Otto Sump

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Otto Sump

Otto sump prog280 ron smith.jpg

Otto Sump, from the cover of Prog 280 - artwork by Ron Smith
Publication information
Publisher Rebellion/2000AD
First appearance Judge Dredd "Sob story" in 2000 AD #132 (September 22, 1979)
Created by John Wagner

Otto Sump is a fictional character from the Judge Dredd comic strip in British comic 2000 AD .

Judge Dredd fictional character

Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of 2000 AD (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running character. He also appears in a number of movie and video game adaptations.

<i>2000 AD</i> (comics) comics magazine from Britain

2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic magazine. As a comics anthology it serialises stories in each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary, which was sold to Robert Maxwell in 1987 and then to Egmont UK in 1991. Fleetway continued to produce the title until 2000, when it was bought by Rebellion Developments.

Contents

Fictional character biography

Sump was a notoriously ugly man; so ugly that his parents abandoned him on the steps of a face-changing clinic. In later life, he was too ugly to be hired for any job other than "rat-scarer," and he lost that job when animal rights activists complained. When Judge Dredd learned that the successful contestants of a game show, "Sob Story" in which miserable people beg the audience to send them money, were being murdered and their winnings stolen, he had a computer find him the "worst hard-luck case in Mega-City One" to use as bait—and Sump "won hands down." Sump made a fortune, and Dredd caught his murderers when they tried to murder Sump.

Sump invested his new-found fortune into starting a beautician practice; when this failed (the incompetent Sump made his clients look even worse), he made a fortune by selling products which made people hideously ugly, which became fashionable. The Judges tried to curtail this trend by punitively taxing ugly products, which thereupon became the preserve of the extremely wealthy. He also created a popular new food brand called "Gunge," which was made from insects and mould and the like. Gunge was banned following complaints from concerned citizens, but the Judges secretly made and sold it themselves under a new name, labelled with the Justice Department "approved" stamp so that the ingredients did not have to be listed.

Judge (2000 AD)

Judge is a title held by several significant characters in Judge Dredd and other series which appear in the British comics 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine. In the fictional future history of the series, the role of "Judge" combines those of judge, jury and police officer, thus avoiding long legal wrangles by allowing for criminals to be tried and sentenced on the spot. Since they overthrew the U.S. Constitution in 2070, Judges have also held supreme political power in Mega-City One. Collectively they are known as the Justice Department.

Otto Sump went into business selling "Smart Sweets," which his customers believed would increase their intelligence. Although they did no such thing, Sump carefully avoided making any specific claims of their effectiveness in his commercials (even commenting that "You gotta be dumb to buy Smart Sweets) and thus stayed within the letter of the law. The unamused Judge Dredd found an excuse to shut this business down when a group of particularly stupid criminals claimed that Smart Sweets gave them the intelligence to plan a crime.

Eventually, the Ugly Clinics and related products became available at prices that citizens could afford; made increasingly rich, Sump donated a lot of his income to charity and would eventually marry an air-dancer & take his elderly mother into private healthcare. In the year 2124, he was murdered by his mother, who was disgusted and humiliated with his Ugly Clinic empire.

Quotes

Appearances

Otto Sump appeared in 2000 AD progs 132, 186-188, 280, and 436. He also appeared in the Judge Dredd Megazine volume 4 issues 12-13.

John Wagner Scottish/American comics creator

John Wagner is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. He is best known as the co-creator, with artist Carlos Ezquerra, of the character Judge Dredd.

John Higgins (comics) English comic book artist and writer

John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.

Judge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.

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References

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