Since the character debuted in 1977, Judge Dredd (most often via the pages of 2000 AD) has been through some truly bonkers cases/adventures. Even on the “tamer” end, that long list includes the man with the permanent middle finger as well as “The Simping Detective” and a billion other entries we’ve neglected to mention. But of all the sheer insanity, we’d like to offer a more recent, extra wacky contender: chimps and voter fraud.
Yes, Dredd’s dealt with primates before, but in the forthcoming 2000 AD Annual 2025, everything truly goes to the dogs apes. Written by Chris Condon, and with art from Fernando Blanco (the duo are joined by colorist Edward Teach and letterer Jonathan Stevenson), “Chimpsurrection” follows Dredd as he “moderates election day for the chimps living in Mega-City One when violence breaks out.” On the one hand, it’s Dredd and monkeys. And, on the other, it’s a story with deep, almost stinging relevance for our modern American discourse/daily life. Both things go hand-in-hand rather well, and that novel ability cuts to the heart of why Dredd stories have been so vital and prolific for so long.
The 2025 Annual (which includes three other brand-new stories) will be available stateside in early January. (UK fans, meanwhile, can get their hands on it starting November 27.) But before you go bananas reading it, we wanted to better understand “Chimpsurrection,” so we caught up with both Condon and Blanco recently via email. There, the pair talked about the larger messaging/ideas behind the story, their immersion in the “world” of Judge Dredd, how to craft good satire, exploring politics via comics, and chimp-centric TV, among other topics and tidbits.
Main cover by Jake Lynch. Courtesy of 2000 AD.
AIPT: What was your perception/relationship like with Dredd before this story?
Fernando Blanco: I’ve always loved the character, but haven’t read a lot of stuff. Only some of the classics stories by Dredd’s creators Wagner and Ezquerra. I’ve also read the Bolland stories, and Simon Bisley.
Chris Condon: I actually hadn’t been a huge fan, though I was very much aware of Dredd. I mostly knew him through the films, especially the awesome Alex Garland-scripted film from 2012. That’s why when the offer to do a Dredd story came in, I jumped at it. I knew this would give me the excuse to pore over some Dredd books and really get acquainted with him, which is exactly what I did.
I loved the stories I read; some of them more satirical, others delving into the lore and presenting a more serious, action-forward series. I think that’s one of the great things about Dredd is how diverse his stories are.
AIPT: As someone who didn’t grow up in England, what’s the appeal of this iconic figure?
CC: He might be an English character, but he’s an American creation, if you understand my meaning. He exists because of how America is, how it operates, and how it’s viewed by the world. He’s, at his base essence, a satirical take on the perception of an American police state and characters like Dirty Harry, for instance. What’s not appealing about that?
FB: It’s very known in Spain because one of their creators, Carlos Ezquerra was Spanish – in fact he was from my hometown, Zaragoza. But I think he’s a universal character, also very known for both movies and the satire of fascism and repression… which is, unfortunately, very universal, too.
Courtesy of 2000 AD.
AIPT: Have you learned something new or interesting about yourself, creating comics, Dredd etc. by entering this “universe”?
CC: Well, this year has been good for me as a writer because I’ve been able to stretch my creative muscles a bit and show what I’m capable of outside of the 26 issues I’ve done with Jacob Phillips for either That Texas Blood or The Enfield Gang Massacre. We tell a certain kind of story in those two series, so it was great to branch out into 2000 AD territory and get to tell a satirical tale about America today through the eyes of Dredd’s America tomorrow.
I wouldn’t say I’ve learned anything exactly but I hope folks have learned something about me. And hopefully it’s not that they hate my work!
FB: When I first started as a comic artist, I had a style which was much more cartoony than I have nowadays. This story allowed me to reconnect with that cartoony vibe, which is always refreshing.
AIPT: What’s the secret to truly good satire like this? Is there a balancing act required between the ridiculous and the familiar?
CC: Well, I’m glad that you think it’s good satire! I think there is a tightrope that you have to walk. It’s ridiculous because it features chimpanzees running around yelling about voter fraud, but there’s something very serious about claims of voter fraud, especially when they’re unfounded and wrong.
FB: Reality is stranger than fiction and even more ridiculous. Satire is just funnier, but too often falls short.
CC: I think when you can take a serious subject and bend it around a ridiculous concept, it becomes ‘good’ satire. Not to compare this story to Stanley Kubrick, but you can see that in something Dr. Strangelove – the horrifying idea of nuclear annihilation is made into a parody. You laugh while the world blows up because…well, why not? It’s a ridiculous concept, right? Humans destroying themselves. Once you’ve taken a very serious subject and you bend it a bit, people are able to see the true shape of it. That’s all I think you can try to do, really, is try to make people see how silly all of this is.
