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scans_dailyBorag Thungg, Earthlets! (And possibly a few undeclared aliens.)
One of the innovative steps Pat Mills took when helping create 2000 AD (also including hiring the Mighty Tharg as editor) was fixing the standard chapter length of stories at six pages. While this meant fewer serials per issue, it also allowed more space to tell stories than the standard three or four pagers favored by the traditional British weeklies. Check back a few pages to my Victor post to see the "wall of text" this induced in the more complicated stories.
What this means for us at Scans Daily is that two pages of any given chapter of a 2000 AD story can be posted here. Still a bit choppy, I'm afraid, can't be helped. I'll just hope that the pages I've chosen from these five chapters are zarjaz for my first DW SD post.
Some quick background on Judge Dredd for the three of you who are new here. In the dystopian future, a nuclear war and various ecological disasters have transformed the bulk of North America into a howling wilderness known as the Cursed Earth. Most of the remaining population is crammed into metroplexes called Mega-Cities. Mega-City One (formerly the East Coast) is a police state run by the Judges. The Judges were initially created as "super-cops" to deal with skyrocketing crime, but a series of disasters have left them as the only functioning government.
Judge Dredd himself is the best of the lot, who has been described as "tough but fair." While he serves an oppressive system and enforces its harsh, nay, draconian laws, Dredd tries to do the right thing within those parameters. He's not a nice man by any measuring stick, but he's an excellent Judge. For more deep background, see Wikipedia or TV Tropes.
More recent developments: Dredd discovered that the law keeping mutants from living in Mega-City One was itself illegal, and abolished it. Chief Judge Hershey backed him on this, and mutants came in by the thousands. As with any new immigrant population, there were severe problems. So severe that the Judges decided to dump Chief Hershey and replace her with a new Chief Judge who would kick out the mutants. This new chief is Dan Francisco, a likable fellow who's media-friendly (appearing on the regular program "Streets of Dan Francisco") and may be just a little too fond of his own public image.
Hershey has been sent off-planet, while Judge Dredd has been placed in charge of establishing law and order in the new mutant townships. Chief Judge Francisco is recovering from injuries designed to look like a mutant attack but actually perpetrated by anti-mutant bigots.
Judge Stalker suggests that the street units shoot to kill more often, saving money on incarceration and guaranteeing a lump sum from the recycling facility. But that may be a little too sensitive an issue.
Over at the townships, the admin building is up, so at least Dredd and the other Judges will have a dry place to sleep. Judge Beeny (a bright young thing and Dredd's new deputy) helps him greet the newcomers. Munn is noted as being older than the others, but not having the usual rank associated with his time in service, and he seems doubtful about Beeny having her position at a young age.
Dredd is taking his new underlings on a tour of the area, both to spot any potential trouble for the townships, and to see if he can get these losers up to standard.
Some time later, the Judges spot small heaps of human bones and torn clothing scattered about. They realize there's a predator in the area, but before they are fully ready, it jumps out.
While searching the spider hole, Dredd flashes back to Heck proving to be so accident-prone that he fell off his bike from having a geyser in the neighborhood. Possibly, it's an attitude problem, with Heck expecting errors, and thus making them. Munn, conversely, shows a level of insubordination unacceptable in an anarcho-syndicalist collective, let alone a police squad. Dredd attempted to dismiss the man, but Munn came back and made enough apologetic noises to be allowed to continue the mission.
The Judges encountered families displaced by the construction, and Dredd insists that they be treated fairly. No use making more trouble than necessary, even if these are just muties to the other Judges. Dredd isn't really interested in taking Munn back, but knows that if he kicks the insubordinate wretch out, the city may send him a worse replacement. In the present, Dredd approaches the spider.
Correction Facility 2013 turns out to be a decontamination station. The inmates operate huge "scrubbing" machines that scour the Cursed Earth, separating radioactive waste and other contaminants from the soil. The convicts don't seem to be particularly corrected.
Indeed, the warden (a Judge himself) has to tell a trustee named Godley to hurry up and make the prisoners act more like prisoners due to this surprise visit. Heck's injury is treated by the prison's medical droid, though it will take some time to recover. The droid notes that paralysis must be a horrible fate, but it doesn't have the emotional circuitry to fully empathize.
While the trainee Judges settle in for the night, Dredd goes for an inspection stroll. He's not impressed, noting convicts lounging about listlessly, the smell of alcohol--and one of them, a small-timer named Sarney, has a gun. And a grudge against Dredd for putting him away. Dredd's instincts warn him in time to dodge Sarney's fire and return his own, lethally. Dredd reflects that he doesn't even remember Sarney--all but the most spectacular criminals have begun to blur after so many years as a Judge. The robot guards have no idea how Sarney got a gun, and order the prisoners into lockdown.
Ramone and Cunningham visit Heck in sick bay. The injured Judge is able to move again, but with a punctured lung, he's not going anywhere in a hurry. Cunningham turns out to have a horrible bedside manner. Afterwards, the two mobile Judges notice a truckload of prostitutes coming in to service the prisoners.
