City of the Damned is a Judge Dredd story which was published in British comic 2000 AD in issues 393-406 (1984-1985). It was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant and illustrated by Steve Dillon, Ian Gibson, Ron Smith and Kim Raymond. It was the first Judge Dredd story to feature time travel. Originally planned to last for at least twenty episodes, like earlier stories "The Judge Child" and "The Apocalypse War", the writers got bored of writing it and wrapped it up early at only 14 episodes because they did not like time travel stories. [1] Judge Dredd (Joe Dredd or Joseph Dredd) is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazines longest running (having been featured there since its second issue in 1977). ... Cover of the first issue of 2000 AD, 26 February 1977. ... 1984 in comics May - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, Mirage Studios Categories: | ... John Wagner is a comics writer who has also written under the pseudonyms John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter, among others. ... Alan Grant This page is about the comic book writer. ... Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist. ... Halo Jones, drawn by Ian Gibson Ian Gibson is a British comic book artist, best known for his 1980s black and white work for 2000 AD. His sketchy, cartoonish style lends itself best to humourous strips, such as Robo-Hunter and Ace Trucking Co. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... The Judge Child Quest was an extended storyline in the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd that ran from issue 156 to 180. ... ...

During publication, four pages of artwork by Steve Dillon were lost, and Dillon had to replace them at short notice. He completed them in time and relevant episode was published without the story being interrupted. The original pages were found years later and were published in a later issue, alongside the new versions so that readers could compare them.^{[citation needed]}

Plot

The Judge Child Quest was an extended storyline in the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd that ran from issue 156 to 180. ...

Premise

The story begins with a prologue set in 2107, which was the present day in the Judge Dredd strip at that time. Scientists have just built the first ever time machine, called Proteus, which has been successful in short-range tests (journeys of hours or days). Chief Judge McGruder orders Judges Dredd and Anderson to use it to go thirteen years into the future to investigate a prophecy that Mega-City One will be destroyed in the year 2120. This prophecy, made by a dying Psi Judge in 2102, was first mentioned in the earlier story "The Judge Child". It foretells that the city will be destroyed unless Owen Krysler, also known as the 'Judge Child,' rules the city, since only he can save the city from disaster. In that earlier story, however, Dredd decided that Krysler was too evil to be allowed to rule the city, and left him behind on the planet Xanadu. In 2104 Krysler tried to kill Dredd in revenge, and McGruder ordered his execution. Without the city's prophesied saviour, McGruder now wants to find an alternative solution, and sends Dredd and Anderson to gather intelligence. (Redirected from 2107) (21st century - 22nd century - 23rd century - other centuries) The twenty-second century comprises the years 2101 to 2200. ... Judge Evelyn McGruder is a fictional character in the Judge Dredd stories published in the comic book 2000 AD. She was first female Chief Judge of Mega-City One, and the first Judge to become Chief Judge twice. ... Judge Cassandra Anderson, created by writer John Wagner and artist Brian Bolland in 1980, is a fictional character that started as a supporting character in the comic strip Judge Dredd of 2000 AD and eventually rose in prominence and became the star of her own strip, which is entitled Anderson... Mega-City One is a huge fictional city covering much of what is now the Eastern United States in the Judge Dredd comic book series. ... The 22nd century (Gregorian calendar) will comprise the years 2101-2200. ... PSI Divison is the branch of Mega-City One Justice Department that deals in supernatural phenomenon, using Judges with psychic abilities. ...

2120

In episode one, Dredd and Anderson arrive in the future city. They find the whole place to be deserted and in ruins, having arrived after the predicted catastrophe - whatever it was - happened. Exploring, they eventually find signs of life: an emaciated citizen dressed in rags, who flees in terror on seeing them. In spite of their reassurance that they mean him no harm, the citizen commits suicide rather than be taken alive. The reason why soon becomes apparent when Dredd and Anderson discover that the judges of the future have somehow become vampires who feed on the blood of the public. The two time-travellers readily slaughter dozens of vampire judges, including a vampire Judge Hershey (who normally appeared as Dredd's sidekick in stories at that time). Judge is a title held by several significant spores in the Judge Dredd series, which appears in the British comic book 2000 AD. In the fictional future history of the series, the role of Judge combines those of judge and police officer, thus avoiding long legal wrangles by allowing for... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric creatures, typically held to be the re-animated corpses of human beings and said to subsist on human and/or animal blood (hematophagy). ... Judge Barbara Hershey is a fictional character, part of the fictional universe recounted in the Judge Dredd series that appears in the UK comic book 2000 AD. Shortly after her graduation from the Academy of Law, Judge Hershey was the surprise choice to join the crew of the Justice 1... Don Quixote and Sancho Panza unsuccessfully confront windmills. ...

