Talking ‘Judge Dredd: Machine Rule’ With Judge Dredd Co-Creator John Wagner

There isn’t necessarily a lot of job security in being a Judge — the whole dangerous nature of the work and all that — but what if, in trying make the work “safer,” jobs became even more scarce? Such is the problem raised by Robot Judges in writer John Wagner and artist Colin MacNeil‘s upcoming strip, ‘Machine Rule.’ With colors by Chris Blythe and letters by Annie Parkhouse, find out what the co-creator of Judge Dredd himself had to say about this story in the following interview, along with a preview of Part 1:

Bellwoar: For readers who might not know Judge Dredd’s history with robots, has he always been against them? What’s the reason for the conflict?

John Wagner: Dredd doesn’t trust robots and doesn’t think they should have the autonomy to dispense justice. Recently he has come to a grudging acceptance and admiration for their undoubted abilities, but there is still a lingering doubt.

Bellwoar: This isn’t the first time Robot Judges have appeared in Judge Dredd but do you think the recent rise in discussion around AI made a new strip especially called for?

Wagner: Not really. 2000 AD has been dealing with AI since its inception – recent developments in AI are still way behind us.  The story is more a natural progression from the ones that have come before – from grave reservations to qualified approval to widespread use to…Machine Rule.

Bellwoar: “Machine Rule” is still first and foremost a Judge Dredd story. Why did you want to center this story around him instead of the robots?

Wagner: The progression of the Mechanismo robots has always been handled under Dredd’s banner, what better place to deal with this development? He’s been intimately involved with them ever since their first introduction to the city.

Bellwoar: There is a logic to the argument the Robot Judges make, about putting themselves in the line of fire since human Judges can be killed. Do you think there’s merit to the argument?

Wagner: Absolutely.  I’m sure that in the not-too-distant future, should more than a small percentage of humanity survive our current crisis (and I wouldn’t lay money on that), robots will be widely deployed in such roles.  They’re already used, for instance, to search buildings and to investigate and defuse bombs.  Autonomous robot soldiers are in development if they haven’t already been deployed.

Bellwoar: As the originators of the Mechanismo storyline, how was it to be working with Colin MacNeil again? What does he bring to this story?

Wagner: It’s always a pleasure working with Colin, we go way back. He provides a wealth of experience and talent as well as a deep knowledge of previous stories. I’m sure readers will delight to his art on this one.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, John!

Judge Dredd: Machine Rule starts July 23rd in 2000 AD Prog #2392.