Judge Giant
| Judge Giant | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | IPC Media |
| First appearance | 2000 AD #27 (August 1977) |
| Created by |
John Wagner Ian Gibson |
| Judge Giant | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | IPC Media / Rebellion Developments |
| First appearance | 2000 AD #651 (November 1989) |
| Created by |
John Wagner Carlos Ezquerra |
| John "Giant" Clay | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | IPC Media / Rebellion Developments |
| First appearance | 2000 AD #1 (February 1977) |
| Created by |
Pat Mills Dave Gibbons |
Judge Giant can refer to either of two fictional characters appearing in the Judge Dredd comic strip in 2000 AD. They are father and son. Their first names have never been given.
They are both descended from another 2000 AD character, 'Giant' (real name John Clay), who starred in his own series in 2000 AD, Harlem Heroes, which ran in progs (issues) 1–27 of the comic. John 'Giant' Clay made a cameo appearance in the Judge Dredd strip in prog 28. Since Judge Dredd himself did not appear in 2000 AD until prog 2, the Giant family's appearance in the comic predates Dredd's debut in his own strip.
Judge Dredd writer Al Ewing has explained the appeal of the second Giant as "he’s Dredd’s successor, except he’s human in a way Dredd isn’t... So there’s a wealth of story potential there".
The original Judge Giant first appeared in prog 27 of the comic (1977) as a rookie judge who had just graduated from the Academy of Law. Set in 2099, his first appearance in "The Academy of Law" (progs 27–28) was a crossover with Harlem Heroes, set decades after the events depicted in that series. It featured a cameo appearance by his father, John 'Giant' Clay, as a very old man at the end of the story. "The Academy of Law" is also notable for the debut of another important supporting character, Judge Griffin, as well as the Academy of Law itself. It tells of Rookie Giant's Final Assessment, a gruelling test of his judgement and abilities to determine his suitability for promotion to full judge. His supervisor is Judge Dredd, who passes him.
Judge Giant became Dredd's sidekick for the next four years. His most important story was the 23-episode Judge Cal storyline, in which he first saved Dredd from being executed and then fought with him against Cal's renegade judges and alien mercenaries until the end. Although he had an important role in that story, his appearances in later tales were generally little more than mere cameos, and his importance within the strip tailed off somewhat. He was finally killed off in the "Block Mania" story (1981) while trying to arrest Orlok just before the Apocalypse War. The unheroic circumstances of his death (he was shot in the back in a brief scene) were controversial among fans, since although they were used to seeing popular characters killed off in 2000 AD, they were disappointed with the cursory way in which Giant's death was depicted. In an interview years later, writer Alan Grant said: "When we wrote the death of Giant, I thought it was a great idea to kill him off in such a casual, natural (for a judge) way. But when the reader outcry came, I was startled and forced to see things from their point of view."
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Wikipedia