that bring us up to date.

Will we see another change in cover/logo design?Probably,but as the big man himself says:”If it ain’t broke,don’t fix it..creep!”

stomm2000ad:

Dashing cover art(Prog1504,6Sep’06)by Mark Harrison.
Katarina Dante,Pirate Queen has been captured by the evil Akita Sagawa.
Now her son Nikolai is attempting to rescue her and two young children,Karl and Mina also in the clutches of Sagawa.
“Dragon’s Island”;script:Robbie Morrison;art:John Burns(Book VII,“Sword of the Tsar”)

stomm2000ad:

Bold cover(Prog1189,19Apr’00)from Mark Harrison showing a grim,grittier Nikolai Dante.
Having been given the Province of Rudinshtein(the poorest and most lawless in the empire),when war breaks out between the Romanov/Makarov dynasties,Dante is determined to stay and fight with the people who have taken to calling him, “Hero of Rudinshtein”.
(“Tsar Wars”Vol.1;script:Robbie Morrison;art:John Burns)

stomm2000ad:

Interesting photo cover by Malcolm Hulme and design droid Graham Rolfe,which they will later reprise in the weekly Prog..
Inside we see the “Scarlet Apocrypha” come to an end,with the seventh heresy,”In the Flesh” and has Durham Red at a comic convention,stalking a young fan.Written by Dan Abnett,these one-off tales are an absolute joy and show the writer at his playful best.
All of which make me wonder why on earth(if you’ll pardon the pun)he couldn’t have written all of his Durham Red stories in this vein,rather than dragging her off across the stars.
Interior art by regular,Mark Harrison.Judge Dredd Megazine4.18,17Dec’02.

stomm2000ad:

Travelling out in the farther reaches of space with her two companions,Tenebrae mutant Judas Harrow and Iconoclast mutant-killer Matteus Godolkin,vampire Durham Red comes up against a future version of herself.Declaring life to be unbearable and kidnapping her accomplices she attacks,trying to end any suffering before it can begin.Denouncing her future self a coward and loser,Red retaliates and does the killing instead,vowing never to become that incarnation.
After freeing her companions Red heads laughing out into the Vermin Stars..
“Mask of the Red Death”(Prog1111,22Sep’98)Dan Abnett/Mark Harrison

stomm2000ad:

It appears Frinton Fuzz was as good a friend in death as in life;he’d bet on Red to win her death-match at 10-to-1!
Red has paid for the venue’s nearest town to have a party and she’s drowning her sorrows when the Gothking walks in!
Fearing he’s come to kill her,and with a phalanx of bodyguards accompanying him,Red resigns herself to fate;the Gothking being a cruel though sporting man,admits that she won fair and square but should probably leave and never set foot in his territories again,on pain of death!
Red is fine with this and heads off into space with Toroni at her side..The End!
Alas,no.It is however,the end of Peter Hogan’s run unfortunately,and the start of a noodle-scratching,sprawling space(and time)saga that thankfully seems to have been glossed-over for Red’s new run(by cunningly setting it before the overblown far-future/space shenanigans!)
I usually love Dan Abnett,too..!Suitably attired Red,mourning more than just “Fuzzy’s” passing?!Art:Mark Harrison