Artists On The Right Way To Draw Judge Dredd’s Helmet

A Head For Justice

Many truly accomplished artists have cut their teeth published under the banner of 2000AD, yet there remains a debate about how to perfectly illustrate the title’s flagship character Judge Dredd. This topic of discussion is how to get Judge Dredd’s helmet and indeed also his chin just right. In an effort to find a solution to this fun topic and in the interests of spirited debate about such things, Tripwire’s contributing Writer Paul N Neal decided to ask a few experts. Longtime 2000AD artist Boo Cook started the ball rolling…

BOO COOK

“Yo! The Dredd helmet is definitely pretty tricky – I’ve been drawing it a long time and still find it hard to get looking right sometimes. When I had my first official Dredd gig (a cover I think) I thought hey here’s my chance to go full McCarthy and do a big wide bucket helmet – as it turned out, only Brendan McCarthy can do that.

So, on subsequent attempts to draw that pesky helmet I attempted to invoke the stylings of all my favourite Dredd artists simultaneously. These days it’s mostly settled somewhere around a Bolland/Cam Kennedy/Flint mash-up, but however it comes out it’s always incredibly satisfying to draw.”

GLENN FABRY

Glenn Fabry was also willing to have his say: “It depends how you want it to go, Brian [Bolland] or Brendan [McCarthy] or Mick [McMahon]? All a bit different. I know dirt bike riders who wear the physical thing made by their friends. You can’t see anything: I’ve worn one.”

I followed up: “As an artist how do you think it should be illustrated?”

Glenn explained: “I prefer the Mick McMahon version. It all depends upon what looks good at the time. I ended up getting stuck in Denver, Colorado in a hotel room with Bisley. We did a cover for the Megazine which ended up being ripped off by a betting franchise, for which neither of us got any money. I have seen it tattooed on a couple of people, one on an arm and the other on a leg”

After this I asked 2000AD and Judge Dredd veteran Nick Percival for his thoughts…

NICK PERCIVAL

Nick had this to say: “Dredd’s helmet (no jokes please) is not as bad to draw as some folks might think. It’s a great, unique design and illustrating the front and side views are no problem. I guess it can be a bit trickier for ¾ angles and looking up or down at it but like most regular 2000AD artists, I have a life-sized one (this is all sounding rather pervy) that’s useful to get the right reference if needed. Hours of fun, pretending I’m Dredd with all the photos to prove it. 

Because my art is painted, I probably spend more time getting the metallic FX and textures right with it more than anything else. Top tip: before you submit your final art, always flip the image to check it’s not looking wonky which can sometimes happen with those diagonal lightning bolt visor reflections.”

LIAM SHARP

Liam Sharp had some feedback to offer on Dredd’s appearance and how difficult it can be: “At certain angles, yes! Front on and side on, it’s iconic. Brian Bolland, of course, drew it amazingly. But I loved how John Higgins made it more stylised, and Brendan McCarthy too. John and Brian are still probably my favourite Dredd artists. Not a unique choice, I’d likely have to admit, but they are legendary for a reason!”

HENRY FLINT

When Dredd is really angry I like to add frown lines just where the bridge of Dredd’s nose should be. Transposing Dredd’s emotions onto the helmet itself. Dredd’s helmet is of course an inanimate object and there may be rules of continuity broken from one frame to another. I like to think of a new reader thinking that Dredd’s helmet is sentient and has emotion, wouldn’t that be bonkers.

McMahon during the Cursed Earth story was a big early influence on me. Also I remember on a whim getting rid of the zig zag flash in his visor. Still not sure if it was a good idea or not. I’ve seen other artists do the same so happy a small variation has caught on.

VAL SEMEIKS

I’m a big fan of Judge Dredd. Especially of Brian Bolland’s seminal work with the character. The whole 2000 AD universe is wonderfully different from Marvel and DC superheroes, and I found it to be a breath of fresh air when I discovered it back in the day. I’ve only had a couple of chances to work with Dredd. One was the “Bomb Buddy” short and the other a wonderful crossover with Lobo.

I’ve always thought Lobo was a better fit in the 2000AD universe than DC’s. DC editorial always seemed uncomfortable with Lobo’s violence and just didn’t know what to make of him, but put him next to Mean Machine or the Four Judges of the Apocalypse, and he fits right in. It’s no surprise when he’s written by Alan Grant and John Wagner.

Lobo/Judge Dredd: Psycho-Bikers vs The Mutants From Hell” was the highlight of my time with Lobo. It was so much fun to draw Dredd and Mega-City One. Mean Machine too. My best pencils and incredible inks by John Dell.

MARK SEXTON

Ah, the joy of drawing Dredd – or should that be the dread of drawing Dredd?

First off, Judge Dredd is an absolute personal favourite – the first comic character I discovered outside of my limited childhood exposure to Asterix and Tintin. To go straight from those classic characters to the Eagle Comics reprints of the Block Mania/Apocalypse War was quite the jump. Bloody awesome though!

