Judge Dredd – The Cursed Earth observations

Being that Dredd3D just came out in the US after the UK premiere 2 weeks ago (special poster for Mondo by Jock, left) there have been numerous articles on which stories new readers should read up on should they want more from the character’s 35 year history. I thought it would be interesting to re-read one of the classics to see how well it held up today and see what others may be encountering for the first time.

‘The Cursed Earth’ is the first Judge Dredd ‘epic’, ie: a long form story recounting a significant event in the Dredd mythology. It ran from Prog 61 to 85 in 2000ad, way back in 1978 and coincidentally the premiere episode was also the first issue of the comic I ever bought as a child so I have fond memories of it.

Reading back through the collected edition was an enlightening experience though, all the art was present and correct, forever burned into my brain as I’d looked at it a thousand times as a child. The big shock though was the dialogue from writer Pat Mills, the man who started 2000ad and went on to write so many great strips for the comic but wasn’t Dredd’s main creator (that accolade falls to John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra). Baring in mind that this was the late 70’s and 2000ad was slowly reinventing what British boys comics could be, it’s interesting to see how the character has developed with age and return to a time when storytelling was a lot more simplified.

I’ve picked out a few choice panels which made me smile but probably wouldn’t appear in today’s version of Dredd. Only two artists drew the saga* – Brian Bolland, all clean lines and perfect anatomy, and Mike McMahon – a scratchy, rough style with the classic big booted look to his characters. Each are fan favourites and both helped define the Dredd uniform as we know it today. *(Dave ‘Watchmen’ Gibbons actually inked a couple of Bolland episodes too for the record).

The panel above is hilarious and unfortunately there are a lot more like it that turn up throughout the epic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sylvester Stallone read this and took it as gospel for his performance in the 1995 version of the film. Of course, back in 1978 this was gung-ho Dredd and my 8 year old self probably thought it was great.

The image on the left above is from the opening splash page of the first episode, check that dialogue – wow – another spiky speech balloon too which usually meant the character was shouting. To the right of it, Dredd goes all Scooby Doo trying to solve the mystery of a vampire terrorizing a village. It turns out to be a trio of medical robots who need fresh blood for the body of the cryogenically frozen last president of the United States.

Some campy comedy in these two panels, Dredd wouldn’t be so polite in the top one these days and the little ‘speed roll’ thought bubble made me laugh. More often than not this kind of thing would be said out loud preceded by a, “only one chance!, got to…”.

Above is one of the cliffhanger end panels that they were so fond of back in the day and still have their place in today’s comics too. I love the fact that he’s about to be eaten by a Tyrannosaurus and he still has the time for a bad gag to round things off.

Conscious Dredd: you can see Pat Mills’ own concerns with the environment and man’s cruelty to others shining through here in Dredd’s own thoughts, something of a rarity in comics back then.

Dredd in smile shock! Yes, he does crack the occasional smile but it’s as rare as hens teeth these days.

Two more final panels, the left one from the end of the first episode and the right from the penultimate part. Note the change in the character’s uniform and progression in drawing style by McMahon in just the space of 20 odd episodes. The rounded helmet has been straightened out and the chin is bigger – both artists really nailed their own takes on him during this run and helped iron out a lot of the creases in the original designs.

For a very enlightening insight into the creation of the character and the comic landscape at the time head over to Pat Mills‘ new blog as he goes into detail on the genesis of Dredd’s creation.

Posted in Comics. | 5 Comments |

Sacrum Profanum 2012, Krakow, Poland

It’s taken me a while to post these as I was collating a lot of photos from the concert in Poland last weekend. Here’s a selection of images from my own efforts plus a few that I gleaned from the web, some by photographers Andrzej Banas and Wojciech Wandzel
Copyright: 10th Sacrum Profanum Festival, Krakow, Poland

The event was Sacrum Profanum, the 10th time it has happened in Krakow, situated in a working steelworks which is usually a no go area for the city’s inhabitants. This time the focus was on four Polish composers – Penderecki, Gorecki, Kilar and Lutoslawski – and the reinterpretation of their works. I was invited, alongside The Kronos Quartet, DJ Vadim, King Cannibal and Grasscut, by the Polish duo Skalpel, to perform a work by Kilar called ‘Krzesany’ in front of over 2,000 people for the event.

The set up ran like this: The Kronos Quartet would perform a piece (or a section of) by one of the composers, then one of us would perform our remix, then Skalpel would perform their take on another piece by the same composer. Once the show began we were encouraged to leave very little time between each piece so as to present a seamless flow, save for applause at the end of each piece. The audience were incredible, absolute silence during the pieces, no talking, mobile phones etc. – you wouldn’t find that in the UK at an event like this.

