Description

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An in-depth examination of the ways in which the comic strip Judge Dredd, published in 2000 AD, has predicted the changing face of policing in Britain over the last 45 years.

He is the law - and you better believe it!

Judge, jury and executioner, Judge Dredd is the brutal comic book cop policing the chaotic future urban jungle of Mega-City One, created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and launching in the pages of 2000 AD in 1977.

But what began as a sci-fi action comic quickly evolved into a searing satire on hardline, militarised policing and ‘law and order’ politics, its endless inventiveness and ironic humour acting as a prophetic warning about our world today - and with important lessons for our future.

Blending comic book history with contemporary radical theories on policing, I Am The Law takes key Dredd stories from the last 45 years and demonstrates how they provide a unique wake up call about our gradual, and not so gradual, slide towards authoritarian policing.

From the politicisation of policing to ‘zero tolerance’, from violent suppression of protest to the rise of the surveillance state, I Am The Law examines how a comic book warned us about the chilling endgame of today's 'law and order' politics.

About the Author

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Michael Molcher is a journalist, publicist, and podcaster. Previously a local newspaper reporter and then a government shill, he has been the publicity manager for 2000 AD for more than a decade. He has written extensively about comics for SFX, Comic Heroes, politics.co.uk, 2000 AD, and the Judge Dredd Megazine, and has interviewed in-depth many of the writers and artists who have worked for 2000 AD over its forty-five year history. Between 2015 and 2018 he produced an extensive series of critical pieces on Judge Dredd for Hachette Partwork’s Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection series.

Praise For…

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"I cannot recall a more timely book ... This is not just a celebration of the future fictional character: it is a thoughtful, and often alarming examination of the state of law enforcement in a liberal, or neo-liberal, society." – Nick Lezard, The Spectator

"Should leave you incandescent with rage at the injustices of our own world ... a thoroughly researched book that dives deep into the history of policing and totalitarian politics...to make its often damning case." – Wyrd Science