Back at their temporary quarters, Dredd has finished looking up Judge Bickers, no info on him, plenty on Dexter Godley, mid-level gangster. Of course, he could just have a better than average cover, but the man feels wrong. Ramone and Cunningham report the hooker delivery, and Munn calls the warden "Nestor the Molestor." Except that this time it's not just his sass talk.
Once Dredd's out in the open, prisoners in the watchtowers open fire. His armored shoulderpad takes the first volley, and then he's dodging like crazy. Dredd radios his team, but they're not wearing their helmets. Munn's sure that whatever that noise outside is, "Grud Almighty" can handle it on his own.
The robot guards aren't stopping the attack, having been ordered not to interfere by Godley, but at least he can't make them actually harm Judges. Dredd uses a hi-ex bullet to set one of the watchtowers on fire, though it doesn't much deter the gunner. The under-Judges finally realize the situation is serious, and check in.
Dredd frees Nestor, who admits Godley isn't actually an undercover Judge. It seems the prisoners managed to get their hands on certain pictures (nature never specified) which forced Nestor to run the facility to their specifications.
Meanwhile, the other Judges are under heavy fire, with at least twenty attackers surrounding their barracks. Cunningham takes a hit.
Godley tries to get Dredd to break cover, but Joe isn't quite ready to surrender yet; he jumps out a rear window into a stray vehicle and makes for the machine shed, while setting fire to the other watchtower.
The minor Judges have held out pretty well, but now the prisoners are bringing up flamethrowers, and it's time to make a last stand.
Godley orders the robot inside the machine shed to open the door. It starts to move--
Munn's about ready to call it quits when the prisoners spot the oncoming scrubber and mistake it for reinforcements. Quoth Dredd: "I'm cleaning up the Cursed Earth!" Once the immediate problem is dealt with, Dredd ascertains that Cunningham is not mortally wounded, orders Ramone and Munn to take up sniper positions, and orders the robot guards to confine the prisoners to barracks. "On whose authority?"
Your thoughts? Want more Thrill-Power? Let me know!
One of the innovative steps Pat Mills took when helping create 2000 AD (also including hiring the Mighty Tharg as editor) was fixing the standard chapter length of stories at six pages. While this meant fewer serials per issue, it also allowed more space to tell stories than the standard three or four pagers favored by the traditional British weeklies. Check back a few pages to my Victor post to see the "wall of text" this induced in the more complicated stories.
What this means for us at Scans Daily is that two pages of any given chapter of a 2000 AD story can be posted here. Still a bit choppy, I'm afraid, can't be helped. I'll just hope that the pages I've chosen from these five chapters are zarjaz for my first DW SD post.
Some quick background on Judge Dredd for the three of you who are new here. In the dystopian future, a nuclear war and various ecological disasters have transformed the bulk of North America into a howling wilderness known as the Cursed Earth. Most of the remaining population is crammed into metroplexes called Mega-Cities. Mega-City One (formerly the East Coast) is a police state run by the Judges. The Judges were initially created as "super-cops" to deal with skyrocketing crime, but a series of disasters have left them as the only functioning government.
Judge Dredd himself is the best of the lot, who has been described as "tough but fair." While he serves an oppressive system and enforces its harsh, nay, draconian laws, Dredd tries to do the right thing within those parameters. He's not a nice man by any measuring stick, but he's an excellent Judge. For more deep background, see Wikipedia or TV Tropes.
More recent developments: Dredd discovered that the law keeping mutants from living in Mega-City One was itself illegal, and abolished it. Chief Judge Hershey backed him on this, and mutants came in by the thousands. As with any new immigrant population, there were severe problems. So severe that the Judges decided to dump Chief Hershey and replace her with a new Chief Judge who would kick out the mutants. This new chief is Dan Francisco, a likable fellow who's media-friendly (appearing on the regular program "Streets of Dan Francisco") and may be just a little too fond of his own public image.
Hershey has been sent off-planet, while Judge Dredd has been placed in charge of establishing law and order in the new mutant townships. Chief Judge Francisco is recovering from injuries designed to look like a mutant attack but actually perpetrated by anti-mutant bigots.
Judge Stalker suggests that the street units shoot to kill more often, saving money on incarceration and guaranteeing a lump sum from the recycling facility. But that may be a little too sensitive an issue.
Over at the townships, the admin building is up, so at least Dredd and the other Judges will have a dry place to sleep. Judge Beeny (a bright young thing and Dredd's new deputy) helps him greet the newcomers. Munn is noted as being older than the others, but not having the usual rank associated with his time in service, and he seems doubtful about Beeny having her position at a young age.
Dredd is taking his new underlings on a tour of the area, both to spot any potential trouble for the townships, and to see if he can get these losers up to standard.
Some time later, the Judges spot small heaps of human bones and torn clothing scattered about. They realize there's a predator in the area, but before they are fully ready, it jumps out.
