Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

Architecture, Violence and Sensation: A Visitors Guide to Mega City One Dan Smith Introduction Mega-City One is the setting for the comic strip Judge Dredd, which has appeared in every edition of the weekly British science fiction comic 2000AD from 19 to the present, with the e!ception of the very first iss"e - or rather, as the comic refers to itself, prog# $he character of Dredd %ecame &the most pop"lar and most recogni'a%le icon of British comics for the ne!t thirty years( )*reland +,,9- .,1/# 0et Dredd himself is not a character that is easy to empathise with# 1e maintains order in a dystopia, thro"gh the "se of violence and the infle!i%le application of the law# Most of his face is covered %y a helmet# 2hat is revealed, a stern e!pression composed of prominent chin and downt"rned mo"th, rarely shifts into any other arrangement# 1e is a clone, %red and raised for a single p"rpose# $here is little sense of a distinct personal life, of traits that wo"ld make him more h"man# Dredd is his 3o%# $hese 4"alities have the potential to make readers "ncomforta%le, as Brian *reland arg"esDredd fans were %oth attracted to and rep"lsed %y his fascist tendencies# 5iven that Dredd was created, in part, as a response to some of the more reactionary aspects of 6merican c"lt"re 7 to hold Dredd(s fascist tendencies "p to ridic"le, for e!ample 7 Dredd is, in fact, a polysemic fig"re who can %e viewed vario"sly as a fig"re of fear and loathing, as an antihero, or as a hero8s"perhero )+,,9- .9:/# * wo"ld like to s"ggest that this fascination and engagement has %een s"stained thro"gh the %"ilding of a vast city and its s"rro"nding world2eek after week for 9. years, often in pithy si!-page strips, contemporary iss"es are amplified and e!plored in a vast con"r%ation of ;,, million inha%itants that stretches across 6merica<s eastern sea%oard# Often Dredd is a

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%ystander in the story, as the writer and artist highlight the vast "r%an playgro"nd instead )Olcayto +,1+- +=/# Mega-City One offers a s"stained and detailed envisioning of a f"t"re city# $his fictional world is more than a representation# *t is charged space, generating temporal and sensational shock prod"ctive forces that disr"pt perceptions of the present# $his is a city of critical engagements, not passive spectatorship# $his f"t"re city, which occ"pies the entire >ast Coast of ?orth 6merica, is not a static space# *t contin"es to change and has diversified into a detailed e!panded "niverse# $his article will e!plore some architect"ral and social aspects of Mega-City 1, s"ggesting relationships %etween the medi"m of comics, violence and sensation are artic"lated within the city, generating a critical potential in acts of reading# $he city is approached as a comple! and vis"ally e!traordinary critical dystopia )Moylan +,,,/ that was invented for a readership of children, and that has contin"ed to age with its a"dience# $his city is an independent state, one of a n"m%er of vast walled "r%an states across the atomic wasteland that is the s"rface of the >arth$his is a city witho"t democracy, where the Stat"e of @i%erty is dwarfed %y the Stat"e of A"dgement# 2here employment is 3"st 19 per cent# 2here reinforced str"ct"res ho"se two-ton <fatties< gorging on synthetic foods and the <smokatori"m< is the only place left where smokers can light "p# 2here Besyk, a h"ge coffin-shaped %"ilding, processes a tho"sand dead %odies an ho"r, e!tracting "sef"l parts to %e "sed again# 2here cleaning ro%ots malf"nction to %ecome re%ellio"s graffiti artists# Batman<s 5otham City and S"perman<s Metropolis seem like one-note wonders in comparisonC their townscapes little more than simple reflections of the essence of the s"perheroes who inha%it them# DEF 1; million people live in mo%ile homes, never stopping, ref"elling on the move# 6 mile-high concrete wall lines its western flank, closing the city off from the irradiated heartland of old 6merica and the m"tated h"mans who live there# 6nd, when man"fact"red weather systems fail, entire <sectors< with pop"lations n"m%ering in the millions are plag"ed %y wild storms# Sectors ;+

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

contain kilometre-high %locks that ho"se "p to =,,,,, people# Most residents spend their entire lives witho"t leaving them )Olcayto +,1+- +=/#

?ew Judge Dredd stories have appeared in print every week since 19

and

contin"e today# $he la"nch of the ongoing monthly Judge Dredd Megazine in Octo%er 199, offered a f"rther space not only for stories involving Dredd himself, %"t the creation of new characters in other parts of his world, while original material, mostly drawn %y Bon Smith was p"%lished in every iss"e of The Daily Star newspaper %etween 19;1 and 199;# $he scale of the city rendered in these tho"sands of pages makes only the most c"rsory of impressions possi%le here# *n order to introd"ce the city and attempt a critical engagement, this paper will foc"s on moments of the formative period of the city<s creation in the late 19 ,s and early 19;,s# Foundations Science fiction opens "p onto territories that might %e %arred to other narrative forms# $his was certainly the case with 2000AD# 6ltho"gh the readership has aged over time, this was a children(s comic, taking yo"ng readers into some very dark and morally am%ivalent landscapes d"ring a time of great sensitivity and censorial intervention from %oth within and witho"t of the instit"tions of p"%lishing# *n this light, 2000AD can %e sit"ated in a tradition of science fiction demarcated %y $om Moylan as a fictive practice with the formal potential to re-vision the world in ways that generate pleas"ra%le, pro%ing, and potentially s"%versive responses in its readersG )+,,,- :/# $hese stories offered entertainment that sold well to yo"ng readers, while generating a forcef"l potential for s"%versive responses# $his potential within science fiction m"st %e meas"red, according to Moylan, against the gl"t of mediocrity generated %y commercial imp"lses and c"lt"re ind"stry that dominate m"ch of the mainstream o"tp"t of the genre# Moylan also posits the centrality of the a%ility to go to these places, to re-vision the world, as the re-creation of the readers( own world, ;9

