A new reason why I dig the Friggin' Internet: while wandering through downtown last week, something reminded me of Judge Dredd and 2000 AD. For the non-nerdy, I'm not talking about the crappy Sylvester Stallone movie, but the old British comic books. Anyways, got home that night, Googl-ed up Judge Dredd and found the 2000 AD website. They have a few old stories posted, which was enough to take me back. Plus Judge Anderson, Rogue Trooper and Strontium Dog...names and concepts I haven't really thought about in roughly 15 years. Sure, I hear Anthrax's "I am the law" roughly once a month, but I don't sit down and take time to get into the whole world of Judge Dredd.

I noticed that the comics from that side of the pond aren't as "serious" as our American crop. Americans seems to have somewhat realistic expectations for comics, whereas the British aren't as picky. A British emailer pointed this out to me about a year ago and after purusing the 2000 AD world, I have to agree. It's a heavy sci-fi/fantasy slant that probably would not appeal to the wide majority of American comic fans. Most of the Dredd villains looks like characters in an editorial cartoon. Despite some of the political overtones, the entire concept of Judge Dredd is well distanced from "reality". For instance, a big chunk of the Spider-Man stories are spent on Peter Parker's life. His mask comes off alot and we see his personal and family life. Judge Dredd is rather faceless and his personal life isn't covered. He's a cop....that's it. Plus, he could be hanging upside down and his helmet won't fall off.

The 2000 AD comics also have their own language. Fun, made-up words like "Zarjaz", "Seto Thargo", "Wally Squad", "Futsie", "Grud" and "Drokk it".

I don't plan on subscribing or becoming a fanatic, but it was an nifty, unexpected diversion from my usual junk.