These days, most people should know who Judge Dredd is. With the recent Dredd 3D and that previous attempt at bringing the characters to the big screen, people have an idea what he's all about. Even though Judge Dredd made his first appearance back in 1977 and has appeared in countless stories through 2000 AD, if you were to ask people what his origin was, they probably couldn't answer.
To solve this problem, IDW Publishing and 2000 AD are joining forces to bring that story.
In March 2013, Eagle Award-winning 2000 AD Editor-in-Chief Matt Smith and Dredd veterans Simon Coleby and Greg Staples prepare to deliver the story of a younger Judge Dredd. How will the young and eager Dredd differ from the one we know today?
Smith has previously touched on the early days in Judge Dredd: Year One - City Fathers, an e-novella published earlier this year. It was immediately decided that this makes a perfect period to explore further in the comics.
Matt Smith said the following:
Dredd's a notoriously difficult character to get the voice right—and it becomes even more of a challenge when you're writing him as an eighteen year old, fresh out of the Academy. But it's been great fun charting his early cases, feeding into the stories the elements that will go on to make him Mega-City's most feared lawman. And it's terrific to have Simon Coleby on board, a superb artist and well experienced in portraying the madness of the future metropolis.== TEASER ==
IDW and 2000 AD are prepared to deliver Dredd stories the likes of which we've never seen. The bigger question is, did Dredd always have his signature grimace?
Variant covers will be provided by Dave Sim and Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra. Issue one is on sale March 27, 2013. It will be 32-pages with a $3.99 price tag.