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Marlon Shakespeare, aka 'Chopper', has graduated from being King Scrawler to lord of the skies- as one of the Big Meg's most talented skysurfers, he's keen to prove he's the best. When his chance comes to enter the illegal Supersurf 7, he and his fellow power-boarders must take the most dangerous route in the most dangerous city on earth- can he reach the finish line before the Judges put a stop to the race once and for all?
224 pages, Hardcover
Published January 17, 2018
24 people want to read
About the author
John Wagner
1,293 books191 followersJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since. He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, for which he created Judge Dredd. He is noted for his taut, violent thrillers and his black humour. Among his pseudonyms are The best known are John Howard, T.B. Grover, Mike Stott, Keef Ripley, Rick Clark and Brian Skuter. (Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 4, 2018
Now this is more like it. Arguably the strips that Judge Dredd is all about, which is ironic really as Dredd barely features in them.
The first few years of Dredd often portrayed him as nightmarishly violent but there was never much doubt that he was the hero, defending the law and standing up for good people who can't stand up for himself. But when we first meet the young Marlon "Chopper" Shakespeare, best illegal wall-scrawler in the city, the Judge is recast in the role of authoritarian jackboot stamping down on any attempt to find joy or fulfilment in Mega-City One, forever.
Young Marlon's encubement might have been the end of the story, but for Wagner's flash of genius in realising that the character of the best illegal sky-surfer in the city required for his latest arc could be one and the same person. In a stroke Chopper becomes the enduring symbol of being willing to do anything, to work impossibly long hours and face unfeasibly long odds (and stretches of jail time), to be somebody in a world of nobodies where compulsory nobodiness is enforced by joyless fascists who all look exactly the same.
The historic events of Supersurf 10 are of course contained in the separate Oz volume, but here we are treated to the adrenalin rush of Supersurf 7 and the horrible bloodbath of Supersurf 11 that bookend that story. All reasonable human beings agree that the conclusion of 11 should have been the conclusion of the Chopper saga, and fortunately we're not compelled here to revisit the dull revival of the character by Garth "The Necromancer" Ennis that meant it wasn't, but post-glory-days Chopper is represented here by a three parter in which he returns to the Big Meg to prove himself an all-round good egg and of course do some hair-raising surfing.
Apparently the last time we heard from Chopper, and that was a good 15 years ago now, he was already "yesterday's man", as dead and quaint as the 1970s punk spirit (and hairstyles) in which 2000AD was forged. But those of us who were there will never forget. He was the king, man. Chopper! Chopper! Chopper!
The first few years of Dredd often portrayed him as nightmarishly violent but there was never much doubt that he was the hero, defending the law and standing up for good people who can't stand up for himself. But when we first meet the young Marlon "Chopper" Shakespeare, best illegal wall-scrawler in the city, the Judge is recast in the role of authoritarian jackboot stamping down on any attempt to find joy or fulfilment in Mega-City One, forever.
Young Marlon's encubement might have been the end of the story, but for Wagner's flash of genius in realising that the character of the best illegal sky-surfer in the city required for his latest arc could be one and the same person. In a stroke Chopper becomes the enduring symbol of being willing to do anything, to work impossibly long hours and face unfeasibly long odds (and stretches of jail time), to be somebody in a world of nobodies where compulsory nobodiness is enforced by joyless fascists who all look exactly the same.
The historic events of Supersurf 10 are of course contained in the separate Oz volume, but here we are treated to the adrenalin rush of Supersurf 7 and the horrible bloodbath of Supersurf 11 that bookend that story. All reasonable human beings agree that the conclusion of 11 should have been the conclusion of the Chopper saga, and fortunately we're not compelled here to revisit the dull revival of the character by Garth "The Necromancer" Ennis that meant it wasn't, but post-glory-days Chopper is represented here by a three parter in which he returns to the Big Meg to prove himself an all-round good egg and of course do some hair-raising surfing.
Apparently the last time we heard from Chopper, and that was a good 15 years ago now, he was already "yesterday's man", as dead and quaint as the 1970s punk spirit (and hairstyles) in which 2000AD was forged. But those of us who were there will never forget. He was the king, man. Chopper! Chopper! Chopper!
