CAPTAIN’S BLOG: Mea culpa – on a not-so-exclusive ‘exclusive’ Judge Dredd strip
So, a quick catch-up blog – and an apology – on a post from last month.
I posted up a scan of a Judge Dredd strip from a 1990 issue of Sinclair User magazine, which I believed (based on Sinclair User‘s own claims) to be an ‘exclusive’ strip. By ‘exclusive’ strip, I took that to mean it had not previously been published. Oh, how wrong I was.
Reader Rodrigo Boeza commented that…
…this story had appeared before in Judge Dredd’s Crime File #1 (August 1989), published by Quality Comics. This was a short-lived Prestige Format series that consisted of reprints from various 2000AD/Judge Dredd annuals and specials, so I’m guessing that this particular story may have had an earlier appearance before.
Compounding my error, I actually remember the Judge Dredd: Crime Files series. I think I bought #2 and #3 (subsequently giving them away as a birthday present to a friend). They were rather nice editions – smaller than the Titan albums, but pretty decent colour printing and perfect-bound.
Anyway, the MCS link above also provides info on the contents:
6 page Judge Dredd story “none (Meanwhile?)”
Genre Science Fiction
Script John Wagner [as T. B. Grover]
Pencils Ian Gibson
Inks Ian Gibson
Colors Ian Gibson
Letters Tom Frame
Notes This reprint is untitled, but I’m thinking it may be “Meanwhile” from the 1987 Dredd Annual; the artist matches, the title could work, and the Seven Dwarves story is also from there.
Reprinted from 2000 AD (IPC Magazines Ltd, 1977 series) #? [possibly the 1987 Judge Dredd Annual]
Based on that, I went and bid on an eBay auction for a copy of Judge Dredd Annual 1987 – a gap in my collection – and lo, there’s the ‘Meanwhile’ strip.
Again, my apologies to you all for misrepresenting the strip; and my thanks to Rodrigo for setting me straight.
SCANTASTIC! “Dear Chris…” A letter from the (assistant) editor of Eagle to a dedicated young reader
You would not believe the trials and tribulations I went through to find this. Having moved house twice in the last year I was frantically panicking that it must have accidentally been thrown out – but no! After tearing through boxes and piles and folders and more boxes of miscellaneous paperwork I found it. My treasured letter from no less a personage that the assistant EDITOR of EAGLE!
I was a serious-minded eleven year old, and whilst I don’t have a copy of my outgoing epistle, I suspect that it may have ran to many, many pages; a “long and interesting letter” indeed!
I recall trying to impress upon the Eagle team that whilst I was a big fan of John Gillatt’s work normally, his stint on ‘Dan Dare’ simply was not working. Blow me down if they didn’t write back to tell me they agreed with me!
Fleetway Publications
4th March 1988
Dear Chris,
Thank you very much for your long and interesting letter concerning Eagle/Battle.
We do agree that the present artwork on Dan Dare leaves much to be desired. We thought that Cruz, the previous artists, might benefit from a spell away from Dan, but J. Gillatt has not settled down into getting a very good likeness. This was just an experiment that didn’t work.
We do have changes planned for Eagle/Battle in the future, so stay with us and see what you think of them. We do agree with your remarks concerning Robin Smith and Ortiz!
Thanks again for writing to us,
Yours sincerely,
Jim Storie[?]
Asst. Editor
EAGLE/BATTLE
And stay with Eagle I did, right through the MASK, ‘RoadBlasters’, Wildcat and weekly-becomes-monthly years till the very last issue.
PS Checking up on the handy Comic Vine website, I see that Carlos Cruz completed his ‘Dan Dare’ run in issue #305 dated 23 January 1988; the next issue saw the merger of Eagle with stablemate Battle, and the start of John Gillatt’s stint on the Pilot of the Future. I must have sent my letter somewhere between then and the 5 March-dated issue, #311. My comments about José Ortiz (whose ‘Tower King’ had been a real highlight of the early days of Eagle MkII) and Robin Smith would have been wholly favourable, as I loved both ‘Survival’ and ‘Detective Zed’!
PPS If anyone can tell me who the kind-hearted soul who wrote me this reply is, I would be most grateful – it’s been more than 24 years of not quite being able to decipher that signature…
Oh lawks, it's... 