From the mouths of the men who brought you Judge Dredd, Future Shock brings you the highs, the lows and the in-betweens of 2000AD, from birth to the present day.
They aspired to be punker than punk, using science-fiction to say what action wouldn’t let them say. Every issue a bold statement cleverly hidden while at the same time staring you right in the face. Even the backdrop of a certain interviewee segment catches the eye. With all the mentioning of Britain and the U.S you can’t help but wonder if the colour-scheme arrangement of his books – the old red, white and blue – is either subconscious, or deliberate. Most likely the latter.
One thing that Future Shock certainly delivers, plenty on Judge Dredd, from his conception in 1977 to the big screen. A wise move on the maker’s part as this potentially appeals to the casual observer – such as myself – as well as a true follower.
Early concept drawings said to resemble a “Spanish pirate” by one, claim to base Dredd’s helmet on an executioner’s hood. Although frankly it’s one plastic mouthpiece and a cape away from looking like Darth Vader.
The subject of Dredd also brings about the funnier moments of this frank documentary when its participants cast a scalding critical eye of the 1996 movie adaption, starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role.
What helps the piece along is that there appears to be a shared understanding of past events as we move back and forth between those in front of the camera. No he said, she said bullshit. The hatchets have been buried and the apologies have been made, or at the very least they’ve had the time to reflect, as they speak honestly and even admit to their own mistakes of the past. This is admirable as well as consistent to the descriptions of the straight-talking nature of the workplace and the comic itself.
LAST WORDS:
It’s a hard-hitting present shock to discover what can happen to such splendid artwork. But I suppose the biggest shock of them all is how it took for someone to tell this story. Still, I’m glad that someone finally did.