Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and execute criminals at the scene of crime. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, although editor Pat Mills also deserves some credit for early development.
Judge Dredd is amongst the UK's best known comic characters. So great is the character's name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism, and the rule of law.[2] Judge Dredd was named the Seventh Greatest Comic Character by the British magazine Empire.[3] In 2011, IGN ranked him 35th in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.[4]
Joseph Dredd is the most famous of the Street Judges that patrol Mega-City One, charged to instantly convict, sentence, and execute offenders. Dredd is armed with a "Lawgiver" pistol (programmed to recognise only his palm-print, and capable of six types of ammunition), a daystick, a knife and stun/gas grenades. His helmet obscures all of his face, except for his mouth and jaw. He rides a large "Lawmaster" motorbike equipped with machine-guns, a powerful laser cannon, and fullartificial intelligence capable of responding to orders from the Judge and operating itself.
Dredd's entire face is never shown properly in the strip. This custom began as an unofficial guideline, but soon became a rule which artists were required to follow.[16] As John Wagner explained: "It sums up the facelessness of justice − justice has no soul. So it isn't necessary for readers to see Dredd's face, and I don't want you to."[17]
