Dredd The Warlord - Unpublished Page
The Judge Dredd strip, the Warlord (Progs 451 to 455 - Reprinted Rebellion: Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 09) written by John Wagner & Alan Grant was one of Cam Kennedy's earliest Dredd strips, and sits in the memory of many fans as one of their favourites.
Something that most people will not be aware of is that there is a mysterious "lost" unpublished page. It was to have been the original Page 7 from Prog 455 (the last part) and would have presented quite a spectacular conclusion to the story - but it was cut and never before seen... until now!
The story as Cam remembers it is that there was some sort of miscommunication between the writers, editorial (Steve MacManus) and Cam which lead to 8 pages being drawn rather than the 7 that were available in the prog. This lead to a decision to lose a page - and the original page 7 was chosen.
As you can see from the strip as published, the flow of the story is that Judge Omar reaches down to the Samurai and squeezes them (as described in a caption box), and then cutting to a judge describing that they are gone. This reads in a perfectly understandable way, but what was omitted was a page showing Omar's giant ghostly hand reaching down, scooping the Samurai up and whisking them away.
Presented below is a scan of the original unpublished page, along with the pages either side (to demonstrate the flow of the story as originally envisioned).
If you are interested in buying this page then please contact us.
Warlord #455 P6
Warlord #455 Original unpublished p7
Warlord #455 P7 as published (originally page 8)
Below is a photo of the page which is c. 34cm x 40.5cm. I like the use of the 5 vertical panels which is a striking and unusual composition and interesting mix of hard inked lines (around the gloves) and softer tapered edges to the ghostly trail (possibly dry brushed white gouache paint?) . I think it also adds a very visually dynamic conclusion to the story too, with the Samurai getting dealt with "on screen". Also giving a more visual sense of power to Omar's final act - given room to breathe either side of two busy pages either side.
A recap of the story of the Warlord:
Shojun, Warlord of Ji had powerful psionic abilities and attempted to take over the world.
Shojun came from the infamous Radlands of Ji (radioactive wastes in post-nuclear war China), home to some of the most dangerous individuals on the planet. He arrived in Mega-City One in 2108, and immediately warned the Judges not to interfere with his plans. His demonstration of his considerable powers began with the destruction of a building by will alone, resulting in over 250 deaths. He also had the ability to generate a psionic shield to protect himself, to stop bullets in mid-air, to attack people with blasts of psychic energy, to teleport himself and other people, and even to kill with a thought.
Impressed by his powers, Mega-City One's ruler, Chief Judge McGruder, thought it would be prudent to wait and see what Shojun intended to do before deciding on a course of action. In this matter she overruled the advice of Judge Dredd, whose immediate reaction was to request Shojun's instant assassination (using a laser since this would be too fast for Shojun to react to). Instead she ordered Dredd to place a bug in Shojun's premises to listen to his plans.
It was discovered that Shojun planned to raise the Seven Samurai, seven immensely powerful demons invulnerable to normal weapons, and use them to take over the world. Realising the gravity of the threat, McGruder finally authorised Shojun's assassination, but not in time. Teleporting to another location before the chief judge's orders could be carried out, Shojun raised the Seven Samurai and embarked on a murderous rampage. Justice Department surrounded the afflicted area with tanks and aerial assault vehicles, but even military firepower was completely ineffective against Shojun and his supernatural servants. In only a few minutes one hundred judges and three hundred civilians were slaughtered.
Although wounded in the encounter, Judge Dredd found one of the Samurai's shuriken (throwing stars) and realised that it alone was capable of penetrating Shojun's psionic shield. Although Shojun saw it coming, even he could not stop it and he was killed.
However, Shojun's death did not stop the Seven Samurai as Dredd had hoped. With the street judges helpless against this unprecedented threat, it fell to Psi Division (psychic judges) to defeat them. Judge Omar, head of Psi Division, destroyed the Seven Samurai, but at the cost of his own life, a price he knew in advance he would have to pay.
