Mars Attacks Judge Dredd

Last updated

"Mars Attacks Judge Dredd"
Publisher IDW Publishing
Publication dateSeptember – December 2013
Creative team
Writer(s) Al Ewing
Artist(s) John McCrea
Colorist(s) Jay Fotos

Mars Attacks Judge Dredd is a four-issue intercompany crossover between Judge Dredd and Mars Attacks! ; IDW Publishing had the license to make original North American comics of both properties. Al Ewing was a regular on 2000 AD at the time and McCrea was IDW's main artist on Mars Attacks!.

While all previous Judge Dredd crossovers have been in continuity with 2000 AD's Dredd strip, Al Ewing has stated that Mars Attacks Judge Dredd takes place in IDW's Dredd continuity: "I tend to think of it as 'Ultimate Dredd,' which means that I can reach into the toybox and pull out elements that have been used in "2000 AD" and use them a little differently." This meant he could write a younger, "meaner" Dredd than he did in 2000 AD. [1] At this point in time, the Manta Tank is still a classified prototype, East-Meg One is still intact, and Dredd and Anderson have worked together.

Production

IDW had run a series of Mars Attacks! variant covers on their titles to promote a January 2013 crossover, one of which was their Judge Dredd ongoing: one of the Martians being menaced by Dredd, drawn by Greg Staples. Fans were excited by the image and both IDW and Rebellion Publishing also enjoyed it, leading to discussions about doing a real crossover; [2] 2000 AD editor Matt Smith publicly said that a crossover would be "great fun" in January 2013. [3] The companies quickly came to an agreement and the comic was announced in April 2013. [4] Al Ewing was asked to write it as IDW's editors enjoyed his Zaucer of Zilk comic. [5]

IDW's Mars Attacks! comic inserted pictures of (fake) Mars Attacks! trading cards into the strip, emphasising a particular plot twist or Martian attack. The same thing is done in this miniseries, but the cards are instead Judge Pal cards – the kid-friendly mascot used by the Judges to get children to inform on their parents – and used for exposition and world-building; for example, a "Rumble In The Pit!" card appears during a Sector 301 riot, saying the Judges' response to the riot is "putting the lie to scurrilous rumours of massive judicial corruption in Sector 301 – aka 'The Pit'! DON'T LISTEN – IT'S SEDITION! Dial P-A-L and report criminal propaganda to Judge Pal for a possible cash reward!" [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judge Dredd</span> Fictional comic book 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, and in 1990 he got his own title, the Judge Dredd Megazine. He also appears in a number of film and video game adaptations.

<i>Mars Attacks</i> Trading card series

Mars Attacks is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by cruel, hideous Martians under the command of a corrupt Martian government who conceal the fact from the Martian populace that Mars is doomed to explode and, therefore, proposes colonization of Earth to turn it into their new homeworld. The cards depict futuristic battle scenes and bizarre methods of Martian attack, torture and slaughter of humans, as well as various Earth nations being attacked. The story concludes with an expeditionary force of humans volunteering to embark on a counterattack on Mars, in which the Earth force attacks the Martians in their manner. This necessitates the Martians that are still on Mars to defend their homeworld. The Earth attack forces, after destroying the Martian cities and killing the Martians, depart just before Mars is destroyed in the predicted cataclysm, thus ensuring the peace and safety of Earth as the Martian race is seemingly doomed to extinction.

<i>2000 AD</i> (comics) British comic magazine

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. Since 2000 it has been published by Rebellion Developments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mega-City One</span> Chief city in the Judge Dredd universe

Mega-City One is a fictional city that features in the Judge Dredd comic book series and related media. A post-nuclear megalopolis covering much of what is now the Eastern United States and some of Canada, the city's exact geography depends on the writer and artist working the story. From its first appearance it has been associated with New York City's urban sprawl; originally presented as a future New York, it was retconned as the centre of a "Mega-City One" in the third issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Ezquerra</span> Spanish comics artist (1947–2018)

Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra was a Spanish comics artist who worked mainly in British comics. He is best known as the co-creator of Judge Dredd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McCrea (comics)</span> Comic book artist from Northern Ireland

John McCrea is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writer Garth Ennis.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Diggle</span> British comic book writer

Andrew Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series 2000 AD. He is best known for his work on Adam Strange and Green Arrow for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series The Losers and a run on Hellblazer for DC's Vertigo imprint, and for his stints on Thunderbolts and Daredevil at Marvel. Other credits include Gamekeeper for Virgin Comics, written by Diggle on the basis of a concept created by Guy Ritchie, a three-year run on Robert Kirkman's Thief of Thieves at Image, several short arcs written for IDW Publishing's Doctor Who series and two James Bond mini-series for Dynamite.

Chris Weston is a British comics artist who has worked both in the US and UK comics industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Ewing</span> British comics writer

Al Ewing is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press, for 2000 AD, and for Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufus Dayglo</span> British comics artist

Rufus Dayglo is a British comics artist working in comics, illustration, and storyboards. He is working for 2000 AD and Titan Books in the United Kingdom, and DC Vertigo, IDW Publishing and Image Comics in the United States. His Tank Girl work has also been published by Ankama Editions in France in 2011.

Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer who has worked for comic books, film and television. He co-wrote the film Mad Max: Fury Road. He is the brother of Jim McCarthy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Langridge</span> New Zealand comics writer, artist, and letterer

Roger Langridge is a New Zealand comics writer, artist and letterer, currently living in Britain.

Carl Critchlow is a British fantasy and science fiction comic illustrator. He is best known for his character Thrud the Barbarian, which originally appeared in White Dwarf magazine, and for his work for the Lobster Random comics.

<i>2000 AD</i> crossovers

2000 AD crossovers are crossover stories appearing in British comic 2000 AD, its sister title the Judge Dredd Megazine, and other related output, such as novels, audio plays, films and role-playing games.

Nick Percival is a British graphic artist and graphic novelist primarily known for his published comic book, concept artwork and career in computer animation directing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ryall</span>

Christopher Ryall is best known as the former President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of IDW Publishing, and as a writer in the comic book industry. In February 2011, his Eisner Award-nominated series, Zombies vs. Robots, co-created with artist Ashley Wood, was optioned by Sony Pictures for Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes with Mike Flanagan as director.

"Trifecta" is a Judge Dredd story arc published in British comic 2000 AD in late 2012, following on from the earlier strip Day of Chaos. The story was an unannounced crossover between Judge Dredd and its spinoff strips The Simping Detective and Low Life.

Judge Dredd is a comic book series by IDW Publishing, based on the character of Judge Dredd from the British comic magazines 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine. The series is made up of an ongoing series, Judge Dredd, and occasionally a miniseries. There is also a third series, titled Judge Dredd - Classics, which is a republishing, in color, of the original British stories and is not part of the IDW continuity.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.