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and of co"rse that of the creator, as &an elsewhere, an alternative spacetime that is the empirical moment %"t not that moment as it is ideologically prod"ced %y way of everyday common sense( )+,,,- =/# Hor Moylan, this is one of the pleas"res of science fiction, and one of the motivations to ret"rn, a motivation which of co"rse reveals a more effective form of market strategy# $he s"ccess of 2000AD was that these s"%versive worlds drew readers in, and made them want to ret"rn every week, while at the same time mapping the territory of fantasy as a means of ill"minating dim act"ality# Judge Dredd predated and prefig"red the c"rrent fashion for yo"ng ad"lt fiction and the accompanying taste for dark dystopian f"t"res as fo"nd, for e!ample, in the novels of Scott 2esterfeld, Iatrick ?ess and S"'anne Collins# Bo%erta $rite s"ggests that 0o"ng 6d"lt Dystopian Hiction gathered moment"m in 1999, with the p"%lication of The Giver %y @ois @owry )+,,,- 1+1/# *n contrast, 2000AD emerged in the late 19 ,s d"ring the last period of mass readership of comics %y children in the JK# 2000AD emerged from the landscape of British comics in the 19 ,s, when &two companies dominated British comics - D"ndee<s DC $homson, and the 0o"th 5ro"p of @ondon p"%lisher *IC( )Bishop, +,,9- ;/# By 19 9, *IC<s 0o"th 5ro"p had overtaken DC $homson in sales, reaching five million comic sales a week# 1owever, there was an increasing recognition that in order to keep "p with what children might %e e!posed to on television and in cinema, the depiction of violence needed to %e tackled more directly# Warlord, a weekly comic for %oys, was la"nched %y DC $homson in 19 :, &with to"gher, grittier stories than had %een seen %efore in a British comic( )Bishop, +,,9- ;/# $his p"shed *IC(s 0o"th 5ro"p to la"nch Battle Picture Weekly in 19 . )Bishop, +,,9- ;/# Aohn Sanders, p"%lisher of the 0o"th 5ro"p, and s"%se4"ently 6ssistant Managing >ditor, followed "p on the s"ccess of Battle with a comic that he wanted &to %e aggressive and hard-edged like Battle, %"t a"gmented %y contemporary settings and a more realistic edge( )Bishop, +,,9- 9/# 19 = saw the la"nch of Action, &a street-wise title aimed at working class kids, %rimming with anti-a"thority attit"de# $he stories inside were a sampler of pop"lar genres, s"ch as sports, war crime and spies# $he cosy middle class val"es of other ;:

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comics were consigned to the d"st%in( )Bishop, +,,9- 9/# 5"y @awley offers a f"rther description of the selling of violence to a yo"ng a"dience- &Since kids co"ldn(t see Lrated )today(s 1; Certificate/ films, Action offered c"t-price, accessi%le, very violent versions of Jaw , Dirty !arry, Death "ace 2000 etc( )@awley, 1999- 1,9/# D"ring the development of Action, ideas for a science fiction comic emerged- M6 yo"ng *IC staffer called Kevin 5osnell read an article in @ondon(s >vening Standard newspaper a%o"t a cl"ster of science-fiction movies coming to cinemasG )Bishop, +,,9- 9/# 5osnell saw a gap in the market, and the likelihood of a fad for all thing science fiction among the target a"dience for %oys( comics# *t did not matter if this was short livedC the life span of a comic was e!pected to %e %rief# >ditor Iat Mills, who had overseen the creation of Battle and Action, worked with 5osnell to convince *IC 0o"th 5ro"p that a science fiction title wo"ld %e profita%le# 2hen given the go ahead, the development of this title %ecame Mills(s pro3ect, one of the challenges of which was an image pro%lem- &Science-fiction had a %ad name %efore Star War , partic"larly in comics# *t was seen negatively, not least %y kids who regarded science-fiction comics - often 4"ite rightly - as st"pid( )Mills cited in Bishop, +,,911/# $o co"nter this, Mills applied elements that had %een proven %y the s"ccess of Battle and ActionBattle showed me stylish action works well in a comic, %"t Action confirmed it# My own negative attit"des towards the esta%lishment str"ck a chord in the reader and co"ld %e repeated# 6nd * had started to get interested in the possi%ilities of "sing >"ropean-style art# 6ll these factors * was keen to %ring into what %ecame 2000AD )Mills cited in Bishop, +,,9- 11/# 1owever, the development of 2000AD was threatened %y a storm of negative p"%licity aro"nd Action# 2hereas most comics wo"ld do well "pon their la"nch, and then see sales decline, Action# sales increased over the S"mmer following its He%r"ary la"nch# 6s sales increased, Action# editorial team %ro"ght in new stories, emphasising sensational and o"trageo"s elements;.

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

$he most notorio"s of these was $id "ule %$, set in a grim and gritty world where most ad"lts are dead, leaving teenagers in charge# $he strip was &ord o' the (lie for the Scu) generation, the epitome of Action(s anarchic, anti-a"thority ethos# *t was also %loody and violent, with no-holds-%arred compared to the safe fodder "s"ally dished "p in children(s comics )Bishop, +,,9- 1;/# Action was receiving attention for its violent content from within weeks of la"nching, and %y 6pril &the Sun was calling it M$he Sevenpenny ?ightmareG( )Bishop, +,,9- 1;/# 6s the violent content of 6ction %ecame more prono"nced, the negative p"%licity escalated- &1igh-minded morality gro"ps la"nched campaigns to have 6ction %anned, ta%loid newspapers went into a feeding fren'y of righteo"s indignation, and Sanders got a ro"gh ride when 4"estioned %y Hrank Bo"gh on the c"rrent affairs $N show *ationwide( )Bishop, +,,9- 19/# $he threat of an overall loss of sales for *IC 0o"th 5ro"p, and more specifically, of %eing %anned from retail chains, was eno"gh to see Action withdrawn from shops %y *IC in Octo%er 19 =, altho"gh it ret"rned for a few months in a highly censored form %efore %eing sh"t down completely )see Barker 199,/# $his p"t 2000AD in the spotlight %efore it had la"nched and early iss"es were s"%3ect to an intense scr"tiny regarding violent imagery# &2hole episodes had to %e scrapped, scripts thrown o"t or rewritten from scratch, while artwork was radically altered or a%andoned altogether( )Bishop, +,,9- +1/# 6rtist Kevin O ?eill, who was working as an assistant to art editor Aan Shepherd, descri%es the original stories appearing in the earliest iss"es as &e!tremely violent, g"ys having their heads kicked off, lim%s flying a%o"t - we had to censor almost every page# * think Action %eing taken off the stands was infl"enced 2000AD for the %etter# *t made "s concentrate on the science-fiction and fantasy aspect, %"ild "p a kind of mythos for the comic( )O(?eill cited in Bishop, +,,9- +1/# $he longevity of the comic is dependent, for O(?eill, on this p"sh towards finding other ways to tell stories witho"t relying e!cl"sively on constant e!cessive violence# $he official target a"dience when ;=

