tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post7843804242100213113..comments2023-10-12T07:15:02.375-07:00Comments on Dredd Reckoning: The Complete Case Files 11Douglas Wolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10691167073493285913noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-82559842700092535612013-02-17T14:17:26.863-08:002013-02-17T14:17:26.863-08:00That's fascinating, and very helpful--thank yo...That's fascinating, and very helpful--thank you!Douglas Wolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10691167073493285913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-45941243846381099142013-02-16T02:05:27.975-08:002013-02-16T02:05:27.975-08:00The Judda storyline was suggested by ideas factor...The Judda storyline was suggested by ideas factory Brendan McCarthy, who had spent time traveling around Australia while he was living and working there as a concept designer for animated film and television projects. He had accumulated a lot of visual reference material which he thought could be put to good use and suggested his lost tribe of judges idea to Wagner and Grant, who were apparently open to working from ideas suggested by artists, since they were always struggling for novel storylines and felt artists produced better work when they had some creative investment in the material and were drawing things which interested them.<br /><br />Chopper's involvement arose from the writers trying to think of a pretence which would explain why Dredd had to leave the city and get him to Oz so the story could happen (which is interesting, since that's exactly how Dredd uses Chopper as well) and that part of the story was to have been Cam Kennedy's triumphant return to the character, with him illustrating all the Chopper/Supersurf parts of the story and Brendan handling the Judda sequences solo.<br /><br />If the story had been published as a Kennedy/McCarthy two-hander I don't think there would be any argument whatsoever regarding which Dredd epic featured the most consistent, most assured and most inspired artwork. As it is, I'm glad McCarthy got his hands on some of Kennedy's Chopper material, because his Bird Men of The Sierra Murder is one of my favourite artwork in the history of the strip. As far as I know, the hurried production of the strip did not involve a works outing to Sidney as described in the (Steve Dillon?) back page illustration above.<br /><br />My contribution to the Oz team identity parade is: left to right - surfboard, Brendan McCarthy; cork hat, Jim Baikie; cheesy grin, Alan MacKenzie (?); green eyeshade, Wagner; conspiratorial whisper, Alan Grant; Castlemaine XXXX, Tom Frame; shrug, Cliff Robinson; all-fours, Richard Burton; pouch, Kitson? A Dillon self portrait?<br />Jock Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12650909385018296433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-51339389154076874482011-10-09T12:11:43.821-07:002011-10-09T12:11:43.821-07:00I remember being stunned by those Dredd democracy ...I remember being stunned by those Dredd democracy stories. Very powerful stories and the vibrant painted work by John Higgins for the centerspreads was far and away the best use of colour we'd seen in 2000 AD at that point. It's a pity they've only been reproduced in black and white although they still look pretty goodTamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09025289184864042978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-50040313827924556102011-10-05T13:31:47.859-07:002011-10-05T13:31:47.859-07:00The Oz droid in the glasses wearing a purple jacke...The Oz droid in the glasses wearing a purple jacket is Brendan McCarthy.<br /><br />IIRC, Oz was designed as an epic to take into account of the new format featuring the first two pages of each story being in painted colour, and the extra time that would have to be taken to produce this. The solution, as you've mentioned, was to have two story strands happening simultaneously, (Chopper and the Skysurf story and Dredd and the Judda) and have each strand drawn throughout by the same artist (Brendan McCarthy in the case of the Dredd/Judda part, and someone whose name escapes me for the Chopper/Sky surf part--possibly Jim Baike?) so essentially doubling the time each artist had on them.<br /><br />Unfortunately, even this attempt to avoid the dreaded deadline doom failed, and the art seemed to be passed to whichever artist seemed available at the time, much to the stories detriment, in my opinion.Careyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04661184760209648937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-31261870681802813322011-10-03T10:28:38.645-07:002011-10-03T10:28:38.645-07:00These are the Dredd stories that were running duri...These are the Dredd stories that were running during the period when my older brother was collecting 2000AD. I read them when he was finished with them, and I remember reading the Chopper saga (all of eight years old) and being bowled over. It didn't have quite the same intense emotional impact on me as Bad Company, but I think it holds up better on a reread; for all its virtues, Bad Company looks overwrought and heavy-handed in retrospect. But Chopper sitting on the beach and letting the baby turtles go free... that's still powerful. <br /><br />There was a tone of wistful defiance to Chopper's story, which was unusual for 2000AD. As with the democracy stories, there's a sense that this is a battle worth fighting, but a battle that cannot be won. But Chopper fights anyway, because in his heart he's a free man, and he doesn't have it in him to give in to authority. <br /><br />I remember the "family man" gambit to this day every time there's footage of riots or demonstrations on TV...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321253799411057654.post-17360045091880340212011-10-03T00:39:43.509-07:002011-10-03T00:39:43.509-07:00The only other "Oz" droid I recognise is...The only other "Oz" droid I recognise is the one between Grant and Burt, staggering around under the influence of XXX beer - that's Tom Frame.Paddy Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14390553355397751745noreply@blogger.com