Courtesy of 2000 AD.
AIPT: What’s it like to dissect this election cycle? Is it freeing somehow or do you worry about standing out in a sea of voices?
FB: Nobody cares about what comic artists and writers says, which is great because that gives us a lot of freedom of speech!
CC: Well, it’s been our lives now for 10 years in America. One of the candidates has been present on the political scene since they originally ran in 2016 and their shadow hasn’t faded, it’s just grown longer. So it’s not a crazy idea to poke and prod the concept of this ridiculous person with these ridiculous claims with zero plans or ideas. I mean, think about what I just said, you know? It’s stupid. It’s freeing to talk about it, sure, but I always talk about it. I always dissect it. We all do.
Do I worry about standing out? No. Never on my mind. I don’t much care about the sea of voices. You’re just one of them anyway. The people who want to listen will listen and you can’t force anyone else to listen to you. You just have to let it go. Let the sea of voices wash over you. But, if someone wants to read about chimpanzees launching an insurrection on Apetown Hall, boy, do I have a story for them!
AIPT: Why is a Dredd story such a good lens for politics? I just think this story kind of opened my eyes to the specific sorts of things you can do w/ Dredd.
CC: That’s interesting! Yeah, I think it’s just baked into the character. He’s America personified. Gun violence is a perfect example, right? How do Americans want to fix this issue of people buying AR-15s and entering schools or concerts or grocery stores and shooting citizens of all ages? Less guns, you’d think. Well, no, Americans want to give each school a police force with more guns, barricading kids in with automatic locks on doors and metal detectors at the entry ways. That’s what Dredd is. Dredd is the embodiment of everything that is wrong with America but he is also the embodiment of America. Period.
FB: Dredd always had been a political satire, but also can cover sci-fi, graphic violence, action… So many different types of stories, but the political side is always there. Depending on the historical moment or the political situation, this political side sometimes is more hidden or subtle.
AIPT: What would you say is the larger message behind this? Is it just a snapshot of “Trump-mania,” or do you think these energies and ideas go deeper still?
FB: I think there is a deeper message behind all the fun and mockery in the brilliant script Condon wrote. And in my opinion it’s about how alt-right denies democracy itself, even if they win. And maybe we can make fun about this, but the reality is that it’s not fun at all, it’s dangerous.
Courtesy of 2000 AD.
CC: Yeah, I mean, it’s about Trump. But it’s also about how people believe garbage information simply because it’s told to them. I like to think that it goes deeper than any one candidate – I like to think that it’s about our society, about our relationship with information, about media and the internet.
AIPT: Why chimps? I was thinking about this new-ish TV show Chimp Crazy, and how we assign these animals more humanity than they have — like, we make assumptions that always blow up in our faces. Is there some aspect of that here?
CC: Sure. I think in some ways you could view Apetown as America in a funhouse mirror. Apes are almost humans, genetically speaking. But they aren’t humans. I also think that when we tribalize our politics to the extent that we have, and embrace certain harmful ideologies that some are embracing, you see our species devolving. So it’s a bit of a comment on that as well, about the fact that human beings raised in an intelligent, rich society will still enter into a revered building and take a shit on the floor. Until we move past shitting on floors, we must also question how human we are as humans.
FB: Looking for ape references to draw this story, I realized how much close we are to chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, or orangutans. Looking at their expressions you realize that we are in the same emotional range. We’re more intelligent, but despite that we’re using our “superior intellect” to destroy our world, which is pretty much stupid; intelligence makes our emotions deeper and more sophisticated that other apes, but you need a moral compass to focus that intellect in a non-stupid direction. Maybe our story has something about that idea.
AIPT: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the story, Dredd, comics, politics, etc.?
CC: I hope people walk away from it entertained. It’s clearly drawn from headlines today but it’s also a comic starring Judge Dredd and a constituency of apes.
FB: I’ve been drawing superheroes for Marvel and DC for many years, as well as classic heroes like The Phantom or movie-based comics like Star Wars or Army of Darkness. Now I’m drawing my own book W0rldtr33 co-created with James Tynion, and I thought, “I don’t need any more to draw other people creations. I drew everything I dreamed of.”
But then an email appeared from 2000 AD proposing this Judge Dredd story and I thought, “I must check that box!”
You must be logged in to post a comment.