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

la"nched was very specific- Myo"ng %oys aged seven to elevenG )Bishop, +,,9- +;/# Creators later %ecame aware that their readership was %roader, %"t it is important to recognise that this was the readership that the p"%lishers had aimed at# One of the areas of e!tended readership, as 5"y @awley )1999/ indicates, was the pop"lar realm of p"nk c"lt"re# @awley descri%es 2000AD as a children(s science fiction comic, a h"ge s"ccess in the post-Star War market, also with a %ig ad"lt and st"dent readership )1999- 1,9/# 1e recognises the attit"de of p"nk in Action and 2000AD, s"ggesting that they Mgrew in the same soil as p"nk - the cynical ,s, the hippy dream in tatters, "nemployment rampantG )@awley, 1999- 1,9/# $he p"%lic controversy generated %y Action was not replicated with regard to 2000AD# @awley offers an e!planation- &Concerned parents and the media all %"t ignored it, %eca"se it seemed like harmless fantasy# *n fact strips like Judge Dredd, and later AB+ Warrior and *e)e i the Warlock, were a%le to 4"estion the a"thority of police, army, state and ch"rch on a reg"lar weekly %asis( )@awley, 19991,9/# Judge Dredd was disc"ssed at an early stage in the development of ideas for the new comic in 19 =# $he first story s"ggested for the title was Dan Dare, Pilot o' the (uture# $his had %een the most pop"lar story in the -agle, a s"ccessf"l science fiction comic in the 19.,s and =,s# $he character was proposed as he wo"ld provide a point of recognition for a %road p"%lic, enco"raging retailers to stock 2000AD, %"t wo"ld %e "pdated to fit the new tone of gritty violence )Bishop, +,,9- 11/# Aohn 2agner, a writer who had worked with editor Iat Mills on the creation of Battle, and was now assisting in the development of 2000AD, &s"ggested the comic needed a cop story( )Bishop, +,,9- 1+/# $he idea was for a Clint >astwood inspired &"ltraviolent lawman patrolling ?ew 0ork in the near f"t"re( )Bishop, +,,9- 1+/# More specifically, the film Dirty !arry )19 1/ and its se4"els Magnu) (orce )19 9/ and The -n'orcer )19 =/ were significant points of reference# 2agner started to write scripts, while Spanish artist Carlos >'4"erra, already working for Battle and Action, was approached to design the character# 1owever, 2agner was soon to walk away from 2000AD and Dredd after realising that rather than having a stake in the rights and profits of his work for the comic, he wo"ld only %e entitled to his O1, per page ;

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script writing fee# Mills was pers"aded to stay on as editor, with a s"%stantial pay rise )Bishop, +,,9- 1+/ and contin"ed to develop Judge Dredd, working with eight different writers, "ntil 2agner ret"rned to Dredd in Irog 9# Sometimes working "nder pse"donyms, s"ch as $#B, 5rover, and often colla%orating with co-writer 6lan 5rant, 2agner esta%lished himself as the principle, and certainly most prolific, writer of Judge Dredd# $he first p"%lished appearance of Mega-City One shows the >mpire State B"ilding s"rro"nded %y a new city#1 $he r"in is placed in the heart of a ?ew 0ork City of the f"t"re# *n this first appearance, the city is even named as s"ch# $he first caption on the left of the page reads as follows- <?ew 0ork +,99 6DP 2here h"ge star-scrapers soar miles into the airP Small %"ildings like the >mpire State are in r"ins### 1ide o"ts for vicio"s criminalsP< )2agner +,,.a- 1/# 6 trio of criminals, led %y a man named 2hitey, are hiding in one of the "pper levels# 2hitey shoots a A"dge riding on one of the c"rving roads that swoop past the %"ilding# $he %"ildings that s"rro"nd and overlook the scene are %"l%o"s# ?ot %ased "pon the familiar straight lines of modernism, this is a rendering of an architect"re of alterity# $his is not a magnification of an e!isting "r%an space, %"t a different kind of architect"ral sensi%ility that we have yet to comprehend, constr"cted from materials which have yet to %e invented# $he twist in the story comes in the form of an architect"ral sol"tion to 2hitey<s defiant claim that no prison can hold him# Dredd takes 2hitey away to Devil(s *sland, a carceral str"ct"re in the form of giant traffic island, s"rro"nded %y roads a%ove and %elow# $hese are highways with a +., mph speed limit, along which th"nder h"ge, comp"ter controlled 3"ggerna"ts# 6rchitect"re itself is the prison, little more than a platform sit"ated within a nightmarish e!aggeration of Spaghetti A"nction, no do"%t owing more than c"rsory acknowledgement to Ballard<s +oncrete . land )19 :/# ?o one escapes from this island, it is a place to maroon violent criminals for life# $his was drawn %y Mike McMahon, a yo"ng and ine!perienced artist who was already from this point esta%lishing himself as one of the principle architects of Mega-City ;;

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One, and wo"ld go on to develop a distinctive approach that made him one of the definitive Dredd artists# 1owever, it was Carlos >'4"erra, co-creator of Dredd, along with writer Aohn 2agner and then 2000AD editor Iat Mills, who designed the look of the city as a space distinct from architect"res of the present# 2hile the initial idea was for a story set in a near-f"t"re ?ew 0ork, >'4"erra<s images clearly s"ggested that there was more temporal distance than had at first %een imagined )Bishop +,,9++/# Despite Mills thinking that >'4"erra(s initial work for A udge Dredd was &a%sol"te geni"s( )Mills cited in Bishop +,,9- ++/, the Spanish artist (s work was withheld from p"%lication d"e to e!cessive 4"antities of violence in the story# &A"dge 2hitey(, not the first Dredd episode to %e drawn %y McMahon, %"t the first to %e printed, had %een preceded %y an "np"%lished de%"t drawn %y >'4"erra, who fo"nd himself sidelined and replaced on the task of drawing Dredd# McMahon<s early work was defined %y his attempt to stay close to >'4"erra<s designs and storytelling# 2hen finally reprinted, the previo"sly "np"%lished first episode ended with a splash page, which was act"ally a f"ll page pin-"p or poster, commissioned %y Mills for the %ack cover of prog 9# 6 distant view of Dredd riding along a c"rved road in the air, %ehind him a vast, narrow, almost organic %"ilding seems to spro"t "pwards, a techno-6rt ?o"vea" of >'4"erra<s invention, echoed in the other, e4"ally tall irreg"lar towers that pop"late the cityscape )Hig"re 1/#

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Figure 1 Dredd rides past a ast techno!Art "ou eau #uilding

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Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