Dredd retrieves a computer record of events leading up to the disaster. It transpires that the city was conquered by a being with vast psychic powers, known only as 'The Mutant'. All weapons were ineffectual against it. It conjured up monsters which massacred almost everybody; caused buildings to decay and collapse; created phenomena which defied the laws of physics. The whole city was overrun in a matter of minutes. Dredd, Anderson and all of the psi-judges were killed. McGruder and the rest of the judges were turned into vampires and began to prey on the surviving citizenry. A huge cloud of darkness covered the centre of the city, where the Mutant made his lair in the Grand Hall of Justice.

Dredd blinded

Shortly after learning of the city's fate, which occurred months before their arrival, Dredd and Anderson become seperated during an attack by a horde of monsters. Dredd is blinded when one of them impales both his eyes with its claws, but he still does not lose his determination to find The Mutant. In one of the most memorable scenes in the history of the strip, the blind and wounded Dredd crawls through every ordeal The Mutant can create for him, until - tortured to the limit of his endurance - he can take no more.

The Mutant then meets Dredd face to face, and it transpires that the tortures to which he subjected Dredd were not intended to kill him, but were only for The Mutant's amusement. Unable to harm him, Dredd asks who he is, as The Mutant's identity is a mystery.

The Mutant reveals himself to be the reincarnation of Owen Krysler, a clone taken from his DNA by the ruler of Xanadu who wanted a psychic of his own. Unexpectedly, the clone had all of the Judge Child's memories, and greatly enhanced power. However something had gone wrong with the cloning process and he no longer had human form, instead having multiple limbs and a mishaped head. Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of an original organism or thing. ...

Lamenting the fact that he killed the 2120 Dredd too quickly, the Mutant decides to make up for the wasted opportunity by killing the 2107 Dredd much more slowly. The corpse of the 2120 Dredd is now a mindless undead zombie (unlike the vampire judges encountered earlier), and The Mutant sets it in pursuit of the living Dredd. The Mutant reunites Dredd with Anderson so that she can act as his eyes, and the two try to flee, with the unstoppable zombie in hot pursuit. A participant in a Zombie Walk event in Calgary. ...

The Mutant had believed that there was no way back to the time machine, but Dredd proves him wrong, and Dredd and Anderson manage to escape back to 2107. The zombie comes back with them, but deactivates as soon as they leave 2120. The judges report the destruction of the city to McGruder, who despairs of ever preventing the disaster, since the proof that it has happened is before her eyes.

Dredd's solution

Dredd however is not so willing to accept defeat, and proposes a solution: travel immediately to Xanadu and stop the cloning from taking place. When McGruder observes that there is an inherent danger in altering the course of history, Dredd points out that the danger lies in not altering it. McGruder agrres to the mission, and surgeons fit Dredd with bionic eyes, superior to the originals.

Dredd and Anderson arrive on Xanadu just in time to witness the rebirth of Owen Krysler. They manage to kill him, and then kill everyone who was involved in cloning him. However since the zombie Dredd from 2120 still exists as a museum exhibit, and Dredd still has bionic eyes, they still can not be sure whether they have succeeded in averting the disaster or not.

Sequels

• The zombie Dredd made a reappearance twelve years later when it reanimated and ran amok in "Darkside" by John Smith and Paul Marshall (#1017-1028).

• Readers had to wait thirteen years to find out the answer to whether Dredd's plan worked or not, in "In the Year 2120" by John Wagner and Jason Brashill. This single-episode story was 24 pages long and took up an entire issue of 2000 AD (#1077), only the second time this happened in the history of the comic.

John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis. ... John Wagner is a comics writer who has also written under the pseudonyms John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter, among others. ... Jason Brashill is a British comic book artist. ...

Influence on Necropolis

"Necropolis" was not a sequel to "City of the Damned", but some ideas which were first used in "City" were later employed in the more sophisticated "Necropolis". Both stories feature a psychic enemy with vast powers, who enslave the judges and use them to kill the citizens. Both include alternative versions of Judge Dredd who serve the enemy. Both stories depict Dredd killing other judges to save the city. 'Necropolis' means 'city of the dead.' Necropolis was created with the allegiance of the Dark Judges and the Sisters of Death. ... Captain Kirk with Spocks evil twin An evil twin is the concept in fiction (especially soap operas, science fiction and fantasy) of someone equal to a character in all respects, except for a radically inverted morality (and often some changes in appearance, stereotypically a goatee for men and a...

Publication

Like other epics it has been reprinted a number of times, including in a self-titled trade paperback released by Titan Books in 1986 (ISBN 0907610706). In comics, a trade paperback (TPB) specifically refers to the periodic collections, published in book format, of stories published in comic books, usually capturing one story arc in the series. ... Titan Books is a UK publisher of graphic novels. ...

External links

• 2000 AD's timeline entry for City of the Damned
• Reprint details