One of the things that makes Mega City One come alive is the signage. Consider this my attempt to gather some in-universe posters to adorn my Mega City One Storage Block.
In the metropolis of the future 96% of citizens are unemployed (some even unemployable) and so the only thing left to them is either crime or consumerism. There is always a new craze sweeping the streets and these things don't just sell themselves, they require the efforts of countless marketing droids to dream up the latest zarjazz ad campaign.
One of the things I loved about the Dredd (2012) movie was the attention to detail that the production designers went to in populating the walls and foyer of Peach Trees to make it look like it was really lived in and dystopian.
I think there should be a juxtaposition between the official Justice department signage which features slogans like "The Law is Watching You" or "Obey the Law" and the rampant consumerism posters of the mega corps. It should feel like a living nightmare between the movies "1984" and "Idiocracy".
Posters on the Web
I've created posters for my games a number of times and even did one for Fratellis Pizza Truck Sign when I needed signage for the side of a Pizza Truck.
I did some research and found only a handful of ready to go posters such as this Psi Division recruitment poster by Miguel Mercado. The Judge Dredd pages of Wargaming Girl's Blog is a treasure trove some beutiful 28 mm minis and scenery builds including this Get Ugly Billboard which is definitely what I am leaning towards.
Judge Dredd (In Universe) Posters
Cal is Watching You! - Who could forget Judge Caligula, the mad tyrant whose reign of terror brought Mega City One to its knees and sentenced an entire city to death. Part of this story would form the basis for the Judge Dredd (1995) movie plot in which Dredd is framed for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on Titan The locations may have changed but the sentiment is there and produces the memorable showdown with Mean Machine Angel.
Otto Sump is one of the most prolific entrepreneurs of early Dredd stories and the creator of the tasty and nutritious food substitute made from industrial waste known as Gunge.
Gunge was an instant hit, being twice as nutritious as the current food alternative Munce.
I came across this Gunge image which was easily converted into a poster with a little bit of slimy text.
Otto Sump is such a goldmine of great imagery that it would literally be a crime to not include his tasty sewage in a can for my citizens to salivate over.
Sadly the Justice Department quickly put the kybosh on Otto Sump's culinary empire and outlawed the product and repurposed it for their own unflavoured Justice Department Rations. Sump was unconcerned as there is nothing better for a businessman than having a steady stream of income from a Government contract.
Homebrewed Advertisements
Settle those neighbourly disputes in a safe and legal way by bashing each other over the head with a cricket bat. All protective equipment available at a small rental fee. Juveniles ages 5+ welcome.
Bring your wife, mother, girl-friend or grandmother all are welcome and all ladies get in for free on Friday Night.
It came in a couple of different versions, 31 were made for the movie including 2 fully road legal ones. Based on a Land Rover Forward Control 101 chassis. I remember seeing one of these as a teen at the Model Engineers Exhibition where they had a Judge Dredd movie display featuring the ABC Robot which demonstrated pneumatic animatronics. It was pretty freaking awesome.
I am still looking for a good model that I can add to my collection of 15mm Judge Dredd Vehicles so if you know where one is please drop a comment in the box below. - https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/cursed-earth-taxi
Boing! - An old favourite and guaranteed to keep even a Dark Judge at bay, The all new Strawberry flavoured Boing! is the latest craze to hit the shelves. But don't get carried away kids as you can only legally and safely use Boing! in your local Palais de Boing!
Boingers featured as a random encounter in my last Judge Dredd game and I custom crafted a couple of the sproingy fellons out of christmas decorations. They worked out really well and I definitely should make some more now I have access to a resin 3D printer. Check out my 15mm Boingers
Mantic Games published a 28mm wargame in the Mars Attacks universe and I would love to print off some 15mm aliens to be one of my Mega City Gangs.
All I could find for free was a mars attacks alien head and I think there are some 15mm Horde of The Things minis out there which would do a better job.