$his initial vis"alisation was not 3"st a reinvention of an 6merican f"t"re thro"gh a British lens, %"t also a >"ropean one# 6s was common practice in British comics in the 19 ,s, artists were so"ght from f"rther afield than the JK# >'4"erra was one s"ch artist, initially sending pages from Barcelona, %efore taking "p residency in the JK for over a decade# 1is is a f"t"ristic city that comes from awareness of >"ropean comic traditions, partic"larly in Spain, *taly, Hrance and Belgi"m# $hat the %"ildings have an organic, almost 6rt ?o"vea" feel, certainly corresponds to the vivid science fiction imagery fo"nd in >"ropean comics in the 19 ,s, especially within the pages of the Hrench science fiction anthology Metal !urlant#+ One partic"larly important aspect of the >"ropean infl"ence is made clear %y 6%raham Kawa- &$he sentiments of >"ropean sf comics were, to a large e!tent, typical of 19 ,s and 19;,s sf- deepseated resentment and fr"stration with corr"pt sociopolitical systems, r"thless government policies, and profiteering conglomerates( )+,11- 1=:/# Kawa points o"t that this tendency fo"nd a voice in 2000AD with &p"nk irreverence( )i%id/# Judge Dredd was typical, he says, &of the maga'ine(s appropriation of 6merican pop"lar c"lt"re( )i%id/# Dredd himself may %e the violent enforcer of a"thoritarian law, %"t it was clear that &the comic itself was, essentially, a satirical, critical and styli'ed representation of contemporary British and 2estern society( )*%id/# Into the $%s 6ccording to David Bishop, the 19;,s &%egan with 2000AD selling 19,,,,, copies a week( )+,,9- ,/ and marked what he calls &a s"rge in 4"ality( )*%id/# By A"ly of the following year, Bishop says that &the weekly hit a r"n of progs that many have descri%ed as 2000AD(s golden ageG )+,,9- ;1/# $he mid ;,s saw sales slowly decline and readers age# Hormer editor Steve Macman"s descri%es this developing age range- &$raditionally, readers stopped %"ying at 19, %"t o"r readers didn(t# $he eight-year-old that %o"ght prog 1 in 19 was still %"ying the comic as a 1= year old in 19;.# $he comic was growing "p with the readers# ?ew ones kept coming on, e!tending the age range of the title( )Bishop +,,9- 1, /# $his is no longer the initial to 11 target a"dience, %"t a recognition that the core a"dience was now 91 to 1=#

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Boger Sa%in offers the generali'ed s"ggestion that d"ring this early 19;,s, artists and writers working on 2000AD generated a potential for reaching an ad"lt a"dience&6s as res"lt, 2000AD never talked down to its readership, and in the process the strips garnered a following aged anywhere %etween eight years old to the midtwenties( )199=- 19 /# $he comic changed and mat"red d"ring the ;,s, mirroring a trend for older readers and changing tones of story lines# Sales did not reg"larly dip %elow 1,,,,,, "ntil 199,, %y which time comics had serio"s competition from other media as mainstream entertainment for children )Bishop +,,9- 19;/, altho"gh Sa%in is wary of %laming the decline in yo"th comics sales in Britain on a change of c"lt"re towards screen %ased media- &Of co"rse, the rise of one medi"m does not a"tomatically spell the wane of another D###F %"t at the very least it meant that there were more leis"re options for people to chose from< )199=- 191/# By the late ;,s, British comics had esta%lished an older readership in the JK, %"t had lost the mass a"dience of children that e!isted at the %eginning of the decade# 1owever, d"ring the early 19;,s, 2000AD achieved a %alance of comple! stories and a mi!ed readership, with an official target gro"p of yo"nger %oys# $his is a period of formative development for Mega-City One# Irevio"sly, the earliest impressions of the city are 3"st that, impressions# Hragmentary violent sensations conflated with s"ggestions of space# By Irog :+, Dredd is shipped off for a to"r of d"ty to the frontier city @"na 1, a colony on the Moon# @"na 1 is relatively generic and "nderdeveloped as a location, %"t "pon Dredd(s ret"rn we are immediately presented with the architect"ral elements that McMahon invented as his take on the architect"ral spaces of Mega-City One# $he domes, %"lging walls, and e!treme c"rves forming roads and walkways have %een formed into a stylistic architect"ral identity# 6 panel reveals Dredd looking thro"gh the window of a sh"ttle craft as he ret"rns from @"na 1 )Hig"re +/, his accompanying tho"ght %"%%le helping to define %oth character and city from that point on- &Mega-City 1### ;,, million people and every one of them a potential criminal# $he most violent, evil city on >arth### B"t 5od help me, * love it( )2agner +,,.a- + :/#

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Figure & Dredd loo's at Mega!City One (ro) his shuttle cra(t

*n 19;1, the story <6lone in the Crowd< opened across the centre pages of prog +,., depicting a scene of 4"otidian crime on a %"sy pedestrian walkway# 6 %oy, who looks a little older than * wo"ld have %een when first reading this story, is pointing at a m"gging taking place, a look of wonder, fear and s"rprise on his face# 1is other hand reaches "p to to"ch his mother(s wrist, as she looks down and tries to propel her son away from the scene )Hig"re 9/# O"r point of narrative identification here is not the %oy# >veryone looks down and away, %"t for the %oy and cr"cially o"r point of identification across these two pages# $his partic"lar man is in the %ackgro"nd, and 99

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stands o"t from the others in 3"st the direction of his ga'e# 6 tho"ght %"%%le directed at his head tells "s- &$ap gang working the walkway againP $hey(ve got that poor g"yP( )2agner +,,=%-- +=,/# $he ne!t panel on the following page shows the victim in close "p, reaching o"t to a woman passing %y with her eyes downcast, o"r protagonist %ehind her, his own eyes now set slightly away as he thinks &1ope they don(t pick on me ne!tP( )2agner +,,=%- +=1/# $he ne!t panel sees the man walk to the foregro"nd, his eyes closed and his head tilted t"rned to the right# $he victim(s scream is represented in the so"nd effect te!t &666511###( )*%id/# 6 wide close "p of the passing man<s eyes shows his fear, %eads of sweat po"ring down his head as he thinks &?ot me ne!tP Ilease, not meP( )i%id/# 6 panel along, we see his relief as the m"ggers attack a man in a hat, who screams for help, and is ignored# 6cross the two pages, the city is comm"nicated as a place where to act wo"ld %e not only to risk certain violence at the hands of the m"ggers, %"t also in all likeliness to %e s"%3ect to the %r"tal 3"stice of a"thority#

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Figure * A young #oy reacts to a )ugging in Mega!City One

9.

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

$he story contin"es with a change in narrative direction as Dredd arrives on the scene, ca"sing the gang to flee# 2e see Dredd attend to one of the victims, calling for a medi-s4"ad# $he %adly %attered man in the hat looks "p at Dredd- &6 tho"sand people walkin( %y, and it was like * was on my ownP ?o%ody lifted a finger to help me - no%odyP( )2agner +,,=%- +=+/# Dredd tracks down the gang mem%ers, who are all killed or violently apprehended# 1owever, on the last page, we see the final remaining gang mem%er, who had so mercilessly %eaten his victims, get st"ck in a crowd# 6s Dredd closes in on him, "pon his powerf"l and heavily armed @awmaster motor%ike, a man walks "p steps to the level of the walkway, his tho"ght %"%%le ret"rning "s to the opening of the story in a narrative loop# ?ow the cr"elty of the system of government and law is e!posed, as the terrified citi'en o%serves the %r"tal arrest, "na%le to comment, certainly "na%le to intervene, powerless within the city state# 1is tho"ghts are spread over the final fo"r panels, each of which depicts a view of the man reacting in fear, while trying to appear indifferent to the arrest taking place- &GA"dge working the sidewalks againPG M1e(s got that poor g"yPG MDon(t get involvedPG M?othing yo" can doPG M@ook awayPG MHor 5od(s sake look, don(t attract his attention### *t(ll only mean tro"%lePG( )2agner +,,=%- +=./# $he week<s episode ends with the image of Dredd as the predator, %eating anyone who steps o"t of line, who falls off the path of the strict legal code of %ehavio"r in this city# $his is a world where things are not OK, where the restoring of law and order is the perpet"ation of something that is clearly not right# *n this environment, everyone seems to %e a victim of a system that is wrong, of social in3"stice as well as crime, a system that is maintained and enforced %y the A"dges# $he %"ildings in Dillon(s version of the city resem%le the c"rvaceo"s alterity of McMahon(s architect"ral style# 1owever, this is not the only kind of architect"re of Mega-City One# *n contrast, tall sla% %locks were a favo"red %"ilding type of artist Brian Bolland, as seen in the form of Billy Carter Block, 9 a residential str"ct"re that %ecomes a site of carnage when it is taken over the %y the fo"r Dark A"dges# ?amed Hear, Mortis, Hire and Death, they are lawmen from a parallel dimension where the 9=

