Have you ever had a dream that haunted you? One that stayed with you long after you had awakened?
That’s the origin of a new series from 2000 AD by Dave Kendall – whose dream of the Dark Judges from Judge Dredd has resulted in a new series: Dreams of Deadworld.
Dreams of Deadworld features Dredd’s four post-mortem judges: Judge Death, Judge Mortis, Judge Fire and Judge Fear. Intriguing, right? Written by Kek-W and with fully painted art by Kendall, Dreams of Deadworld will appear in 2000 AD Prog 1946 on September 2nd.
Follow the jump for further details and another preview page.
It started with an artist’s dream and now the nightmare of the Dark Judges’ early days is coming to 2000 AD.
Artist Dave Kendall was inspired by a haunting dream to create his own versions of John Wagner and Brian Bolland’s classic Judge Death, Judge Mortis, Judge Fire, and Judge Fear characters – and now those versions are getting their own strip in 2000 AD.
Dreams of Deadworld will begin in 2000 AD Prog 1946 on 2nd September.
Written by Kek-W and beautifully painted by Kendall, the four-part series is set on Deadworld – the original home of the Dark Judges, who declared that because all crime is committed by the living then all life should be a crime.
The story explores what happens to the fearsome foursome after their slaughter of the entire population but before they discovered the dimension jump technology that allowed them to visit Judge Dredd’s Mega-City One.
Each episode will focus on a particular Dark Judge as they stalk the remains of their once-teeming world, unveiling more of about their origins. In the first episode, Judge Fire travels beneath the waves to discover treachery by members of their terrifying department of twisted justice never before seen!
Dave Kendall said: “So, a nightmare come true. An unheard of thank you, for the early morning wake up by my children, which allowed these versions of the Dark Judges to be dragged kicking and screaming into the light. Also, much gratitude to friends and colleagues on social media. Their support gave me the confidence to approach Tharg with these beasties.”
Matt Smith said: “If David Cronenberg reimagined Brian Bolland’s original Dark Judges, they wouldn’t look too dissimilar to Dave Kendall’s, rooted as they are in a sense of decay and grotesque body transformation. The horror of Dreams of Deadworld is a visceral kind, in which an entire planet has been turned into a charnel pit, and these creatures rule it as their kingdom. Never mind getting inky fingers – when readers turn the pages on DoD, it oozessss…”
2000 AD Prog 1946 will be available in print from all good newsagents and comic book stores in the UK and Ireland on 2nd September, and from comic book stores in North America via Diamond Distribution in October (code: JUL151559).
The issue will also be available as a DRM-free digital download from 2000 AD’s online shop at www.shop.2000ADonline.com or our Apple and Android apps.