the CURSED EARTH extended saga within the Judge Dredd chronicles marked the first 'proper' Dredd epic, taking up a full six months of 1978. An earlier pseudo-epic entitled the Robot Wars had been published within a few short months of the early 1977 futuristic-lawman stories, however for all it's cinematic scope, this earlier tale is sometimes dismissed by Dredd historians, and it certainly lacked the sheer build-up and sense of grandeur associated with the 1978 tale.

Essentially a sweeping epic extending over a backdrop that is the radioactive hell-on-Earth surrounding the civilization represented by Mega-City One, World War Three has reduced much of post-WW3 America to an irradiated no-man's land, populated by muties, slay-riders, marauding renegade robots, and much, much more. The crux of the story centres around the plight of Mega-City Two which has succumbed to a deadly virus 2-T Fru-T which has reduced most of the population to the level of demonic vampires. Dredd's mission is to ensure the secure delivery of a valuable anti-dote to the virus, but first he has to overcome endless insurmountable odds, which take in corrupt future sociities [Las Vegas has been completely over-run by Mafia Hoodlums] demented droids [who seek out fresh blood from victims in order to prolong the life of the Last President of the United States]and even, in an extended saga of graphic brutality, exceeedingly vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex and other dinosaurs brought back into being from Prehistoric times.

Background: In the mid-21st Century, an utterly devastating series of Atomic Wars has obliterated--and radically altered----much of Planet Earth's surface, and the Cursed Earth encapsulates the core area of the United States, the only habitable areas being the densely over-populated Mega-Cities. Such was the devastation and damage inflicted upon these vast radioactive areas that they were dubbed as the worst disasters ever to afflict the planet since the dinosaurs were wiped out by a comet millions of years ago. The fall-out of the Wars was so severe, that natural biological life was set back for a period of at least thousands, if not millions of years, before the Earth even had a hope of recouperating----and sustaining---life-forms of any natural sort.

However, in the wake of the man-made atrocities, the Cursed Earth regions witnessed the survival of many mutated life-forms, from dangerous radioactive-scarred abominations, to strange beings of un-natural semi-powers. In this lawless region [deemed as too tough to master and not worth governing by the Mega-Judges] true societies were unable to flourish, however relatively small groups of renegades formed isolated pockets who were usually hostile to the few 'norms' brave or foolish enough to enter these territories. In exceptional cases, such as Father Earth, groups of substantial numbers could congregate to present a real challenge to Mega-City One if an outside assault was launched. The Cursed Earth, of course, was sometimes the choice of many ex-Judges who chose to take the 'Long Walk' amongst these wastelands at the end of their careers: illustrious judges to choose this option included Chief Judge Mc Gruder as well as Joe Dredd himself.

the BANNED CHAPTERS:

Two sets of stories, taking up four weeks of chapterplay of the CURSED EARTH saga appeared in the original 2000AD comics of 1978: these have failed to materialize in any format whatsoever in any of the numerous reprints since the early 80s. These were 'Burger Wars' [art by Mike Mc Mahon] and also 'Soul Food' which was inked by Brian Bolland. Although these tales are as bizarre and unrestrained as any of the surrounding escapades, the main reason for their failure to reappear was likely more down to nervous IPC execs surveying the finished items, which included heavy use of famous, copyrighted characters, and perspiring at the thought of incoming lawsuits as a result. Apparantly, no such actions were ever seriously put before a law-court, however the suits at Fleetway, IPC and right up to Rebellion have chosen not to bite the bullet and release these controversial oddities, which has, of course, elevated these tales to the level of iconic folklore.

'Burger Wars' retold the story of the conflicts of Mc Donald and Burger King franchises, who have resorted to outright murder in the lawless wilderness of the Cursed Earth: instantly-recognizable imagery of a corrupted 'Ronald Mac Donald 'especially single this one out as a hot potato.

The second banned strip 'Soul Food' took the concept of trademarked characters even further, and we see a demented Colonel Saunders [of KFC fame] lookalike undertake bizarre biological experiments, which included a full-scaled 'Jolly Green Giant', Francophile-spouting Michelin Man,----and, perhaps most bizarrely of all----a set of twin-like Alka-Seltzer boys depicted as an outlandish, living being/advertisment. These two stories are achingly missed by DREDD aficiandos and represent a gaping chasm of missing thrill-power whenever true fans revisit this epic saga: purists hope that the missing chapters will be reinstated at some point, although this liklihood seems as sadly doubtful as ever.

Even when revisited today, the Cursed Earth story impresses the true DREDD enthusiast, with it's sheer ambitious scope, unending drama and imaginitive [if grim] scenarios. What it lacks in surface polish and subtlety, it more than makes up for with unbridled verve and gritty drive. Incredibly, only two 2000 AD artists worked on this highly detailed venture:Brian Bolland and Mike Mc Mahon, undoubtedly the two key DREDD artists of this period: Mc Mahon in partcular taking on the greater bulk of the duties [he must have had his work cut out on the DREDD strip during these early years]. One episode of the TWEAK adventure seems to have been penciled by Bolland and inked in by Dave Gibbons.A lthough it would take a brave newcomer to the DREDD saga to be able to read through the entire story in one sitting, this tale does however reward the comitted Dredd enthusiast with relentless thrills and breathtaking action sequences.

True, the overall tone of the piece is rough around the edges in parts, with McMahon's still-developing artwork being a little difficult to decipher in some of the overdetailed panels, but the sheer spirit of early-period DREDD shines through unabated, in a way that is seldom seen in contemporary Future Lawman stories. Dredd originator and writer John Wagner was by this stage exhibiting sheer mastery of the comics-writing medium, and within the chaotic frames of this essential early Dredd Epic, he let his imagination rip in a scenario of total bravado, exuberant overkill and thrilling drama.