Judge Dredd Poster # 1 Dave Dorman Art

Description

Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine’s longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and execute criminals at the scene of crime. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for early development. Judge Dredd is amongst the UK’s best known comic characters. So great is the character’s name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism, and the rule of law. Street Judges act as police, judge, jury, and executioner. Capital punishment in Mega-City One is rarely used, though deaths while resisting arrest are numerous. Numerous writers have used the Judge System to satirize contemporary politics. Judges, once appointed, can be broadly characterised as “Street Judges” (who patrol the city), and administrative, or office-based judges. Dredd was once offered the job of Chief Judge; but refused it. The incorruptibility of the Judges is supposedly maintained by the Special Judicial Squad, although SJS judges have themselves broken the law on occasion, most notably SJS head Judge Cal who killed the chief judge and usurped his office for himself. This ‘Judge System’ has spread world-wide, with various super-cities possessing similar methods of law enforcement. As such this political model has become the most common form of government on Earth, with only a few small areas practicing civilian rule. There is therefore an international “Judicial Charter” which countries and city states join upon instituting a Judge System.

Near mint condition.