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Taking Sides: Judge Dredd v. Johnny Alpha

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Dredd was hard as nails, as was Alpha, but what made Strontium Dog as a story was Alpha's moral force. Dredd had that in the early days, when the stories had a kind of Mad Max theme - only someone as hard and tough as Judge Dredd can keep society going - but when the 2000AD writers were just using the story to Make Big Points about society Judge Dredd became far less interesting.

And Johnny Alpha had the Gronk and Wulf Sternhammer as sidekicks.

― The Dirty Vicar, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The problem was though that Johnny Alpha while possessed of much moral force had no sense of humour, which was precisely why he needed the Gronk and Wulf Sternhammer as sidekicks (also wins on Sidekick Trumps with Middenface McNulty - grate story wherein JA, WS and MM are off one some outlaw planet rounding up outlaws and MM is forced to guard outlaw prisoners and makes them all sing Glasgow drinking songs). But Johnny himself never really cracked wise, which is why when Wulf got killed the writers really had to struggle to make him even more mirthless, which they did by drawing him frowning and having bystanders go "Look how scary and dark he is" or words to that effect.

Whereas Judge Dredd is very funny. And had better plots and villains generally. Strontium Dog's main villain was his Dad as I recall - always a dud plot.

They went off the rails at around the same time - Alpha got involved with Durham Red who like all vampires is rubbish, Dredd got bogged down in those big-issue plots. But I'd still give Dredd the edge.

MORE QUESTIONS OF THIS CALIBRE PLEASE POSTERS.

― Tom, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

johnny alpha sounds like a made up new wave rock star name from some 80s teen movie. and what's this calibre, comic geekiness?

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yes.

Also there is fashion to take into account. Judge Dredd has his helmet, all well and good. Johnny Alpha has a really fey haircut and wears a horrible green-and-black hooped sweatshirt. He is indie boy and should be treated accordingly.

― Tom, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

why didn't you answer my questions about spiderman and the ff then?

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Didn't see them. Ha!

― Tom, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

spiderman and theff< /a>.

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

fucking greenspun! fix that, tom.

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

wait, you posted to the spiderman one.

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I had responded to the Spiderman thread you cockfarmer.

Right, back to Johnny Alpha I think.

― Tom, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i forgot you answered it because your post was such utter bullshit. oh wow, the lee/ ditko ones are good, next you'll tell me that ff was best when kirby was doing it. you didn't even mention swarm!

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well it's hardly my fault that Spider-man's been shit since 7 years before I was even born.

― Tom, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i thought 'the kid who collects spiderman' story was quite good and you would have been about ten when that came out. i liked untold tales too. anyway what's with the italics, are you trying to look like ned or something?

― ethan, Sunday, 14 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But didn't Alpha only battle against his dad once, in the BRILLIANT "Portrait of a Mutant" story (the one that gave us Middenface McNulty, the Torso from Newcastle, & so on)?

I think for all that I would rather meet Johnny Alpha than Dredd, "Judge Dredd" beats "Strontium Dog" because there was more of it that was better for much longer.

― dV, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No no he fought him again in "Outlaw" which went on for ever and whose main redeeming feature was the Stix Brothers (idea of Outlaw actually quite high-concept good, i.e. Johnny and Wulf framed for awful crime and all other Strontium Dogs now hunt *them*).

― Tom, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ah, but what about the Dredd epic 'Judgement Day' which has BOTH in, eh?

― DG, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's complete bollocks, DG, is the short answer.

All stories where Judge Dredd meets any other comics character = apalling.

― Tom, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's certainly not the best Dredd epic, I'll agree with that.

― DG, Monday, 15 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nineteen years pass...

johnny alpha hated normies before you knew what a normie was

― unknown or illegal user (doo rag), Saturday, 8 May 2021 10:50 (four years ago)

great revive

― you are like a scampicane, there's calm in your fries (bizarro gazzara), Saturday, 8 May 2021 13:06 (four years ago)


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