Thursday, March 22, 2012

"Dredd" Is The Law @ IDW

Following the upcoming August 2012 release of the next 'Judge Dredd' movie, titled "Dredd", IDW Publishing will partner with 2000 AD to launch a fresh line of "Judge Dredd" comic books and deluxe reprints of classic "Dredd" material.

"Judge Dredd turns 35 this year, and it's great to help him celebrate his birthday like this," said Chris Ryall, IDW's Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief. "My interest in 'Judge Dredd' far predates my tenure at IDW, so it's a real 'drokkin' pleasure for us to now be the first American publisher in 18 years to create new tales of 'Dredd'."

The futuristic supercop character 'Judge Dredd' was created by writer John Wagner, artist Carlos Ezquerra and editor Pat Mills, debuting in the second issue of the UK science fiction comics anthology "2000 AD", remaining that title's longest-running character.

"IDW are renowned for their ability to create new comics for existing characters with both respect and imagination," said Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion, owner of the "Judge Dredd" property. "Their familiarity with 'Dredd' and passion for the character were vital components in making this partnership happen..."

"...the new movie 'Dredd' takes us into the wild streets of 'Mega City One', the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on 'Cursed Earth'. 'Judge Dredd' (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite 'Street Judges', with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders, then execute them on the spot.

"The endlessly inventive mind of writer Alex Garland and the frenetic vision of director Peter Travis bring 'Dredd' to life as a futuristic 'neo-noir' action film, returning the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip..."

In the new "Dredd" film, actress Lena Heady ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") portrays the villain 'Madeline Madrigal' (aka 'Ma-Ma').

Reliance BIG Pictures and IM Global, a Reliance international sales company, financed the live-action feature.

"The main thing about 'Judge Dredd' is that it’s a fantastic comic," said "Dredd" producer Andrew Macdonald.

"Our idea was to make a very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie of 'Dredd' in 'Megacity', so we had to get the tone right."


"Alex Garland’s script is faithful to the original concept that made 'Judge Dredd' a favourite bad-ass hero," said "Judge Dredd" co-creator Wagner.

"This adaptation of 'Judge Dredd' will have an emphasis on adrenaline and realism, with all the scale and spectacle of 'Mega-City One'."

Inspired by Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry", Dredd is a uniformed judge, combining powers of police, judge, jury and executioner.

With 'bionic' eyes implanted after a time-traveling mission to the 'City Of The Damned', Dredd carries a 'lawgiver' pistol. His ride is a cannon-mounted, AI intelligence 'lawmaster' chopper.

'Joseph Dredd' and his brother 'Rico' were originally cloned from the DNA of 'Chief Judge Fargo', the first chief judge.

Their growth was artificially accelerated until they emerged in 2066 with education and vast world knowledge electronically implanted in their brains during 'gestation'.

The name 'Dredd' was chosen by genetic scientist 'Morton Judd' to instill fear in criminals.

In 2070, during the 'Atomic Wars', the Dredds as cadets, were fast-tracked through the 'Academy Of Law', assigned the rank of full judges and sent to restore order.


Joseph continued to excel as a Judge, rapidly gaining promotion to the rank of 'Senior Judge', during the 'Fourth World War'.

The $45 million budgeted, 3D adaptation will be distributed by Lionsgate, September 21, 2012.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the 1995 feature "Judge Dredd"...