What’s Next For Judge Dredd: An Interview With Writer Rob Williams

There’s no such thing as a good plane crash but having your plane shot down has to be one of the worst. It’s this scenerio that writer Rob Williams and artist RM Guera are playing out in their new Judge Dredd strip, “Rend & Tear With Tooth & Claw.” With colors by Giulia Brusco and letters by Annie Parkhouse, Williams answered some questions about the story and its prologue, “Next Man Up,” for Comicon:

Rachel Bellwoar: After co-writing “A Better World” with Arthur Wyatt, what has it been like going solo this time and working with artist, RM Guera?

Rob Williams: Writing Dredd solo isn’t new for me. I’ve probably been writing Judge Dredd stories for a decade now. But ‘Rend & Tear With Tooth & Claw’ is just as collaborative in its own way. RM Guera and I have worked together a couple of times in the past and are friends. We talk a lot about movies and novels and so when it came to writing a new Dredd story for him, it was really talking through themes and settings that would get us both excited.

This is very much a story written with Guera in mind, playing to a tone that I know he excels at. He’s an extraordinary artist, as you’ll know if you’ve read Scalped. Having him play in Dredd’s world and digging down into Dredd’s character on a multi-part story was really a treat.

Bellwoar: For any new readers who might not be caught up yet on “A Better World,” is there anything they should know going into this arc?

Williams: This story is one you really don’t need a huge amount of prior knowledge of Dredd to enjoy. There’s a mission and Dredd has picked his own team to undertake it. In episode one he decides, last minute, to add a cadet to the mission. This is probably born out of the end of our recent story ‘A Better World’ – and I don’t want to spoil that for readers here. But  honestly, this is meant to be a story where if you’ve never read Judge Dredd before, you can pick this up and enjoy.

Bellwoar: All of the other judges in “Next Man Up” seem surprised when Dredd doesn’t just take their word on things. Do you think that’s a positive reflection on Dredd or is he asking for trouble?

Williams: Dredd is a legendary figure in Mega-City One. He’s totemic for the Judges. And he’s notoriously one of the grumpiest human beings to ever live. He definitely does not suffer fools. Dredd is The Law but also he trusts his gut over all else. Sometimes – well, quite often actually, that leads to him not being the easiest for other Judges to deal with.

Bellwoar: How great was it getting to introduce a new Cadet character?

Williams: Well, you’ll have to wait and see. But Dredd goes into the initial story ‘Next Man Up’ aware that he’s running out of people he can trust, so I think he’s looking for new hope. He just wants to see a hint of talent in a cadet Judge who he can then promote and take under his wing. He gets given a very obvious choice, in the most talented Judge of this intake of cadets. Dredd’s been through all this before. He’s seen talent come and go. He’s looking for something more… He’ll know it when he sees it.

Bellwoar: As someone used to seeing Dredd in urban settings, did you enjoy getting to take him out of his usual surroundings for “Rend & Tear With Tooth & Claw”?

Williams: That was part of the appeal of the story. In Mega-City One Dredd is The Law. So, let’s take him to the irradiated wilds of Alaska. Filled with snow and ice and terrifying creatures that’ll rip you to pieces. And then he and his team find out that the greatest law is just stay alive. Keep moving. keep going forward. It’s pitting Dredd against primal forces.

Bellwoar: Of all the extreme locations you could have chosen to strand Dredd and his team, why snow?

Williams: Am I allowed to say ‘because it looks fucking amazing on the comics page when drawn by RM Guera?’ I genuinely don’t know how Guera succeeds in detailing the depth of snow, the feet sinking into it. The snow hanging from trees. It’s a sumptuous-looking comic. And what looks better than snow in comics? Blood on snow.

Giulia Brusco is Guera’s regular colourist, she worked with him on Scalped, and she’s doing a magnificent job here. Wait until we get to the shots of the sun coming up over the snowfield landscape. It’s all beautiful.

Bellwoar: Judge Logan has already referred to the “sensitivity of the location” where Dredd and his team were meant to wind up. Does that mean it can only get worse for them?

Williams: Again, you’ll have to wait and see where that location is… But I think it’s fair to say that the mission does not go as planned. There’d not be that thrilling a story if it did. This is a survivalist action thriller. Part Jaws. Part The Revenant. It’s all about who gets out of this alive.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Rob!

“Next Man Up” ran in 2000 AD Prog #2375. “Rend & Tear With Tooth & Claw” starts April 3rd in 2000 AD Prog #2376.