2000 AD #182
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeProg 182, dated 18 October 1980, is the epilogue to the landmark 'Judge Child' epic and the single issue in which John Wagner and Alan Grant fully introduced the Council of Five — Mega-City One's governing body — in one narrative stroke, giving the Dredd universe its most durable political architecture. The six-page 'Block War' chapter by Wagner, Grant, and Brian Bolland marks the first appearance of Judge McGruder, who would become the first female Chief Judge of Mega-City One and one of the strip's most consequential recurring characters for over a decade. The story simultaneously planted the seed concept of inter-block warfare, a social pathology that Wagner and Grant would escalate to catastrophic scale in 'Block Mania' and then 'The Apocalypse War' within two years. On the same week's instalment, the Strontium Dog strip launched 'The Schicklgruber Grab,' one of the most celebrated early Johnny Alpha adventures, opening a seven-part time-travel mission to apprehend Adolf Hitler.
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By October 1980, the Wagner/Grant writing partnership — which would define 2000 AD's golden era — was solidifying, with Alan Grant having formally joined Wagner on Judge Dredd scripts earlier that year. 'Block War' was drawn by Brian Bolland, the same artist who had just illustrated sections of 'The Judge Child' and whose clean, authoritative linework gave the Council of Five their imposing visual debut; the story was scripted as a direct coda to 'The Judge Child' quest (progs 156–181), forcing institutional accountability onto Dredd's lone-wolf decision to abandon Owen Krysler. The Strontium Dog instalment opening in this same prog, 'The Schicklgruber Grab,' was written by Alan Grant with art by Carlos Ezquerra, beginning a seven-episode run through prog 188; this story was later collected in multiple trade paperback editions by both Quality Comics and Rebellion.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Prog 182 (cover-dated 18 October 1980) contains the Judge Dredd story 'Block War,' a six-page chapter written by John Wagner and Alan Grant with art by Brian Bolland.
- First appearance of Judge McGruder (full name: Hilda Margaret McGruder), head of the Special Judicial Squad (SJS), who would later become Mega-City One's first female Chief Judge; created by John Wagner, Alan Grant, and Brian Bolland.
- First full appearance of the Council of Five as a body, comprising Chief Judge Griffin, Deputy Chief Judge Pepper, Judge Quimby (Chief Accountant), Judge Ecks (Head of Psi-Division), and Judge McGruder (Head of SJS) — also marking the first appearances of Quimby and Psi Judge Ecks.
- The story depicts the first 'block war' in the strip's history — a violent territorial conflict between Rita Tushingham Block and Ernest Borgnine Block — a concept later scaled into the epic 'Block Mania' storyline (progs 236–244).
- 'Block War' functions as the narrative epilogue to 'The Judge Child' saga (progs 156–181): the Council reviews Dredd's controversial decision to abandon the Judge Child, Owen Krysler, with Chief Judge Griffin ultimately exercising his veto to protect Dredd.
- McGruder's given names — Hilda Margaret — are a deliberate reversal of Margaret Hilda Thatcher's name, reflecting the satirical political commentary embedded in the Dredd strip at the time of her creation in 1980.
- Prog 182 also opens 'The Schicklgruber Grab,' a Strontium Dog adventure written by Alan Grant with art by Carlos Ezquerra, featuring Johnny Alpha and Wulf Sternhammer on a time-travel mission to capture Adolf Hitler; the story ran across progs 182–188.
- 'Block War' has been reprinted extensively, including in The Best of 2000 AD #46, Judge Dredd Classics #65, The Complete Judge Dredd #17, Eagle's Judge Dredd #15, and Rebellion's Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files vol. 04.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Judge Dredd #15 (1985), 2000 A.D. [2000 A.D. Monthly] #3 (1985), Halo Jones #5 (1988), 2000 A. D. Showcase #29/30 [US] (1988), Judge Dredd Classics #65 (1992), Judge Dredd Megazine #68 (2000), Strontium Dog: The Early Cases #[nn] (2005), Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files #4 (2006), Meltdown Man #[nn] (2010)
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