Mechanismo
| "Mechanismo" "Wilderlands" |
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Cover of Judge Dredd: Mechanismo (1993), trade paperback collected edition.Art by Colin MacNeil.
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| Publisher | Fleetway Publications |
| Publication date | "Mechanismo" 17 October - 12 December, 1992 20 February - 1 May, 1993 18 September - 11 December 1993 "Wilderlands" 10 June - 16 December, 1994 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | "Mechanismo" Judge Dredd Megazine vol. 2 #12-17, 22-26, 37-43 "Wilderlands" 2000 AD progs 891-894, 904-918 Judge Dredd Megazine #57-68 |
| Main character(s) | Judge Dredd; Judge McGruder |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | John Wagner |
| Artist(s) | "Mechanismo" Colin MacNeil, Peter Doherty, and Manuel Benet "Wilderlands" Mark Harrison, Peter Doherty, Carlos Ezquerra, and Mick Austin |
| Editor(s) | "Mechanismo" David Bishop "Wilderlands" David Bishop; Tharg (Alan McKenzie and John Tomlinson) |
| Mechanismo | |
| Wilderlands | |
Mechanismo is the title of a Judge Dredd story published in the British comic Judge Dredd Megazine in 1992. It was the first story in a series of stories published over the next two years in both the Megazine and 2000 AD, most notably the epic "Wilderlands." (The rest of this article is about the series as a whole.) The stories concern the Mechanismo Programme, a project to build robot Judges to police the streets of Mega-City One, and the decline of Chief Judge McGruder's authority during her last years in office. All of the stories were written by Judge Dredd creator John Wagner.
"Mechanismo" may also refer to the robots themselves.
Judge McGruder was one of the most important supporting characters in the Judge Dredd strip at the time that the Mechanismo stories were published. Her eccentricity and questionable mental health had been a recurring theme in the background of many Judge Dredd stories ever since the character's reintroduction to the strip in Necropolis over two years earlier. There had been hints of a split personality, a tendency to talk to herself, and other odd mannerisms and characteristics, which were primarily used for comic relief. However, in the first three Mechanismo stories McGruder's judgement and suitability for high office were increasingly called into question. This issue rapidly became the focus of the Mechanismo storyline, and was dealt with in a much more serious tone than previous stories had done. As the storyline developed, the emphasis moved away from robots and action, and towards political intrigue and McGruder's paranoia, before reverting to action again as it neared its conclusion.
The storyline is also notable because it included "Wilderlands", the second crossover story between the Megazine and 2000 AD.
The Mechanismo robots were humanoid in shape and were armour-plated, with insignia resembling those on human judge uniforms. They had infra-red vision, built-in weaponry including missiles and gas grenades, and carried large machine-guns. They were issued with Lawmaster motorcycles. Although no longer vested with judicial powers, they are still used as combat units in dire emergencies.
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Wikipedia