Batman and Judge Dredd Writer Alan Grant Dead at 73

Alan Grant had the sort of comics profession that shortly turns into legendary. He began within the 60s, writing romance comics. Later, he teamed up with John Wagner to work on Tarzan and 2000 AD for IPC comics. After engaged on quite a few horror/sci-fi titles, Grant and Wagner co-wrote Judge Dredd, which Grant labored on extensively within the 80s.

In the 80s, Grant proclaimed himself an anarchist and even wrote a Batman sidekick character, Anarky, with the hope of serving to unfold his political opinions via his artwork. According to an interview with Planeta DeAgostini, an Italian comics writer, Grant was anticipating Anarky to take over the Robin function, however Tim Drake, the third Robin, was already in improvement. He tried to purchase the rights to Anarky, however DC Comics refused.

One of his favourite Batman tales, in line with the interview with Planeta DeAgostini, is the struggle between Batman and Etrigan. “In the final part of the series, Batman is forced to battle against Etrigan, despite knowing that the fight can only end one way…in Batman’s own death. But Etrigan changes his mind and makes a little speech to Batman: “I like you, man. I like your style. I wonder what force stirs your bile. Eh? What dark demon drives you on, to fight when even hope is gone? Cheer up. It’s over. Go your own way – free. Because there’s something deep inside you, man, that’s very much like me!”

In 1992 Grant was honored by Comic-Con International with an Inkpot Award. According to the 2000 AD website, “He continued to work for 2000 AD throughout the 1990s, mainly on Anderson, Psi Division, where his partnership with artist Arthur Ranson produced incredibly beautiful stories such as Shamballa and Satan, and the three-volume series Mazeworld, inspired by three months he spent in prison for possession of half an LSD tablet in 1969.”

Although ailing for a while, Alan continued to put in writing. His final work for 2000 AD was a Judge Anderson story in 2018 and a struggle story within the Battle Special in 2020.”

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