Metal’s strong bond with the world of comics has endured for decades now, but it’s hard to argue against the most significant crossover of all being Anthrax’s immortal I Am The Law. A thunderous tribute to UK comic 2000 AD’s most famous character, Judge Dredd, it provided guitarist Scott Ian with the perfect opportunity to indulge a newfound love. Scott discovered Dredd after visiting London’s Forbidden Planet store while on a promo trip for second album Spreading The Disease in early ’86.
“The artwork looked so amazing and Dredd was so fucking cool,” Scott recalls. “I picked up a few copies and every time I was in the UK I’d hit up more comic shops looking for it. It was impossible to find in the States. I went to Forbidden Planet in NYC and I said, ‘You guys don’t carry 2000 AD?’ and they said, ‘No, it’s really hard for us to import…’ Because of me badgering them, they ended up getting a couple of copies every month and holding them for me. I was paying five times the price for them and I’m pretty sure they were pocketing the money, but I just needed my Judge Dredd fix.”