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

A"dges decreed that all crime was committed %y the living, therefore life itself is a crime# $hese paranormal Dark A"dges come to Mega-City One to contin"e their work, as every%ody in their own world is already dead# $he e!treme violence of this 19;1 storyline, &A"dge Death @ives(, is drawn %y Bolland in a style of clean, detailed realism# $he precise inked lines are deli%erate and neatly placed, a sharp contrast to some of the other Dredd artists, partic"larly McMahon# Bolland(s rendering of the city is consistent with this approach to drawing# *t is clean, %"ilt from defined straight edges, right angles and grids# Billy Carter Block is drawn as the most red"ctive idea of a city %lock, a rectang"lar tower, clad in opa4"e glass# Bolland t"rns this architect"re into a corollary of narrative movement- $he flat facade offers an opposing s"rface to the heavily armed A"dges who lay siege to the %"ilding, %"t are kept o"t %y an energy shield# $he s"rface is immediately recognisa%le and identifia%le as this partic"lar %"ilding, and also as a %"ilding type that is familiar to the reader# $he gridded str"ct"re of the page corresponds to the spaces within the %"ilding, as Dredd and the telepathic A"dge 6nderson fight their way thro"gh# <A"dge Death @ives< contains some of the most e!plicit vis"alisations of the panel str"ct"re of the page and modernist architect"ral form seen in Dredd, where the frames of the images act as "nits of an architect"ral whole )Hig"re :/# 1owever, this is no less tr"e of the work of McMahon or >'4"erra# Bather, there is a difference in their architect"ral constr"ction# $he creation of %oth the city and the page are as insepara%le, %"t not defined %y variations "pon grids# Both artists so"ght to %"ild the city as something distinct, "nrecognisa%le, and to generate a form of narrative approach that f"sed the chaos and energy of the city within the placing, arrangement and se4"encing of imagery# $he inventiveness and alterity of the f"t"re city was generated not 3"st %y attempting to show what it looked like, %"t thro"gh the creation of an immersive, sensorial environment "pon the printed page#

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

Figure + Gridded page structures in ,rian ,olland-s art.or' (or -/udge Death 0i es-

Bolland was not alone in tending towards envisioning city %locks as vast rectangles# Bon Smith, a prolific Dredd artist, who had already had a long career drawing comics %efore working on 2000AD, also preferred clean lines, and rendered the city as something that often leaned towards a f"t"ristic Manhattan# Hor the the story &City Block 1( )19 9/ Smith designs a %"ilding e!terior that is generic in form, resem%ling a 9;

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

modernist tower, with details that created a sense of alterity, and of co"rse an immense scale# *n the opening panel, it stands o"t from the s"rro"nding %"ildings, smaller and more dome-like# $he first caption tells "s- &?o inha%itant of today can comprehend the sheer immensity of Mega City 1 in the early ++nd Cent"ry# Over ;,, million people - the pop"lation of a h"ndred @ondons - crammed into vast city%locks, each ho"sing over =,,,,, citi'ens###( )2agner +,,=a- ;/ $he caption at the %ottom of the panel reads &>ach city%lock was a city within a city# Hrom %irth in the city%lock hospital to death in the city%lock crematori"m, it was possi%le for a citi'en to spend his entire life witho"t leaving his own %lockP( )*%id/# $he ne!t panel shows "s Dredd on patrol in Charlton 1eston Block, a scene %efore him looking something like a shopping mall with indoor parks and small a"tomated cars providing transportation )Hig"re ./# Dredd<s tho"ghts address the sit"ation %efore him- &One spark here and *<ve got a riot on my hands# $ro"%le has got to %e stamped on instantly - witho"t mercy - for the people<s own good( )*%id/# $he ne!t page shows a close "p of Dredd, witnessing a crime# 1e p"rs"es the perpetrator, or <perp<, thro"gh the %lock and o"tside onto the roads where an escalating chase is finally ended in his capt"re# *t t"rns o"t that he was a%o"t to drop a piece of litter# Small crimes are dealt with as harshly as any others# *t is an a%s"rd story, demonstrating the literalness of Dredd<s statement, itself a straightforward iteration of state val"es# $he protection of the state and the preservation of total order, comes at a red"ction of li%erty#

99

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

Figure 1 Dredd on patrol in Charlton 2eston ,loc'

$he city is heterogeno"s, even within the work of the same artist# &City%lock +(, p"%lished the following week, introd"ces "s to 1arriet Beecher Stowe Block, an elongated $ower of Ba%el ad3oining a swollen metal potato, carved open to reveal a c"rved wall of glass# Smith has designed a %"ilding as different to Charlton 1eston Block as co"ld %e# &By the early ++nd Cent"ry only 19Q of the pop"lation of MegaCity One had work# $his created severe pro%lems in the vast %locks that ho"sed the city(s ;,, million people###( )2agner +,,=a- 1:/# $he pro%lem is one of ad3"sting to an e!cess of leis"re time# 2e see three men smash a cleaning droid, and take "p the d"ty themselves with anti4"e %rooms, %"ckets and cloths# $hey are arrested for si! months, leading one to say, &* don<t care, it was worth itP *(ll do the same thing when * get o"tP 0o"(ll never stop me workingP( )2agner +,,=a- 1./# $his is a sit"ation that is getting worse, with h"mans %eing replaced %y machines every day# @eis"re co"ncillors are employed in every city%lock, %"t often s"%3ect to assa"lt %y fr"strated citi'ens# $he ne!t page gives "s the statistic that ., crimes a day are committed in a city%lock, and Dredd comments on these conditions as a sad fact# &B"t it is not o"r 3o% to care - only to "phold the lawP< )2agner +,,=a- 1=/# 1owever, Dredd then has to apprehend a former %"ilding caretaker, replaced %y a ro%ot, who has started shooting at the street %elow from his apartment window# 1is wife, watching the scene o"tside "nfold on her $N set, knits away- &Beally 6rnold, * do think yo"(re making an 1,,

