expatNERD

Tag: John Wagner

  • Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

    As you may have noticed, our Curt storyline is also a Garth Ennis tribute. And we cannot mention Garth Ennis without also mentioning the late legendary artist that will never be forgotten, Steve Dillon. So with that I thought I would give some recommendations from their work.

    Now I could do the obvious like Preacher, John Constantine Hellblazer, the Boys, Demon, and Hitman. I think if you know your way around comics you probably already know of these. So I thought I would go off the beaten track and focus my recs on things that you may have missed, especially if you are an American audience, and some of Ennis’ most recent stuff. Because yes, the magician is still producing magic.

    First off, is Ennis’ run on Judge Dredd that also features a lot of Steve Dillon. This run cannot be understated because he basically followed in the footsteps of both John Wagner and Alan Grant who were writing ole stoney face as a team. And he was young, and that took some Eier. He also collaborated with the likes of Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra. So one could say these stories are ‘the beginnings.’

    Interestingly, Ennis doesn’t seem to be too fond of his writing of Dredd, at least he said as much during his conversation with Mark Millar on Millar’s YouTube video series, Millar Time. I included the embeded video below and the whole thing is definitely worth a watch.

    But I, for one, loved Ennis’ run on Dredd. In particular, his and Steve Dillon’s Emerald Isle storyline. Now if you are a Judge Dredd fan and are reading this, you are going to either love or hate me from now on. But I just cannot help it. It introduces Judge Joyce, created by Ennis and Dillon, who has to accommodate the hard-ass Judge Dredd, and Joyce is just charming as hell. Plus, it’s just full of comedy and Irish stereotypes. And because Ennis is Irish, he nails the little accents and what not.

    Emerald Isle can be found in 2000 AD Progs #727–734 and is also collected in Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files – Volume 15. It’s worth hunting down, especially if you want a glimpse of Ennis and Dillon before they became Ennis and Dillon. Which is not entirely true because if you look at Dillon’s Dredd, he seems to always have been good.

    Next week I’ll have another recommendation. Is this Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon month? It doesn’t exist. But it damn well should.

    Tschüss,

    -Franka

  • 18 – Judged

    18 – Judged

    Let me start off by writing that I love me some cosplay. It means different things to different people but for me, cosplay allows me to travel into different worlds and landscapes. Basically it is a tool that makes that escape that much easier. And when you put a bunch of cosplayers together, you can enter that world of play. It is a beautiful thing. But sometimes a cosplay can go just a tad bit too far, as is the case with Judge Quiver over here.

    2000ad is a terrific magazine. Can you call it a comic book? It is a weekly anthology magazine that incorporates five stories, one of which is the constant Judge Dredd. I always have found the debate fascinating. When people read Judge Dredd for the first time they automatically think he is a hero, or through the American eyes, a super-hero. But he is hardly that. He is a bad guy and he has his own title. It can be confusing. But it is not.

    We can have hours of discussion on Judge Dredd. But what I do find fascinating about him is that he is a lot like Batman. You can use him in different ways. He can be campy, dark, or a lot of inbetween and he is always thought provoking. It is no wonder then that Alan Grant and John Wagner did a lot of Batman who had their humble beginnings in 2000ad and Judge Dredd.

    If you are interested in exploring what 2000ad is all about, then I can point you no further than the weekly podcast, or should I say Thrill-Cast, that the company puts out. It is incredibly entertaining that dives deep not only to the stories it produces but also has some very though provoking interviews as well with its artists, writers, etc. Give it a go.