Judge Dredd: 'Smoker's Crime'

NAME
Judge Dredd: 'Smoker's Crime'

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 23

DATELINE
30 July 77

After another Supercover by Brian Bolland, this prog also featured Invasion, Dan Dare, Harlem Heroes, M.A.C.H.1 and Shako strips.

PAGE COUNT
5

REPRINTS
Judge Dredd (Volume 2, Issue 3), Judge Dredd (Volume 2, Issue 58) and Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd tracks down some bank robbers with a little help from their filthy vice.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First appearance of the Mega-City One Smokatorium.

INFORMATION
As part of the pollution laws, smoking on the streets is a crime in Mega-City One. The city Smokatorium is the only building where smoking is allowed and smokers are required to wear helmets to help them breathe in the noxious atmosphere.

Tobacco Centre 7 is in Sector 7 of the city. They stock Carribean Zone Cigars and Astrogum.

The control panel on a Judge's Lawmaster bike can detect nicotine and measures distance in yards. There is a bank squad, specifically responsible for looking after banks.

JUDGE DREDD
There are anti-smoking signs on his beat that read: "Remember this is Judge Dredd's beat, so don't try smoking on the street! Smoking on streets prohibited - By order." (also he is presumably not a smoker).

OTHER CHARACTERS
MR RIZZO
The proprietor of Tobacco Centre 7.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
At least three. A bank robber shoots dead a teller during the robbery and a Smokatorium employee during his escape, before he is himself shot by Dredd when he refused to put down his weapon.

BEST LINES
Dredd (after a lawbreaker lit a match on him): "And you just struck an officer of the law."

WORST LINES
Dredd: "Only dead men walk out of doors, Lawbreaker - smart ones use the window!"

What?

CATCHPHRASES
None.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
None.

MISTAKES
Caribbean is mis-spelt Carribean in the artwork.

RETROSPECT
A smoking ban covering indoor workplaces has been in effect all across the United Kingdom since 2007.

NOTES
None.

CREDITS
There are no credits printed in the strip itself and so the following are taken from Barney.

Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: Tom Frame/Peter Knight

Tom Frame's first work for 2000 AD was on Invasion in Prog 4. He went on to provide letters for a further 596 Judge Dredd strips, as well as The 86ers, A.B.C. Warriors, American Gothic, Judge Anderson, Apocalypse Soon, Bad Company, Banzai Battalion, Bato Loco, Bec & Kawl, Bix Barton, Caballistics, Inc., Chopper, The Corps, Dan Dare, Dash Decent, Judge Death, DeMarco, Diceman, Flesh, Flesh 3000AD, Freaks, Hap Hazzard, The Helltrekkers, Indigo Prime, Killer, Leviathan, Low Life, M.A.C.H.1, Mean Machine, Mean Team, Mega-City Noir, Mind Wars, One-offs, Past Imperfect, Planet Of The Damned, Pussyfoot 5, Robo-Hunter, Ro-Busters, Rogan Gosh, Rogue Trooper, Ro-Jaws' Robo-Tales, Robo-Hunter, Shaun Of The Dead, The Simping Detective, Sinister Dexter, Slaine, Strontium Dog, Tales Of Telguuth, Tales Of The Doghouse, Tharg The Mighty, Tharg's Dragon Tales, Tharg's Future Shocks, Tharg's Terror Tales, Time Twisters, Tyranny Rex, The V.C.'s, Whatever Happened To...?, Lenny Zero and he may well have contributed art with Johnstone to a Tharg's Future Shock called Old Quagmires Never Die (Prog 529). When he died in 2006, he held the record for working on more 2000 AD stories than anybody else.

REVIEW
I really like this strip. The artwork is great and it's just the sort of future crime that Dredd should be investigating.

Programme An Order For 2000 A.D. - Our Next Prog Has Extra Thrills!