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

awf"l f"ss# 2hat will the neigh%o"rs thinkR( )2agner +,,=a- 1 /# 1e replies &*t(s all right for yo" - yo" have yo"r knittingP My 3o% meant everything to me 7 everything( )*%id/# 1e ta"nts Dredd to come and get him, as witho"t his 3o% he(d rather %e dead# 1e tries to 3"mp from the window when Dredd forces his way in, %"t Dredd catches him, as there is a danger he might land on someone# $hen, "ne!pectedly, the A"dge sentences 6rnold Short to the "n"s"al p"nishment of hard la%o"r for the rest of his life# Short weeps tears of 3oy, and is led away cheerily, e!cited %y the prospect of work# Dredd(s final tho"ght- &?o, it(s not o"r 3o% to care - %"t sometimes it(s hard not to %e to"ched %y a special case# Sometimes even a A"dge can %e mercif"l( )i%id- 19/# 6 happy ending, of sorts# Danger and sensation @ife in Mega-City One is constantly dangero"s# $here is a perpet"al state of immanent violence, heightening the intensity of the city as a site of sensorial engagement for readers# $his violence is sometimes manifested in the form of a %lock war# 5enerally, %lock wars arise from social tensions created %y a com%ination of the e!treme density of pop"lation in the city, and %oredom# 2itho"t nation states, and the city %eing so large as to lack any "nified identity, it is the %"ilding in which a citi'en lives that offers "nity with others, a sense of place and identity# $he rivalry has no rational %asis in that this is not a contest over reso"rces or territory, %"t rather is rivalry for its own sake, the identification of self thro"gh the ar%itrary, and thro"gh the e!tension of the self contained nat"re of a city %lock# Block war was first presented in prog 1;+ )19;,/ in a story drawn %y Brian Bolland# $he conflict is staged in the narrow g"lf %etween two identical vertigino"s towers - Bita $"shingham Block and >rnest Borgnine Block# $he resident antagonists shoot at each other directly across this slim divide across the g"lf into the ne!t %"ilding# One A"dge comments that %oth %locks are well-off, so asks what leads people to act in this way, %"t Dredd makes it clear that their %"siness is to p"t a stop to it, not to "nderstand it# Isychoanalysis, motive and interiority are not the %"siness of A"dges, %"t sho"ld %e left to the doctors who treat H"tsies, those s"ffering from the condition known as H"t"re Shock, a mental state that res"lts in irrational and violent %ehavio"r )2agner +,,=%/# 1,1

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

@ate in 19;1 the narrative arc <Block Mania< saw this violence spread as an epidemic across the city# $he chaos of <Block Mania<, tho"gh is not a sociological pro%lem, %"t a Sov Blok 7 the f"t"re e4"ivalent of the Soviet Jnion 7 plot# 6 Sov agent contaminated the city(s water s"pply with a dr"g engineered to make the citi'ens irrational and violent# 6 c"re is fo"nd, %"t too late# $he city is in t"rmoil and left open to n"clear attack and invasion, %eginning the storyline &$he 6pocalypse 2ar<, an all o"t n"clear confrontation with >ast-Meg One, the B"ssian e4"ivalent of Dredd<s city# ?"clear war was a pop"lar and rec"rring theme in 2000AD in the late 19 ,s and early 19;,s, a shadow of cold war tension in an age of *CBMs )*ntercontinental Ballistic Missiles/# 2ar was also a proven seller in the field of %oys< comics, and the genre had dominated the market when 2000AD was la"nched# $ales of f"t"ristic war had %een an element of 2000AD storytelling in vario"s forms, and was com%ined in Dredd with a playing o"t of scenes of n"clear annihilation, which wo"ld "ltimately %e s"rviva%le for one side of the conflict# Carl 6%%ott, in his disc"ssion of 6merican imaginings of large scale destr"ction of 6merican cities, points o"t that there are str"ct"ral diffic"lties that present themselves when constr"cting narratives which address n"clear warfare, not least of which is the &%asic pro%lem of narrative str"ct"re# *f n"clear war is likely to destroy cities, it will also destroy any characters living in those cities and th"s short-circ"it the story( )+,,=- 1 /# 1owever, this is not the case with Mega-City One, where the scale of the city means that it can a%sor% and accommodate a n"clear war# 6nother factor to contri%"te to this storyline was that Dredd writers 2agner and 5rant felt that the city and its pop"lation of eight h"ndred million had grown "nwieldy and needed to %e made smaller )Bishop +,,9; /# $he writers emphasised a desire to alter and adapt the setting, to e!plore a change in the city, rather than any change within the character of Dredd himself# $he city had however %een s"%3ect to destr"ctive attacks %efore &$he 6pocalypse 2ar(# *n &Iirates of the Black 6tlantic( )19;1/, n"clear missiles are fired at the city %y a %and of m"tants, a story introd"ced on the cover of Irog 19 %y Brian Bolland, which shows Dredd %eing %lown off his lawmaster %y a h"ge n"clear e!plosion# *n 1,+

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

this story a warhead strikes the aptly named Bo% Oppenheimer %lock, destroying District :,9 and killing over fo"r million people# $here are descriptions of the destr"ctive impact of the fire%all, shockwave and agoni'ing radiation %"rns s"ffered %y millions of citi'ens, %"t the long term effect of the fallo"t clo"d is moderated and contained %y the city(s 2eather Control systems# $he world of Dredd therefore, was already post-apocalyptic# Mega-City One was a%le to accommodate f"rther catastrophes, no matter the scale, going on to face other massively destr"ctive events since, incl"ding the recent &Day of Chaos( )+,11-1+/# Violence Niolence sat"rates the pages of Judge Dredd, allowing a space of escape from orderly, normative and reg"latory str"ct"res within and witho"t the walls of MegaCity One# Niolence is presented as s"%3ect matter, %"t not limited to thematic content# Bather it is defined %y the medi"m and %y possi%le modes of readership# Aonathan 5a%o"ry )+,11/ has e!plored an indivisi%le connection %etween violence and comics# $he specific connection here is that initially identified and e!ploited %y Hrederic 2ertham(s )19.:/ %ook Seduction o' the .nnocent# $his took place amongst what Charles 1atfield calls &a %rief torrent of professional writing foc"sed on comic %ooks( p"tative impact on children(s reading ha%its and reading skills( that e!ploded %etween the :,s and mid .,s in the Jnited States )+,,=- 9=9/# Bather than negate these claims, 5a%o"ry %"ilds "pon the presence of violence in comics to e!plore a specific idea of what is represented when %odies in comics are s"%3ected to wo"nds# 5a%o"ry e!plores a hy%rid form %etween wo"nded %odies and page layo"ts in the +,,: serial We/, written %y 5rant Morrison and drawn %y Hrank S"itely, p"%lished %y the 6merican company Nertigo# $he arg"ment is that in We/, there is no secret connection %etween comics and violence, %"t rather an overt and fren'ied e!ternali'ation of violence# $he page layo"t %ecomes a rendering of violence as an &overt and kinetic event( )5a%o"ry +,11- +9/# $his overwhelms the fearf"l element that 2ertham descri%es, the secret, the latent potential and t"rns it into, * wo"ld arg"e, the sensorial fa%ric of the medi"m#

