Dredd @45 - at the Cartoon Museum

For those who missed this exhibition (it closed recently, Sunday May 1st 2022) here are my photos of it...

Brian Bolland art

Brett Ewins art

Mike Collins (newspaper strip) art

Greg Staples art

Carlos Ezquerra art

Henry Flint art

John M Burns art

Tom Foster art

How the above cover began...

Clip from Tom Foster's (very funny) video about his art process

Dredd @45 - the Cartoon Musuem

There's a month to go before the Dredd @45 exhibition closes at the Cartoon Museum - I picked up these postcards while I was there...

Judge Dredd by Tom Foster

Judge Dredd by Brett Ewins

Judge Dredd by Ron Smith

Judge Dredd by John M Burns

Judge Dredd by Greg Staples

The Tom Foster, John M Burns and Brett Ewins images are also available as fridge magnets.

Judget Dredd 45 - Cartoon Museum merchandise

A recent trip to the Cartoon Museum gave me a chance to check out the associated merchandise that's on sale in the shop...

Posters, books, board games, jigsaws

Posters, books, board games, jigsaws

more books, board games, jigsaws

Poster

Fridge magnets & postcards

Notebooks (I think!) - complete with cover art by Ron Smith & John M Burns

and another Ron Smith cover to a notebook

Judge Dredd in focus at the Cartoon Museum

The Cartoon Museum (in London) have announced that a small exhibition "Judge Dredd - In focus" will open a week today (20th January)

John M Burns art from 'Necrofage' Megazine 4.11 (2002)

Running until 24th April the exhibition aims to look at the evolution of Judge Dredd since 1977, and how artistic techniques have changed alongside the character. Dredd has kept the same look throughout, giving an amazing insight into the contrasting styles and techniques of the different artists who have worked on the strip over the past 45 years. In 2022, many of the tools that artists use would have been considered sci-fi by the readers of Dredd in 1977!

 

Brett Ewins, 2000AD annual 1979

From the physical, cut-and-stick techniques utilized in the 1970s, to the crisp lines of the 1980s and the acetate overlays and detailed inking of the 1990s, to the introduction of digital techniques in the 2000s, Judge Dredd has stood steadfast as the world of comic creation has changed around him. Dredd is always different, but always the same.

 

Greg Staples 'Babes in arms' prog 776 (1992)

Dredd @ 45 is included in the museum ticket price, and tickets are available online from cartoonmuseum.org.

Brian Bolland, prog 110 (1979) 'Punks rule'

Joe Sullivan, Director of The Cartoon Museum says:
“We are excited to showcase one of the most iconic British comic characters of all time, charting how the art of Judge Dredd has changed constantly since he first appeared in Prog 2, but how the Judge himself has always stayed the same as he has passed through the pencils of countless incredible artists.

Carlos Ezquerra art, prog 867 (1993) - 'I hate Christmas'

Henry Flint, prog 1014 (1996) - 'The pack'

This exhibition gives a window back in time to see how comic art has changed since Dredd first appeared - undoubtedly many digital tools used regularly by artists now could have easily featured in the pages of a 1970s copy of 2000 AD as ‘sci-fi tech’!

Ron Smith, prog 317 (1983) - 'The stupid gun'

Working with Rebellion has been a pleasure, and we are thrilled to be part of 2000 AD’s 45th anniversary celebrations.”

Tom Foster art for prog 1986

Jason Kingsley OBE, CEO of Rebellion, said:
“It’s been thrilling to see this exhibition come together for our special anniversary year. As custodians of 2000 AD for more than two decades, we’re excited to see the Cartoon Museum focus on Judge Dredd and the artists who have made him come alive for millions of readers over the past forty-five years. Such a showcase will be great opportunity for people to see how such an iconic character has been interpreted over the years but has always remained true to its core identity and look.”

The Cartoon Museum can be found at 63 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1A 3AE. Tel: 020 7580 8155

The Cartoon Museum champions cartoon and comic art, highlighting its importance to culture and society. Since 2006 it has received 420k visitors, and built a nationally important collection of 4,300 cartoons, comics and caricatures, and a library of 18k items. It runs a well-attended school programme and sell-out school holiday workshops, and over 50k children and adults have attended cartooning, comics and animation workshops at the museum. In 2021 the museum was awarded a Judges Commendation for 'Best Fundraiser' at the Museums & Heritage Awards and was nominated for the British Guild of Travel Writer's 'Best Heritage Project' award.

 

UPDATED: Commando calendars

The Commando calendar for 2021 is now available to buy here and it's a 60th anniversary special, with contributions from a variety of artists. Check out these (small, sorry) images they've teased...

art by Carlos Pino, Keith Burns, Ian Kennedy, Ken Barr, Gordon Livingstone, Chaco, Jeff Bevan, Jordi Penalva, Manuel Benet, Tom Foster, Neil Roberts, Graeme Neil Reid, Jose Maria Jorge

...and here are my notes about other Commando calendars...

Looking at my Ian Kennedy calendar the other day made me start wondering about precisely how many Commando calendars there were out there for the collector...

Updates are shown in red

Not published by DC Thomson (but produced under licence from them) this large calendar (it's about twice the size of the Ian Kennedy calendar, above) was the first Commando calendar to be produced. This was sold mainly in bargain bookshops. 

UPDATED: 2007's 'The art of Commando' calendar 

By 2009 the licence for producing a calendar had changed hands - covers selection is by Calum Laird (better image now used).

Then there was a good run of 3 years in a row when the calendar came out...

Commando calendar 2012

Commando calendar 2013

Commando calendar 2014

Then a few fallow years until 2018...

Commando calendar 2018

Commando calendar 2019

Commando calendar 2020

While I don't have all the Commando calendars above, here's a calendar that I REALLY wish I'd got at the time...2009 saw two DC Thomson calendars from 'Unique' (the Art of Commando is shown above) and this is the second one....