So, there’s no small trepidation when drawing Dredd – so many gut-wrenchingly talented artists have already done it so well! I have love for so many of them – the classic quartet of Bolland, McMahon, Smith and Carlos – and more modern favourites such as Cliff Robinson and Henry Flint. I do really enjoy Henry’s Dredd – how he sneakily gets emotion (usually grumpiness/anger) into Dredd’s helmet. And the big chin with the small mouth! A style that I think only Henry could get away with…

Not sure I’ve ever cracked Dredd’s helmet to my own satisfaction – I do tend to draw it in the more traditional cylindrical style, but with just the slightest hint of a flare to the bottom. Four bars on the respirator – sorry Chris Weston, iso-cube time for me – and I enjoy mucking around with the flares in the visor. Sometimes the traditional zigzag, sometimes a more realistic reflection of light – but I do like the effect of giving him no flare at all, just a blankness where the eyes are, giving him a really threatening feel – whatever the story demands. I suppose I try to draw the helmet (and the whole uniform) as a real, practical thing. Where I don’t think I’ve got Dredd right yet is in the chin… I suspect (somewhat perversely) that I need a bit more of the Flint there! Or maybe Cliff. It’s all constant evolution really…

STEVE SAMPSON

Great question! Back in the day when I was illustrating for 2000 AD and the Megazine my go to for inspiration on all things Dredd was Mike McMahon and in truth he still is. I think like many others drawing the helmet front and side are kind of straight forward it’s when the have a different angle that it can become trickier. I had a small Judge Dredd metal figure which really helped with illustrating both the helmet and eagle. These days there are so many Dredd figures and models that you can buy, then pose at the angle you want take a photo then adapt that reference to your own style, which is what I did on my recent Dredd Pin-up for the Megazine. Whatever way you go about drawing him it’s always a blast to illustrate Dredd, as he’s such an iconic character, so a big shout out must go to Carlos Ezquerra for giving us all such a cool character to play with.

ANTHONY WILLIAMS

When I first drew Dredd 30+ years ago I was very influenced by Mcarthy’s version of the helmet. Over the years though and with long gaps between Dredd stories, I would gravitate to different styles as I tried to figure out how to make the damn thing work from all angles. I think just by trying pretty much every which way I now have my way to draw it that works for me and it only took three decades to get there. Now if I could just figure out how to draw that damn Eagle!

PETER DOHERTY

It never bothered me how this stuff is drawn particularly, so long as the story’s good. Early on I was a fan of Brendan’s, so I tried to ape that (badly!!) but as time went on I went toward the version that was most popular that everyone did, a helmet pretty closely-fitting, sort of a mixture of the greats, or as close as I got. At some point I did realise the whole uniform just has to look good from the angle it’s drawn from, probably got that from Mick McMahon’s more advanced stylish stuff.

SIMON COLEBY

Simon Coleby had some insight to offer too: “Thanks for your question. Dredd’s helmet – analogous to Batman’s ears. The eagle is much the same. I think we all eventually find the styling which best suits our take on the character. I tend to go for quite a straightforward, practical take on the helmet. I find that aligning the top edge of the lenses with where Dredd’s eyebrows would be tends to help get the shape and fit as I interpret it.”

“I think my styling is probably most inspired by the late, hugely missed Steve Dillon. His version of the uniform always looked credible and convincing to me, so I guess that was probably my starting point when I was looking for my own version. Some of the wilder versions are a lot of fun, but I’m not sure that would suit my style.”

BRIAN BOLLAND

One of the greatest 2000AD and Dredd artists, Brian Bolland offered these words: “Dredd’s helmet is difficult to draw as a sketch. I personally have to draw his head complete with nose and eyes and then draw the helmet over it.

Different artists have shaped the helmet differently. In my opinion, Mick McMahon developed the helmet to its best version. It’s parabolic in shape. Flared somewhat. Not round like a real motorcycle helmet.”

JOHN MCCREA

2000AD and DC artist McCrea had this to say about drawing his helmet:”Dredd is a joy to draw, but a nightmare too- the level of complexity in his costume means continuity is tricky. Happily I don’t really give a shit about continuity. I think emotion, drama, excitement and storytelling are much more important. So if there are 4 links in his chain in one page and 6 in another, so be it. As long as the reader enjoys the story.

So I approach Dredd’s helmet (kyak!) in the same way. If it’s more flared a la McCarthy in one panel or narrower in another, as long as it looks good and reads well, happy days. 3, 4 or 5 bars on the respirator, only Chris Weston cares!

Mick McMahon is my favourite Dredd artist so I usually swerve that way, though I don’t copy it directly, more just the idea of it, I guess…”

JOHN CHARLES

The creator of Technofreak and recent artist on Tripwire had some ideas to share too. As a frequent 2000AD and Dredd colourist, he said, “Drawing Judge Dredd’s helmet ‘correctly’ is a matter of taste. There have been so many interpretations of its shape, from the extreme exaggeration of Brendan McCarthy to the ‘realism’ of Brian Bolland. I like both and am never sure what to shoot for. I guess I can’t naturally go as wild as McCarthy, but his Dredd helmet is way cool. Same with the chin. I tend towards a ‘realistic’ big chin but have seen wild exaggerations and coloured them in the work of Jake Lynch, for example, which I love.

“I have only drawn Dredd professionally a few times, on an old 2000AD cover, in a pin-up for the Megazine, and a cover for IDW, but I’ve drawn him dozens of times in sketchbooks. He is my all-time favourite comic character; a bitch to draw because of all the costume detail, but great fun, nonetheless.”

CHRIS WESTON

Frequent Dredd artist and writer had a fresh perspective: “I don’t find it that much of a challenge. I’ve been reading Judge Dredd non-stop since I was nine years old, so I am pretty familiar with the shape of his head now. The great thing is there are now quite a few variations to choose from, depending on your mood or the tone of the story. My helmet used to be very cylindrical, much like the way Bolland and Steve Dillon used to draw it. However, as I’ve got older, I’ve slightly flared it a bit in reference to Mick McMahon. One day, I aim to do a really wide, exaggerated version in tribute to Brendan McCarthy.

The only thing I won’t compromise on is the number of bars on the respirator which should always be five. I’m hardcore on this, even though it makes the task so much harder. It’s way easier to divide a shape into four than it is into five; you just divide it in half and then half again. With five you have to faff about a bit and make sure all the lines are evenly spaced. Still, I won’t have it any other way and any artist who does four bars is a lazy creep who needs to do some serious time in an Iso-Cube.”

JOHN HIGGINS

When you think of Judge Dredd, the first thing that spring to mind is … the chin! But the second thing is the helmet, and Dredd is not Dredd without his helmet, if we think back on the two Judge Dredd movies. All pure hearted fans of the lawman of the future will tell you, the Stallone, Judge Dredd movie was not a Dredd movie, as soon as he removed his helmet, it was a Stallone action movie. Some lovely design in it, such as Hammerstein and the city blocks that Kev Walker designed and the Angel gang were pretty good. OK a couple of things to enjoy in it. But the real Judge Dredd movie was the Karl Urban movie Dredd, this was the Dredd all pure hearted fans wanted to see, he never took his helmet off, as in the comic, he acted with his chin, mouth and body.

When I came in as a Judge Dredd artist, I was a fan, I am a fan. But the excitement of following in the footsteps of some of my all-time favourite artists was tempered by, performance anxiety, whom should I emulate, could I emulate? The creator, Carlos Ezquerra or Brian Bolland or Mick McMahon? They were the triumvirate for me, Carlos was very specifically Carlos, Mick and Brian were sort of still developing as artists, so I had some lea way if they were my touch stones. I loved the two completely different approaches to how they depicted Dredd, Mick’s, high contrast black and white work, his spot blacks were perfectly spotted, Brian’s totality of a tonal rendering, with pure black line, which has never been beaten. In the early days, I sort of got confused and mixed and matched or tried to between two different styles. The accompanying collage of illustrations from different periods in my Judge Dredd career perfectly illustrate my point I think!

JH WILLIAMS III

US comic artist JH Williams III had this to offer on drawing Dredd: “I loved doing Dredd. I was already a fan from reading a variety of Judge Dredd reprints that I came across when I was young. The DC version was around the time of the first movie. And I remember getting harassed a little bit for a scene where I named one of the Mega City blocks ‘Stallone Block’. I thought that was funny, because in the comics I had read, there often were easter egg jokes like that.”

I wouldn’t say it was any more or less difficult than any other thing I’ve worked on. I wanted to try to have it be full of personality and touches of quirkiness like classic Dredd, while being true to the more serious plotting by Andy. I still attempt to find my own self in the work. It being such an early part of my career I’m uncertain how much of that comes through, I was still evolving my ideas on visual storytelling.

DAN CORNWELL

Finally current 2000AD star Dan Cornwall offered the last few words for me:“I think generally we are lucky when it comes to drawing Dredd’s helmet. To a degree, we get a free license and can do our own interpretation of it. But there are limits. I think everyone has their preferred style from Dredd’s early days. Whether it’s Ezquerra, McMahon, Bolland, Dillon or any of the other legends.”

“Personally, I can’t pinpoint who’s mine resembles? Maybe a bit Steve Dillon mixed with McMahon? I think that’s for readers to decide. My style has evolved over the years, so has the way I draw his helmet. I think my interpretation is possibly based on reality, as in how it would look and work in real life, practically speaking. Dull, I know.”

CONCLUSION

Given all this professional advice, perhaps it is best to let the many loyal fans of 2000AD to decide. It would appear Steve Dillon, Mick McMahon and Brendon McCarthy get the most name-checks from our panel. Strangely, there were very few mentions of the late Carlos Ezquerra. Who really nailed Dredd perfectly? Tripwire would love to know.