Rob Lake talks to 2000 AD Scribe: Rob Williams...
The latest epic Judge Dredd tale, Judge Dredd: End of Days is out now (check out our review). The story features Dredd taking on the Apocalypse as the Four Horsemen arrive on Dredd's doorstep. With a character from 2000 AD's past by his side, Dredd sets out on a globe-spanning adventure. One that pushes the ageing Lawman to his limits.
Judge Dredd: End of Days features the 15-part End of Days story, as well as two epilogue tales - Carry The Nine and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
I recently had the opportunity and complete privilege to send some questions over to long-time 2000 AD Scribe, Rob Williams.
Hi Rob, thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions about both End of Days and Judge Dredd in general.
It's fair to say that when it comes to writing Judge Dredd, you've had your fair share of different takes on the Dreddverse. With Trifecta, The Small House and Titan all taking different looks into both Mega-City 1 and Dredd's life. What's it about Dredd world that you like?
Rob Williams: It sort of contains all narrative story possibilities. It’s the biggest story engine, really. You can tell any story within it. The Small House was a sort of Le Carre-esque espionage tale, Titan was a brutal sci-fi prison drama and character study, whereas End of Days is a sort of apocalyptic western road trip.
End of Days is the latest in a long line of Judge Dredd stories that's been labelled as an 'epic'. When writing for a character who's got such a long and established history as Dredd, what's the process in crafting a story that's both fresh and appealing?
RW: You just try and tell a story that interests you or that offers fun aspects. If you look at the history of the epic stories that have gone before you’ll just be intimidated and no good creativity comes from that. Readers want a strong, confident authorial voice or what’s the point. So, you dive in and hope for the best.
End of Days also features a surprise appearance from a character from your past - Ichabod Azrael. What's it been like re-visiting the character and how has he changed in the time between The Grievous Journey of Ichabod Azrael (and the Dead Left in His Wake) to arriving at Mega-City 1?
RW: The appearance of a ne’er-do-well gunslinger killer from the Old West, riding for the walls of Mega-City 1 (on a talking horse) with a warning about the end of the world being nigh - that’s the image that kickstarted End of Days for me. The fact that it made zero sense, and that this was a character from another world and universe that had no connection with Dredd - that excited me. Walls of reality crumbling. That really spoke to this being the end of days. In terms of how Ichabod has changed - not much. He was the old west’s greatest killer when he died and began his journey across the afterlife to find his true love. Long story. You’ll need to read the Ichabod Azrael trade to understand.
Speaking of appearances of other characters, let's talk about Shako. The appearance of a heavily mutated Shako came as a surprise to petty much everyone. I remember saying in my review at the time that it "was unexpected, yet bizarrely worked well". Was it always planned to bring Shako into Dredd's future?
RW: That was a bit of fun that just popped in there. We had a mad scientist creating a deadly pathogen in the arctic and who had been experimenting on animals. So: Shako, or a version of him, at the very least.
As End of Days progress, we start to see Dredd's mission get more and more desperate. What's it been like writing a Dredd tale when he could quite possibly loose?
RW: You always try and push your characters to their limits. One writing note that always sticks is “it’s not enough to put their lives on the line. You have to put their soul on the line.” By the end of our story our protagonist sort of shifts to Judge Giant, really. His desire to save Dredd for once. I thought that was an interesting take - Giant looking at Dredd and seeing how ravaged and hurt he is by the end of our story, but he keeps going via force of will alone. And Giant thinks “I want to help him.”
When it comes to the Four Horsemen, how did you find adapting the characters into Dredd's world?
RW: When Matt Smith (2000 AD Editor) & I were talking through the story, I think Matt suggested having the Horsemen be sort of ‘spirits’ who would possess people. These were people who had already taken the Earth to the brink of annihilation via their actions. And the Horsemen arrive to give them that extra ‘push’. But really, the apocalyptic means have been made by humans - a drug Brit-Cit is giving poor people so they don’t need to eat food anymore, a deadly man-made disease etc.
Through End of Days, we get to see some fantastic art from Boo Cook (Carry the Nine), Colin MacNeil & Henry Flint (End of Days) and Dan Cornwell (They Shoot Horses, Don't They). While each artist brings their style to the proceedings, what scene stands out to you the most?
RW: Colin did a great job on ichabod riding on the walls of Mega-City One. But I think the way Henry depicts Judge Anderson in our finale (no spoilers). We’re very onboard cosmic weirdness and a bit time wimey by that point, and Henry just excels at that sort of thing.
And finally, what can we expect to see from yourself next?
RW: In Dredd’s world, Arthur and I are currently writing a new Dredd drawn by Jake Lynch called ‘The Hard Way.’ And today, in fact, I’m writing a new Sensitive Klegg story that Chris Weston’s going to be drawing. I have a couple of US market books on the way too, but nothing I can talk about yet. And I’m in the middle of writing a new Roy Of The Rovers GN for our ‘Season 3’.
I would like to thank Rob Williams for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer some of my questions.
Judge Dredd: End of Days is out now and can be purchased from the 2000 AD website here.
Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev
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