Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Rebellion / 2000AD | Tagged: 2000ad, alex jones, Cybertruck, elon musk, judge dredd

Elon Musk Said Judge Dredd Would Drive A Cybertruck, Comic Folks React

Elon Musk posted today to social media saying, "Judge Dredd Would Drive A Cybertruck". Alex Jones replied "No doubt".

Well, this may be the biggest plug that Judge Dredd has gotten since the last film. Elon Musk posted today to social media (guess which one) saying, "Judge Dredd Would Drive A Cybertruck". Alex Jones replied "No doubt". It's been seen by quite a few people.

And a few people, potentially quite close to the old Judge himself wanted to comment. And some agreed, possibly for reasons other than intended. After all, Judge Dredd is actually meant to be the bad guy, a point missed by a fair few over the years.

CPUK: Judge Dredd is an authoritarian bordering on fascist who works for a thoroughly corrupt system obsessed with projecting shiny futurism and performative masculinity to mask its crippling fla… you know what I have to give him this one.

Ashley Lynch: Do you think they know Judge Dredd is a satire of fascist authoritarianism?

Mike Powell: The thing is that yes, Dredd might well drive a 'cybertruck' or similar but Dredd is meant to be a warning against fascism! Look at 'Democracy Now' or 'America'. It's a bit like thinking Patrick Bateman is someone to look up to or that Alf Garnet is a bit of a laugh.

But others thought that maybe the Cybertruck wasn't up to the rigours necessary for Mega-City One, or indeed for the Judge.

Ned Hartley: No because sometimes Dredd has to drive in the rain

HappyToast: Judge Dredd would drive (through) a Cybertruck

Peter Briggs: I grew up with Judge Dredd from #2 of @2000AD, and was one of the writers on the 1995 Judge Dredd movie. If Dredd wasn't impressed with the Killdozer he used to get across the Cursed Earth, he wouldn't be impressed with your wonky-design Megaforce toy.

David Bishop: Having edited Judge Dredd for a decade, written Judge Dredd novels, comics and audio dramas, and read Judge Dredd for 47 years, I can say with confidence… You're wrong, simp

Rob Williams: He wouldn't, creep.

Elizabeth Sandifer: Judge Dredd would shoot you in the face, creep. (NB: Judge Dredd is an unsympathetic character, and this tweet is not an endorsement of shooting creepy snake oil salesmen in the face)

While some combined the two.

Andy McDermott: Judge Dredd is a humourless fascist bully and all-round asshole, so he has something in common with these two. But he still wouldn't drive a Cybertruck. (He rides a motorbike, c'mon!)

And yes, if nothing else, it was an excuse for Judge Dredd writers and artists to call Elon Musk a creep, while in defensible character. He is the bad guy after all. Elon Musk wore Judge Dredd T-Shirts in his youth. We are not entirely sure how much of the subtext he got, or if it got a bit Garth Marenghi…

Still, it's probably a good reason to plug Michael Molcher's book, I Am The Law, about the history of Judge Dredd and the cultural and social implications of the time that saw Judge Dredd emerge as a popular character, in which the police in South Africa, where Elon Musk, played a crucial part in his creation, and the future he pointed to. It just won an Eisner Award for Best Comic-Related Book on Friday night!

I am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future by Michael Molcher
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the comic strip Judge Dredd, published in 2000 AD, has predicted the changing face of policing in Britain over the last 45 years.
He is the law – and you better believe it! Judge, jury and executioner, Judge Dredd is the brutal comic book cop policing the chaotic future urban jungle of Mega-City One, created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and launching in the pages of 2000 AD in 1977. But what began as a sci-fi action comic quickly evolved into a searing satire on hardline, militarised policing and 'law and order' politics, its endless inventiveness and ironic humour acting as a prophetic warning about our world today – and with important lessons for our future. Blending comic book history with contemporary radical theories on policing, I Am The Law takes key Dredd stories from the last 45 years and demonstrates how they provide a unique wake up call about our gradual, and not so gradual, slide towards authoritarian policing. From the politicisation of policing to 'zero tolerance', from violent suppression of protest to the rise of the surveillance state, I Am The Law examines how a comic book warned us about the chilling endgame of today's 'law and order' politics.

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