Artistic Style
Smith's depiction of Dredd differed slightly from that of his contemporaries. While both Bolland and McMahon chose to draw features of the Judge's uniform such as his gloves, boots, shoulder armour and elbow and knee pads in quite an exaggerated over-size fashion, Smith's depiction of Dredd's pads were more modestly sized and understated in appearance. The chunky heavy-looking chain attached to Dredd's zip and name-badge was replaced by a thinner, lightweight chain and the badge itself was less prominent. His helmet too was smaller and tighter-fitting. The overall effect was to focus more on Dredd's actual figure which was seen to be lean and muscular whereas other artists tended towards obscuring his figure by overstating the body-protection. Dredd's lawgiver pistol was also smaller and sleeker than it usually appeared, especially in Smith's earlier work where it rarely resembled its usual self! Most significantly Smith usually drew Dredd with two boot holsters and two lawgivers, while others gave him just the one.
Another trademark feature was that Smith often drew a prominent picture of Dredd (normally just head and shoulders) at the start of the week's story, quite separate from the narrative itself; although not a technique exclusive to Smith, it was fairly uncommon in 2000AD at the time.
Despite the undoubted quality of his artwork and his standing in illustrating some of the most popular and influential Dredd stories, Smith has never received the same recognition amongst fans as his contemporaries. When Titan Books first started reprinting 2000AD stories in the early 80s, the Judge Dredd stories it focused were those created by Brian Bolland and Mike McMahon, artists who have always ranked at the top of fans' lists of favourite illustrators, awarding the pair volumes of their own work. Smith's work, on the other hand, was only seen as part of the extended storylines to which he contributed. Even Rebellion's current reprints of Dredd's stories feature brief descriptions of Smith on the biography pages, whereas other artists whose contribution and influence is not as great receive detailed paragraphs.
Read more about this topic: Ron Smith (comics)
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