Latest Acquisitions: Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (Schultz) and Judge Dredd (Ezquerra)!

[delekkerste]

Here are two more of my recent pick-ups which just arrived. The first is the cover to Cadillacs and Dinosaurs 3-D #1 by Mark Schultz. Thanks to Hans Kosenkranius of Tri-State Original Art for the smooth transaction. Here's the description that Hans penned for his website:

 

"Published by Kitchen Sink Press in 1992, this cover features all the major elements you'd desire from a Schultz "Cadillacs" cover: the beautiful Hannah Dundee at the helm, the heroic Jack Tenrec beside her, the fierce dinosaur menacing both of them, and of course...the car! It's one of the best examples you could ever hope for!"

 

[delekkerste]

And here is another double-page splash from the "Apocalypse War" Judge Dredd storyline from 2000 A.D. Magazine, drawn by Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra! The "Apocalypse War" storyline (as well as "Block Mania" which led into it) is one of my all-time favorites - I cannot recommend it highly enough (it has been reprinted numerous times in both comic and TPB format).

[spider9698]

BRAVO! Great stuff, Gene!

 

S

[aardvark88]

That Hannah pose with the bow and arrow was so popular, Kitchen Sink used it for a t-shirt design. (thumbs u

[Nexus]

That Schultz piece is awesome. I was drooling over it at WonderCon.

 

Love the Ezquerra dps, too. I've been getting the big phonebook reprints from 2000AD...those Wagner/Ezquerra stories are among the best.

 

Congrats!

[Pirate]

That Schultz piece is awesome. I was drooling over it at WonderCon.

 

Love the Ezquerra dps, too. I've been getting the big phonebook reprints from 2000AD...those Wagner/Ezquerra stories are among the best.

 

Congrats!

 

when you are done with the phonebooks send them to me. I have only been able to find vol 2

[Dr_Strange]

both wonderfull

[cheekyj2112]

Nice pick ups Gene. Did you buy the Dredd in the UK? I didn't think any of the Dredd artists, apart from Bolland, changed hands much outside of Europe.

 

Joseph

[delekkerste]

Hey Joseph,

 

I picked up the Dredd page from one of the Donnellys' eBay listings of all places! I had just missed out on buying the page a year or two ago from Rufus Dayglo, so I was thrilled when it resurfaced so quickly on eBay. I think the price was about the same or maybe even a little cheaper - a nice added bonus!

 

Gene

[Bonds25]

Amazing pieces Gene!! I especially love the Schultz page!

[Wonderworldcomic]

Hi Gene,

 

Do you follow Dredd/ 2000AD artwork?

 

I thought Carlos was the 1st Dredd artist too, but a British collector told me McMahon was the co-creator of Dredd, but Carlos' story was the 1st published Dredd. I didn't read the British mag.s, just the American reprints.

Do they officially credit the creators?

 

Best,

[Wonderworldcomic]

Oh and congrats on the best Schultz I have seen change hands.

 

I have only managed to get the art to one of the C & D candy bar wrappers.

 

Best,

[delekkerste]

Hey Rich,

 

Here is what Wikipedia says about the creative origins of Dredd. Looks like Ezquerra was the artistic co-creator but that McMahon had the first published strip (i.e., the opposite of what you were told):

 

When Pat Mills was developing 2000 AD, he brought in his former writing partner, John Wagner, to develop characters. Wagner had written various Dirty Harry-style "tough cop" stories for other titles, and suggested a character who took that concept to its logical extreme, imagining an ultra-violent lawman patrolling a future New York City with the power to administer instant justice. Mills had developed a horror strip called Judge Dread but abandoned the idea as unsuitable for the new comic, but the name, with minor modification, was adopted by Wagner for his ultimate lawman.

 

The task of visualising the character was given to Carlos Ezquerra, a Spanish artist who had worked for Mills before on Battle Picture Weekly. Wagner gave Ezquerra an advertisement for the film Death Race 2000, showing the character Frankenstein clad in black leather on a motorbike, as a suggestion for what the character should look like. Ezquerra elaborated on this greatly, adding body-armour, zips and chains, which Wagner initially thought over the top. Wagner's initial -script was rewritten by Mills and drawn up by Ezquerra, but when the art came back a rethink was necessary. The hardware and cityscapes Ezquerra had drawn were far more futuristic than the near-future setting originally intended, but Mills decided to run with it and set the strip further into the future.

 

By this stage, however, Wagner had quit, disillusioned that a proposed buy-out (which would have given him and Mills a greater financial stake in the comic) had fallen through. Mills was reluctant to lose Judge Dredd and farmed the strip out to a variety of freelance writers, hoping to develop it further. Their scripts were given to a variety of artists as Mills tried to find a strip which would provide a good introduction to the character, all of which meant that Dredd would not be ready for 2000 AD's first issue, launched in February 1977. The original launch story written by Wagner and drawn by Ezquerra was finally published several years later in an annual.

 

The story chosen to introduce the character was submitted by Peter Harris, extensively re-written by Mills, and including an idea suggested by sub-editor Kelvin Gosnell. It was drawn by newcomer Mike McMahon. In it, Dredd brought to justice a criminal who had murdered another Judge and was hiding out in the ruins of the Empire State Building. The story introduced the motifs that would mark out Dredd: novel future crimes are resolved by hi-tech police procedure, with Dredd delivering a severe punishment. In this case, the villain is banished to a penal colony located on a traffic island.The strip debuted in prog 2, but Ezquerra, angry that another artist had drawn the first published strip, quit and returned to work for Battle. Wagner, however, soon swallowed his pride and returned to the character, starting in prog 9. His "Robot Wars" storyline was drawn by a rotating team of artists, including McMahon, Ezquerra, Ron Turner and Ian Gibson, and marked the point where Dredd became the most popular character in the comic, a position he has rarely relinquished. Dredd's city, which now covered most of North America's east coast, became known as Mega-City One.[citation needed]

 

The character has appeared in almost every issue since, the bulk of the stories written by Wagner (between 1980 and 1988, in collaboration with Alan Grant). Other illustrators of the strip have included Brian Bolland, Ron Smith, Steve Dillon and Cam Kennedy.

 

 

[Sharkey]

Gene, sweet, sweet pickups!!! (thumbs u

 

 

[Wonderworldcomic]

That is a pretty detailed creation history.

 

Reminds me of Wolverine.

Roy Thomas suggested a Canadian Hulk Villain Lein suggested two animal themes and went with Wolverine. Romita designed the costume. Trimpe drew the 1st story. Kane redesigned the costume headpiece. Claremont, Cockrum & Byrne developed his character.

[Wonderworldcomic]

Is there a link to that 1st Dredd story somewhere?

[delekkerste]

Is there a link to that 1st Dredd story somewhere?

 

Not sure about the original story that was published years later as an annual, but the first appearance of Dredd from 2000 A.D. Prog. 2 was reprinted in the "Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01" TPB. I ordered a copy from Amazon.co.uk a year or two ago, though I have seen some local shops here in the U.S. carry the reprint series of late.

 

By the way, the volume clearly credits on the first page: "JUDGE DREDD CREATED BY JOHN WAGNER AND CARLOS EZQUERRA".

[Wonderworldcomic]

Thanks for the update.

 

I have one McMahan Dredd and one extra already

...perhaps I will add a Carlos Dredd to my UK want list:

Marvel UK

Moore/Leach

Moore/Davis,

Moore/Gibbons,

Mills/O'Neil,

Mills/Talbot