Crafting the Apocalypse with Kek-W

Rob takes a trip to Deadworld with 2000 AD writer Kek-W…

‘The Fall of Deadworld: Redemption’ made its return to the 2000 AD Prog this week. While the battle for Sector 13 and the wider city rumbles on, I spoke to curator of chaos, Kek-W about Deadworld past, and more importantly, its future.

Looking back, what first attracted you to writing what’s essentially the Dark Judges origin story?

KW - Well, the first four DREAMS OF DEADWORLD stories that Dave and I did were well received, so rather than just doing more of the same - stories that showcased the individual Dark Judges - I pitched the idea of telling the back-story of how the four of them destroyed an entire world. How did that happen, how might it work? I figured it was a landscape ripe with dramatic story-telling potential. 'Ripe' being the operative word! (laughs) I also thought it might be interesting to focus in on a ordinary family, to see and experience the collapse of civilization from their point of view and not focus on the Dark Judges - well, not initially, at least - but instead present them as a sort of menacing off-stage presence.

Across the three volumes so far you’ve given us quite the look into the chaos that’s surrounding Deadworld’s demise. With a variation to the Apocalypse War already under way, will there be other instances of the “prime universe” subtly bleeding through?

KW - Well, funny you should mention that (laughs). One of the ideas I was playing with was a short side-quest mini-series that catches up with and shows us the eventual fate of some supporting characters that readers may have thought I’d forgotten about. (I haven’t). When I mentioned this to Tharg as a possibility a couple years back I didn't get a "no", so I guess this is a definite possibility. The title and the events were a weird Deadverse take on a classic Dreddverse story. It would be funny and fun, but also sad, beautiful and poignant, with an ending that will hopefully have readers reaching for their hankies.

There was also going to be a two-part story for the VISIONS OF DEADWORLD series that told the events that lead up to the Dark Judges turning up in Mega City One in the original Dredd story. It didn't deviate from canon, but added new info and an interesting behind-the-scenes spin, but it got nixxed by Editorial. Which is a shame 'cos I was going to introduce some new layers and richness to the Deadverse. Instead, I ended up writing "Transpolar", which had a Dark Judges nod to the classic Dredd tale, "Cry of the Werewolf". I did a Judge Fear solo story a few years back with artist DanCornwell that was a Dreddverse / Deadverse crossover featuring the different iterations of Fear, along with Lisa Soren, the Dreddverse version of Judge Psiren. I'm definitely open to doing more Dreddverse / Deadverse cross-overs, for sure. I did have an idea for a weird little Dreddverse multi-parter that cameo'd Psi-Judge Soren and starred a Dredd supporting character from the 80s in a Deadworld-adjacent story. Was gonna pitch it for the Megazine, but I decided it wasn't quite working for me, so ditched it. But, yeah, that 'bleed' area between the two universes definitely interests me.

The current series “Fall of Deadworld: Retribution” follows ex-Judge Ava Eastwood and her mismatched band of Judges (and Sov Judges) as they battle across Sector 13. She’s been portrayed so far as a bit of a no-nonsense Judge who shares some similarities with a certain Mega-City One Judge. How similar is Ava to Dredd? And do you think the two would be allies if they met?

KW - Yeah, Ava has some similarities with Joe Dredd, but she’s a very different character. Her relationship with Leigh is the point at which the two completely part company. I think Ava has some traits in common with (Former Chief Judge) McGruder too, so she's a kinda of analogue-amalgam of them both, with some other characteristics thrown in. No, I think Joe and Ava would not approve of each other (laughs). The only thing they truly have in common is the Law and rigid adherence to Regs.

Ava has also seen her fair share of loss well before the wider conflict took place. How has this changed the character from her days as a Judge?

KW - Losing Leigh broke Ava. De'Ath recognised her as the biggest potential threat to his take-over of Justice Department, so he systematically destroyed her, took away everything she

cared about, turned her into an exile, a pariah. Ava was a dead woman walking - lost until, paradoxically, the world started falling apart. She needed a crisis to shock her out from her fugue state, to bring her back to life. Ava's still grieving deeply - as we've seen in the current series - and that grief and anger will colour her actions in the second half of this series.

While De’Ath sees his main rival in the form of former protégé Judge Fairfax, he seems to have written off the Sisters prophecy of “The Judge Child” rising to oppose him. How much of a threat is Jess Childs to De’Ath’s ultimate plan?

