Judge Dredd: Extreme Close-up!

This is the original cover art for the tenth anniversary issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine, painted by Siku. I got my first job in comics as assistant editor on it, arriving seven weeks before it launched in 1990. Within a year I was editor, and have been involved with the Megazine off and on ever since.



Frank Miller [yes, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Miller_%28comics%29]that Frank Miller[/url]] was originally commissioned to create the cover art by then-Megazine editor Andy Diggle [yes, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Diggle]that Andy Diggle[/url]].



I was a freelance stand-in editor for the tenth anniversary issue while Andy was on his honeymoon. But things went sideways [see here for my version of the reasons why], so I needed another cover - fast!



I opted for a nice, simple close-up of Dredd's iconic helmet with the cross-piece over his nose as a subtle representation of the Roman numeral for ten - X. Siku came up trumps and even let me hold on to the artwork afterward. [Go here to see the published version of this cover - not hugely exciting but kind of striking.]