Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth, Chapter 11 – Battle Of The Burger Barons

NAME
Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth, Chapter 11 – Battle Of The Burger Barons

FIRST PUBLISHED
2000 A.D. Prog 71

DATELINE
1 July 78

PAGE COUNT
7

REPRINTS
None.

SYNOPSIS
Dredd becomes embroiled in a war between two Burger Barons.

FIRSTS & LASTS
First time that a story has reached eleven parts and this is also the first of the 'banned' strips.

INFORMATION
The Great Atomic War turned Kansas into a nuclear dustbowl and it suffers from dust storms. In Between is a town with a population of 99, mainly normal. The town got its name because it is 'In Between' the land of the neighbouring burger barons. 'Ronald MacDonald' leads Macdonald's Marauders from a base in Macdonald City to the north of In Between, while the 'Burger King' leads the Burger Boys from Burgerville to the south.

JUDGE DREDD
He fights in the battle between the MacDonald's Marauders and the Burger Boys, but is kidnapped when 'Ronald MacDonald' wins.

OTHER CHARACTERS
SPIKES HARVEY ROTTEN
He rides into In Between with Dredd and orders a hamburger from a café, which causes the locals to pull a gun on him believing he is spying for one of the Burger Barons. He fights in the battle between the MacDonald's Marauders and the Burger Boys, but is kidnapped when 'Ronald MacDonald' wins.

'THE BURGER KING'
Burger Baron in charge of the Burger Boys. He is not the original Burger King. He gave the people of In Between an ultimatum to decide which side they were on. When it ran out he and his troops entered the town to discover the result only to find that MacDonald's forces were also present. They clashed and the Burger King was beaten by MacDonald and his forces fled.

'RONALD MACDONALD'
Burger Baron in charge of the MacDonald's Marauders. He is not the original Ronald MacDonald, but instead the son of the man who ran MacDonald's before the Great Atomic War. His troops clash with those of the Burger King in In Between and win. MacDonald orders the town set on fire and the inhabitants kidnapped.

ARRESTS
None.

DEATHS
At least four. We see three soldiers of indeterminate affiliation die in battle, while 'The Burger King' is killed by 'Ronald MacDonald'.

BEST LINES
'Ronald MacDonald': "You'll have to stay a MacDonald customer till this war is won - An' that might be quite a spell yet....This is big country - Burger Country!".

WORST LINES
The 'Burger King': "You've bitten off more'n yuh kin chew this time Ronald!"

CATCHPHRASES
Dredd understandably asks "What the drokk are you talking about?", a fast food fighter shouts an "Aieeeee!" and 'Ronald MacDonald' says "There's a difference at MacDonald's - - A difference you'll enjoy", which was a McDonalds advertising slogan between 1974 and 1986.

CONTINUITY & CROSSOVERS
None.

INFLUENCES & REFERENCES
M(a)cDonalds and Burger King are fast food restaurants.

MISTAKES
At one point Dredd's badge reads Dreed.

RETROSPECT
This strip was not banned per se, but after encountering problems with another trademark infringing two-part section of The Cursed Earth, IPC decided to play it safe and chose not to reprint this part or its successor.

NOTES
There is very little here to draw attention to the fact that Tweak is now part of Dredd's crew. He appears in the background of one panel.

CREDITS
Script: Pat Mills
Artist: Mike McMahon
Letters: T. Frame

REVIEW
Mike McMahon's interpretation of 'Ronald MacDonald' is great and the genuine corporate rivalry left unchecked premise behind this strip is brilliant, but the end result is mostly ham-fisted.

Next Prog: Burger Law!!