KW - I don’t think De’Ath has written off the Sisters prophecy. Like all schemers, game players and double-crossers, he’s deeply paranoid and we saw a glimpse of that paranoia in his recent encounter with Judge Fear. Don’t forget, when he was a kid De’Ath betrayed and killed his own father, so some part of him is half-expecting to be killed or replaced by a child - either Jess or Casey Tweed - perhaps some sick part of his psyche even wants that to come true. It would be an apt, self-prophesied punishment for selling his own father down the river - oedipal retribution, if you like.

In fact, we’ve been playing around with De’Ath’s “daddy issues” / Oedipus Complex in recent stories and inverting the structure by reincarnating De’Ath in his own father’s body (laughs).

So, no, don’t write off De’Ath’s inner fear of being killed or stopped by a child.

We’ve also seen brief insight into the lives and psyche of De’Ath’s other cohorts; Judge Fire, Judge Fear, and Judge Mortis as they deal with the aftermath of the main series. If they were left alone on Deadworld what do you think the outcome would have been?

KW - They would have almost certainly killed and / or eaten one another (laughs).

In the accompanying series “Visions of a Deadworld” we also see a mysterious hooded figure who’s left as a monument to the planets demise. What can you tell us about this person - is it someone we may have seen already?

KW - The Boneman is a significant player in the Longer Deadworld Game. His time will come - and his role will become clearer - in the final series of FALL OF DEADWORLD, set in an era after the Fall of the Dark Judges. That’s all I can say for now - sorry (laughs).

As the battle for Sector 13 (and the wider city continues), are you able to give us hints as to what’s coming next?

KW - Only broad ones, I’m afraid, because: spoilers (laughs). All I can really say for now is that the current series sets up an entirely new (and unexpected) status quo. After RETRIBUTION comes JUSTICE. Prepared to be thrilled!

Like yourself, Dave Kendall has been instrumental in bringing this tale to life. What’s it been like working with Kendall to bring this vision to the page?

KW - Dave is an artist in a million and an utterly terrific bloke. I could not wish for a more talented, more dedicated collaborator. His sketch books for the different Deadworld series are phenomenal - dark eye candy for the soul. Many readers have no idea how much visual prepping goes into each series of Deadworld: designs, not just for characters, but for vehicles, architecture, etc: Dave’s created a unique visual style for an entire world, only to then destroy it (laughs).

With plenty of horror-filled pages to the saga, what single page has been your favourite?

KW - Too many beautiful, rotten, rusty, gore-splashed, green day-glo moments to pick a single favourite! ‘Cos ten minutes later I’ll probably think of yet another wonderful moment. I confess for sheer visceral enjoyment, Psi-Judge Lucien Whisper’s demise was a LOT of fun to see on the page - a catharsis - the guy was such an utter bastard that I cheered when I saw him meet his end (and I wrote the darn thing!). Dave based his appearance on a real-life psycho-nasty and every time I wrote a scene with Whisper in it I felt like I needed a shower afterwards!

Not a page, but an episode I keep coming back to in my head is “A Girl’s Gotta Eat” it’s a personal favourite, and I absolutely love how Dave brought that story to life. There’ s a strange hesitant tenderness in the relationship that blossoms between Channing and Jerry - and Dave perfectly nailed it. I just adore the whole thing. The idea that, you know, friendship could somehow grow in a such a ghastly place between such unlikely characters... it kinda sums up the type of Dark Hope that Dave and I have tried to thread through the various Deadworld stories. Those characters have a role to play later down the road, so we’ll hopefully see them again one day. Maybe we should do a short, one-off catch-up story about them - maybe a Christmas Story? - “A Girl and Her Corpse” - a nod to Harlan Ellison there! (laughs)

If I had to pick a panel, though, maybe it would be the last one from the first series where Jess gets on Fairfax’s bike and he says, “Let’s ride”. It’s not just a nod to Dredd, but a beautifully unshow-y moment that’s also kinda quietly thrilling - that one panel hints at a whole world of unseen adventures still yet to come!

Thank you for your time Kek. It’s been a real pleasure to pick your brains about The Fall of Deadworld and I look forward to seeing what chaos is unleashed next.

KW - Thanks, Rob!