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Coming Soon: I Am The Law, the 2000AD guide to British policing?

By John Freeman on July 24, 2022

This year sees the publication of 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 2000AD, has predicted the changing face of policing in Britain over the last 45 years.

The book is due for release in bookshops from the end of October, according to various bookstore sites, and in comic shops in November.

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 2000AD 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.

Michael Molcher is a journalist, publicist, and podcaster. Previously a local newspaper reporter and then a government shill, he has been the publicity manager for 2000AD for more than a decade.

He has written extensively about comics for SFX, Comic Heroes, politics.co.uk, 2000AD, and the Judge Dredd Megazine, and has interviewed in-depth many of the writers and artists who have worked for 2000AD over its 45 year history.

Between 2015 and 2018 he produced an extensive series of critical pieces on Judge Dredd for Hachette Partwork’s Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection series.

• I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Writer: Michael Molcher Cover Artist: Pye Parr
Out in Bookshops: 27th October 2022 | Comic Shops: 23rd November 2022, 208 Pages | ISBN: 978-1786185709

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.