December 1, 2022
Oz, Soul on Fire and Song of the Surfer were all published during my first time reading 2000AD and the latter two had a huge impact on me. By the time of Song, the prog had probably got a bit too blood thirsty for my liking and it remains a a high point of Dreddverse storytelling. It’s Wagner taking the already nihilistic elements of the Super Surfs and upping them significantly whilst also putting one of the most beloved characters in the comic’s history through absolute hell. It’s a tough read because you’re meant to find it horrific and the swift turn from blackly comic caper to something genuinely awful is done as carefully as one of Chopper’s surf moves. The final episode is an absolute sucker punch and for my money the most emotionally devastating death the comic has ever published (because it really is a death - Chopper’s weaknesses are believable and make a grim kind of sense here, so even though he’s ultimately still the noble rebel his ego just holds him back. It’s the ultimate pyrrhic victory)
And so the last story shouldn’t really exist, and it’s definitely a minor story at that, but it also does a few brilliant things. Unlike Ennis who brought Chopper back without any thought as to how that would ruin the ending of such a beloved story, Wagner has some things to say. There’s more of that impetuous nature going on, some more of his weird sense of duty and a hell of a lot of stuff about ageing and growing up (or more pertinently Chopper’s refusal to). Most interestingly we have Dredd acting out as a petulant sulk, walloping a child in the face for just saying “excuse me” out of anger. It’s a nice touch that this reflects how Grant saw the character after he and Wagner split up writing after Oz. Of course this is Dredd as blunt instrument. Someone has bested him and he can’t bring himself to accept it or accept that this rankles him so much. It’s as good a bit of Dredd as flawed person as Wagner would ever write
Of course because Chopper is still alive now we’ve had him back since these stories, but in a more sympathetic tale of the aborigine strands from the earlier stories in this volume. The Baillie/ McCarthy story from the Megazine might not be vintage Chopper (as in I remember liking it but absolutely nothing of the details even though I only read it about five years ago as opposed to the nearly thirty years that have passed since I read Song, which I remember indelibly) but at least felt like an appropriate exploration of our hero in middle age, still wandering the outback and looking for his songlines
And so the last story shouldn’t really exist, and it’s definitely a minor story at that, but it also does a few brilliant things. Unlike Ennis who brought Chopper back without any thought as to how that would ruin the ending of such a beloved story, Wagner has some things to say. There’s more of that impetuous nature going on, some more of his weird sense of duty and a hell of a lot of stuff about ageing and growing up (or more pertinently Chopper’s refusal to). Most interestingly we have Dredd acting out as a petulant sulk, walloping a child in the face for just saying “excuse me” out of anger. It’s a nice touch that this reflects how Grant saw the character after he and Wagner split up writing after Oz. Of course this is Dredd as blunt instrument. Someone has bested him and he can’t bring himself to accept it or accept that this rankles him so much. It’s as good a bit of Dredd as flawed person as Wagner would ever write
Of course because Chopper is still alive now we’ve had him back since these stories, but in a more sympathetic tale of the aborigine strands from the earlier stories in this volume. The Baillie/ McCarthy story from the Megazine might not be vintage Chopper (as in I remember liking it but absolutely nothing of the details even though I only read it about five years ago as opposed to the nearly thirty years that have passed since I read Song, which I remember indelibly) but at least felt like an appropriate exploration of our hero in middle age, still wandering the outback and looking for his songlines
June 3, 2022
Marlon Shakespeare (Chopper) is one of the most well rounded and interesting supporting characters in the Dreddverse. I love the epic 'OZ' story arc and the stories in this volume sort of bracket that. We have Midnight Surfer which looks at the supersurf 7 championship, Soul on Fire in which Chopper basically finds himself in the Aussie outback, the epic song of the surfer where copper has to deal with corruption and survive a deathrace and finally The Big Meg where women try and play him and force him to return to Mega City 1.
Chopper is a wonderful expression of personal freedom and rebellion which contrasts with Dredd's unbending law enforcement. Dredd here is basically the villain of the piece, as we are drawn in to Chopper's high octane world - Yet if you look at the sheer scale of carnage and death he leaves in his wake you can see why Dredd think's he's a menace. Chopper is a great anti-hero at times it feels like he's just stepped out of a western, yet with a punk asethic. Add to this the exhillariation of hoverboard surfing and you have something punchy and exciting and very unique in the Dreddverse - This is the guy who fundimentally opposes Dred and runs rings around him without ever resorting to violence.
Artwork is varied, but never terrible - we move from b/w classic strip to colour. Colin Macneil probably encapsulates the punk, youthful energy of Chopper best, but I also like Patrick Goddard's more contemporary detailed depecions in The Big Meg.
Chopper is quite a tight, focused Mega Collection volume, which I tend to prefer as the story is a bit more meaty and you get more character exploration. Big thumbs up from me.
Chopper is a wonderful expression of personal freedom and rebellion which contrasts with Dredd's unbending law enforcement. Dredd here is basically the villain of the piece, as we are drawn in to Chopper's high octane world - Yet if you look at the sheer scale of carnage and death he leaves in his wake you can see why Dredd think's he's a menace. Chopper is a great anti-hero at times it feels like he's just stepped out of a western, yet with a punk asethic. Add to this the exhillariation of hoverboard surfing and you have something punchy and exciting and very unique in the Dreddverse - This is the guy who fundimentally opposes Dred and runs rings around him without ever resorting to violence.
Artwork is varied, but never terrible - we move from b/w classic strip to colour. Colin Macneil probably encapsulates the punk, youthful energy of Chopper best, but I also like Patrick Goddard's more contemporary detailed depecions in The Big Meg.
Chopper is quite a tight, focused Mega Collection volume, which I tend to prefer as the story is a bit more meaty and you get more character exploration. Big thumbs up from me.
March 15, 2019
I like the Chopper stuff, purely because he is a pretty normal, laid back yet dedicated to his passion of skysurfing, guy.
One who has grown up within the comics and mentally also. Whether you see him as a big F-You to the law criminal or just a free spirit who refuses to be trodden into conformity by law and order in the world of brutal, harsh law enforcement.
One thing is for sure when you get a story involving Chopper, if the Judges are about they easily come across as the bad guys.
One who has grown up within the comics and mentally also. Whether you see him as a big F-You to the law criminal or just a free spirit who refuses to be trodden into conformity by law and order in the world of brutal, harsh law enforcement.
One thing is for sure when you get a story involving Chopper, if the Judges are about they easily come across as the bad guys.
May 30, 2025
Chopper’s debut strip is in #70, according to the intro (and Oz is in #31) which doesn’t seem right. Reading these in numerical order isn’t ideal, that’s what the Case Files’re for. Still, Midnight Surfer’s solid.
July 18, 2025
Probably 4 and a half stars, but being Australian I appreciated a story based around Oz. There seemed to be a leap of faith between the second last story and the last, but overall an enjoyable volume.
November 11, 2018
Excellent, exciting story, with a central sympathetic antihero who is better than the city he was born in.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews