Judge Dredd and 2000AD: The Scottish connection

Writing exclusively for Herald Scotland, Scott Montgomery, above, author of the newly published 2000 AD Encyclopedia, gives us his rundown of the 10 most influential Scots in the history of the comic:

The Writers

John Wagner

John Wagner – born in America but who grew up in Scotland – co-created zero-tolerance future cop Judge Dredd, based on Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry and visualised by artist Carlos Ezquerra. Dredd, debuting in Prog (short for “Programme”) two, has since become a British Comics’ icon – and the lawman got his own spin-off comic, Judge Dredd Megazine, in 1990. Wagner has scripted hundreds of Dredd stories, including the politically-charged America series (drawn by a fellow Scot, Colin MacNeil) which is regarded as one of the finest ever. Wagner’s other co-creations included Robo-Hunter and Strontium Dog. His original graphic novel, A History of Violence was filmed by David Cronenberg in 2005 while tough 2000 AD assassin thriller Button Man has been courted by Hollywood but got stuck in development hell.

Alan Grant

Alan Grant was a sub-editor on 2000 AD before switching to freelance writing. His partnership with Wagner produced an extraordinary array of weekly scripts – many of which were done under pseudonyms – to disguise just how prolific they were. From 1980 until 1988 they worked on Judge Dredd; as well as Robo-Hunter, Strontium Dog, Ace Trucking Co. and Helltrekkers. Going solo, Grant was a key author of Anderson, Psi-Division and other co-creations included Bad City Blue and Mazeworld. Grant broke into American comics and was a regular writer on DC’s Batman titles for years, including The Scottish Connection, a 1998 one-shot drawn by Frank Quitely. He and Wagner would still collaborate on occasion; teaming Batman with Judge Dredd in Judgment on Gotham and its three sequels. An independent project, The Bogie Man (about a deluded Scots mental patient who thinks he is Humphrey Bogart) was adapted for TV in 1991 and starred Robbie Coltrane.

Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison’s signature 2000 AD co-creation was Zenith - an irreverent 1987 take on superheroes, which combined alternate history, sci-fi and the politics of Thatcher’s Britain. Morrison swiftly went on to do ground-breaking work in the US – his comic The Invisibles was a direct influence on The Matrix, and he was soon scripting the big hitters of Batman (the acclaimed Arkham Asylum) and Superman for DC and lengthy runs on the X-Men stable of titles for Marvel. Morrison was awarded an OBE and was a writer on the recent television adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

Mark Millar

Coatbridge-born Millar was a highly prolific contributor to 2000 AD in the early 1990s, co-creating many (largely forgettable, he has since himself admitted) series, including: Silo, Babe Race 2000, The Grudge-Father, Maniac 5, Red Razors and Janus, Psi-Division. He also scripted Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Robo-Hunter. He and Grant Morrison collaborated on the 1993 “Summer Offensive,” co-creating the bad-taste yob satire of Big Dave. American comics were Millar’s passion and he soon took them by storm; reinvigorating the likes of Nick Fury, the Avengers and The X-Men. Setting his sights on the big screen, several of Millar’s creator-owned “Millarworld” projects have been turned into movies: Wanted, Kick Ass and the Secret Service (AKA the Kingsman series). Millar struck a deal with Netflix which, most recently, produced a television version of his and Frank Quitely’s sci-fi epic Jupiter’s Legacy.

Robbie Morrison

Hailing from Helensburgh, Robbie (no relation to Grant) Morrison was a regular contributor to Judge Dredd Megazine in the early 1990s. He co-created several “Dreddverse” spin-offs, including Shimura, the tale of a Ronin Japanese Judge and the tale’s successor, Hondo City Justice; Maelstrom and Wynter. Joining 2000 AD in 1997, his masterpiece was futuristic Russian rogue Nikolai Dante (drawn by another Scot, Simon Fraser), as well as bonkers deep space avenger Shakara and scripting Dredd. Morrison recently turned to prose fiction. His first novel, Edge of the Grave, was set in 1930s Glasgow. Last year the book won the Bloody Scotland Crime Debut award and Morrison is penning the follow-up.

The Artists

Cam Kennedy

Cam Kennedy's Judge Dredd

Glasgow-born Kennedy’s earliest work was on Second World War comics such as Commando and Battle before joining 2000 AD to draw tough future war saga The VCs in 1980. He rapidly became a fan favourite on Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd. On the latter, Kennedy himself was the inspiration for a hapless Scottish artist – called Kenny Who? – who goes to Mega-City One to make his fortune, but whose work is ripped off by robots controlled by amoral publishers. Kennedy went on to work for US publisher Dark Horse on their popular licensed Star Wars titles, Dark Empire I & II, and Boba Fett. Work for DC followed; including Batman, The Spectre and Lobo. He teamed with fellow countrymen Wagner & Grant for Batman/Judge Dredd: Vendetta in Gotham in 1993. Four years later, Grant adapted Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped into a graphic novel – which Kennedy painted to great acclaim as part of Edinburgh’s UNESCO City of Literature celebrations. The pair immediately teamed again for another Stevenson tale, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde.

Ian Kennedy

Dan Dare, 1979, by Ian Kennedy

No relation to Cam (although the pair were friends), the late Ian Kennedy sadly died last month, aged 89 - and was best known as Commando’s most celebrated cover artist; with a tenure of around 50 years. Renowned for his stunning aircraft illustrations, he even drew the official programme covers for the annual Leuchars Airshow in Fife. Ever the professional, the Dundonian Kennedy filled in on several episodes of the earliest 2000 AD stories, including Invasion and MACH 1, as well as stints on Tharg’s Future Shocks and Judge Dredd. For short-lived sister title Starlord, Kennedy illustrated Ro-Busters and Timequake. His work on Dan Dare for the early 1980s revival of Eagle was a big influence on the next generation of comic artists.

Frank Quitely

Missionary Man by Frank Quitely

Glasgow’s Vincent Deighan adopted his spoonerific pen name Frank Quitely after receiving many rejection letters which contained the words “quite frankly…”. An immediate Megazine star in the mag’s early days, Quitely illustrated fellow Scot Gordon Rennie’s scripts for Western strip Missionary Man. After a short stint on Robbie Morrison’s Shimura, Quitely went on to work for the Americans. He would collaborate with Grant Morrison many times, including celebrated stints on The X-Men for Marvel and Flex Mentallo, All Star Superman and Batman and Robin for DC. A major exhibition of Quitely’s work was held at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in 2017, before Quitely completed work on the aforementioned Jupiter’s Legacy, in association with Mark Millar.

Gary Erskine

Paisley-born Erskine’s first published work was The Knights of Pendragon for Marvel UK, followed up by Judge Dredd and Flesh for 2000 AD and The Real Robin Hood for short-lived political spin-off title Crisis. After drawing the Lords of Misrule graphic novel, Erskine also worked on Hellblazer and The Authority for DC. Other credits included licensed properties such as Star Wars and The Terminator before the mind-bending sci-fi conspiracy series The Filth, scripted by Grant Morrison. As well as teaching Game and Character Design and workshops for schools, Erskine’s most recent comic projects include ROLLER GRRRLS and the crowd-funded First Men on Mars graphic novel.

Stewart Kenneth Moore

After illustrating 17th Century zombie-fest Defoe for the weekly comic, Moore now specialises in creating dynamic covers for both 2000 AD and the Megazine. The Prague-based Scot has also immersed himself in Project MK-Ultra: a sprawling graphic novel published by San Diego’s Clover Press. Inspired by true events, it tells of a reporter’s attempt to uncover a secret CIA programme involving the illicit distribution of LSD and its use for mind control. The first volume has just been released and Moore is drawing the second part. Moore was also recently commissioned to come up with the epic, eye-popping cover to the mammoth, recently-published 2000 AD Encyclopedia. A life-long fan, Moore’s cover shows more than 40 characters from 2000 AD and Megazine history.

Scott Montgomery is the author of the 2000 AD Encyclopedia, available now, published by Rebellion.