Skalpel are huge in Poland and this also acted as their reunion concert as they have been working apart the last few years (the Igor Boxx album on Ninja Tune is a solo record by Igor Pudlo from the group). They got big cheers when they appeared and, even though I was unfamiliar with all the music in both its original or remixed form, theirs stood out as being quite excellent. But the highlight for me was Grasscut’s take on Lutoslawski, an incredible piece in 11/2 time which grew to epic proportions with the addition of drummer Aram Zarikian. Coupled with the multi-layered projection screens behind them and the fantastic lighting design the whole stage resembled a huge stained glass window with the sun streaming through at points. The visuals were a big part throughout, helping fill the cavenous space.

The Kronos Quartet played their first piece with their backs to the crowd, reading a huge rolling projection of the score as they plucked and tapped their instruments to create a concrete opener for the concert. After this the screen was lowered as DJ Vadim presented his take on Penderecki (who was actually in attendance too) and an ‘X’ shaped cluster of screens were revealed showing different notes and textures. The X was a feature of the festival graphics, being that it was their 10th anniversary, and two of the huge supporting structures within the factory had also been lit to form the giant letter. I had sent animations of my own although I couldn’t see them when I was performing but was delighted to see used in photos afterwards.

A truly incredible gig in a year that has already had its share of great moments and events. I was honoured to be asked to such a concert (Aphex Twin and Johnny Greenwood had played similar pieces the year before) and will remember it for a long time. All the music I heard was excellent and I hope this will be collected and released as an album at some point. It was all filmed for DVD and Blu-ray release at a later date as well. More gigs like this please!

skapelfuckyeakronos-rehearsal-3kronos-rehearsal-2kronos-rehearsal-4side-of-the-stagekronos-projectionskalpel-projectionback-projection-screenskronos-rehearsalkronos-rehearsal-5view-from-the-stagepolish-icons-readysteelwork-ceilingfactory-projectorapples-in-entrance
Posted in DJ Food, Event. | 3 Comments |

The Herbaliser ‘There Were Seven’ LP pre-order

Be very quick if you want one of these, The Herbaliser have their new LP (designed by yours truly) up for pre-order. If you want CD or download, you’ll be fine, but…

If you want vinyl you have two options: regular double LP with full printed inner sleeves in a screen printed sleeve – only 450 copies though.

Or there’s the super limited (50 copies) deluxe version which comes with hand stenciled covers by Snub23, a signed A2 poster, a T-shirt and a download card. More photos when I actually have a physical copy! Order here (red ‘shop’ tab on the top right) – actually I think you can only order the regular vinyl right now…

Posted in Music, Openmind designs, Packaging, Records. | No Comments |

Record clear out #2

The vinyl sort out is still happening, today I found this, a signed Busy Bee LP, love the little message he’s added, modest to a T.

A lot of turntablist records are biting the dust, I’ve got a re-ignited passion for Divine Styler, Cappo and J-Live albums, found some Major Force and Skylab remixes I forgot I had and was surprised at how much or little certain records are worth nowadays. I also found a remix of Tipsy‘s ‘Space Golf’ by Muziq tucked away on a B-side and was reminded how great their first album was/is.

Posted in Records. | 3 Comments |

Sacrum Profanum festival, Krakow, Poland

I’m currently in Krakow preparing for this gig which promises to be a highlight of the year as performances go. This is an annual festival, highlighting and celebrating Polish composers be presenting their works in new and different ways.

The composers celebrated this year are Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki and Wojciech Kilar and the Kronos Quartet will play versions of their original compositions tonight before myself, DJ Vadim, Skalpel, Grasscut and King Cannibal present out reinterpretations. I have taken on Kilar’s ‘Krzesany’ and turned in a 13 minute piece of strings, electronics and drums.

Tomorrow night Kronos will perform with Sigur Ros and it all takes place inside a huge steelworks that an house 3,000 people and is usually off limits to the public. I’ve heard some of the new versions as rehearsals and they sound incredible, I can’t wait to hear them in front of a large crowd tonight. Below is a shot of Kronos practicing yesterday inside the venue.

 

Posted in DJ Food, Event. | No Comments |

‘The Search Engine’ returns to the SAT, Montreal!

I’m very pleased to announce that my full dome show ‘The Search Engine’ will be returning to the SAT in Montreal for another run between 18th Sept and 12th Oct (that’s next week!).

For those who didn’t get to make the 5 day run in July there’s another chance to see it in one of 16 showings Tuesdays – Fridays.

I won’t actually be at these performances but before I left in July we programmed the whole piece to be automated in that certain sounds will follow random patterns around the dome the same as if I was controlling them.

Full details of dates, times, ticket prices etc. are on the Facebook event page. Or a direct link to tickets for each event is here. I’m told that Friday 21st might have two showings and some sort of Ninja Tune after party in the Foodlab space (good name), more info when I get that.

A quick reminder of what’s in store in the form of this little promo video I shot there last time.

DJ Food ‘The Search Engine’ live at SAT, Montreal from Solid Steel on Vimeo.

Posted in DJ Food, Event, Film. | No Comments |

Judge Dredd original concept art by Ezquerra

These images recently came up in an old 1994 2000ad monthly my friend David Vallade got from his local library. Carlos Ezquerra‘s original designs for Dredd, his lawmaster bike and law giver gun.

The style of the 70’s is present in the chopper-esque bike proportions and flared gloves. Note the diagonal zip on Dredd’s uniform and lack of eagle shoulder pad.

“Dredd’s breast chain and badge actual predated punk fashion and with the black clad uniform, screened by a black helmet and his knee-length boots, he was the most exciting British comic book character that radiated menace” – Steve MacManus‘ ‘The Judge Dredd Story’ 1994.

Posted in Art, Comics, Design. | 1 Comment |

Record collection clear out time

Going through records this last month, having a long overdue, very necessary clear out. One of those ‘do I REALLY need this anymore?’ kind of clear outs rather than just weeding the garden. Having had Serato as my playing out set up of choice since 2006 has meant that I’ve not needed to carry vinyl for a long time (thank god) save for the odd special set. It’s also meant that 12″s or LPs with one decent track can be transferred to digital and dispensed with.

Nothing makes it harder to dispense with vinyl than a nice cover or piece of packaging though and I have bought plenty for exactly that reason with little regard for the music. I found a whole raft of hand-painted promo sleeves which I will scan and put up here at some point, also this rather nice Runaways sleeve by She One.

A good length of time and some hindsight will also clear the unwanted guff though, as is normal when a new strand of music or scene appears, you hoover up all available product, regardless of quality, simply because there’s nothing else to compare it to. Years later the good is easier to distinguish from the bad or just plain average.

Not digging in the collection for a while can yield some surprises too; I was slightly horrified to find a Kylie record in my collection (the one with the Blue Monday/Can’t Get You Out Of My Head mash-up on the B side). But pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of the old Pussyfoot catalogue had stood the test of time – still full of undiscovered treasure and that the Richard X album was a pretty excellent pop record that had outlived the mash up genre that had spawned it. Another surprise was finding a 12″ of the follow up to ‘Play That Beat Mr DJ’ by Whiz Kid that appears to have been signed by him (long since deceased).

Posted in Records. | 5 Comments |

Obey Sound & Vision at Stolen Space Gallery, London

Looking forward to this record sleeve-themed exhibition by Shepard Fairey in October at the Stolen Space Gallery.

“The Sound and Vision art show includes mixed media works on canvas weaving my social commentary with inspiration from a range of musicians, including the Sex Pistols, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Gang of Four, the Clash, the Circle Jerks, Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, Neil Young, and Metallica. Sound and Vision will also include an installation of a record store environment, with customized vintage turntables and a portion of my own record collection for public listening. The record store space will also showcase over 80 12″x12″ images I’ve created as tributes to the 12″ LP sleeve. A comprehensive variety of other works will be featured, including screen prints on wood, metal, and paper; rubylith cuts; and retired stencils.” – Shepard

More info here – exhibition runs from 19th Oct – 4th Nov, 2012.

Posted in Art, Poster / flyer, Records. | No Comments |

“I wanna say a little something that’s long overdue…”

A great big THANK YOU to everyone who’s listened to the remake of The Beastie Boys‘ ‘Paul’s Boutique’ album that Cheeba, Moneyshot and I debuted 10 days ago. It’s been blogged and linked to from all over the world by magazines like Urb, Fact and Spin plus sites like EgoTrip, Comic Book Resource and Dangerous Minds, and this weekend the LA Times ran a news piece on it.

On Friday we broke the record for the most listens to one mix ever on our Solid Steel show (33,000 for Bonobo) and are currently heading towards the 40,000 listens mark on the Ninja Tune/Solid Steel Soundcloud. Sadly we received the news that Strongroom Alive – the radio station that hosts us in London every Thursday – was no more last week but their memory lives on in the live version currently on Mixcloud which has garnered another 10,000 plays.

Big thanks to Erik Batternberg who sent me the LA Times photo and for all of you who blogged it, shared it, retweeted it, let us know your thoughts and hipped us to others who have done the same.

Now that the mix has had it’s week on Solid Steel I’ve uploaded it to my own Soundcloud and you can access it quickly via the image on the right or the download page. We are all blown away with the reception this has received and will be working on something special as a follow up for next year.

Posted in DJ Food, Mixes/Solid Steel, Solid Steel. | 1 Comment |

2000ad week #7: Prog 1800 and the return of the Biz

Perfectly timed to coincide with the release of Dredd3D in the UK (US fans have to wait 2 more weeks – haha!) is Prog 1800 (prog, short for programme – keep up) – out this Wednesday.

This is what’s known as a ‘jumping on’ issue, ie: all the stories are new or first episodes, something 2000ad does a few times a year. To commemorate the occasion they’ve got Simon Bisley back to do the first artwork in 18 years for the comic that he made his name in. It’s a striking Dredd but coupled with the tooled up, ‘look, here’s my arse’ pose of Anderson and a barely visible Judge Death, it’s not his best work but will certainly stand out on the shelf.

One of the big developments in recent months is the digital editions of the comic. A recent upgrade which delivers the new issues the same week of publication through the free Apple Newstand app has seen many lapsed readers coming back to it via their iPads and Phones. Aside from a free 69 page sampler issue you can buy singles or there are various deals for 3, 6 or 12 subscriptions, which each come with extra issues for free from before the start date so that you can be up to speed with story lines. All info is here. Not got an iPad and want an Android alternative? Download direct for the 2000ad online shop.  And if that sounds like a hard sell then it was, I don’t do it often but this is a special occasion.

One more thing, Koze and Onion from Soulful Creative did this tasty mural to promote the film using an image of Dredd by Bisley from the ‘Judgement on Gotham’ story.

Judge, Jury & Executioner! from Soulful Creative on Vimeo.

Posted in Art, Comics, Film. | No Comments |

2000ad week #6: Dredd3D – the verdict

So, after 35 years of reading the comic, 17 years after the travesty of the Stallone version and months of anticipation as news and pictures slowly dribbled out on the film, I saw Judge Dredd on screen last night. It was tough, dark, dirty, violent, funny and beautiful in parts, sometimes at the same time. I loved it, the whole cinema cheered at the end and I just wanted to scream, “Judge Dredd, Fuck Yeah!” and punch the air.

There he was on screen, the character from the comic, Karl Urban nailed it, no two ways about it, he IS Dredd. Olivia Thirlby is gorgeous and did a great job as Anderson, being a rookie we’re still to see her character develop but she ends the film a different character to the one she starts it as shall we say? Lena Headey is pitched perfectly as the villain, Ma Ma – straight talking, intimidating and brutal. The script was tight and minimal, the plot was simple and believable and the score was excellent – very electronic, sometimes barely there, blending into the noises and vibrations of the buildings and city. The 3D was good, in some scenes it really made them, in others it was generally unobtrusive but you could watch the whole thing in 2D and not miss much. There were several bits where it really worked and one scene in particular where something was done with it that I’d never seen before in the medium.

For fans it hits all the right buttons, no comedy sidekick, no kisses and no taking off the helmet. There are loads of incidentals tucked away in the background from the block names spelling out famous artists and characters from the comic to graffiti on the walls referencing stories of old in the Dredd world. One of the nicest things (and this isn’t really a spoiler) is that the first names you see as the credits roll, in huge letters, are John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra – the creators of Dredd – before any actor or director credit. Alex Garland has made sure that this is how you please the fans and get them on side to build a fanbase for any possible sequels that could happen if it makes the money at the box office.

*possible minor spoilers bit, but not really*

I’m not a fawning fanboy who can’t see the flaws though, the film isn’t perfect – the lawmaster bike and vehicles in general don’t sit well together. Whilst Dredd’s bike is nothing like the one in the comic, it holds up OK on screen but it looks out of place and time next to all the other vehicles which are just the same as anything you’d see on the road today. My biggest gripe with it was that it didn’t look futuristic enough in the outdoor shots (something the Stallone film actually got right) but these are soon forgotten about as the plot quickly moves indoors. Once you get into the visual groove of the film and accept these things it’s fine and I know that this was shot on a tiny budget compared to other blockbusters and that, had they had the money, this would have been the first thing rectified. There were a few instances where Anderson could have played a more inclusive role in the scenes with her psi powers too, I’m not going to spoil anything though by highlighting them here.

For the budget they had, the film makers nailed it, the tone, the dialogue and the action. I wasn’t expecting 10/10 incredible cinema to blow my mind, but wanted a credible film that did justice to the character and superceded the 1995 one. You get that hands down, it’s perfectly pitched and is winning fans over everywhere. Here’s to a sequel some day in the future if the film turns a healthy profit although they have their work cut out for them with an 18/R rating.

