Spanish comic artist Carlos Ezquerra, best known as the co-creator of the iconic British comic book character Judge Dredd, has passed away aged 70 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Ezquerra began his career drawing westerns and war stories for Spanish publishers before entering the UK market, initial drawing romance titles and adventure strips before being headhunted by Pat Mills and John Wagner to work on Battle Picture Weekly.
Prior to the launch of 2000 AD in 1977, Ezquerra served as co-creator of Judge Dredd, designing the look for the character; however, the initial launch story by Wagner and Ezquerra was deemed too violent by the publisher, with Dredd’s first appearance subsequently drawn by Mike McMahon – a decision which led Ezquerra to temporarily quit the strip.
In addition to Judge Dredd, Ezquerra and Wagner served as co-creators on Strontium Dog, while he also collaborated with Garth Ennis on the likes of Bloody Mary, Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, War Stories, Hitman and Preacher.