1,9

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

$his sensorial fa%ric is the material from which Mega-City One is constr"cted# *t is, therefore, a 4"ality of the medi"m, %"t one that is e!ploited with foc"s and intensity in the pages of Dredd# Niolence can %e e!tended here to %e incorporated within a more general field of sensation# 6s a city rendered thro"gh an ongoing and episodic se4"ential narrative, Mega-City One is e!perienced as an architect"re of shock, of sensation, conf"sion and stim"lation# *t %rings the rapid and disposa%le nat"re of comics into an animated enco"nter with readers# 1owever, altho"gh this is "ndo"%tedly a medi"m of immediacy and directness, and was intended to %e disposa%le, it rapidly %ecame collecta%le# Collecting was the primary means of reading older stories, %efore this material %ecame s"%3ect to ever more complete and thoro"gh vol"mes of reprints# More importantly, comics have a temporal dimension that is m"ltifaceted# Of partic"lar importance is the element of re-reading# 6 story co"ld %e read 4"ickly, %"t wo"ld often %e read again, in a different order, with an intensive revisiting of panels and te!t %alloons# Comics th"s interr"pt the process of cons"mption, offering a space of agency in navigating the space of the printed page, offering a visceral engagement of image, te!t, narrative and temporality# $hey can %e skimmed and re-read as well as shared# Sensation can %e tho"ght of here in terms of immediacy, %"t not as forgetta%le# ?ot only did Dredd provide readers with enco"nters that were resonant and memora%le, %"t the medi"m lent itself to e!tensive ret"rns# $he shock, sensation and immediacy of the comic form is addressed in <$he City as 6rchive in Aason @"tes(s Berlin<, an essay %y 6nthony >nns which disc"sses a specific comic %ook depiction of a city )+,1,/# >nns finds a correlation %etween comics and "r%an space, which he reads in propin4"ity to 2alter Ben3amin, pointing o"t that in the 199: essay &$he 6"thor as Irod"cer( Ben3amin arg"es for the incorporation of imagery into te!t, for the writer to eliminate %arriers %etween image and te!t# >nns finds this connection %etween Ben3amin and the form of comics has already %een made %y Aared 5ardner )+,,=/, who recognises that comics inherently achieve what Ben3amin calls for# $his releases the potential for a temporal disr"ption made possi%le %y the medi"m, the a%ility to shift relationships %etween past and 1,:

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

present# 1owever, >nns points o"t another important facet that 5ardner does not# Ben3amin(s arg"ments for a new form of te!t8image config"ration can %e orientated in relation to the idea of the city and "r%an e!perience# >nns foc"ses on the elements of shock, vis"al fragmentation and immediacy that characterise the e!perience of the modern city, a space where comics and "r%an e!perience overlap# >nns develops this correlation in terms of memory and archive, %"t for the p"rposes of considering Mega City One, we can foc"s on notions of sensory shock, immediacy and fragmentation# Mega-City One offers more than an envisioning of a city that appears shocking and immediate# *t generates these 4"alities as prod"ctive forces that disr"pt perceptions of the present# $his is a city of critical engagements, not passive spectatorship# *t f"nctions in a co"nter direction to 5eorg Simmel(s criti4"e of the sensory oversat"ration of act"al "r%an e!perience# &$he Metropolis and Mental @ife(, written in 19,9, is %est known for Simmel(s negative criti4"e of life in cities, and the notion of a red"ction of s"%3ectivity thro"gh an e!cess of speed and sensory overe!pos"re, res"lting in the s"%3ect %ecoming %lasT )Simmel 19.,/# $he s"%3ect %ecomes desensiti'ed to their environment, their sense of active selfhood threatened# 2e are not rendered %lasT %y this fictional city# $his, rather, is a sensiti'ing enco"nter# 6t stake for Simmel is the integrity of the s"%3ect, the losing str"ggle of the individ"al attempting to maintain themselves in the face of an onsla"ght from "r%an modernity# *n Mega-City One, citi'ens have lost in this str"ggle, and have %een defeated %y the sovereignty of the state and its metropolitan, technologically "r%an form# Simmel does arg"e for an alternative that is a potentially active force within "r%an e!perience- a resistance against the sovereign power of state and the maintenance of a living heritage that coe!ists with the new# 1istory is all %"t eradicated in MegaCity One# $he inha%itants live in a perpet"al present, a condition that is s"%tly presented to the reader as part of the dystopian fa%ric of the city# *t has tho"gh, a concrete history for "s, activating the positive dimension evoked %y Simmel# 2e are living thro"gh an earlier moment of that potential f"t"re, are part of the history to %e 1,.

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

eradicated# $his ca"sality sensitises yo"ng readers to the similarities and resonances %etween these worlds, generating the potential for critical agency, %"t also allowing for, or rather insisting "pon, pleas"re in the sensorial engagement with this fictional world# $his city trades on sensation and speed, %"t it operates differently to the act"al metropolitan form as descri%ed %y Simmel# $he notion of speed in the city in Simmel(s arg"ment is composed of the opposition of the speed of "r%an modernity with a romantic idea of small town or village life# $he city, for Simmel, yielded evidence of positive transformation, fo"nd in the site of str"ggle %etween these temporalities, a str"ggle that is enacted on the comic page# 2000AD may have %een marketed as something disposa%le %"t the act"ality of reading comics offers a control of the speed of reading, and a tendency towards m"ltiple re-readings# $he reading of the comic page can %e slowed down, reversed and pa"sed in practical ways that may %e possi%le for other vis"al media, %"t wo"ld not %e integral to the viewing e!perience# $here is a potential for slowness within comics which is inherent in the medi"m# Mega-City One, as a space of reading, reconfig"res the temporality of the "r%an 7 it retains sensorial shock, %"t negates the %lasT effect# *t draws attention to the pro%lem, witho"t perpet"ating it, * wo"ld arg"e, thro"gh the mo%ilisation of sensation and the creation of an active engagement within a critical dystopia# $he dystopian form is "n"s"al as we are witho"t any sympathetic protagonist thro"gh which to view this world# 2e are left to enco"nter it thro"gh sensorial immersion, not %eing led %y the hand, %"t p"shed headfirst#

