Exclusive: Talking Chimpsky’s Return With ‘Judge Dredd’ Artist PJ Holden

*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR 2000 AD Prog #2426 AHEAD*

This may not be every 2000 AD fan’s point of view, but I would happily live in a world where more Judge Dredd strips were revealed to be secret Chimpsky strips. It may never happen again, but this time, it has — and Chimpsky co-creator and artist PJ Holden is ready to spill a few details:

Rachel Bellwoar: Noam Chimpsky is the hero the judges should be. Can you tell us more about him and his story so far?

PJ Holden: Our first adventure with Chimpsky was when he met Judge Dredd, and immediately I think we really see the world through his eyes and get a sense of someone (is an ape a someone? I’m unsure) who can see right through all the fascistic propaganda and consumerism of Dredd’s world.

Dredd took an immediate dislike to him, but since Chimpsky hadn’t done anything illegal – and the law being the law – Dredd let him off. Since then we’ve revisited Noam a few times and got a sense of his world, as well as his worldview. A very rich very smart ape who really just wants to make the world a better place.

Bellwoar: Why do you think now was the right moment to bring Chimpsky back?

Holden: When Ken [Niemand] and Tharg say, “Do you want to do more Chimpsky?” It’s always the right time to bring him back. Largely it’s down to Ken, but we’ve been looking for a chance to return to Chimpsky and what makes him tick for some time.

Bellwoar: Judge Dredd continues to loom over Chimpsky’s ability to protect his neighbors, but he might not be the only threat to Chimpsky’s vigilantism. Is there anything you can tease about this story?

Holden: We’ve already met some of the other vigilantes that frequent Mega City 1, slightly ineffectual do-gooders who Noam has a real soft spot for. But you know, what if one of them wasn’t ineffectual, but also was a bit more prepared to break things to make them better than Noam, what’s an ape to do?

Bellwoar: Besides the fact that it has Chimpsky, what sets Ludi Wittenstein apart from other sectors of Mega-City One?

Holden: I think if you’re an inhabitant of Wittenstein Block you’ll probably find your life a little lighter than most sectors. Noam helps, but also the little eco system of people he likes help too, Chet, Mr Grofaz, and Noam’s friendly, slightly useless and very unlikely-to-pass-another-Judicial-review, block Judge and also Timmy, the super human psychic child who is slightly tamer than [when] we last me[t] him.

Bellwoar: How quickly did you land on Chimpsky’s propeller hat, striped shirt and overalls ensemble and will he be trying out any new disguises this time around?

Holden: That look was all Ken, he described it pretty much as that and that’s what I drew. I think my only real contribution was to stick a sort Just-William catapult in his back pocket, which Ken liked so much he made it part of Noam’s arsenal. I later gave him a little yo-yo too, which has also come in to play occasionally.

Bellwoar: Was Chimpsky always meant to be a Bonobo ape or did the name inspire the form?

Holden: I think the name came first, Ken may have suggested Bonobo – or he may have brought that in later, but I don’t remember thinking of any particular type of Chimp, and just going for slightly generic Chimp (but I watched a lot of Johnny Weismuller Tarzan as a kid, so Cheetah the ape from that was probably my model). Dredd’s world has had talking apes for a long long time, and they’ve never quite mapped perfectly to the real world animals, and honestly, I think that’s great!

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, PJ!

Holden: No problem, Chimpsky is a fun chap (chimp?) and it’s always nice to talk about him!

Written by Kenneth Niemand, with colors by Jack Davies and letters by Annie Parkhouse, Chimpsky’s Law: The Truth Conundrum started April 2nd in 2000 AD Prog 2426.