PS. to add to the experience I saw Henry Flint coming out of the screening before me, grinning from ear to ear and saying he was ‘speechless’ after seeing it. This is more than a little unusual seeing as he lives in Devon and I live in London but made it all the more special.

Posted in Film. | 6 Comments |

2000ad week #5: Drokk! Stomm! Hi-Ex! Dredd3D out today


[youtube width=”640″ height=”290″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvfAYdn4DA&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Finally the day has come, Dredd3D is released and will, hopefully, wash away the (distant) memory of the 1995 Stallone blow out (which, to be fair, had a great looking Mega City 1 and Stallone’s chin looked the part). Here’s hoping also that it will open the door to many more franchises from the vast back catalogue that the comic holds – there’s already talk of Grant Morrison writing a Rogue Trooper screen play. Got my tickets for tonight with several other long-time fans / friends, some sort of review tomorrow…

Here’s a short featurette on the film and the world of Dredd from the comic


2012AUG15 by KUInternational

Posted in Comics, Event, Film. | No Comments |

2000ad week #4: Kevin O’Neill Mek Memoirs fanzine 1976


More Kevin O’Neill work, this time, pre-2000ad (for which he first became art director before drawing Ro-Busters, ABC Warriors, Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock). This was a 12 page fanzine from ’76 which apparently told robot war tales and has been on my wants list for what seems like forever.
Last week a copy came up on eBay, the first time I’d ever seen one listed in over a decade, I missed out to a higher bidder who was willing to shell out over £50 for a copy. Here’s the cover and one interior page, the most I can find of it on the net.

Posted in Comics. | 1 Comment |

2000ad Week #3: Dredd prologue comic ‘Ma Ma’


Appearing online yesterday and seeing printed form with this weekend’s Megazine issue is a prologue to the Dredd3D film dealing with the villain Ma Ma‘s origins. Written by Matt Smith and drawn by Henry Flint, it’s pretty gritty and not exactly SFW as it includes the first ever utterance of the ‘MF’ word in a 2000ad strip (to my knowledge). If the film is anything thing like this and the reviews of ultra violence are to be believed then it’s going to be hardcore.
Lionsgate (the film’s distributors) have put together a nice motion comic of the strip too which you can watch above. Alternatively you can read the strip version over on Scribd.com OR you can buy a physical version when the Megazine arrives over the weekend.

Posted in Art, Comics, Film. | No Comments |

Upcoming and exclusive Mike Mignola art

Big news for Mike Mignola / Hellboy fans: there’s finally a release date for the next installment of the red devil – Dec 5th – with a book that we’ve been waiting for for years. It’s the return of Mike writing AND drawing his finest creation (aside from The Amazing Screw On Head, but more of that another time). Hellboy In Hell starts a new chapter in the mythos with Red cast down into hell after the events in the recent The Fury storyline.

Other new Mignola art: he’s been doing alternate covers for various B.P.R.D.-related covers all year under the ‘Year Of Monsters’ title, below are some both from the last few months and forthcoming issues. And finally, on the Super-Team Family ‘fictional team-ups’ blog that I posted about yesterday I found a couple of Mignola mash-ups which work nicely.

Posted in Art, Comics. | 1 Comment |

2000ad week #2: “I’m going in, cover me!”

2csewbn-topaz-text-shapes-2xWhat? I never got that issue! Probably because it never existed, it’s the creation of Ross over at the Super-Team Family blogspot. He creates a series of ‘what if?’-style covers to comic team-ups that never existed – “but should have!” Here’s his interpretation of Old Stoney Face vs Bruce Banner‘s alter ego, using an old Brian Bolland image for Dredd by the look of things.

Speaking of covers this month sees the release of ‘The Art of Judge Dredd‘, (not to be confused with The Art of ‘Judge Dredd’ The Movie book that collects the concept art for the Stallone film of old). The new book collects comic covers old and new featuring the lawman and comes in two editions, one only sold through the 2000ad online shop with an alternate (nicer) cover. Besides the images there will be comments from creators and celebrities and ‘Inside Story’ info boxes giving the background to some of Dredd’s most iconic covers.


But if we’re talking 2000ad covers then there’s only one site on the web to go to: Pete Wells‘ incredible 20000ad Covers Uncovered blog. Week after week he posts images from the artists who create the covers including layouts, alternate versions, work in progress and artists’ comments – a unique resource.

Posted in 2000ad, Comics. | 2 Comments |