Mark Russell and Max Dunbar Team For “Judge Dredd: Under Siege” At IDW

IDW’s incarnation of Judge Dredd returns this May in a new four-issue limited series, “Judge Dredd: Under Siege.” The latest miniseries is written by Mark Russell (“The Flintstones,” “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles”) and penciled by Max Dunbar (“Micronauts,” “Slash and Burn”), and will see Judge Dredd dealing with trouble in a city-block (named Patrick Swayze Block after the late actor) on the edge of Mega-City One.

This is the latest IDW Publishing comic based on Rebellion’s “2000 AD” character since 2012, the last of which, “Judge Dredd: The Blessed Earth” by Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas and Daniel Irizarri, wrapped up with #8 in January. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision, Russell said he pitched the series when “nobody knew who I was […] and I’m only slightly less obscure now,” explaining “I’m drawn to titles I think would make an interesting prism for my thoughts on the state of the world, the future of the human race and how our institutions are failing us. And if you’re going to watch the world burn, the futuristic decay of Mega-City One is a pretty ideal vantage point.”

Russell also compared his take on Judge Dredd to Dirty Harry, in that they are “a sort of referendum on the world of the moment,” and revealed “The urban planning aspect of Mega-City One has always fascinated me and it was definitely something I wanted to explore in this series.” Regarding collaborating with Dunbar, who lives in Dredd’s birthplace of England, Russell confirmed “there was a lot of revision and back and forth. We were like two middle-aged dudes haggling over a lawnmower. The whole process from pitch to approval took about a year.”

“Judge Dredd: Under Siege” #1 is out in May, and will be available with a variant cover by Alan Quah.