While searching the spider hole, Dredd flashes back to Heck proving to be so accident-prone that he fell off his bike from having a geyser in the neighborhood. Possibly, it's an attitude problem, with Heck expecting errors, and thus making them. Munn, conversely, shows a level of insubordination unacceptable in an anarcho-syndicalist collective, let alone a police squad. Dredd attempted to dismiss the man, but Munn came back and made enough apologetic noises to be allowed to continue the mission.
The Judges encountered families displaced by the construction, and Dredd insists that they be treated fairly. No use making more trouble than necessary, even if these are just muties to the other Judges. Dredd isn't really interested in taking Munn back, but knows that if he kicks the insubordinate wretch out, the city may send him a worse replacement. In the present, Dredd approaches the spider.
Correction Facility 2013 turns out to be a decontamination station. The inmates operate huge "scrubbing" machines that scour the Cursed Earth, separating radioactive waste and other contaminants from the soil. The convicts don't seem to be particularly corrected.
Indeed, the warden (a Judge himself) has to tell a trustee named Godley to hurry up and make the prisoners act more like prisoners due to this surprise visit. Heck's injury is treated by the prison's medical droid, though it will take some time to recover. The droid notes that paralysis must be a horrible fate, but it doesn't have the emotional circuitry to fully empathize.
While the trainee Judges settle in for the night, Dredd goes for an inspection stroll. He's not impressed, noting convicts lounging about listlessly, the smell of alcohol--and one of them, a small-timer named Sarney, has a gun. And a grudge against Dredd for putting him away. Dredd's instincts warn him in time to dodge Sarney's fire and return his own, lethally. Dredd reflects that he doesn't even remember Sarney--all but the most spectacular criminals have begun to blur after so many years as a Judge. The robot guards have no idea how Sarney got a gun, and order the prisoners into lockdown.
Ramone and Cunningham visit Heck in sick bay. The injured Judge is able to move again, but with a punctured lung, he's not going anywhere in a hurry. Cunningham turns out to have a horrible bedside manner. Afterwards, the two mobile Judges notice a truckload of prostitutes coming in to service the prisoners.
Back at their temporary quarters, Dredd has finished looking up Judge Bickers, no info on him, plenty on Dexter Godley, mid-level gangster. Of course, he could just have a better than average cover, but the man feels wrong. Ramone and Cunningham report the hooker delivery, and Munn calls the warden "Nestor the Molestor." Except that this time it's not just his sass talk.
Once Dredd's out in the open, prisoners in the watchtowers open fire. His armored shoulderpad takes the first volley, and then he's dodging like crazy. Dredd radios his team, but they're not wearing their helmets. Munn's sure that whatever that noise outside is, "Grud Almighty" can handle it on his own.
The robot guards aren't stopping the attack, having been ordered not to interfere by Godley, but at least he can't make them actually harm Judges. Dredd uses a hi-ex bullet to set one of the watchtowers on fire, though it doesn't much deter the gunner. The under-Judges finally realize the situation is serious, and check in.
Dredd frees Nestor, who admits Godley isn't actually an undercover Judge. It seems the prisoners managed to get their hands on certain pictures (nature never specified) which forced Nestor to run the facility to their specifications.
Meanwhile, the other Judges are under heavy fire, with at least twenty attackers surrounding their barracks. Cunningham takes a hit.
Godley tries to get Dredd to break cover, but Joe isn't quite ready to surrender yet; he jumps out a rear window into a stray vehicle and makes for the machine shed, while setting fire to the other watchtower.
The minor Judges have held out pretty well, but now the prisoners are bringing up flamethrowers, and it's time to make a last stand.
Godley orders the robot inside the machine shed to open the door. It starts to move--
Munn's about ready to call it quits when the prisoners spot the oncoming scrubber and mistake it for reinforcements. Quoth Dredd: "I'm cleaning up the Cursed Earth!" Once the immediate problem is dealt with, Dredd ascertains that Cunningham is not mortally wounded, orders Ramone and Munn to take up sniper positions, and orders the robot guards to confine the prisoners to barracks. "On whose authority?"
Your thoughts? Want more Thrill-Power? Let me know!
no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 12:34 pm (UTC)Fortunately, there's all the other Judges, who remind us that the Judge-ocracy can only work with someone superhuman (like Dredd) in charge.
* Which is probably true in the small 'f' sense of fascism, but really Dredd is just a straight down the line Hobbesian Totalitarian.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 04:09 pm (UTC)Lalalalalalalalaa! Can't hear you.
EMBRACE REALITY
Date: 2009-11-18 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-11-19 04:16 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-11-20 05:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 06:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 04:08 am (UTC)Maybe because at first glance the helmet makes me think of Robocop. I've never seen Robocop and, based on what I've read on Wikipedia, I have no desire to see it, but the premise is one of those ones that grabs my hindbrain and cackles gleefully. I love emergency transformations and identity woes. So there's probably some transference of interest there.
This doesn't look too bad. Though I prefer more hope in my 'verses, as long as it's not as unrelentingly grimdark as it can get...