.)age are co0yright "e1ellion and are re0roduced 'or the 0ur0o e o' acade)ic analy i 2 3e(erences 6%%ott, C# )+,,=/ &$he @ight on the 1ori'on- *magining the Death of 6merican Cities(, Journal o' 3r1an !i tory, Nol#9+-+ )Aan"ary/, 1 .-19=# 6tkinson, I# )+,1+/ &2hy Ia"seR- $he Hine @ine Between Beading and Contemplation(, Studie in +o)ic , Nol#9-1,# =9-;1# 1,=

Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

Barker, M# )19;9/ +o)ic 4 .deology, Power and the +ritic , Manchester- Manchester Jniversity Iress# Barker, M# )199,/ Action 5 The Story o' a 6iolent +o)ic, @ondon- $itan Books# Barker, M# )1999/ &Seeing how far yo" can see- on %eing a MfanG of +,,, 6D(, in D# B"ckingham )ed#/ "eading Audience 4 7oung Peo0le and the Media , Manchester- Manchester Jniversity Iress, 1.9-;9# Barker, M# )199 / &$aking the e!treme case- "nderstanding a fascist fan of A"dge Dredd(, in D# Cartmell et al# )eds#/ Tra h Ae thetic 4 Po0ular +ulture and it Audience, @ondon- Il"to, 1:-9,# Barker, M# and Brooks, K# )199;/, $nowing Audience 4 Judge Dredd, it (riend , (an and (oe , @"ton- Jniversity of @"ton Iress# Beaty, B# )+,,./ (redric Wertha) and the +riti8ue o' Ma Jniversity Iress of Mississippi# Ben3amin, 2# )19 ,/ &$he 6"thor as Irod"cer(, *ew &e't "eview, Nol#1-=+ )A"ly6"g"st/, ;9-9=# Bishop, D# )+,,9/ Thrill9Power %verload4 2000AD4 The (ir t Thirty 7ear , O!fordBe%ellion# B"katman, S# )+,,9/ Matter o' Gravity4 S0ecial -''ect and Su0er)an in the 20 th +entury, D"rham, ?C- D"ke Jniversity Iress# Calho"n, A# )199./ &A"dge Dredd(, -ntertain)ent De ign, Nol +9- )6"g"st/, :,# Disreali )+,,9/ &Creation Iart Hive- 6ll $he Aoy * See $hro"gh $hese 6rchitect<s >yes(, availa%le from http-88disraeli-demon#%logspot#com8+,,98,:8lowlifecreation-part-five-all-3oy-i#html 6ccessed + A"ly +,19# >nns, 6# )+,1,/ &$he City as 6rchive in Aason @"tes(s Berlin(, in +o)ic and the +ity4 3r1an S0ace in Print, Picture and Se8uence , in AUrn 6hrens and 6rno Meteling )eds#/ ?ew 0ork- Contin""m, pp#:.-.9# Hris%y, D# )19;=/ (rag)ent o' Modernity4 Theorie o' Modernity in the work o' Si))el, $racauer and Ben:a)in, Cam%ridge, Massach"setts- M*$ Iress# 5a%o"ry, A# )+,11/ &$he Niolence M"se"m- 6esthetic 2o"nds from Iopeye to 2e9(, .)ageTe;T4 .nterdi ci0linary +o)ic Studie 2 =#1# 6vaila%le from +luture, Aackson-

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Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

http-88www#english#"fl#ed"8imagete!t8archives8v=V18ga%o"ry8Wone 6ccessed + A"ly +,19# 5ardner, A# )+,,=/ &6rchives, Collectors and the ?ew Media 2ork of Comics(, Modern (iction Studie , Nol#.+-: )Aan"ary/, ; -;,=# 1atfield, C# )+,,=/ &Comic 6rt, Children(s @iterat"re, and the ?ew Comic St"dies(, The &ion and the 3nicorn, Nol#9,-9 )Septem%er/, 9=,-9;+# *reland, B# )+,,9/ &>rrand into the 2ilderness- $he C"rsed >arth as 6pocalyptic Boad ?arrative(, Journal o' A)erican Studie , Nol# ::-9 )Decem%er/, :9 -.9:# Kawa, 6# )+,11/ &Comics Since the Silver 6ge( in M# Bo"ld, 6# M# B"tler, 6# Bo%erts and S# Nint )eds#/ The "outledge +o)0anion to Science (iction , 6%ingdonBo"tledge, 1=9-1 9# @awley, 5# )1999/, &M* like 1ate and * hate everything elseG- $he infl"ence of p"nk on comics(, in Boger Sa%in )ed#/ Punk "ock4 So What< The +ultural &egacy o' Punk, @ondon and ?ew 0ork- Bo"tledge, 1,,-119# Molcher, M# )+,11/ 2000AD, The +reator .nterview 0=, Kindle version, retrieved from 6ma'on#co#"k# Morrison, 5# and S"itely, H# )+,,./ We/, ?ew 0ork- Nertigo# Moylan, $# )+,,,/ Scra0 o' the 3ntainted Sky4 Science (iction, 3to0ia, Dy to0ia , Bo"lder- 2estview# Olcayto, B# )+,1+/ &City of Dredd(, The Architect # Journal, 19 Septem%er, +=# Sa%in, B# )199=/ +o)ic , +o)i; and Gra0hic *ovel 4 A !i tory o' +o)ic Art , @ondon- Ihaidon# Simmel, 5# )19.,/ &$he Metropolis and Mental @ife(, in The Sociology o' Georg Si))el, ?ew 0ork- Hree Iress, :,9-:+:# $rite, Bo%erta )+,,,/ Di tur1ing the 3niver e4 Power and "e0re &iterature, *owa City- Jniversity of *owa Iress# 2agner, A# et al )+,,.a/, Judge Dredd4 The +o)0lete +a e (ile Be%ellion# 0= , O!fordion in Adole cent

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Smith, Dan Architecture, Violence and Sensation

2agner, A# et al )+,,.%/, Judge Dredd4 The +o)0lete +a e (ile Be%ellion# 2agner, A# et al )+,,=a/ Judge Dredd4 The +o)0lete +a e (ile Be%ellion# 2agner, A# et al )+,,=%/ Judge Dredd4 The +o)0lete +a e (ile Be%ellion# 2agner, A# et al )+,1,/ Judge Dredd4 The +o)0lete +a e (ile Be%ellion# 2ertham, H# )19../ Seduction o' the .nnocent, @ondon- M"se"m Iress#

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1# $he moment recalls the imagery of the films Planet o' the A0e )19=;/ and &ogan# "un )19 =/ in
depicting the f"t"re r"ins of the present#

+# $here might also %e some translation of >'4"erra(s familiarity with the material environment of Barcelona#
*t is not hard to see the Casa Mila or Sagrada Hamiliar in some of the shapes that ascend and %loom in the initial pieces of Mega-City One that >'4"erra %"ilds#

9# Besidential %locks are named after seemingly random personalities from the reader(s present or recent
past#