Rob Williams is aboard as the writer and, as one third of the team who scripted “Trifecta” (Along with Si Spurrier and Al Ewing) he’s proved himself as one of the best Dredd writers in years. Art duties are being handled by Mike Dowling, best known for pencilling the surprisingly great Rex Royd in the occasionally published Mark Millar’s CLiNT anthology series.
Rob’s one of the smartest, most direct writers working today and the idea for the story came from him wondering if gay culture had been dealt with in Dredd’s universe before, and how it could have changed. The fact it’s barely registered in a 35 year -ld comic is a real surprise and Rob, again, is completely up front about how the story could be received, saying: “As long as you stay true to the character throughout – which I think ‘Closet’ does – you can deal with all sorts of issues in a story. And if they push people's buttons, fine. I'd rather a story be provocative than just, ‘and they have a fight.’ Plus, putting Dredd in a gay club filled with men dressed as him is a pretty funny image. It's worth it for that alone.”
Dredd is often at his best as a character when challenging perceptions, such as in the classic “America” storyline, and that willingness to push the world has paid dividends recently. “Closet” is published in prog 1817, on sale in the UK and digitally through the 2000AD App on 30 January 30. I can’t wait.
Alasdair Stuart
CBR interview: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43316
