The Law In Order: The League Of Fatties

As a man of a certain age, Orlok knows the price that comes with fine food. For every pizza he eats, every stout that he necks and every courgette he inserts into his rectum (look, it makes them ripe- a priest told him and they don’t lie) he knows that the only solution is to run for 5-10k per day and stave off the fatness. But he knows that the day will come when the knees fail, the will bends and the mobility scooters are half price. And on that day, a new fatty will be born…

DATELINE:
July 2104 (Progs 273-274).

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?:
John Wagner and Alan Grant take a pop at the rotund while the great Ron Smith goes alarm clock crazy.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT (IN ONE SENTENCE)?:
The Justice Department deals with the fatty problem in Mega City 1.

WHO’S THAT IN THE HELMET?:
Chief Judge Hilda McGruder is on hand to do nothing other than agree to what is essentially apartheid.
Judge Peters assists Dredd in tracking down a food convoy that has been hijacked by the League of Fatties.

IT’S CULTURAL, INNIT?:
Tobias Belch is probably named for Toby Belch, a character from Twelfth Night.
Frank Cannon was a portly TV detective of the 1970s played by William Conrad.
Wm “Billy” Bunter was the tuck loving schoolboy created by Frank Richards.
Orson Welles was a talented (and eventually grossly fat) actor, director and unintentional hoaxer.

ANY LAW LORE?:
Four segregation blocks are appointed to stop the victimisation of fatties and to keep them under control. The weight limit for these blocks is 300 kgs and over. That’s about

WHAT’S THE ART LIKE?:
Smith’s art is workmanlike but not magnificent and at one stage (the opening splash) the fatties look not only fat but also about 7 feet tall. Despite that, it’s solid stuff.

HOW MANY LINKS?:
The rise of fattism in the Big Meg (as well as advocacy of cannibalism) is a nice play on how a city or a state will vilify the other given the right set of circumstances. The fatties themselves being both the victims and villains of the strip speaks to the strength of it and the final pay off of apartheid is bleakly funny. Four links.