JUDGE DREDD SLEEPERS AWAKE.

Script: Tom Proudfoot. Artwork: David Broughton. Letters: Bolt 01.

I received the script for ‘Sleepers Awake’ on 21st April 2011.  After reading Tom’s script which featured, missles, killer robots and Manta prowl tanks, I was hooked.  Dave Evans sent me the commissioning email on 23rd April and I started drawing the rough page layouts each night after work.  I have provided below rough layouts for pages 1 to 8 of Sleepers. Layouts 9 and 10 have been excluded to protect the end of the story.

Above:  Rough page layouts for pages 1 and 2.

Above:  Rough page layouts for pages 3 and 4.

Above:  Rough page layouts for pages 5 and 6.  I decided to change the object in Dredds

hand on the last panel page 6 to something that looked less like a cock.

Above:  Rough page layouts for pages 7 and 8.

I had not read the original story which had run in both 2000ad and the Megazine. After searching the internet I ordered both ‘Judge Dredd  Doomsday for Dredd’ and ‘Judge Dredd Doomsday for Mega-city one’ on-line from Amazon.  When the books arrived I noticed that most of the artists working on this story had designed their own style of wardroid. 

Therefore I decided to take elements from each design and combine them to make my own wardroid design.

Above:  War Droid design 1. Copyright Rebellion.

Above:  War Droid design 2. Copyright Rebellion.

Above:  War Droid design 3. Copyright Rebellion.

I had completed five pages of rough layouts when unexpectedly my Father passed away. For the next couple of weeks I found it hard to think about anything else other than ‘my loss’ eventually when things started to settle down again I started to work on the layouts.  My love of drawing helped me through my grief.   I found that when feeling low, complete focus on my art helped me greatly.

I was still drawing each panel on A4 paper, scanning the image and arranging the pages on computer.  With a fulltime job I could only produce about one page a week.  By 20th July 2011 I sent the finished artwork to Dave. The pages were fully lettered and locked for print on 3rd August. 

I will always remember working on this comicstrip....farewell Dad I miss you lots.

Judge Dredd 'Sleepers awake' is out now in Zarjaz 16. Should you wish to read this story, then click the link below to take you to the Future Quake on-line shop.
http://www.futurequake.co.uk/shop.php

Should you wish to read the original Judge Dredd story then click either of the links below
where you should be able to purchase a copy of the books.
http://shop.2000adonline.com/categories/graphic_novels

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Judge-Dredd-Doomsday-2000-AD/dp/0600603075/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351888041&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Judge-Dredd-Doomsday-Mega-City-2000AD/dp/0600603067/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351888041&sr=1-2