Ignoring all the controversy, I thought this was an excellent starting point although it took quite a few prompts to get something I was truly happy with as a starting point for this image.
I'm looking at utilising AI more during game prep in the future and its use in games at my regular friday night sessions at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club is on the rise. I for one welcome my new robot overlords.
PJ has to be one of the greatest criminal minds of his era and one of Judge Dredd's erstwhile protagonists having murdered his way to being a millionaire and managed to outwit Dredd on many occassions. However, just like the RCMP Dredd always gets his man and PJ Maybe finally met his end falling from a zoom car and exploding at the same time.
Killdozer / Landcruiser One of the greatest toy merchandising deals of my childhood was the 2000AD & Matchbox "Adventure 2000" range of diecast vehicles which came out in 1977. This was the vehicle of choice for Judge Dredd's famous excursion into the Cursed Earth in a bid to deliver the antidote to the 2T(fru)T virus to the inhabitants of Mega City Two.
This cross country road trip was inspired by the Roger Zelazny Novel "Damnation Alley". It was a rip snorting adventure which saw Dredd's team face challenge after challenge and steadily get whittled down to just one man. Along the way we saw the Jolly Green Giant defeated, Mt Rushmore destroyed and were introduced to greats such as the Doomsday Dogs, the Angel Gang and Satanus. The Killdozer of course was destroyed fairly early on in this mammoth trek, but it went out with a bang and was immortalised forecer in thousands of diecast toys around the country.
Not Dredd but the Sentiment is Right
These will most likely adorn the walls of the Black Museum or perhaps some long forgotten bomb shelter or underground evacuation center.
With its roots in the Communist Red Scare of 1950s America, this is a classic example of Cold War Propagandism which 2000AD emulated so well during the 80s when the news papers and TV were all consumed by the threat of a Russian disctator with access to a nuclear arsenal. Nothing changes much then...
I love that the corporate creations of Ridley Scott's Bladerunner and Alien universes have taken on a life of their own beyond the movie franchises. You can see it all across geek culture in the huge number of T-Shirt designs that you can buy featuring the Weiland-Yutani or Tyrell Corp logos. Other great sci-fi movies have followed suit with a plethora of tourism posters and fake corporate adverts for holidays on Tattooine or cab rides from Corbyn Dallas.
Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave - The catchphrase of Torquemada the Grand Inquisitor and the villain of the 2000AD sister strip Nemesis the Warlock.
When I was a regular reader there was a huge crossover with the ABC Warriors and Nemesis which was one of the first sightings of artwork by Simon Bisley. The most famous of these robots being Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein who made their debut in the Pat Mills penned Ro-Busters strip. I have a particular penchant for this pair who I swear must be inspired by R2-D2 and C3-P0.
Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave is one of those great lines which blends the sinister authoritarianism of Orwell's 1984, the quirky establishmentarianism of Empire and the British Ministry of War posters of WW2. It's also a fitting title for 2000AD creator Pat Mill's book about the comics industry he helped to form.
12 Monkeys - If you haven't seen this fantastically trippy Terry Gilliam movie starring Bruce Willis then you should. A central theme to the story being the proliferation of the mysterious 12 monkeys posters and grafitti in a pre-apocalypse New York. Who is posting them up? What are the 12 monkeys? 00 What does it all mean? The story unravels piece by piece as you are convinced that the main character is losing his mind as his reality and his future crumble.
Terry has always been a visionary when it comes to dreaming up dystopian futures. My favourite has to be the amazing Brazil. I should really get around to creating a storyline around guerilla plumber extraordinaire and bane of Central Services Harry Tuttle.
Download These Judge Dredd Mini Posters and More
If you need some quirky Judge Dredd Posters for your game and don't want to spend days scouring the internet like I did... I've put all these and more together for in one Judge Dredd Miniposters JPG below which you can download below.
Just to note the Stallone Dredd film was 1995 not 1985.
ReplyDeleteThanks for spotting that typo.
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